"This time is different; the Spirit Plant Hall has put forth a Qingyuan Order."

"Qingyuan Order?"

"This is a sect admission token that allows direct admission into the Qingyuan Sect."

Instantly, the faces around turned solemn, revealing expressions of surprise, and their gazes became heated.

"Hehe, what does this Qingyuan Order have to do with you?

It’s clearly prepared for Gao Mingyi.

No wonder he’s been boasting early on about claiming the first place. It seems he had already gotten the news and considered this Qingyuan Order as something already in his pocket."

...

"I didn’t expect there to be such a good opportunity in this examination.

The Qingyuan Order allows direct entry into Qingyuan Sect to become a sect disciple.

Unfortunately, we are just here to accompany the run; ultimately, this Qingyuan Order will certainly go to Gao Mingyi.

Moreover, this reward was specifically left for him by his master Ku Qianhe, who requested it from above."

Zhao Qiang also heard the surrounding discussions and remarked sourly.

"No wonder there are so many more people participating in the examination this time than usual.

However, such a good thing was destined to be unrelated to us, so it’s useless to think about it."

Zhao Jie also chimed in, feeling rather resigned.

The members know their own affairs, and he wasn’t even entirely sure of passing the exam this time, let alone daring to hope for the first place.

"That’s not necessarily true."

Zhou Changwang squinted his eyes slightly and said softly.

The Zhao brothers didn’t pay attention to Zhou Changwang’s words, assuming there were other experts among the crowd.

Indeed, there were several confident cultivators rubbing their fists, ready to showcase their skills.

They certainly wouldn’t let Gao Mingyi enjoy all the accolades alone.

After all, the Spirit Plant Master assessment doesn’t have an age restriction. Many have extensive experience with spiritual plants, and with rigorous practice, the Three Spiritual Plant Techniques they’ve honed aren’t shabby at all.

"Alright, everyone, please enter the venue.

The first test is the spiritual plant knowledge examination; there’s a paper on the table, answer according to the questions. The total score is 100, and 60 is the passing mark. Only by passing can you proceed to the second test."

Following that, the First-Grade High-Level Spirit Plant Master Yang Ping spoke, inviting everyone warmly.

Only then did the chatter cease, and led by a few examiners, the group entered a spacious field.

Inside the field were small desks, each with a corresponding number and a sheet of paper. These were obviously this examination’s questions.

Zhou Changwang took a glance at his registration certificate, number seven, and then proceeded to the corresponding desk.

"Begin, you all have half an hour to answer the questions.

Once the test ends, we will grade the papers on the spot.

Then, we will proceed to the next round of examination."

Seeing everyone seated, Yang Ping finally spoke.

The two Mid-level Spirit Plant Master examiners began patrolling among the candidates, preventing anyone from cheating.

"To think even in cultivation, there’s once again the experience of returning to the examination hall."

Zhou Changwang looked at all this, a wry smile appearing on his face.

This exam is his strong suit.

Coming from a typical small-town academic background, he wasn’t nervous at all.

His gaze fell upon the paper, filled with basic questions about spiritual plant cultivation and nurturing.

Fortunately, he had revised before the exam and had years of planting experience. As he answered each question, he hardly encountered any confusion.

Moreover, there were multiple-choice questions.

This made it even more convenient.

In the time it takes to burn an incense stick, he had nearly finished answering the paper.

However, with a cautious attitude, he began to check it from beginning to end.

"Teacher, I’m done."

It was at this moment that a voice rang out.

It was Gao Mingyi, standing up and speaking directly.

As he spoke, several others soon followed, one by one submitting their papers to the assessors and the middle of the stage under many eyes.

Zhou Changwang did not stand out, checking thoroughly to ensure no omissions before following a female cultivator to hand in his paper together.

The task of grading the papers naturally was handled by the two Mid-Level Spirit Plant Master examiners.

Since they were relatively simple basic knowledge questions, the marking process was completed quickly.

Of the thirty-five candidates, most were cultivators above the third-layer Qi cultivation, and many were in the fourth or fifth layer. Only two were in the second-layer Qi cultivation. For such memory-based questions, even if there were mistakes, they wouldn’t lead to failure.

Thus, everyone qualified after this segment of the assessment.

Finally, Zhou Changwang glanced at his paper’s score, unexpectedly achieving a perfect score, and a smile spread across his face.

"Next is the second test.

This assessment covers the Three Spiritual Plant Techniques, namely the Spirit Rain Skill, Fertilization Technique, and Geng Metal Finger."

"The Spirit Rain Skill is fine; the casting range covers half an acre, which should suffice. Geng Metal Finger can pierce metal from a yard away, striking accurately. But this Fertilization Technique, which I only reached entry-level three years ago, although I practiced it plenty since, passing the test seems a bit dubious."

Zhao Qiang approached Zhou Changwang, speaking somewhat nervously.

"How long is your casting time for the Fertilization Technique?"

Zhou Changwang had long known that others’ assessments of their magic techniques’ progress weren’t as clear as his, who had meticulous divisions of mastery into entry level, small success, great success, and perfection.

They could only judge their proficiency by the amount of magic consumed and the effectiveness and power of their spellcasting.

And proficiency itself is a very vague concept.

Mastery could count as proficiency, and small success could as well.