It was the first Jiang Man had ever heard of a qualification.
He truly hadn't had any before—he couldn't even draw qi into his body, so there had been no need to ask about such things.
But today was different from the past.
This qualification he had to get his hands on.
Otherwise, he would never pass the peerless prodigy fate's later requirement.
According to the old yellow ox, Luoyun City's foundations could not support the prodigy fate's latter demand.
Curious, Jiang Man looked at Fang Yong and asked, "What kind of strength does it take to qualify?"
Fang Yong looked back at him with a cold sneer.
He did not answer.
Jiang Man wasn't discouraged, and asked another question: "You're so impressive, Young Master Fang—what layer of the Qi-Linking Method have you reached?"
This time the answer came readily: "The seventh layer. Before the twelfth month I'll reach the eighth. Do you think you stand any chance?"
Jiang Man said he wanted to try.
Fang Yong couldn't be bothered with him, only telling him to mind which words could be spoken and which could not.
Meaning: keep quiet about what he had seen in the stable.
It would affect Fang Yong's standing in the eyes of everyone in the Sixth Courtyard.
Then Jiang Man, too, left at a brisk pace.
Back at the thatched hut, he still had to feed the stable's few horses, run them about a little, and brush down their coats.
Only after finishing all this did Jiang Man prepare his own lunch.
As far as he could remember, these two years had passed in almost exactly this fashion.
He hadn't been anywhere else.
After eating, Jiang Man found the old yellow ox grazing. "Senior, did that immortal maiden attack you?"
"You'd better think first about whether you've finished today's hundred repetitions," the old ox snapped, head down in the grass.
Jiang Man smiled. "The hundred repetitions are easy enough. But there is something I need Senior's help with."
Hearing this, the old yellow ox lifted its head slightly and looked at him. "You want me to teach you cultivation? Won't work. The rules are strictest inside the Three Halls and Six Pavilions."
"No." Jiang Man told the truth. "I wanted to ask how to feed a Tread-Flame colt so as to resolve its weak period."
Seeing the ox's puzzlement, Jiang Man gave an honest account of the day's events.
"Trading this method for one year's cultivation fee?" The old yellow ox was rather surprised.
Jiang Man nodded.
The old yellow ox chuckled. "Do you know how badly you're being shortchanged?"
Jiang Man shook his head. "I don't. But if I can stay on, at least I keep my life for the time being."
Leave Qingyun Pavilion, and he was certain to come to a bad end.
Once outside, even food and warmth would be a problem, never mind continuing to cultivate.
Getting hold of cultivation resources would be as hard as climbing to heaven.
Besides, the Three Halls and Six Pavilions of the Yunqian Division were all under watch, so those who made it inside enjoyed some measure of protection.
The people here had one advantage over those outside. With the outcome still undecided, one more dark horse might yet emerge.
Once outside, the future was all but settled. It would be hard to climb out of poverty, there would be no protection to speak of, and all that would be left was to face the bloody, brutal reality of life.
So the feeding method might be priceless, but right now, the most valuable thing it could buy was a stretch of stability in the days ahead.
Perhaps trading with someone else would have gotten him more resources.
But compared to Zhao Leming, those people were even less trustworthy.
Mainly, he lacked the qualification to trade as an equal.
The weak were destined to take the loss.
The old yellow ox said nothing more—the remark about losing out had been a passing jab—and told Jiang Man the method.
The method came in two parts, upper and lower.
The first part could resolve one weak period.
The second part resolved any further weak periods.
Some spirit colts had two weak periods; that was why the second part existed.
Jiang Man copied down only the first part. What's more, he had the old yellow ox dress up the latter half in deliberate mystification, making sure no ordinary reader could puzzle it out without consulting old records.
Only then did Jiang Man breathe easy.
Gazing at the feeding method, he was rather curious whether it was worth being recorded.
So he connected with the Heavenly Mirror Hundred Books.
The pages flipped in a blur, then came to rest on the very last page.
【What garbage.】
Jiang Man: "..."
Just what kind of thing would it take for this book to make a record?
He supposed he would have to find ancient relics, or divine objects kept in enshrinement.
But Luoyun City had nothing of particular renown.
Better to join a sect, get to a finer place, and come into contact with truly impressive people.
Otherwise...
He would never obtain what the fate required, and the Heavenly Mirror Hundred Books would be useless.
Next Jiang Man meant to cultivate, but a sudden curiosity made him look at the old yellow ox. "Senior, what should a peerless prodigy be like?"
"Never seen one." The ox paused, then looked at Jiang Man. "You're not about to tell me it's someone like you, are you?"
"Senior just never learns," Jiang Man answered with a smile.
Then he began working through the Qi-Linking Method, pushing its layer higher.
For the rest of the afternoon, Jiang Man did nothing else.
He cultivated, and nothing more.
Thirty-two repetitions in—
Qi-Linking Method, sixth layer.
Deep in the night.
Sixty-four repetitions in—
Qi-Linking Method, seventh layer.
One day, and he had caught up to Fang Yong.
Only in the Qi-Linking Method, though; in cultivation proper he was still 108,000 li behind.
From the seventh layer on, a faint halo wreathed the body.
It was the faint spiritual-qi glow.
With a little familiarity it could be drawn in and hidden.
But the old yellow ox saw it anyway.
In a few short days, this had made it question its whole existence several times over.
"You've reached the seventh layer of the Simplified Qi-Linking Method?" the old yellow ox asked, staring at Jiang Man.
Jiang Man made no attempt to hide it, and nodded. "The seventh layer, that's right."
"Have you been cultivating in secret all this time?" The ox tried to read something in his face.
Jiang Man just looked at it, smiling without a word.
"How on earth did you do it?" The ox couldn't make sense of it.
"Maybe it was getting married," Jiang Man said offhandedly.
The old yellow ox: "..."
Suddenly Jiang Man thought of something, and asked curiously, "Senior, tell me—back then in the back mountain, what would have happened if I'd taken all the clothes I saw?"
The old yellow ox froze, and looked at him in surprise. "You... really are a greedy one."
Jiang Man gave an awkward smile and changed the subject. "Didn't Senior say you'd never seen a peerless prodigy? Well, hasn't Senior seen one now? Pure talent, that's all."
The old yellow ox: "..."
It didn't quite believe him—but it had been genuinely shaken.
"I hope your talent can carry you smoothly through the prodigy fate's requirements," the ox said glumly.
"Even that won't be enough?" Jiang Man was a little puzzled.
At that, the old yellow ox only smiled. "You'll find out later."
Fine—let's speak in riddles together, then.
Jiang Man didn't mind, and went to rest.
Today's hundred repetitions were already done.
His body was frail right now; at night he needed his rest.
The next day.
Jiang Man came to the Sixth Courtyard of Qingyun Pavilion.
This time, he once more saw Fang Yong with that group from before.
"There's no such thing as a weak period. Last time we let that matter drop purely for Young Master Fang's sake," the short man said, shaking his head with a sigh. "But Young Master Fang and that fellow are quite close, and now there's a little rift between us and him. To spare Young Master Fang any awkwardness, we'd best keep our distance."
With that, the short man led the others away.
No explanation from Fang Yong did any good.
Even declaring that he hadn't the slightest friendship with Jiang Man had no effect.
As the short man passed Jiang Man on his way out, he flicked a glance at him, the corner of his mouth carrying a hint of mockery.
He was, presumably, settling in to watch the show.
But none of it showed openly—to anyone else it was a courteous smile.
The moment they were gone, Fang Yong turned a look of bitter resentment on Jiang Man.
Blaming him. Why hadn't he owned up to the fault back then?
Just then, a man came over and said, half in envy, "Young Master Fang, did Young Master Yang come by to see you again just now?"
At the words, Fang Yong withdrew the resentful gaze he'd fixed on Jiang Man, put on a smile, and turned to the man. "Nothing so grand. We simply exchanged a few words about some rather private matters."
The man's face filled with admiration and envy.
A person like that moved in a completely different class from the likes of them; conversation with him simply did not exist.
Jiang Man: "..."
He was going to be a target for Fang Yong now.
But the one who had started it all was that Young Master Yang.
He couldn't tell whether it was a passing whim or deliberate targeting.
The former would be fine. The latter would be real trouble.
He hadn't yet formally begun to raise his cultivation—being targeted would slow his progress.
Chapter 6