A crowd of people surrounded “the Eighty-Sixth Prince,” showering him with praise.

Although Huang Rang’s feelings were complicated, she still squeezed into the crowd.

The Empress wore magnificent robes and had a beautiful countenance. Only having just given birth, she was somewhat weak.

The Eighty-Sixth Prince in her arms was wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes. Because autumn had arrived, they feared he might catch wind. The Empress only let everyone look at him briefly before having the wet nurse carry him away.

Huang Rang couldn’t even touch him.

She gazed at the infant being carried away, her face full of vicissitudes.

After the full moon celebration, the couple Qu Manying and He Xijin had to return to the Ruyi Sword Sect.

Before leaving, Qu Manying accompanied Huang Rang to select the best student quarters. He Xijin busied himself buying mattresses and quilts, and the couple together made the bed for Huang Rang.

In the end, they didn’t leave out even bowls and cups, helping her prepare everything.

Huang Rang silently watched the two bustle about. Qu Manying looked at the student quarters, still worried, and pulled out some spirit stones for her: “This is this month’s allowance. You must spend it sparingly. Understand?”

She earnestly instructed: “But if it’s not enough, you must tell Aunt. Aunt will pay the academy fees on time. Your mother and sister are at home with Aunt watching over them. You’re alone here studying, so you’ll inevitably suffer more hardships. But you were born an earth demon, and seed breeding is indeed most suitable for you. So you must study hard…”

She patiently and meticulously instructed her on everything.

Huang Rang listened carefully.

These principles, actually didn’t need much explanation. Did she not understand?

But in this life across several dreams, this was the first time someone taught her this way.

Finally, the couple He Xijin left the Seed Breeding Academy.

Huang Rang saw them out, watching the two board the carriage.

For the first time in her life, she felt attachment.

But ultimately, in the human world there are meetings and partings.

She waited until the couple’s carriage traveled far away before Huang Rang returned to the Seed Breeding Academy.

The current Seed Breeding Academy’s scale wasn’t large.

It was just a small academy, hidden within the Ministry of Works. Inside, the total number of students added up to only just over one hundred.

Moreover, there were only two earth demons.

Now with Huang Rang added, there were only three.

For ordinary people studying seed breeding, it was very difficult to achieve anything. Most mastered some textbook knowledge to teach and educate others.

Therefore, the court also didn’t place much importance on this place. The funds allocated each year were very limited.

This point could be seen just from the Seed Breeding Academy’s extremely shabby environment.

As Huang Rang walked inside, she examined her surroundings.

At the Seed Breeding Academy entrance hung a wooden plaque with black characters on a white background, on which was written “Seed Breeding Academy.” At the end was written the inscription “Inscribed by Zong Zigui.”

Entering through this gate, inside on the left was the Ministry of Works’ warehouse. Inside were messily piled various lumber, iron nails, hammers and so on.

On the right was the Seed Breeding Academy’s lecture hall.

Going further in were the student quarters where students lived.

Huang Rang entered the lecture hall. Inside, Zong Zigui was lecturing.

There was only this one teacher here.

He glanced at Huang Rang, sighed, and said: “You go sit over there!”

Huang Rang looked in the direction he pointed. It was the last row, and there were indeed empty seats.

She acknowledged and, meeting all the students’ appraising gazes, went to the last row. She was only eight years old, so her stature was already small. In a lecture hall with over a hundred students, sitting in the last row, she truly couldn’t even see the teacher.

But Zong Zigui didn’t care about her either—an eight-year-old child, and an earth demon at that. What could she understand?

Speaking of which, Sect Leader He and his wife were also too hasty.

Zong Zigui sighed inwardly, only hoping this child wouldn’t cry and make a fuss. Otherwise how would he console her?

Huang Rang sat down but didn’t cry or fuss.

——This really wasn’t necessary.

The last row was a good position. It made whatever she did not very conspicuous.

Huang Rang opened the textbook on the desk. This surprisingly wasn’t a cultivation manual, but a civilian printed edition.

——Huang Rang truly hadn’t seen such an archaic textbook in a long time.

Immortal sect cultivation manuals not only had no weight, but the characters had a faint glow, and were convenient for quick memorization and searching. If the content needed changing, one only needed to rewrite it. Such old textbooks were indeed heavy and inconvenient.

Huang Rang flipped through a few pages and discovered their theoretical knowledge was actually quite abundant.

She buried her head in reading. On the podium, Zong Zigui lectured seriously. He wore white scholarly robes and a scholar’s cap, appearing stern and learned.

When this class was almost finished, he said: “After school, go to the trial fields to practice what was learned today. Germination dates, watering and fertilizing frequencies must all be carefully recorded.”

——There were trial fields?

Huang Rang’s spirits lifted. Earth demons were indeed naturally interested in soil and fields.

The previous dream cultivating martial arts had truly been unbearable.

Zong Zigui brought all the students to the trial fields in back. The students all carried charcoal pencils and paper with them. They quickly found their own plots of land and began recording the growth of their seedlings.

Huang Rang looked and couldn’t help but feel disappointed—these trial fields were also too small. The key point was, these already small trial fields were actually divided into over a hundred plots for over a hundred students to use.

What could they grow with this?

Huang Rang walked to the field’s edge and saw that each small plot of land had a numbered marker inserted in it.

Zong Zigui, hands clasped behind his back, inspected the seedlings in these plots one by one. Huang Rang couldn’t help but ask: “Teacher, where is my plot of land?”

“You?” Zong Zigui seemed to only then remember he had newly enrolled a student named Huang Rang. He frowned and after a long while said: “You’re still too young. First follow along and listen to lectures. When you’re a bit older, Teacher will allocate you the largest and most fertile plot of land. All right?”

This carried a bit of the tone of coaxing a child. Huang Rang didn’t fall for this trick at all. She immediately rolled her eyes and said: “Is Teacher trying to deceive me because he sees I’m young? I’ve already heard that the Seed Breeding Academy collects tuition precisely to provide trial fields.”

She snorted and said: “Teacher doesn’t give me trial fields, yet collects the same tuition. Where’s the logic in that?”

“Ah?!” Zong Zigui was stunned and after a long while laughed despite himself. “You little girl, at such a young age, you have quite a cunning mind.”

He looked left and right, also troubled—the Seed Breeding Academy had a set number of students it enrolled each year.

This year suddenly adding one Huang Rang, where would he get a trial field for her?

But he also couldn’t not give her one—after all, she was a child sent by He Xijin. If he truly made her cry, that would also be bad.

If not for the monk’s face, then for the Buddha’s face.

His gaze lingered around, and he suddenly pointed to a distant location: “There we are. Teacher will allocate this plot of land to you, all right?”

This was a barren plot, right next to the entrance steps, made of sandy soil. There were even a few wild grasses growing on it.

Zong Zigui coaxed Huang Rang: “Look how big this plot is, right?”

As he spoke, afraid Huang Rang would cry and fuss, he could only find another student number marker and insert it in that plot of land for her.

Huang Rang looked sideways for a while, still resentful and indignant: “For this plot of land, you must at least refund my uncle and aunt half the tuition.”

Zong Zigui was truly afraid of her and laughed: “Yes, yes, yes. Teacher is benefiting from your presence.”

Fortunately, Huang Rang also didn’t quibble too much.

The Seed Breeding Academy distributed farming tools to all students. She also received a set and began tending to this plot of land.

Of course, no one took her seriously—an eight-year-old student, the Seed Breeding Academy had never had one since its opening.

Even if she was an earth demon, what could she understand?

Probably He Xijin was just finding a place for her to play. In any case, the Ruyi Sword Sect wasn’t short of money.

Huang Rang examined this barren plot. What could be planted here?

Alas, she weeded while sighing—originally she had eagerly run to the capital for Di Yiqiu’s sake. Who would have thought he was still just that tiny. This was one thing, but the key point was he was now in the palace and couldn’t be seen at all.

And she still had to toil away here tending to such a small barren plot.

——I truly was born to a bitter fate.

Having finally been able to enjoy good fortune with Uncle and Aunt, she jumped from the rice basket into the chaff basket again.

Huang Rang was full of complaints.

But she had no choice.

Time passed from autumn to spring, spring to autumn.

Huang Rang watched batch after batch of seeds at the Seed Breeding Academy being sown and harvested. In the blink of an eye, four years passed. Even a place like the Seed Breeding Academy produced several famous varieties.

Only Huang Rang accomplished nothing.

She lay flat at the Seed Breeding Academy, not listening to lectures, not doing practice, pointlessly consuming the tuition He Xijin paid each year.

After the previous dream’s hundred-plus years of grinding study life, she had finally become a slacker known to all.

Whenever Zong Zigui complained to He Xijin, He Xijin always pulled him into several thousand words of self-reflection, plus several thousand words of gratitude to Zong Zigui. After reporting twice, Zong Zigui finally kept silent.

This year, the Empress passed away from illness.

The Eighty-Sixth Prince was just four years old, dexterous and meticulous, full of curiosity about casting and alchemy.

Shi Wenyu simply sent him to the Ministry of Works and had him take the weapon caster Qiu Yanming as his master.

Because imperial princes and princesses were deprived of surnames from childhood and didn’t inherit noble titles, Qiu Yanming named him Di Yiqiu.

From then on, the Eighty-Sixth Imperial Prince was raised at the Ministry of Works to study his craft.

Learning of this, Huang Rang was quite excited, feeling this must be a heaven-sent match.

But unexpectedly, even having left the imperial family, the Eighty-Sixth Imperial Prince was still an incomparably noble person. Qiu Yanming’s fame was also known throughout the land. Not only was their master-disciple residence heavily guarded, but outsiders also couldn’t approach even the place where they worked.

So Huang Rang rubbed her fists and palms together, yet had no place to use her strength.

On this day, Huang Rang as usual didn’t go to lectures.

Following news she had painstakingly obtained, she quietly snuck to a heavily patrolled casting workshop at the Ministry of Works.

——Fortunately she had cultivated martial arts in the previous dream. Otherwise with the strict guards here, trying to sneak in would probably be extremely difficult.

Huang Rang climbed up the wall and quietly looked into the courtyard.

She saw a huge casting furnace standing in the courtyard. The renowned casting master Qiu Yanming sat in a reclining chair. Before him, a small boy was bent over carving a jade object.

Huang Rang was far away and couldn’t see the patterns on the jade. She only saw the small boy’s head half-lowered, revealing an extremely delicate and adorable profile. Huang Rang tilted her head, striving to see his full face clearly, only feeling that the boy was incomparably refined to the eye.

Thinking again of the students at the Seed Breeding Academy, she felt each one was crude. How could they be as pleasing to the eye as him?

She perched on her tiptoes against the wall, wanting to climb higher.

Unexpectedly, the boy in the courtyard seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head to look over.

Huang Rang, struck by his clear, bright gaze, nearly fell off the courtyard wall.

“Concentrate!” Qiu Yanming detected the small boy’s distraction and said sternly.

The small boy said softly: “Master, there’s someone on the wall.”

Qiu Yanming raised his eyelids slightly and scolded: “A weapon caster’s mind must be unified, and should not be moved by external things. Do you know your error?”

The small boy said: “This disciple knows his error.”

Huang Rang’s heart melted hearing this. However, Qiu Yanming immediately continued: “That person outside is a Seed Breeding Academy student who has accomplished nothing in several years, wasting her nature as an earth demon. You must not learn from her.”

Huang Rang was speechless.

And hearing this, that small boy’s brow furrowed. He said: “This disciple humbly remembers Master’s teachings.”

No, listen to my explanation! Huang Rang cried out silently. But that small boy, after being scolded by his master, concentrated on carving from then on, not even shifting his gaze half an inch.

Huang Rang kept watch on the wall for most of the day. Finally, Qiu Yanming saw that his disciple was no longer disturbed by external things.

He—he then called the guards to capture Huang Rang and throw her out.

Incidentally scolding Zong Zigui.

Zong Zigui was inexplicably scolded by the respected senior he admired. Furious to the point of fainting, he punished Huang Rang by making her stand all night balancing a water bucket on her head.

In the latter half of the night, still unable to calm his anger, he poured another bucket of water into the bucket.

The next day, Huang Rang again snuck into the casting workshop.

She saw Di Yiqiu with his sleeves rolled high, learning carpentry.

“Di Yiqiu…” Seeing Qiu Yanming wasn’t there, Huang Rang called softly.

But in the courtyard, Di Yiqiu didn’t move a muscle, listening as if he hadn’t heard.

Huang Rang could only throw over a bag of candied fruit from her bosom.

The candied fruit struck the smoothly planed wooden board with a smacking sound. But Di Yiqiu paid no attention whatsoever.

Inside the room, Qiu Yanming praised: “Very good. This child can receive my mantle. My efforts in old age to take on a disciple and transmit my craft are not in vain.” Finishing, he looked at Huang Rang on the wall, and immediately transformed from loving father to vicious dog: “Stinking girl, if you dare come here again, I’ll break your dog legs! Get lost!”

Having said this, he picked up the candied fruit from the courtyard and threw it at Huang Rang. Huang Rang nearly had her face struck head-on. Fortunately, her body was agile and she dodged disaster.

After several more days, Huang Rang again climbed up the wall. Feeling pain in her hand, she looked and discovered the wall was covered with sharp spikes.

Huang Rang was furious. She returned to the Seed Breeding Academy and busied herself for several days. Then she brought a package of seeds to outside the casting workshop and scattered them inside.

Three days later, the casting workshop was filled with sharp thorns. These thorns grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, and were incomparably hard. Ordinary tools couldn’t cut them down.

The Ministry of Works dug endlessly. They watched helplessly as the thorns climbed up the walls, crawled into windows. Everyone complained bitterly.

The casting workshop had no choice but to stop work to dig out the thorns.

No one understood the reason. Only the tiny Eighty-Sixth Prince knew where these thorns came from.

——That girl who always climbed up the courtyard wall to peek inside was indeed not a proper person.

Master was right!

Huang Rang still came daily, but Di Yiqiu never spoke a single word to her.

Now he could remain unaffected by Huang Rang. No matter what strange sounds Huang Rang made or what actions she took, he concentrated on casting and looked without seeing.

Days passed one by one. Zong Zigui more than once urged Huang Rang to leave the academy and return to the He family to farm.

Unfortunately, despite his earnest persuasion, Huang Rang paid no attention. As for He Xijin’s side, Teacher Zong didn’t dare speak.

So this slacker was able to make a name for herself at the Seed Breeding Academy.

——Everyone knew the Seed Breeding Academy had a poor student.

Thirteen years of study, not a single variety bred.

Until this year, when Emperor Shi Wenyu failed to pacify the Yuhu Immortal Sect and formally decided to cultivate the path of longevity. He changed the reign name to Chengyuan.

In the first year of Chengyuan, the court announced the establishment of the Directorate of Astronomy, with the Eighty-Sixth Imperial Prince Di Yiqiu appointed as Director.

Weapon casting, alchemy, seed breeding and all other immortal sect affairs were all merged under the Directorate of Astronomy’s management.

After Di Yiqiu took office as Director, Shi Wenyu also spent enormous sums to convince the wandering immortal Li Lu and martial cultivator Baowu to serve as Deputy Directors.

The Directorate of Astronomy, which would later become famous throughout the immortal sects and almost rival the Yuhu Immortal Sect, now showed its initial form.

The Seed Breeding Academy was naturally also merged into the Directorate of Astronomy. All students had to address him as Teacher.

So Huang Rang discovered in shock that after fourteen years of slacking, she had actually become his student.

…All right, though embarrassing, she was still happy for him. Di Yiqiu, welcome back.

Her happiness lasted only a moment before she received a written order sent by the Director.

This dog of a thing, could it be he’s always remembered me? Also been thinking of me? So upon taking office, he impatiently wrote a letter to me?!

Huang Rang was so excited her hands shook. She opened the written order and discovered it was an expulsion notice.

——Di Yiqiu had expelled her from the Seed Breeding Academy.

Actually, Di Yiqiu didn’t even want to give her this written order. If not for He Xijin and his wife’s sake, he even wanted to directly send people to throw Huang Rang out of the Seed Breeding Academy.

He was disgusted to the extreme by this old slacker who in fourteen years hadn’t bred a single variety and accomplished nothing. He had always been diligent and most disliked idle people. Yet Huang Rang, spending He Xijin’s tuition money, doing nothing, playing with cats and teasing dogs, was extremely lazy.

——Truly… a puddle of mud that couldn’t be supported onto a wall!

Here, Huang Rang stared at this written order. The four words “accomplished nothing in studies” stabbed her heart like sharp knives.

“Dog of a thing,” she murmured. “You actually dare despise this old lady for accomplishing nothing in studies. Watch this old lady give you a small knife in the butt to open your eyes!”