Chapter 567: Chapter 282: The Immortal Who Stole Fire, A Finger Falls Like a Star

Zhao Yi hadn’t had a chance to click on the first episode video when the door was pushed open, and a middle-aged woman walked in, still saying: “Always on your phone!”

This was his mother.

She walked over, glanced at Zhao Yi’s phone screen with a look of disdain: “Seeking Immortals? What nonsense, it’s a waste of time. All that martial arts strength, but go outside to a construction site and see, is it stronger than a bulldozer?”

Zhao Yi listened to the rumbling from the construction site outside the residential area and then looked at his own fist.

He had to admit… it seemed he didn’t have the strength of an excavator yet.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sigh in his heart—Inner Strength is great, but… sir, the times have changed!

Mrs. Zhao saw he wasn’t speaking, and added: “Practicing martial arts doesn’t mean there’s no way out.”

“Mom?”

“Isn’t there someone online who carries heavy loads up stairs? They’ve got plenty of fans.”

“…”

“Oh right, the entertainment industry lacks someone like you as a punching bag.”

“Why can’t I become a kung fu superstar…”

“Superstar? With that face of yours, even as your mom, I can’t say that without lying.”

Mrs. Zhao’s words were harsh yet realistic. Ultimately, in this era, learning martial arts sounds impressive but isn’t as useful as it seems—after all, firearms reign supreme, and martial arts’ level of violence isn’t enough to break the world’s rules.

He also knew that what his mother really wanted was for him to go back to studying.

But he… always had a longing in his heart.

Zhao Yi clicked the play button on the screen, and a voice-over at the beginning sounded:

“This universe has changed…”

“The sun.”

“Humans.”

“And the future.”

“They’ve all become unfamiliar, exciting.”

“The reason behind all this is…”

“Immortals exist in the world!”

Zhao Yi’s heart skipped a beat, but beside him, Mrs. Zhao muttered: “How mystical!”

The screen lit up with two big characters in the center—”Abundance.”

The next moment, a familiar profile appeared on the screen for both of them.

Even Mrs. Zhao, who was slightly disdainful before, now closed her mouth, her attitude becoming more earnest.

The person in the frame was Mr. Hou, walking on a mountain path.

Off-camera, the host asked: “Mr. Hou, could you introduce your current identity?”

Mr. Hou grinned, his voice still hoarse: “I am now the head of an agricultural project research.”

“Can you reveal what specific project it is?”

“To put it simply, we are using some special plants as a base to try to cultivate high-yield crops through biotechnology.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi couldn’t help but feel puzzled—this sounded pretty ordinary.

“What’s this got to do with immortals?” he couldn’t help but mutter.

“If Mr. Hou were in ancient times, wouldn’t it be normal for him to be titled an Immortal?”

Mrs. Zhao added.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi felt it made some sense. Seeking Immortals was about finding people like Mr. Hou, wasn’t it?

He couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“The special plants I’m talking about…” Mr. Hou’s voice suddenly carried a kind of fervor, “were developed by Dean Zheng, those Spiritual Medicines that can heal the dead and nurture the bones of saints from the immortal texts, a single grain of the Immortal Seed to feed the world.”

Mom!

Are there really immortals?

Mrs. Zhao also widened her eyes, her mouth moved as if to say something, but looking at Mr. Hou’s face, she couldn’t utter a word.

The camera followed Mr. Hou to a test field.

This was a newly developed spirit field in Rainbow Mountain, far more spacious than those acres at the nursing home before, with more crops planted.

Although Mr. Hou had always smiled at the camera, his smile now was genuine and simple, evidently more sincere.

He first led the filming crew to a rice paddy.

The rice in the paddy was much taller than the nearby rice, and Mr. Hou gently lifted the full ears of rice, much like a lover’s ponytail.

“This is the Jiushan No.2 rice we developed at Dean Zheng’s request.” He introduced to everyone, “Jiushan No.1 rice has good taste, is better for human health, and has a high yield, but it’s picky about growing conditions and has less disease resistance.”

“Jiushan No.2 was developed based on Jiushan No.1 rice.”

“Its yield per acre has exceeded the world record, even breaking through four thousand pounds at its highest.”

“It has high nutritional value and tastes very good, sweet and satisfying.”

“Most importantly… this rice is already suitable for most types of soil and has strong disease resistance.”

Zhao Yi felt somewhat puzzled listening to this, as nowadays, few students deliberately pay attention to rice yield per acre.

His mother, however, slapped her thigh and mumbled: “I’ve heard of Jiushan No.1! They always say it’s good for you, but it’s so hard to get!”

Zhao Yi nodded, thinking that with Mr. Hou’s endorsement and after hearing his mother’s words, this Jiushan No.2 hybrid rice might really be genuine.

Listening to Mr. Hou continue introducing other crops, Mrs. Zhao suddenly said: “Seeing these, I feel more at ease.”

“Mom?”

“I don’t understand all this talk about martial arts you guys have, and I don’t know what society will be like in the future. But I know, as long as people can have enough to eat, things won’t get chaotic.”

Zhao Yi was taken aback for a moment, realizing that his mother not wanting him to drop out might have an unspoken worry.

He couldn’t help but look at Mr. Hou and the blooming flowers and leaves in the field, finding that his previously restless heart had suddenly calmed down.

Listening carefully, he keenly noticed that Mr. Hou kept mentioning one person—

Dean Zheng.

When Mr. Hou mentioned this name, his tone was respectful, even with a hint of gratitude.

“Mom, do you think this Dean Zheng is the Immortal?”

“How would I know?” Mrs. Zhao replied, “I don’t know any Immortals, but at least the country is prepared…”

Zhao Yi also nodded after hearing this.