Chương 28

The rules really are simple. And just as Gideon said, they never mentioned whether we're allowed to interfere with other candidates. When it comes to interference, the only clear boundary is deliberately crippling someone. The elder's explanation matched Gideon's warning almost perfectly. Their small group would need to cooperate.

"When the round begins, stay close to me," Elara instructed.

"I'll find an area where the spirit plants are already close to maturity. Choose your plants from the plots around mine." Alistair nodded eagerly. The other three House Li candidates had no objections either. They had entered the assessment to support their family's second son. Helping Alistair enter the Moonwatch Sect would be a major achievement for all three of them. The outer elder returned to his seat on the raised platform and turned over the hourglass resting beside the table.

No further announcement was necessary. Every candidate charged into the spirit fields at once. They all wanted to get ahead and claim the plots containing the most mature plants. The moment they entered the fields, however, most of the candidates found themselves at a loss. Spirit-Nurturing Flowers and Qi-Gathering Grass both had relatively long growth cycles. Under ordinary circumstances, either required roughly a month to mature.

The spirit plants within the designated assessment area were clearly much farther along. Almost all of them appeared capable of reaching maturity within ten days. Determining whether a particular plot needed two days, five days, or the full ten was nearly impossible with the naked eye. That was clearly one of the assessment's hidden challenges. Of course, if someone happened to choose the most mature plants through sheer luck, that was part of their Fortune as a cultivator.

In Seed of Ascension, Fortune wasn't merely an abstract concept. It could lead a person to genuine opportunities that others might never encounter.... Elara's group moved with the crowd. She and Alistair remained in the center while the other three House Li candidates guarded their flanks. All four members of House Li's group, including Alistair, had reached Qi Refining Tier 3. That level was fairly average among the candidates participating in the assessment.

They were hardly exceptional geniuses, but they were strong enough that Elara wouldn't need to handle every confrontation for them.

"Head farther into the fields. Stay close to me!" The moment they entered the growing district, they saw several brawls already breaking out around the plots nearest the evaluation station. Apprentices traded punches as they fought to claim the most convenient locations. Their reasoning was simple. If they couldn't determine exactly how close the plants were to maturity, they might as well choose the plots nearest the station.

Having less distance to cover when submitting their harvest could still provide a small advantage. Elara swept her gaze across the nearby plants. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The maturity bars hovering above them were all around eighty percent. Even if she devoted all her effort to cultivating them, they would still require four or five days to mature. That placed them dangerously close to the assessment's deadline.

It wasn't the result Elara wanted. Five days wasn't enough time to cultivate two full batches of spirit plants. If everyone else needed the entire five days to mature a single batch while Elara required only three, that two-day advantage alone could give her a tremendous lead in points. She passed one plot after another without stopping. Alistair soon grew anxious.

"Boss, some people have already started cultivating their plants. Aren't we going to fall behind?"

"Rushing now will only cost us later." Elara continued scanning the fields. A plot near a small hill immediately caught her attention. The plants there were growing exceptionally well, and nearly every maturity bar hovered around ninety percent. Even with the long growth cycles of Spirit-Nurturing Flowers and Qi-Gathering Grass, three days should be enough to bring them to full maturity.

"That plot near the hill. There's enough room for all of us." Elara pointed ahead. Several hundred spirit plants grew around the hill. There were at least two or three hundred Spirit-Nurturing Flowers and just as many stalks of Qi-Gathering Grass. Just as Elara's group arrived, another party of unfamiliar candidates approached from the opposite direction. They had clearly noticed the same plot.

"Friends, we're Spirit Gardeners from Highmarch City," their leader said.

"Why don't you find another plot and leave this area to us?"

"I don't think so," Elara replied without hesitation.

"We arrived first." Her refusal left no room for negotiation. Still, she hadn't expected another candidate to recognize the plot's unusually high maturity so quickly. Elara studied the opposing group. A faint blue light flickered through their leader's eyes, giving her an immediate explanation. So that's how he found it. The leader of the Highmarch group must possess some kind of ocular Talent. In Seed of Ascension, cultivation aptitude wasn't limited to a person's foundation or spiritual roots.

The limbs, bones, and organs could all possess Talents of their own, including the eyes and nose. Some ocular Talents allowed their owners to see through another cultivator's realm. Others could detect tiny objects more than half a mile away. The rarest could even copy cultivation arts after observing them. While Elara considered the possibilities, Alistair and the three House Li candidates rolled up their sleeves. The negotiation had failed, so they were already preparing to claim the plot with their fists.

The leader from Highmarch studied them for a moment before giving a dismissive smile.

"One Qi Refining Tier 4 cultivator, three at Tier 3, and one who hasn't even stabilized his Tier 3 cultivation." Blue light flickered through his pupils again. He had seen through the cultivation of Elara's entire group with ease and could even distinguish the relative strength of people at the same Tier.

"Ronan, teach them a lesson." The Highmarch group outnumbered Elara's by one. There were six candidates in total—three at Qi Refining Tier 4 and three at Tier 3. At the leader's order, a thin man concealed beneath a cloak extended two gaunt arms and began forming hand seals. Pale green light gathered around his fingers. Alistair and the others rushed forward to interrupt him, but they couldn't match his casting speed. Several thick vines burst from the soil almost instantly and twisted toward them.

"Did you really think I'd be an easy target?" The cloaked man was a Spirit Gardener at Qi Refining Tier 4 who possessed an offensive art. He had every reason to be confident. Unfortunately, his opponent was Elara. She shifted aside and avoided the first tangle of vines. The moment her footing steadied, her hands began forming seals.

"Metal Gathering Art!" At Qi Refining Tier 4, forming a single iron sword required almost no preparation. Metal-aspected particles surged from the soil and compressed together. A heartbeat later, a pitch-black iron sword appeared in the air beside Elara. The cloaked cultivator used his vines to restrain Alistair and the others, then sent the remaining tendrils toward her. Elara brought two fingers together. The iron sword swept through the air before her.

In a single pass, it cut the approaching vines into dozens of pieces. Rather than free her companions first, Elara directed the sword toward the six Highmarch candidates. A black streak tore across the field. The rules explicitly forbade deliberately crippling another candidate, so Elara couldn't risk inflicting a serious wound. Instead, she guided the iron sword past their foreheads. Before any of them could react, a dark blur flashed before their eyes. A faint sting traced across each of their brows.

The leader raised one hand to his forehead. Fresh blood stained his fingertips. His hand froze when he saw it. Elara's warning had caused no serious harm. Each of the six candidates had received only a shallow cut across the forehead.

"This is your last chance," Elara said, her voice flat. She recalled the iron sword with another hand seal. It hovered beside her, its edge aimed toward the opposing group.

"Are you leaving, or do you want to stay and fight?"