In the room.

He Huai’an stared at the wine jug Jiang Man had brought him.

He was filled with complicated emotions.

This disciple had brought him nothing but humiliation.

And this was just the beginning.

There was more humiliation to come.

Scouting for hidden talent had its pros, but it also had its cons.

It all depended on whether you picked a winner or a dud.

Without a doubt, Jiang Man was the biggest dud he had ever found.

Sighing internally, he picked up the wine jug and took a drink.

And then...

It hit him.

"You didn’t come here to borrow Spiritual Source, did you?" He Huai’an asked.

Jiang Man froze. He actually hadn’t thought of that.

It wasn’t like he asked just anyone for a loan.

He kept going to Chang Qiweng because they’d become acquainted through their previous clashes.

Besides, the man was a "rich" poor person.

But at the end of the day, he was still poor. They were in the same class.

It felt natural to borrow from him.

And Chang Qiweng could earn interest. It was a win-win.

Truly wealthy people might not be willing to use their Spiritual Source to earn interest from him.

They were far too shrewd.

They weren’t on the same path as him.

"Master, you’ve misunderstood," Jiang Man said, shaking his head. "I came to find a job. I don’t mind if it’s hard or tiring, as long as I can earn Spiritual Source and it doesn’t take too long."

"Something like lighting the lamps for the Spirit Gathering Hall."

Hearing this, He Huai’an sounded a little surprised. "You’re not worried about affecting your foundation, are you? In any case, the Sect doesn’t have any half-baked arrays like that one."

"Besides, the environments are completely different. Even if we needed it, we would never allow a Sect Disciple to participate."

Jiang Man wasn’t surprised. He just asked, "Then are there any other high-paying jobs?"

"Of course. Alchemy Masters sometimes need people to test their pills. It’s extremely damaging to the body. Want to give it a try?" He Huai’an looked at the young man before him with a teasing glint in his eye.

Jiang Man thought for a long time before asking, "Does it affect my Cultivation?"

He Huai’an was stunned. ’After all that thinking, *that’s* what you were mulling over?’

Testing pills was a very serious matter.

He had meant to scare the kid, but he hadn’t expected him to be so single-minded.

"Of course it does. It could even prevent you from cultivating for days on end," He Huai’an said.

"Then I am not suited for the job," Jiang Man said, shaking his head in refusal.

The Spiritual Source he’d earn wouldn’t be worth it.

He Huai’an had no intention of letting Jiang Man test pills anyway. For someone who knew nothing about pharmacology, it would be a complete waste.

Only someone who understood the medicinal properties could discern the specific changes after taking a pill.

An ordinary person could only get a general sense of the effects. For a Pill Master, that meant slow progress.

After a long moment of thought, He Huai’an took out a book and said, "There are no jobs, but if you want to earn Spiritual Source, there is another way."

"This is the Spirit Medicine Identification Record for Pill Masters."

"As long as you can describe the medicinal properties of a Spirit Medicine and draw a picture of it, you can earn one hundred Spiritual Source."

"Even an idiot could earn five thousand Spiritual Source without much trouble."

Jiang Man opened the book, somewhat surprised.

He saw that it contained silhouettes of Spirit Medicines. He would have to identify them, draw them in, and then write down their medicinal properties.

It didn’t look easy.

’But there are so many common Spirit Medicines. If I do ten a day, wouldn’t that be a thousand Spiritual Source?’

’Could there really be such a good deal?’

"Master, what’s the catch?" ’A deal this good must have a catch.’

He Huai’an smiled. "For every Spirit Medicine you draw, you have to submit one True Spirit Medicine along with it."

"Also, you can only make an exchange for every ten you complete."

Hearing this, Jiang Man froze.

’So what I’m actually earning is just the price difference?’

’That’s not much at all.’

’Still, there are plenty of cheap Spirit Medicines. It’s not like I can’t make a profit.’

’I’ll just skip the expensive ones.’

After that, Jiang Man took his leave.

He Huai’an took a sip of wine and shook his head. "How did he get so poor? Who comes to study Alchemy when they’re this destitute?"

He truly never imagined that the person who took first place could be poor.

Nor did he imagine that someone coming to study Alchemy could be poor.

’It’s my fault. The content I wrote was designed to attract the poor.’

’Why would a wealthy person care about any of that?’

But he had no intention of changing it. He refused to believe there could be a second poor person who could take first place.

——

「Meanwhile」

Xie Wen arrived at the appointed place.

There, he met Zhang Bai from the Eighth Courtyard.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhang," Xie Wen said with a respectful bow.

"Did you find anything?" Zhang Bai asked.

Xie Wen immediately told him everything he knew.

"You’re saying you saw him use Wandering Dragon and Shadowless Palm?" Zhang Bai was a little surprised.

It seemed that Jiang Man had indeed lied back at the Rehabilitation Courtyard.

When dealing with cultivators at the Qi Refining stage, there was no need to tell them everything.

After a moment of thought, Zhang Bai asked, "Do you know what level his Wandering Dragon is at?"

Hearing this, Xie Wen faltered.

He had no way of knowing.

Zhang Bai didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he asked, "Try to recall. When he used Wandering Dragon, how many steps did he take in total before stopping?"

Xie Wen began to think. After a long while, he finally said, "It should have been twenty-six or twenty-seven."

’Third Layer Wandering Dragon?’ Zhang Bai nodded. ’The level is a bit low, but it’s definitely his limit.’

’In that case, his Shadowless Palm should also be at the Third Layer.’

But when he asked about the palm technique, Zhang Bai was surprised. It was only at the Second Layer, a bit worse than he had expected.

Still, it was good enough.

After giving the other man a sufficient amount of Spiritual Source, Zhang Bai decided he would try to win Jiang Man over based on his ranking in the annual grand competition.

’It doesn’t quite meet my expectations, but it’s very close.’

’He’s plenty outstanding.’

Now, it all depended on whether he could break into the annual rankings.

Theoretically, it shouldn’t be a problem.

——

After leaving, Xie Wen hurried back toward the courtyard.

It was almost time. The rankings were about to be released.

He was very curious about who would be at the top of the list.

And what their scores would be.

Especially since Mr. Yan had actually said the scores were to be kept confidential.

Not a single detail was to be leaked.

This only made him more curious.

Was it because the Ninth Courtyard’s scores were too low, or something else?

’To think they have to be kept secret.’

He suspected their scores were terrible, because everyone there had been staying up all night cultivating.

No matter how you looked at it, they weren’t in good shape.

But just as he returned to the courtyard, he saw that the rankings had already been posted.