The next day, the gates of the Ling Manor finally opened under the expectant gazes of the people. Those who had been waiting for an eternity surged in, eager to enter, lest they be a moment late.
Due to the large number of arrivals, with people from many countries having come in recent days, including those from Upper-tier Nations and even some from Superpowers who were quick to act, they were mostly residing near the Ling Manor. Upon learning that the gates of the Ling Manor had opened, they all arrived at once, with more people continuously coming.
Even though the main hall of the Ling Manor was large enough, it could not accommodate so many people at once. Thus, Ling Qi and his three brothers, along with Bai Jingzhi and the three madams, had to take them to different parts of the front courtyard to converse.
Consequently, in the front courtyard of the Ling Manor, people were gathered in various locations. With so many guests arriving, the servants in the front courtyard were somewhat overwhelmed. Therefore, the maids and servants of the young masters and ladies of the Ling Manor also went to help.
While Ling Huayu and the others in the front courtyard were incredibly busy, the younger generation in the back courtyard was also diligently cultivating. Ling Luofan and a few others had returned to the Ancient Spirit Academy using the Small World as their holiday had begun, while Ling Luoyi was assessing her five nominal students.
In the pavilion within the Qingyin Pavilion courtyard, Ling Luoyi placed a spiritual herb on the stone table and said, "The books I gave you before I left, you've been reading them for nearly three months. You should have some impression of the contents. So, tell me, what is the name of this spiritual herb, its age, and what primary ingredient it is for refining which type of pill. Don't rush to answer, observe carefully first."
Upon hearing this, the five noble ladies carefully examined the spiritual herb on the stone table. The herb was about one foot and five inches long, with only three leaves, entirely green in color, with the veins tending towards a bluish hue.
The books provided by Ling Luoyi contained descriptions of many similar spiritual herbs. Coupled with Ling Luoyi's words, the five noble ladies were momentarily undecided.
As the five noble ladies were still contemplating, they suddenly heard the sound of a door opening. Instinctively, they looked over and saw a woman dressed in a grass-green dress walking out of the room. The five ladies were startled, as they had never seen this person before.
Ling Luoyi glanced over, and the five ladies quickly turned their heads back to continue studying the spiritual herb.
Qiu Yuanxi walked out of Ling Luoyi's room, spotted Ling Luoyi's location, and slowly walked over, handing her a storage ring. "Little Luo'er, here's the item for you," she said.
After Ling Luoyi took it, Qiu Yuanxi looked at the five women engrossed in studying the spiritual herb and asked curiously, "Little Luo'er, have you taken on more disciples?"
Ling Luoyi put away the storage ring and lazily replied, "They are not my disciples. I just want to cultivate a few presentable alchemists for the Tianwu Kingdom. They are not bad."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yuanxi also glanced at them and said, "If it's about taking disciples, their talent isn't quite enough, but for cultivation, it's acceptable. Is this an assessment?"
"Yes."
Qiu Yuanxi also glanced at the spiritual herb on the stone table, sat down beside Ling Luoyi, and said, "Using such a spiritual herb to assess apprentices, it's clearly your doing. Speaking of which, if one isn't careful, even a beginner alchemist of the first or second grade might mistake it."
"It's not that difficult, it mainly requires meticulousness."
"You speak the truth," Qiu Yuanxi said, and then fell silent, observing the expressions of the five noble ladies along with Ling Luoyi.
After a while, the five ladies stopped their observations. The eldest, the Second Princess, stood up first and said, "Teacher, this should be a five-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass, which is the primary ingredient for refining the Spirit Condensing Pill."
After speaking, the Second Princess saw that neither of them had any change in expression, and she felt somewhat uneasy, wondering if she had answered incorrectly.
Ling Luoyi looked at the Second Princess's anxious demeanor. Not interested in teasing a young girl, she said to the other four, "What are your answers?"
The Third Princess replied, "Reporting to Teacher, this student also believes it is five-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass."
Princess Jiaxue and Princess Huiya nodded in unison and said, "Our answers are the same as the two princesses."
Only the youngest, Princess Beiyue, hesitated, unsure whether to speak.
"Princess Beiyue, what is your answer?" Seeing that she had not spoken, Ling Luoyi directly called her out.
Princess Beiyue hesitantly glanced at the two princesses and said, "This student also believes it is Heavenly Star Grass, but the year is incorrect."
"Oh?" Hearing this, Ling Luoyi and Qiu Yuanxi became interested. "What do you mean?"
"Heavenly Star Grass grows one inch every thirty-three years. Judging by the size of this Heavenly Star Grass, it should be five hundred years old. However, the age of Heavenly Star Grass cannot be determined solely by its size; one should also look at its leaves and stems. The veins of this Heavenly Star Grass are bluish, and the stem shows signs of wilting."
Upon hearing this, the other four ladies carefully examined the leaves and stems of the spiritual herb and found that they were indeed as Princess Beiyue had described.
Princess Beiyue continued, "Therefore, this student believes that this Heavenly Star Grass grew in a place with extremely dense spiritual energy. Due to the dense spiritual energy, this Heavenly Star Grass grew better than Heavenly Star Grass of the same age, so its age should be less than five hundred years."
The growth of spiritual herbs, whether good or bad, is not only related to their growth period but also to the concentration of spiritual energy in their surroundings. If the spiritual energy concentration is high, spiritual herbs naturally grow well.
Hearing Princess Beiyue's words, Ling Luoyi and Qiu Yuanxi were somewhat surprised. Qiu Yuanxi raised her hand, and the Heavenly Star Grass flew up into the air, landing in Qiu Yuanxi's hand.
Qiu Yuanxi examined it carefully and discovered many things. She thought to herself, "As expected of Little Luo'er, just this single herb contains so many hidden details. It's easy to make a mistake if one isn't paying attention."
Heavenly Star Grass is a very common spiritual herb, so common that there are thousands of other spiritual herbs with highly similar appearances. If one didn't know this, mistaking it would be unavoidable. However, all of them were recorded in the books Ling Luoyi had given them. If they had truly read the book carefully, they should at least have some impression.
Therefore, Ling Luoyi was quite satisfied that they could all recognize its name.
Ling Luoyi took the Heavenly Star Grass from Qiu Yuanxi's hand, pointed to the not-so-obvious signs of wilting, and said, "Princess Beiyue, you are correct. This Heavenly Star Grass grew in a place with denser spiritual energy than here. After leaving that place, I did not use anything to preserve it, so the spiritual energy supply was insufficient, hence the signs of wilting."
Qiu Yuanxi chuckled and said, "Little Luo'er, why do you speak so elegantly? Isn't it just that accelerated growth isn't as good as growing naturally?"
Ling Luoyi glanced at her, and Qiu Yuanxi obediently shut her mouth.
Seeing that she had quieted down, Ling Luoyi continued, "As for how to determine the age of this Heavenly Star Grass, one should look at the bluish hue on the veins. The color of Heavenly Star Grass changes with its growth period, but the change is not obvious, and this change is not affected by the concentration of spiritual energy."
Simply speaking is difficult to understand, so Ling Luoyi took out another Heavenly Star Grass and said, "This one is a five-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass. You can compare the differences between the two."
Just as Ling Luoyi was showing it to them, a maid from the Ling Manor approached outside the Qingyin Pavilion. The maid spoke to Zhuxue at the door, and Zhuxue then came over.
Ling Luoyi and Qiu Yuanxi, with their astonishing hearing, naturally overheard.
Zhuxue approached and said, "Miss, the Patriarch says that the two princesses from the Longqing Kingdom have arrived. They are not here to discuss business, but wish to see you."
Upon hearing this, the five noble ladies were startled, especially the Second and Third Princesses. The Longqing Kingdom was not only a Middle-tier Nation but also a tributary state. Their princesses were not comparable to them.
Ling Luoyi thought for a moment, pointed to the five noble ladies, and said to Qiu Yuanxi, "Yuan, I'll leave things here to you."
Qiu Yuanxi glanced at them and nodded in agreement, "Alright."