Cultivation is Just That Scientific

Li Shiming woke from the mystical scene of releasing the “Spring Breeze Transforms into Rain Technique” and turned his gaze toward the area that had been nurtured by the technique.

It was a patch of camellias, and only a part of them had been affected by the “Spring Breeze Transforms into Rain Technique.”

He walked over to one of the camellias that had been watered and observed it closely. The leaves of this particular plant had a vibrant green that was distinctly different from the usual autumn hues.

It was autumn, and all the camellias typically had dark green leaves at this time of year.

He plucked a single camellia leaf and placed it in his mouth. This particular camellia had been specially transplanted by his father, Li Wenyuan, and the family regularly harvested camellia leaves for use in the household.

Li Shiming wasn’t particularly fond of tea, but his previous self had inherited his father’s tea-drinking habits.

As soon as the leaf touched his tongue, he immediately felt the difference.

The quality of the leaf had significantly improved, surpassing the taste it had previously.

He was amazed at the effect of the “Spring Breeze Transforms into Rain Technique.” Just using it once had changed the quality of the camellias it affected.

Although he didn’t know how long the change in quality would last, even picking and processing it right now would result in tea that would surpass most renowned teas.

It was the kind of miraculous power that turned decay into something extraordinary, leaving him unable to imagine what kind of flavor crops cultivated by immortals with spiritual fields and the “Spring Breeze Transforms into Rain Technique” would have.

Of course, if he really wanted to taste something, he could always try the two bags of spirit rice in his storage bag.

But those were spirit rice seeds, and even without looking at the “Spirit Farmer Basics” or Xi Ming’s cultivation notes, he knew the value of the seeds and wouldn’t waste them on a mere craving.

He sensed the vortex of spiritual qi inside him, and with about one-third of it remaining, he didn’t want to use any more spells.

The remaining one-third of his spiritual qi could still be used in case of danger.

“Spells are really hard to learn and use. This amount of spiritual qi isn’t enough to sustain me!” he muttered helplessly, shaking his head.

What he didn’t know was that, in the cultivation world, not all cultivators could learn spells.

Take the “Spring Breeze Transforms into Rain Technique” for example. Generally speaking, any cultivator who could cast it had already crossed into the realm of a Spirit Farmer, which was a threshold into one of the Hundred Arts of Immortality.

Becoming a Spirit Farmer was not easy.

If it were easy to become a Spirit Farmer, the technique of cultivating spirit crops would not hold the value that supported the independent existence of this profession.

To become a Spirit Farmer, one first needed to possess a spiritual root, at least one of water or wood.

Moreover, mastering the “Spring Breeze Transforms into Rain Technique” wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Although Li Shiming had succeeded after just two attempts, this was a stumbling block for countless cultivators in the cultivation world, keeping the number of Spirit Farmers quite rare.

The “Spring Breeze Transforms into Rain Technique” was indeed a low-level spell, but its difficulty in learning was far from low. Drawing the intricate runes perfectly was one hurdle, while comprehending the meaning of “spring breeze transforms into rain” was another.

Normally, cultivators with average talent would practice this technique for several years—sometimes three to five years, sometimes ten years—and some would even fail to succeed.

Most cultivators would give up after months of practice if they couldn’t grasp the necessary talent.

It wasn’t just the “Spring Breeze Transforms into Rain Technique”—all spells required an understanding of their underlying meaning, and if one couldn’t comprehend the meaning, they would need to rely on talismans for assistance.

This was also why cultivators carried so many talismans—they didn’t just offer the advantage of conserving spiritual qi and casting spells quickly, but they also made up for the difficulty in learning the spells.

Of course, in sects, if there were teachers guiding the cultivation process, cultivators could learn spells faster by benefiting from the experience of their predecessors.

Li Shiming took on the role of a tea picker and harvested the entire 20-square-meter patch of camellias.

He then took the harvested camellias to his workshop space, where he processed them into tea.

Inside the workshop, the tea-making process preserved the enhanced quality of the leaves due to the “Spring Breeze Transforms into Rain Technique.”

The techniques for making tea were found in the IBMz15 server’s database, and they were the most refined methods, developed over countless years.

Back in his courtyard, he brewed a cup of tea using the freshly processed leaves.

After a sip, he confirmed that his earlier judgment was correct—the tea’s quality was exceptional, and it also contained a trace of barely perceptible spiritual qi.

For someone like him, at the second level of Qi Refining, this faint spiritual qi had no effect on his body or cultivation.

However, tea with even a slight trace of spiritual qi would be highly beneficial to ordinary people’s health.

He filled three jars with this tea. The yield from the 20-square-meter patch of camellias wasn’t much, but after processing, three jars was a good output.

“This is a waste for me to drink!” Li Shiming shook his head and finished the tea in his cup.

He packed the three jars into a box and headed to the government office.

“Congratulations, Xuesi!” he met Professor Zhou from Naling Prefecture at the office. Professor Zhou smiled and greeted him. “Xuesi” was Li Shiming’s courtesy name.
[tl: different from given names, It was traditionally given to men at the age of 20, and sometimes to women upon marriage. Though it’s not so common in modern times]

Li Shiming returned the greeting with a bow, though he didn’t understand what the congratulations were for. Professor Zhou didn’t offer any further explanation.

Professor Zhou held the rank of a 7th-grade official and was in charge of educational affairs in Naling Prefecture.

When Li Shiming entered his father’s office, he immediately saw the rare smile on his father Li Wenyuan’s face.

“Shiming, I was just about to send for you, and here you are!” Li Wenyuan waved and motioned for him to sit.

“Father, what’s making you so happy?” Li Shiming asked as he sat down.

“Tomorrow is the day the results of the imperial exams will be announced, but the results of the autumn exams have already been delivered!” Li Wenyuan said with a smile.

Usually, even candidates from noble families wouldn’t know the results ahead of time.

The results were delivered to the government office a day before the official announcement. Only the chief examiner, deputy examiners, professors, and the prefect could see the results, while everyone else would have to wait for the official release.

The results would be publicly announced at the official time tomorrow morning.

“I’ve passed the exam!” Li Shiming realized why his father was so happy and smiled.

To be honest, if it weren’t for the influence of the original body’s emotions—becoming a scholar was an obsession of the original body—he wouldn’t feel much excitement about passing the exam.

After coming into contact with cultivation, worldly matters had less of an impact on him.

Initially, he had hoped to use the information stored on the IBMz15 server to change the world and achieve great things, but now, in a world where immortals existed, his focus had shifted to his desire for cultivation.

“The chief examiner avoided any suspicion and didn’t make you the top scholar. You’ve been named the second scholar. That’s my influence on you!” Li Wenyuan said, his happiness tinged with a bit of regret.