The students knew the Agricultural College was prestigious, but their youthful nature dictated that they aspired to become spiritual practitioners.
Qingchen smiled and shook his head: "You guys chat, I have to go to class."
"Chen Nian, why didn't you come back to the dorm the other day?" Chen Sui asked tentatively in the dorm.
"Oh, I was selected for the Wizarding Department of the Extraordinary Academy. There was a three-day intensive training, so I didn't come back," Qing Chen explained casually. "See you all tonight."
Chen Sui sighed enviously in the dorm, "I never expected Chen Nian, who seems so ordinary, to be selected by the academy. Tang Wei, let's try to win him over in the future. The club has a lot of tasks to do right now, and we can't miss out on those who are capable. Renting a lab costs 2500 points a month, and renting a server room costs 2000 points a month. Our Matrix organization needs to work harder to expand. After this semester ends, let's rent two villas and have a party to celebrate."
Tang Wei's eyes lit up: "Don't worry, everyone's working hard. Liu Ning, would you like to join us?"
A guild can have a maximum of 100 people. The Matrix organization has 87 people, and they still need to recruit 13 more to be considered a fully-equipped guild.
Liu Ning chuckled and said, "You're trying to steal my thunder? Save it. We're saving up points to exchange for a gravity field. I'm going to a wilderness survival class after school this afternoon; that class gives out more points."
"Wow, you actually chose this course!" Tang Wei exclaimed enviously.
There are only a limited number of teachers, and each teacher can only teach a limited number of students. Therefore, students have to compete for courses that offer more credits.
If you pass the final exam, you'll receive an extra set of points.
At this moment, Chen Sui frowned as he looked at a reply online.
But then someone asked under Ma Jingjing's post, "Hey bro, has Qingchen come to the school yet?"
Ma Jingjing replied: "I'm here, at the Institute of Science and Technology."
Chen Sui hesitated. Had Qing Chen already arrived at the academy? And was he even inside the School of Science and Technology?
He tried to recall all the details, but he couldn't remember which person matched Qing Chen's characteristics.
No, I need to observe him carefully during class today.
...
...
Qing Chen slowly walked behind a reef, entered the password, and entered a long tunnel, a passage specifically for him to infiltrate the Agricultural Academy.
He changed his clothes and appearance in the passageway, and then swaggered down into the underground of the war fortress.
Inside the war fortress, eight students stood silently in the square.
They surveyed their surroundings. The fortress looked magnificent from the outside, but inside... it was completely bare. This fortress, larger than a football field, contained nothing but land.
Zard, wearing a mask, stood in the square, but the saplings were nowhere to be seen.
This was Qing Chen's request, because the Agricultural Academy was too important, so he wanted to screen the students there, and therefore the background of the Agricultural Academy could not be guessed by Zard.
Zard said in a deep voice, "I am a specially appointed teacher at the College of Agriculture."
Nangong Yuanyu hesitated and asked, "Are you the only one in the academy?"
At this moment, Qing Chen walked out of the main building of the fortress and said with a smile, "Hello everyone, I am the dean of the Agricultural Academy. You can just call me Dean."
Sun Chuci, Tuanzi, Shendai Kongyin, Nangong Yuanyu, Ma Jingjing and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. Who was this dean? They had never seen him before.
Even Yi Wenbo, who insisted that the College of Agriculture was created by Qing Chen, was losing confidence.
Qing Chen smiled and said, "The College of Agriculture is different from other colleges. We focus on hands-on learning. If you can do something, don't just talk. I'm not just referring to the curriculum, but also to your attitudes towards life, both inside and outside the classroom. Do you understand?"
The eight students looked at each other, then said, "We understand..."
At one point, looking at the majestic war fortress around them and recalling the dean's words, they suddenly began to doubt whether they had actually come to the Agricultural Academy...
Qingchen instructed, "Alright, let's begin. First, dig all the tree pits here at 2.5-meter intervals. The shovels are right next to us. Let's get started."
After saying that, Nangong Yuanyu was the first to turn around and grab a shovel.
The others were still hesitant. Weren't we supposed to have a class? Wouldn't they teach us how to cultivate plants? Why are they digging holes right off the bat?
But in the end, everyone, including Kamishiro Sora, started working.
Zard excitedly went to fetch a recliner, and Qingchen lay down on it while Zard fanned himself beside him.
The two of them looked exactly like a landlord and his lackeys and henchmen...
Zard muttered to himself, "Boss, I can finish digging tree pits in three seconds. Why waste their time?"
“It’s different,” Qingchen said only these three words, and then closed his eyes to rest.
Last night, Maki Jinguji tested it, and it's true that forbidden plants like the Camellia sinensis can be accelerated to ripen on Whale Island. Although it's much slower than ordinary plants, it at least proves that his efforts were not in vain!
In the not-too-distant future, we will be able to enjoy tea freedom and fruit freedom!
Throughout the day, apart from Xiaoyu and Li Mengyun, the other six students did not slack off at all.
Even Kamishiro Sora didn't have it.
As for Xiaoyu and Li Mengyun, if they slack off even slightly, Zard will chase them all over the fortress, and if he catches them, he'll plant them in the ground.
The two girls cried and then continued working, and after finishing their work they cried again. Zard's purpose was to assign tasks to everyone, ensuring that everyone pushed their physical limits to the limit, until everyone's emotions were on the verge of collapse...
In the evening, Qing Chen said with a smile, "That's all for today's class. Everyone can go back and rest. By the way, since you are all quite busy at the Agricultural Academy and don't have time to participate in any extracurricular tasks, each person will receive 30 points every day during your time at the Agricultural Academy. This is a fixed amount. Go back and rest now, see you tomorrow."
Qing Chen added, "Of course, if you find it too difficult, you can submit a transfer application to the academy. Everyone has one chance."
At this moment, a large number of students have gathered outside the fortress.
They watched silently as eight students emerged, each covered in dust and dirt, with weeds in their hair, and all of them so exhausted they could barely walk.
At first, the students thought there was something fishy going on at the agricultural college, or perhaps some more mysterious courses.
But at this moment, they believed that this agricultural college... was indeed a place where people were farming!
Xiaoyu and Li Mengyun, in particular, walked away crying.
That's too cruel...
I walked back to the dormitory.
Of the eight people, only Sun Chuci, Nangong Yuanyu, and Shen Daikongyin could remain calm.
They were all wailing loudly; their pitiful cries could be heard even from outside the door.
Some students who had originally been interested in the College of Agriculture immediately backed out.
They looked at the dark, imposing war fortress in the distance, and even felt a pang of fear...
...
...
Inside the war fortress.
Zheng Yuandong emerged from the darkness, smiling as he looked at Qing Chen: "You finally managed to recruit eight students, why are you making things so difficult for them?"
Qing Chen lay back in his chair, looking at the Kunlun leader: "The Agricultural Academy is quite important to me, so the people who come here must at least be able to endure hardship."
Zheng Yuandong looked at Qing Chen: "You're the dean, I don't care how you teach, I don't care if you can recruit students in the future, and I don't care what you want to grow. How about we discuss the previous matters? Shall we make a deal?"
Qing Chen stood up and said seriously, "I found what you were looking for."
“I know,” Zheng Yuandong said with a smile, “After all, it was Qing’s shadow personally who took action. It’s easy for him to find something that has been overlooked.”
Qingchen shook his head: "It wasn't easy, it was really not easy."
To outsiders, it might seem like Shadow simply snatched the item with a flick of his wrist, but Qingchen knew very well that every time that older brother used his power, he was ending his own life.
Therefore, everyone in the world can say that it's easy for the shadow to find this thing, but he can't say that.
Because this was something his brother had given his life for.
Qingchen took out a piece of paper from his pocket: "Find five old Taoist priests who can understand the Immortal Script. There must be some in the old temples deep in the mountains who can understand it. I will have them translate this thing and give it to you in its entirety. But there is one condition."
"What are the conditions?"
"I need the Bystanders to do something for me: find out who killed Ning Xiu back then," Qing Chen said calmly. "The Bystanders are good at investigating things meticulously, and you also have a lot of federal secrets in your hands. I believe you can definitely do it."
Qingchen wants to avenge Shadow.
At all costs.
This was the only thing he could do for his brother.
Chapter 628, Points! Points!
Faced with Qingchen's terms of the deal, Zheng Yuandong hesitated.
He himself was well aware of how worthwhile it was to exchange the forbidden ACE-004 Black True Sight Eye, plus the investigation of a truth, for a legitimate cultivation lineage.
A proper cultivation method is enough to support an organization or a family.
But Zheng Yuandong couldn't accept it.
This piqued Qing Chen's curiosity: "What, is it that the bystander organization can't do it?"
“First of all, the Bystanders haven’t investigated this matter,” Zheng Yuandong said after a moment of contemplation. “It’s just that the Bystanders’ organization is different in nature. I have the dual identity of Kunlun and Bystanders. I can use Kunlun to do things, but I can’t use Bystanders at will. It’s neutral.”
Zheng Yuandong: "The one who needs the cultivation method is Kunlun Zheng Yuandong, not Bystander Zheng Yuandong. Starting next month, I will step down as chairman of the board of directors of the Bystander organization. At that time, everything will be back on track for the Bystanders, and a new candidate will take over. The Bystanders can also continue to do what they want to do without being dragged down by me and Kunlun."
Kunlun Zheng Yuandong and Bystander Zheng Yuandong are clearly the same person.
However, Zheng Yuandong himself sees a significant difference.
"Why remain neutral?" Qing Chen asked.
"Aside from their abilities, these bystanders are just investigative journalists," Zheng Yuandong explained. "What they have to do is to truthfully record the history that happens in the world and then compile it into a chronicle. Regardless of poverty or wealth, regardless of the pressure they face from any conglomerate, as long as it is within their scope of duty, they will persevere through thick and thin."
Qing Chen said, "Isn't investigating the cause of death of a woman named Ning Xiu also part of history? This woman's death even changed some of the Federation's course, which I think is very important."
“But the history recorded by bystanders is for future generations to see, and all the materials have a 100-year confidentiality period,” Zheng Yuandong said.
"What's the difference between showing it to the present generation and showing it to future generations?" Qingchen wondered.
“History for the present is the hope of the media, while history for future generations is the history of bystander organizations,” Zheng Yuandong thought for a moment, “Actually, it’s because the bystander organizations are not strong enough. Once some truths are released, they will be immediately countered by conglomerates, and they cannot withstand such retaliation.”
Zheng Yuandong: "Just last year, an observer investigated the matter of 'a faction of the Qing clan using wild men to test the rules of the forbidden land.' After his identity was discovered, the Qing clan faction brutally murdered him, and the truth of that incident disappeared into the river of time. Therefore, in order to let future generations know the truth of today, the observer organization chose to compromise and endure. You may think they are a bit cowardly or pretentious, but this is the only way to protect the true history."
"Aren't you going to take revenge?" Qing Chen asked.
Zheng Yuandong calmly said, "Bystanders don't seek revenge because they are not an organization skilled in force. They are as insignificant as ants in front of conglomerates. If bystanders seek revenge, it will lead to retaliation from the Qing family and distract other bystanders from investigating the truth. Endless revenge is not as important as the truth of history."
“The Forbidden Tribunal is also a neutral organization, and the conglomerate will not kill anyone from the Forbidden Tribunal,” Qing Chen said.