If I Took All the Clothes

This was the first Jiang Man had heard of any qualification requirement.

Previously, he truly had not qualified for anything. He could not even achieve Qi Introduction, so why would he have asked about such things?

But things were different now.

He had to secure this qualification.

Otherwise, he would not be able to clear the later requirements of the Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny.

According to the old yellow ox, Falling Cloud City's reserves could not sustain the next requirement of the Heavenly Chosen Fate.

Curious, Jiang Man looked at Fang Yong. "How strong do you have to be to qualify?"

Fang Yong looked at Jiang Man with a sneer.

He did not answer the question.

Undeterred, Jiang Man asked another question. "With how formidable you are, Young Master Fang, what level has your Qi Refining Method reached?"

This time, the other man answered readily. "Level seven. Before December, I'll reach level eight. Do you think you stand a chance?"

Jiang Man said he wanted to try.

Fang Yong did not care, merely telling him to watch what he could and could not say.

He meant that Jiang Man should not tell anyone what he had seen at the stables.

It would affect his image in the eyes of everyone in the Sixth Courtyard.

Afterward, Jiang Man also left at a brisk pace.

Back at the Thatched Hut, he still had to feed the horses in the stables.

He also needed to take them out for a run, then brush their coats.

Only after finishing all this did Jiang Man prepare lunch for himself.

In his memories, this was more or less how he had spent the past two years.

He had never been anywhere else.

After eating, Jiang Man found the old yellow ox grazing. "Senior, did that fairy attack you?"

"You'd better think about whether you've finished your hundred repetitions today first," the old ox said irritably, continuing to graze.

Jiang Man smiled. "A hundred repetitions are quite easy, but there's something I need your help with, Senior."

Hearing this, the old yellow ox raised its head slightly and looked at Jiang Man. "You want me to teach you cultivation? That won't work. The three towers and six pavilions are the strictest about that."

"No." Jiang Man spoke honestly. "I wanted to ask how to raise a Flame-Treading Spirit Steed to resolve its periods of weakness."

Seeing the old yellow ox's confusion, Jiang Man gave an honest account of what had happened that day.

"Trade this method for a year's Cultivation Gold?" The old yellow ox was somewhat surprised.

Jiang Man nodded.

The old yellow ox chuckled. "Do you know how much you're losing out?"

Jiang Man shook his head. "No, but being able to stay will at least keep me alive for now."

If he left the Azure Cloud Pavilion, he certainly would not come to a good end.

Once outside, even food and clothing would be a problem, let alone continuing to cultivate.

Obtaining cultivation resources would be as hard as climbing to heaven.

Moreover, the Cloudfront Office's three towers and six pavilions were all under protection.

Those who entered had some degree of security.

The people here received a little more preferential treatment than those outside. After all, before heaven and earth were settled, another dark horse might yet emerge.

Once they left, their futures were almost set, and escaping poverty would be difficult. Naturally, there would be no protection, and they would have to face life's bloody realities.

So, while the rearing method might be worth a fortune, its greatest value now lay in buying him a period of peace and stability.

Perhaps trading with others could earn him more resources.

But compared with Zhao Leming, they were even less trustworthy.

The main issue was that he lacked the standing to trade on equal terms.

The weak were destined to lose out.

The old yellow ox said no more about it. It had only mentioned his losing out in passing.

Afterward, it told Jiang Man the method.

The method was divided into two parts.

The first part could resolve one period of weakness.

The second part dealt with additional periods of weakness.

Some spirit steeds experienced two periods of weakness.

That was why the second part existed.

Jiang Man copied down only the first part. Not only that, he also had the old yellow ox make the latter half deliberately obscure.

He made sure ordinary people could not understand it and would need to consult written sources to work it out.

Only then did Jiang Man breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking at the rearing method, Jiang Man was quite curious, wondering whether it was worth recording.

He immediately contacted the Heavenly Mirror of a Hundred Books.

The book's pages flipped rapidly before finally stopping on the last page.

[What rubbish.]

Jiang Man: "..."

Just what sort of thing would this book record?

Jiang Man felt he needed to look for antiques, or divine objects that received offerings.

But Falling Cloud City had nothing particularly famous.

He still needed to join a sect, move to a better environment, and come into contact with more formidable people.

Otherwise...

What his Fate Pattern required could not be obtained, and the Heavenly Mirror of a Hundred Books would be utterly useless.

Afterward, Jiang Man planned to cultivate, but suddenly looked curiously at the old yellow ox. "Senior, what should a Peerless Heavenly Prodigy be like?"

"Never seen one." After a pause, the old yellow ox looked at Jiang Man. "You're not about to tell me they should be like you, are you?"

"You just never learn your lesson, Senior," Jiang Man replied with a smile.

He immediately began practicing the Qi Refining Method.

He continued raising the level of the Qi Refining Method.

That afternoon, Jiang Man did nothing else.

He devoted himself entirely to cultivation.

After thirty-two repetitions.

Qi Refining Method, level six.

Late that night.

After sixty-four repetitions.

Qi Refining Method, level seven.

In one day, he had caught up with Fang Yong.

But only his Qi Refining Method had caught up. His cultivation was still a hundred and eight thousand miles behind.

After the Qi Refining Method reached level seven, a faint halo would surround the body.

This was the faint glow of spiritual qi.

With some familiarity, he could restrain it.

But the old yellow ox still saw it.

In just a few days, it had been made to question its life several times.

"Your Simple Qi Refining Method has reached level seven?" the old yellow ox asked, looking at Jiang Man.

Jiang Man did not hide it and nodded. "It has indeed reached level seven."

"Did you secretly cultivate before?" The old yellow ox tried to discern something from Jiang Man's face.

Jiang Man looked at it, smiling without a word.

"How exactly did you do it?" The old yellow ox could not understand.

"Perhaps it was getting married," Jiang Man answered offhandedly.

The old yellow ox: "..."

Suddenly, something occurred to Jiang Man, and he asked curiously, "Senior, what do you think would have happened if I'd taken all the clothes I saw on the Back Mountain?"

The old yellow ox froze, looking at Jiang Man in surprise. "You... are quite greedy."

Jiang Man gave an awkward smile and changed the subject. "Didn't you say you'd never seen a Peerless Heavenly Prodigy, Senior? Haven't you seen one now? It's all down to talent."

The old yellow ox: "..."

Although it was somewhat skeptical, it truly was stunned.

"I hope your talent lets you fulfill the Heavenly Chosen Fate's requirements without trouble," the old yellow ox said glumly.

"Even this isn't enough?" Jiang Man was somewhat puzzled.

Hearing this, the old yellow ox smiled without answering, then said, "You'll find out later."

Let's both speak in riddles, then.

Jiang Man did not mind and went to rest instead.

He had already finished today's hundred repetitions.

His body was weak now, and he needed to rest at night.

The next day.

Jiang Man arrived at the Azure Cloud Pavilion's Sixth Courtyard.

This time, he once again saw Fang Yong with the group from before.

"What period of weakness? Last time, we let that matter go out of respect for you, Young Master Fang." The short man shook his head and sighed. "But you're quite close to him, and a rift has formed between us and him. To avoid putting you in a difficult position, we'd better see less of each other."

With that, the short man led his people away.

No matter how Fang Yong explained, it was useless.

Even saying he had no friendship whatsoever with Jiang Man did no good.

As the short man passed Jiang Man on his way out, he glanced at him, a hint of mockery at the corners of his mouth.

He was presumably waiting to watch the show.

But he did not show it clearly. To an outsider, it looked like a polite smile.

Once they were gone, Fang Yong turned a resentful gaze on Jiang Man.

He was blaming him for not admitting fault back then.

At that moment, a man walked over and said with some envy, "Young Master Fang, did Young Master Yang come to hang out with you again just now?"

Hearing this, Fang Yong withdrew his resentful gaze from Jiang Man, put on a smile, and looked at the newcomer. "Not really. We were just discussing a few relatively private matters."

The newcomer was both admiring and envious.

Someone like that was on an entirely different level from them. There was simply no opportunity for interaction.

Jiang Man: "..."

Fang Yong is going to target me.

But the one who had started it all was that Young Master Yang.

He did not know whether it had been a passing whim or a deliberate attempt to target him.

The former would be fine, but the latter would be more troublesome.

He had yet to formally begin improving his cultivation. Being targeted would affect his progress.

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