Jiang Man looked at Xiaopang, who wore a contented, slightly smug expression.
Jiang Man could tell it was a sign of confidence.
His sudden smugness, his questions right before the assessment.
It undoubtedly revealed one thing: Xiaopang's Cultivation had improved.
He had originally been at the Qi Refining First Layer; now, he had almost certainly reached the Qi Refining Second Layer.
'And I had no Cultivation to begin with, so even if I reached the First Layer, I would be far behind him.'
He had looked into it over the past few days.
Reaching the Qi Refining First Layer was worth eight points. Then, for the Qi Refining Method, the Qi Blood Technique, and the Visualization Technique, every layer one advanced earned another point.
Theoretically, if one's Cultivation reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer...
...and the Qi Refining Method, Qi Blood Technique, and Visualization Technique each reached the Ninth Layer, one could get ninety-nine points.
In the back courtyard, it was said that few could achieve such a high score.
Xiaopang now had at least sixteen points.
An eight-point jump in one go—how could he not be confident?
Facing such a boastful Xiaopang, Jiang Man just smiled and said, "It has been pretty tough."
"It's fine. A little suffering now is a good thing. After all, there's endless suffering ahead, so it's best to get used to it early." Xiaopang patted Jiang Man's shoulder and continued, "I'll walk slowly up ahead and wait for you to catch up."
Jiang Man, eating his dry rations, nodded in thanks.
It was rare for Xiaopang to be this happy, so he didn't want to spoil the mood.
'I'll just let him be happy for a few days.'
He had now filled his third "Gourd." Although the speed was fast, his body was indeed finding it a bit hard to bear.
He couldn't even mobilize his body's power at will.
Such rapid improvement could sometimes be a bad thing.
The cultivation system was limiting his Talent.
Otherwise, he would have reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer long ago.
Furthermore, he was out of Flawless Qi Gathering Pills, so his Talent was limited once again.
Fortunately, he had a good amount of Spiritual Source.
A total of 1,230 Spiritual Source. With the work he'd do at Luo Xuan's place tonight, he would have 1,300.
This was close to the earnings from regular labor at the Yunqian Bureau.
This was the source of his current confidence; he could buy four Spirit Gathering Pills.
The quality was just a bit average, though.
"Xiaojiang, work hard for the next few days. When the rankings are out, don't be too discouraged," Xiaopang offered with kind consolation.
As he spoke, he even gave Jiang Man a piece of meat.
'What a good guy.'
Jiang Man was quite moved. He wondered if Xiaopang would still be this nice to him in a few days.
Afterward, Jiang Man continued to practice the Divine Step.
The Divine Step was the most basic of all Magic Skills, with a total of six layers.
Under the influence of his Magic Skill Innate Qi...
One repetition for Entry Level.
Two repetitions for the Second Layer.
Four repetitions for the Third Layer.
Before long, he reached the peak Sixth Layer.
There was no pressure at all.
'It's a good thing the assessment is tomorrow. Otherwise, I'd have run out of things to practice.'
「The next day.」
The fifteenth of the ninth month.
Assessment day.
The back courtyard of the Cyan Cloud Pavilion was quite solemn today.
Since the cultivation plan began last month, they had to undergo an assessment every month.
It was a time for many to verify the results of their Cultivation.
It also made those at the back keenly aware of the gap between themselves and the first and second-ranked students.
Some strove to catch up, while others were content with the status quo, accepting mediocrity.
Sometimes the Immortal Path is laid out right before you, yet you can't even take a single step.
For the vast majority of people, Cultivation was far more difficult than imagined.
Today, Luo Xuan and Cheng Yu headed to the Sixth Courtyard together.
On the way, Cheng Yu asked curiously, "Luo Xuan, that Jiang Man earned so much Spiritual Source from you. Has it been effective at all?"
"He is very diligent in his Cultivation, forcing me to practice as well. From that perspective, it has had some effect." Luo Xuan pondered for a moment before adding, "But compared to its influence on Fang Yong, it's insignificant."
"It does seem to have had some effect. I've secretly observed them. The way Fang Yong looks at Jiang Man isn't right, and he's been a bit more restless than usual. I think he's really been affected," Cheng Yu said.
"It would be even better if Jiang Man can show some improvement this time," Luo Xuan said calmly. "Unfortunately, his background is too poor and his Talent is only average. Otherwise, I might have granted him the honor of becoming my guard."
"To give his life for me."
"What has he done to deserve such a high opinion from you, Luo Xuan? If he knew, he'd probably be too excited to sleep." Cheng Yu asked, quite curious, "He's been to your place to practice Cultivation several times. Has he had any improper thoughts?"
"Such things aren't worthy of my attention. As long as he takes the Spiritual Source, does his job properly, and doesn't affect me, he isn't worth any more of my focus," Luo Xuan said, shaking her head slightly.
"That's true. I heard he came from a small village, and the village has already given up on him. No matter how hard he tries, he has no future," Cheng Yu said with a shrug.
——
Meanwhile, Jiang Man had just walked out of the stables when he saw Fang Yong.
The other man's face was grim.
"Young Master Fang, were you looking for me?" Jiang Man asked.
'He's at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, while I'm only at the Qi Refining Third Layer.'
The gap in their Cultivation forced him to speak cautiously.
'If he's unstable and attacks me... I won't be able to withstand his Attack.'
'My peerless Talent would have to suffer again.'
"You went looking for Luo Xuan too. How is that any different from me?" Fang Yong said.
Jiang Man was confused.
"Could you have improved without finding her?" Fang Yong added.
Jiang Man fell silent. 'That's true.'
'Without working for her, I really couldn't have earned this much Spiritual Source.'
"So what if you've improved a little? You still won't get a spot," Fang Yong said, a hint of disdain in his eyes.
"Without a spot, you're nothing."
"When the rankings come out in a couple of days, you'd better not be in last place, or you'll be sent back to the old courtyard to clean."
After saying his piece, he turned and left.
Jiang Man didn't understand why he had said so much.
'Maybe it was to make himself feel better.'
However, as he neared the Sixth Courtyard, he saw Fang Yong standing before Young Master Cheng and a few others.
He seemed to be explaining something.
They just smiled, patted Fang Yong on the shoulder, and walked away.
Jiang Man saw their mocking smiles and sighed internally.
'I hope those guys don't start targeting me.'
「A moment later.」
Jiang Man entered the Sixth Courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, desks had been set up, one for each person.
The seating was arranged according to rank.
Naturally, Jiang Man was in the last row.
"Xiaojiang, why so late?" Xiaopang greeted with a smile.
Jiang Man returned the smile.
Xiaopang continued smiling, "Relax. My score might be at a height you can't reach, but I'll always be waiting for you. Just try harder next time."
Jiang Man looked at him and said earnestly, "I'll definitely do my best."
Hearing this, Xiaopang felt his vanity was satisfied.
Then, Zhao Leming walked in.
He was carrying some brushes and books.
He walked in and looked at the twenty-six people in the Sixth Courtyard, feeling somewhat surprised.
He felt that these people had improved quite a bit recently.
And the reason, surprisingly, was the diligence of the person in last place.
He wasn't surprised that Jiang Man had a breakthrough.
People always have a sudden breakthrough at some point.
Even fools are no exception.
This was especially common in the Cultivation World.
However, he hadn't expected that one person's breakthrough could inspire everyone else to be so diligent.
Moreover...
...the animal husbandry method the young man had given him was truly useful.
In just this past month, he had earned a considerable amount of Spiritual Source, and his status had also risen.
This made his future path much smoother.
This made him feel he should keep Jiang Man under his watch.
To prevent anything he didn't want to see from happening.
'For the next year, at least, I'll have to pay more attention.'
'Besides, I need to see what his score is this time.'
'If he gets zero points again, then perhaps his previous success was just a fluke.'
'But if he reaches ten points, then there might be some truth to my previous suspicions.'
————