For ten days, Jiang Man had been focused entirely on his cultivation.
His efforts threw the entire Sixth Courtyard into a state of constant complaint.
They were all forced to keep up with him.
The second-to-last disciple was afraid of being surpassed by the last, and the third-to-last was afraid of being surpassed by the bottom two.
And so, many of them were unwillingly swept up into cultivating as well.
They were all waiting for the mid-month re-ranking.
They could only rest easy after confirming that the one in last place was still in last place, or at least gauging the extent of his progress.
"Brother Jiang, there's still half a month left. Are you feeling confident?" the Little Fatty, Gao Yao, asked Jiang Man cautiously that evening.
Jiang Man smiled. "Aren't you the one who's full of confidence?"
Xiaopang feigned a relaxed tone. "One must know their enemy to win. My score is still insurmountable for you. Besides, my progress in the last half-month has been greater than you imagine."
"Looks like I'll have to go back and work even harder then," Jiang Man said, smiling.
Xiaopang was speechless. "..."
'Why is he taking this so seriously?'
'It's not like he can actually earn a real qualification.'
'In the end, won't we all just return home with a decent Cultivation and live out the rest of our busy lives?'
'Is it so hard to just admit you're mediocre?'
'Now I have to go back and keep grinding. My parents have been overjoyed to see me working so hard recently.'
'But if, after all this, I end up in last place instead...'
'I might as well just die.'
"By the way, it's September now. Brother Jiang, did you pay your cultivation fees?" Xiaopang asked, a little surprised.
Jiang Man nodded. "Paid."
"I remember you're from Bei Village, right, Brother Jiang?" Xiaopang asked.
"Yes." Jiang Man nodded. "Why do you ask?"
Jiang Man gathered his things, intending to leave.
He needed to go earn some Spiritual Source.
He currently had three hundred and sixty Spiritual Source.
He could afford to buy many things now.
As his Cultivation advanced, he felt that his supply of grain at home was becoming insufficient.
His appetite had grown considerably.
This month's supply of coarse grain certainly wouldn't be enough.
Fortunately, he had Spiritual Source.
And having Spiritual Source meant having confidence.
"I heard some news," Xiaopang began. "They say a genius emerged from Bei Village, someone who skipped the Six Pavilions and went straight into the first of the three inner pavilions."
Jiang Man was rather surprised.
'So a genius had appeared.'
'But even if it weren't a genius, just any suitable candidate, they still would have stopped paying my cultivation fees.'
'Bei Village wasn't wealthy.'
'Paying the fees for this long for a fool like me, who had accomplished nothing in two years, was already the height of benevolence.'
Jiang Man's feelings on the matter hadn't changed; he still held no resentment.
Afterward, Jiang Man went to the Spirit Gathering Hall.
Now that he was about to break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer, he wanted to try and negotiate a better rate.
However, Steward Miao just explained with weary patience, "We set our rates based on scores here. You may have improved, but is there anyone working here who doesn't?"
"If you want to improve your situation, you should naturally focus on lighting more beads."
"Not only do you put in the hard work, but you also earn Spiritual Source."
"It's killing two birds with one stone."
Jiang Man wanted to say that he could light more, and asked if the base rate could be raised.
The man simply smiled and reiterated the rules.
Jiang Man didn't press the issue, merely thinking to himself that this scoring rule was truly unreasonable. 'It's completely holding back an Unparalleled Celestial Pride like me.'
Steward Miao, for his part, paid it no mind.
'Isn't it perfectly normal for someone with zero points to show some improvement?'
'No matter how much he improves, he's only just catching up to the average person.'
'It's not even worth mentioning.'
After finishing his task, Jiang Man returned to the thatched hut by the stables.
He greeted the Old Yellow Ox.
Once he confirmed it was still alive, he resumed his cultivation.
He was actually quite curious whether that Fairy would ever come for her revenge.
'If she doesn't show up, maybe she's not that strong after all.'
'But if she does, I'll be in grave danger.'
'If someone like that came to kill me, how many lives would I need to survive?'
「That night.」
Jiang Man continuously circulated his Outer Cultivation Method.
The accumulated Spiritual Qi slowly began to overflow from the second "gourd."
The "gourd" vibrated again, and in response, a third gourd appeared.
Some of the Spiritual Qi flowed into this third gourd.
In that instant, Jiang Man felt the weight in his Dantian grow heavier.
This time, Jiang Man felt that this advancement was different from the previous ones.
Previously, his Essence, Qi, and Spirit would be brimming, and he would feel in peak condition.
But now, he felt strangely out of sorts. It felt as if continuing his cultivation, while it would raise his level, would push his body past its limit, unable to bear the weight of the third "gourd."
In other words, the limit of his physical body was the weight of three "gourds."
This discovery left Jiang Man completely baffled.
He could only ask the Old Yellow Ox.
"Qi Refining Third Layer already?" The Old Yellow Ox looked at Jiang Man with a complicated expression.
'Could this person have been possessed?'
'He doesn't look like it.'
'Then it must be because he got married.'
'He only just got married, and they haven't even consummated it yet.'
'Could the aftereffects really be this potent?'
"A bit slow, actually. I should have broken through three days ago," Jiang Man remarked with some emotion.
'If I hadn't gone to earn some Spiritual Source, I would have reached this stage three days ago.'
'Trading three days of progress for three hundred and ninety Spiritual Source.'
'I don't know if that was a loss or a gain.'
The Old Yellow Ox gazed at Jiang Man, ignored his comment, and continued, "Since you've reached the Qi Refining Third Layer, you should have felt the weight of Spiritual Qi.
"Let's assume the Qi Refining First Layer is a basin of water…"
"A gourd of water," Jiang Man corrected.
The Old Yellow Ox shot Jiang Man a glance and continued, "Let's assume the Qi Refining First Layer is one gourd of water. Initially, it has the weight of one gourd of water, and your body doesn't feel much of anything from it.
"The Qi Refining Second Layer is another gourd of water added on top of the first.
"It might seem like just two gourds of water, but in reality, the second gourd is heavier than the first.
"The same is true for the third gourd.
"Although advancing your cultivation nourishes your physical body with Spiritual Qi, the overall effect isn't that significant.
"Under these circumstances, bearing the weight of three gourds of water…
"…becomes a bit much to handle.
"This feeling is especially pronounced for someone like you, who has advanced so quickly.
"The nourishment period has been too short.
"That's why, after the Qi Refining Third Layer, you need to simultaneously practice a Qi Blood Technique if you wish to advance further.
"Qi and Blood can strengthen your physical body, allowing it to bear more Spiritual Qi.
"Otherwise, the Spiritual Qi of the Qi Refining Fourth Layer alone would crush your body.
"By the time you reach the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, the weight of the Spiritual Qi will have reached another level entirely.
"You will need to expend more Spirit to mobilize your Spiritual Qi, and you might even lose control of the heavy Spiritual Qi due to insufficient Spirit.
"This can lead to Qi deviation.
"Therefore, after the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, you need to practice a Visualization Skill to strengthen your Spirit."
The Old Yellow Ox had mentioned this before, but at the time, it felt so distant that Jiang Man hadn't paid it much mind.
Of course, he had understood the general idea.
But now, with the advancement of his own cultivation…
…he had a much more concrete understanding.
In other words, he now needed to practice a Qi Blood Technique.
In the Cyan Cloud Pavilion, the Qi Blood Technique could be obtained for free.
But for those in the rear courtyards, a score of twenty-four or higher was required.
Without a high enough score, there was nothing to be done.
Once again, Jiang Man felt the drawback of the scoring system.
'The Cyan Cloud Pavilion clearly never considered a cultivator of my talent.'
"The entire Yunqian Bureau is like that."
The Old Yellow Ox said casually, "Compared to the Qi Blood Technique, you should be thinking about the Visualization Skill."
Jiang Man was confused. The Visualization Skill could also be obtained for free once his score reached fifty-six.
He had already inquired about all of this.
The Old Yellow Ox just smiled without a word.