Chapter 549 - 344: Thousandfold Waves of Rice Shake the Universe, an Extraordinary Monument Settles Heaven and Earth

Chapter 549: Chapter 344: Thousandfold Waves of Rice Shake the Universe, an Extraordinary Monument Settles Heaven and Earth

Li Xiang’s cousin, Shen Wenqian, had awakened a unique Superpower called "Heart Image Judgment." It could determine whether someone was lying, far more accurately than any lie detector. Li Xiang planned to put his cousin in charge of this work from now on.

Of course, it was impossible for her to handle every case personally. There were so many Extraordinary Beings across the globe. If she had to travel for each and every one—especially with the poor transportation and constant dangers of the Apocalypse—how could she ever keep up?

Li Xiang had an idea: combine Extraordinary Superpowers with modern technology and Erin’s Classical Alchemy. Perhaps they could craft an Extraordinary Item that replicated the "Heart Image Judgment" ability.

He had mentioned this to Erin and had also sent his cousin over, partly to help with the child, and partly to research this device with Erin.

Erin was in France all by herself. Though she was powerful, Li Xiang couldn’t help but worry. Sending his cousin to France would give her some support.

The cover story was perfectly legitimate, too. His cousin was going to France to study abroad, having received an offer from the best university in France, the University of Paris Sciences and Letters (PSL).

This school was ranked 24th globally by QS (first in France) and 42nd by Times. Its mathematics, physics, and arts and humanities programs were in the global top 10. It had produced numerous Nobel and Fields Medal laureates, and its alumni included 71 Molière Award winners and 3 French presidents.

In reality, Shen Wenqian’s grades were far from outstanding; the university she’d attended back home was nothing special. As for how she’d managed to secure admission and a scholarship to the University of Paris Sciences and Letters, Li Xiang had, of course, asked Erin to pull some strings.

Li Xiang’s maternal grandparents and their family were, naturally, incredibly supportive and overjoyed.

Shen Wenqian herself was thrilled. It wasn’t until she arrived in France that she learned the truth, and she was utterly floored. "Holy crap! My cousin actually has a secret daughter over here? And his lover is this gorgeous!"

There was no doubting Erin’s beauty; it was no exaggeration to call her the Rose of France. If she’d been even a little less attractive, Li Xiang wouldn’t have even looked her way. And their daughter was a mixed-race baby, as delicate and exquisite as a porcelain doll.

"You have to keep this a secret. Don’t say a word to anyone," Li Xiang warned.

"You’re such a scumbag, cousin!" Shen Wenqian shot him a look of disdain.

Li Xiang: "..."

Of course, Shen Wenqian was just joking. After all, her cousin was now the most powerful person on Earth, and his status back home was off the charts. Their relatives joked that the Li Family’s ancestors must have done something incredible to deserve this good fortune. He was handsome, too. For such an exceptional man, having a few extra women and a couple of secret children was hardly a big deal.

If she and Li Xiang weren’t related, she was sure her own heart would be swayed.

"I’ll get right on that, cousin," Shen Wenqian said. "But have you considered that the Breathing Technique might be traded on the black market?"

Li Xiang shrugged. "I can’t control everything. I just hope to see less murder and mayhem during the Apocalypse."

Private trades were truly impossible to control. After all, even in the brightest light, shadows will always exist.

...

Li Family Village. The Underground City’s farm, bright as day.

Not only were the villagers from Li Family Village present, but people from all the surrounding villages had also rushed over to see the spectacle. Fortunately, the farm had been built to be exceptionally spacious.

Er Huang, the Little Fox, and the kittens were also playing on the farm. This was part of their patrol territory. From catching mice every day, the kittens had grown increasingly plump, their fur glossy and sleek.

The hybrid rice in the Li Family Village underground farm was ready for its first harvest. The fields were like golden waves, and the villagers were thrilled.

Zhao Xueqing was dressed like a farm girl, but with her bright eyes and pearly white teeth, she stood in the field with a hint of pride. The grains of rice hung heavy on their stalks, which were so tall they nearly reached her chest.

Yao Yao and Lei Xiaohui were naturally there as well. The three of them were always inseparable.

As the villagers bent down to swing their sickles, they discovered the stalks were far tougher than ordinary straw, requiring specially made alloy sickles to cut through. Because it was only a three-mu experimental plot, and everyone wanted to experience harvesting this super-rice by hand, no one used a mechanical harvester.

There were more than enough alloy sickles to go around—little trinkets Li Xiang had forged with his "Crystal Gold Armor" ability. They were all exceptionally sharp.

For such a momentous occasion, the national broadcaster had naturally sent reporters to film.

Finally, the harvest from a single mu of rice was piled into a small mountain. When it was dried and weighed, the electronic display read "4866 kilograms." The jaws of the watching villagers dropped.

An old man stammered, his voice trembling, "Back in my day, we’d burn incense and thank the heavens for a yield of four hundred kilograms per mu! This number... it must be a divine miracle! Miss Zhao is incredible!"

Facing the microphone a reporter held out to her, Zhao Xueqing smiled. "Elder Yuan’s hybrid rice was the foundation," she explained. "I used my Plant Superpower to accelerate generational breeding. Combined with the controlled lighting of the underground farm and the fertility of the ’breathing soil’—the black earth Li Xiang brought over—we were able to break the limit."

The villagers sang and danced in celebration. Li Jinyu, Li Yucheng, and others couldn’t resist breaking into a Sichuan Opera performance. It was a shame the other opera enthusiast, Jiang Jianguo, was absent—he was at Tsinghua Garden looking after his grandson.

Nearly all of Li Family Village’s residents had returned home. No one left to find work elsewhere anymore. Almost every able-bodied person took part in the harvest.

Children darted and played between the stacks of rice stalks. Drones in the sky captured an aerial shot where the golden fields and the crowd formed the shape of the Chinese character for "bountiful." The image quickly shot to the top of all online trending lists.

The world was shaken.

International agricultural organizations at first questioned the data’s authenticity, but they fell silent after learning about Zhao Xueqing’s Extraordinary Superpowers. She was a High Tier Transcendent—what more was there to say?

An Associated Press reporter rushed to the scene. In Li Family Village, he grabbed a handful of the unhusked rice and found the grains to be far plumper than any conventional variety. They were also exceptionally large—four to five times the normal size, almost as big as small peanuts!

Chinese netizens dubbed it "Immortal Rice" and "Fairy Rice." Some also called it Spirit Rice. In reality, it didn’t contain any Spiritual Power; its primary feature was simply being huge.

During the BBC’s live broadcast of the weighing, the comments section was flooded with "China NO. 1" and "Please save the hungry people of Africa."

An Indian netizen joked self-deprecatingly, "We should change our ’Cow Dung GDP’ to ’Rice Grain GDP’!"

At an emergency meeting of the Global Anti-Exotic Beast Alliance, a representative from an African member nation wept with emotion. "If this rice seed can be popularized in our arid lands," he cried, "famine will become history!"

Several Southeast Asian nations signed a Food Security Mutual Assistance Agreement on the spot. The representative from Pakistan even shouted in Mandarin, "Pakistan and China are iron brothers forever!"

Li Xiang took part in a series of meetings. Ultimately, a decision was reached: the Chinese Side would provide basic rice seeds to the Alliance’s member nations free of charge, but they had to agree to three conditions:

One: no monopolies on gene patents. Two: prioritize the food security of impoverished populations. Three: accept cultivation guidance from China’s agricultural science teams.

And, yes, the head and chief agricultural scientist of that team was none other than Zhao Xueqing.

Among the three women—Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui—Zhao Xueqing now held the most and highest-ranking official posts and titles. Yao Yao and Lei Xiaohui were, of course, envious, but Zhao Xueqing’s Plant Superpower was simply too practical. They truly couldn’t compete.

Yao Yao secretly mused, ’I’ll just have to use every trick in the book to keep him happy. Latching onto his coattails is the only way to go.’

Agricultural powerhouses like Brazil and Argentina, who had been watching from the sidelines, hesitated, worried about the impact on their own soybean exports. But their citizens started a #WeWantToLive petition on social media, forcing their governments to submit applications to join the alliance overnight.

Japanese netizens sarcastically commented, "This rice seed is a symbol of East Asian co-prosperity," only to be clapped back at by South Korean netizens: "So why aren’t you sharing your high-end Wagyu beef?"

In a special on the national broadcaster, an image of Grandpa Yuan appeared alongside data from Zhao Xueqing’s experimental plot. The caption read: "A foundation laid by the forerunner, a new height reached by the successor."

A reporter asked, "If Elder Yuan had possessed a Plant Superpower, would the yield have been even higher?"

Zhao Xueqing replied with great solemnity, "Miracles are only created when the scientific spirit is combined with Extraordinary Ability. What Elder Yuan left us was more than just rice seeds; it was the conviction that we must hold our nation’s rice bowl firmly in our own hands. That is more precious than any Superpower."

Her statement was quoted by agricultural experts worldwide. A member of the French Academy of Sciences remarked with a sigh, "The people of the East have proven once again that the key to a civilization’s survival is not plunder, but symbiosis."

After this event, Zhao Xueqing’s fame soared even higher.

That evening, Zhao Xueqing was curled up in Li Xiang’s arms. Though they had been intimate many times, she was still just as shy every time.

"Congratulations on such a dazzling achievement." Li Xiang stroked her gently, his voice full of admiration and deep satisfaction. After all, he had such a capable right hand.

The success of the super-rice was a milestone, a veritable food revolution. Its impact was not much less than that of the helium-3 discovery.

"Brother, where would I be today without you?" Zhao Xueqing said with deep emotion. If she hadn’t met Li Xiang, she’d still just be a girl struggling with a low-wage job. A far cry from the global celebrity she was now.

Online, many netizens had given her reverent nicknames like "Shennong Fairy," "Grain Spirit Fairy," and "Goddess of Fragrant Rice."

Before, she had been envious of Yao Yao’s nickname, "Hundred-Change Demoness." Well, now she had her own, and they sounded even more impressive than Yao Yao’s.

The two women had always been in a secret, tireless competition with each other, but it never affected their close friendship.