John frowned, ‘aren’t these people supposed to be gardener experts?’ he wondered to himself. “Isn’t this too simple?” John finally asked.

“Stop pretending!” the young man yelled. The commotion caused many to look over. They looked at John with disdain in their eyes.

Yorik scoffed, “Fellow Daoist, are you implying that all of us are fools?”

John looked at the young man with annoyance that he’d caused a scene. He then smiled at the distinguished man with a beard down to the floor and said, “I’m not implying that you are fools… Just that you aren’t gardening experts.”

“You dare!” Yorik exploded with rage. Power filled the room as the old man weaved through the crowd arriving at John’s throat in an instant.

John could do nothing as his throat was snatched, almost taking his life right there. As John’s life begun to flash before his eyes, Falcon intervened, holding the old man's arm. “Please calm down. Let’s not battle with power but with knowledge,” he said soothingly.

“Hmph,” Yorik puffed out a breath as he threw John onto the table. He then looked at Falcon and asked, “If not even your clan could discover what these plants are, then how will you adjudicate the test?”

“Don’t worry, friend, these are the few that we could discover after scouring ancient records,” Falcon appeased the old man eliminating the tension with his bright smile.

“Fine, let us see what this fool knows. There aren’t any worries of people copying him, so he can just state what they are right here,” Yorik said with condescension.

John coughed as he gasped for breath. As he rubbed his neck, he cursed himself for kicking a metal pan. “Alright, anyone who’s been doing gardening for a long time should be able to pick these out easily,” John said. He then looked at Falcon and mentioned, “Please ensure my safety in leaving.”

“Don’t worry, it’d be a black mark on me if you died while being my guest,” Falcon reassured.

John stumbled through the antagonistic crowd towards the five example plants. The first was a neon green-colored fern with six large leaves held up by three-foot-long stems. It let off a dim light, coloring everything around it with a green hue.

John stood a few paces away from the plant and sniffed the air. He then reached out while staying at arms reach away and flicked one of the leaves with his index finger. A bit of incandescence powder floated off the plant, creating circular light patterns. John quickly stepped back, making sure not to make contact with the dust.

“Are you done playing and looking mysterious? If you can’t identify it, just admit it. Stop wasting everyone's time.” Yorik complained.

John frowned and shook his head. ‘How can I identify it correctly without checking the specifics?’ he asked himself. “I’ve finished the examination, so I don’t know what you’re complaining about!” John snidely remarked.

Falcon raised his eyebrow. ‘What gave this man so much courage?’ he wondered.

Yorik face almost exploded as the blood rushed to his head, and his beard flew about from his fiery breath. “You!” he snorts.

“This is a Welting Snile fern. It was discovered by Snilenton Renold about 30,000 years ago. The clan is now long gone, but Snilenton is a famous gardener. His adventurous nature led to the documentation of many unique plants,” John exposited to the crowd.

John was looking forward to the knowing expressions and excitement at being able to examine such a rare specimen. Whenever he taught the new gardeners, their eyes would gloss over, but John was with his peers today. However, as he looked out at the crowd, he saw a mix of skepticism and disinterest.

Yorik pointed at John and laughed, “Anyone can make up a bunch of nonsense and drop ancient names. This proves nothing.”

“Oh, so he was just making it up,” some in the crowd nodded happily at this discovery.

John’s heart sunk. Even if he got it right would, these idiots even discern truth from lies. He looked over at Falcon, who had the same bright smile as always. Not a hint of displeasure showed. With this, John decided to ignore the peanut gallery and continue onto the next plant.

This one was a mushroom. Its cap looked like a disgusting pile of rotting intestines. With a dark red and slimy texture, it seemed very real. In the wild, they’d spread out for miles killing all the other vegetation in the area. It’d look like a field of death, making most animals avoid the area.

The look was unique enough, and John didn’t wish to touch the disgusting object if he didn’t have to. “It’s a Forlorn Mucus Fungus. It’s found in dark swampy caves. Besides being disgusting and slimy, it’s safe for humans and even edible if you’re desperate enough. However, it’s usually destroyed when found due to its devastating impact on the ecosystem,” John explained.

“Isn’t he too good at making up stories?” someone in the crowd mumbled.

“He’s probably a great conman,” another snickered.

The following two were simple everyday plants. As John explained the properties of these plants, he thought that most of these so-called experts would finally be able to show their knowledge. But even with these, there was confusion. ‘At least a few of them know these simple plants. I’d beat the newbies if they messed up identifying these plants…’ John thought as he looked out at the heated discussions over these everyday mystical herbs.

John finally made it to the fifth plant. This was the rarest specimen up here, and even John wasn’t a hundred percent certain about its identity. Still, he was determined to show that, if nothing else, he was a superb gardener.

The plant had a long thick stalk with a leaf that curled into a cup. The tip of the leaves turned into a point, causing it to look like a creamer with a long spout. Water would collect inside, which would allow it to survive even if there was a drought. From the way it’s shaped, one might think it’s a flytrap of some genus.

John, however, felt this wasn’t quite right. It did have the correct shape, but the energy it let off was too deadly for that. He’d recently started studying the energy flow of different vegetation to discover how to increase the chance of creating a core. John felt if one could identify the energy in any plant, they could make the perfect environment for each plant.

The stock of this plant was filled with dense water energy. Far more than would typically appear in similar plants. “Could it be!” John couldn’t help but exclaim. He then looked at Falcon with fire in his eyes and asked, “Could you please demonstrate the dangers of this plant by flying above it? If I tested it, I fear that I might lose a limb.”

Falcon nodded and replied, “I was planning to do this originally before things got out of hand.” Falcon waves his hand above a leaf as he did a spike of ice shot out. Falcon quickly created a shield to block the attack causing the thorn to stop before piercing his hand. Even with Falcon’s strength, he only had an inch between his hand and the barb. If it was John, he might have lost his life.

“What was that!?” Yorik exclaimed, his eyes wide as saucers. The others were just as surprised. While they had heard of some dangerous mystic and divine vegetation, they’d never seen one so aggressive. Plants are known for their poison and tangling, not direct attacks like this. Perhaps if a plant cultivator had gained consciousness, but this was clearly still an unintelligent plant.

John was also shocked. Even though he had his suspicions, he didn’t think the attack would be to this extent. He thought it’d be a water spray to take down small birds or something, not a deadly ice spear. “For it to be this powerful even, I’m surprised,” John said while shaking his head. “Still, this confirms my suspicions. Falcon, are you perhaps considering selling this plant?”

Falcon gave a weary smile for the first time, not looking like a man full of himself. “The person who comes with us on the exploration will have no end of these plants to pick,” he told john gravely.

“I see, so that’s the reason for this test,” John nodded, “Well, this is the WaterWheel Spine divine plant. As for its weaknesses… I think that should wait since if I give it away, I might not get a reward.”

Falcon gave his pristine smile once again and responded, “It can wait for a more private meeting if you passed the test. There are many other dangerous plants along the path to the tomb, so no one should worry they’ll be unnecessary.”

This caused many in the crowd to slink back. Gardeners aren’t known for their strength. One mistake in such a dangerous place would cost their lives. The reward was only worthwhile if they survived. Falcon himself was frustrated by the lack of knowledge and cultivation among the gardening community. ‘There are still a few more bunches left. There’ll hopefully be someone stronger than this man who can pass the test,’ Falcon hoped.