Although the two were surprised, they could only sit down at this moment, not daring to disrupt the examination order.
However, they couldn't help but worry that if this continued, their own students would suffer a hidden loss!
"The concealment of the Earth Vein Comprehensive Origin is high; even I only realized it the next day. Xiao Ze is probably still in the dark," Tang Wanchun thought to himself. "Zhao Xing, what a Zhao Xing! The old Agricultural Affairs Bureau head was not wrong; he truly has excellent comprehension."
The Earth Advantage School's spells were the most difficult to learn among the three schools.
The Celestial Timing School's spells were merely about celestial phenomena, which could be seen, heard, and felt.
The Earth Advantage School's spells involved the Earth Veins, Feng Shui positions, and the deployment of formations, and even required tools, making it extremely complex.
Not to mention that the Earth Veins are deeply hidden underground; how difficult is it to utilize them?
Although the Earth Vein Comprehensive Origin is a beginner-level spell, its difficulty surpasses many intermediate-level spells.
The Celestial Timing School thrived partly because the spells from the other two schools were harder to grasp.
Even among their ranks of entry-level Agricultural Affairs Bureau officials, few mastered the Earth Advantage spells, let alone became proficient.
"What a pity, to be wasted under Xue Wenzhong," Pang Yuan felt a bit regretful. "Xue Wenzhong is old; what use does he have for such a good student? I would teach him instead, and later on, I would have some backing in the officialdom."
Gao Linong remained silent, secretly reveling in the misfortune of others.
Because his students, Li Chengfeng and Zong Shichang, were unaffected and performed at their expected levels.
As for the other officials' students? Naturally, the worse their performance, the better.
Even entry-level Agricultural Affairs Bureau officials took a while to discern the situation, let alone the clerks below.
Moreover, the Earth Vein Comprehensive Origin was drawn out but not activated during the day, causing everyone’s spellcasting effects to return to normal, leaving those affected clerks in a muddle.
"Could it be that selecting plants that grow easily at night would be seen as taking shortcuts and lead to special treatment?" Huang Tao looked at the dead plants before him, his eyes reddening.
His friend Ma Wu also wore a bitter expression. "If that's the case, why even give us these seeds to choose from? Isn't this just pure mockery?"
Huang Tao couldn't help but curse softly, "Damn Chen Shijie! I've had eight lifetimes of bad luck picking officials under him."
The two squatting in the seedling area sparked resonance among the other clerks.
Because Chen Shijie liked to play tricks with the exam questions, to put it plainly, he enjoyed making things difficult for others.
"Brother Huang is right; Chen Shijie is always up to these tricks. He did the same during the minor heat assessment."
"He even specially brought over doves from the Western Mountains. Can you believe this is something a person would do?"
"I changed seeds again and again, and after a night, I ended up with nothing!"
"Exactly, that damned guy from the Western Mountains!"
With the topic opened, the victims immediately resonated, all venting their frustrations at Chen Shijie.
Mainly because this big shot had a consistent style like this.
Although the questions were set by Xue Wenzhong, everyone wouldn't believe that the old Agricultural Affairs Bureau head, such a good person, would come up with such underhanded tricks to trouble them.
This change must have been arranged by Chen Shijie! Even the Heavenly King himself couldn't save him!
If Chen Shijie were present, he would surely beat them up and shout that this time it truly wasn't him.
However, he was destined not to hear these curses.
Did anyone suspect Zhao Xing?
There were some.
As Huang Tao turned back to his planting area, he glanced at the patch of golden bamboo forest, inevitably feeling puzzled.
"Could it be that someone used Earth Advantage spells, causing us to yield nothing?"
"Could it be him?"
Huang Tao glanced and then looked towards the northern Seven Star Sword Cloud and Tiger Head Cloud: "Or could it be them?"
"Forget it, thinking too much is useless." Huang Tao shook his head.
Even if it were true, what could he do? He couldn't win; could he just verbally attack them?
"This batch of clerks is too incompetent. To speed up the maturity of the Diamond Bamboo, I had already maximized the effects at the Yin hour, yet no one dared to come find me?"
"Indeed, it has been peaceful for too long." Zhao Xing couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. The Agricultural Affairs Bureau officials he had seen in his previous life, aside from players, were all capable and daring.
They all possessed a strong and fearless spirit; without such spirit, one could not hope to survive in the face of terrifying natural disasters and turbulent eras.
But this period was indeed different; aside from the border counties and military Agricultural Affairs officials, most of the inland Agricultural Affairs officials gave him a weak impression.
Of course, Chen Shijie was an exception.
He still very much suited Zhao Xing's taste.
"There’s no need to guard against the mediocre talents under the A-list; they neither can compete nor dare to. The few who have repeatedly made the A-list still need to be wary." Zhao Xing looked around and began to chop the branches of the Diamond Bamboo.
He always prepared for the worst, which did not conflict with being daring.
Since he dared to use the Earth Vein Comprehensive Origin, he was prepared for a counterattack.
Zhao Xing had long prepared the materials when the Diamond Bamboo matured and made scarecrows.
"Currently, I know four types of scarecrows: Divine Movement, Binding, Thorn, and Reversal."
"The Reversal Scarecrow is a third transformation, while the others are all first transformations."
Zhao Xing looked at the dozen or so Reversal Scarecrows hidden in the bamboo forest, golden and majestic, like golden warriors.
"Using Diamond Bamboo materials to practice the other scarecrow-making techniques is somewhat wasteful; only the Reversal Scarecrow barely matches this material, but there are even more suitable options."
"Liuchuan Eighty-One Techniques, Great Strength Scarecrow!"
"The branches of Diamond Bamboo are indeed excellent materials for making it." Seeing that there was no immediate trouble, Zhao Xing began to attempt making the fifth type of scarecrow.
Liuchuan Eighty-One Techniques is the interpretation of the "All Plants are Soldiers" technique; scarecrow is merely a common term, and any spell made from grass, wood, or bamboo branches falls under the scarecrow technique.
However, in Zhao Xing's case, scarecrows made from Diamond Bamboo are habitually referred to as Great Strength Diamond.
Similarly, there are Divine Movement Diamond, Reversal Diamond, and so on.
The method of making it had long been memorized; he just hadn’t had the time to practice. Now that he encountered suitable materials, Zhao Xing naturally wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by.
Recalling the method for making the Great Strength Scarecrow in his mind, he began his first attempt.
[You have created a Scarecrow Puppet (Great Strength), and you have comprehended a new puppet technique.]
[All Plants are Soldiers proficiency +25]
[Scarecrow Puppet (Great Strength)]
[Proficiency: 100/9999]
[Effect: Indestructible, immense strength.]
The first attempt was successful, and due to the high-quality materials, the proficiency gained was particularly high!
"Directly 100 points, and the overarching spell of All Plants are Soldiers also gave 25 points; indeed, it’s a good item."
In this life, Zhao Xing had never fought such a rich battle. When practicing under Xue Wenzhong, he always used vital rice straw or ordinary willow branches.
Who knew whether these things would be taken away after the exam? Zhao Xing certainly wouldn’t miss this chance to take advantage.
Ordering the Reversal Scarecrow to keep watch outside, Zhao Xing began to immerse himself in the joy of making the Great Strength Diamond.
(End of Chapter)