Jiang Man paid no mind to those people.
He walked straight out of the Sixth Courtyard.
He had taken note of the little fatty's expression and felt that next time he shouldn't tell him about secretly cultivating.
Then he would go back and cultivate in secret.
That way, the other boy would slack off.
Surpassing him would be that much easier.
Repeating the method down the line, he would soon surpass those ahead until he broke into the top three. After that, it would be surpassing first and second.
First, he went to the management office to collect the rest of this month's pay for the stables: ten jin of coarse rice. Originally it had been five jin a month, but with twice as much added, it was now fifteen jin a month.
More or less, it was enough to keep him fed.
Cultivation burned through physical strength, so in truth it still wasn't enough, but it was far better than before.
Only after carrying the supplies back did he head toward the Guard Post.
The Guard Post was subordinate to the Yunqian Division.
It was still within the division grounds.
It could not be called dangerous.
Before the main gate of the Guard Post, Jiang Man took a careful look around.
The blue-gray walls gleamed cold in the twilight, and from the eaves of a thirty-foot-high watchtower hung bronze wind chimes, swinging in the evening breeze with dull, resonant rings.
Flanking the front entrance stood two worn stone suanni.
Stepping inside, one could see two guards seated beside a table and chairs.
They were looking right at him.
"Which courtyard are you studying under?" the middle-aged guard asked.
Jiang Man walked over and said politely, "Qingyun Pavilion."
"What are you here for?" the man asked again.
"I came looking for work. Here is my recommendation letter." With that, Jiang Man handed over the envelope in his hand.
The middle-aged man glanced at it and said, "Do you know who you're looking for?"
Jiang Man shook his head.
The guard looked at Jiang Man, lapsing into silence.
Jiang Man spoke up immediately. "My family met with some misfortune, so money is a bit tight. But my score ranks me first in our courtyard, and there are bound to be plenty of opportunities ahead. If I could receive some guidance from you two seniors today, I will surely repay you handsomely in the future."
First from the bottom was still first.
The two guards exchanged a glance, then pointed inside, giving him the exact location as well as a few simple precautions.
Hearing that, Jiang Man expressed his gratitude and promptly headed inside.
Watching him walk away, the younger guard spoke up. "First place—do you believe that?"
"I don't. Do you?" the middle-aged man retorted.
"I don't either. Then why help him?"
"He has thick skin. People like that easily succeed by taking unorthodox paths, and their minds are petty to boot. If he does make it, I'd rather he not hold a grudge against me."
"..."
Before long, Jiang Man found the place, stated his purpose, and presented the recommendation letter.
The person in charge was a middle-aged woman.
Looking over the recommendation letter, she said, "You are Jiang Man? Teacher Zhao mentioned you to me. You can do anything?"
Jiang Man nodded. "May I ask what you need me to do?"
"Do you have any preferences?" the manager asked, looking at Jiang Man.
Jiang Man pondered briefly. "Being able to cultivate would be best."
"Here with us, the only worry is that you won't cultivate." The manager smiled and said, "What is your score?"
Jiang Man fell silent for a moment before saying, "Zero."
The manager, who had been recording information, froze and raised her eyebrows in surprise.
She seemed hardly able to believe it.
No wonder Zhao Leming hadn't made things clear.
Turns out this was what lay in store for her.
"Do you know the Qi-Linking Method?" Manager Miao asked.
Jiang Man nodded. "I do."
Hearing this, Manager Miao nodded, then said, "Barely usable, then."
She looked toward Jiang Man and continued, "In that case, thirty spirit source a day. As for the hours, beginning at dusk, one two-hour session will be enough."
Spirit source was a simple currency used in cultivation.
Spirit stones came in varying sizes, and many years ago they had ceased to be suitable as currency. After the Great Governance of the Immortal Gate, things had been reformed accordingly. Through a special method, dense and hard-to-absorb spirit source was extracted from spirit stones, which for ordinary folk served strictly as money.
Whether thirty spirit source a day was much or little, Jiang Man had no idea. But considering his score, he understood that it had to be very little.
"Then what will I need to do?" Jiang Man asked.
Needing only one two-hour session was indeed ideal for him. It would leave plenty of free time to cultivate.
"Take this token to the back." Manager Miao instructed someone to lead Jiang Man to the rear.
Soon, a maidservant brought Jiang Man to a room labeled Spirit Gathering Hall.
From there, he was led into the main hall, where eighty-one statues stood.
Half of them radiated a faint glow.
The maidservant then guided Jiang Man behind a statue near the edge and opened a door built into it.
Inside was a small chamber.
"This is...?" Jiang Man was puzzled.
"Step inside. What you need to do is continuously run the Qi-Linking Method in there. Only when the formation lights up does it prove you are working. If the light stays out for too long, your spirit source for the day is forfeited," the maidservant explained. "In a two-hour session, you must make at least three beads light up inside. For each extra bead, you receive five additional spirit source. Any other questions?"
"All I have to do is sit inside and cultivate? Nothing else?" Jiang Man asked, looking at the maidservant, who appeared to be in her mid-twenties.
She nodded. "If you don't meet the requirement, in all likelihood you won't receive those thirty spirit source. Furthermore, once you begin, you must not make a sound. We will keep an eye on your safety."
Hearing that, Jiang Man nodded continuously, though he thought to himself: if danger arose, one wouldn't be able to run the Qi-Linking Method anyway, so how could they fail to come check immediately?
Once the person left, the door was shut, with the promise that it would be opened after one two-hour session.
Stepping inside, Jiang Man found that the space was fairly large, with numerous white beads embedded all around.
At present, only one bead was lit. What he needed to do was run the Qi-Linking Method.
Before running it, he touched the surroundings, communing with the Heavenly Mirror Hundred Books.
The pages began flipping rapidly. Jiang Man had thought it would stop at the final page, offering up another line of "Not worth mentioning."
Yet an unexpected turn occurred: the pages halted at page thirty-six.
This left Jiang Man somewhat astonished.
Such a high page number?
Immediately after, lines of text appeared:
[Ninefold Primal Spirit Formation (Fragmented): The Ninefold Primal Spirit Formation uses its array to reverse great momentum, condense the Great Dao's fortune, transform spirit essence, and shower down spiritual qi, nourishing barren lands and parched mountains and rivers. This is a simplified, incomplete version, capable of absorbing spiritual qi from the human body and converting it into refined spiritual qi for others to cultivate.]
[Recorded Ninefold Primal Spirit Formation (1/4): May obtain one wisp of spell innate qi (Available to claim)]
An unexpected pleasant surprise. Jiang Man had never imagined this formation possessed such an extraordinary origin.
This spell innate qi, he figured, was likely similar to cultivation-method purple qi.
Only this was used for cultivating spells.
It seemed his progress in spells would not be slow either.
Without further delay, Jiang Man began running the Qi-Linking Method, not daring to use his full strength on the first attempt.
He ran it slowly. After one full circuit, the spiritual qi that had been meant to settle into his dantian was drawn away by the formation.
There was a distinct sensation of it being forcibly dragged out of his body.
It carried a slight twinge of pain, likely because the formation was too crude; over time, it would inflict some wear on the body.
"No wonder it only lasts one two-hour session. The body might not be able to hold out otherwise."
"I wonder if the complete version carries such side effects."
After that, Jiang Man began running the Qi-Linking Method with full force. At the final moment, he diverted a portion of the spiritual qi toward the formation, while letting the rest settle into his dantian.
"It works."
Because his score was low, the formation's draw on him was low as well—roughly around the level of the Qi-Linking third layer.
The rest belonged to him.
Moreover, with the sheer volume he produced, the wear on his body was negligible.
Still, trading slower cultivation progress for spirit source—he wasn't sure if it was a loss or a gain.
Yet gaining a wisp of spell innate qi was an undeniable win.
After one two-hour session.
Jiang Man had run the Qi-Linking Method dozens of times, and by now, his first gourd was completely full.
*Click!*
The door slowly swung open.
It was the same maidservant from before.
She glanced at the white beads; indeed, three were lit.
"You broke off six times midway. Be more mindful next time," the maidservant said.
Jiang Man was somewhat surprised. Were they really that precise?
"Come over. The manager wants to say a few words before handing out the spirit source," the maidservant said.
Just as Jiang Man stepped out, Manager Miao's voice rang out: "Today, let me introduce a newcomer to everyone. In the back courtyard, his score was zero. For someone like him to still come here to work clearly demonstrates his refusal to yield to his circumstances!
"If even he can do this, do the rest of you still have the nerve to slack off?
"I dare say that if any among your group can succeed in the future, it will certainly be this newcomer!
"A score of zero—have you ever seen the like?
"Someone like this is no different from being crippled, yet though broken in body, he is resolute in will!
"Why shouldn't success belong to him?"
Jiang Man: "..."
Chapter 12