Compared to the situation where Wind and Cloud's reputations were known to everyone in the Outer Court, Lu Qing had recently returned to his previous days of quiet cultivation.

He wasn't clear on the situation regarding Elder Song either.

The clashes above and the undercurrents in the shadows were still matters too distant for him.

He didn't have a detailed plan every day now, acting as his heart desired.

Because he had broken through two minor Realms in succession, Lu Qing focused on tempering his Dantian's spiritual sea next, striving to refine more spiritual energy back into the Innate state.

Additionally, as soon as his cultivation sessions ended, he would cast the Cloud Rain Art on both sides of his spiritual fields.

While walking through the spiritual fields, he would review the old to learn the new, consolidating his knowledge regarding Spiritual plants.

Generally, those determined to become a Spirit Planter start from a low Realm; every time they cultivation to a new Realm, they also correspondingly improve their level and obtain the matching Spiritual plant qualification certificate.

In other words, it was quite unusual that Lu Qing, a Cultivator who was already approaching the stage of considering Core Formation and reaching the Purple Mansion, was still an introductory Spirit Planter. However, the Spirit Planter assessment doesn't test your cultivation level.

Regardless, having a high cultivation level naturally makes doing things much more convenient.

Lu Qing was now feeling the convenience brought by his cultivation.

For those things that required reading a hundred times to understand their meaning and memorizing them, his Divine Soul could now leave his body. Two Lu Qings could multi-task: one memorized countless Spiritual plant facts and organized the system, while the other ran to the island's mountain range to apply the knowledge, personally carving out a square spiritual field about the size of a room.

At the same time, he channeled some earth Qi and Spiritual Qi into this spiritual field.

Lu Qing named it the Assessment Trial Field. Before the assessment arrived, his own spiritual fields were already planted with Dragon Heart Fruit and Purple Moon Fruit; if he wanted to cast spells to verify his spell effects, a trial field was indispensable.

As for the interview assessment, he wasn't the type to work behind closed doors. Moreover, since he would be facing several Elders, if nothing else, Lu Qing felt he should at least maintain a proper attitude.

Doing poorly was one thing, but going to an assessment without any preparation would likely leave a bad impression.

Taking advantage of the fact that the recent arena battles had drawn the attention of the Outer Court, Lu Qing went out to the main Cultivation City and successfully purchased three sets of on-site assessment insights from a fairly priced disciple Alliance chamber of commerce.

Don't misunderstand and think he was being extravagant; initially, Lu Qing only wanted one Jade Slip. It was just that the chamber of commerce had launched a 'buy one get three' promotion recently due to the assessments, though this promotion was specifically for beginner and intermediate assessments.

But this promotion was a great convenience for Lu Qing.

Recorded within were not only the assessment situations of various disciples but also several very concise and effective Spiritual plant spells.

Since he needed a spiritual field nearby, Lu Qing simply experimented with the spells he had obtained in this quickly created spiritual field.

After all, to his shame, he currently relied solely on the powerful spiritual rain effect of the Cloud Rain Art to irrigate those Spiritual plants.

He truly hadn't dabbled much in other types of Spiritual plant spells.

"Let me see... the assessment includes cultivating Spiritual plants on the spot, demonstrating your spellcasting, and there's even a scenario where the spiritual field assigned to a disciple on-site encounters an insect plague?"

The more Lu Qing read, the more he felt that this interview assessment covered everything.

But at its core, it was still about testing whether the assessing disciple possessed the basic abilities of a Spirit Planter.

"The first and most frequently tested is the Minor Cloud Rain Technique. I know this one."

Lu Qing skipped it.

Standing before the spiritual field, the Jade Slip floated in front of him as spells became active one by one, displaying themselves before Lu Qing.

Unlike those cultivation techniques focused on cultivation or combat, these spells were specialties of the Spiritual Plant Institute, emphasizing auxiliary effects rather than combat prowess.

"Red Cloud Method, nurturing red clouds, can increase the temperature of an area on a small scale. Without a Formation to shift the four seasons, the heat emitted by this Red Cloud Array can help Spiritual plants growing under severe winter snow survive the hard frost."

Considering all the details, as the timing, location, and harmony of people vary, a Spirit Planter cannot only consider planting Spiritual plants under favorable conditions.

Lu Qing memorized the formula, his fingers moving in seals as his heart followed his thoughts. A crimson cloud immediately gathered low in the bright sky.

First, a slight heatwave hit, and then as the crimson cloud condensed and completely covered the area where Lu Qing stood, that slight heatwave transformed into a hot wind like one blowing across ten thousand miles of yellow desert, and the heat surged.

Lu Qing maintained the spell while observing the changes in the soil.

The soil, which was previously moist from the spiritual rain, was now rapidly becoming hot and dry, but this change began from the subtle details.

Lu Qing made observation notes nearby; the red cloud above his head had no effect on him now.

This spiritual field, which was originally supposed to have the effect of a paddy field, quickly underwent certain changes, becoming a spiritual field suitable for growth in arid regions.

"The Spiritual Qi and earth Qi haven't changed, only the external appearance of the spiritual field has altered. Moreover, it contains a wisp of scorching intent; it's perfect for planting sun-loving Spiritual plants here."

Lu Qing controlled the range and intensity of his first execution of the Red Cloud Method.

Since these types of spells were included in the scope of the beginner Spirit Planter assessment, it meant they wouldn't be excessively difficult or obscure.

The difference only lay in the length of time spent on introduction and mastery.

Lu Qing dispersed the red cloud and brought down another patch of cloud rain, restoring the spiritual field to its original state.

For the next few days, Lu Qing continued as usual, neither overly busy nor overly idle.

In March, early spring had arrived, and the weeping willows along the riverbanks were moving and charming.

Lu Qing walked on the river's surface and took out an emerald token; the time for the assessment notice on it was fast approaching.

Not only had he consolidated his cultivation, but invisibly and vaguely, he seemed to have sensed a trace of his Divine Ability's prototype. Within the high mountains, there was an unspeakable great fortune and profound mystery hidden.

Just like being inside the mountain, everything seen and gained felt vast and unsearchable.

Lu Qing now had a bit of that feeling. Because he recalled the previous experience of enlightenment, which brought both fortune and crisis in equal measure, he was in no hurry to rush into the mountain.

He still hadn't seen that hazy spiritual light yet, clearly indicating the time was not yet ripe.

"Regarding Formations, I'm not sure what level I'm at now, but I have indeed encountered a bottleneck."

After the great baptism from the lecture, Lu Qing had improved in all aspects by more than just a little. Yet in Formations, aside from feeling that his efficiency in setting them up had greatly increased, he hadn't seen improvement in other areas for the time being.

In terms of setting up Formations, Lu Qing had long since mastered the Golden Light Formation and the Bewilderment Array. He hadn't slacked off on the Bewilderment Array either, but compared to the bit-by-bit accumulation of cultivation, insights into Formations felt more illusory, with a particularly prominent sense of unreality.

Even with Lu Qing's current Comprehension, it was hard to say that when he set up a Formation and the Formation Plate was running, those flickering spiritual light Formation eyes would be solid and unbreakable.

This characteristic, combined with his practice of the Bewilderment Array, gave Lu Qing a certain heavy sense of following a routine even when he laid down a Formation. In other words, compared to a true Formation Master, he was still quite rigid...