Tian Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned back, admiring the glowing herb field. The air was rich with spiritual fragrance, and the once-dull garden now looked like a painting come alive.

He smiled faintly. "If I can grow herbs like this, the Alchemy Elder will have to notice me," he muttered. "And once he does, I'll get a chance to move up—maybe even become an official Alchemy Disciple."

Rolling his shoulders, he checked the soil's spiritual flow one last time. Everything was stable—balanced, even thriving. The Spirit Rebirth Technique had done more than just revive the plants; it had made the entire garden hum with gentle life force.

"Alright," he said, dusting off his hands. "Now I just need proof."

He plucked a few of the glowing herbs, placed them neatly in a basket, and started toward the collection hall. The servant disciples nearby stopped their work as he passed.

"Hey, farmer boy," one of them called out. "What did you do to those herbs? They're glowing like treasure!"

Tian Lei just chuckled. "A bit of care and patience. Try it sometime."

The disciples exchanged bewildered looks as he walked off. Inside, Tian Lei couldn't help but feel a flicker of excitement. The trial wanted him to rise from a simple farmer to an alchemy disciple—and he already had the perfect card to play.

"If these herbs test out at tier three or higher," he thought with a grin, "the elder won't just notice me. He might personally recruit me."

With that goal burning in his mind, he picked up his pace. The golden dusk light trailed behind him as he made his way toward the alchemy pavilion—his next step toward the heart of the trial.

Soon, he was at the Alchemy pavilion where he went to the booth where one have to submit the the planst they have grown.

When Tian Lei handed over the herbs, the tester—a middle-aged disciple in green robes—nearly dropped his inspection crystal.

"These… these are tier-four herbs!" the man stammered. "Their purity's perfect, and the spiritual concentration is higher than anything we've received this month!"

Whispers spread through the hall like wildfire. Within moments, an attendant came running back with a sealed scroll.

"By order of the Alchemy Elder," the attendant announced, bowing slightly, "you are to be transferred immediately to the Middle Herb Garden. Congratulations, Farmer Tian Lei—you've been promoted."

Tian Lei blinked, then smiled faintly. "So it begins."

The Middle Herb Garden was several times larger than the one he had just left—rows upon rows of carefully cultivated medicinal plants, each guarded by spirit arrays and tended by more experienced farmers. The air shimmered with condensed spirit energy, and even the soil carried faint traces of alchemical resonance.

"This is where the true alchemists source their materials," Tian Lei murmured, his eyes glinting with curiosity.

He settled into his new duties quickly, analyzing the layout and soil conditions. But he couldn't help sighing as he finished inspecting another irrigation line. "Even here, I'm still just a farmer," he muttered. "To really move up, I'll need to prove I can refine the herbs too—not just grow them."

Tian Lei exhaled slowly, looking over the endless fields of medicine herbs swaying under the faint moonlight.

"If I can improve the yield of this entire garden," he thought, "the Alchemy Elder won't just notice me—he'll depend on me."

With renewed determination, he knelt and pressed his hand against the soil. Threads of golden flame seeped through his fingers, blending with the life essence beneath. The Spirit Rebirth Technique stirred again—ready to evolve.

"Let's see," Tian Lei murmured with a grin, "how far a farmer can go when he aims for the heavens."

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months.

Unlike the herbs in his first garden, these were far more demanding—rare spiritual plants that required precise timing, complex formations, and a near-perfect balance of elemental essence. Each mistake could destroy months of growth.

Tian Lei quickly learned that tending to the Middle Herb Garden wasn't just manual labor—it was an art form that danced on the edge of alchemy itself.

He worked tirelessly, sunrise to sunset, adjusting spirit channels, mending formation lines, and refining his Spirit Rebirth Technique to harmonize with different elemental affinities. Fire herbs demanded warmth and tension, while water herbs required patience and calm. Earth roots wanted stillness; wind herbs thrived under constant motion.

Every day was a lesson. Every failure, a forge.

And Tian Lei endured it all.

He didn't complain, didn't slow down. When other farmers took breaks, he continued working under moonlight, refining small spirit crystals to use as nourishment for the plants. Over time, his golden flames grew softer, more refined—capable of nurturing life as gently as a spring breeze.

By the third month, the once-weary fields of the Middle Garden had transformed. Herbs grew thicker, brighter, stronger. The garden pulsed with steady vitality, as though it had developed its own heartbeat.

The other workers whispered among themselves.

"Have you seen Section Twelve lately? The plants there glow even at night.""That's Tian Lei's section, right? I heard even the Alchemy Disciples come to collect samples now."

But Tian Lei barely noticed the gossip. His focus had shifted—beyond the soil, beyond the plants.

As he watered the spirit roots one evening, he gazed toward the far end of the garden, where a gate engraved with runes stood—The Inner Alchemy Grounds.

That was where true disciples worked. That was where spirit fire met cauldron, where herbs were reborn as pills that could heal or destroy.

Tian Lei shook his head, tearing his gaze away from the distant gate. "No point dreaming about it yet," he muttered. "One step at a time."

He wasn't in a rush anymore. The first few months had burned with ambition, but now—now he understood the rhythm of this place. The garden itself had its own pulse, and he had learned to move with it.

Days passed quietly. He worked steadily, not chasing recognition, not seeking shortcuts. He would water the herbs, test the soil's essence, repair formations when needed, and refine his Spirit Rebirth Technique whenever time allowed.

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