Chapter 20: Bright Eyes and Night Vision, Observing Things with Five Elements

The lamp flickered, and Zhao Xing stared at the flickering book, his vision gradually brightening.

Originally, he thought it was just a normal fluctuation, but he didn't expect the feeling of brightness to become stronger and stronger, until at a certain moment, it was completely like broad daylight.

"Eh?" Zhao Xing raised his head, put down the book, and scanned his surroundings.

He found that it wasn't dawn outside; it was still late at night, and the Almanac also showed it was the Zi hour, with no abnormalities.

Looking at the panel records again, he couldn't help but suddenly realize.

[You read 《Materia Medica》 at night, Qi entered your eyes, and you comprehended the spell 'Bright Eyes and Night Vision'.]

[Bright Eyes and Night Vision: Primary Spell]

[Proficiency: 20/9999]

[Effect: Can see things at night, can look into the distance for a thousand meters.]

"A general spell, I actually brushed it."

Zhao Xing smiled slightly. He didn't expect that he would have gains after reading for only a short while, and it was a very practical skill.

"However, I am not far from Tier 3 of Qi Gathering, so it is time to obtain this spell."

Bright Eyes and Night Vision is an adaptive spell; it is both passive and can be cast actively. It can adapt to changes in the surrounding environment.

Basically, everyone at the ninth-rank level has this standard configuration, and those who are not ranked also have a certain chance of obtaining it. Among them, the martial artist profession is the easiest to obtain, and they can get it at Tier 1 of Qi Gathering, because their Qi mainly improves their own physique, while Agricultural Officers are a bit later.

"The practicality is very strong. Later, it can be advanced to 'Observing the Finer Details', which can not only observe more subtle movements and Qi fluctuations but also grasp a person's psychological activities, though it is only effective against those with a lower realm than oneself," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

If they are of the same realm or a higher realm, their own Qi is integrated, and they can lock it so it doesn't leak out, making it very difficult to detect, and psychological activities are even harder to capture.

"Even stronger is the 'Bright Realm Asking the Heart' of the Law Enforcement profession, which is a masterstroke for interrogating prisoners."

With Bright Eyes and Night Vision, Zhao Xing found it much more convenient to read.

He continued to study the Materia Medica, Grand View of Trees, and Compendium of All Things.

The ultimate goal of the Agricultural Officer profession is to cultivate crops. These three books introduced and classified the plants between heaven and earth.

Classified by utility, they can be divided into medicinal, edible, and livestock-use categories.

There are also divisions of 'Family', 'Class', 'System', 'Gate', and 'Species'.

For example, on a page of the Materia Medica that Zhao Xing was looking at, it mentioned a magical plant called 'Roll Cypress', also known as the Soul-Returning Grass, which can treat damage to the soul and was classified under the Herb Class.

Turning the page, Zhao Xing saw another familiar name.

"In the Mushroom Family, it tells of a strange mountain in Mingdao Prefecture where a plant called the 'Color-Changing Mushroom' grows. It can change color, blend in with the environment, and explodes upon touch. The explosion produces poisonous gas, which can cause blindness, poisoning, and fainting, and in severe cases, death."

Color-Changing Mushrooms—Zhao Xing had planted many in his previous life. They grew fast, were easy to survive, were not expensive, and the effect was quite good. They were simply a must-plant for Agricultural Officer players to ambush others.

Classified by species, there are native species (originally existing between heaven and earth) and derivative species (artificially created later).

There are also attributes based on the Five Elements, Wind, and Thunder, such as the 'Purple Lightning Bamboo' that Zhao Xing had planted in his previous life.

It belongs to the Thunder attribute of the Five Elements, and the bamboo nodes can emit purple lightning to attack. It is a plant with relatively strong offensive power in the bamboo system.

The disadvantage of Agricultural Officer players in the early stage is that they can only fight positional warfare and defensive warfare, requiring prior deployment. Because plants cannot move.

But after reaching Tier 50 of Qi Gathering, this trouble will be gone.

Because one can 'Cultivate Seeds in the Dantian', opening up a small piece of pure Yuan soil, which is equivalent to a mobile reserve base.

When encountering enemies, one can perform a 'Pure Yuan Projection' on the real world, causing plants to appear in a certain position, taking root in the real world, basically achieving instant placement.

Waving a hand, it is an army of plants!

As for the later revival version, one cultivates seeds directly in the inner landscape, possessing more magical plants, and can even take root in the void, completely detached from the influence of terrain and environment. That is the most powerful period for the 'Self-School' Agricultural Officers...

"Truly nostalgic. I wonder if I can live until that time."

"In the Luck-based dynasty system, the longest lifespan of an emperor is a thousand years, and the longest lifespan of an official is Peng Zu of the Yin Dynasty, who lived for eight hundred years."

"This shackle was later broken by the Martial Emperor. The lifespan of officials became longer than that of emperors, and the lifespan of emperors became shorter and shorter. That is because the dynasty began to go downhill, and everyone was 'stealing luck to survive'."

Zhao Xing counted on his fingers: "I must use the Luck-based dynasty system to extend my life to have a chance to wait for the future revival era. Emperor Jing, Martial Emperor, and then fifteen more emperors—as long as I can live past the Martial Emperor's reign, the ones after are all short-lived emperors."

"Each dynasty averages only a little over a hundred years... At that time, extending life will be much easier, and I am an Agricultural Officer with vigorous vitality, so it shouldn't be a big problem to outlive those short-lived ghosts."

"The hardest part is the reign of Emperor Jing, who is not only a diligent emperor but also a stingy one, very reluctant to extend the lives of officials. The Martial Emperor was generous, often waving his hand to fill up the lifespan of a certain general..."

After being distracted for a moment, Zhao Xing continued to read. The current goal was still to change his profession.

[You read 《Grand View of Trees》 at night and comprehended the spell 'Observing Things with Five Elements'.]

[Observing Things with Five Elements: Primary Spell]

[Proficiency: 1/9999]

[Effect: Identify the vitality of plants and trees based on the principles of the Five Elements.]

"Whoa, my luck is really good, another practical spell." A spell knowledge appeared in Zhao Xing’s mind, mysterious and profound.

There are countless strange flowers and exotic grasses in the world. Agricultural Officers of past dynasties have not been able to exhaust all of them, and many things have not been recorded.

Observing Things with Five Elements is equivalent to an advanced detection spell for the Agricultural Officer profession.

Suppose you encounter an unknown plant; you can observe its internal vitality from afar and use the principles of the Five Elements to identify its utility.

Combined with other spells, you can basically make an accurate judgment.

Agricultural Officer players have many other identification skills, such as the [Body Melting Identification Method].

Cut off a small part, taste it yourself, use your body as a furnace, and you can more meticulously experience the specific effects.

But this spell skill is quite a pitfall. Many Agricultural Officer players have been poisoned to the point of misery. Zhao Xing often saw people complaining on the forum that they had been poisoned to death by a certain herb.

"With it, Shennong doesn't need to taste a hundred herbs; one can know just by observing."

Having obtained two practical spells in a row, Zhao Xing was in a very happy mood.

Even though it was past the Zi hour, he was still reading tirelessly.

The classics issued by the imperial court have their own magical powers, which can help people comprehend spells. A single book can usually be comprehended twice.

After twice, it loses its magical effect and will only consolidate the comprehended spell knowledge.

Time passed, but Zhao Xing was completely unaware, completely immersed in a wonderful feeling.

Although the magical power in the classics was weak, it would occasionally give him a 'flash of inspiration'. This was the feeling of 'comprehension', very short, like a meteor flashing by, but as long as you grasped it, you would be incomparably satisfied.

"*Cock-a-doodle-doo~*" The rooster outside crowed, and the oil lamp had long since burned out. Zhao Xing raised his head and took a look, only to find that the sky was almost bright, and the faint glow on the classics had completely disappeared.

"Tonight was truly a great harvest. With the Dao Embryo Pill and the blessing of Derivation 2 Luck, I was actually able to have such gains on this kind of standard classic."

Zhao Xing took a look at the panel. ===== CHAPTER 21 =====