Chapter 42

Inside the cool little courtyard.

Swish swish swish swish!

Qin Ming gripped the Brother Hei Feng Dao and practiced the Bloodburning Dao Art over and over again.

But he hadn't expected the Bloodburning Dao Art to be so unusually difficult to master.

Qin Ming trained continuously for half a month without pause, yet he hadn't even grasped the barest outline of the first posture.

This dao art demanded not only precision, accuracy, and ferocity in power delivery, but also exact control over blood and qi energy.

Otherwise, the flame blade aura could not be triggered, and its power would be drastically diminished.

Previously, Qin Ming had relied solely on brute force, which was inefficient.

Now, he needed to adjust this state.

Thump thump thump! As Qin Ming trained, a knock came at the courtyard gate.

He quickly sheathed the Brother Hei Feng Dao and peered out through the keyhole.

"Again him?" Qin Ming frowned upon seeing the visitor.

The visitor was none other than Chen Ziang.

Half a month ago, Qin Ming had clashed with his master Jiang Kun, and the parting had been unpleasant.

Why had this fellow come back so soon?

After a moment's hesitation, Qin Ming still opened the door.

"Chen Daoist, what do you want?"

Chen Ziang's face lit up the moment he saw Qin Ming appear.

He cautiously glanced left and right before speaking.

"Qin Daoist, may I come in and speak with you?"

Qin Ming's brow twitched slightly—he couldn't fathom what the other was up to.

Still, he stepped aside. "Please, come in."

Chen Ziang entered the courtyard, looked around, and sighed, "Qin Daoist, your courtyard is truly unique!"

"Chen Daoist, you flatter me—how could it compare to the buildings of Lingyu Gate's headquarters? Please, come in for some tea," Qin Ming replied humbly.

Chen Ziang shook his head and lowered his voice. "No tea, thank you."

"Qin Daoist, I have a secret to tell you."

"But first, let me explain something."

"A few days ago, Brother Jiang spoke to you rather harshly, but don't take it to heart—he's just like that, blunt and straightforward, sometimes even scolding me, hehe."

Qin Ming: "."

This sounded oddly familiar—he thought he'd heard Jiang Kun say the exact same thing before.

"Never mind that," Chen Ziang continued.

"Qin Daoist, listen closely to what I'm about to say—this might be a tremendous opportunity for you!"

Hearing this, Qin Ming's heart stirred with suspicion.

'A tremendous opportunity? Is this fellow really that generous?'

Chen Ziang cleared his throat and went on: "In half a month, our sect's second-rank superior herbalist, Elder Zhuang Xiran, will give a public lecture on herbalism at headquarters—and he's very likely to select a final disciple."

"The number of spots is limited, and very few know about it."

"After much effort, I finally obtained one of the entry tokens."

"I wish to gift it to you as a gesture of apology—it will greatly aid your advancement to second-rank herbalist, and if Elder Zhuang takes notice of you, you could truly soar!"

As he spoke, Chen Ziang pulled a jade token from his storage pouch. Carved on it was the seal character "庄," radiating a distinct magic power signature—it was clearly genuine.

He then forced a smile and extended the jade token toward Qin Ming.

Qin Ming did not reach out to take it.

He understood the saying: no good deed comes without ulterior motives.

"What bad timing—this month, the spirit fields on the mountain have entered peak farming season, and I simply can't spare the time."

"I deeply appreciate your kindness, Chen Daoist, but perhaps you should give it to someone else?"

As he spoke, Qin Ming bowed apologetically.

Chen Ziang had just poured out a flood of words, looking utterly confident of success.

Yet Qin Ming rejected him outright without hesitation, leaving him instantly speechless.

'This is a lecture by a second-rank superior herbalist!'

'Does this kid have a mental defect? Or did I not explain clearly enough?'

'He just refused it outright?'

Chen Ziang forced a nervous laugh, then suddenly asked: "Could it be… you have no intention of advancing to second-rank herbalist?"

"I heard you're already cultivating superior and top-grade spirit plants for Master Su Dan this year."

"If you succeed, the next step should be entering the threshold of second-rank herbalist."

"What does that have to do with advancing to second-rank herbalist?" Qin Ming blinked, puzzled.

Chen Ziang looked astonished. "Huh? You don't know the requirements for advancing to second-rank herbalist?"

"Er… I didn't know. I planned to ask the Duty Hall these days, but I haven't gone yet," Qin Ming answered frankly, without shame.

Chen Ziang suddenly understood. He smiled. "Ah, that explains it!"

"You don't need to go to the Duty Hall—I'll tell you."

"Advancing to second-rank herbalist differs slightly from advancing to first-rank."

"It requires satisfying three conditions simultaneously."

"First, naturally, it requires successfully cultivating any one type of second-tier spirit plant."

"Second, it requires a recommendation from any second-tier spirit planter, because this relates to the third condition."

"Third, enter the plant illusion realm within the Spirit Feather Sect and complete the trial assessment."

"The nomination slots for this trial are naturally held in the hands of each of the second-tier spirit planter elders."

"Each elder may simultaneously recommend three spirit planters to enter the plant illusion realm."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, don't miss this opportunity! It's rare for an elder to publicly give lessons and take disciples."

Chen Ziang finished speaking.

This time it was Qin Ming's turn to be astonished.

He hadn't expected that the requirements to advance to a second-tier spirit planter would be so troublesome—not only requiring a recommendation from a second-tier spirit planter, but also needing to participate in some plant illusion realm trial.

What a pain.

Qin Ming pulled himself out of his thoughts and still said to Chen Ziang: "Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Chen, for telling me. However, I'm presently shallow and unlearned, and this year I don't even know if I can break through to high-grade spirit planter. Second-tier spirit planter is far too distant for me—I'll set it aside for now."

"..." Hearing this, Chen Ziang's expression turned somewhat unsightly. He had nearly exhausted his kind words, only to have the other party shut him down with a single sentence.

He was already seething inside, but upon recalling his plan, he still said with a forced smile: "Since that's the case, then I won't disturb Fellow Daoist Qin any longer."

"I'll hold onto this slot for now. If Fellow Daoist Qin ever needs it, feel free to come find me at the Mingzhen Tower to collect it."

"Then I'll take my leave first."

Qin Ming wore a smile on his face. "Fellow Daoist Chen, I won't see you off."

The conversation ended.

Chen Ziang left the Clear Cool Small Lodge.

On the market street.

After walking some distance, Chen Ziang lost his composure and cursed outright: "Damn this brat! I've been staking him out for days on end, and he's just holed up in his room every day with the door shut, not coming out. I have no idea what he's doing in there—I'm really done with it!"

"I finally came up with a brilliant scheme to lure him out of the market, and damn it, he didn't react at all."

"Sigh, this is really pissing me off!"

"Senior Brother Jiang still wants me to do it without a trace..."

"Why doesn't he come try it himself?"

(End of this chapter)