I Came to Realize My Own Worth

When Jiang Man went over, Steward Miao called out to stop him.

Only then did he notice the dozens of people standing there.

They stood in orderly rows, young and old alike, but without exception, their spirits were lackluster.

All of them exuded an air of weakness.

This was the harm caused by having their spiritual qi absorbed by the formation.

It might not amount to much in the short term, but over time, it could become irreversible.

Now, following Steward Miao's gaze, they all looked over.

Perhaps words of encouragement could no longer get through to them, but their curiosity remained. They wanted to see just what sort of person could score zero.

At the sight of Jiang Man, most of them were slightly disappointed.

He looked perfectly presentable, with no missing arms or legs, so why had he scored zero?

Had his laziness become a disease?

But if he was lazy, what was he doing here?

Had the prodigal son turned back, then?

Unfortunately, it was too late. He was already in the back courtyard; there was no turning back.

Steward Miao looked at Jiang Man and said, "Come here, Jiang Man. Tell everyone about the journey that brought you here. Were you unwilling to accept what lay ahead of you, and came to the Spirit-Gathering Hall to realize your own worth?"

Jiang Man: "..."

Soon, Steward Miao smiled and said, "If so, our Spirit-Gathering Hall cherishes talent. Your Spirit Sources will be doubled today."

"Yes." Jiang Man nodded firmly. "I came to the Spirit-Gathering Hall precisely to realize my own worth."

At that, Steward Miao beamed, then continued encouraging everyone. "Every one of you is better than Jiang Man, and your worth far surpasses his.

"If he can succeed, are you destined to fail?

"There are so many successful people. If there's room for one more Jiang Man, why can't there be room for one more of you?

"On the road to future success, you ought to be farther ahead.

"As long as you earn enough Spirit Sources, sooner or later, you'll astonish the world with a single cry."

After Steward Miao's round of encouragement,

some people really were filled with motivation.

But Jiang Man still could not understand. From the way Steward Miao spoke, he seemed to have already succeeded.

Weren't they going to take a look at him first?

He was still the lowliest of cultivators.

Could they have received Spirit Sources too?

Afterward, Jiang Man collected sixty Spirit Sources without any trouble.

Three coins resembling jade.

The words "twenty" were engraved on them.

On the reverse was a mountain gate, supposedly the Immortal Gate's entrance.

This was Jiang Man's first time seeing Spirit Sources, so he was not certain whether this was what they were supposed to look like.

But seeing that no one else had any objections, Jiang Man quietly put away his Spirit Sources and headed back.

Sixty Spirit Sources.

For someone who had scored zero, that ought to be a decent income.

He wondered how many Spirit Sources a Spirit-Gathering Pill cost.

He would ask Little Chubby tomorrow.

At the thatched hut beside the stables, Jiang Man pushed open the door beneath the starlight.

The old yellow ox beside it, whose eyes had already closed, suddenly opened them and looked at Jiang Man.

"Have you been well today, Senior?" Jiang Man greeted him with a smile.

"Thanks to your wife, I'm not dead yet," the old yellow ox said coolly. "You seem to be doing quite well. I just wonder whether you'll still be in this mood after a hundred days."

Jiang Man pointed at the sky. "The starlight does not fail those who journey onward, let alone someone with my talent."

The old yellow ox rolled his eyes.

As if I don't know what your talent is like.

After cleaning the stables, Jiang Man resumed cultivating.

He was still "pouring water" into the "gourd."

Under the moonlight, Jiang Man kept circulating the Qi Refining Method, absorbing spiritual qi.

The "gourd" suddenly shook.

Then, with a crack, it broke through something.

Immediately afterward, a second gourd appeared.

Some of the overflowing spiritual qi sank into the second "gourd."

At that moment, Jiang Man slowly opened his eyes.

His Dantian felt heavy.

The Qi Refining Second Layer really was different from the Qi Refining First Layer.

Not only that, but his limbs carried greater strength as well.

A single punch could deliver four or five times his former strength.

And this was the crudest way of using it.

At present, he knew no Spell Arts at all. Only his cultivation had improved.

His mental state had improved as well.

Ordinary people seemed rather unremarkable before him.

For a moment, he felt somewhat grateful to his fellow disciples in the courtyard.

They had never made things difficult for an ordinary person like him.

Otherwise, given that even the weakest among them had cultivation at the Qi Refining First Layer,

if they really attacked him, it would probably be like child's play.

The old yellow ox watched Jiang Man with narrowed eyes.

He could not understand why this person was improving so quickly.

He had achieved Qi Introduction in an instant, reached the Ninth Layer of the Qi Refining Method in three days, the Qi Refining First Layer in one day, and the Qi Refining Second Layer in two days.

Although the Flawless Spirit-Gathering Pill had helped, the time was truly short.

Of course, the ox had never encountered a Beginner who started at the Ninth Layer of the Qi Refining Method.

Nor could he be certain what the situation was.

The next day.

Jiang Man continued cleaning the old courtyard.

He cleaned the training grounds one by one.

He discovered varying degrees of depletion in each place.

And none of it had happened long ago.

Presumably, someone had been cultivating here for long stretches of time.

At noon, he returned to the Sixth Courtyard again and asked Little Chubby what had been taught that day.

"They taught the technique Three Talents Force," Little Chubby said.

He had not learned it yet.

Afterward, Jiang Man asked about Spirit Sources as well.

"Spirit Sources?" Little Chubby thought for a moment. "An ordinary Spirit-Gathering Pill costs three hundred Spirit Sources."

"Then how many Spirit Sources would a normal cultivator typically earn in a month?" Jiang Man asked.

Little Chubby seemed to know the answer already and replied offhandedly, "Fifteen hundred, I suppose. But that's within the Cloudfront Office. Outside the Cloudfront Office, it's generally eight or nine hundred a month. In some villages, it's even lower. I've heard they work themselves to death for just three hundred Spirit Sources a month."

Jiang Man was somewhat surprised to hear that.

Thirty a day actually counted as a decent income?

It was just that continuously having spiritual qi forcibly extracted by the formation caused some harm to the body.

Perhaps one day, his rate of absorbing spiritual qi would drop considerably.

That would amount to cutting off his future.

Jiang Man stopped dwelling on it.

Cultivation first.

Ten days later.

Early September.

Jiang Man took a deep breath. The second "gourd" was full.

There was still half a month until the next ranking update.

Over those ten days, Fang Yong had not sought him out.

But whenever someone asked Fang Yong about Young Master Cheng and Young Master Yang, he would glare angrily at Jiang Man afterward.

Had it not been such a critical time, Jiang Man really would have feared that Fang Yong might attack.

The gap in their cultivation was too great.

If they really fought, he would definitely suffer.

Luo Xuan, on the other hand, had sought him out once.

She said he could cultivate with her, so they could keep each other on track.

It was mainly because he was focused when cultivating and would make a very good cultivation partner.

Although his cultivation was weak, Luo Xuan said she could reluctantly accept it.

Jiang Man refused.

How could she have the nerve to ask him to supervise her without giving him any Spirit Sources?

It would interfere with his earning Spirit Sources.