Zhao Leming glanced at the person beside him, slightly surprised.
Since the boy's village was no longer paying his training fees, he had no value to him.
Especially since the boy had made absolutely no progress in two years.
Dull, slow-witted, simple-minded, with no visible Talent.
Even if he could watch the stables for next to nothing, there was no reason to keep him around.
That was why he had told Jiang Man to pack his things and leave. It wasn't personal; it was just a statement of fact.
As for sentimentality, that depended on who you were dealing with.
For someone like this, simply stating the facts was sufficient.
But to his surprise, this person who had always been quiet and reserved suddenly spoke to him with a confident tone.
'Has he finally come to his senses?'
'His clothes don't stink anymore, either.'
"The Flame-Stepping Spiritual Steed?" Zhao Leming asked, looking at Jiang Man.
"Does this have to do with your training fees?"
"It does," Jiang Man replied with a serious nod, his tone sincere. "With my current abilities, there's no way I can pay off the fees in just half a month."
"But I still want to continue my studies and try to join the Sect."
"So I've decided to offer a method in exchange."
Zhao Leming was a bit taken aback.
'His thoughts are clear and organized. It seems he really has come to his senses.'
'He'll probably have more demands now.'
'He's probably going to ask for a higher price for his work in the stables.'
However, he didn't say anything, merely gesturing for the young man before him to continue.
After a moment of thought, Jiang Man said, "Mr. Zhao, are you aware that the Flame-Stepping Spiritual Steed has a Weakness Stage?"
"I am," Zhao Leming nodded.
Jiang Man continued, "And are you aware that with a special feeding method, this Weakness Stage can be completely eliminated?"
At this, Zhao Leming's eyes narrowed slightly. "I've heard rumors. What about it? You know the method?"
"I'm not certain," Jiang Man said, shaking his head. "I just read about it in a book, but it was too profound for me to fully comprehend. Would you like to give it a try, Mr. Zhao?"
Jiang Man's uncertainty, ironically, made Zhao Leming trust him more.
If he had sworn he knew it for certain, that would have been a major red flag.
After only a brief hesitation, Zhao Leming asked, "When will you give it to me?"
This time, it was Jiang Man's turn to fall silent.
Zhao Leming chuckled. "I'll waive your training fees for September. If the method works, you won't have to pay a thing until next August."
Jiang Man lowered his head. 'This is actually a terrible deal for me.'
'If the method is real, it must be worth a fortune.'
'How could that possibly compare to a mere year's worth of training fees?'
'But as things stand, he and the man before him are not on equal footing.'
'An equal trade is impossible.'
'Besides, I'm too weak. I couldn't possibly handle something like this on my own.'
'In fact, it would just make me a target.'
"I will bring it to you tomorrow, Mr. Zhao," Jiang Man said.
Zhao Leming looked at the young man, simply nodding in the end without saying anything more.
「A short while later.」
The two arrived at a small courtyard, one following the other.
It was the Sixth Courtyard.
Fang Yong was standing right in the middle, surrounded by a group of chattering students.
"Young Master Fang, I saw you riding a Flame-Stepping Spiritual Steed today!"
"I saw it too! Is it yours?"
Fang Yong said with a smile, "It belongs to a friend. He asked me to check if it's being raised properly."
The others gasped in amazement.
The fact that he was asked to check on it implied that his own family must have them as well.
How else would he have the experience?
Jiang Man listened, feeling a little surprised.
'So Fang Yong is more than he seems.'
'He can spout such lies without batting an eye.'
Jiang Man quietly made his way to the back of the crowd.
As soon as Zhao Leming entered, the chatter died down.
He swept his gaze over everyone and said, "Those who have yet to pay this year's training fees in full need to do so as soon as possible."
"Furthermore, you've all made it to the back courtyard, which means you'll be taking the assessment next August."
"If you can't enter the Wuyun Sect, you'll have to find your own path."
When the training fees were mentioned, all eyes turned to Jiang Man at the back.
Everyone assumed he was the one who had fallen behind on his payments.
'This is strange,' Jiang Man thought. 'I just made a deal with Mr. Zhao. Why would he bring it up again?'
'Someone else must have overdue fees as well.'
After that, Zhao Leming began today's lesson.
The topic was the Divine Step.
Specifically, the application of the Magic Skill.
Unfortunately, Jiang Man hadn't started his Cultivation yet, so he could only listen without being able to practice.
After a while, once the lecture was over, Zhao Leming walked over to Jiang Man.
"Do you have any questions about the Qi Refining Skill?" Zhao Leming asked.
Jiang Man was slightly surprised. 'Private tutoring?'
'It seems giving him a little something pays off for me too.'
Zhao Leming then explained the Simple Qi Refining Skill to Jiang Man.
The Qi Refining Skill is divided into two parts.
First is Inner Cultivation, which raises the level of the Qi Refining Skill. The higher the skill's level, the faster one's Cultivation speed becomes.
Second is Outer Cultivation, which uses the Qi Refining Skill to absorb external Spiritual Qi. The more and faster one absorbs, the more and faster one's Cultivation improves.
What Jiang Man had to do now was first learn the Qi Refining Skill.
Only then could he use it to advance his Cultivation.
Once he was finished teaching, Zhao Leming left.
Jiang Man began to practice his Cultivation alone.
The Qi Refining Skill required physical movements to guide the flow of qi.
The moment he began the starting stance, Jiang Man felt the Purple Qi in his Dantian stir.
By the time Jiang Man completed one full set of the Qi Refining Skill, the Purple Qi had also traveled through his meridians for a full Circulation before returning to his Dantian.
At that moment, Jiang Man felt as if his meridians had been cleared.
A faint stream of Spiritual Qi appeared within them.
Inducing a Circulation—this was the mark of reaching the First Layer of the Qi Refining Skill.
'I've already learned the Qi Refining Skill?'
Jiang Man was taken aback.
'Even though it's the Simple Qi Refining Skill, isn't mastering it in a single attempt a bit... off?'
Jiang Man continued his Cultivation, and the Purple Qi moved in tandem.
After performing the set twice more, he felt the speed of the Circulation had increased, and his meridians had even expanded slightly.
This was the Second Layer of the Qi Refining Skill.
Jiang Man fell silent. 'This is really fast.'
'Is it because of the Purple Qi?'
Unsure, Jiang Man hesitated for a moment before deciding to use the Qi Refining Skill to try and raise his Cultivation.
He wanted to see if this would also activate the Purple Qi.
This time, he focused on Outer Cultivation, circulating the skill to absorb Spiritual Qi.
However, it didn't activate the Purple Qi. Instead, he began to absorb the Flawless Spirit Gathering Pill in his Dantian.
But the results were less than ideal.
If reaching the Qi Refining First Layer was like filling a gourd with water, then his current efforts were akin to generating a bit of mist on its surface. He couldn't even unstop the gourd, let alone fill it, which would clearly take a significant amount of time.
His Qi Refining Skill was still at too low a level; he couldn't even break through to the Qi Refining First Layer.
Even with the aid of an Elixir, his progress was slow.
So, Jiang Man went back to practicing the Qi Refining Skill.
He practiced his Cultivation nonstop for the entire morning.
His gains were extraordinary.
After four repetitions, his Qi Refining Skill reached the Third Layer.
After another eight repetitions, it reached the Fourth Layer.
After sixteen more repetitions, it reached the Fifth Layer.
And it was only noon.
The day's instruction had just concluded, and the afternoon was reserved for personal Cultivation.
'Reaching the Fifth Layer of the Qi Refining Skill in a single morning... What kind of progress is that?'
By now, almost everyone else had left.
Jiang Man decided to head back and get something to eat.
He wanted to continue practicing the Qi Refining Skill and see how long it would take to master it completely.
The Simple Qi Refining Skill had nine layers in total. He'd reached the Fifth Layer in half a day; the remaining four probably wouldn't take long.
Just as he was about to leave, Fang Yong stepped in his way.
"Can I help you?" Jiang Man asked.
In truth, though they shared the same courtyard, they hadn't exchanged a single word in two years.
"I hope you're smart enough to keep your mouth shut about things you shouldn't be talking about," Fang Yong said, staring at Jiang Man.
"Someone like you has no future. I, on the other hand, have a chance to take the Wuyun Sect assessment. Offending me will bring you nothing but trouble."
Hearing this, Jiang Man asked curiously, "I'm not qualified?"
"You?" Fang Yong sneered. "Forget about not having the training fees. Even if you did, do you think just anyone is qualified? The Sixth Courtyard only has two spots for the assessment, and they'll be decided in December."
"You think you'll ever get one?"