Chapter 119: The Furious Zuo Zizhi! Five Suns Overhead!

"Only two hundred remain?"

Everyone sensed the difficulty of the Four Great Academies.

One must remember, there were over ten thousand people in the reserves!

Only two hundred can enter the Four Great Academies?

One out of fifty!

The reserves had already been screened by the nine garrison troops.

"Hard, hard, hard. But difficulty means the resources gained after passing are also greater."

"From five hundred down to two hundred—this fourth trial will eliminate sixty percent."

"I wonder what the content of this fourth trial is."

Having come this far, many people felt uncertain in their hearts.

A good result earlier doesn't guarantee a good result later.

Because the content of the trials differs.

"Take it one step at a time. Han Bing dropped to over eightieth place in the third trial—seems his thunder techniques are a bit weak," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

The Military Agricultural Officials are required to be well-rounded, to cope with various different combat environments.

Being strong in a single aspect isn't true strength; being strong across the board is real strength!

After dropping off those over two hundred eliminated candidates, the tower ship continued its journey toward the next location.

At this moment, the deck was utterly quiet; everyone stayed in their own spot, seizing the time to recover their vitality.

The Agricultural Official Bureau ran this academy trial without distributing any pills or recovery items, and forbade bringing one's own; one had to rely purely on one's own Gathering Yuan to absorb the world's Yuan Qi.

Zhao Xing was at a slight disadvantage in his Gathering Yuan rank, so he had no time for idle chatter, seizing every second to recover.

"Hum~"

After the tower ship flew through a layer of clouds, the light suddenly brightened, becoming almost blinding.

Zhao Xing couldn't help but raise a hand to shield his brow before opening his eyes.

"Damn, five suns overhead?!"

"Where the hell did we fly to?"

"Different regions of the Ten Sun Grotto-Heaven show different celestial timings. Five suns overhead—could this be the environment for the fourth trial?"

"Even separated by the tower ship's formation, I can already feel the heat. If we actually go out, won't it be even worse?"

"Coming to Ten Sun Grotto-Heaven really opened my eyes!"

"……"

The tower ship slowly came to a halt in mid-air, but did not descend.

At the same time, several streams of cloud Qi circled around the tower ship, looking somewhat strange.

Zhao Xing vaguely guessed that the fourth trial would be held in the air.

"Five suns overhead, and it's almost noon now. One sun at the center, four suns at the four directions—though they haven't fully reached their proper positions, the intensity is nearly at its peak."

"Wind, thunder, and clouds have all been tested. Surely they're not going to make it rain under five suns overhead now?"

Zhao Xing guessed it, and the others vaguely guessed it too.

Immediately after, the tower ship released small Flowing Cloud Flying Boats, which hovered beside it.

"As expected, they're not planning to land. The trial location is in the air."

Zhao Xing stood at the ship's edge, looking down.

The current altitude was roughly a thousand meters or so.

The ground was very dry, completely barren land, with even grass rarely seen.

Not only that, there seemed to be some black dots on the ground. Zhao Xing activated his Keen Insight to examine them, then withdrew his gaze thoughtfully.

He looked around at the environment again.

In the air where the tower ship hovered, clouds appeared faintly, but with the appearance of these five suns, the cloud Qi was also constantly rising and evaporating away.

However, in a few places, the cloud Qi evaporated very slowly, as if foreshadowing something.

The ship had been stopped for quite a while, but Zuo Zizhi still hadn't come out to announce the rules.

A flash of inspiration struck Zhao Xing. Tentatively, he extended his hand outside the ship's rail and found no barrier blocking it.

So he no longer hesitated, swiftly leaping out of the tower ship and riding the wind upward.

"Hmm? Why did he jump out?" Zhuo Li watched Zhao Xing's actions in confusion. "The formation barrier didn't stop him?"

"It's Zhao Xing—he jumped out of the tower ship."

"Hmm? The formation barrier opened?"

"They haven't said the trial has started yet, right?"

"But they also didn't say leaving the ship is forbidden… Damn, I get it now!"

Many people immediately followed suit, leaping out of the tower ship one after another.

Shi Yong, Zhuang Ziqing, Feng Qiu, Guan Junyang, Hua Zhilin, Han Bing… all began to move.

Watching this scene from inside the cabin, Zuo Zizhi and Lu Bang, who had been holding back, immediately smiled.

"They figured it out."

"Hmph, at least these fellows aren't too stupid."

Lu Bang pointed outside and said: "This Zhao Xing really has a good head on his shoulders—he was the first to figure it out. This person's grasp of timing has truly reached the level of a qualified Military Agricultural Official."

Not only Lu Bang was praising him; the four people in charge from the Celestial Timing Academy above were also quietly watching below.

"Zhao Xing's reaction is indeed fast—he was the first person to guess the content of the fourth trial."

"Not bad, this boy is quite sharp. Upon sensing that the tower ship had been hovering too long, he immediately took out his Cloud Rain Pearl to collect the cloud Qi in the air."

"Hmph, over a hundred people still lingering on the deck, hesitating — utterly dim-witted!"

Where there are those who perform well, there are those who perform poorly.

At this moment, there were still just over a hundred people staying on the deck, not flying out, simply quietly watching the chaotic flight in the air outside.

They wanted to wait and see — to see whether doing so would be forbidden by those on the ship, and what consequences it would bring.

"Facing a new, harsh environment, and yet completely unmoved."

"Five suns overhead, cloud vapor rising, water extremely scarce — at a time like this, collecting rainwater should be the very first reaction of any military Agricultural Officer!"

"From the very beginning, we forbade bringing other supplementary pills and treasures, but we did not forbid bringing Cloud Rain Pearls. Yet still many people failed to notice this little detail."

The four persons in charge of the Celestial Timing Hall were extremely dissatisfied with those who had stayed on the deck.

One floor below, Zuo Zuo Zizhi looked at the people on the deck. Zuo Zuo Zizhi, who was usually quite tolerant by nature, had his face darken as well.

He opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony.

He questioned the people below with a stern face.

"Among those who stayed on the deck, those who did not bring a Cloud Rain Pearl, raise your hands."

Zuo Zuo Zizhi's tone was cold, as if interrogating.

Eighteen people below were instantly panicked.

Tremblingly, they raised their hands.

Zuo Zuo Zizhi snorted coldly: "You eighteen people are eliminated on the spot!"

"My lord, we thought we didn't need to bring them — we assumed the examination would provide them."

"That's right, my lord, give us a chance — we simply forgot."

Among the eighteen, quite a few either pleaded or argued back.

Zuo Zuo Zizhi harshly rebuked: "Scoundrels! And you still have the face to say so? Before entering the Ten Sun Grotto-heaven, every single person was issued a standard set of equipment."

"Golden Straw Raincoat, Hundred Flower Conical Hat, Cloud-Stepping Boots — these are all third-rank upper-grade treasures. The Cloud Rain Pearl is even a fourth-rank lower-grade!"

"Every one of these treasures can be replenished for free once damaged!"

"May I ask you — why must all other treasures be paid for, while only these four pieces of equipment can be replenished for free?!"

"For this examination, all other treasures were forbidden — why were these four not forbidden?"

"Because these four pieces of equipment are the tools you eat with!"

"For a military Agricultural Officer, the fourth-rank Cloud Rain Pearl is even more the tool everyone eats with! Perhaps just this little bit of water could let an army hold out until reinforcements arrive, or a single rain could let an army turn defeat into victory… the importance of the Cloud Rain Pearl is the greatest of the four!"

"You even forgot to bring the tool you eat with — what kind of Agricultural Officer are you?"

"And you still have the face to question why? Hmm? What face do you have?!"

It was clear that Zuo Zuo Zizhi was truly furious.

A barrage of questions left the eighteen people utterly ashamed, all lowering their heads.

As for the others on the deck, they too felt some trepidation in their hearts.

Because although they had brought theirs, they had not gone out to act at the first moment. Judging by Zuo Zuo Zizhi's attitude, their performance this time should also be counted as below average.

Sure enough, Zuo Zuo Zizhi swept his gaze over the remaining people on the deck and continued: "This examination's test is rainmaking!"

"The position where the tower ship has stopped is the hottest area under the five suns, but a few patches of cloud vapor have been fixed in the vicinity by the Celestial Timing Hall."

"The tower ship deliberately stayed for a longer time precisely to give you time to observe, and also to prepare for collecting rainwater."

"But I see you lot don't need it — you're all geniuses, with enough confidence that you can make rain even in extreme environments. Good, very good indeed!"

The sarcasm in Zuo Zuo Zizhi's tone was completely undisguised.

Those who had now realized quickly pulled out their Cloud Rain Pearls and flew out.

Where there was one, there were two. In no time, all these people had flown off the deck, leaving only the eighteen who had not brought Cloud Rain Pearls, standing dazed where they were.

Among these eighteen, there was also one whose ranking in the previous round had been fairly high — fifteenth place.

But now he too was ruthlessly eliminated.

Presumably this lesson would be enough for him to remember for a lifetime.

Outside the tower ship, Zhao Xing held his Cloud Rain Pearl, absorbing the cloud vapor outside the ship to his heart's content.

Because he was the first to react, his fourth-rank Cloud Rain Pearl was quickly half-full.

After that the speed slowed, because many people came out scrambling to collect.

With only these few deliberately left patches of cloud vapor, they naturally could not withstand so many people scrambling — soon the air became completely dry.

Zhao Xing also flew back onto the tower ship.

He happened to hear the tirade of rebuke from Zuo Zuo Zizhi.

As for why Zhao Xing was the first to react, it was purely from many years of experience in his previous life.

Regarding what Zuo Zuo Zizhi said — that the Cloud Rain Pearl had a great impact on warfare — he also deeply agreed.

"For nine whole months Qishan had no rain, yet today of all days the storm pours down… Heaven does not help Liu, it helps you lot — pfft~"

"Chancellor! Chancellor…"

Zhao Xing's mind conjured up a scene.

"Your reaction was way too fast." Han Bing stood beside Zhao Xing. "You truly live up to being someone Agricultural Officer Chen values."

"Eh? You knew?" Zhao Xing had never mentioned his relationship with Chen Shijie to Han Bing.

"You received letters and extra resources, and so did I — we're from the same batch." Han Bing said, "It's just that the person who selected me was another ninth-section Agricultural Officer of the Divine Might Army, 'Huang Chengzhi'."

"Oh, oh." Zhao Xing nodded.

One and a half quarter-hours later, Zuo Zuo Zizhi ordered everyone to return to the tower ship's deck.

He then immediately announced the full contents of the examination.

"Everyone, board the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, proceed to the area illuminated by these five suns, and move clouds and spread rain — for at least one quarter-hour."

"Duration, rain count, and range form the base scoring points."

"On the ground are black and white factions of mechanical puppets with identical strength."

"Challengers may take either the black or white side. After entering the designated zone, the black and white mechanical puppets will immediately begin slaughtering each other!"

"For any rain technique you cultivate, if it buffs your own side's strength or weakens the enemy's, points are scored based on the number of puppets buffed or weakened."

"The top two hundred scorers pass; the rest are eliminated."

After Zuo Zizhi finished speaking, the people on the tower ship couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

If the first three rounds were merely difficult, then this fourth round was outright perverse!

With five suns overhead, in such an extreme environment, even making it rain was already difficult.

And they still had to test the challenger's control, buffing or weakening the puppet army below?

"So those black dots are the mechanical puppets." Someone realized with a start. "But this place is a thousand meters from the ground, and the Bright Eye spell can only barely make out blurry figures. You still have to precisely target individuals to buff or kill them?"

"Blurry is enough. Black and white are still easy to tell apart." Someone said.

"Easy for you to say. Bright Eye is a common spell; even at ninth rank it only sees a thousand meters, and the rain blocks your vision. Can you guarantee you won't see double?"

"Don't overthink it. First we need to actually make it rain. I only collected one percent with my Cloud Rain Pearl earlier. Even pushing my control to the limit, I don't know if I can keep it up for a quarter-hour."

"With five suns overhead, can this rain even reach the ground?"

"Hard, hard, hard! Cloud technique and rain technique both need to be controlled to perfection, not a shred of leakage allowed."

"..."

No matter how much everyone complained about the difficulty, the test still began.

Twenty people per group, twenty-five Flowing Cloud Flying Boats began to scatter to various locations.

Each person takes turns making rain; once one finishes, they immediately switch to a new spot.

Everyone's starting conditions are identical.

Zhao Xing's group didn't have a full twenty people, because eighteen had been directly eliminated earlier.

So there were only nineteen people on this boat.

Zhuo Li, Jiang He, Jiang Hai, and Hua Zhilin happened to be assigned to this group as well.

There was also one person Zhao Xing recognized.

"First, from the Town Sea Army, He Yu." The judge called out the first name.

"Here." The young man whose name was called immediately straightened up.

"Begin." The judge said flatly.

"Yes."

He Yu stepped onto the bow of the ship, his heart heavy with worry.

He had barely passed the previous round by a hair.

This round should have been his strong suit, but he was half a beat slow when collecting rainwater and hadn't gathered much.

So he had absolutely no confidence in his heart.

"Buzz~"

The moment a person got nervous and lost their composure, even the Moving Clouds technique deformed.

The instant He Yu cast Moving Clouds, his cloud layer rapidly shrank under the glare of the five suns.

Before he could take the next step, the cloud layer collapsed—He Yu had actually gone completely limp right there.

"Pfft~" Hua Zhilin covered her mouth and laughed.

"?" Zhao Xing looked at this androgynous person beside him in surprise.

He Yu's mistake didn't surprise him, but big brother—what's with that delicate little laugh? And covering your mouth to laugh?!

"How amusing. He was so impatient he couldn't even control his cloud technique. You'd better not make this kind of mistake later." Hua Zhilin, seeing everyone looking her way, raised her brows at once.

"... Holy shit!" Zhao Xing's mind was a stampede of ten thousand horses. Especially that brow raise—his goosebumps all stood up, and he instinctively retreated behind the crowd.

Zhuo Li, Jiang He, and Jiang Hai beside him also furrowed their brows, because Zhao Xing had retreated behind them.

Even the judge couldn't help but glance at Hua Zhilin.

"The rest of you are not to make noise!"

Hua Zhilin pressed her lips together and said no more.

Aw, geez... that gesture gave Zhao Xing a chill all over. He only managed to hold back from lashing out by dint of his powerful mental fortitude.

"Make it rain for me!" He Yu roared. His cloud layer trembled unsteadily, a Cloud Rain Pearl spinning within, and finally managed to squeeze out some rainwater.

But because the environment was too harsh and He Yu was too nervous, this attempt also failed—he didn't even get the base points.

"Three failures, you're eliminated. Come back." The judge said flatly.

"Yes." He Yu shook his head and returned to the boat. He had already failed twice just casting Moving Clouds earlier; failing this time meant there was no fourth chance.

In the end, he fell right at the threshold of the fourth round.

The Flowing Cloud Flying Boat flew forward a great distance.

"Next, Jiang Hai."

Jiang Hai, hearing his name called, took a deep breath and leapt onto the bow.

His cloud layer was a sword-soldier cloud technique, which was relatively stable in terms of steadiness. Once cast, it remained fairly stable.

Although it still trembled somewhat under the five suns, it ultimately rained steadily for a while.

Zhao Xing noticed that the raindrops Jiang Hai produced were also sword-shaped.

Jiang Hai held the black side, but judging by his appearance, he didn't seem very satisfied with his result.

The judge quickly announced the result: "Sword Cloud Rain, duration two quarter-hours, rainfall forty-five; holding black side, kills one thousand and nine, self-loss eight hundred twenty-three."

"Final score, 276."

Jiang Hai let out a soft sigh. Under these conditions, summoning clouds and rain was already his absolute limit.

As for the fighting between friend and foe below, he truly could no longer control it.

In the end, the result was exactly as expected: a thousand enemies slain, eight hundred of his own lost.

As for the cloud-summoning and rain-making, that counts as the base score, with duration and rainfall volume as multipliers.

Sword rain kills enemies as a bonus — if positive, it is added; if negative, it is subtracted.

So Jiang Hai's final score was: base score 90, bonus 186, totaling 276.

"If you're not confident, don't go for the bonus," someone thought to themselves. "If you kill eight hundred enemies but lose a thousand of your own, even the base score gets wiped clean."

"Next, Yu Zhou." The judge steered the flying boat to the next location, then called out another name.

"Thunder cloud rain-making, lasting two quarter-hours, rainfall volume thirty-six, holding the white side, enemies slain five hundred and forty-six, own losses five hundred and forty-one. Total score: 77."

"Sigh."

"Next, Jiang Tao. Total score: 155."

"Next, Jiang He… Total score: 263."

……

"Next, Liu Ping… Total score: 0!"

"Next, Zhuo Li… Total score: 425."

Time passed. There were unlucky souls who had clearly secured the base score, yet insisted on gambling for the bonus — only to find their enemies killed numbered fewer than their own losses, wiping out even the base score.

But soon, another high score appeared among this group.

Zhuo Li's performance broke Jiang Hai's record, earning a score of 425.

Under everyone's envious gazes, Zhuo Li stepped off the bow proudly, and even glanced at Zhao Xing along the way, a hint of provocation in his eyes, as if asking: Fellow of the Divine Might Army, how many points can you score?

Zhao Xing felt Zhuo Li's gaze and smiled dismissively.

This fellow's brain really got kicked by a donkey — his own Cloud Law Pass performance was right there for all to see, and he was the first to collect rainwater. How could he possibly lose to you?

Soon, the flying boat headed to the next location.

The judge called his name as well.

"Next, Zhao Xing."