Chương 27

Gideon had a good eye for talent. Among Spirit Gardeners, anyone who possessed a technique that effective in combat would be a valuable asset. Elara had also reached Qi Refining Tier 4. Only three or four of Valehaven's other candidates had attained the same level. Considering the outer disciple assessment as a whole, her chances of entering the Moonwatch Sect were probably close to ninety percent.

She was far more promising than Alistair, who had only just reached Qi Refining Tier 3 after spending the past few days consuming pills.

"Look after him?" Elara found the request somewhat strange. Based on what Cedric had told her, the selection process was supposed to be fairly balanced. It didn't sound like the kind of assessment where one candidate could easily help another. Gideon had anticipated her confusion. He led Elara and Alistair to a quiet corner before explaining what the assessment was really like.

"You may not realize this, but the Spirit Gardener assessment normally takes place across a large expanse of spirit fields. It also lasts much longer than the assessments for most other professions. The first round alone usually continues for at least three days."

"Officially, every apprentice enters the fields, receives an assigned growing area, and cultivates their own spirit plants. Their final score is based on how many plants they bring to maturity and the quality of the harvest."

"In practice, the rules don't forbid candidates from interfering with one another. As long as no one is deliberately crippled, almost anything else is tolerated. During an assessment that lasts several days, all kinds of schemes tend to emerge on the final day." Gideon added, "House Li has several other candidates participating this time, and they've all been instructed to follow Alistair. If you work together, you can watch out for one another." The first round will last at least three days...

Elara considered the implications. Gideon was clearly far more thoughtful than his younger brother. Warning her about the hidden realities of the assessment before it began was a genuine favor.

"No one can tend spirit plants every moment of the day for three days straight. Working together makes sense." Elara accepted the arrangement. The other Dawnmere candidates appeared to be senior apprentices working under the head manager. Elara had almost no contact with them in her daily life, so there was little chance of them suddenly agreeing to cooperate with her during the assessment. House Li was different. As long as the arrangement benefited both sides, she could trust them to some extent.

After giving them a few more warnings, Gideon reached into his storage ring and began taking out supplies. Tents. Food. Clean drinking water. And several other necessities for spending multiple days in the spirit fields.

"I noticed that both you and my brother have storage rings. Make sure you carry enough food and water. Take anything else you think you might need." After traveling aboard the flying ship for a little over two hours, the silhouettes of distant mountain peaks finally appeared ahead. Layers of pale spiritual mist drifted around them. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

As the flying ship passed through the concealing mist, Elara gripped the railing and looked down. Moonwatch City emerged beneath the sea of clouds. The sight was so magnificent that it hardly seemed possible for human hands to have built it. The entire city spiraled up the mountain, tier after tier, narrowing as it climbed. Viewed from several thousand feet above, its streets and alleys formed dense lines as fine as strands of hair.

A colossal bronze wall stretched for dozens of miles around the city, its surface gleaming beneath the light of countless formations. Beyond it, a vast translucent barrier formed an immense dome over the entire mountain range and its central peak. A deep hum rolled through the flying ship as its formations shifted and the vessel began slowing for its descent. The transport ship gradually descended toward a harbor at the foot of the mountain. Many other flying ships had already docked there, packed closely together.

The Moonwatch Sect's stronghold is enormous. It built its capital and mountain headquarters into a single defensive system, then protected everything with a formation on this scale... Elara followed Gideon and the others off the flying ship, unable to hide her amazement. She had seen similar sights while playing the full-immersion version of Seed of Ascension in her previous life. Experiencing such a place in person, however, was entirely different from viewing it through a game.

Once they entered the main city, Gideon and the other outer disciples took responsibility for escorting the visiting apprentices to their assessment grounds. Along the way, the candidates could do little except admire the scenery. The Spirit Gardener assessment would take place in a vast growing district halfway up the mountain. The fields there contained large quantities of relatively rare Rank One spirit plants, including Spirit-Nurturing Flowers and Qi-Gathering Grass.

Both were among the more difficult Rank One plants to cultivate, but their importance couldn't be overstated. They were two of the primary ingredients used to make Qi Gathering Pills, the most widely consumed cultivation aid among low-level cultivators. As Elara entered the growing district, she saw many other apprentices arriving for the selection. Candidates from different professions had been assigned to separate locations for the first round.

Even so, the Spirit Gardener assessment grounds alone were already crowded with at least six or seven hundred apprentices. Once you include the artifact smiths, alchemists, talisman crafters, formation specialists, spirit gardeners, and combat cultivators, there must be several thousand people participating in this selection. Moonwatch City had been constructed across the entire mountainside and could accommodate a population of well over a million.

Even with several thousand additional candidates arriving at once, its streets showed no sign of becoming crowded. After delivering the apprentices to the correct location, Gideon and the other outer disciples departed. Three outer elders were overseeing the Spirit Gardener candidates. All three wore broad-sleeved, snow-white robes embroidered with cloud patterns and a silver crescent stitched over the left side of the chest. They gathered the candidates in the spirit-field district just beyond the main city.

Terraced fields covered the mountainside in every direction, occupying several hundred acres of land. The candidates stared out over the extraordinary sight as whispered conversations spread through the crowd.

"Boss, it looks like we'll be cultivating these plants during the assessment," Alistair said.

"I recognize some of them—Spirit-Nurturing Flowers and Qi-Gathering Grass. They're extremely difficult to handle." Worry crept into his voice.

"I've heard that completion time affects the final score too. If you can bring your plants to maturity ahead of schedule, you earn a considerable number of additional points." Elara listened while surveying the vast fields of Rank One spirit plants. Countless maturity bars appeared before her, densely layered across the mountainside. A faint smile touched her lips.

"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, the first round won't be difficult."

"Candidates, silence! I will now explain the rules of this assessment." A powerful voice infused with spiritual qi rolled across the entire growing district, silencing the crowd at once. One of the outer elders had stepped forward. Once every candidate's attention was fixed on him, the old man began to speak.

"This assessment is straightforward. Within the designated sixteen-acre spirit field, each candidate must select no fewer than fifty spirit plants to serve as their entries."

"In several days, the other elders and I will assign scores based on when your mature plants are submitted, the total number that reach maturity, and their final quality."

"You will have no more than five days. Any candidate who fails to submit a batch of mature spirit plants within that time will receive a score of zero and lose the right to participate in the remaining rounds."

"During the assessment, you may not deliberately cripple another candidate. Anyone who violates these rules will be disqualified."