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He was already at the third level of Body Refinement, and according to the cultivation realm, he was eligible to go to the Scripture Pavilion and ask the Steward for a lower grade, yellow-tier cultivation technique.
A cultivation technique, he had never seen what one looked like in this lifetime.
Jiang Tang rubbed his hands together and left his simple fenced-in courtyard.
It was dawn, and a line had already formed in front of the Scripture Pavilion.
The disciples lining up at this time were all Servant Disciples—they had low talent and had only barely managed to reach the realm that allowed them entrance to the Scripture Pavilion to choose a Cultivation Skill Manual. They feared that the Outer Sect disciples would snatch them away, so they had to get up early and come over at this time to collect the techniques.
Jiang Tang was among the early arrivals, thus he quickly joined the queue.
After registering, he followed a few other Servant Disciples inside and looked around the Scripture Pavilion with curious eyes.
As expected of the number one immortal cultivation sect in the world, the Scripture Pavilion, though seemingly small, contained an immense space within—upon a closer count, there were twelve floors, but they, the lowliest, could only choose secret manuals on the first floor.
They couldn't even go to the upper floors even if they wanted to, as every floor was protected by restrictive spells, and any attempt to forcefully ascend would result in being eradicated by the triggered formation.
Following the rules, Jiang Tang walked around and noticed that the secret manuals were written on either books or bamboo scrolls, and there was only one copy of each.
So, the question arose, how did they manage to have multiple people own a single copy?
As Jiang Tang pondered this, he took a liking to a physical strength secret manual.
The name of the manual was the Golden Body Spell, which could enhance one's physique and was very suitable for cultivators in the Body Refinement stage.
With this, he wouldn't suffer from physical exhaustion when plowing and farming, thereby saving him from wasting a great amount of precious Spirit Grass.
Actually, this was just one of the reasons. Another was that when taking hits, he wouldn't feel as much pain.
Mainly because in his past life he was a student of the liberal arts and had never learned any fighting techniques, in this life at most he could swing a hoe. Thus, he had no knowledge of martial arts moves—those successful transmigrators who started off cultivating powerful secret techniques were, to him, not just irrelevant, but totally out of reach.
When he opened the secret manual and saw nothing but a bunch of abstract illustrations, Jiang Tang was utterly baffled on the spot.
He wanted to ask if this thing was even meant to be understood by humans—how did those transmigration protagonists understand the manuals and learn to cultivate just by looking at them?
He begged for the trick!
Outside, the copper bell jingled, and everyone else happily departed, leaving only Jiang Tang with a troubled expression.
When the Steward saw him holding the manual with a long face, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and ask, "Young friend, what seems to be the issue?"
"I don't understand this secret manual," Jiang Tang replied with an embarrassed smile.
"Don't worry. This manual is just for your selection. The real cultivation method and the tricks are inscribed in the Jade Token," the Steward explained with an immediate knowing smile. He took the book from Jiang Tang and handed him a Jade Token, "Newcomers don't understand this. Here, take your Jade Token, and when you return, imbue it with your Divine Sense to view the contents."
Jiang Tang suddenly saw the light, so that was how it worked.
He took the Jade Token and saw how the handful of books in the Steward's hands turned into points of light that flew back to the Scripture Pavilion, leaving him astonished.
So that's the secret to their unlimited use.
As Jiang Tang walked back, he tried to infuse the Jade Token with his Divine Sense, and sure enough, as the Divine Sense came into contact with the inscribed cultivation method within the Token, an entirely new cultivation mindset, incantation, and introductory tips suddenly appeared in his mind.
Even detailed annotations for beginners in ancient dialect were included.
With such detailed step-by-step instructions, if he still couldn't learn, then he would truly be hopeless.
Jiang Tang couldn't help but be moved.
He hadn't walked far when he bumped head-on into someone.
"Ouch! Who's the blind one here!" A cry of pain shocked Jiang Tang, who had been absorbed in the cultivation method and walking with his head down, into awareness.
He looked up and a twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Why was it this Little Overlord again...
Du Long, looking up, recognized Jiang Tang and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, "Yo, Little Junior Brother, it's you again."
That 'again' was indeed curious.
Jiang Tang took a step back and gave a sheepish smile, "I didn't mean to bump into you, Senior Brother. Good morning."
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"Just came out of the Scripture Pavilion, huh?" Du Long eyed the direction from which he was approaching and raised an eyebrow again, "What Secret Manual did you get? Show me."
As he spoke, he reached out his hand.
Jiang Tang instinctively tucked the Jade Token away a bit.
He hadn't completely memorized it yet.
"Brother, this is just a lower-rank Yellow-tier cultivation technique; it's not worthy of your attention, so let's forget about it," Jiang Tang grinned, offering an awkward smile again.
But the more Jiang Tang hid it, the more Du Long believed he had obtained a good Secret Manual.
His expression turned stern at once, "What? Won't you give Long face?"
Jiang Tang felt like crying but had no tears.
How could he not give in? He dared not refuse.
But he was telling the truth.
"Fine, if you don't want to give it up, I won't waste words with you. Three days from now, do you dare to fight me in the arena?" Du Long suddenly gestured dismissively.
"Ah?" Jiang Tang was somewhat unable to follow Du Long's train of thought.
Why fight on the martial arts stage?
"Since you've obtained a cultivation technique, you must be planning to diligently practice it. My challenge in the arena is simply to offer you some guidance. What, you don't want to?" Du Long narrowed his eyes.
"..." Was this coercion? He only knew how to farm; he didn't know how to fight.
"How about this, if you win against me, Long, I won't come to give you guidance anymore. If you lose, you'll give me three Nourishing Soul Grasses. What do you say, junior brother?" Seeing him dumbstruck, Du Long grew impatient and decided to get straight to the point without mincing words.
By now, if Jiang Tang still didn't understand Du Long's scheme, he'd be a real fool.
He was still after his Nourishing Soul Grasses.
Jiang Tang hesitated.
If he didn't agree, with the Little Overlord's temper, he would surely find endless excuses to pick on him.
If he agreed, once they wrote the duel agreement for the arena, according to the rules, if he won, Du Long would have to abide by the agreement to avoid backfire from the contract—he'd stop causing trouble, and he could then get rid of the problem once and for all.
And anyway, Du Long was only at the fourth layer of Body Refinement, just one small realm higher than himself.
Maybe… he should give it a try?
After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Tang slowly nodded, "Fine. But brother, we must make an agreement."
"What's so hard about that?"
Thus, Du Long and he slapped hands agreeably, swearing by the soul. As the words were uttered, an Array instantly formed under their feet.
"Little junior brother, have your Nourishing Soul Grasses ready early." Seeing his goals achieved, Du Long patted his shoulder and left in a rather good mood.
Jiang Tang looked at the Jade Token in his hand and let out a slow sigh.
Being a person who transmigrated, yet feeling so aggrieved, was indeed uncomfortable.
But he truly didn't know how to fight.
However…
Jiang Tang felt he still had to put in the effort.
Without trying, how would he know the outcome?
So, after returning to his courtyard, aside from tending the fields and harvesting, he put all his effort into practicing the Golden Body Spell.
Three days later, Jiang Tang slowly opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his lips.
Heaven rewards the diligent, and he had successfully made a breakthrough in the Golden Body Spell.
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