JSCMU-Chapter 102: You Call This Soil Control Technique?

But even the Sword Elder slowly began to doubt his own judgment.

Nearly half the time had passed, and Yun Jin was still waving her sword.

Today wasn’t a swordsmanship competition, it was a botany technique assessment.

Ye Cheng was diligently working nonstop, and even then he had cultivated less than half of the land. It was clear that the two-hour time limit was set based on Ye Cheng’s ability.

Ye Cheng’s Soil Control Technique was already at level three, yet even with two hours he had to race against time.

As for Yun Jin…

All things considered, it had only been ten days since she obtained the manual.

Even if she gained entry level in the same day, could she surpass level three in just ten days?

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed impossible.

So…

Was this competition really a compromise on Yun Jin’s part?

The Sword Elder kept watching.

He still didn’t want to believe it but it seemed he had no choice but to believe.

All eyes were fixed on the scene.

Since Yun Jin entered Tianxing Sect, she created too many miracles. Because of this, she became synonymous with miracles.

But no matter how miraculous she was, she wasn’t omnipotent.

After this, perhaps that symbol of miracles would finally fall.

Many people felt a sense of defeat in their hearts.

If even Yun Jin yielded, then what could they possibly do?

Tianxing Sect really was nothing but a stagnant pool of water.

Ma Hongyu glanced calmly at Yun Jin, his expression indifferent.

He already predicted this situation.

A sword cultivator simply couldn’t learn botany techniques.

Sword cultivators emphasized sharpness and forcefulness. Botany techniques required affection and serenity.

How could these two opposite traits exist in the same person?

It might not even be necessary to hold the second evaluation. This first round would be enough to decide the outcome.

Ma Hongyu said lightly, “Half the time has passed. Please make the most of it.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Cheng became even more focused.

Yun Jin, on the other hand, sighed again.

How is there still a whole hour left?

Fine. Let’s keep practicing swordsmanship!

At least she could raise her skill proficiency a bit.

The incense continued to burn slowly. Finally, only one-quarter of an hour remained.

Yun Jin glanced at it.

She finally made it through!

The time is almost up!

Over the course of these two hours, she even harvested a considerable amount of Emotion Points.

Yun Jin guessed most of those were from negative emotions.

Like disappointment, for instance.

But as long as they were Emotion Points, she’d take them all.

Next.

Show time!

Yun Jin stretched lazily and calmly said, “Mm, only fifteen minutes left. If I don’t start now, I won’t make it in time.”

Ma Hongyu nearly burst out laughing.

She made it sound like starting now could still make a difference.

Even a proper level five botanist like himself wouldn’t dare say they could fully till a field of this size in fifteen minutes!

Zhao Wuji, treating her like a clown, leisurely brewed a cup of tea and sipped it slowly.

Yun Jin returned her sword to her storage pouch, then calmly raised her hand into a starting stance.

A few disciples who also knew the Soil Control Technique immediately recognized it.

“That’s the starting stance for the Soil Control Technique!”

“But what’s the use of starting now? No matter what, it’s impossible to make it in time!”

“And besides, how could a sword cultivator possibly know botany techniques? She’s probably just pretending.”

As the crowd chattered, spiritual energy began to gather.

Everyone was stunned.

Huh?

Did Yun Jin really manage to gain entry level?

Even if she did, it was probably just the most basic level. Compared to Ye Cheng, it’s still…

Just as that thought formed.

Spiritual energy surged.

“Soil Control Technique!” Yun Jin suddenly shouted.

And then.

A booming rumble erupted.

Her half of the field began to shake like an earth dragon turning over, trembling violently. Even the ground beneath the spectators began to tremble!

?????

What the hell?

Soil Control Technique?

This had to be an illusion, right?

Look at Ye Cheng’s Soil Control Technique!

Carefully tilling one small section at a time, that’s what the Soil Control Technique should look like!

You should be calling this the Earthquake Technique instead, right?!

Yun Jin still felt like it wasn’t enough.

She increased her strength.

While doing so, she kept shouting.

“Soil Control Technique, activate!”

“Soil Control Technique, Ultimate Secret!”

“Soil Control Technique, Super Secret Art!”

Si Wanningg couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead.

She already told Yun Jin there was no need to shout the names out loud!

But clearly, Yun Jin didn’t accept that advice.

As Yun Jin continued shouting her cringey slogans, the spiritual field surged, as if a dragon were soaring through the earth.

The crowd, which was buzzing moments ago, instantly fell silent.

Too silent.

Ye Cheng was busy tilling soil when suddenly, he sensed something was off.

Was the ground beneath him… trembling?

Hm?

Was it just his imagination?

He looked at Ma Hongyu, only to see Ma Hongyu staring blankly in Yun Jin’s direction, lips trembling, utterly speechless.

Ye Cheng’s heart tightened. What… What just happened?

He looked at Zhao Wuji who was glaring at Yun Jin, the calm expression from before completely gone, now looking like he wanted to devour her whole.

Ye Cheng grew even more panicked!

Yun Jin… what on earth did she do?

He couldn’t see anything from his side of the field.

Ye Cheng forced himself to stay calm and threw himself fully into the tilling.

But.

He couldn’t completely calm his thoughts.

By the time the two hours were up, he still had one small patch of land that hadn’t been fully tilled.

Ye Cheng wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Using the Soil Control Technique continuously was a test of endurance, mental strength, and spiritual power.

He had already done his best.

As for Yun Jin’s side… he had no idea what was going on.

He couldn’t restrain himself and glance over, but all he saw was a tall wall.

Until the result was announced, he probably wouldn’t know the final outcome.

Yun Jin also stopped steadily at the exact moment the incense burned out.

Her section of land, after repeated overturning, was already loosened to the limit, exactly the soil condition the Soul-Calming Fruit preferred most.

Yun Jin clapped her hands, her expression calm. “Perfect timing.”

The Sword Elder looked at Yun Jin’s carefree demeanor and couldn’t help but laugh.

This young girl is indeed still the one who declared she would walk the path of invincibility back on the arena platform.

In this competition, everyone thought she deliberately chose to lose.

But from the looks of it, she clearly came prepared!

“Uncle Master Ma, shall we begin the second round?” Yun Jin urged, “It’s getting dark. I still need to eat dinner. Can we shorten the next round a bit? If every round takes this long, I’ll be bored out of my mind.”

Ma Hongyu’s face turned extremely unpleasant.

Planting is a meticulous and delicate task.

How could it possibly be rushed?

Zhao Wuji’s cold voice echoed in his mind.

“Ma Hongyu, didn’t you say she couldn’t possibly learn botany techniques? Didn’t you say Ye Cheng was guaranteed to win?”

If you judged the first round alone, it was clear Ye Cheng had already lost!

Ma Hongyu wiped his cold sweat and hurriedly sent a voice transmission back, “Please rest assured, Sect Master! This was only the first evaluation! I heard she was highly favored by Elder Ming, he must have given her a modified version of the Soil Control Technique, which is why it was so powerful. But even if it was Elder Ming, there’s no way he could have also modified the other two techniques, right? Among Ye Cheng’s three spiritual roots, his water spiritual root is the strongest. The Minor Cloud and Rain Technique is also the one he is most familiar with. The second round will be enough to make a comeback.”

“It better be… otherwise…” Zhao Wuji’s gloomy voice trailed off and vanished without a trace.

Ma Hongyu’s heart couldn’t help but tighten.

He took a deep breath and said, “Now let’s begin the second evaluation.”