Instead, they asked about him taking a master.

Jiang Man replied that he hadn’t.

They were all surprised.

"Is it because of your Talent?" An Rong asked.

Zhuo Bufan shook his head and said, "Because the apprenticeship fee is fifty thousand."

Hearing this, An Rong looked at Jiang Man’s clothes and had a moment of realization.

Jiang Man was still dressed in plain clothes.

So...

He was still poor.

Jiang Man didn’t mind. He decided to put in a little more effort in the next assessment.

’To make the shadow I cast even larger.’

As for his clothes, he had no intention of changing them. If he did, others wouldn’t know he was poor.

’They can’t be allowed to pinpoint my weakness.’

Besides, the clothes weren’t actually that bad, just not as fine as those worn by the sons of wealthy families.

’Speaking of which, it’s been a while since I saw Xiaopang. I wonder if he’s having a hard time lately.’

As he was leaving, Jiang Man noticed Wei Beichuan staring at him.

’He has no reverence for first place.’

’But there’s no hurry. He will after the next assessment.’

Watching him leave, Wei Beichuan shook his head and sighed. ’This first-place disciple doesn’t have the aura of a number one.’

Then, he glanced at Zhuo Bufan and the others whispering ahead of him.

For a moment, Wei Beichuan felt a sense of boredom. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

’There’s no sense of accomplishment in surpassing these people.’

He even felt that he could make it directly into the top five in the March assessment.

With a sigh, he resumed his Cultivation.

’Since they’re content to wallow in mediocrity, I’ll let them glimpse my brilliance.’

’They will live in my shadow.’

---

When Jiang Man went to find Xiaopang, the latter came over and started wailing.

"Brother Jiang, my dad is too cruel, and Luo Xuan won’t give me a break either," Xiaopang said miserably upon seeing Jiang Man. "My dad sent a letter telling me to listen to everything Luo Xuan says."

"I have no problem with that. She’s a young miss, and she’s powerful.

"I’m so mediocre, I can’t do anything right, so I might as well just be obedient.

"But she’s making me sleep at night, saying it affects my Heart Spirit and is bad for Cultivation. Isn’t she trying to kill me?

"How can I improve my Cultivation by sleeping?

"How can I escape my dad’s control?

"How can I marry a beautiful woman?

"Brother Jiang, you have to help me."

Jiang Man looked at Xiaopang in silence.

’Xiaopang has changed.’

It was as if he had jumped in front of him just to say, ’Brother Jiang, Luo Xuan cares so much about me, my life is so hard.’

Inside, Luo Xuan merely nodded a greeting to him before continuing to tend to the Spirit Medicine.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Man looked at Xiaopang and said seriously, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely make sure you can stay up all night."

He decided to go back and write three more Cultivation Methods for Xiaopang.

’I guess Xiaopang will just have to suffer a little.’

’I have to make him get lost in arduous Cultivation day and night.’

As for whether it would work, he’d have Xiaopang tell anyone who tried to stop his Cultivation that these were written for him by a prodigy who reached Foundation Establishment just fifteen days after joining the Sect.

The weight of that statement should be enough.

Besides, a Cultivation Method from the Old Yellow Ox couldn’t possibly be wrong.

"In that case, I’ll give you a thousand Spiritual Source and one Golden Element Pill every month," Xiaopang said joyfully.

Jiang Man was moved. ’What a good friend. Xiaopang really is a good friend of mine.’

He then said to forget the Golden Element Pill and change it to a Solid Essence Pill instead, and to change the Spiritual Source to nine hundred.

After all, he no longer needed Golden Element Pills.

Xiaopang readily agreed. This way, he could stay up all night to cultivate.

Afterward, Jiang Man asked when Chang Qiweng and the others would arrive.

He learned it would be at the beginning of the third month.

Jiang Man nodded. He would have to come over and repay his debt then.

He just didn’t know how much he needed to repay.

After getting a sense of the prices for various things, Jiang Man returned to his Cultivation.

This continued for half a month, until the fifteenth of the first month.

His supply of Flawless God Firming Pills was completely depleted.

He was now standing right at the threshold of the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.

And his Hidden Spirit had already stored a great deal of Magical Power.

Jiang Man roughly gauged it in terms of Gourds.

At the Foundation Establishment Introduction level, the total capacity of his Hidden Spirit was about ten Gourds.

Right now, only two were full. This storage was a passive process; the only way to fill it was to cultivate nonstop.

Once it was full, its power would be astonishing.

Now that his Flawless Elixirs were all used up, he needed to start buying Elixirs. It was also time to learn a Minor.

Minors were offered throughout the Outer Sect’s Seven Peaks. Cloud Mist Peak had Talisman Making and Spirit Plant cultivation.

They were the cheapest options.

That was why things on Cloud Mist Peak were a bit cheaper—the people here were generally poor.

And there were many who engaged in arduous cultivation.

The Talisman Making Courtyard was located below the midway point of the mountain, a level lower than the Foundation Establishment Courtyard.

Upon arriving, Jiang Man stated his purpose.

The female guide at the entrance led him inside, explaining along the way, "The Talisman Courtyard is divided into Beginner, Entry Level, Entering the Hall and the Room, and Refined and Masterful."

"There are four Realms, and the tuition for each stage is different.

"Senior Brother, you probably haven’t started learning yet, have you?"

Jiang Man nodded.

"Then that would be the Beginner level. It’s five hundred Spiritual Source a year," the guide continued. "We will provide some materials, as well as instruction.

"Different teachers give lessons every day, so Senior Brother can study anytime in the Beginner courtyard.

"After you’ve learned the basics, you’ll need to take an assessment to move on to learning the Entry Level knowledge.

"Of course, if Senior Brother is a strong self-learner, you can also directly test for Entering the Hall and the Room or Refined and Masterful.

"If you pass the assessment, you can earn extra points.

"The maximum for Beginner is ten points, Entry Level is thirty, Entering the Hall and the Room is seventy, and Refined and Masterful is one hundred."

"Does the assessment cost Spiritual Source?" Jiang Man asked.

"Five hundred per attempt," the woman replied.

After a pause, she added, "Aside from Spirit Plant cultivation and Spiritual Cuisine, no other Minor has a cheaper assessment than ours."

Jiang Man understood. In other words, if you ignored the cheapest options, the Talisman Making assessment was the cheapest.

But after being "baptized" by the fifty-thousand-Spiritual-Source Alchemy apprenticeship fee, he genuinely felt that five hundred was a bargain.

Afterward, Jiang Man paid the five hundred Spiritual Source and collected the relevant books.

The Talisman Making Courtyard also gave him a talisman brush and ten sheets of talisman paper.

Before leaving, he curiously asked if Talisman Making was profitable.

The guide nodded seriously. "It is."

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Man asked again, "Do you need to pass an assessment to sell them?"

She shook her head. "No."

After a pause, she added that one had to reach the level of Entering the Hall and the Room.

Jiang Man fell silent.

She then explained that without reaching Entering the Hall and the Room, it was impossible to create Foundation Establishment Talismans. The lowest-level disciples in the Sect were around the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, so who would buy Qi Refining Talismans?

After that, Jiang Man headed back.

’I’ll learn a bit first. Even if I don’t, I’ll only be out five hundred Spiritual Source.’

Just as he returned to his residence, Jiang Man saw the glowing Old Yellow Ox.

"Your wife..."

Before the Old Yellow Ox could finish, Jiang Man cut in, "Sent a letter, I know."

After handing the books to the Old Yellow Ox, Jiang Man took out the ball of light.

’I wonder what the Fairy will say this time.’

’I hope it’s not another scare. Last time, when she said she was coming to the Wuyun Sect, it frightened me quite a bit.’

The ball of light dissipated, and Jiang Man heard a familiar voice.

It was as gentle as ever: "My husband, were you extra careful this time? Were you afraid someone might find you? If one day, my true self were to suddenly appear before you, what kind of expression would you make? I’m so looking forward to it.

"Also, the Magpie Bridge will open this year, so we can meet again.

"I trust my husband is still carrying my name with him?

"I truly envy every insignificant person around you. They get to stand so effortlessly beside the husband I long for day and night."

After hearing it all, a shiver ran down Jiang Man’s spine.

’She sounds far too sweet.’

"What did she say?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.

Jiang Man told it everything truthfully.

The Old Yellow Ox was silent for a long time, quietly munching on grass.

"Old Huang, aren’t you going to analyze it?" Jiang Man asked.

Old Huang continued to eat his grass, showing no intention of speaking.

Jiang Man shook his head. ’But the Magpie Bridge is opening this year?’

’There are indeed only a few months left.’

---

「Red Water Peak.」

「The Alchemy Courtyard.」

A middle-aged man was inspecting Elixirs and said, "I recall we accepted three Named Disciples this time. Shouldn’t there be one more? Has he not reported in?"

A Pill Child at his side immediately replied, "It’s Jiang Man from Cloud Mist Peak’s Foundation Establishment Courtyard. He has indeed not reported in."

"Why is that?" Mo Zainian asked.

The Pill Child answered softly, "He probably can’t afford the apprenticeship fee."

"A poor boy? And he still managed to get first place? He’s got some skill," Mo Zainian remarked, not giving it much thought. "Since he can’t pay the fee, there’s no need to pay him any mind. It just means he lacks the good fortune for this path."

The path of Alchemy is far more arduous than Cultivation. Without Spiritual Source, it’s best not to even attempt it.

Especially for someone who can’t even afford the apprenticeship fee.

There’s even less reason to bother.

"Understood." The Pill Child nodded and said, "I’ve been keeping an eye on a newcomer in their courtyard recently. His foundation is extremely profound.

"Because he started three months late, he probably won’t make the top three, but he has a high chance of getting into the top ten."

"Then transfer the spot. If he can make the top ten, transfer it to him," Mo Zainian said casually.

To him, a matter like this was insignificant.