Old Yellow Ox: You want to eat me?

Jiang Man returned from cleaning without a sound. Only a few people noticed him, since the events of the past two days had made some pay attention to where he was.

Some of those people left the courtyard early, taking advantage of the end of the explanation so they would not be affected.

They wanted to avoid being forced into cultivating later.

But some could not resign themselves to it.

For example, the third from last.

Because neither the last nor the second from last had left.

If those two worked hard this month and rose in the rankings in the middle of next month,

wouldn't he become the last?

The person in last place did not even qualify to compete for a spot.

Although an exception had been made to include him this time, it was not impossible for that to be revoked next month.

So he could not let these two overtake him.

They were all at the bottom to begin with, so the gaps between their scores should not be large.

Still, he hoped today would be different from yesterday.

After all, plenty of people fished for three days, then spent two drying their nets.

It was all the more reasonable for the person in last place to slack off.

However...

After thirty cultivation cycles,

the young man ranked third from last looked at Jiang Man and sighed inwardly.

It looked like another grueling day.

The chubby Gao Yao also gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Jiang, can I ask you something?"

Jiang Man took a deep breath, then said, "Go ahead."

"How many times a day do you practice the Simple Qi Refining Method?" the chubby boy asked.

Jiang Man glanced at him. "Cultivating is like drinking water. About a hundred and fifty times."

The chubby boy fell silent for a moment. "Don't you sleep?"

A hundred and fifty times-even if he cultivated a little faster, wouldn't that take him well past midnight?

Besides, it would drain his stamina.

He needed to eat.

At that, Jiang Man said as though it were only natural, "You're so young. How can you sleep without cultivating?"

The chubby boy: "..."

Brother Jiang, you've changed. You weren't like this before.

You used to be Little Jiang.

On the other side, the third-from-last young man sucked in a breath after hearing this.

A hundred and fifty cycles?

Was he putting his life on the line?

He couldn't possibly actually win a spot, so why was he working himself to death like this?

Jiang Man paid no attention to anyone.

He had gotten a general understanding: the vast majority of the people in this courtyard came from impoverished places.

They had finally managed to enter the Cloudfront Office and gained a chance to change their fate.

But...

How could they possibly bring themselves to stop and rest?

How could they sleep at night?

They only had two or three years in total. Shouldn't they be fighting for every minute and second?

Jiang Man did not understand.

After forty cultivation cycles,

Jiang Man saw the chubby boy sprawled on the ground and felt tired himself.

The strain on his body was also enormous.

But he still had to continue. He did not have much time left.

Still, he could catch his breath.

Out of curiosity, Jiang Man voiced his question.

The chance to cultivate was so hard to come by. Why squander it like this?

The chubby boy took a deep breath and put on an air of profundity. "It's not really squandering it. I suppose we've accepted our own mediocrity."

Jiang Man froze at that. The chubby boy could say something like this?

But he understood.

That was true.

He was lucky. His talent demanded that he work hard.

Looking at the spiritual qi approaching the halfway mark in the "gourd," Jiang Man took a deep breath. At this rate, it would not be long before he could attempt to reach the Qi Refining Second Layer.

Such excellent talent lay before him. He absolutely could not let it go to waste.

Then he began cultivating again.

Seeing Jiang Man like this, the chubby boy gritted his teeth and continued along with him.

Although he felt it would not be easy for Jiang Man to catch up in a month, watching him make such progress...

What if the gap narrowed?

He would still be caught up with in the future.

He had to widen the gap again now.

The advantage was his.

Only when night fell and Luo Xuan led the way out

did the others follow and leave.

Many lowered their heads in exhaustion.

They headed back.

The chubby boy ate his dry rations, feeling as though he had lost some weight.

As soon as Jiang Man returned, he cooked himself a meal, then ate it in great mouthfuls.

"You're out of rice," Old Yellow Ox suddenly reminded him.

Only then did Jiang Man realize he had eaten half a month's rations in three to five days.

Cultivation consumed an enormous amount of energy. Unless he ate more of the ordinary coarse rice, he could not stave off his hunger at all.

But now he had finished it.

"Now even eating is a problem."

Jiang Man sighed as he ate, then looked at Old Yellow Ox beside him. "Senior, has the retaliation still not come?"

Seeing Jiang Man's gaze, Old Yellow Ox narrowed his eyes. "You want to eat me?"

"Of course not. You're still alive, Senior." Jiang Man shook his head, then continued, "I wanted to ask whether you have the energy to teach me how to make money."

"Can't you do that yourself?"

"I'm ashamed to say all my talent went into cultivation."

"..."

Old Yellow Ox said calmly, "Under the immortal sect's rule, your cultivation is too weak. I have no way to help."

Jiang Man was not surprised. He could only try asking Master Zhao tomorrow.

He wondered whether Master Zhao had finished researching the animal-rearing method.

By rights, three to five days should have been enough.

If he had finished, it should not be hard to get a little extra pay for the stable duties.

Then asking him to find a task that could provide a living should also be possible.

Otherwise, this little food definitely would not be enough.

His later cultivation would also cost money.

He did not need to spend anything now because he had a Flawless Spirit-Gathering Pill inside him.

Once it was used up, he would need sufficient resources if he wanted to maintain his rate of advancement.

After eating, Jiang Man took care of the work in the stable.

Then he began cultivating.

"You're not sleeping tonight either?" Old Yellow Ox asked curiously.

Jiang Man nodded. "I'm at the age to strive. I can't let my talent go to waste."

After a pause, Jiang Man asked curiously, "If my talent is too great, will I run into danger later? If I do encounter danger, could you fend it off for me, Senior?"

This matter was extremely important.

He could not possibly hide his talent.

Because when the rankings were revised next month, he would have to display some of his strength.

Then he could obtain more cultivation methods to continue cultivating.

Besides, he had to compete for a spot in December. He absolutely could not hide himself and wait for the final sect selection.

"What sort of genius can there be in Qi Refining?" Old Yellow Ox said disdainfully. "However quickly your cultivation rises, it could still be the result of piling on resources.

"As long as you don't expose the level of your qi refining method, there shouldn't be much trouble."

"But I don't have any resources," Jiang Man replied.

"Can't you just make something up?" Old Yellow Ox considered for a moment. "You're married, and the other party has an extraordinary background. Just say they're funding you."

Jiang Man: "..."

But I don't even know my wife's name.

Besides, we only performed the wedding bows...

If she doesn't acknowledge it, then...

Suddenly, Jiang Man remembered his Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny.

It seemed performing those wedding bows was more serious than he had expected.

Checking the time, Jiang Man stopped thinking about these things.

He would improve his cultivation first.

The water in the "gourd" was almost full.

It was time to enter the Qi Refining Second Layer.

The next day.

At the Azure Cloud Pavilion's quarters for its masters.

In a brightly lit room, Zhao Leming closed the book.

A trace of delight appeared in his expression.

"It's done. I've translated it. That truly wasn't easy."

Then he looked at the book on the desk.

The book was now worth a fortune.

But it could not be used carelessly.

Also...

Jiang Man needed to be taken seriously as well.

Of course, it would be best if he alone knew about this.

Zhao Leming lowered his eyes, pondering how to make arrangements for Jiang Man.

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