Looking at Little Fatty's relaxed face, with its hint of smugness,
Jiang Man recognized it as a display of confidence.
That sudden self-satisfaction, those questions before the assessment.
They undoubtedly revealed one thing: Little Fatty's cultivation had improved.
He had originally been at the first level of Qi Refining. Now, in all likelihood, he had reached the second.
Meanwhile, Jiang Man had originally had no cultivation at all. Even advancing to the first level would leave him far behind Little Fatty.
He had looked into it over the past few days.
The first level of Qi Refining earned eight points, while each level gained in the Qi Refining Method, Qi and Blood Method, and Visualization Method earned one point.
In theory, with cultivation at the ninth level of Qi Refining,
and the Qi Refining Method, Qi and Blood Method, and Visualization Method each at the ninth level, one could earn ninety-nine points.
Supposedly, few people in the rear courtyard could achieve such a high score.
Little Fatty now had at least sixteen points.
Having gained eight points in one go, how could he not be confident?
Faced with Little Fatty like this, Jiang Man merely smiled and said, "It has been pretty tough."
"It's fine. A little hardship now is a good thing. After all, there's endless hardship waiting for you later. You might as well get used to it early." Little Fatty patted Jiang Man's shoulder and continued, "I'll walk slowly up ahead and wait for you to catch up."
Jiang Man ate his dry rations and nodded his thanks.
It was rare for Little Fatty to be this happy, and he could hardly spoil his fun.
He might as well let him enjoy himself for a few days.
By now, he had already filled his third "gourd." Although his progress was swift, his body really was struggling to bear it.
He certainly could not freely draw on his body's strength.
Sometimes, improving like this was a bad thing.
The cultivation system restricted his talent.
Otherwise, he would have reached the fourth level of Qi Refining long ago.
Besides, he had run out of Flawless Qi-Gathering Pills, restricting his talent once again.
Fortunately, he had plenty of Spirit Sources.
He had a total of 1,230 Spirit Sources. With tonight's work at Luo Xuan's residence, that would become 1,300.
That approached what regular work at the Yunqian Office would earn.
This was his current backing, enough to buy four Spirit-Gathering Pills.
Their quality was just a little ordinary.
"Little Jiang, work hard over the next few days, and don't get too discouraged when the rankings come out," Little Fatty kindly reassured him.
As he spoke, he even gave Jiang Man a piece of meat.
What a good person.
Jiang Man was quite touched. He wondered whether Little Fatty would still treat him this well in a few days.
Afterward, Jiang Man continued practicing Spirit Travel Step.
Spirit Travel Step was the most basic of all techniques and had six levels in total.
With the innate qi for techniques,
one run-through brought him to the introductory level.
Two brought him to the second level.
Four brought him to the third.
Before long, he had reached the peak sixth level.
Without the slightest difficulty.
Fortunately, the assessment began tomorrow. Otherwise, he would have had nothing left to practice.
The next day.
September fifteenth.
Assessment day.
The rear courtyard of the Azure Cloud Pavilion had a rather solemn atmosphere that day.
Since planned cultivation had begun last month, everyone had to undergo an assessment every month.
It was also a time for many people to verify the results of their cultivation.
It also let those behind see the gap between themselves and those ranked first and second.
Some strove desperately to catch up; others settled for the status quo and accepted mediocrity.
Sometimes, the road to immortality lay right before you, yet even when invited to walk it, you could not take a step.
For the vast majority, cultivation was far harder than they had imagined.
That day, Luo Xuan and Cheng Yu headed to the Sixth Courtyard together.
On the way, Cheng Yu asked curiously, "Luo Xuan, that Jiang Man has earned so many Spirit Sources from you. Has he been of any use?"
"He cultivates very diligently, forcing me to cultivate along with him. From that perspective, he's had some effect." Luo Xuan considered for a moment before saying, "But compared with his effect on Fang Yong, that amounts to next to nothing."
"He does seem to have had some effect. I've secretly observed them. The way Fang Yong looks at Jiang Man isn't quite right, and he's been more restless than usual. It seems he really has been affected," Cheng Yu said.
"It would be even better if Jiang Man made some progress this time." Luo Xuan said calmly, "Unfortunately, his background is too poor, and his talent is ordinary. Otherwise, I could grant him the special honor of becoming my guard.
And have him risk his life for me."
"What has he ever done to deserve your regard, Luo Xuan? If he knew, he'd probably be too happy to sleep." Cheng Yu asked rather curiously, "During those visits to your place to cultivate, has he had any improper thoughts?"
"That sort of thing isn't worth my attention. As long as he takes the Spirit Sources, does his work properly, and doesn't affect me, none of it merits any more of my attention," Luo Xuan said, shaking her head slightly.
"True. I heard he came from a little village, and the village has already given up on him. No matter how hard he works, he has no way forward," Cheng Yu said with a shrug.
Elsewhere, Jiang Man had just stepped out of the Stable when he saw Fang Yong.
The other man's face was dark.
"Were you looking for me, Young Master Fang?" Jiang Man asked.
The other man was at the sixth level of Qi Refining, while he was at the third.
The gap in their cultivation forced him to choose his words carefully.
If the other man grew emotionally unstable and attacked him outright,
he would be unable to withstand the attack.
His peerless talent suffered once again.
"Didn't you go to Luo Xuan too? How are you any different from me?" Fang Yong said.
Jiang Man was puzzled.
"Could you improve without going to her?" Fang Yong added.
Jiang Man fell silent. That was true enough.
Without working for her, he really could not have earned so many Spirit Sources.
"So what if you've improved? You still won't get a spot." A hint of disdain showed in Fang Yong's eyes as he said,
"Without a spot, you're nothing.
When the rankings come out in a couple of days, you'd better not be dead last. Otherwise, you'll still have to clean the Old Courtyard."
With that, he turned and left.
Jiang Man did not understand why the other man had said so much.
Perhaps it was to make himself feel a little better.
But as he neared the Sixth Courtyard, he saw Fang Yong standing before Young Master Cheng and the others.
He seemed to be explaining something.
They merely smiled, patted Fang Yong on the shoulder, and walked away.
Jiang Man saw their mocking smiles and sighed inwardly.
I hope they don't set their sights on me.
A short while later,
Jiang Man entered the Sixth Courtyard.
Desks had now been set out in the Sixth Courtyard, one for each person.
The seating followed the rankings.
Naturally, Jiang Man was in the last row.
"Why so late, Little Jiang?" Little Fatty greeted him with a smile.
Jiang Man smiled back.
Little Fatty continued with a smile, "Relax. Although my score is too high for you to catch up to, I'm still waiting for you. Keep working hard next time."
Jiang Man looked at him and said earnestly, "I'll definitely work hard."
Hearing this, Little Fatty felt his vanity satisfied.
Then Zhao Leming walked in.
He carried some pens and books.
As he entered and looked at the twenty-six people in the Sixth Courtyard, he was somewhat surprised.
He felt that these people had improved considerably during this period.
And the reason, surprisingly, was the diligence of the person ranked dead last.
Jiang Man's awakening did not surprise him.
People would always suddenly come to their senses at some point.
Even fools were no exception.
Especially in the world of immortal cultivation, such things were perfectly commonplace.
What he had not expected was that, as soon as the young man came to his senses, he would spur everyone into working diligently.
Moreover,
the Rearing Method he had provided was indeed useful.
In this brief month, Zhao Leming had earned a considerable number of Spirit Sources, and his status had risen as well.
It made his future path smoother.
This made him feel that he ought to keep the young man right under his nose.
To prevent anything he did not wish to see from happening.
At least for the coming year, he would have to pay close attention.
Besides, he also needed to see how many points Jiang Man scored this time.
If he still scored zero, perhaps he really had obtained it by chance.
If he reached ten points, that would lend a little credence to the earlier conjecture.
Monday is almost here. While I'm at it, please spare a monthly vote!
Before you continue