"It's time to weigh the fruits of your half-year's labor!"
The moment these words were spoken, the surrounding disciples immediately turned their eyes toward him, expressions filled with anticipation.
Although the more experienced spirit farmers could already estimate Li Ye's harvest just by the sight of his sacks each stuffed to the brim with spirit rice they still couldn't help but look forward to the official weighing.
With a casual toss, Xiao Qiang flung the scale rod in his hand. It caught the wind and instantly expanded to an enormous size.
It was a low-grade magical tool!
"Then I'll trouble Senior Brother."
Li Ye cupped his hands in salute, then used his spiritual power to levitate the sacks of rice onto the scale's platform one by one.
As soon as the rod began to tip, the counterweight on the other end rapidly swelled, displaying changing numbers on its surface.
When the rod returned to balance, the number on the counterweight finally settled:
287 jin.
"That much?!"
Someone in the crowd couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
After all, the maximum yield per mu of Tier-1 spirit rice was usually around 500 jin.
Li Ye had achieved nearly 300 jin with just half a mu of land this was practically the peak of what a low-tier spirit farmer could hope to achieve!
"Not bad! Not bad indeed."
Xiao Qiang nodded in praise, then looked to Li Ye and asked,
"The task only requires you to submit 100 jin. One jin of spirit rice equals one point of sect contribution. Do you want to keep the rest, or exchange it for contribution points?"
"I'd like to keep it for myself."
Li Ye answered respectfully.
It wasn't that he planned to eat it all.
The main ingredient for the beginner-tier pill, the Fasting Pill, was precisely various types of Tier-1 spirit rice.
Even though Li Ye had already decided to improve his alchemy through experience points, some hands-on practice was still necessary.
Even if he wanted to build a reputation for himself, it had to start with low-grade products and grow step by step.
If he suddenly began refining pills that only seasoned alchemists could make, wouldn't that be the same as announcing to the world that he had some kind of secret?
Xiao Qiang didn't comment. He simply collected 100 jin of spirit rice and returned the rest to Li Ye.
Before leaving, his lips moved slightly as he transmitted a message directly into Li Ye's mind:
"Once everything is done, report to the main hall."
Li Ye didn't reply out loud he just gave another respectful bow.
Xiao Qiang moved on without another word, flying over to the other fields to continue weighing and collecting his share of the harvest.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhang!"
Li Ye walked up and offered his congratulations to Zhang Liangfu, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hahaha! That's all thanks to your guidance, Junior Brother!"
Zhang Liangfu replied with enthusiasm.
His harvest had just been weighed over 220 jin of spirit rice.
Though it didn't quite match Li Ye's, it was still close to the maximum yield, and more than enough to earn him a place in the assessment.
"That's all your hard work…"
Li Ye waved it off, instinctively trying to deflect the credit. He didn't want to gain any more attention than necessary.
He had only just managed to push Li Zongyin into the spotlight no way was he going to draw the attention back onto himself!
"No need to say another word, Junior Brother!"
Zhang Liangfu interrupted firmly.
He pulled a small sack of spirit rice about ten jin from his storage pouch and held it in both hands as he offered it to Li Ye.
"You've shared your knowledge with me, and I, Zhang Liangfu, have nothing else to offer in return… Please, Junior Brother, taste the spirit rice I grew myself!"
"This…"
Such heartfelt appreciation, especially after all that backbreaking labor Li Ye was truly touched.
Li Ye looked at the man's resolute expression and couldn't help but smile.
"Then I'll gladly accept it!"
With that, he took the rice sack from Zhang Liangfu and stored it away carefully.
However, whether it was because Zhang Liangfu had set an example or not, shortly after, Hu Zhiquan also walked over, holding a small five-jin sack of rice.
"Old Hu here has a family to feed, so I can't be too generous… but please, Junior Brother, try some of this spirit rice. It's the least I can offer for the teachings you shared with us!"
The other disciples looked at each other, and those spirit farmers who had once discussed cultivation techniques with Li Ye whose fields had now seen great harvests made up their minds. Each took out a few jin of spirit rice and stepped forward.
"Junior Brother, this is my spirit rice…"
"Please, try this rice that grew thanks to your guidance…"
"Your teachings deserve something in return…"
Even though only a few had directly benefited from Li Ye's advice, those few were now willingly offering up their thanks.
In no time, a small crowd had gathered in front of him. Sacks of rice, large and small, piled up at his feet adding up to several dozen jin of spirit rice!
"Everyone…"
Li Ye looked at the scene before him, his heart trembling slightly, a mix of laughter and helplessness in his expression.
Heaven knows when he first decided to help them tend their fields and share his insights, it was purely to save some experience points and level up on his own.
He never expected that, as his discussions deepened, more and more disciples would join in…
And he certainly didn't expect that, even now, they would remember and appreciate his help so deeply.
"Just accept it, Junior Brother."
It was Zhang Liangfu who spoke up again, his tone light with a hint of humor.
"Now that you've accepted our spirit rice, you can't just brush us off when we come to you with questions in the future!"
"Exactly! That's right!"
The others chimed in quickly.
"Ah, so that was your plan all along, Senior Brother Zhang?"
Li Ye chuckled and looked around at the crowd.
"Well, if that's the case, I shall humbly accept your kindness."
"To have so many disciples willingly offer spirit rice in thanks… this young man is truly something…"
Floating in the sky above, the Foundation Establishment elder watched the scene unfold and nodded slightly in approval.
On the other side, Xiao Qiang, who was overseeing the spirit rice weighing, noticed the commotion and was visibly surprised.
"Giving away spirit rice…? These spirit farmer disciples are willing to part with it?"
Since Xiao Qiang had taken over as the supervisor on behalf of his master, this was something he had never seen before.
For a moment, even he couldn't help but sigh.
"To have earned such a reputation among the disciples and his skills are just as impressive… If only this Junior Brother Li had a bit more cultivation, he'd be more suited than me to oversee this place…"
"What a pity…"
…
"Huh… So that was it?"
Outside the main hall, Li Ye muttered to himself.
They called it an assessment.
But that Elder Wang from the Foundation Establishment realm had simply sat there, said a few words of praise, and nothing more.
Xiao Qiang, seated to the elder's lower left, also didn't make things difficult.
He just exchanged a few words with Li Ye asked a couple of questions about tending certain spirit herbs and then handed him a wooden token, saying he could now use it to take on planting tasks at the Spirit Herb Garden.
As a late-stage cultivator, Xiao Qiang's attitude was nothing like before. When Li Ye had first come knocking, the man had practically ignored him.
Now, there was even a touch of friendliness in his tone.
The whole situation left Li Ye a bit baffled.
"Could this be the perk of a bountiful spirit rice harvest?"
He shook his head.
"Anyway… I wonder how Senior Brother Zhang is doing…"
Patting the storage pouch containing dozens of jin of spirit rice, Li Ye didn't linger any longer and walked away.
Today's harvest wasn't just about rice.
All the experience points he'd quietly accumulated over the past few months were still waiting on his status panel just ready to be spent.