Chapter 12: Grassman Shows Power

Zhao Xing's actions on the grassland fell into the eyes of the three examiners on the flying boat.

He was mainly the fastest to react and start making grassmen among the clerks, and both his speed and craftsmanship were quite remarkable.

While others' grassmen wobbled, Zhao Xing's grassmen could run and jump, vividly lifelike.

"Hm? Liu's Eighty-One Braiding Techniques, is this child under Mr. Gao or Mr. Tang?" Chen Shijie asked.

Gao Linong and Tang Wanchun looked at each other in astonishment, as neither had fully grasped the technique. Initially, they couldn't even recognize what method it was, let alone teach it. They didn't know how to themselves.

"He is not a clerk under me."

"Nor under me."

"Oh? The boy's grassman skill is quite exquisite, but whose clerk is he?"

Tang Wanchun pondered, "The only one who knows the complete Liu's Eighty-One Braiding Techniques is probably Mr. Chen or Minister of Agriculture Officer Xue."

Chen Shijie gently nodded, it was normal for Xue Wenzhong, who had been the Minister of Agriculture for more than a Jiazi, to know more.

With this reminder, both Tang and Gao started to observe Zhao Xing closely.

Unexpectedly, they soon saw Zhao Xing fighting over grass, throwing stones at people, and driving his colleagues away.

Gao Linong snorted, "Hm, this person has a stubborn character. For a grass stack, he even attacks his colleagues. Truly unbearable."

Tang Wanchun glanced at him but said nothing. He was watching Chen Shijie's reaction. The chief had just praised this clerk, and now you, Old Gao, were contradicting him. It was somewhat inappropriate.

Chen Shijie said indifferently, "The Minister of Agriculture competes with heaven and earth for food; having some edge is quite normal. Look at Li Chengfeng, a clerk under Mr. Gao; he's also very high-profile."

Gao Linong's eyelid twitched, suddenly realizing that what he said was wrong. Even if he thought so, he shouldn't have said it directly.

"Chen Shijie comes from the northern wilderness, often plagued by natural disasters. This kid's behavior might actually suit his taste," Gao Linong thought to himself and immediately changed his tone.

"Mr. Chen is insightful; indeed, I merely saw it superficially. Moreover, he arrived at that grass stack first, which is justifiable."

What does it mean that a higher rank can pressure people? This was it.

Chen Shijie's slight rebuke made Gao Linong immediately conform, as he was subordinate while Chen Shijie was the primary.

.......

Zhao Xing was entirely oblivious to the discussions among the three examiners on the flying boat. After using up the third grass stack, he finally left the grassland.

By this time, he had made a total of seventy-six grassman puppets!

Under the pressure, he became even more focused. By the time he made the sixtieth grassman,

the proficiency of the [Repeating Grassman] had surpassed 1000, reaching the 'One Turn Spell' level.

Thus, the last sixteen grassmen were faster, more agile, and even more powerful.

"Almost there."

Beside the responsibility field, seventy-six grassmen entered the field, holding bamboo poles, standing like soldiers ready for battle.

Zhao Xing looked at the panel.

His primordial energy had fallen below 50.

"Given the current situation, the spells [Cloud Walking] and [Thunder Strike] won't last long. The energy consumed to maintain these two spells is far greater than that of the grassmen."

After all, grassmen were supported by materials. Once made, they no longer required primordial energy, whereas cloud walking and thunder strike consumed significantly more energy.

However, Zhao Xing still decided to persist until he could no longer hold on.

Grassmen were ultimately not as effective as cloud walking and thunder strike; there would certainly be many mistakes.

...

In the first quarter of the Minor Heat exam, [Cloud Walking] and [Thunder Strike] obstructed almost all the 'grain-eating birds.'

In the second quarter, the grassmen came to wait near the responsibility field.

By the third quarter, the frequency of thunder strikes weakened, and some grain-eating birds broke through the clouds to nibble on the primordial rice but were stopped by the grassmen.

By the fourth quarter, Zhao Xing had completely abandoned the thunder strike, using only cloud walking to block the grain-eating birds. One-third of them managed to fly down, and the grassmen began to drive them away fully.

By the fifth quarter, many grain-eating birds were knocked down by the grassmen, but five grassmen were also destroyed.

In the sixth quarter, one-third of the grain-eating birds that couldn't eat food flew away, but the number of destroyed grassmen had reached twenty-five.

In the seventh quarter, the clouds shrank. In the sweltering weather, Zhao Xing's primordial energy gradually became insufficient. He used the grassmen to attract the grain-eating birds because the grassmen's materials were made from primordial rice straw, the part the grain-eating birds loved to eat, which led to more than half of the grassmen being lost as a result.

In the eighth quarter, the clouds shrank by another half, exposing half of the field. Zhao Xing let all the grassmen act as 'sacrificial lambs,' letting the remaining grain-eating birds nibble away while the field below began to suffer damage.

When the ninth quarter came, a bell rang in the sky. All the grain-eating birds in the public field flew away, disappeared into the white clouds, and vanished.

"Huff~ Huff~"

Zhao Xing's mouth was parched, and he was drenched in sweat.

But he didn't care about that much and quickly went to check the condition of the responsibility field.

"The southern half-acre was the most damaged because it was exposed the earliest and was used as a sacrifice, attracting them all here."

"The remaining acres suffered only minor losses."

Zhao Xing walked around, and his heart relaxed slightly.

He looked at the remaining grassmen, only eight were left, each with some damage. If these eight grassmen hadn't reached the 'One Turn' strength, they would have collapsed long ago.

"It's over; I can rest now." Zhao Xing waved his hand, and the eight remaining grassmen lost their luster and fell by the field.

The sweltering heat and an hour of intense battle left Zhao Xing feeling exhausted, longing for immediate sleep.

All around, the groans of the clerks filled the air.

Because this assessment was much harder than before, many people's responsibility fields were severely damaged.

The majority had lost over half, with some completely ravaged.

"After all this hard work for over a month, just gone like this?"

"Damn grain-eating birds, how hateful!"

"Alas, my skills are lacking, who else can I blame? Just wait honestly for the make-up exam."

"The make-up exam will only earn at most a 'C', just a pass. It will waste energy, and how will we face the next assessment?"

"Is becoming a Ninth Grade official so easy? The Agricultural Supervision is considered good; only over five hundred people compete for three or five spots. The East Lake Army's Ninth-Rank Assistant General has three to five thousand competitors for one spot!"

"Don't even mention joining the army. The craftsmen of the Heavenly Workshop also have nearly a thousand competitors."

"It's a pity I'm not a girl; I've heard the competition in the Weaving Workshop isn't as fierce."

"Ugh~ How unambitious you are."

"..."

At this moment, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and rain began to fall.

"Sizzle~"

The raindrops started sparse and small, but quickly became large and dense.

The temperature in the air dropped sharply.

Zhao Xing sat down in the field, letting the rain wash over him.

The rainstorm came quickly and left quickly.

It was evidently man-made.

Allowing the clerks a fifteen-minute rest to recover, the weather suddenly cleared up again, the dark clouds turned into white clouds, restoring the typical Minor Heat climate.

A flying boat descended from the clouds to the grassland. Three people stood at the bow, the chief officer of Agricultural Supervision, Chen Shijie, and the two subordinates, Gao Linong and Tang Wanchun.

"They are here, about to announce the results of the Minor Heat assessment." Zhao Xing perked up and moved closer to the grassland.