Chapter 77: The Mystery of 'Free Choice

From afar, Xu Jin saw the back of a tall, large, and mighty man, who was also a bit dark-skinned.

Upon walking closer, he became even more certain that this was Zheng Jiaoxi of the Dao Academy, that chatterbox and big-mouth.

"Zheng Jiaoxi, I've come to hand in my harvest."

Zheng Jiaoxi, who was organizing the harvest, turned around like a whirlwind. Seeing so many disciples following behind Xu Jin, his expression froze slightly, and then he laughed as he looked at Xu Jin. "It's you, Xu Jin. You haven't forgotten to dig for star cores again these past two days, have you?"

Xu Jin: "..."

This Zheng Jiaoxi really knew how to touch a sore spot. Although Xu Jin knew he meant well, with so many people around...

"Zheng Jiaoxi, what do you mean by Xu Jin forgetting to dig for star cores?" a disciple asked curiously immediately.

"Xu Jin here killed a Third Tier star beast, a green snake, but forgot to dig out the star core. This silly kid, 1,500 taels just thrown away like that. You all must not make the same mistake!" Zheng Jiaoxi laughed.

Xu Jin covered his forehead with his hand.

The Dao Academy disciples looked at Xu Jin with extremely stunned gazes.

The matter of forgetting to dig for a star core was funny, but behind the humor, it was terrifying.

Xu Jin, a freshman Star-Pointing Season disciple at the Meal of Mist Fifth Layer, already had the ability to slay a Third Tier star beast across realms?

The Meal of Mist Realm is the First Tier, Forge Star is the Second Tier, Refine Star Realm is the Third Tier, and Condense Star Realm is the Fourth Tier.

Although it is said that the Forge Star Realm is just a transitional realm, it is, after all, a major realm.

It is not uncommon for elite disciples of the Meal of Mist Realm to challenge those of the Forge Star Realm across realms, but slaying a Third Tier star beast across realms is very, very rare.

Everyone subconsciously looked at First Senior Brother Wang Weisheng.

The meaning was clear: they were wondering if the First Senior Brother had such a combat record.

"You all forgot, during the April mountain harvest, First Senior Brother slew a Third Tier low-grade violent bear." A supporter of Wang Weisheng immediately reminded everyone, and after finishing, he didn't forget to add, "First Senior Brother did that entirely relying on his own strength."

The implication was that Xu Jin's ability to slay a Third Tier star beast was most likely due to external forces.

Xu Jin did not argue; there was nothing to argue about regarding such matters.

The more he argued, the more he would expose.

So what if he used an emblem?

Using an emblem is not shameful.

The premise is that you have to have one.

"Zheng Jiaoxi, please count it," Xu Jin hurriedly handed over his large backpack, interrupting everyone's attention.

Otherwise, just this current situation alone could make him vaguely stand in opposition to the First Senior Brother.

He was not afraid of Wang Weisheng, but he also didn't want to waste time on these meaningless things.

"Good."

Zheng Jiaoxi took it and exclaimed repeatedly.

"Good kid, you even picked a Two-Star purple earth gall. Impressive, impressive."

"1,600 taels, this is snake gall grass, One-Star, not bad, not bad..."

"Star-shattering mushrooms, so many One-Star ones, impressive."

Zheng Jiaoxi praised while counting, making Xu Jin feel a bit depressed; he just wanted to make a fortune in silence.

Fortunately, Zheng Jiaoxi counted very quickly.

"Xu Jin, the total harvest you handed in this time is 4,864 taels." Zheng Jiaoxi finally calculated a number and said to Xu Jin, "Do you have any objections?"

"None."

Once this number came out, all the senior and junior brothers who had gathered around breathed a sigh of relief.

That's good, that's good.

This Xu Jin, his reputation just sounds scary; as for slaying Third Tier star beasts, in terms of specific harvest quantity, he's not that great.

He's only a bit better than Lu Xianbing and Yue Daqi, ranking about 60th; he didn't even enter the top 50.

Others such as Lu Xianbing, Luo Geng, Yu Guan, and others were also a bit disappointed. They had originally hoped Xu Jin would win some face for them, but didn't expect...

"Hmm, counting the 3,700 taels of harvest you handed in the day before yesterday at noon, the total is 8,564 taels." After calculating for a while, Zheng Jiaoxi said slowly.

"Hmm?" All the disciples' eyes widened suddenly. He had already handed in a harvest once before.

"My god, am I too unlucky? I was just squeezed out of the top ten!" A Dao Academy disciple immediately wailed.

He was originally in tenth place, but once Xu Jin's harvest volume came out, he was immediately squeezed out of the top ten.

The difference in rewards between tenth place and those after tenth place is quite large.

Lu Xianbing, Luo Geng, Yu Guan, and others cheered, and Qian Xiaohu and others seized the opportunity to shout, "Senior Brother Xu is impressive!"

This made many senior brothers from previous years a bit unhappy, but the harvest volume was right there.

"By the way, I have a small bag."

Just as everyone was surprised, Xu Jin suddenly took out a small bag from his waist and handed it over. "Zheng Jiaoxi, this is rooster-comb branch, it's fragile, so I packed it separately!"

Zheng Jiaoxi, who took the package and opened it, suddenly widened his ox-like eyes. "Oh my, rooster-comb branch, sixty-two stalks!

There are twenty-eight One-Star ones, and... twelve Two-Star ones!

Xu Jin, did you discover some peerless treasure land?"

A bag of rooster-comb branch, even Zheng Jiaoxi was shocked, and the disciples were even more stunned.

One-Star ones are fine to talk about, but there are actually twelve Two-Star ones.

Generally speaking, no matter what kind of medicinal herb or rare treasure, above Two-Star, being able to find one or two stalks is good luck, but finding twelve at once, that is simply...

While others were exclaiming, some senior brothers were already wailing while calculating.

Because their rankings were pushed down by Xu Jin.

"Uh, Zheng Jiaoxi, I just had a bit of good luck..." Xu Jin said.

"This... I've become fourth."

"I've become third again."

Zhang Ming and Yu Xianghua smiled bitterly at the same time.

For the past half year, the two of them had been dominating the third and fourth spots. In this July mountain harvest, Zhang Han, who had originally been dominating second place, had exited early due to heavy injuries, so they were promoted.

One was promoted to second, one was promoted to third.

Just moments ago, they were still accepting congratulations from their senior and junior brothers.

Especially Zhang Ming, who had risen to third, was now squeezed to fourth place by Xu Jin. The difference in rewards between third and fourth place is quite large.

"The rooster-comb branch totals 2,410 taels in harvest. Xu Jin's cumulative harvest for this mountain harvest is—10,974 taels." Zheng Jiaoxi calculated carefully for a while before giving the final number.

The final number made First Senior Brother Wang Weisheng breathe a sigh of relief secretly.

Fortunately, he wasn't surpassed.

His first-place harvest was stabilized.

He was still the absolute First Senior Brother.

And, he was leading by quite a bit.

Wang Weisheng's harvest for the July mountain harvest also set a record, reaching 11,763 taels, leading Xu Jin by over 700 taels.

Over an hour later, all the disciples had arrived. After a full meal, the disciples left the Outer Academy and returned to the Dao Academy in a grand procession.

On the way, Xu Jin learned another piece of news.

During this mountain harvest, three disciples were killed by Blood God Sect demons, one disciple went missing, and eleven disciples were heavily injured.

It was the most disastrous loss since the mountain harvest began this year.

Especially those who died or went missing, all were elite disciples at the Meal of Mist Sixth or Seventh Layer.

Most of them met with trouble within the safety margins of the map provided by the Dao Academy.

On the way, after a brief moment of solemnity, most of the disciples returned laughing and talking.

Death, sometimes, is only sorrowful for oneself and one's closest kin.

For others, it is just a code name, or perhaps just a number.

"Hey, Brother Jin, you were just a little bit away from taking first place in the harvest this time." On the way, Lu Xianbing, who had come over, said with a hint of regret.

"First or second, it doesn't really matter," Xu Jin said openly.

Hearing this, Lu Xianbing's eyes widened. "No, Brother Jin, do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know?"

"What do you mean by really not know or pretending not to know?" Xu Jin was a bit puzzled.

"The difference in rewards between first and second place in the harvest," Lu Xianbing said.

"I know, it's a difference of ten strands of star light and 1,000 taels of silver, which is quite a lot, but there's no need to take it too much to heart," Xu Jin said.

Lu Xianbing was speechless. "Brother Jin, it seems you really don't know."

"Hmm?"

"Brother Jin, the biggest difference in rewards between first and second place in the harvest is actually the four words 'Free Choice of Star Equipment.' That is the key point."

"Hmm, Free Choice of Star Equipment?"

Xu Jin suddenly realized something. "Free Choice of Star Equipment, what does that mean? The rank should be fixed; do you mean the type?"

"Exactly!"

Lu Xianbing slapped his thigh hard. "Brother Jin, a piece of First Tier weapon-type star equipment, except for spears which are a bit expensive, most others are around 2,000 taels."

"But do you know how expensive a piece of armor-type, footwear-type, or bracer-type star equipment is?"

Suddenly, Xu Jin understood what Lu Xianbing meant.

"First Tier bracer-type star equipment is 4,000 taels a pair, footwear-type star equipment has a market price of about 5,000 to 6,000 taels, and armor-type star equipment has a market price ranging from 8,000 to 20,000 taels."

"The key is, you usually can't buy them; they are extremely sought after, and their damage rate is higher than weapons, so they don't circulate on the market at all!"

"The External Affairs Hall doesn't sell them either!"

Xu Jin had completely understood.

He had originally thought the difference between first and second place in the harvest was only ten strands of star light, and it seemed the difference in rewards wasn't that big.

But hearing Lu Xianbing say this, he completely understood; the difference lay in the two words "Free Choice."

If one chose armor-type, the value started at 8,000 taels!

No wonder!

If calculated this way, the value of the first-place harvest was truly high.

Suddenly, Xu Jin thought of a question: this first-place harvest had been dominated by Wang Weisheng for seven months, so this guy's wealth was likely not just ordinarily abundant.

"Next time, I can only try harder next time!"

Xu Jin could only sigh helplessly.

He hadn't hidden anything in his hands, and even the herbs nurtured in the star lamp were all taken out, yet he still hadn't surpassed him.

"Exactly, try harder next time. Next month, I'll have experience too, and my strength will be even stronger. Next month, I must rush into the top ten!" Lu Xianbing said excitedly!

Over an hour later, the large group returned to the Jinshan Dao Academy.

After returning to the Jinshan Dao Academy, except for those heavily injured, all other disciples were to gather at the Martial Arts Hall.

The efficiency of the Jinshan Dao Academy was extremely high; they didn't drag their feet at all.

The harvest rankings would be announced that very day, and rewards would be issued simultaneously.

Inside the Martial Arts Hall, below the platform, over three hundred disciples stood in rows.

On the platform, Vice Mountain Master Feng Shu, Supervisor Cao Chun, Commandant Tian Zhang, and Chief Zheng Jiaoxi Ning Yuchan were all waiting quietly.

For such matters of issuing rewards and encouraging disciples, Mountain Master Dong Zhao always did it personally and never let others do it for him.

A hundred breaths later, Mountain Master Dong Zhao stepped on star light from afar, floating like an immortal!

"Everyone, you've worked hard!" Mountain Master Dong Zhao greeted with a bow.

"For the Dao Academy, it is not hard work!"

Subsequently, Mountain Master Dong Zhao took out his own Star-Plucking Token. With a thought and a wave of his hand, in an instant, a light and shadow projection was cast onto the left side of the Martial Arts Hall.

July Harvest First Place: Xu Jin!

The moment this first line of text appeared, the disciples below the Martial Arts Hall platform erupted in an instant!

Correcting a mistake: the green snake slain earlier, according to its rank, should be Third Tier low-grade, not Second Tier low-grade.

It was an oversight; the preceding and following text have been corrected. I ask all the bosses to forgive me!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 78 =====