When night fell, Jiang Man finished cleaning the stables and prepared to begin his Cultivation.
Now at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, he needed to focus on raising his Cultivation.
Later on, he would also need to find time to practice Magic Skills.
After all, the final assessment didn't just require a high score; one also had to be a capable fighter.
Jiang Man thought for a moment.
'If the assessment is in mid-December...'
'Then I should be at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, with the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, the Qi Blood Technique Ninth Layer, and the Thirteen Layers of Visualization Method.'
'My total score would be seventy-nine.'
'How will everyone else see me then?'
'Even if I hide my Visualization Skill progress, say, down to the Ninth or Sixth Layer, I'd still have over seventy points.'
'That's about ten points higher than Fang Yong and the others.'
'Still, I need to be on my guard.'
'If they suddenly advance or have something hidden up their sleeves, taking first place won't be easy.'
"Where did you get so many Elixirs?" the Old Yellow Ox ambled over and asked.
"Borrowed them," Jiang Man answered casually.
"Why would anyone lend them to you?"
"Talent."
For a moment, the Old Yellow Ox was at a loss for words.
Reaching the Qi Refining Fourth Layer in two months was indeed quite extraordinary.
He could be called a genius.
If he were to reveal the levels of his Qi Refining Skill and Qi Blood Technique, he'd be considered a one-in-ten-thousand genius.
He was certainly worth lending Elixirs to.
"Has there been any news about your Mortal Level Top-grade Visualization Method?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.
Jiang Man shook his head. "None at all. It's October now, and I'm supposed to participate in the trial next month, but I still haven't heard anything."
"You weren't scammed, were you?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.
Jiang Man glanced at the ox and shook his head. "I'm not sure."
It wasn't that he was careless; he simply had no other choice.
Here, Zhao Leming was the only one he'd ever made a deal with.
He was arguably the most reliable person Jiang Man had ever dealt with.
Though it was a gamble, there was truly no one else to turn to.
October passed quickly.
Jiang Man had expected Luo Xuan or Fang Yong to make a move.
But there were no unexpected incidents.
And by late October, his Cultivation had successfully advanced to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
With the help of Elixirs, opening the fifth Gourd went very smoothly.
Now, all that remained was to cultivate nonstop and use the Spiritual Source he earned to purchase more Elixirs.
He had to keep cultivating to open the Sixth Gourd as soon as possible.
That way, he could smoothly advance to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
After that, advancing to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer would require reaching the Fourth Layer of Qi and Blood and the First Layer of the Visualization Skill.
The difficulty was considerable.
But that was still a long way off.
「In early November.」
Jiang Man spent the entire one thousand one hundred Spiritual Source he had earned on rations and Elixirs, wiping him out.
Looking at his remaining twenty Spiritual Source, Jiang Man couldn't help but lament how resource-intensive Cultivation was.
If it weren't for the score increase from his Cultivation advancement, he wouldn't have even had that much Spiritual Source to begin with.
One day, Zhao Leming found him after he finished his Cultivation.
Jiang Man's heart leaped with joy. 'Looks like there's been some progress!'
But the look on the other man's face was off.
Soon, the man's voice reached him. "This business was harder than I anticipated. The behind-the-scenes competition is too fierce. However, since I've already made you a promise, I will naturally do everything in my power to fulfill it."
At first, Jiang Man thought it was bad news, until the man produced a Token.
"This is the Token." Zhao Leming handed the item to Jiang Man. "On the seventeenth of this month, you need to go to the Dharma Transmission Department. Show this Token and someone will take you where you need to go.
Then, you'll undergo an assessment. If you fail, there's nothing more that can be done.
Before the assessment, they will clearly state the conditions. If you think you can meet them, then go for it.
They will also check your strength on the fifteenth beforehand. It can't be too low, otherwise, you might run into unexpected trouble.
The people from the Sect are unpredictable. If one of them decides you aren't qualified, they might just revoke your eligibility. It's not out of the question."
Receiving the Token, Jiang Man breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that he had the Token, Zhao Leming's part in this was more or less over.
'If I fail, it will be because I'm not capable enough.'
'The trial on the seventeenth will also take my score from the fifteenth into account.'
'To be on the safe side, I still need to advance to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer by the fifteenth.'
'Even with my Qi Refining Skill at the Ninth Layer, the pressure is immense.'
After a moment of thought, Jiang Man asked curiously, "How many spots are there in total?"
"Six," Zhao Leming explained. "Six spots for each type. And you only get one day to practice. You either learn it in that time, or you don't."
'One day?'
'That's barely enough time to even understand it.'
Fortunately, Zhao Leming told him someone would be there to teach, but only for the morning. The rest of the day, he'd be on his own.
'Is this really about testing a Cultivation Skill?' Jiang Man wondered.
'It seems more like they're testing the difficulty of learning it.'
But he couldn't voice his doubts.
'If I really can't learn it, then there's only one path left for me.'
Jiang Man didn't dwell on it.
'I'll focus on this path first.'
"Oh, right. Once the spots are assigned, they won't change. If you run into any trouble in the meantime, you can use this Token. It carries a certain authority and can help you resolve issues." After a moment's thought, Zhao Leming added a warning, "But it's best not to use it if you can help it. If you do, and your performance on the fifteenth is only average, I'm afraid they'll revoke your eligibility."
Jiang Man nodded, surprised. He hadn't expected the Token to be able to resolve problems.
'But the scope of what 'problems' it could solve was unclear.'
After asking a few more ordinary questions, Jiang Man turned and left.
Watching Jiang Man's departing figure, Zhao Leming shook his head and sighed. 'He's still too hasty. With someone backing him, he should be building a more solid foundation.'
'His strides are too large now.'
'I don't doubt he can qualify for the December assessment.'
'But I feel that even if he does qualify, it will be the result of forcing his advancement.'
'It will cause considerable damage to his body.'
'Even if he gets a spot, he'll have basically no hope in the subsequent Sect assessments.'
'His perspective is still too narrow.'
He didn't think about it any further.
'The deal is done.'
'Whether he gets the Cultivation Skill or not has nothing to do with me.'
'Still, I'll keep an eye on him.'
'Just to see what end such desperation will lead to.'
—
「On the Yunqian Bureau Path.」
Young Master Yang approached Cheng Moyang and said, "Fang Yong is really pathetic. He didn't even get into a dog-eat-dog fight with that poor kid from his courtyard."
Hearing this, Cheng Moyang asked, quite curious, "Which person?"
"The one who couldn't pay his cultivation fee. I think his name is Jiang Man." Young Master Yang chuckled. "He couldn't afford the fee back then, but now it seems his Cultivation has improved. He's no longer so desperate."
"Jiang Man?" Cheng Moyang said, a bit surprised. "The one Luo Xuan wanted to recruit as a guard?"
"That's the rumor, but who knows if it's true or not," Young Master Yang said.
"It's false." Cheng Moyang smiled and shook his head, then briefly recounted what had happened.
"He refused? Then where did he get the Spiritual Source to cultivate?" Young Master Yang asked, curious.
"Why not just investigate and find out?" Cheng Moyang said.
「The next day.」
In the same spot, Young Master Yang had his answer. "The Spirit Gathering Hall. So it seems no one is secretly backing him after all."
If he were being sponsored, he'd never go to a place like that.
"Such an ambitious poor boy," Cheng Moyang remarked. "I wonder what he'll do if he runs into another situation like last time, where he's on the hook for compensation?"