104: Chapter 104 Do not trample on the grass, or you will be responsible for the consequences.
Central Province, Wanfa Immortal Sect.
True Lord Tianfa (the Sect Head) stared at the four 'disco' life soul lamps in the Ancestral Master Shrine (one steady, three flashing red, green, and yellow), and his composure finally shattered.
Not only had he failed to save the person, but the three Nascent Soul Elders sent to rescue him were 'detained' to serve as streetlamp accessories?
This was a declaration of war! This was naked, in-your-face provocation!
"Transmit my decree!" True Lord Tianfa's hair stood on end, and the Jade Slip in his hand was crushed to powder.
"Deploy the 'Heavenly Punishment Fleet'! That is our Wanfa Immortal Sect's ultimate trump card used to conquer all directions and annihilate countless sects!"
"Three hundred warships! Five thousand enforcement Disciples! For this battle, forget about martial virtue; just flatten everything! Raze that so-called broken academy to the ground!"
...One day later.
Tianhe Academy, South Gate Plaza.
Black clouds pressed down on the city.
Three hundred pitch-black steel warships, like an iron flood, obscured the sky.
Each warship was inscribed with attack Formations, and their cannons flickered with destructive Spiritual Qi.
This was the foundation of the Central Province overlord.
"Listen up, you down there!" The overall commander of the Heavenly Punishment Fleet, a half-step Soul Transformation Grand Elder—Venerable Lei Ming—stood at the bow of the main ship, his voice like rolling thunder.
"Hand over our Sect's Elders! Cripple your own cultivation! Kneel and surrender!"
"Otherwise, today, I shall make this place... barren!"
Scripture Pavilion, second floor.
Li Mo was wearing a straw hat, holding a small shovel, and misting a pot of sunflowers in front of him.
Hearing the clamor outside, he didn't even lift his head.
"Barren?" Li Mo chuckled, "Quite the boast. However, my lawn was just newly laid. If even a single patch gets damaged, I doubt you can afford the compensation."
He put down the watering can and opened the **[Map Editor]**.
"Since you're here, let's start the 'lesson.'"
"Lesson Name: 'Horticulture in Practice: How to Deal with Pests'* *."
Li Mo lightly tapped his finger, drawing five straight 'lanes' on the open ground in front of the academy gate.
He then input new Area Rules:
[Command: Domain Expansion · Backyard Defense War.]
[Rule One: No-Fly Zone (All flying units are forced to land).]
[Rule Two: Turn-Based Movement (This is a chessboard; no running around randomly).]
[Rule Three: Do Not Trample The Lawn (Violators will be attacked by plants).]
...Boom!
In the sky, the three hundred menacing warships suddenly lost power simultaneously.
All floating Formations failed in an instant.
"What happened? Did the Spiritual Qi furnace go out?!"
"Not good! Gravity is out of control!"
Accompanied by screams of terror, the 'Heavenly Punishment Fleet,' capable of sweeping the Southern Wilderness, began falling like dumplings, clattering down.
Fortunately, Li Mo didn't want to damage the ground, so he added a [Soft Landing] buffer.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The warships crashed onto the open ground outside the academy gate, smashing them into a confused mess.
The five thousand fully armed enforcement Disciples scrambled out of the wreckage, only to find themselves standing before a lush, perfectly manicured lawn.
At the end of the lawn was the main gate of Tianhe Academy.
The gate was tightly shut, with only a sign posted at the entrance:
[Welcome to the Plant Department Final Exam.]
[Clearance Condition: Walk to the gate alive.]
"Playing tricks!" Venerable Lei Ming rushed out of the main ship's ruins.
Although he couldn't fly anymore, his half-step Soul Transformation cultivation was still terrifying.
"Everyone form ranks! Charge over! Chop up these useless weeds!"
The five thousand elite Disciples drew their magic swords and roared as they stepped onto the lawn.
However, the moment their feet touched the first blade of grass...
Po.
A light sound.
The plants on the lawn, which looked harmless, suddenly... mutated.
From the first row of grass, a line of green pea shooters, the size of heads, crawled out.
They had round mouths, and following a mechanical whirring sound of charging up, they suddenly spat out green light projectiles the size of fists.
[Peashooter (Spirit Stone Gatling Version).]
"Tch-tch-tch-tch-tch-tch—!!!"
A dense barrage of spiritual energy bullets poured down like a torrential storm.
These weren't ordinary peas; these were high-explosive rounds that Li Mo had improved using compressed Spirit Stones as the core, combined with 'Ballistics Theory.'
"Ah! My Protective Aura!"
"These peas are poisonous! They hurt so much when they hit!"
The enforcement Disciples at the very front instantly collapsed in a heap, riddled with bruises.
"Shields up! Shields up!" Venerable Lei Ming roared.
The Disciples hastily summoned defensive magic shields, struggling to advance under the barrage.
However, after taking just two steps, the ground beneath their feet suddenly felt unstable.
Crack.
A Disciple stepped on a potato buried in the ground, which had large, naive eyes.
The potato blinked at him, and then... Boom!
[Potato Mine (High-Explosive Rune Version).]
Fire erupted. That Disciple was instantly blown into an afro, spitting out a puff of black smoke, and convulsing on the ground.
"Watch your step! There are mines!"
The Formation fell into chaos.
"Don't panic! I am a half-step Soul Transformation! I will lead the way!" Venerable Lei Ming roared in anger.
Lightning coiled around his body, and he withstood the pea fire, striding forward mightily.
He was indeed a powerhouse; the peas only managed to splash a few sparks when they hit him.
Just as he was about to reach the middle of the lawn...
Suddenly, a mound of dirt rose up ahead.
A giant carnivorous plant with a massive purple mouth burst from the soil.
It looked at Venerable Lei Ming and drooled viscous saliva.
[Chomper (High-Level Cultivator Eating Edition).]
"Prodigy! Die!" Venerable Lei Ming struck out with a palm, unleashing immense thunder.
But the carnivorous plant didn't dodge or evade; it opened its huge mouth and directly... swallowed him.
It didn't swallow the palm strike; it swallowed Venerable Lei Ming whole.
Gulp.
The carnivorous plant burped, chewed a couple of times (mainly chewing the hard shell of the protective lightning), and then, looking disgusted, spat Venerable Lei Ming back out.
At this moment, Venerable Lei Ming was covered in green slime (a potent paralytic toxin). He was completely stiff, lying on the ground like a log, with only his eyeballs able to move.
[System Notification: The texture of this ingredient is too poor (too old); recommended for use as fertilizer.]
The entire scene fell silent.
The five thousand enforcement Disciples watched their strongest Grand Elder get 'eaten' and spat out by a flower in a single exchange, and their morale completely collapsed.
"What... what kind of monster is this?!"
"Mom, I want to go home! The flowers here eat people!"
"Don't stop! Keep attacking!" Li Mo's voice came through the broadcast with an air of someone who enjoys watching chaos.
"This is only the first wave. The 'Iced Watermelon Launcher' and the 'Doom-Shroom' haven't even gone on stage yet. If you surrender now, it'll be so boring, won't it?"
As his words fell, on the lawn in the back row, several giant watermelons flew up out of thin air, carrying chilling energy, and smashed fiercely into the crowd.
Bang!
The watermelons exploded, releasing icy spiritual energy, instantly freezing a large group of people.
...Half an hour later.
The battle was over.
Or rather, the one-sided 'weeding activity' had failed.
On the lawn outside the gate of Tianhe Academy, the Disciples of the Wanfa Immortal Sect lay scattered everywhere.
Some were frozen into ice sculptures, some were beaten black and blue by peas, and some were left questioning their existence after being hit by the Wall-Nut (giant hard-shelled fruit).
As for Venerable Lei Ming, he was tied up with five knots and hung from a large tree at the entrance, with a sign next to him:
[Rare Fertilizer (Half-Step Soul Transformation)]
[Function: Continuously releases high-level Spiritual Qi to nourish the lawn.]
Scripture Pavilion, second floor.
Li Mo looked at the pile of 'loot,' satisfied, and closed the *Plants vs. Zombies Strategy Guide*.
"Not bad. This wave collected quite a bit of 'sunshine' (Spirit Stones and Magic Treasures)."
He glanced at the System panel.
[Achievement Unlocked: Gardening Master.]
[Administrator Privilege Unlock Progress: 30%.]
[New Function Unlocked: Academic Affairs Office (Task Issuance System).]
"Academic Affairs Office?" Li Mo stroked his chin.
The academy now had streetlights (illumination), traffic lights (traffic control), a lawn (defense), and even fertilizer at the Soul Transformation Stage (Venerable Lei Ming).
The hardware facilities were basically complete.
It was time to get the students moving to completely soothe that still 'slumbering' Ancient God (the world's core).
He picked up a pen and published the first mandatory school-wide task in the newly unlocked [Academic Affairs Office] System:
[Midterm Exam Notice]
[Subject: World Geography Survey (Actual: Clearing the Meridians of the Ancient God).]
[Task Objective: All teachers and students must depart immediately for various nodes in the Southern Wilderness (the Ancient God's Acupoints) to conduct 'Fixed-Point Demolition' (Acupuncture).]
[Reward: 100 Academic Credits, and... the World's Favor.]
Li Mo looked out the window, his gaze profound.
"Since they can't be beaten, then let this world... become so comfortable that it doesn't want to wake up."