The lantern flickered, Zhao Xing stared at the book that dimmed and brightened, his vision gradually becoming clearer.
Originally, he thought it was just a normal wave of brightness, but the feeling of brightness grew stronger until it completely felt like daylight at one moment.
"Huh?" Zhao Xing looked up, put down the book, and scanned the surroundings.
He found that it was still deep in the night outside, according to the calendar, it was still midnight, with no changes noted.
Upon checking the panel records again, he suddenly understood.
[You read "Compendium of Materia Medica" at night, Primordial Energy entered your eyes, and you comprehended the spell 'Bright Eyes Night Vision'.]
[Bright Eyes Night Vision: Initial stage spell]
[Proficiency: 20/9999]
[Effect: See in the night, view up to a thousand meters.]
"A common spell, I actually got it."
Zhao Xing smiled slightly, unexpected to have such a harvest after a short reading, and it's a very practical skill.
"However, I'm not far from Gathering Essence Third Rank, it's time to acquire this spell."
Bright Eyes Night Vision, an adaptive spell, both passive and active. It can adapt to changes in the surrounding environment.
It was a basic feature in the Nine-grade Realm, with a chance for below-grade realms, though Martial Artists could get it the easiest, at Gathering Essence First Rank, as their Primordial Energy mainly enhanced their own bodies, while for Ministers of Agriculture, it was slightly later.
"Its practicality is very strong; later it can advance to 'Inspection,' not only observing finer movements, Qi fluctuations, but also grasping psychological activities, valid only for those in lower realms than oneself." Zhao Xing mused to himself.
If at the same realm, or higher, one's Primordial Energy fully intact and non-leaking, it was harder to detect, and psychological activities even harder to capture.
"An even stronger spell is Mingjing Wenxin for the Ministry of Justice, excellent for interrogating offenders."
With Bright Eyes Night Vision, reading became much more convenient for Zhao Xing.
He continued studying the "Compendium of Materia Medica," "Great View Wood Scripture," and "Hundred Herbs."
For the Minister of Agriculture's profession, the ultimate goal was to cultivate crops, and these three books introduced and classified the world's plants.
By effectiveness, they were divided into medicinal, edible, and livestock feed categories.
Also differentiated by 'class,' 'order,' 'family,' 'genus,' and 'species.'
For instance, Zhao Xing saw a page in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" mentioning a magical plant named 'Selaginella,' also known as Soul Resurrection Grass, used for treating soul damage, classified in the herb category.
Turning another page, Zhao Xing saw another familiar name.
"Mushroom Family, describes a strange mountain in Mingdao State, where 'Chameleon Mushroom' grows, which can change color to blend in with the environment, and explodes on touch, releasing poisonous gas that causes blindness, poisoning, fainting, and in severe cases, death."
Chameleon Mushroom, Zhao Xing planted many in his previous life, grew fast, easy to cultivate, inexpensive, and effective—a must-grow for Ministers of Agriculture players to trap others.
By species: native species (originally in the world), derivative species (artificially created).
Also by Five Elements Wind and Thunder attributes, such as the 'Purple Lightning Bamboo' Zhao Xing used to plant.
Belonging to the Thunder element, its segments could shoot out purple lightning attacks, being one of the more aggressive plants in the Bamboo family.
The drawback for early-stage Ministers of Agriculture players was they could only fight positional and defensive battles, needing pre-deployment, as plants couldn't move.
But once Gathering Essence reached Fifty Ranks, this problem ceased to exist.
They could perform 'Dantian Cultivation,' opening a small mobile Pure Essence Soil, essentially a portable reserve base.
Encountering enemies, they could project 'Pure Essence' into the real world, making plants appear at a location and root in reality, achieving near-instant deployment.
With a wave of the hand, an army of plants appeared!
In later recovery versions, cultivating within the inner landscape granted access to more magical plants, even those that rooted in the void, completely free from terrain or environment constraints, marking the peak strength of the Self Sect's Minister of Agriculture's era...
"Truly nostalgic; I wonder if I can live to see that time."
"Fortune Dynasty System, emperors' lifespan longest over a millennium, the longest-lived official being Peng Zu of the Yin Dynasty, living for 800 years."
"This constraint was later broken by Emperor Wu, where officials' lifespans began exceeding the emperors, who had increasingly shorter lives, as the dynasty started declining, everyone 'stealing fortune to prolong life.'
Zhao Xing mused, "I must extend my life using the Fortune Dynasty System capabilities to await the future Recovery Era. With Emperor Jing, Emperor Wu, and fifteen more emperors afterward, surviving past Emperor Wu Dynasty, the later emperors were short-lived."
"Each dynasty averaged just over a century... then prolonging life would be easier, being a vigorous Minister of Agriculture, outliving those short-lived emperors shouldn't be a problem."
"The hardest part was Emperor Jing's era, a diligent and stingy emperor, miserly in granting officials extended life; Emperor Wu, on the other hand, was generous, with a wave of his hand often fully extending a general's life..."
Lost in thought for a moment, Zhao Xing resumed reading; short-term, his goal was to change professions.
.......
[You read "Great View Wood Scripture" at night and comprehended the spell 'Five Elements Observation.']
[Five Elements Observation: Initial stage spell]
[Proficiency: 1/9999]
[Effect: Use the principles of the Five Elements to discern plant vitality.]
"Well, luck is pretty good, another practical spell." Zhao Xing's mind was filled with mystical spell knowledge.
The world had countless rare flowers and grasses, yet, throughout history, no Ministers of Agriculture had cataloged them all, many lacking records.
Five Elements Observation was akin to an advanced detection spell for Ministers of Agriculture.
Encountering an unknown plant, it allowed remote observation of its internal vitality, using the principles of the Five Elements to determine its use.
Combined with other spells, one could make a highly accurate judgment.
Ministers of Agriculture players had many identification skills, like the [Body Melting Recognition Method].
Cut off a small piece and taste it personally, using the body as a crucible to finely experience its effects.
But that spell skill was quite risky, many players got badly poisoned, with frequent complaints on forums about dying from various herbs.
"With this, Shennong doesn't need to taste a hundred herbs, mere observation will suffice."
With two practical spells acquired, Zhao Xing felt very pleased.
Even though midnight had passed, he remained tirelessly reading.
The classics issued by the court carried some magical power, aiding people in comprehending spells; a single book could usually be comprehended twice.
After two times, it would lose its magical function, serving only to consolidate already comprehended spell knowledge.
.....
Time passed unnoticed by Zhao Xing, completely immersed in a wondrous feeling.
Though the magical power in the classics was weak, occasionally it would give him a 'flash of inspiration,' a fleeting but immensely satisfying sense of 'realization.'
"Cluck-cluck-cluck~" A rooster crowed outside, the oil lamp long extinguished, Zhao Xing looked up to see that dawn was about to break, and the faint glow on the classics had completely disappeared.
"Quite a fruitful night: with the Tao Embryo Pill and derivative Qi Fortune enhancement, I could gain so much even from standard classics."
Zhao Xing checked the panel.