The female disciple stood beside Wang Ze, watching the receding figure.

“How many is this now? People coming to borrow Spirit Stones or Spirit Rice?”

“Junior Brother Jiang came to buy seeds from me.”

“That’s not so bad then. Too many people have been coming to borrow things lately!”

“This is just the beginning. There are still two years until the Formal Disciple Competition!”

“Heavens—this kind of life has to go on for two more years?”

The day of the appointment with Tie Zhu arrived.

The winter snow had already melted, and the temperature was gradually rising. Spring was on the verge of arrival, and all living things were reviving.

The little yellow dog ran wildly along the ridges of the fields.

A slightly chilly wind blew against Jiang Chen’s face, causing his hair to sway back and forth across his forehead. Yet, his gaze remained fixed on the newly sprouted weeds at his feet.

As the saying goes, the duck knows first when the river becomes warm in spring. But here, these weeds were the fastest “prophets” to announce the season’s arrival.

“Woof! Woof!” The little yellow dog barked twice, its voice sounding quite sharp.

“Huh—Senior Brother Jiang, since when do you have a dog?” Tie Zhu’s voice followed soon after.

Jiang Chen raised his head, looked toward the source of the voice, and smiled. “I’ve had him since the New Year; you just didn’t see him.”

Tie Zhu scratched his head. “With this little guy baring his teeth like that, he won’t bite me, will he?”

Jiang Chen felt both amused and exasperated. “You’re an Earth Spirit Root disciple, ranked number one in defense, and you’re afraid of a dog bite?”

Jiang Chen pointed at the Tier-2 Spirit Farm ahead. “It’s frozen quite solid. I wonder if you can handle it all at once.”

“Senior Brother Jiang is looking down on me a bit. This Junior Brother is a formal disciple, after all.” Tie Zhu’s expression changed upon hearing this, showing some displeasure.

But Jiang Chen said seriously, “I only care about yield.”

Every planting cycle followed almost the same steps. Yet, each step related directly to the final yield, so they couldn’t be taken lightly. If Tie Zhu didn’t charge only fifty jin of Tier-2 Spirit Rice per season, he would have been replaced long ago.

“I’ll do my absolute best. I won’t let Senior Brother down.” Tie Zhu gritted his teeth in assurance.

Tie Zhu nimbly took off his shoes, then stepped onto the frozen black soil. Feeling the cold energy emanating from below, he frowned. “This Tier-2 Spirit Farm really is different from a Tier-1 one.”

Tie Zhu took a deep breath, then activated the Earth Pull technique.

His body seemed to open a valve, and earth energy instantly surged in. But this time was different; it carried an extreme coldness within it.

As the ground continuously trembled, it was as if earth dragons were burrowing through the soil. The originally frozen-hard black soil first cracked open, then violently flipped over, revealing the softer earth underneath.

As time passed, more than half of the Spirit Farm had been loosened.

However, strangely, Tie Zhu’s complexion grew increasingly off. Normally, after operating Earth Pull for a while, his skin would turn earthen yellow. But this time it was extremely mottled, with patches of white spots of varying sizes appearing.

Realizing something was wrong, Jiang Chen asked with concern, “Are you alright?”

“I… feel… so cold!” Tie Zhu couldn’t stop shivering all over.

Jiang Chen quickly waved his hand. “Stop and rest first.”

Hearing this, Tie Zhu didn’t stubbornly persist and immediately climbed onto the field ridge. Only after stopping the Earth Pull technique did his physical condition ease up.

Even so, his complexion remained terrible. His body continuously emitted faint waves of coldness.

“Has your cultivation technique not reached the second layer?” Jiang Chen guessed.

Tie Zhu froze for several seconds before asking in shock, “How did Senior Brother know?”

Seeing his reaction, Jiang Chen understood immediately. “Because cultivation techniques are very important. Each layer has different, even better effects.”

Take himself as an example. Different levels of the Evergreen Art had different effects. Upon reaching the fifth layer, he could definitely grow Top-quality Spirit Rice. If that was the case, then the other party’s cultivation technique logic should be the same.

Tie Zhu took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Once I reach mid-stage Qi Condensation, I can delve into the Earth Vein again. By then, using earth energy to temper myself will definitely allow me to advance my Earth Pull technique to the second layer.”

This was also why he so urgently needed Spirit Rice.

Seeing Jiang Chen’s expression, Tie Zhu explained, “We Earth Spirit Root disciples need to delve into the Earth Vein again and again to improve our strength, seeking deeper earth energy to temper our bodies.”

Jiang Chen said in surprise, “So your body becomes a container.”

A look of envy flashed in Tie Zhu’s eyes. “It’s different from you Wood Spirit Root disciples. For us Earth Spirit Root disciples to become core disciples, there are only two and a half methods.”

“First: Those with low comprehension switch to body cultivation and absorb a wisp of Yellow Qi with their bodies.”

“Second: Those with high comprehension switch to formation masters and continuously elevate their spiritual power.”

“What about the remaining half method?” Jiang Chen was very curious.

“The Formal Disciple Competition,” Tie Zhu replied.

Hearing this answer made Jiang Chen’s mouth twitch several times.

The entire Cloud Sea Sect had over ten thousand disciples. And formal disciples participating in the Formal Disciple Competition were as numerous as schools of fish crossing a river. Wanting to stand out among them was more than just difficult.

“My comprehension is low; I can only use the clumsiest method.” Tie Zhu’s face was full of helplessness.

Jiang Chen reached out and patted his shoulder in comfort. “With your hard work, you’ll definitely succeed.”

Tie Zhu said wistfully, “Who knows when I’ll be able to absorb a wisp of Yellow Qi.”

Jiang Chen asked curiously, “I’ve only heard of Profound Yellow Qi. What is this Yellow Qi?”

Tie Zhu thought for a moment before saying somewhat uncertainly, “They say it’s a higher-level earth energy. It’s not invisible; it’s a yellow mist floating within the Black Mines. A single wisp of Yellow Qi weighs ten thousand jin and is one of the high-grade materials for forging spirit tools and magic artifacts.”

Jiang Chen understood.

Since they had nothing else to do anyway, they chatted about many things. Through this, Jiang Chen learned that Tie Zhu had a tragic childhood.

His family background was originally decent—not wealthy but comfortably off. But because his father offended some petty people, their whole family was framed. His father died humiliated; his mother hanged herself in grief and anger. He escaped with his life by crawling through a dog hole.

From then on, he wandered everywhere.

Several years later, while sheltering from the rain in a ruined temple, he met an old Daoist priest. Seeing that Tie Zhu had a talent for cultivation, that person recommended him for entry into a sect.

Who would have thought it would be the Grandmaster Cloud Sea Sect?

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but sigh. “Such is fate.”

Tie Zhu said apologetically, “Senior Brother Jiang, this time it was my problem. Sorry.”

Jiang Chen chuckled lightly. “Not at all. Wasn’t most of it taken care of?”

Tie Zhu could still feel the intense cold emanating from his body. “But I can’t help for now.”

Jiang Chen took out his daily-use spirit tool hoe from his small storage pouch. “You just rest. I happen to want to test how effective this newly bought hoe is.”

Tie Zhu’s eyes instantly moistened. “Senior Brother Jiang, I…”

Before he could finish his words, only choked sobs remained.

He had selfishly thought Senior Brother Jiang was a very pragmatic, transactional person. But after this exchange, he realized:

He had both overestimated himself and underestimated others.