Worth a Mention, Unworthy of Recording

Jiang Man had asked Little Fatty about cleaning the old courtyard.

It was indeed true.

Every courtyard had to send someone to clean it.

And the first- and second-ranked disciples of the Sixth Courtyard could designate which rank would do the cleaning.

This time, Fang Yong had designated whoever ranked last for two months to clean the old courtyard.

There was nothing wrong with such a designation.

They had taken turns in the past, but now, to spur everyone on, having the last-place disciple do the work was perfectly reasonable.

Or rather, that was how it ought to have been.

Of course, refusing was also an option.

It was just that breaking the rules during the competition for spots could easily lead to punishment.

The most direct consequence was losing the right to compete for a spot.

Jiang Man could still tell which mattered more.

Although Fang Yong was targeting him, this sort of targeting was much better than a direct attack.

I'll bear it for now.

There's no need to stir up more conflict. I've only just started cultivating; I'm certainly no match for him.

With that thought, he went to clean the old courtyard.

It was just a pity that going meant missing the lesson.

Fortunately, he only had to clean for three days.

The old courtyard had once housed the Three Towers and Six Pavilions, but it had been left unused after certain incidents.

Still, people came to clean it regularly.

No one knew why, though there were some rumors.

They said a certain master was hidden there, and if someone cleaning the place was chosen,

they would receive that master's guidance.

Because of that rumor, quite a few people volunteered to clean, and even more were willing to do it.

They only hoped they could be the special one.

Jiang Man swept here and there with a broom.

The layout was much the same as the Azure Cloud Pavilion's.

He was also responsible for the rear courtyard of the old Azure Cloud Pavilion.

The weathered courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and fallen leaves stirred in the wind.

Jiang Man sighed and worked hard at cleaning.

Whenever he encountered stone tablets or old paintings, however, he would touch them.

Then he would connect with the Heavenly Mirror of a Hundred Books.

After that, he began receiving entries in the book.

Without exception, they were all on the last page.

[Not worth a mention]

[Filthy object]

[Trash is unworthy]

It was not until Jiang Man entered the inner courtyard's main hall that he spotted a plaque hanging high on a beam.

The two characters "Azure Cloud" were written on it.

Even Jiang Man, who knew nothing about calligraphy, could sense that it was extraordinary.

Without further hesitation, he brought over something to climb on and reached up to touch it.

Immediately, the Heavenly Mirror of a Hundred Books began turning its pages.

Jiang Man grew a little excited.

Surely this thing won't be "not worth a mention" too?

Disappointingly, however, the Heavenly Mirror of a Hundred Books still stopped on the last page.

Fortunately, the words were no longer "not worth a mention."

Then line after line of text appeared.

[Calligraphy written with immense, unwavering conviction, containing its writer's beautiful vision: that someone from an impoverished land might forge a path, soar straight into the azure clouds, and secure more ways forward for those who followed. The calligraphy became a plaque, leaving behind the cultivation method that had earned him his sect's recognition, the Azure Cloud Formula. Only the impoverished can perceive the calligraphy's extraordinary nature. An extraordinary vision, worth a mention, but unworthy of recording.]

Only worth a mention?

Jiang Man realized that the threshold for being worth a mention was truly high.

But the plaque contains a cultivation method, the Azure Cloud Formula?

That counted as an unexpected delight.

Then Jiang Man began inspecting it carefully, and sure enough, he discovered a hidden compartment in a corner of the plaque.

Filled with excitement, he slowly opened the compartment.

Then he froze.

Empty.

The so-called Azure Cloud Formula had long since vanished without a trace.

With a sigh, Jiang Man felt that his excitement had been wasted.

But on closer thought, it also seemed perfectly reasonable.

The plaque had been here for an extremely long time, and all sorts of people had come, certainly including no shortage of poor people.

So someone had already noticed what was extraordinary about this place and even climbed up to investigate.

Especially since the hidden compartment was not particularly well concealed; it would have been strange if no one had obtained it.

Easy opportunities would not wait for him, and rare opportunities were beyond his reach.

Relying on a lucky opportunity to break free of his present circumstances would probably be rather difficult.

He could only rely on his talent to part the clouds and mist and see the sun and moon.

After that, Jiang Man could only settle down to cleaning, occasionally touching a few more objects.

But after touching seven of them, touching another made his head ache a little.

It seemed he could not connect with the Heavenly Mirror of a Hundred Books indiscriminately, either.

His talent had its limits.

These were only a few words, too. If there were more, would that not make it easy for the headache to start sooner?

At noon, Jiang Man finished cleaning.

The first thing he did upon returning to the courtyard was find Little Fatty.

He asked what had been taught that morning.

"A palm technique, the Six Harmonies Palm. But it doesn't matter whether you attend or not. At most, they'll let you listen; they won't actually give you the cultivation method, and secretly learning it isn't allowed either." Little Fatty paused, then said seriously, "But those who are strong enough definitely have to learn it. Whether it's competing for eligibility or competing to be selected by a sect, fighting is unavoidable in the end.

"So all these things must be taken seriously.

"Those were Mr. Fu's exact words.

"But most people are just sparring partners. Only first and second place have that sort of chance."

Hearing this, Jiang Man understood that some things were only available once one's cultivation was high enough. He then decided to ask something useful:

"Who are first and second?"

"Luo Xuan is first, and Fang Yong is second." Little Fatty thought for a moment, then said, "They're both from wealthy households, so results like that are only to be expected.

"The Luo Lineage is even a major lineage in Falling Cloud City.

"As the Luo Lineage's young miss, Luo Xuan has always held firmly to first place in the Sixth Courtyard.

"Fang Yong is no simple character either. Supposedly, he has a lineage inheritance, and he's extremely strong. He's nearly taken first place several times.

"He's just fallen one move short.

"His household must be extraordinary too, but his resources aren't as good as Luo Xuan's."

Jiang Man had already known that the two held the top two places. He had brought it up to ask his next question: "What cultivation levels are they at?"

"Their cultivation?" Little Fatty searched his memory, then said, "That's actually hard to say, but I know their scores. Luo Xuan scored sixty-two, and Fang Yong scored sixty.

"Anyone scoring sixty or above is at least at Qi Refining, Fifth Layer, and probably at Qi Refining, Seventh Layer at most."

Instantly, Jiang Man recalled his own score of zero. Ordinary people scored zero.

But these people's cultivation was actually that strong.

It seemed that within the Azure Cloud Pavilion, people were not allowed to attack others at will.

It probably still had something to do with the competition for spots.

Otherwise, if Fang Yong attacked him, he really would have a hard time continuing to improve.

"How many points do you have?" Jiang Man looked at Little Fatty curiously.

The latter did not answer, merely declaring proudly, "A score you'll never catch up to."

Jiang Man wondered.

How many points could second from last have?

A dozen or so?

Or fewer than ten?

Afterward, Jiang Man also asked how the scores were calculated.

"Usually, it's based on cultivation. That accounts for the largest share.

"Of course, that includes the levels of your qi-refining method, qi and blood method, and visualization method. The higher the levels, the higher the score," Little Fatty explained.

After getting a rough understanding, Jiang Man realized that surpassing first and second place within three months would indeed be far from easy.

Unless he surpassed them, he would not gain eligibility.

The two paths were as different as heaven and earth.

With that thought, he began practicing his external cultivation method.

First, a hundred repetitions to warm up, then he would raise his cultivation as quickly as possible.

Before the rankings were reassessed next month, he had to reach a sufficient level.

A great leap all at once could make them a little less hostile.

If he improved slowly, he feared everyone would come over to target him a little.

And when Little Fatty saw Jiang Man begin cultivating, his head swelled with dismay.