Chapter 274 - What to Do if Jiang Man Takes a Fancy to the Young Miss?

It was a real headache.If one couldn’t comprehend it, cultivating it would be impossible.

Some people formed their Golden Core with ease, but after entering the Golden Core Realm, they found it impossible to advance even a single step.

Just understanding it took an enormous amount of time.

Circulating the power was even harder.

In the beginning, Cultivation was just a matter of simply absorbing Spiritual Qi to complete Qi Refining. Later, one cultivated based on their Foundation Establishment Body, and the absorption of Spiritual Qi had to be coordinated with it.

Now, the gathering and circulation of power had to be coordinated between the Foundation Establishment Body and the Golden Core.

But the Golden Core was a Postnatal creation, and there was an incomprehensible barrier between it and the body.

To circulate the Golden Core and gather power for it, one had to break through this barrier.

It might be very difficult for other people, but he wasn’t other people.

At this thought, Jiang Man gave the Old Yellow Ox a mysterious smile.

He didn’t say a word.

Old Huang looked at Jiang Man, then lowered its head to graze.

「Two days later.」

Jiang Man now fully understood the Golden Core Skill.

He could begin his Cultivation now.

Circulating the Golden Core wasn’t as easy as he had thought.

This was the first time he had formally circulated his Golden Core since his advancement.

He was slow and very careful.

As the Golden Core Power trickled out, Jiang Man guided it through his meridians. Then, he used his breathing to sync his body with the power, allowing it to flow smoothly and achieve the desired effect.

Cultivating All Rivers Flow into the Sea was like creating something from nothing.

He had to trace a complex circulatory route within his body, forming a closed loop.

Only then could he induce a resonance of change between his body and the Golden Core.

This would prepare him for future advancements.

It wasn’t so smooth at first. Occasionally, the resonance between his meridians and his Physical Body would fail, causing the power to dissipate.

It was indeed somewhat difficult.

From morning until noon, Jiang Man failed to complete a full circulation, but he never stopped trying.

In the afternoon, Jiang Man completely grasped the patterns and changes.

By evening, he succeeded in circulating it.

He hadn’t reached the Entry Level, but he had taken the first step.

An hour later, he completed it a second time.

He had reached the Entry Level of All Rivers Flow into the Sea.

’Entry Level in just two tries? That wasn’t so hard.’

Jiang Man was rather surprised as he felt All Rivers Flow into the Sea circulating through his body.

He looked at the Old Yellow Ox and couldn’t help but say, "Old Huang, you made it sound so incredible. I thought it would take at least three tries to reach Entry Level, but I managed it in two."

The Old Yellow Ox didn’t look up. It just kept eating grass, acting as if it hadn’t heard a thing.

Jiang Man didn’t expect the Old Yellow Ox to speak anyway and went back to his Cultivation.

He wanted to see how long each subsequent circulation would take.

His current speed was too slow. If he couldn’t practice it enough times each day, it would take an extremely long time to reach Great Success.

Half an hour later, he completed another cycle.

Another half an hour later, one more.

After four cycles.

He reached the second layer of All Rivers Flow into the Sea.

At this point, he could complete three cycles in an hour.

After eight cycles.

He reached the Third Layer of All Rivers Flow into the Sea.

Then, he could complete four cycles in an hour.

After sixteen cycles.

He reached the Fourth Layer of All Rivers Flow into the Sea.

Now, he could complete five cycles in an hour.

After thirty-two cycles.

He reached the Fifth Layer of All Rivers Flow into the Sea.

After that, no matter how much Jiang Man cultivated, he remained at a rate of five cycles per hour.

After sixty-four cycles.

He reached the Sixth Layer of All Rivers Flow into the Sea.

But his speed was still five cycles per hour.

In other words, this was his limit.

Jiang Man didn’t rest. He wanted to try again.

「Three days later.」

He reached the Seventh Layer of All Rivers Flow into the Sea.

Cultivating for another hour, he still only managed five cycles.

Jiang Man sighed.

’It seems this is my current maximum speed,’ he thought.

’So, how long will it take to reach the Thirteenth Layer?’

Jiang Man did a rough calculation. If he trained nonstop without sleeping or attending any classes, it would take about nine months to achieve Great Success of All Rivers Flow into the Sea.

But he was bound to be interrupted by other matters along the way.

’So, does that mean it’ll take more than a year?’

’And this is after activating my new Talent.’

’If I factor in the difficulty, resources, and the boost from my own Talent, then I can roughly estimate that it would likely take other geniuses more than ten years to achieve Great Success.’

’Maybe even longer.’

’No wonder so few people ever cultivate it to Great Success.’

’It’s too much of a time sink.’

’It’s better to just raise one’s Cultivation as quickly as possible and advance to a new Realm.’

’There’s absolutely no reason to waste time on it.’

’And for those who aren’t geniuses, it would take even more time.’

’Making it even more pointless to cultivate.’

However, he still believed there were people who had cultivated it to Great Success.

’But they’re all from the major academies,’ he mused. ’I wouldn’t run into them even if I entered the Inner Sect.’

’While I’m still in the Outer Sect, I have to seize the opportunity and cultivate as fast as I can.’

「Inner Sect.」

In a courtyard at the foot of a mountain, three people sat at a table, discussing something.

One of them, a middle-aged man, poured tea for the other two. "You two must have heard about that Jiang Man. Any thoughts?"

One of the others, a woman, glanced around as if on guard against something.

"Relax. This place is shielded by an Array. There won’t be any problems," the middle-aged man reassured her.

"Is he really one of the Immortal Spirit’s people?" the woman asked.

The middle-aged man chuckled. "You’re asking a question you already know the answer to."

"Then why is he acting so high-profile? You know, the more attention he draws, the more likely his questionable identity will be exposed," the woman said.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man pondered for a moment. "That’s true. His actions are truly baffling. He even dared to state his real name in front of the Immortal Spirit. Or is someone trying to impersonate him?"

The last person, a young man, added, "Actually, if we report him to the Law Enforcement Hall, we can find out if there’s a problem with him."

The woman nodded.

If the Law Enforcement Hall didn’t arrest him, then the person who wrote the name might not be Jiang Man. Or it could mean he’s one of the Law Enforcement Hall’s own people.

At the very least, he’d be on their radar.

And if he got arrested, well, he got arrested. It’d be his own fault for writing his name down.

"Actually, I have another idea," the middle-aged man said with a smile. "He just became an Inner Sect Disciple. He should be getting a novice mission soon.

And nine times out of ten, it will dispatch him to the city he came from.

I remember there’s a Token of the Evil God related to Qi and Blood. Why don’t we secretly give it to him?"

"You want to kill him?" the woman asked, surprised. "He’s the number one Outer Disciple, a highly-watched prodigy. Killing him is too risky."

Contact with that token is fatal.

"It is indeed risky. Even if we use the Token of the Evil God, it’ll be easy to trace it back to us," the young man chimed in. "The only reason we’ve been fine is that we’ve never done anything over the line.

The moment we do, we’ll definitely be discovered.

The risk is too high.

The Immortal Spirit is slumbering; we wouldn’t even know where to run."

"True. Let’s forget it for now, then. We’ll find another chance to probe him later," the middle-aged man said.

After that, he watched the two of them leave.

As soon as they were gone, his expression darkened.

"Two useless fools," the middle-aged man sighed. ’Looks like I’ll have to do it myself. They really have no idea what that token can do.’

It was something that could absorb a portion of a person’s Talent.

As long as Jiang Man used the token, the other half of it would receive feedback.

Allowing its wielder to obtain a portion of his Qi and Blood and Talent.

Besides, this particular Evil God was already dead.

There wouldn’t be any major problems from using it.

’I was going to get stronger together with those two, but now I’ll just have to do it alone.’

However, Jiang Man’s status as a prodigy was indeed a bit troublesome.

So, he would have to set some things up along the path Jiang Man would take to return home.

And then, wait for the fish to take the bait.

「Late February.」

Jiang Man received a mission from the Inner Sect.

It was a novice mission.

Every new Inner Sect Disciple received one.

There was no penalty for failure, but there was a reward for success.

Jiang Man specifically asked about the reward.

He was told it was ten thousand Spiritual Source.

Jiang Man was shocked. "Are there a lot of missions like this?"

"No," Yan Yiqiu said, shaking her head. She then added a warning, "A lot of people in the Inner Sect are paying attention to you right now, and some of them are radical.

So, the real danger in this mission might come from the Inner Sect."

Jiang Man was a bit surprised. "I’m in the Outer Sect. Can they just attack me as they please?"

"Normally, no. You are an Outer Disciple, after all. But since you’re already at the Golden Core Realm, anyone who makes a move against you won’t be severely punished. In short, be careful," Yan Yiqiu advised kindly.

Jiang Man looked at the mission details. It was actually a trip to Luoyun City.

Apparently, there had been some incidents there. Demon Beasts had been spotted, and there might even be a pack of them.

He was required to go investigate clearly, and it would be best if he could resolve the situation.

Furthermore, the mission deadline was September.

Jiang Man thought for a long time. He didn’t recall there being any Demon Beasts in Luoyun City.

Still, he could treat it as a trip back home to check things out.

It was just that...

...there wasn’t anyone back home he was eager to see.

Nor anyone who used to look down on him.

What a shame.

He’d just have to consider it a trip back to deliver some interest to Song Qing.

Last day for the monthly ticket lottery.

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