As the two pills settled within him, Jiang Man sensed an unfamiliar change stirring within the peerless prodigy fate.
That profound, enigmatic sensation washed over him once more.
Jiang Man directed his attention toward it.
Instantly, the arcane feeling began to unravel, resolving at last into lines of text.
[Peerless Prodigy Fate]
[As a peerless prodigy, cultivation is your instinct. As long as your body permits, you shall certainly cultivate one hundred and fifty times a day, and raise the Origin Condensation Method to the ninth layer within three hundred days.]
[Failure results in fate backlash.]
[Cultivation completely lost.]
It was out: the third requirement.
It was utterly ruthless.
One hundred and fifty times a day.
Would he even have time for anything else?
Classes in the morning, and virtually everything else dedicated to cultivation.
He truly wouldn't be sleeping at night.
And what in the world was this Origin Condensation Method?
Jiang Man had never heard of it, but seeing nine layers brought a slight sigh of relief.
Nine layers meant an ordinary, simplified method would suffice.
If it were thirteen layers...
That would be fatal.
Thirteen layers wasn't a contest of talent; it was purely about financial backing and family background.
It looked like a call to strive toward the peak through hard work, but in truth, it all came down to whether one could afford a superior-grade method.
This peerless prodigy fate wasn't honest either.
It was purely bullying a penniless talent monster like him.
"Did the requirement appear?" the old yellow ox asked from the side.
Jiang Man nodded. "It's out. And two extra pills came with it."
Two pills: one scarlet as blood, the other pure white as snow.
"A Flawless Qi and Blood Pill and a Flawless Spirit Concentration Pill. The former is for cultivating the body—a Qi and Blood Method—while the latter is for cultivating the spirit, a Visualization Method," the old yellow ox explained after a moment's thought. "They should be similar to the Flawless Spirit Gathering Pill you received, covering the final three layers."
Covering three layers was already quite good, saving him plenty of spirit source.
The only pity was that there were no new Spirit Gathering Pills.
Otherwise, advancing his cultivation down the line would have been far easier.
The old yellow ox didn't care much about that; inheritances at the Qi-Linking stage were utterly ordinary. No matter how good a Qi-Linking method or pill was, it amounted to very little.
What it cared about was the new requirement.
It immediately asked about it.
Jiang Man didn't hide anything and shared the first part.
"That doesn't matter. You don't sleep anyway—the starlight never betrays the nocturnal traveler," the old yellow ox remarked.
Jiang Man was speechless.
He then voiced the second part of the requirement:
the unknown Origin Condensation Method.
Hearing that, the old yellow ox paused in surprise. "Origin Condensation Method? In how many days?"
"Three hundred days," Jiang Man replied.
"How many layers?"
"Nine layers."
The old yellow ox fell silent, just like last time.
Jiang Man didn't need to ask to know that this requirement was bound to be terribly difficult.
Even so, he needed to understand what it meant.
This time, the old yellow ox didn't speak in riddles. After a brief pause, it explained, "Condensing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth to solidify the root and cultivate the origin...
"That's an archaic term.
"Going by the cultivation techniques currently issued by the Four Great Immortal Gates,
"it's a Foundation Establishment Method.
"In other words, you need to complete all nine layers of a Foundation Establishment Method within three hundred days."
Jiang Man froze, dumbfounded.
He found it hard to believe.
Foundation Establishment?
What did people of that level have to do with him?
After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Is Foundation Establishment difficult?"
"Not difficult. For someone like you, reaching Foundation Establishment is merely a matter of time," the old yellow ox replied honestly.
For a genius with such startling talent, Foundation Establishment would never be out of reach.
Still finding it somewhat hard to swallow, Jiang Man probed, "So this requirement isn't actually that high?"
The old yellow ox sneered, considering its words before replying, "You're asking the wrong question. You have to factor in the timeframe."
Jiang Man paused, organizing his words. "From the Qi-Linking sixth layer to Foundation Establishment, and then raising the Origin Condensation Method to the ninth layer within three hundred days—is that difficult?"
The old yellow ox chuckled softly. "Harder than ascending to heaven."
Jiang Man remained silent for a moment, then reined in his emotions.
He began sweeping and tidying the area.
Surprised, the old yellow ox asked, "Ready to give up just like that?"
Jiang Man looked back at it, speaking with deep meaning, "Old Huang, you know nothing about peerless prodigies."
The old yellow ox had no words.
It resolved never to ask such questions again.
Having learned its lesson twice, it had no intention of jumping to early conclusions.
For now, Jiang Man merely swept the floor while waiting for Chang Qiwen to arrive.
Just how hard were Foundation Establishment and the Origin Condensation Method?
He had no concept of it.
He had no way to access them yet.
Though the old yellow ox knew a fair bit, its perspective might differ from the actual circumstances.
Yet one thing was crystal clear to Jiang Man:
he had to enter a sect.
Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to obtain an Origin Condensation Method.
Beyond that was the matter of Foundation Establishment; if the opportunity arose, he needed to take it seriously.
For now, though, there was no point dwelling on it.
It served little purpose.
It was still far off.
Naturally, he still needed to earn spirit source in the meantime.
He would certainly need a tremendous amount of spirit source later on.
Fortunately, Chang Qiwen's challenge had brought him a handsome sum.
Half an hour later.
Jiang Man looked out into the moonlight.
A figure was heading toward the stable.
It was Chang Qiwen.
He appeared somewhat mature, his gaze steady and resolute.
"Jiang Man, where do you want to spar?" Chang Qiwen asked, walking up to him.
Jiang Man pointed outside. "Right over there. The open ground is spacious enough."
"Do you have anything to say?" Chang Qiwen walked out into the clearing and looked at Jiang Man.
Following him out, Jiang Man pondered briefly before asking, "Just one question: whose side are you on?"
He had initially wanted to ask straight out whether he was working for Cheng Yu.
Yet that would be too abrupt.
If Chang Qiwen truly served her, any future plots would only become more concealed.
If he didn't bring it up, the other party might assume he hadn't noticed anything.
Whatever they tried next would be far more likely to leave a trace.
"I simply can't stand you," Chang Qiwen said, looking at Jiang Man with a serious expression. "Why should I be kept down by you after working hard for so long?
"Without you, in third place, I had a real shot at securing a spot.
"Especially with Young Master Cheng thinking highly of me.
"I was fully qualified to contest a spot against first and second place.
"And then you showed up.
"You ruined everything for me."
Jiang Man looked at him, finding the whole speech utter nonsense.
Just for a spot, why would he make a direct move like this?
Refusing to waste any more words, Jiang Man took a step forward. "Are you ready?"
"Your practical combat is weak, yet you still put on a brave front." Chang Qiwen showed no fear as he stepped out.
He closed the distance toward Jiang Man rapidly.
A bright radiance emerged from his palm, swimming like a golden dragon.
The Dragon Suppressing Method.
With a dragon's roar,
the strike arrived right before him.
Jiang Man didn't flinch in the slightest. Channeling Three Powers Force, he drove out a Six Harmonies Palm.
Six palms as one.
Boom!
The Six Harmonies Palm, infused with covert force, shattered the golden light instantly and crashed toward Chang Qiwen.
Chang Qiwen was caught off guard.
He had intended to test the waters first.
He never expected the boy to open with six palms fused into one.
When on earth had he reached the ninth layer of Six Harmonies Palm?
Daring not hesitate, Chang Qiwen retreated to evade.
In the end, the palm print was simply too broad to dodge, forcing him into a direct confrontation.
He swiftly channeled Six Harmonies Palm to meet it.
Boom!
Chang Qiwen was forced back several paces, his palm throbbing with pain.
It truly was reinforced with Three Powers Force.
And what was more...
when had he learned covert force with Three Powers Force?
Had he intentionally played weak before Luo Xuan this morning?
While his thoughts were still racing, Jiang Man's next attack was already upon him.
Once again: six palms as one, fused with the covert force of Three Powers Force.
Boom!
Chang Qiwen was driven back once more.
"Fighting like this, how long do you think your spiritual qi can hold out?"
Chapter 37