The End of the Immortal Path-Chapter 57 - 56: I’m Fat, But I Don’t Like Fat People
There were three offers. The Li Family wanted him to simply join the Sect and work for them. The Cheng Family would send a woman to have his child, after which he would also join the Sect and work for them. The Luo Family’s offer was purely for him to marry into their family.
Relatively speaking, the Luo Family’s offer was the most humane, though it meant he would become one of them.
Besides, their offer was indeed quite generous.
But without exception, all three offers were meant to bind him.
So there was nothing to think about.
Especially the Li Family—five thousand Spiritual Source a month in exchange for ten years of his loyalty to the Sect and his unconditional assistance three times.
Where did they get such nerve?
He was making ninety Spiritual Source a day in the Spirit Gathering Hall, which already came out to 2,700 a month.
Now that he was at the Qi Refining Technique Eleventh Layer,
he could earn up to a maximum of three thousand Spiritual Source a month.
The great Li Family was clearly just throwing out a casual offer.
They probably didn’t expect him to actually accept.
"Have you thought it over?" Zhao Leming asked.
Jiang Man shook his head. "I’m not considering any of them."
Zhao Leming wasn’t surprised by this.
He had always believed Jiang Man had a backer; after all, the man had even provided a Rearing Method.
Even though there was nothing else, this was likely a form of test as well.
The offers from these three families were far too mediocre. It was only natural for him to reject them.
"If your ranking continues to improve, they’ll likely sweeten their offers," Zhao Leming said after a moment’s thought. "The assessments are now held at the end of the month, and you get a break once every three months. That’s also when you’ll all be competing for resources and Magic Skills.
"Your rankings won’t change much for now, so the families will be paying more attention to the competition for resources."
Jiang Man was rather surprised. ’They aren’t focused on the rankings?’
That made sense. Once Cultivation levels increased, the rankings rarely changed.
The time frame was simply too short.
After a moment of thought, Jiang Man asked about new work opportunities.
It seemed like he was earning a decent amount of Spiritual Source, but compared to his expenses, it was barely enough to get by.
He had earned a thousand, paid back two hundred, leaving him with eight hundred. Adding what he’d earned over the past half-month,
he now had 2,150 Spiritual Source.
Food alone cost him several hundred a month, to say nothing of his Cultivation.
It wasn’t nearly enough.
"New work?" Zhao Leming looked at him and mulled it over for a moment. "That’s difficult. The available jobs are usually manual labor, and the Yunqian Bureau wouldn’t dare give someone like you work that’s too physically taxing.
"Besides, this is also done to give the various major families a chance.
"It allows them a better opportunity to recruit qualified individuals."
Jiang Man understood upon hearing this.
The Yunqian Bureau was established to allow people of the right age to practice Cultivation. As long as they paid the tuition fee, almost anyone would be accepted.
Naturally, the Yunqian Bureau also needed Spiritual Source. Although some of its resources came from the Sect, it mostly had to rely on itself.
So the contracts could be considered a collaboration with the various major families.
It was all about mutual benefit.
He didn’t ask any more questions after that, figuring he’d have to find a way on his own.
"I’ll reject them on your behalf, but they might still send someone to speak with you directly," Zhao Leming reminded him.
Jiang Man nodded to show he understood.
After that, Jiang Man left.
Returning to the Sixth Courtyard, he had Fang Yong go find Zhao Leming.
Mr. Zhao had instructed him to do so on his way out.
’It’s probably for the same reason as me.’
’I wonder how many families approached him, and what they offered.’
’It’s intriguing.’
After a half-month break, everyone’s spirits seemed to be in decent shape.
Luo Xuan was dignified as always, while Cheng Yu was smiling and chatting about something by her side.
Chang Qiweng, on the other hand, looked a bit listless. His injuries hadn’t healed even after half a month. ’I wonder how much Spiritual Source he’d been paid to push himself that hard.’
"Brother Jiang, you’re finally here," Xiaopang said, walking up to Jiang Man. "I’m finished."
Jiang Man was confused. "Can’t afford to eat?"
"Not quite," Xiaopang said, dejected. "My grades are so bad that my family has all but given up on me. They’ve given me two options now.
"The first is for me to get married and carry on the family line. But I don’t like a single person they’ve chosen. They even picked someone for me who’s about as fat as I am.
"I may be fat, but I’m not into other fat people!"
At first, Jiang Man thought he was just here to show off, but the moment he heard the word "fat," he adopted a serious expression and tried to console him. "The orders of one’s parents, the words of a matchmaker... sometimes our parents really are just trying to do what’s best for us.
"For example, I married a Fairy who is as beautiful as a goddess. It was all arranged by my family, and I never said I was unwilling. It was simply my family’s wish.
"The one they picked for you just looks more... blessed, is all."
Xiaopang stared at Jiang Man, speechless.
"So, what’s the second option?" Jiang Man asked with a smile.
Xiaopang didn’t get hung up on it. "The second option is for me to focus on my Cultivation. They’ll give me enough resources, and if I can reach the Qi Refining Fourth Layer before leaving the Yunqian Bureau, they’ll find a position for me.
"I’d get to train in the family business and continue to improve myself.
"And I’d get to decide who I want to marry."
Jiang Man was silent for a moment.
’Is Xiaopang telling me that if he doesn’t cultivate properly, he has to go home, get married, and never worry about his livelihood again?’
’And if he does cultivate properly, he gets to inherit the family business?’
’Damn that Direct Lineage.’
"So, Brother Jiang, you have to help me! Please, teach me how to practice Cultivation," Xiaopang pleaded.
Jiang Man was a bit surprised. "Shouldn’t Mr. Zhao and Ms. Fu be better at this?"
"Of course they are, but they’re not good at understanding underachievers," Xiaopang said.
Jiang Man paused.
’That actually makes sense,’ he thought. ’Who would bother trying to understand the second-to-last-place student?’
Still, with a little effort, it wouldn’t be hard for Xiaopang to reach the Qi Refining Third Layer.
"As long as you teach me, Brother Jiang, I’ll give you five hundred Spiritual Source a month, plus one Spirit Gathering Pill," Xiaopang said through gritted teeth.
Jiang Man paused, his expression turning serious. "We’re good friends. Of course, I won’t stand by and do nothing."
’That’s what I said, but I have no idea how to actually teach Xiaopang.’
’I’ll ask Old Huang later. It has plenty of experience.’
’It should be able to offer some advice.’
’This way, I’ll have more resources for myself.’
Today was Ms. Fu’s Magic Skill lecture again.
This time she was explaining other applications of the Bengliu Technique.
A Magic Skill isn’t just for a one-sided Attack; sometimes, an Attack can also serve as a Defense.
As she spoke, Ms. Fu stomped her foot. Earthen spikes erupted behind her, blocking an attack from the rear.
After a long moment, she said, "The rest of the time is for sparring. In a few days, a new instructor will be here to guide those who are competing for the special quotas. The rest of you should also learn as much as you can."
In sparring, Jiang Man’s opponent was Luo Xuan again.
She still had the same dignified air of a young lady from a noble house, poised and graceful.
She didn’t seem at all emotional about not being selected.
’As for what dirty tricks she might be plotting behind the scenes, that was anyone’s guess.’
During the afternoon Cultivation session, the Sixth Courtyard was once again guided through their practice.
They were only freed in the evening.
Cheng Yu left together with Luo Xuan.
"Does this Jiang Man really not need to sleep?" she asked Luo Xuan curiously.
"When will he discover that the letter was written by you?" Luo Xuan only cared about this.
She didn’t plan on being misunderstood like this.
"Soon," Cheng Yu said with a grin. "What do you think his reaction will be when he finds out?"
Luo Xuan shot her a sidelong glance and said calmly, "For teasing the top-ranked student, you’re going to get taught a lesson."
Cheng Yu didn’t seem to care.
—
Jiang Man left the Sixth Courtyard.
Not long after he went out, he ran into a middle-aged man.
"I’m from the Li Family," the middle-aged man said, looking at Jiang Man calmly. "You don’t appear to be very wealthy. Without outside help, it’s extremely difficult to distinguish yourself in the Yunqian Bureau.
"You might not have noticed it during the first competition for Magic Skills.
"But by the second one, you’ll discover that the gap between you and the others is growing wider and wider.
"Others may have made you some decent offers, but none can match the prospects the Li Family provides."
