Feng Yiqiao’s passion cooled significantly when he arrived at the small courtyard halfway up the mountain.
The courtyard was tranquil, bathed in thick starlight essence.
Even someone like him—a notoriously underperforming student—could clearly sense it.
Because of the dense star essence, the surrounding plants brimmed with vitality. Some flowers and grasses even bounced around like playful children.
“What are you dawdling for outside?” Si Kui’s voice sounded directly in his mind.
Feng Yiqiao jolted and said, “Teacher, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”
“Come in.”
“Y-Yes.”
The wooden gate to the courtyard opened silently.
Inside, it was serene and rustic. Si Kui was half-reclined in a wicker chair, lost in thought.
Feng Yiqiao wasn’t afraid of Si Kui.
When he came to Zhongdu Military Academy at seventeen, he joined the Agronomy Department—not under Si Kui at first, but under a fourth-grade instructor.
That instructor only met him once and gave no guidance before rushing off to the Star Realm battlefield overnight.
Half a year later, almost the entire Agronomy Department faculty had died in battle—only one returned.
All the students chose to transfer departments—except Feng Yiqiao.
Months later, when Si Kui emerged from seclusion, she saw him diligently cultivating mutant wheat.
“Your teacher is dead.”
“I’ll be your teacher from now on.”
Feng Yiqiao knelt down and kowtowed deeply.
“Thank you, Dean, for taking me in.”
Later, Lu Shunshun and Xia Putao were transferred into the Agronomy Department.
At first, Si Kui tried to teach them, and they earnestly tried to learn—but it was pure torment for everyone.
Eventually, Si Kui let them fend for themselves and told the academic office:
“Stop assigning students to the Agronomy Department.”
Niu Qianqian, helpless, said, “But what about the department’s funding…?”
Si Kui sneered, “Don’t need it.”
Niu Qianqian knew she couldn’t argue with this boss-level figure.
“Then how about a few teaching assistants?”
Si Kui was even more concise:
“Don’t want them.”
And so, the Agronomy Department ended up as it is now—
One stubborn holdout, two hopeless cases, and a dean who had been in closed-door cultivation for years, yet still couldn’t break into the ninth grade.
Over a decade passed.
Not only were there no students, even the younger generation of teaching assistants forgot the Agronomy Department existed.
Until this year—something changed.
Feng Yiqiao couldn’t sleep a wink.
The thought of the Agronomy Department being dissolved stabbed at his heart.
No! The Agronomy Department must not be disbanded!
And Li Yang was his hope.
That thought gave him courage again. He raised his phone, opened a video, and said, “Teacher, Li Yang really wants to join the Agronomy Department. Look at this.”
The video opened with the assistant from the Star Auxiliary Department promising to cover all graduation fees.
Then came a second-tier dorm in the Alchemy Department, and a growth-type star weapon from the Forging Department…
Si Kui watched expressionlessly—until Li Yang’s voice appeared.
Feng Yiqiao paused the video and said earnestly, “Teacher, she turned down all the lavish offers from the other seven departments. She resolutely chose Agronomy.”
Si Kui looked at him.
“So?”
Feng Yiqiao swallowed hard. “So… we shouldn’t shortchange her, right?”
Of course, Si Kui knew what he meant.
She said indifferently, “If she’s worth nurturing, then it’s nothing.”
Feng Yiqiao was surprised she agreed so easily.
But then it made sense—those so-called generous offers meant nothing to an eighth-grade teacher.
And she didn’t want the Agronomy Department disbanded either, did she?
She must be hoping someone could make it into the top 100 rankings.
That thought brought tears to Feng Yiqiao’s eyes again.
“Clean out that room for her to stay in,” Si Kui said, pointing to the east wing of the courtyard—a room that had long stood empty.
“Got it!” Feng Yiqiao responded excitedly.
He hadn’t even asked yet, but his teacher had already prepared a room for Li Yang. Clearly, she wanted to take on a student. She didn’t want the department to disappear.
“Anything else?”
Feng Yiqiao: “No!”
The moment the words left his mouth, a breeze blew past.
When he opened his eyes, he was already standing at the field.
Lu Shunshun and Xia Putao looked at him eagerly.
“Senior, how did it go?”
Feng Yiqiao beamed, “No problem! Teacher’s letting Li Yang stay in the east wing!”
Neither Lu Shunshun nor Xia Putao were jealous at all.
They clapped happily. “That’s great!”
They had once stayed in the courtyard too—but the star essence was so rich, they couldn’t sleep at all without matching cultivation speed.
When Si Kui gave up on training them and they moved out, they were ecstatic.
But Little Junior Sister was different.
She was incredibly gifted. She could definitely handle that overwhelming starlight!
Their conversation drifted, word for word, to Si Kui’s ears.
She looked at the bloodthirsty lotus in the pond, her fingers tapping the wicker armrest.
“Who… is she?”
Si Kui had lived a long time—how could she be as naive as the kids below the mountain?
Li Yang was most likely deliberately planted to get close to her.
Who sent her?
Almost thirty years had passed. Had they finally run out of patience?
Even if Feng Yiqiao hadn’t brought it up, Si Kui wouldn’t have left such a volatile factor unattended.
She wanted Li Yang close, right under her nose—so she could properly observe her.
If she really was just a kid who loved agronomy, she wouldn’t be mistreated.
If she was someone’s planted agent…
Heh.
She’d like to see who was behind it all.
***
On Department Selection Day.
New students didn’t need to gather.
They could select their department via the school’s app.
Submit the application, wait for review, and once approved, report to the department.
The selection portal opened at 8 a.m. sharp.
Li Yang planned to go to the Agronomy Department after choosing her major—maybe even harvest some wheat.
At 8:00, she opened the app, entered her name and ID, and selected Agronomy.
The process was quick—within a minute, she had submitted her application.
A while later, a message popped up:
“Congratulations to freshman Li Yang of Class 301 for being accepted into the Agronomy Department of Zhongdu First Military Academy.”
Only then did she officially become a student.
She glanced at her tier-4 dorm and decided:
“Forget it, even if it’s free, I’m not staying. Might as well move to the Agronomy Department early. Maybe I can harvest wheat tonight!”
She didn’t have much luggage—packed up in a few simple steps.
Meanwhile, the school forum exploded.
Department selections were posted in real time.
Everyone was watching the bulletin board closely.
Would Li Yang really choose Agronomy?
The biggest mystery of Class 301 was about to be revealed!
When the first batch of admissions came out, her name stood out among the children of noble families:
Name: Li Yang
Department: Agronomy
New students on the forum screamed:
“She really went to Agronomy?!”
“Maybe she hyped herself up too much and couldn’t back down?”
“Told you—don’t tempt fate!”
“Damn it! I bet she wouldn’t go to Agronomy. Now I’ve lost big!”
Just as Li Yang finished packing, her phone rang—it was Zhong Kun.
Zhong Kun’s voice was full of disbelief:
“Li Yang, are you crazy? You’re really going to Agronomy?”
Li Yang replied calmly.
Zhong Kun grew anxious:
“You’ll lose a lot by going there! Don’t be fooled by your fast progress—it’s only because you’re at tier-1. Once you hit tier-2, the difficulty multiplies. And breaking into tier-3? That takes ten times the resources!”
“Think about it—why do star wielders value noble heritage so much? Because to cultivate a grandmaster-level star wielder, a whole family has to go all in!”
A “Grandmaster” wasn’t a tier-9 expert—but someone who broke past tier-6 into tier-7.
Tier-9?
That was a “Great Grandmaster,” a supreme being—a pillar holding up all of Huaxia.
Zhong Kun’s thoughts mirrored those of Fang Chuyun.
They were worried about her in their own ways.
So Li Yang patiently explained her reasoning.
After a long silence, Zhong Kun finally said, “Alright, everyone has their own path.”
Li Yang responded calmly: “I was just an ordinary person. Becoming a star wielder was already a stroke of luck. As for how far I can go—that’s up to fate.”
After hanging up, Zhong Kun felt a sense of loss.
“It’s poverty… Poverty has limited her vision!”
He’d found the answer. Then he sighed, “Why couldn’t that monstrous talent fall on me?!”
“But the Alchemy Department doesn’t really focus on cultivating herbs, right?”
“Yeah, it all seems pretty mysterious…” someone whispered.
“I actually tried to look up what the Agriculture Department was like decades ago, and guess what…”
“What?”
“Couldn’t find a thing! Absolutely nothing! Said I didn’t have the clearance…”
“Wow, that mysterious?”
Just then, Lu Shunshun came out yawning and said loudly, “Are you all here to admire the golden wheat plantation?”
The students: “???”
What the heck.
Lu Shunshun added, “Viewing tickets are 1 merit point per person.”
Someone scoffed, “Why don’t you just rob us instead? Who would buy a ticket like that?”
Lu Shunshun said calmly, “The mutant wheat plantation is under the jurisdiction of the Central Cafeteria.
Facial scan payment is now enabled. Students not from the Agriculture Department who stay more than 10 minutes will automatically be charged the ticket fee.”
The senior students watching: “???”Someone didn’t buy it.