Once the qualification spots were decided, there would be three opportunities for rest periods.
The first took place during the latter half of the twelfth month.
That was when the first contest for cultivation techniques and spells occurred.
This time, the Three Halls and Six Pavilions each held their own internal contests.
The second contest was set for the second half of the third month, also granting a half-month leave.
During that contest, the Three Towers competed against one another, while three of the Six Pavilions faced each other in turn.
Techniques and spells were once again on the line, and the spells in particular would be far more powerful.
The final contest was scheduled for the latter half of the sixth month.
All of the Three Halls and Six Pavilions would compete.
This final contest focused primarily on spells.
There was also a chance of superior-grade cultivation techniques appearing, but few people gave up on spells for them, because the ultimate reckoning arrived just two months later.
The sect assessment would begin in mid-August.
Moreover, the three-person teams formed for these contests remained fixed throughout.
They could not be changed.
Because of this, Li Yuan felt a sense of despair at having ended up with such a shortsighted student cultivator.
There was no reasoning with the fellow, and he was liable to stab them in the back at any moment.
Li Yuan felt he ought to teach him properly how to be an acceptable teammate.
Yet he soon realized Jiang Man had walked away without even untying them.
It seemed one actually had to pay him some spirit sources before he would budge.
Li Yuan: "..."
What practical use were a few spirit sources?
For poor folk like him, shouldn't befriending a young master like himself be their top priority?
After all, a few scraps slipping through his fingers would be enough to change their entire situation.
A single word from him could secure them a bodyguard job to earn a living.
Any daily hardships could be resolved effortlessly with a single sentence from his lips.
Spirit sources were the lowest form of reward.
Yet this Jiang Man...
His horizons were far too narrow.
"To think this Jiang Man would drag us down like this. Our future contests are going to be difficult."
He let out a heavy sigh.
"How could Jiang Man be so foolish?" Yan Huimin had never imagined in her wildest dreams that she would encounter someone like him.
A mere thousand spirit sources—he had to be crazy from poverty.
Was he truly not afraid of offending them?
Sooner or later, she would settle the score with him.
A long time later, Fang Tianyi and his companions returned in triumph.
Passing by the Qi-linking forest, they happened to spot Li Yuan and Yan Huimin.
"Why are you two still tied up?" Fang Tianyi asked with some curiosity. "Which family's death warrior was so decent as to not even untie your ropes?"
Fury flared inside Li Yuan, but he no longer showed it.
Continuing to display anger would only turn him into a laughingstock.
It would be nothing more than powerless rage.
Looking at the young man before him, he said with a completely calm face, "Fang Tianyi, do you really think you're the biggest winner here?"
"If not me, then you?" Fang Tianyi retorted.
"My brother got a medium-grade Visualization Method. Isn't that enough to beat you?" Fang Yuanyuan mocked.
"Do you know why that Jiang Man remained indifferent and let you attack me?" Li Yuan said, turning the thought over in his mind as he spoke.
Hearing that, Fang Tianyi asked curiously, "Wasn't it because you were too stingy to part with spirit sources?"
The corner of Li Yuan's eye twitched, but he kept his composure and said, "Actually, I had a disagreement with him before you even arrived. He said he wanted a Qi-Linking Method. Do you know why?"
"Because he doesn't have one," Fang Yuanyuan interjected. "That's the common ailment of poor people; they always think Qi-Linking Methods are what matter most."
Li Yuan agreed completely with Fang Yuanyuan's reasoning—it aligned perfectly with his own thoughts—but he could not say so. Instead, he immediately answered, "Wrong. It's because he has no need for a Visualization Method. You might not believe it, but the truth is that he already possesses a Visualization Method of medium grade or higher. What he lacked was a Qi-Linking Method.
"You think you came out ahead, but the reality is that not only did you hand Jiang Man a thousand spirit sources, you also helped him obtain the Qi-Linking Method he wanted for free.
"Otherwise, he might very well have come to blows with me to stop me from going after the Visualization Method."
Fang Yuanyuan sneered, "Do you think that's possible? Would someone with a medium-grade Visualization Method lack a medium-grade Qi-Linking Method?"
Li Yuan said nothing more; he did not believe it himself either.
Saying this was merely an attempt to salvage some face.
Best of all, it might make them feel as though they had lost out too.
He couldn't be the only one suffering a crushing loss.
If everyone thought Jiang Man was the one who had made a killing, he wouldn't look quite so pathetic.
Fang Tianyi turned and walked away.
Along the path, Fang Yuanyuan said with a chuckle, "That Li Yuan is such a sore loser. What nonsense about already having a Visualization Method—how could that be possible? Would a poor peasant ever have the chance to touch a medium-grade Visualization Method?
"Right, Brother?"
Fang Tianyi did not reply.
Others might not know, but he did.
Jiang Man truly had studied one, and it was a superior-grade Visualization Method at that.
Normally, it should have been impossible to master.
Yet judging from today, there was a fair chance he had actually learned it.
If that was truly the case...
Handing over spirit stones, helping him get the Qi-Linking Method...
Fang Tianyi reflexively slapped his own thigh.
He had been taken for a ride.
Seeing the other person make a profit felt worse to him than suffering a loss of his own.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Fang Yuanyuan asked, rather puzzled.
"Nothing. Let's head back." Fang Tianyi thought it over and concluded that Li Yuan was merely trying to save face.
That Visualization Method was far too difficult for someone to truly master.
Still...
He certainly wasn't as happy as before.
No matter. There were still two more contests ahead, and it would be enough to claim better rewards then.
There was no need to lower himself to the level of a poor peasant.
***
Upon returning to the stable, Jiang Man immediately went about his stable duties.
"You're already the first rank in your courtyard. Do you still need to work here?" the old yellow ox asked.
"It doesn't take up much time, and I still get to collect grain rations, so there's nothing bad about it. Besides, with my high score, my grain rations have doubled again.
"Now they're terrified of me showing up. If it doubles one more time, they won't hire me anymore.
"I don't even dare go over to update my score."
Jiang Man shook his head with a sigh.
This chore was entirely unfriendly to top scorers.
"Did you get the Qi-Linking Method?" the old yellow ox asked as it munched on the grass beside it.
"Yeah. I plan to restart my cultivation with it today," Jiang Man answered honestly.
"How many days do you plan to take to finish it?" the old yellow ox probed.
Jiang Man pondered briefly before saying, "A Qi-Linking Method is harder than a Visualization Method, so it should take a fair bit of time."
After a pause, he added, "About seven days or so. I should be able to cultivate it to the eleventh layer by then."
The old yellow ox lowered its head to eat grass and said nothing more.
Jiang Man paid it no mind.
However, today's events had made him somewhat vigilant.
Those disciples were exceptionally strong. Cultivation realm aside, their offensive spells were far more powerful than what he had learned.
Acquiring a good spell would not be easy.
He could only wait for the next contest.
During this time, he would focus on cultivating while earning spirit sources on the side.
Earning a thousand today had been an unexpected windfall.
He could now pay back the two hundred owed to Manager Miao.
***
That night.
At the side gate of Yunqian Division.
The former Butler Fang arrived before the main entrance, accompanied by a woman.
Both of them appeared somewhat uneasy.
"We're just here to take a look at him." The woman was dressed in coarse hemp clothes, her hair somewhat untidy.
"We'd better not. It might easily disturb him, and it won't look good if someone sees us," Butler Fang said.
"We just happened to sell some spirit sources, so we won't need to come next time anyway. It's fine," the woman insisted.
Butler Fang shook his head. "If we come too often, it'll only put more pressure on him. Why can't you understand that, woman?
"Whatever happens will happen. What is there to fret about?"
"There's no one around at night anyway. It's fine, let's just see how things are," the woman said.
Butler Fang said sternly, "When the time comes, don't ask about things you shouldn't. What kind of scene is this? Tidy up your hair—it's a complete mess."
Chapter 53