After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

Lu Qingchen explained the situation again.

"Cheating?"

Shen Yao snorted, "These people probably don't know what you've grown on Panlong Peak."

"If they had seen those few emerald-green spirit rice plants with their spiritual light, they wouldn't be so surprised. Although this batch of spirit herbs is growing well, it's nothing compared to those few plants."

Lu Qingchen smiled but didn't reply.

Shen Yao glanced at his spiritual herbs again and nodded: "Don't be affected. Just do what you're supposed to do. Let's see what they have to say when the results come out."

"Thank you, senior sister."

Shen Yao waved her hand, turned around and left.

He took a few steps and then turned back: "Is there anything you need to tell me?"

"it is good."

Old Sun didn't come to the field, but he asked Zhou Ping to pass on a message: "As long as you didn't cheat, your innocence will be cleared."

After hearing this, Lu Qingchen felt much more at ease.

Although Old Sun's words were brief, they carried more weight than anything else.

As for Zhou Yuandao, he has never appeared.

Lu Qingchen wasn't surprised—his cheap master had never really taken him seriously.

......

Three days later, Elder Meng came again.

This time, he held a document in his hand, his face expressionless.

The plant growers had all arrived and were standing by their respective fields, listening intently.

Elder Meng stood on the edge of the field, unfolded the document, and read aloud: "After testing, no illegal growth-promoting medicinal ingredients were found in the soil, water, and herb samples of plot number five."

"All indicators are within the normal range. Lu Qingchen has not cheated."

He closed the document, looked at Lu Qingchen, and said in a gentler tone than before: "Your spiritual herbs are indeed growing exceptionally well, but the test results prove that it is your own skill in cultivating them."

"Thank you, Elder." Lu Qingchen bowed.

Elder Meng nodded, offered a few more words of encouragement, and then turned and left.

The field was quiet for a moment.

Then, the expressions of those who were avoiding him became subtle.

Some people looked embarrassed, while others pretended not to hear and continued working with their heads down.

The herbalist surnamed Zhang walked over, patted Lu Qingchen on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "I knew you'd be alright. You must have been worried sick these past few days, right?"

Lu Qingchen smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Zhang."

After chatting with Lu Qingchen for a few more minutes, Zhang, the spiritual plant grower, returned to his field.

......

A month is neither a long nor a short time.

After the "cheating incident" passed, nothing else happened.

Lu Qingchen repeats the same work every day: watering, weeding, loosening the soil, and fertilizing, day after day, as regularly as a pendulum.

They perform rituals at night and work during the day without stopping.

He didn't find it boring; on the contrary, he felt grounded.

He watched each and every spiritual herb grow from seed to seedling, and from seedling to mature plant, pouring his heart and soul into every step.

And the strands of cultivation energy that flowed through them each night, like spring rain, silently nourished them, allowing them to quietly surpass most of their kind of spiritual herbs without them even realizing it.

In the last few days before the event ended, Old Sun came to visit once. He stood by the field for a while, didn't say anything, and just nodded.

In fact, unbeknownst to Lu Qingchen, his nominal master Zhou Yuandao had secretly sent someone to inquire about the situation. Upon learning that Lu Qingchen's spiritual herbs were growing well, he said nothing more.

The day of acceptance is drawing ever closer.

......

Finally, several more days passed, and the day of the inspection arrived.

The Spirit Plant Hall sent three stewards to score the land, each responsible for a plot and scoring independently, with the final average being taken.

Each of the following has detailed scoring standards: yield, appearance, and pest and disease status.

The three deacons worked in the field for most of the hour, weighing and recording data.

Lu Qingchen stood on the edge of the field, watching them busy in their own land, feeling somewhat nervous.

Although he knew his spirit herbs were growing the best, what if the scoring criteria had any biases, or what if other people's spirit rice had some advantages that he hadn't noticed...

When the final results came out, Lu Qingchen ranked third.

His medicinal herbs have a high yield, excellent quality, and are almost free of pests and diseases.

The first place goes to the Liu family's spiritual plant grower, who has been cultivating the land for eight years and is very experienced. His yield and quality of spiritual herbs are both higher than Lu Qingchen's.

As for Zhou Ping, he ranked fifth, which was close to sixth place, and he almost got kicked out of the top five.

Zhou Ping breathed a long sigh of relief upon seeing the result: "Finally, it's passed."

He turned to look at Lu Qingchen, his gaze complex. "You, a newcomer who just passed the assessment, are ranked third... I've been farming for three years and I'm only fifth."

Lu Qingchen smiled and said, "I was lucky."

Zhou Ping shook his head: "This isn't luck; you really know how to farm."

The spiritual plant grower surnamed Sun walked over, glanced at Lu Qingchen, nodded without saying a word, and left.

Lu Qingchen could sense that there was scrutiny in that gaze, but also a hint of approval.

After the quota was confirmed, Lu Qingchen felt much more at ease.

He stood by the field, looking at the harvested spiritual field, and let out a long breath.

All the hard work this month has paid off.

......

After the assessment results were announced, the Spirit Plant Hall held a meeting of elders.

The attendees included two deputy hall masters and six elders.

The issue is the allocation of the five overseas assignments, and the eligibility of one of the individuals.

An elder surnamed Zhao spoke first: "Lu Qingchen has been a spiritual plant grower for less than a month. According to the rules, he is not qualified to be sent out. This spot should be given to the sixth person."

He paused, then continued, "Even setting aside the rules, just looking at him personally, what can a newcomer who just passed the assessment less than a month ago, who hasn't even cultivated spirit fields a few times, possibly do at the farm?"

"If something goes wrong and the spirit fields produce less, the sect's income will be lost. We can't ignore this risk."

Old Sun said slowly, "I recommended him. Rules are set by people, and exceptions are also made by people."

"He ranked eighth in the written exam and third in the farming exam. Among twenty veterans, that's not a bad score, is it?"

Elder Zhao objected, "Achievements are achievements, and experience is experience. Anyone can talk the talk, but when we actually get to the farm and face hundreds of acres of spirit fields, can a newcomer handle it?"

Old Master Sun: "The spiritual rice he planted on Panlong Peak yielded a much higher yield per mu than the standard, and some of the leaves even condensed spiritual light."

"How many experienced farmers with ten years of experience can achieve such results? You say he lacks experience, yet his farming performance is better than anyone else's. Isn't that a contradiction?"

Elder Zhao opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

Elder Sun continued, "As for the farm—if we don't let him go, where will he get the experience? Can he gain experience just by sitting in the sect and talking about war on paper?"

Before Elder Zhao could speak further, Zhou Yuandao spoke up.

"Alright, rules are rules, but people are flexible. Lu Qingchen's grades speak for themselves; he's third overall, so it's perfectly legitimate."

"Regarding qualifications, I agree with Mr. Sun's recommendation, so I'll give him the spot."

Elder Zhao's expression was not good, but since Zhou Yuandao was the deputy hall master, he couldn't say anything more.

......