Spirit Gathering Hall.
"Your score is quite good. I told you that you'd definitely achieve something by training here.
"I just didn't expect it to come true so quickly.
"Our Spirit Gathering Hall is the best place to temper oneself, and we reward people based on their results.
"With a score like yours, you get a base of fifty Spiritual Source for lighting up five beads. Each additional bead is worth seven more. If you push yourself, you could manage seven or eight.
"That's around seventy a day, or two thousand Spiritual Source a month. It's much higher than what an ordinary person makes."
Steward Miao said with a smile as he looked at Jiang Man.
Jiang Man calculated it in his head. 'Lighting two more beads would be fifty plus fourteen, which is only sixty-four.'
'That's not even as much as Luo Xuan pays for a sparring partner.'
In that moment, he understood why Song Qing was so desperate to become a close bodyguard.
'She pays far too much.'
'I wonder if Song Qing will actually go for it in the end.'
After a pause, Jiang Man said, "Steward, are you planning to encourage the others today? When I arrived, I was at the Qi Refining First Layer, but now I'm at the Qi Refining Third Layer. I could be a good example. It's all thanks to the Spirit Gathering Hall's training."
Hearing this, Steward Miao looked at Jiang Man in surprise. "Double?"
Jiang Man nodded seriously. "Double."
In the end, Jiang Man pretended to grit his teeth and managed to light up eight beads.
A total of seventy-one Spiritual Source.
He went on stage, thanked the Spirit Gathering Hall for its training, and had his reward doubled.
One hundred forty-two Spiritual Source.
'A very profitable day.'
'As for whether the others believed it...'
Jiang Man felt that any sane person who came in here wouldn't believe this place could actually train anyone.
'Even if someone did believe it, they would just grit their teeth and work for a while longer. Then, after their studies at the Three Floors and Six Pavilions ended, they would return to their villages.
'They'd bring back a large sum of Spiritual Source.
'And live a life slightly better than that of an ordinary farmer.'
'The people here have basically had their path to Immortal Cultivation cut off.
'With a damaged foundation, what future could they have?
'Unless they were like him, with a Qi Cultivation Skill that had reached the Ninth Layer, allowing them to retain a portion of their Spiritual Qi and control the damage to their foundation.
'But coming here meant their Cultivation couldn't improve.
'Fortunately, he was currently focused on improving his Qi Blood Technique, so he wasn't worried about his Cultivation progress.
In the following days, Jiang Man didn't do anything else.
He spent his days in Cultivation and his nights earning Spiritual Source.
Whenever he saved up three hundred, he would buy Beast Meat.
He continued to improve his Qi Blood Technique.
During this time, however, Jiang Man noticed that Song Qing seemed to be in low spirits. When he asked about it, the other man just shook his head and sighed.
He wouldn't say a word about it.
But it certainly seemed like he had suffered a major setback.
Luo Xuan didn't look too happy to see him either.
Jiang Man thought of the handkerchief.
'She was probably fishing, but unfortunately, the intended fish didn't bite—Song Qing did.'
Jiang Man felt helpless. 'Now both the first and second-ranked individuals have a grudge against me.'
'I need to avoid them as much as possible.
'Otherwise, it'll hinder my Cultivation.'
「Half a month later.」
Jiang Man had earned a thousand Spiritual Source, all of which he spent on Beast Meat.
He also used all his free time for Qi and Blood Cultivation.
However, even with a Ninth Layer Qi Blood Technique, his Cultivation speed wasn't that fast. He had only just managed to open his third Qi Blood Gourd.
'My body has definitely gotten much tougher.'
'The power of the Six Harmonies Palm is even greater in my hands.
'And my Divine Step is much faster too.
'As expected, improvements in both Cultivation and Qi and Blood can affect the power of Magic Skills.'
「Early October.」
The instructors in the various courtyards began telling everyone to mind the rules, focus on their Cultivation, and not act unscrupulously.
Even the entire Yunqian Bureau started cleaning and decorating everywhere.
Even Jiang Man's stables were repaired, and he was told to clean them thoroughly.
No one understood why, but compelled by the authority of the instructors and the Yunqian Bureau, they had no choice but to comply.
「Three days later.」
News finally spread that people from the Wuyun Sect were coming.
It was said they were coming for an inspection of sorts.
「Another three days later.」
More news came out: powerful experts from the Sect would inspect the Three Floors and Six Pavilions, and they would walk through all three of the front, middle, and rear grand courtyards.
If one was noticed and valued, they could soar to new heights.
Instantly, everyone became much more motivated in their Cultivation.
Although they felt it was unlikely to be them, they all thought, 'But what if?'
Everything hinged on that one-in-a-million chance.
'What if I'm the one they notice?'
'My entire destiny would change.'
Jiang Man was also a little surprised to hear this.
'But he knew the people from the Sect weren't coming for an inspection; they were just stopping by for other reasons.
'The benefit they were giving the Yunqian Bureau was three Mortal Level Top Grade Cultivation Methods.
'It seems Mr. Zhao wasn't lying, but I haven't received any news yet.
'I can only choose to keep waiting.
'If this path doesn't work out, then I'll really have to leave Luoyun City and become one of the Evil Demons and Outsiders.'
「October 14th.」
Jiang Man finished absorbing the newly purchased Beast Meat and sighed in relief.
'The third Qi Blood Gourd is full.
'I can start improving my Cultivation now.
'But with only one month left, I'm afraid this will cost quite a few Spirit Gathering Pills.
'My current rate of earning Spiritual Source isn't fast.
'I can buy six pills at most in a month, and I'm afraid six is nowhere near enough.'
"Brother Jiang, what are you doing?" Xiaopang asked curiously as he approached Jiang Man. "Thinking about tomorrow?"
He then whispered, "Brother Jiang, are you confident you can get into the top fifteen tomorrow?"
Jiang Man turned to look at Xiaopang, who was munching on jerky. He pondered for a moment and realized that if he continued like this, he would never succeed in advancing to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
'I should try a different approach.
'Earning Spiritual Source is just too slow.
'For short-term needs, I shouldn't be earning—I should be borrowing.'
"Xiaogao, I hear you get a lot of Spiritual Source every month?" Jiang Man asked.
'Of course, I hadn't heard that. I just made it up on the spot.'
Xiaopang seemed a bit surprised, then immediately shook his head. "No, those are all rumors. My family doesn't give me any Spiritual Source."
Jiang Man was surprised. "Not a single one?"
"Not a single one," Xiaopang said firmly.
This genuinely surprised Jiang Man. 'Looks like this is a dead end.'
'Then my only option is to find Mr. Zhao. I hope he can help me out.'
But before Jiang Man could even start his Cultivation, Xiaopang spoke up. "They give me Spirit Gathering Pills instead. Six a month. I still have ten left right now. Brother Jiang, you want them?"
Jiang Man was dumbfounded. 'Six pills a month, and half a month has passed... how does he have four extra?'
"I can't finish them all," Xiaopang said, shrugging helplessly. "I can't absorb that much. I actually end up wasting a lot of the medicinal power from each pill."
'When one's Qi Refining Skill is at too low a layer, that can indeed happen.'
After a moment of thought, Jiang Man decided to borrow six pills.
Adding the two thousand one hundred Spiritual Source he had earned, he would have a total of thirteen Spirit Gathering Pills.
Coupled with the constant effort from his Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, he could just barely reach the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
'As long as I open the Sixth Gourd, I'll be at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
'It might be a bit of a stretch, but I'll meet the qualifications.'
After giving Jiang Man six Spirit Gathering Pills, Xiaopang whispered, "Do you want to borrow a chance at the Spirit Gathering Hall?"
"A chance at the Spirit Gathering Hall?" Jiang Man knew about the Spirit Gathering Hall and understood that some people could go inside to cultivate.
'It costs one thousand Spiritual Source just to get in.
'The amount of Spiritual Qi from one thousand Spiritual Source is equivalent to that of an ordinary Spirit Gathering Pill.
'The only difference is that the Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Gathering Hall is easier to absorb.
'It's extremely beneficial for people with a low-layer Qi Refining Skill.'
"With so many resources, how are you only at the Qi Refining Second Layer?" Jiang Man found it hard to believe.
"I didn't have this many resources before because I wasn't working hard. Now that I'm advancing along with Brother Jiang, I get more resources, but the requirements are higher too." After a pause, Xiaopang quickly added, "So, Brother Jiang, you have to cultivate diligently and try to climb higher in the rankings."
Jiang Man was stunned. 'What does this have to do with my advancement?'