novelraw Chapter 38: My Ability is to Find You a Wife
Chapter 38: My Ability is to Find You a Wife
Six palms combined into one, enhanced with Three Talents Force, was already a significant consumption for a Qi Refinement cultivator.
Especially when continuously executing such large, sweeping movements.
This forced Chang Qiwen to remain on the defensive.
But he didn't engage in direct confrontation.
Instead, he used techniques to block and parry.
Though it made him appear somewhat disheveled, he firmly believed his opponent couldn't sustain this for long.
After that, it would become his stage to dominate.
However...
Bang!
By the time Chang Qiwen was sent flying by a palm strike and collapsed to the ground, he still hadn't witnessed Jiang Man's spiritual energy depletion."Why is this happening?" He half-knelt, speaking with disbelief.
"What exactly are you referring to?" Jiang Man asked softly.
"Why do you keep using six palms combined into one? And continuously enhancing them with Three Talents Force?" Chang Qiwen questioned.
This was the full Three Talents Force.
Not just a single hidden force.
Using both together consumed no small amount of energy.
Yet his opponent had executed dozens of palm strikes without showing any signs of exhaustion.
Jiang Man looked at him and stated matter-of-factly, "When facing enemies, I only use my strongest moves."
Chang Qiwen: "..."
For some reason, he found himself unable to refute this.
"You've lost," Jiang Man declared.
"I've lost," Chang Qiwen admitted bitterly.
He had originally thought that even if he couldn't defeat his opponent this time, at least they would be evenly matched.
Although his score was somewhat lower, his actual combat ability definitely wasn't inferior to the other's.
The reality was that his combat skills were indeed stronger than his opponent's.
But...
No one had told him that this person would only use his strongest moves without ever switching tactics.
Making it impossible for him to effectively counter.
Regarding this, Jiang Man had already formed some conjectures.
He had absorbed spiritual energy through the ninth layer of the Qi Refinement Method, which definitely made his spiritual energy much denser than those who absorbed it through the first or second layers.
The weight of spiritual energy simply wasn't on the same level.
"Now can you tell me who sent you?" Jiang Man asked.
Since the other party had come, he naturally wanted to inquire.
"Who do you think?" Chang Qiwen countered.
Jiang Man looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, "If I severely injured you, that probably wouldn't violate any rules, would it?"
Chang Qiwen remained silent for a while before saying, "I can't tell you."
Jiang Man didn't press further, merely asking curiously, "You're ranked third in the courtyard, so why take action against me?"
Jiang Man was referring to the incident before the assessment.
That single incident could basically disqualify Chang Qiwen from the competition.
Why would an ordinary person act so impulsively?
Did he actually believe Young Master Yang's promise to take responsibility?
That was definitely impossible.
Even Fang Yong wouldn't believe that.
"Because of poverty," Chang Qiwen sighed. "How many people in the Sixth Courtyard aren't from poor backgrounds? Aren't we cultivating here precisely to earn Spirit Sources in the future?
"Could it possibly be for that elusive longevity and immortality?
"Since it's for Spirit Sources, when someone offers me Spirit Sources now, I simply do the job."
Chang Qiwen raised his eyebrows and looked at Jiang Man, saying, "For the third-ranked to do such things is indeed somewhat disgraceful, but should I really give up Spirit Sources just for the sake of dignity?"
Jiang Man: "..."
What the other said made some sense.
Spirit Sources were indeed very important.
They weren't just used for cultivation, but also for daily living.
Without Spirit Sources, you wouldn't dare get injured.
Even if injured, you'd have to tough it out.
Every day you had to check how much food remained.
You constantly had to think about what to do when the food ran out.
Lucky Cloud City might be somewhat better, since it was a city after all.
The villages had it much worse.
The Simple Qi Refinement Method was free, and although everyone could cultivate it...
Farming took up most of their time.
It was very difficult to improve one's cultivation level, with the vast majority of people remaining at the third level of Qi Refinement their entire lives.
The Simple Blood Qi Method could even be obtained for free once you reached the appropriate realm.
But who dared to cultivate it?
Cultivating the Blood Qi Method meant you needed to eat more, consuming more Spirit Sources.
Especially without guidance from a renowned teacher, relying on self-exploration meant taking many detours, with resource consumption increasing the costs.
Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Jiang Man looked at Chang Qiwen and asked curiously, "How many Spirit Sources did the other party give you?"
"Ten thousand," Chang Qiwen said.
Jiang Man drew a sharp breath.
Ten thousand?
He'd have to sell spiritual energy for over half a year to earn that much.
But soon Chang Qiwen immediately added, "But the other party spent resources to get me out, which cost five thousand Spirit Sources, gave you one thousand Spirit Sources, and I sent three thousand Spirit Sources back home.
"Now I only have one thousand Spirit Sources left."
Jiang Man had even been considering whether to demand compensation for his losses, but the other had already allocated all the Spirit Sources.
Sighing, Jiang Man said, "You came tonight specifically to test my strength for that person, right?"
Hearing this, Chang Qiwen immediately said, "I can give you another five hundred Spirit Sources."
Jiang Man looked at him, remaining silent.
"Six hundred, I need the rest to pay the practical combat registration fee," Chang Qiwen said.
Jiang Man felt puzzled - there was actually a practical combat registration fee?
He hadn't heard about that.
In the end, Jiang Man let Chang Qiwen leave.
Quietly accepting the six hundred Spirit Sources.
Although he hadn't obtained any useful information, he at least gained sixteen hundred Spirit Sources.
Making his previously strained financial situation suddenly become quite comfortable.
"You just let him go like that?" The Old Yellow Ox came to Jiang Man's side and asked.
"What else should I do?" Jiang Man put away the Spirit Sources and spoke softly.
"Aren't you afraid the person behind him will use other methods against you? This time you were lucky, but if what happened before occurs again, can you resolve it so easily?" The Old Yellow Ox asked.
Previously, Jiang Man had relied on having a token, but now the token was gone.
So if it happened again, he could easily be detained inside.
Waiting several months before being released.
By then, everything would be too late.
But targeting Chang Qiwen wouldn't be useful.
If the person behind him wanted to use methods, they could simply switch to someone else.
The Azure Cloud Pavilion had seven courtyards, with plenty of people available.
It was better to keep Chang Qiwen around - at least he knew this pawn and understood he posed little threat.
If they switched to someone else, who knew what kind of personality and capabilities they might have?
So the current situation wasn't bad at all.
The Old Yellow Ox didn't press the matter, merely reminding him, "Your practical combat ability is lacking."
"Does Senior have any methods to help?" Jiang Man asked.
"No methods, practical combat requires actual fighting experience with people," The Old Yellow Ox shook its head.
"That's true," Jiang Man nodded, then started walking back. On the way, he thought of something and asked, "Old Yellow, as an Evil God, do you have any special abilities?"
"I do, but they haven't recovered yet," The Old Yellow Ox said.
"Like what?"
"Like being able to find you a wife."
"..."
It could also take my life.
Jiang Man returned to the courtyard and began cultivating.
First, he needed to fill the sixth gourd.
Then enhance his blood energy to advance his physical body realm to the fourth layer.
With spiritual energy at the first layer and physical body at the fourth layer, his cultivation could begin breaking through to the seventh layer.
He didn't know if there was enough time remaining.
If he could achieve this, then first place would be secured.
Even if his practical combat skills weren't as good as theirs, with absolute realm suppression.
There would be no dispute about taking first place.
Just as Jiang Man was still cultivating, the Old Yellow Ox suddenly spoke, "Someone's coming."
Jiang Man stopped cultivating and looked outside.
Bathed in moonlight, Jiang Man saw a woman approaching with a curious expression on her face.
The fourth-ranked cultivator of the Sixth Courtyard, Cheng Yu.
"Why is she here?" Jiang Man grew somewhat alert.