On the second day of the break, Jiang Man received a notice from the Technique Transmission Office.
A letter was delivered into his hands.
At the time, Jiang Man was still brushing down his horse.
And the messenger turned out to be Chang Qiwen.
Somewhat surprised, Jiang Man asked, "How did you end up delivering letters?"
"I didn't get a spot, so I can only look for an alternative path for myself. Fortunately, my scores are decent and I can endure hardship, so I managed to find work, though it won't last long." Chang Qiwen sighed softly. "Remaining in Luoyun City isn't easy in the least.
"If there's really no other way, I'll have to go become a guard. I just don't know what terms they'll offer."
If there were any other choice, who would want to be a guard?
After that, one would hardly have any freedom.
Yet it would indeed secure a foothold in Luoyun City, infinitely better than returning to the villages.
"During the combat trials, how many spirit sources did Cheng Yu give you?" Jiang Man asked curiously.
Chang Qiwen grew somewhat wary. "What are you trying to do?"
"Care to lend them to me?" Jiang Man looked at him earnestly. "I'll pay you interest."
"Interest?" Chang Qiwen stared at Jiang Man and said seriously, "Why should I trust you? And why should I lend them to you just to earn interest? The risk far outweighs the reward, doesn't it?"
"Do you know what a peerless prodigy is?" Jiang Man looked at the man before him and said in all seriousness, "One in ten thousand, a prodigy seen once in a century."
"And so?" Chang Qiwen asked.
"As it happens, in this very century, you've met one." Jiang Man pointed at himself and spoke unhurriedly. "Not just anyone has the chance to offer their support to a prodigy in his hour of hardship.
"Yet you have that chance. Put bluntly, it's lending spirit sources to make a bit of profit.
"Put another way, you are supporting a favored child of heaven destined to enter the sect with the top score in the Yunqian Division."
Chang Qiwen stared at Jiang Man, eyes filled with doubt.
Jiang Man did not mind in the least, instead asking, "Lending it or not?"
Hesitating slightly, Chang Qiwen asked, "How much do you want to borrow?"
"Do you have ten thousand?"
"In your dreams."
"Eight thousand works too."
"I don't."
"How about five thousand?"
"Three thousand."
Jiang Man considered it for a moment. "That works too. Three thousand it is."
Chang Qiwen was in no hurry to produce the spirit sources. Instead, he asked, "How much will you repay me? And when?"
"In September, probably." Jiang Man thought carefully and said, "First, I need to enter the sect with the top score, and then before leaving, I'll earn enough spirit sources to pay you back.
"I'll repay three thousand five hundred."
That was plenty of interest.
It wasn't easy, doing all this for ten Spirit Gathering Pills.
Chang Qiwen was different from the others; once they had fought, he was much easier to talk to.
Moreover, when it came to earning spirit sources, he was willing to cast aside things like dignity.
Accepting a bit of risk was not out of the question for him.
Furthermore, the man knew what score Jiang Man had achieved, so there was still a good chance he would lend it.
More importantly, he was poor and lacked broad horizons, so he would not try to bind Jiang Man with clan interests like the great families did.
Those young masters and mistresses were never so simple.
And when it came to poor people who were both simple and had money, there was only Chang Qiwen, who had risked his life working for Cheng Yu.
After all, risking his neck twice must have earned him a tidy sum.
Securing three thousand now was not bad at all.
"Write an IOU and put down the date you just mentioned," Chang Qiwen said.
Jiang Man did not refuse.
Chang Qiwen looked at Jiang Man. "You really will pay me back, right?"
"Have faith in a prodigy's honor," Jiang Man said earnestly.
Chang Qiwen looked at Jiang Man's clothes and found them utterly shabby.
Yet he did hand over the spirit sources.
Before leaving, he also warned Jiang Man that Li Yuan, who was on his team, might make a move against him.
Once the man had left, the old yellow ox asked curiously, "Do you really intend to make a run for first place in the Yunqian Division?"
Jiang Man looked at it. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
Since he was a prodigy, why hide away in the shadows?
He would make the entire Yunqian Division cultivate along with him. Nobody would get to sleep.
If I don't rest first at night, which student cultivator dares sleep?
Afterward, Jiang Man purchased Spirit Gathering Pills and resumed cultivating. Tomorrow, he was determined to advance to the Qi-Linking eighth layer.
He would start by giving Qingyun Pavilion sleepless nights.
—
The Yunqian Division residences.
The courtyard where Li Yuan resided.
Today, he too had received a letter and learned of the spells and cultivation techniques available this time.
The contention would take place in three days.
To ensure success, he summoned Yan Huimin at once.
"What does Young Master Li wish to compete for this time?" Yan Huimin inquired.
She only needed to follow him to reap substantial benefits.
"In this contention, there is a medium-grade Visualization Method, but there is also an extraordinarily formidable spell." Li Yuan frowned and asked, "Do you know what it is?"
Yan Huimin had naturally seen the letter as well, but because it did not mention the spell's grade or tiers, she was uncertain.
"The Nine Clouds Dragon Suppressing Seal. Nine clouds, nine seals. Combining three seals into one, six into one, nine into one—twelve layers in all," Li Yuan said earnestly. "This is an advanced spell derived from the Dragon Suppressing Seal. A golden dragon amidst the clouds, dragon and seal joined as one—its power is staggering.
"It can be called one of the Yunqian Division's strongest offensive spells."
"Are we going to compete for it?" Yan Huimin asked.
"We won't," Li Yuan shook his head.
Hearing this, Yan Huimin was rather surprised. "Why? Isn't it the best?"
"It is precisely because it's the best that we won't compete for it." Li Yuan pondered briefly and continued, "You must know that this time it isn't just Qingyun Pavilion alone; Bishui Pavilion and Yeming Pavilion will also be involved.
"I am ranked third in Qingyun Pavilion. In a competition across all three pavilions, I can only make the top ten.
"The likelihood of succeeding is slim. It's better to settle for second best and continue striving for the Visualization Method."
Yan Huimin nodded. "Young Master Li's reasoning is sound."
Young Master Li was actually phrasing things politely, attributing it only to his own lack of strength, when in truth it was she and Jiang Man who dragged him down.
She was ranked twelfth in Qingyun Pavilion, while Jiang Man was fourteenth.
They were simply not presentable on such a stage.
"However, there is a problem: this Jiang Man is far too unpredictable," Li Yuan said with a furrowed brow. "With his shortsightedness, he will certainly go after the medium-grade Qi-Blood Method. If we aren't united, it will cause immense trouble."
"Why don't we just make a move against him directly?" Yan Huimin asked.
Li Yuan said, "The rules this time state that no member may be absent, which is why I haven't sought him out. If he hides away and fails to show up, that would cause huge trouble.
"So it's best to ask his intentions when we meet and persuade him.
"If he cannot be persuaded, we will strike right then and there and drag him along.
"Once he understands the benefits of the Visualization Method, things will be much easier next time."
Yan Huimin nodded. "I think he ought to choose the Visualization Method as well. After all, he's poor. The Qi-Blood Method requires constant eating, which drains far more spirit sources.
"The Visualization Method has no such drawback. Put simply, cultivating the Visualization Method saves money."
Hearing this, Li Yuan was momentarily dumbfounded. One could deduce things from such an angle?
Blame him for being unable to understand the poor.
"All the better. When the time comes, appeal to his reason and emotion," Li Yuan said.
Three days later.
Jiang Man opened his eyes, a formidable aura erupting from his body.
The heavy spiritual qi even caused his feet to sink slightly.
Even the ground could barely support it.
If one's spiritual tier was insufficient, the power would surge chaotically, damaging things at the slightest touch.
If the physical body was not robust, the body itself would be the first to collapse.
The higher the cultivation, the heavier the spiritual qi.
Should one suffer qi deviation, it would bring immense catastrophe upon those nearby.
"The Qi-Linking eighth layer truly is powerful. Having spent two days getting used to it, I can now wield it freely."
And his goal was crystal clear:
Seize the strongest spell, the Nine Clouds Dragon Suppressing Seal.
This was what the little fatty had scouted out for him.
His own horizons were too narrow.
The old yellow ox disdained such low-level techniques and had never encountered it.
He had nearly misjudged it.
Chapter 60