In the room.

He Huai’an, who had been holding a wine jug, had now set it down.

He sighed wistfully. A single jug of wine had cost him dearly.

Nine thousand Spiritual Source.

This apprentice of his truly didn’t treat him like a stranger.

Asking for so much right from the get-go.

"Master, your apprentice is a prodigy of this generation."

"Master, I’m at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment and about to break through to the Late Stage. I just need a little push from you. I’ll be sure to repay you handsomely afterward."

"Master, investing in a prodigy will bring you glory."

"Master, I’ll come back with first place in the next annual assessment."

"Master, if ten pills are too many, eight will do."

"Master, a destitute prodigy is a rare sight in this age. Now is the time to lend a helping hand."

A barrage of words assaulted him.

’To sum it all up, it was just: I’m a prodigy, I’m powerful, I’m amazing—so give me money.’

In the end, He Huai’an still gave him five Earth Element Pills.

’This apprentice is quite the smooth-talker.’

He Huai’an picked up the wine jug and took another swig. "Others come here to learn Alchemy, but he comes here to freeload.

"He dares to slap any title he wants onto himself.

"If he were really that amazing, he would have made a name for himself long ago."

In the Sect, the score rankings were the only real measure.

Everything else could be faked.

But scores could never be falsified.

You could suppress your score, but you couldn’t raise it out of thin air.

He Huai’an heaved a heavy sigh.

He never thought taking on an apprentice would bring him so much trouble.

He would have to be more careful about accepting apprentices this year.

Still, an apprentice who made himself so at home was truly a rare sight.

So poor it was almost comical.

He feared those five elixirs were gone for good.

’Forget it, forget it.’

As he drank his wine, he felt like he’d at least recouped three hundred Spiritual Source worth.

But even if Jiang Man did take first place, what good would it do?

Who didn’t have a first-place disciple to their name?

—

Jiang Man let out a sigh of relief as he held the five Earth Element Pills.

The haul was a bit more than he had expected.

Fortunately, he hadn’t started by asking for four thousand five hundred. If he had, he might not have even managed to borrow two thousand Spiritual Source in the end.

Asking for nine thousand Spiritual Source in one go.

That set the threshold high.

In the end, four thousand five hundred wasn’t an unacceptable outcome.

Especially when borrowing in terms of elixirs—ten suddenly became five.

The number five wasn’t that high, so the reduction didn’t feel as drastic.

If it had been five thousand, it would have required more thought.

Right now, Earth Element Pills were nine hundred each, so five of them were worth four thousand five hundred.

Exchanging them for seven Water Element Pills would even leave him with ninety to spare.

Afterward, Jiang Man went straight to the exchange counter. Since the pills were from his master, the person there exchanged them without any fuss.

If he had tried to sell them instead, it would have been considered scalping.

Getting caught would be troublesome.

Besides, he wouldn’t earn any Spiritual Source by selling them anyway.

Because the Water Element Pills here were also sold out.

He would have to wait until next month to buy any.

This meant he would have to compete for Fire Element Pills in the future, or else he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the ten-percent discount.

But it was too early to worry about that now. He had to deal with the upcoming Secret Realm first.

Seven pills should be enough.

After the Secret Realm ended, there would still be six months until the annual assessment.

He could participate in this year’s annual assessment.

After returning to his residence, Jiang Man wasted no time and began to cultivate.

「A week later.」

Spiritual Qi flared from Jiang Man’s body but was quickly retracted.

But even with such speed, he still left a footprint in the ground.

At the same time, his bones let out a series of sharp CRACKS.

This was because the sudden increase in the weight of his Spiritual Qi had caught his body off guard.

Jiang Man’s brow furrowed. ’This isn’t good.’

He discovered that the weight of his Spiritual Qi was far heavier and denser than he had anticipated.

This was because it was based on the Thirteenth Layer of the Top-grade Yuan Condensation Technique.

The Physical Body he had enhanced with the Simple Body Refining Technique was struggling to keep up.

If his Simple Observation Method hadn’t reached the Fifth Layer, he feared he would have trouble controlling it as well.

It seemed that reaching Foundation Establishment Perfection would not be easy.

He would have to find a Top-grade Observation Method or a Top-grade Body Refining Technique.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Man stabilized the power within his body.

It was a long while before he let out a sigh of relief.

Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

In a year and a half, he had gone from the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, through Foundation Establishment Introduction, the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, and the Mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, to his current Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

It hadn’t been easy.

If not for his supreme Talent, how much Spiritual Source would he have had to spend to advance so quickly?

Watching the Taiyang rise, Jiang Man strode toward the small courtyard.

As he passed the Old Yellow Ox, Jiang Man asked it about his condition.

The Old Yellow Ox just kept on eating grass.

The Eighth Courtyard.

When Jiang Man arrived, he still sat in the first seat.

It was worth noting that Wei Beichuan was already in the seventh seat. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

In other words, in the next two months, he would probably take out the fifth and sixth.

Those two had already given up hope.

As they were discussing the Secret Realm, Cao Cheng looked at Jiang Man and said, "Three people from the Seven Peaks and Eight Courtyards were chosen. What are your thoughts, Jiang Man?"

"That’s right. You’re our courtyard’s number one genius, so why weren’t you chosen? Are you not genius enough?" An Rong chimed in.

Jiang Man turned to look at the two of them, then silently took out a small notebook. "I feel like I was mocked by Cao Cheng and An Rong today."

"Could you do me a favor and write our names down separately?" Cao Cheng said.

An Rong nodded. "Writing us down together like that is disgusting."

Jiang Man closed his notebook. ’These two have been driven mad by Wei Beichuan. They’re not acting normal at all.’

"Are you participating in the assessment this time?" Zhao Yaoyao asked curiously.

She hoped Jiang Man would participate. She didn’t care about second or third place; she cared about how many first-place titles Zhuo Bufan had won.

If this continued, his family would give him even more resources.

More resources, on top of him pulling all-nighters.

How fast would his progress be in the future?

More importantly, when she had been promoted from third to second place, her clan hadn’t given her many extra resources.

She couldn’t stand seeing Zhuo Bufan have it so good.

"I’m not," Jiang Man said after a moment of thought. "Barring any surprises, I’ll join the next assessment. If there are any surprises, then I’ll join this year’s annual assessment."