17: Campus upheaval
Time was of the essence.
In the time that followed, Professor Liu Quan did not assign any planting tasks to Zhang Sheng.
"Zhang Sheng, letting you join my research team was the best choice I ever made. You must work hard when you get to Capital!"
"Thank you, Professor!" Zhang Sheng bowed deeply.
Although he possessed the SSS-level Talent "Once Certified, Forever Certified", he wouldn't have been able to come into contact with these things at all if not for Professor Liu.
Even less would he have had the chance to enter the First Cultivation University.
In today's society, which was undergoing rapid changes every day, whether one could stay at the forefront could even determine their very survival.
Professor Liu Quan took out a metal square box similar to the last one, only slightly larger.
"This is a reward from the school, 200 essence food pills. Keep them safe!"
"Thank you, school."
"A portion of the gold spirit rice was sent to be refined into essence food pills, but they haven't been produced yet. There aren't many essence food pills left in the school's warehouse, so keep these safe."
"Time is life. Focus on your Cultivation over the next two days. The day after tomorrow, on the 16th, a bus will take you to the high-speed rail station, and a special escort will accompany you to Capital."
So essence food pills were refined from gold spirit rice; Zhang Sheng only just learned this.
Zhang Sheng was quite happy to receive these 200 essence food pills; they would be enough to last him until he went to Capital.
He would be leaving Huaxia Agricultural University, where he had stayed for three years, in three days. Thinking of this, Zhang Sheng felt a bit reluctant.
Not in a hurry to Cultivate, Zhang Sheng walked out of the comprehensive experimental building, deciding to take a good look around the school.
He couldn't help but marvel at how much the school had changed.
Along the way, students were all focused on practicing Cultivation Techniques and casting Spells.
People were coming and going, and it was extraordinarily lively!
Zhang Sheng could see that they were mostly practicing "Primordial Chaos Qi Refining", and the Spells they cast were mainly things like the "Spring Breeze Turning into Rain Technique" and "Thick Earth Art".
Many students had been distributed gold spirit rice seeds, though only a few grains each.
A portion of the school's perimeter wall had been torn down. The experimental bases within the school weren't enough; Zhang Sheng only found out after hearing other students' discussions.
It turned out that all the farmland near the school had been requisitioned by the university.
From the looks of it, Huaxia Agricultural University would likely be completely dedicated to spirit plant cultivation in the future.
Students were gathered in small groups.
In some experimental fields, Zhang Sheng saw other types of spirit plants.
"wood spirit potato"
"spirit harmony grass"
"red-leafed ball flower tree"
Various types of spirit plants were marked on the signs.
These were all sent from the Secret Realm for cultivation.
Everyone was full of passion; despite the hustle and bustle, the students' eyes were filled with hope.
"A-Sheng!"
From afar, Zhang Sheng heard the loud voice of Sun Jie.
Zhang Sheng turned his head and saw the two familiar faces; Li Bin was also there.
Although Zhang Sheng had gone back to sleep these past few nights, he wouldn't return to the dormitory until nearly two in the morning when his roommates were already asleep. He would then head to the lab early the next morning, so they hadn't had much communication.
"Zhang Sheng, why do you have the leisure to wander around today!" said Li Bin.
Before the arrival of the Secret Realm, Li Bin always looked like he had a kidney deficiency. Now, not only was he brimming with energy, but he had also taken off his glasses—a huge change.
"I'm taking a break for now. Are you two planting gold spirit rice?" Zhang Sheng noticed a row of small holes in front of Sun Jie, with gold spirit rice just placed inside.
It hadn't sprouted yet.
"Yeah, the school gave Li Bin and me five seeds each. This is only because both of us Awakened A-Rank Talents; those with lower Talents haven't received any yet."
A-Rank Talent... Zhang Sheng then remembered that these two guys had lied in the WeChat group, saying they had B and C-Rank Talents.
Each was more low-profile than the other.
However, it seemed that the Talents everyone Awakened were quite high.
"Look!"
A shadow suddenly appeared behind Li Bin, condensing into a pair of large black hands that looked particularly terrifying.
"This is the Talent I Awakened—Shadow Hands!" Li Bin said excitedly, quickly showing off.
Since they started practicing the "Heavenly Circulation Method" and the first trace of Spiritual Qi was born in their bodies, everyone's Talents gradually became usable.
However, strangely, the use of Talents did not consume Spiritual Qi.
The more Spiritual Qi in the body, the greater the extent to which the Talent could be used, but it didn't consume Spiritual Qi itself.
Scientists speculated that while practicing Spiritual Qi, the body's Mental Energy would also increase, thus strengthening the use of Talent abilities.
This point had gained unanimous consensus.
"Have you learned the 'Spring Breeze Turning into Rain Technique' yet?"
"Not yet. After planting these, we'll practice the Spring Breeze Turning into Rain Technique and Primordial Chaos Qi Refining tonight, and we'll only be able to water them tomorrow!" Sun Jie covered the last spirit seed with a thin layer of soil.
He also set up a sign next to it.
"Planted by Sun Jie and Li Bin, Class 2027046, Class of 2027, Breeding College."
Zhang Sheng immediately formed hand seals.
Sun and Li could only see the afterimages of his hands.
A spirit cloud rose in front of Zhang Sheng, and translucent raindrops fell onto the newly planted gold spirit rice seeds.
A magical scene occurred.
"Pop! Pop! Pop!"
Green sprouts broke through the hard rice husks, quickly growing to three centimeters and continuing to grow.
The two of them were slack-jawed in shock.
"Zhang Sheng, is this the 'Spring Breeze Turning into Rain Technique'?" Sun Jie said excitedly.
Haha, he finally got to show off; Zhang Sheng felt secretly pleased.
"I've been busy with this in the lab lately. This gold spirit rice might have been bred by me."
"Awesome!" Li Bin gave him a thumbs up.
Zhang Sheng's actions instantly caused a commotion.
This entire field was filled with students from their class, and they all basically knew each other.
"Zhang Sheng, you're amazing! Is there any spirit rain left? Could you please water my spirit rice? I'm begging you!"
It was a student from the neighboring dormitory, someone he was somewhat familiar with.
Not just him, but other students who heard the commotion were also looking toward Zhang Sheng.
After three years of university, he was about to leave Huaxia Agricultural University. Looking at these familiar classmates, Zhang Sheng felt a bit reluctant, even though he considered himself an emotionally detached person.
Let me show off in front of my classmates one last time! There won't be another chance in the future.
Zhang Sheng again formed hand seals.
A massive spirit cloud slowly rose under the shocked gazes of the crowd.
This was a spirit cloud ten meters in diameter.
With Zhang Sheng's Transcendent "Spring Breeze Turning into Rain Technique", using just a trace of Spiritual Qi, he could create a massive spirit rain a hundred meters in diameter.
The spirit cloud before everyone was actually the result of Zhang Sheng intentionally hiding his true strength.
The spirit rain from the cloud took care of all the nearby students' spirit plants, with some to spare.
Exclamations of "Holy sh*t" rose one after another; no one could believe what they were seeing was real.
Until the spirit rain dripped onto their faces.
"So fierce! Godfather, Zhang Sheng, I hereby declare that you are my godfather from now on!" Sun Jie said excitedly.
The Planting Base almost became a massive scene of people claiming relatives.
Finally, using the excuse that his Spiritual Qi was exhausted, Zhang Sheng returned to the dormitory with Sun and Li.
What they didn't know was that a spirit cloud ten meters in diameter didn't even consume one-tenth of a trace of Spiritual Qi.
Back at the dorm, Zhang Sheng found that Wu Xingyang happened to be there too.
"Zhang Sheng, congratulations. You're about to head to the First Cultivation University," Wu Xingyang said.
"Huh? How do you know about that?" Zhang Sheng was still thinking about how to tell his roommates, yet Wu Xingyang already knew.
Beside them, Sun and Li were also surprised.
"First Cultivation University? What on earth is that?"