Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

The selection rules for the graduation joint examination were as follows: First, all participants had to be current students under the age of 25. Graduates from the thirteen major military academies who had graduated within the last three years could participate as external support, but their scores would not be counted in the current graduating class’s assessment rankings.

In addition to the age and academic status requirements, there were also prerequisites for spiritual power: female participants needed to have B-level spiritual power, while male participants needed A-level.

The third requirement was that the graduation joint examination did not accept individual registrations. Participants had to form a team of at least ten members, including any external support. Ning Xuan’s fingers tapped lightly on the table, her thoughts racing.

She understood that this graduation joint examination wasn’t just a test of individual strength, but also a challenge of teamwork and resource integration. The environment on the New Star Body was complex and volatile. The inability to use Space Buttons and other high-tech equipment meant that all candidates would have to adapt to a primitive survival style—finding their own food and fighting Exotic Beasts with only their innate abilities or cold weapons. ’Actually, ordinary firearms that don’t rely on the Federation’s high-frequency communications for targeting could be used. But without storage devices, they’d be a pain to carry. With that in mind, I need to find a teammate who’s an expert in weapon modification or manufacturing.’

She looked out the window, mentally assembling her team. ’Besides Yun Han and Di Youlin, there are Lin Mo and Chen Nan. They’re both recent military academy graduates from the last three years. Chen Nan’s strength is a little lacking, but he’s one of us, so I should bring them both. That means I still need to find five more people.’

’Who should I ask?’ Ning Xuan was in a tough spot. She had been enrolled at the Central Star Military Academy for less than six months, and she’d spent most of that time off-campus. She barely knew any of her classmates. Just as she was pondering this, her Light Computer chimed with an incoming call. It was Tang Xue.

A while back, when Ning Xuan was busy providing medical support, Tang Xue had come over and picked up Min Wu. Ning Xuan had been swamped at the time and hadn’t managed to meet with her.

"Xuanyuan, are you going to the graduation joint exam on the New Star Body? I want to go too! Can I team up with you? I can bring Min Wu!" Tang Xue chirped as soon as the call connected.

"Have you sorted everything out?" Ning Xuan asked.

"All sorted. Zhou Yi is dead, and so is Zhou Tianqiao. The commander of the Wind Wolf Mercenary Corps is one of my people now," Tang Xue said, a note of triumph in her voice.

"If you have people at your disposal, you could easily form your own team. Why do you want to join mine?" Ning Xuan countered.

"Xuanyuan, the people I trust are either the wrong age or not strong enough. I just can’t pull a team of ten together. Please, just let me tag along, okay?" Tang Xue whined.

Ning Xuan didn’t agree right away, saying only that she would think about it. ’Tang Xue’s Talent Ability is decent, but her overall combat strength isn’t great. Min Wu’s comprehensive strength and Talent Skills are acceptable, but not particularly outstanding. His only truly useful Skill is that short-range Flash.’

"Xuanyuan, don’t even think about it! My power has grown a lot, I absolutely won’t hold you back. Besides, there’s a minimum team size, but no maximum. One more person is one more helping hand! Just let me come! I promise I’ll listen to you. If you say east, I won’t go west," Tang Xue vowed earnestly.

"Tang Xue, this is a team effort, so everyone gets a say in who joins. I’m still looking for other members, and I don’t know what their standards for teammates will be. I can give you a chance, but whether you earn the others’ approval will be up to you," Ning Xuan said carefully.

"No problem! Don’t you worry, Xuanyuan. Little Five and I are very familiar with the Beihai Territory. I definitely won’t let you down," Tang Xue said with a grin.

"The Beihai Territory? What does that have to do with choosing teammates?" Ning Xuan asked, confused.

"The Beihai Territory is a Secret Realm in the skies above the North Sea. You can’t bring Space Buttons or any other Space Storage Magical Artifacts inside, and communication devices don’t work there either. This time, the officials have opened it up to let prospective teams go in and practice working together. Aren’t you planning on going?" Tang Xue asked, puzzled.

Ning Xuan had been so focused on choosing her team that she’d completely missed this announcement. After looking up information on the Beihai Territory, she wasn’t particularly interested. The place wasn’t rich in resources, so going there seemed like a waste of time. She would rather use that time to prepare.

After hanging up on Tang Xue, Ning Xuan went back to considering what kind of members her team still needed. ’Yun Han, despite his youth, is an army Commander who has led many large-scale campaigns. He’s calm, composed, and excels at tactical analysis and close-quarters combat. Having him act as my strategist, muscle, and bodyguard is already a gross underutilization of his talents.’

’Di Youlin is even younger, but his Comprehensive Combat Power, spiritual power, and Physical Ability are all SSS-rank. For someone under 25, his existence is practically a cheat code. He’s an absolute superweapon.’

’As for Chen Nan, he took electives in tracking and trap-setting back in school. I remember his performance was pretty good when we went to the Black Water Ice Prison in Extreme Cold City to find Body Refining Herbs.’

’Lin Mo’s Combat Power is top-tier among his peers, and his Talent Skill, King’s Guardian, is a group protection skill. As for any other special talents he might have, I’m not too familiar with them yet.’

’As for myself, with my Ghost-faced Red Vine, my Combat Power is more than enough to pull my own weight. I can also serve as the team’s doctor; I’m adept at everything from Alchemy Potion to various healing techniques. I even learned some Artifact Refining specifically to process the Flying Elephant Ant Wings I got in the Lingxiao Secret Realm, so I can craft basic, simple weapons. Most importantly, my spiritual power is high and my control over it is strong. I can easily handle issues like Spiritual Sea agitation or a rising Mutated Degree.’

’Based on this analysis, the team is already powerful enough in terms of combat and medical support. But considering the conditions on the New Star Body, we still need someone skilled in machinery manufacturing and repair, or an Artifact Refining master.’

’Although I can craft some basic weapons, manufacturing and maintaining modern machinery requires specialized knowledge. An expert in mechanical design, manufacturing, and repair could create complex equipment for the team, fix damaged gear, and even quickly build temporary facilities in the field. That would significantly boost our survival capabilities and mission efficiency.’

’Of course, modern machinery has many specializations. What we’d need most is someone who can build various types of transport vehicles, different kinds of firearms, and maybe even mechanical birds for communication.’

Of course, finding an all-around mechanical genius would be ideal.