Cultivation is just so scientific!

Li Shiming snapped out of the marvelous scene created by his use of the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill," shifting his gaze to the area that had been drenched by it.

There lay a stretch of mountain camellias, and only a part of them was affected by the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill."

As he approached one of the camellias that had been watered by the rain, he took a closer look and noticed that the leaves bore a verdant green unlike the typical hues of autumn.

Now was autumn, after all, and the leaves of all the mountain camellias should have been a dark green.

He plucked a leaf from the camellia and put it in his mouth. This particular camellia had been specially transplanted by his father, Li WenYuan, who would regularly harvest them for use in his household.

Although Li Shiming didn't have much interest in tea tasting, his previous incarnation had inherited Li WenYuan's habit of tea appreciation.

When he put the leaf in his mouth, he immediately noticed a difference.

The quality of this leaf had noticeably improved, surpassing the taste of what was there before.

He couldn't help but be amazed by the effect of the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill"; just one application had changed the quality of the affected camellias.

While he didn't know how long the improved quality would last, even if he were to pick and fry them now, they would surpass most renowned teas.

This was a power that turned the rotten into the miraculous, leaving him unable to imagine what kind of flavor crops cultivated by Immortals using spirit fields and the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill" would have.

Of course, if he really wanted to taste them, the two bags of Spirit Rice in his storage bag were certainly an option.

But those were seeds of Spirit Rice, and even without consulting the "Fundamentals of Spirit Plants" and Shi Ximing's cultivation notes, he knew the value of seeds and would not waste them on mere culinary desires.

He sensed the Spiritual Energy Vortex within him – a third remained. He didn't want to cast any more spells for now.

The remaining third of his spiritual power could be useful in times of danger.

"Spells truly are difficult to learn and use. This bit of spiritual power is hardly enough to cover the expenditure!" he said to himself with a helpless shake of his head.

What he didn't know was that spells in the Cultivation World were not something all cultivators could learn.

Take the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill" for example; generally speaking, a cultivator who could cast the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill" was considered to have stepped onto the threshold of becoming a spirit plant husbandman.

Becoming a spirit plant husbandman, an occupation counted among the hundred arts of cultivation, was not easy to achieve.

If it were really easy to become a spirit plant husbandman, it would not be counted among the hundred arts of cultivation, as anyone could possess the methods of a spirit plant husbandman, and the value of the spirit crops they cultivated would not be sufficient to support the existence of this profession independently.

To become a spirit plant husbandman, one of the basic requirements is to have an Immortal Root of either water or wood.

Moreover, to cast the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill." Although Li Shiming succeeded after only two attempts,

in the Cultivation World, this step has stopped countless cultivators, which is why spirit plant husbandmen have always been few and far between.

The "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill" may indeed be a low-level spell, but its learning difficulty is not low at all. The complex runes must be perfectly drawn, which is one barrier, and needing the right sentiment for spring breeze and rain is another.

Normally, those who choose the profession of spirit plant husbandman are cultivators with average talents. True geniuses, when at a low level, are nurtured by their sects and don't need to consider side occupations.

A cultivator of average talent needs many years of effort to cast the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill" successfully – maybe three to five years or even ten years, or some may never grasp the entry point at all.

Most cultivators practice for several months and, realizing they lack the talent, give up.

Not just for the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill," all spells need the cooperation of intention. If one cannot comprehend the essence of intention and still wants to cast the spell, then talismans are needed for assistance.

This is also why cultivators carry a large number of talismans with them, not only because unleashing talismans consumes less spiritual power and casting is faster, but more so because spells are difficult to learn.

Of course, within the sects, with the guidance of a knowledgeable master, one can comprehend the essence of spells faster through the experiences of those before them.

Li Shiming disguised himself as a tea picker and harvested an area of twenty square meters of tea plants until it was empty.

He then roasted the freshly picked tea leaves to perfection in the space of his machine room.

In the machine room space, roasting tea leaves under the effect of the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill" perfectly preserved the enhanced quality of the leaves in the tea.

The skill of roasting tea was available in the database of the large server IBMz15, and it was the most mature tea-roasting technique after countless years of development.

Returning to his own courtyard, he brewed himself a cup of tea with the freshly roasted leaves.

After taking a light sip, he discovered that his earlier judgment was correct; the quality of the tea was excellent, and it even contained a faint, nearly imperceptible trace of spiritual energy.

For him, at Qi Refining Second Level, this faint trace of spiritual energy had no effect on his body or cultivation.

However, tea leaves rich with a faint trace of spiritual energy would bring great benefits to the health of ordinary people.

He packed three cans of such tea. There weren't many leaves that could be harvested from twenty square meters of tea plants, and producing three cans after roasting was already a high yield.

"Drinking it myself would be a waste!" Li Shiming shook his head and drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

He put the three cans of tea into a box and headed towards the office area of the Magistrate's residence.

"Congratulations, Li Shiming!" In the Magistrate's residence, he ran into Professor Zhou from Nanling Prefecture, who greeted him with a smile. Li Shiming was his courtesy name.

Li Shiming returned the gesture, puzzled as to the reason for congratulations, and Professor Zhou did not offer any explanation.

Professor Zhou, as a seventh-grade official, was in charge of educational affairs in Nanling Prefecture.

Upon arriving at Li WenYuan's place, he saw an unusually joyful smile on Li WenYuan's face.

"Shiming, I was just about to call for you, and here you are!" Li WenYuan beckoned Li Shiming to sit down.

"Father, what brings you such joy?" Li Shiming asked as he sat down.

"Tomorrow is the day the examination results are announced, but the results of the Imperial Examination have already been delivered today!" Li WenYuan replied with a smile.

Ordinary candidates, even those from powerful families, could not know the results of the announcement in advance.

The results of the examinations were not released until the day before the announcement, and after coming out, they were delivered to the Magistrate's residence. Apart from the main and deputy examiners, only the professors and the Magistrate could see the results before they were publicly known.

The results would be officially announced tomorrow morning.

"Has your son achieved second place?" Li Shiming understood why Li WenYuan was happy and said with a smile.

To be frank, if not for the influence of his original self's emotions, the obsession of his original self with the Imperial Examination, he would not feel much excitement about it.

After encountering the world of cultivation, worldly matters had far less impact on him.

His initial thoughts of using the data stored on the large server IBMz15 to change this world and achieve great things had shifted to an aspiration for cultivation in a world where Immortals exist.

"The main examiner, to avoid any suspicion, did not make you the top scorer, you achieved second place; it was my influence that affected you!" Li WenYuan said with a mixture of happiness and regret.