Seeing Zhao Leming up above, Jiang Man felt his own Essence, Qi, and Spirit lift considerably.
He was practically glowing. In all likelihood, the Rearing Method was truly effective and had brought him considerable benefits.
Fortunately, even with so much to gain, the man showed no intention of cutting him off now that he had what he wanted.
But he still had to be more careful going forward.
The man would definitely be keeping an eye on him during this time to prevent the Rearing Method from leaking.
At present, he wouldn't dare do such a thing.
When one's strength is insufficient, cutting off someone's fortune is like murdering their parents.
It would surely bring about an undeserved disaster.
If his own strength were sufficient…
...then the other man would be the one who needed to worry.
"The first day is to determine your Qi Cultivation Skill," Zhao Leming said, looking down at everyone. "One book and one pen per person. Then, you will transcribe the contents of the book.
Come up and receive them one by one."
As his voice fell, Luo Xuan, who was ranked first, was the first to rise and go up to receive her book and pen.
Jiang Man was quite surprised. 'How are they going to assess us like this?'
'Aren't we just supposed to report our Realm?'
Soon, it was Jiang Man's turn.
When he got his things and returned to his seat, he opened the book.
For a moment, his vision blurred. He immediately circulated his Simple Qi Cultivation Method, which allowed him to see the words on the page clearly.
He then discovered that his vision would blur whenever he tried to read.
It seemed as if every word was slightly different.
In an instant, his Qi Cultivation Skill jumped to the Seventh Layer, then quickly fell back to the Third Layer.
If his Qi Cultivation Skill hadn't reached the Ninth Layer, he probably wouldn't have even noticed.
'So...'
'Before reaching the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, it's impossible to hide your Qi Refining Skill level from this book?'
'Even someone at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer could fall into the trap.'
After that, Jiang Man picked up his pen and began to write with extreme caution.
Because some words could only be seen at the Sixth or Seventh Layer of the Qi Refining Skill.
He needed to try his best to skip them.
The moment he wrote one, a part of his Qi Refining Skill level would be exposed.
For now, he only wanted to participate in the assessment using the Fifth Layer of his Qi Refining Skill.
If he directly exposed his Ninth Layer, Luo Xuan would certainly stop giving him Spiritual Source, and Fang Yong would be easily provoked into attacking him.
The Fifth Layer wasn't low, but it still left a considerable gap between him and them.
Although it had only been a month, it could be explained as him hiding his true abilities before, or as someone secretly supporting him.
In short, it was the same old story: as long as he handled personal grudges well, his Qi Refining Talent wasn't worth anyone else's attention.
Jiang Man only managed to write half the book in the entire morning; it was too mentally draining.
After finishing, he still had to check it over to prevent accidentally writing any words from the Sixth Layer of the Qi Refining Skill.
"Pens down. Submit your books. You may leave," Zhao Leming announced.
At this point, some people were still unwilling to put down their pens, wanting to write a little more.
Jiang Man was rather curious. 'Doesn't it all end up the same whether you write more or not?'
'The score difference is only one point at most.'
"It affects the evaluation comments," Xiaopang said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "The comments can be very important sometimes. They pretty much indicate how well you've mastered things compared to others at the Same Tier.
Some opportunities are given out based on those comments."
'Crooked paths,' Jiang Man scoffed inwardly.
'In any case, the treasure has already been sent.'
'That's much more effective than writing a few extra words.'
"Xiaojiang, how do you think you did today?" Xiaopang came over to Jiang Man's side and asked with a smile.
"I did my best," Jiang Man said with a sigh.
"I did my best too! What a satisfyingly intense assessment," Xiaopang said, full of confidence.
After resting for a while, Jiang Man ate some dry rations and recovered his energy.
The second part of the assessment soon began.
This time, it was an assessment of the Qi Blood Technique.
It was the same as the Qi Refining Skill assessment.
The moment Jiang Man opened it, the flesh and blood of his body began to cry out in agony.
Already struggling to bear the weight of the Spiritual Qi, he nearly passed out.
In the end, he could only cultivate silently and hand in a blank paper.
'What's the point of this assessment?'
He took a quick look around and saw that, surprisingly, twenty people were writing.
'Over two years of accumulation really makes a difference.'
'People like Xiaopang, who let their hobbies sap their ambition, are definitely in the minority.'
Jiang Man glanced at Xiaopang and found that he was actually gritting his teeth and writing.
'He's seen the Qi Blood Technique before?'
'So I'm the only one who's completely useless.'
Jiang Man didn't waste any time and continued his Cultivation.
The day ended quickly.
Because it was an assessment day, Luo Xuan had told him he didn't need to go over.
At the same time, she asked how his test went.
This caused some people nearby to gasp, though he didn't know what they were so excited about.
'Is a simple question from her worth getting so worked up over?'
'Didn't you see that the young miss didn't even wait for my answer before turning to leave?'
Jiang Man couldn't empathize with them.
'Probably because I'm already married.'
He was completely dismissive of it.
「The next day.」
The morning's assessment was on the Visualization Technique.
This time, Jiang Man noticed that only four people picked up their pens.
First place, Luo Xuan.
Second place, Fang Yong.
Third place, Chang Qiweng.
Fourth place, Cheng Yu.
Watching these four, Jiang Man understood in his heart that to get a spot, he would have to beat them.
'And this is just the beginning.'
'The spot is just for participating in the Sect's assessment.'
'There's still a long road ahead. I have to improve as much as possible before that Fairy appears.'
'It would be best if I could avoid her detection.'
Today, Jiang Man discovered he wasn't the only one who felt the Visualization Skill assessment was redundant.
Xiaopang was also quite indignant.
He said they could just cancel the Visualization Skill assessment altogether.
Jiang Man agreed.
These two rounds were simply insulting.
"Actually, the last round was alright, not that insulting. I could still write a few words then." As he spoke, Xiaopang looked at Jiang Man and asked, "How many words did you write, Xiaojiang?"
Hearing this, Jiang Man looked at him and thought, 'Somehow, it feels more like you're the one insulting me.'
'But no rush. There's still one last round.'
In the afternoon, the final round.
The Cultivation assessment.
It was the same sort of thing again.
More written questions.
Holding the book, Jiang Man sighed with emotion. 'This is all so... civilized.'
Moreover, the normal assessments didn't have any combat. Only the competition for the spots in December would involve fighting.
If the score difference was small, a loss in combat meant you would still miss out on the spot in the end.
'These people must all be accumulating combat experience in private.'
The Cultivation assessment was a bit different from the previous ones.
It was images of Magic Skills.
The quality of the drawing, it was said, also affected the evaluation comments.
Three hours later.
Jiang Man put down his pen.
He glanced at the crooked drawings in his book and sighed.
Then he closed it and handed it in.
Zhao Leming collected the books, informed the crowd that the rankings and scores would be announced tomorrow, and then left.
—
「The Stables.」
When Jiang Man returned to the courtyard, he found the Old Yellow Ox acting strangely. "Senior, what's wrong with you?" he asked, concerned.
At this moment, the Old Yellow Ox was huddled on the ground, its body trembling slightly. Its voice was laced with pain:
"It seems your wife has really made her move."
Hearing this, Jiang Man's heart tightened, but he remained calm and scanned his surroundings. "Is she here?"
Although they had gone through the wedding ceremony, Jiang Man didn't actually believe she thought of him as her husband.
A divorce would be for the best, but he was afraid she wanted to become a widow.
Especially since she had an extraordinary background, the power was all in her hands. The slightest misstep could bring about a fatal disaster for him.
But no matter what, he had to remain calm.
Once he lost his composure and his Heart Spirit collapsed, he feared there would be no way out.
The Old Yellow Ox recovered for a moment, then looked at Jiang Man and said:
"She hasn't come in person, but her methods have arrived."