Chapter 82: Chapter 81: Jiang Man Has No Future After Foundation Establishment

Time passed quickly.

Especially when one was immersed in understanding a Cultivation Skill.

Jiang Man racked his brain, pondering the Meridian Chart.

However, his inability to actually practice the cultivation prevented him from accurately and quickly identifying the correct meridians.

The process was now proving to be extremely difficult.

His unparalleled Talent seemed...

to be hindered.

A Top-grade Cultivation Method was truly too difficult.

And this was just a fragment of one.

’She doesn’t need to be this cautious. It’s impossible to actually cultivate a Top-grade Cultivation Method like this,’ he thought.

Without prior registration, one had no right to cultivate such a skill. Anyone who tried to do so secretly would be discovered sooner or later.

Because as soon as your level increased, it would be impossible to hide.

Only Magic Skills could be kept hidden by simply choosing not to use them.

One could conceal those, at least.

Moonlight, carrying the vast sea of stars, scattered a silver veil across the land.

Six hours passed in silence.

"Time’s up," Wang Yan said suddenly.

Hearing this, everyone let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Jiang Man looked at his incomplete drawing of the Meridian Chart and sighed inwardly.

’Even after expending so much of my Heart Spirit, I still couldn’t complete it.’

’My foundation is weak, and I know too little about this sort of thing.’

’Plus, I can’t use my own body as a reference to deduce the pathways.’

’It runs completely counter to where my Talent lies.’

’As for supplementing all the basic knowledge needed, let alone mastering it, that would take far too much time.’

Wang Yan collected the five books, then looked at Lin Minmin, who had introduced herself first. "You come in with me first."

The two of them then walked inside.

The remaining four waited quietly.

They didn’t know what this Wang Yan ultimately wanted to do.

After a short while, Lin Minmin came out. Then Gao Feng, who looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, went in.

"What did she want you for?" Yu Cheng asked.

"She just asked about my thought process," Lin Minmin answered honestly.

Soon, Gao Feng came out.

Next were Yu Cheng and Fang Yong.

Each person was very quick.

Jiang Man was the last one.

They were called in the same order they had introduced themselves.

"Sit." After he entered, Wang Yan looked at the Meridian Chart Jiang Man had drawn. "Tell me your thoughts."

Jiang Man explained his reasoning truthfully.

His deductions were all based on the Mid Grade Qi Refining Method and the Top-grade Observation Method.

Of course, he only spoke of the results, without mentioning the Top-grade Observation Method.

Wang Yan nodded.

Then she told Jiang Man to go outside and wait for her.

After he left, she closed Jiang Man’s book and wrote the number seven on it.

’Slightly better, I suppose... but still ordinary. This level of comprehension is completely disproportionate to his Cultivation speed.’

’Logically, he should have understood far more.’

’It seems either his Talent is purely in absorbing Spiritual Qi, or he’s secretly consumed a large amount of Spiritual Source.’ Wang Yan tapped the table, a theory forming in her mind. ’He used concepts from a Top-grade Observation Method, which means he’s been exposed to one before. He likely participated in the last experiment.’

’In that case, the possibility that he’s consumed massive resources also exists.’

’He has Talent, but it’s not as high as his performance suggests.’

’I’m afraid he won’t get very far after entering a Sect.’

’If all he can do is simply absorb Spiritual Qi, how could he possibly advance quickly after the Qi Refining stage?’

’My expectations were too high.’

’It seems there’s no need to give him a helping hand.’

’Even if he shines brightly in the Yunqian Bureau, he doesn’t have much value.’

’Compared to the previous one, the gap is just too wide.’

Having made her decision, Wang Yan stood up.

She glanced at the tabletop as she did.

Five books were now arranged in order on the table.

The first book had a six written on it.

The second, a five.

The third, a six.

The fifth, which was Jiang Man’s, had a seven.

But the fourth book... it had a large nine written prominently on it.

In the courtyard, Jiang Man and the others finally saw Wang Yan emerge. She wore a faint smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

She sat down and looked at them. "I’ve gotten what I needed. Now, it’s your turn."

"Also, regarding the Meridian Charts, Fang Yong’s was more detailed, while Gao Feng’s was a bit rough."

"Therefore, Fang Yong can exchange for forty, Gao Feng for twenty, and everyone else for thirty."

This news didn’t seem to have much of an impact.

Jiang Man was quite surprised. ’Aren’t the ones with reduced quotas annoyed?’

"I only need fifteen," Gao Feng said flatly.

Jiang Man: "..."

’I forgot. They aren’t wealthy.’

Then Jiang Man realized that they were mostly asking for fifteen, eighteen, or twenty-one pills.

When Fang Yong spoke up and asked for twenty, Jiang Man was forced to accept a fact.

He was richer than them.

He thought for a moment, however, then looked at Fang Yong. "Are you planning to buy more later?"

Because if they had any quota left, they could come back to buy more within the month.

Fang Yong thought for a moment. "Ten more at most."

At that, Jiang Man immediately said, "Then buy thirty this time."

His meaning was obvious: he wanted help buying an extra ten pills.

Fang Yong was stunned for a second. "I’ll take one."

Jiang Man didn’t waste words. "Deal."

Then he chose to take thirty pills.

Forty pills in total, for a grand total of twelve thousand Spiritual Source.

He had nearly a thousand left over, but unfortunately, he couldn’t buy any more.

"Where did you get so much Spiritual Source?" Fang Yong asked curiously.

The others were also astonished.

"I borrowed it. Want to lend me some? Once I enter the Sect, I’ll pay back three thousand with three thousand three hundred," Jiang Man asked, looking at Fang Yong.

Fang Yong ignored him.

The others also remained silent.

Wang Yan simply smiled.

Although Jiang Man could indeed enter a Sect, it wasn’t worth risking three thousand Spiritual Source.

Right now, they were all at the same table.

But once they entered a Sect, they would be worlds apart.

She gave them the Elixirs.

Then she had them leave.

On the way back, Jiang Man pocketed his thirty-nine Elixirs, his heart finally easing.

There was hope for reaching the Qi Refining Ninth Layer again.

’It’s still not enough, though.’

’But I’m close.’

A great weight was lifted from his heart regardless.

Along the way, Fang Yong was silent for a long time before asking, "When you went in, did she give you anything?"

Jiang Man was rather surprised, but eventually shook his head. "No."

Fang Yong said no more.

Seeing this, Jiang Man didn’t press the issue. He figured Fang Yong must have been chosen.

’It should be similar to the contracts with the various families.’

’But with a bit more freedom.’

As for why he himself wasn’t chosen, Jiang Man felt the reason was simple.

’Her judgment was too narrow.’ 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

’Of course, it wasn’t her fault.’

’Because not even the Evil God Old Yellow Ox was able to see how terrifying my Talent truly was.’

After parting ways with Fang Yong, Jiang Man returned to the stables and resumed his Cultivation.

Nonstop Cultivation.

Every day, he popped Spirit Gathering Pills into his mouth.

「Three days later.」, the eighth "Gourd" was finally ten percent full.

「Seven days later.」, it was at twenty percent.

「Fifteen days later.」, it reached forty percent.

「May first.」

On this day, the price of Elixirs outside had risen to six hundred and one.

Most people in the Yunqian Bureau could no longer afford them.

But those who had joined the major families didn’t have such worries; they were just constantly consuming Elixirs and cultivating.

Xiaopang’s dark circles were even more pronounced.

He had even grown a bit gaunt.

Jiang Man told him to keep going.

’A rich kid like Xiaopang needs to experience some hardship, otherwise I’d feel bad.’

However, Jiang Man had no intention of resting either, leading the Cyan Cloud Pavilion in nonstop Cultivation.

At the end-of-month assessment, the entire Cyan Cloud Pavilion showed significant improvement.

It was just that many people’s spirits were a bit drained.

Some of the teachers even told them to rest.

But...

the others weren’t resting.

At the assessment, Jiang Man scored a ninety.

He was still first in the Cyan Cloud Pavilion.

This time, the other Pavilions were all paying attention to Jiang Man’s score.

Then they discovered that Jiang Man’s score was tied with Cheng Moyang’s from the Celestial Essence Pavilion.