Chapter 130: Mandatory Training Lesson Two: I Plant, You Eat!

"Four, scoring standard: producing one thousand jin of 【Tier-2 Supplies】 per day earns a base of 100 points. The higher the supply tier and the greater the quantity, the more bonus points are awarded."

"Five, the Military Farmer may obtain normal food for themselves, but cannot consume pills, nor use any treasures beyond the standard issue."

"Six, the 【Supplies Training】 lasts one month, with the final ranking determined by total accumulated points."

When the new mandatory training course was announced, the people of the Military Farmer Bureau grew restless.

Many had experienced this kind of 【Supplies Training】 in their former armies, but this one was clearly harder.

"A thousand jin of Tier-2 supplies in a single day? That means Tier-2 plants are required—how is that even possible?!"

"The factors of Heaven's Timing and Earth's Advantage have too much influence; the environment is randomized, who knows what harsh conditions we'll run into?"

"It shouldn't be that extreme, right? If it's something like Five Suns hanging overhead, with raging earth-fire and not a drop of water, who could grow anything?"

"Half a month without food and you're eliminated? Well, half a month without eating would leave warriors nothing but skin and bones, what fighting capacity would they have left?"

Zhao Xing listened to the contents of the second mandatory training course without much surprise.

"I plant, you eat"—this was a classic training course for Military Farmers.

Farming was the core duty of a Military Farmer.

Military Farmers not only had to know how to farm, but the standards were extremely strict.

Given the vast territory of Great Zhou, relying on grain shipments from the rear would never be enough, no matter how much was sent.

Supply lines stretching hundreds of thousands of kilometers—who could sustain that?

Moreover, ranked warriors had astonishing appetites; if the problem couldn't be solved on the spot, no amount of transport could hold out.

Equipping Military Farmers was like equipping the army with batch after batch of mobile granaries!

Combat buffs and the like were secondary; solving the food problem was the key point!

"A Military Farmer only needs to carry a bamboo document case, and as long as the environment permits, a single Military Farmer can feed an entire army."

"But the environment can't always be suitable; Supplies Training is meant to test a Military Farmer's grain output under all kinds of conditions." Zhao Xing pondered. "This Supplies Training is probably going to be an all-around test."

Since Heaven's Timing and Earth's Advantage were mentioned, their influence factors were bound to be significant.

"Within half a month, I must master a Solar Term Command as quickly as possible, and also master the plant version of King Di Zang's Return to Origin from the Dili Sect."

During the 【Unable to Train】 period, Zhao Xing had been continuously contemplating the three great secret manuals; his progress was not slow, but not fast either, after all, his energy was limited.

While the Military Farmer Bureau was announcing the mandatory training contents.

On the Martial side, someone was also making an announcement.

"The second mandatory training course is called 【Environmental Training】!"

"You will be thrown into all sorts of environments—high-temperature zones, miasma zones, freezing regions… In each different environment, you must maintain high-intensity physical training."

"During this process, you must also focus on cultivating the Gluttonous Art."

"Because there will also be accompanying speed-eating training during this period, your food will be provided by the Military Farmers."

"I can tell you plainly: most of the food the Military Farmer Bureau produces this time will be extremely unpalatable, even toxic—but this is precisely the time to train your Gluttonous Art!"

"On the battlefield, the time left for you to eat is very little. Sometimes, to survive, you eat food that is toxic, yet you also recover your stamina and vitality. An army that recovers faster will naturally have a different battle result. Even with some poisoning and after-effects, these can be fully compensated afterward by physicians and pharmacists!"

"Therefore, you must finish the food produced by the Military Farmers within the allotted time. Whoever eats the most, the fastest, and endures the longest—that is the scoring standard for speed-eating training!"

The warriors below instantly turned into bitter-gourd faces.

Training in harsh environments was one thing, but even eating had to be trained?

Although cultivating the Gluttonous Art allowed one to stomach food with some toxins, the process was bound to be agonizing.

"Heaven's cycle of karma, who does it spare?"

"We just spent a month beating up the Military Farmers, and now it's their turn to torment us."

One short warrior's face changed: "Damn, my Gluttonous Art is only at the first layer—I'm not going to be poisoned to death, am I? By the way, does the Military Farmer Bureau's test provide only toxic and indigestible food? Surely there must be some normal stuff?"

"The Martial Commandant made it perfectly clear, and you still don't get it?"

"Only the first layer, brother—you're done for."

"Brother, don't do anything else for this half month—hurry up and cultivate the Gluttonous Art. If you have points, spend them on treasures to boost yourself fast; if you don't have points, borrow some from the brothers in the army. Otherwise… you're going to have a really rough time."

The people around cast sympathetic glances.

The short warrior said with a bitter face: "Our Great Zhou today is no longer like the era of the Grand Ancestor; resources and supplies have gradually grown abundant, and the Gluttonous Art is no longer a required method in the regional armies. Who could have expected… Sigh, what layers are you all at?"

"I'm at the second layer, but my second layer can probably endure a lot more than yours." The tall warrior said, "At the second layer, digestion and detoxification ability are greatly enhanced, and the efficiency of absorbing vitality from food is also significantly improved."

"I'm at the fourth layer—considered top-tier among us reservists. It was also by virtue of this art that I entered Chen Xuan Wu Wu Si." Another bald warrior with prominent cheekbones said.

The rest immediately cast envious glances.

But the bald warrior smiled bitterly: "Don't envy me—do you know how much suffering I went through to reach the fourth layer?"

"The Gluttonous Art is notoriously hard to cultivate. To get into the Tiger Flood Dragon Army, I went into the breakthrough to the fourth layer with the resolve to die."

"I really almost died back then. When our General broke down the door and sent me to the physician, my intestines had rotted through, my teeth had all fallen out, and blood was pouring from my seven orifices…"

"It was because when I was using auxiliary food materials, I slightly miscalculated the dosage of a certain medicinal ingredient, which caused a serious problem in my cultivation."

"Although there were no major issues afterward, and by a twist of fate I broke into the fourth layer, my hair never grew back. There are even a few scars on top—I doubt it can recover unless I reach Rank Six."

The bald warrior recalled the past and couldn't help sighing.

"Damn, brother, you're really hardcore—training until your intestines rotted. I'm convinced you belong in Chen Xuan Wu Si." A bystander gave a thumbs-up in admiration.

"Carrying the Black Tortoise Shield on your back and cultivating the Gluttonous Art within—if you're not invincible, who is?"

"Damn it, I'm—I'm going back to train right now!" The short warrior gritted his teeth and ran off in a hurry.

Xi'er Prefecture, Divine Might Army camp.

In the Marching Hall.

"Whoosh~" Flames rose, and a letter spat out from the fireplace.

A thick, powerful hand picked up the letter, and Long Xiao called inside: "Old Chen, there's a letter."

"Just open it and read it, why are you yelling." Chen Shijie's voice came through.

"Whoa!" Long Xiao opened the secret letter and immediately let out a strange cry. "This kid Zhao Xing is improving fast enough — he's already constructed a Heaven and Earth Spirit Bridge and entered the eighth rank."

"Hm? He's even cultivated three types of sound-wave Wu Ji, and his Kui Niu Thunder Roar has reached the seventh revolution?!"

"He even eliminated the Martial Department's genius Fu Ying once?! Good, good, good, well fought!"

"Let me see." Chen Shijie, hearing Long Xiao's muttering, also came over. After taking the letter, he saw that it contained some content about Zhao Xing's training in April.

However, this letter was not written by Zhao Xing, but by a Captain stationed at the Grotto-Heaven as part of the Divine Might Army's garrison.

"Sound-wave Wu Ji, Kui Niu Thunder Roar? Already at the seventh revolution — where did this kid get so many merit points to cultivate with?" Chen Shijie said. "Even top-grade resources wouldn't be enough to buy that many auxiliary cultivation materials."

Both Kui Niu Thunder Roar and the Gluttony Method require precious materials to assist cultivation; otherwise, practicing blindly would cause serious problems.

"He worships Tian Hou, and Tian Hou is famously rich." Long Xiao said. "You didn't even pay attention to that?"

"Fair point." Chen Shijie suddenly understood. "It seems Tian Hou gave him some assistance."

"You'll have to work harder." Long Xiao said with a smile. "This kid's talent is better than yours — don't let him surpass you after training."

"If he surpasses me, I couldn't be happier." Chen Shijie said with a smile. "Another great general for my lord."

"By the way, Captain Huang said this Zhao Xing wants us to look up a person called 'Mi Fei'." Long Xiao said. "Who is Mi Fei? Do you know him?"

"Mi Fei?" Chen Shijie frowned, then carefully looked at the letter again. "Don't know him. It doesn't even say where he's from or what his official position is — how are we supposed to find him?"

"Didn't he say this Mi Fei is skilled in the Condensation Hua Method? He learned of such a person when buying spell manuals."

"That's still like fishing for a needle in the ocean. We'll just keep an eye out for him."

Fuchun Garden. On the very day Zhao Xing finished his first mandatory training, he came to Tian Shan's Fuchun Garden.

"Your performance last month was excellent. Whether it was the Agricultural Bureau or the Martial Department, many people had nothing but praise for you."

"I'm also very satisfied with your performance. I didn't expect you to improve so much in such a short time. With only five pills total of the Hundred Beast Throat Pill and the Earth Sha Lung-Forging Pill, you actually trained Kui Niu Thunder Roar to the seventh-revolution level."

Tian Shan smiled and, which was rare, gave Zhao Xing a round of praise.

Although Tian Shan was kind and generous by nature, he was also very strict with his disciples. Over this past month, Zhao Xing had come for guidance from time to time.

He rarely heard praise from Tian Shan's mouth. For him to speak this way now proved that Tian Shan was truly very satisfied.

【Unable to Train】 In one month, Zhao Xing had trained his sound-wave Wu Ji to a high level, caught the eye of a high-ranking figure, and been mentioned by others many times.

As Zhao Xing's teacher, Tian Shan naturally felt it brought him honor.

"Teacher, you flatter me. I actually spent quite a lot of merit points and relied on external aids to train Kui Niu Thunder Roar to the seventh revolution." Zhao Xing said humbly.

"I know." Tian Shan nodded. "You spent merit points — does that mean others don't? Top-grade resources are about the same. I gave you a meeting gift; other people's teachers will give them too."

"But you chose to train Kui Niu Thunder Roar, which proves you're not afraid of hardship and your comprehension is high."

Zhao Xing listened quietly.

"Good performance is good performance — no need for excessive self-deprecation." Tian Hou said. "For the next 【Supply Training】, are you confident you can hold onto a spot in the top twenty-one?"

"Barely confident." Zhao Xing said.

He didn't know exactly what situation he'd encounter this time, and didn't dare to make guarantees.

Heaven's Timing and Earth's Advantage were completely random. He hadn't yet mastered the Solar Terms Command, and his King Di Zang Method still lacked techniques for plant cultivation.

Among the twenty-one top-grade geniuses, he was the youngest, with no field experience and not much time to learn the Three Great Secret Classics.

"Don't force yourself. I'll give you another 30,000 merit points' worth of things." Tian Shan said with a smile.

"Teacher, wouldn't this…" Zhao Xing was somewhat surprised. He didn't know whether Tian Shan doing this was good or bad for him — wouldn't people talk?

"Your situation is rather special." Tian Shan said. "I've discussed this with several my lords from the Earth Advantage Court, and also sought out Fan Zhaoli to apply for a special approval for you."

"You had just been promoted from clerk when you were selected and transferred. Even with a weak foundation, you still passed the fourth trial."

"Ge Jinsong and Cheng Qingming of the Heaven's Timing Court were blind, but my eyes aren't blind."

"Giving you another 30,000 merit points in support is nothing."

Zhao Xing heard this and immediately gave thanks: "Thank you, Teacher, for your cultivation."

Tian Shan said: "It's also because you maintained top-grade performance that I give you these extra aids. Otherwise, I'd have a hard time explaining it to those above."

"Remember, you must maintain a place in the top twenty-one among the more than ten thousand reserves."

"You cannot slack off. There are many people behind you eyeing those top twenty-one slots, all wanting to push you down."

"If you fall, not only will your treatment be reduced, but it'll also be very difficult for me to look after you privately in the future."

"Your student understands." Zhao Xing nodded.

"Go, and prepare well for the Supply Training."

"Yes, your student takes his leave."

June 7th, Eighteen Locust and Willow Court.

"Clop-clop-clop~"

Gao Ming rode a bamboo horse galloping over.

"Ah!"

Gao Ming shouted "ah" once, then rode off into the distance.

Zhao Xing heard the sound, opened the courtyard gate, and walked out.

He only saw the dust kicked up by the bamboo horse.

"This Gao Ming is getting lazier and lazier." Zhao Xing muttered.

At first, when Gao Ming delivered goods to the door, he'd still call out: 'Zhao Xing, your goods are here, I'm leaving them at the door!'

Gradually it became:

'Goods are here, at the door.'

'At the door.'

Until today, only 'ah' was left.

"He's not afraid of getting bad reviews either — oh, I forgot, there are no bad reviews here."

Zhao Xing picked up the box and walked right in.

This wasn't something he had bought; it was bought for him by Tian Shan.

Treasures worth 30,000 points, earmarked specifically for one purpose—to shore up Zhao Xing's weak spots.

The first type of treasure, what Tian Shan bought was a Heaven-Timing category treasure—【Gang Wind Stone】

A mineral excavated from the Gang Wind Mountain Range of the Ten Sun Grotto-Heaven.

Zhao Xing's Yang Wind method had always been his weak point; among the four Heaven-Timing methods, his Lesser Nine Heavens Gang Wind was only at three revolutions.

"Yin Wind and Yang Wind, Yin Thunder and Yang Thunder—the mastery of the Solar Terms Command involves the convergence of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang. To master the Solar Terms Command, I need to be proficient in all four methods."

For the fourth-rank Gang Wind Stones, Tian Shan bought 8 of them; they were relatively cheap, just 2,000 points each.

"Besides cloud qi, which has no Yin-Yang distinction, rain methods also have one."

"My Ice Rain freezes water into ice on contact, causing a person's qi and blood to frost over—that counts as a Yin-attribute rain method."

Rainwater nourishes all things, but Zhao Xing's Ice Rain was geared toward killing. He now had too many offensive methods, and auxiliary ones were actually lacking.

"However, I have quite a talent for the Water Element Dao. Just last month, I comprehended an intermediate 【Fine Rain】 method from the Rain Water Diagram. Although I never had time to practice it, I casually practiced and already reached intermediate six revolutions."

"Combined with the second gift the teacher gave, worth 10,000 points, it should help me achieve a breakthrough."

The second treasure Tian Shan sent was also related to rain methods, named 'Spirit of Spring Rain'. It was a fourth-rank supreme-grade, preserved in a crystal box.

The third treasure was a fourth-rank upper-grade Dao-Dissemination painting, also a plant-version of 【King Di Zang's Return to the Origin】. Worth 4,000 points.

With these three treasures, Zhao Xing's progress on his arts advanced very quickly.

On June 8th, the 【King Di Zang's Return to the Origin · Plant】 art reached seven revolutions.

The plant version and the Human Dao version of King Di Zang's Return to the Origin shared a common understanding in the part concerning the use of earth veins.

Zhao Xing also had the foundation of the beginner 【Earth Vein Comprehensive Origin】. Combined with the Dao-Dissemination painting, the moment he grasped it, he reached the seven-revolutions realm.

The Eighth Rank Realm mainly broadened the scope of one's arts; for arts of the same category, mastering one essentially meant mastering them all.

With treasures to assist, learning them came naturally easy.

On June 9th, Zhao Xing used the 'Spirit of Spring Rain'. A gentle, drizzling rain descended from above, a Yang Rain washing over Zhao Xing, lasting a full twelve hours.

It allowed Zhao Xing to experience the wonders of the Yang Rain method with his whole body and mind.

The 【Fine Rain】 method also broke through from six revolutions to nine revolutions.

Starting from June 10th, Zhao Xing made a detailed plan for his cultivation.

"Starting today, combined with the Gang Wind Stones, I will practice the 《Lesser Nine Heavens Gang Wind》 method for one hour every day."

"One hour of 【King Di Zang's Return to the Origin】"

"Two hours of 【Wasteland Condensing Essence Art】."

"For four hours, I will go to the Heaven-Timing Institute to contemplate the Solar Terms Stele."

"The remaining two hours will be used to practice the rest of my arts."

Ten hours for cultivation.

The remaining two hours—one hour to review and sort out the problems encountered during cultivation. If he had cultivated but the panel progress didn't increase, Zhao Xing could easily sense that the cultivation direction was wrong.

Therefore, post-practice review and summarization were also very important.

As for rest? Combined with the 【Sleep Bug】 art, one hour was barely enough.

Immersed in cultivation, time passed very quickly.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by.

June 22nd, Mao hour.

Boom!

The familiar sound of drumbeats rang out.

Zhao Xing jolted awake from his dream.

The second mandatory training course had begun.

However, this time there was no need to rush; they were to assemble directly at the Earth Advantage Institute.

Fifty Flowing Cloud Flying Boats were parked in the square of the Earth Advantage Institute.

The cabin of each flying boat seemed to already be filled with people.

Zhao Xing used his Five Elements Observation to sense them; the people on board all had vigorous qi and blood, clearly the martial artists from each group.

"The fifty people in the Earth Advantage Institute will randomly pick a flying boat. Once chosen, you will head to the training location," Fan Zhaoli said. "Board the ships quickly!"

Zhao Xing casually leapt onto a flying boat numbered 1, then entered the cabin.

"Hmm?"

The moment he entered, Zhao Xing saw the ten martial artists inside the cabin.

Among them were a few faces he recognized.

"Chen Fang, Hu Bing, Zhang Jie... hmm?"

His gaze fell on the last person's face—a handsome countenance, slightly upturned brow corners revealing confidence and composure, with deep, profound eyes.

This person was someone Zhao Xing knew all too well—it was Xia Jing, who had knocked him down multiple times during the last mandatory training.

"Brother Xia, it's you." Zhao Xing grinned, revealing a smile.

"Indeed, it's me." Seeing the Agronomist of his own group, Xia Jing couldn't help but give a wry smile.

There is still a third update, before one o'clock.