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The Bright Force Martial Arts Manual was of utmost importance to cultivators; anyone who saw it would pay any price to acquire it. Jiang Feng glanced around, then looked deeply at the old man. For such a book to appear here with no cultivator drawn to it, it seemed almost as if it had appeared solely to wait for him.

Jiang Feng smiled faintly, raised the two books, and asked, “Sir, how much are these two books?”

The old man lifted his eyelids, “Not for sale.”

Jiang Feng didn’t get angry. “Then is there something you’d trade for?”

The old man pondered for a moment, “Earlier I saw you walking with a young man?”

Is he after Chong Fan? Jiang Feng didn’t hide it and nodded. “That’s right.”

“He’s your friend?”

“Something like that.”

“The jade pendant at his waist is something I’ve wanted for a long time. Bring it to me, and these two books are yours.”

Jiang Feng studied him for a moment, then suddenly stood up, dusted off his clothes, and said cheerfully, “All right, wait here.”

True to his word, he turned to look for Chong Fan. Before long, he found him by a stall under a tree.

He waved, “Are you free now? Come with me for a moment.”

The shadow at Chong Fan’s feet had long returned to normal, and he was nearly done browsing. Obediently, he followed Jiang Feng back to the bookstall.

The moment the old man saw Chong Fan, his expression changed slightly.

Jiang Feng turned to Chong Fan. “Lend me your jade pendant for a moment.”

Chong Fan looked at the old man, then at Jiang Feng, a little surprised. He hesitated, but actually took off the pendant.

The old man’s expression darkened further. Jiang Feng, unconcerned, dangled the pendant in front of the old man. “Here, I’ve brought the pendant.”

The old man reached for it instinctively, but Jiang Feng withdrew his hand, dodging the grasp and returning the pendant to Chong Fan instead.

He said with a half-smile, “What was it you said just now? If I brought the pendant, you’d give me the books? Well, I’ve brought it—what now? You only said to bring it, not to hand it over.”

Chong Fan gazed deeply at the old man, who looked flustered under his stare.

Jiang Feng laughed, straightened up, patted Chong Fan’s shoulder, and walked away.

He took nothing. That Bright Force Martial Arts Manual would drive any novice cultivator to madness, yet Jiang Feng left it behind without the slightest hesitation.

He walked to the riverbank, gazed at the small boats on the Longchuan River, exhaled a long breath, and stretched lazily.

A moment later, footsteps sounded behind him. Without turning, he said, “Your family has come looking for you. Will you be going back?”

Chong Fan was slightly stunned. “How did you know he’s my family?”

Jiang Feng chuckled easily and turned. “Isn’t it obvious? He brought that book just to test me, to see if I was greedy, if I was worthy to be your friend.”

His eyes were clear, his voice crisp and bright, without a trace of reproach.

Chong Fan felt a little uneasy under that gaze and, after a pause, asked, “Are you angry?”

Jiang Feng shook his head, “Of course not. Your family worrying is only natural when you’re out with a stranger. Their methods might be questionable, but after all, it’s out of care for you.”

Chong Fan pressed his lips together. “Then, do you want me to leave?”

Jiang Feng fell silent for a while, making Chong Fan’s heart leap into his throat. After a moment, Jiang Feng glanced at him and shook his head. “That’s not up to me. It’s up to you. The time we agreed on hasn’t come close to ending.”

Chong Fan immediately relaxed. He took two books from his sleeve and handed them to Jiang Feng. “These are for you.”

They were “Strange Beasts of Taiwu” and “The Guiding Art.” Jiang Feng shook his head. “I can’t accept a reward I haven’t earned. You keep them.”

Chong Fan suddenly grinned slyly. “But didn’t you just fulfill his request?”

Jiang Feng considered, then laughed. “You’re right!”

He was never one for false modesty. These two books were exactly what he needed, and since Chong Fan offered them sincerely, he accepted them without further fuss.

Chong Fan smiled, then took the bamboo basket from Jiang Feng, declaring, “I’ve seen enough of this Half-Month Market. Now, let me show you what I can do!”

…

Chong Fan brimmed with confidence, and soon Jiang Feng witnessed his abilities firsthand.

At the Half-Month Market, some sold goods, some bought, but most bartered.

Chong Fan seemed to have a plan. He divided the goods into several lots and began executing his scheme step by step.

The first batch he sold directly, setting up a stall and immediately attracting buyers. His words were as agile as a lotus blooming; in no time, he sold out completely.

The goods fetched high prices, amounting to over a hundred silver coins.

Jiang Feng watched from the sidelines, raising his brows but saying nothing.

Ordinary folk transacted mostly in copper coins—a copper coin for a bun, two for a bundle of vegetables, ten for a catty of lean meat. Jiang Feng knew these prices by heart.

One silver coin equaled a thousand copper coins, which was a significant sum in the regular market. A direct descendant of the Jiang family, like Jiang Huaixiao, received eight silver coins for monthly allowance—an entire year’s income for a commoner.

As a southern Jiang orphan, Jiang Feng was entitled to a monthly hundred copper coins until age sixteen. But his tongue was not sweet, nor did he have patrons; before age twelve, some months he received nothing at all. After defying Jiang Huaixiao for the first time at twelve, he never got another copper from the family.

Cultivators operated under a different price system, trading mostly in silver coins—a complete fourth-tier Redhorn Cowhide was worth ten silvers, a second-tier Fire Python Fang one silver, and elemental core fragments went for one to two silvers apiece, depending on quality.

Chong Fan had long studied the market prices here. The first batch he sold comprised commodities in high demand with stable prices, and they sold out quickly.

Next, he began bartering.

Here, Jiang Feng started to lose track. Chong Fan had clearly targeted his trades in advance, exchanging for all sorts of strange odds and ends, most of which appeared to Jiang Feng as useless junk.

But undeterred by Jiang Feng’s opinion, Chong Fan insisted on his trades.

As the pile of “junk” in the bamboo basket grew, Jiang Feng thought for a moment, patted Chong Fan’s shoulder, and wandered off.

Did he trust me?

Chong Fan watched Jiang Feng’s retreating figure, a strange light flickering in his eyes. Turning back, his calls to passersby grew even louder.

Having left things in Chong Fan’s hands, Jiang Feng found himself with nothing to do for the moment.

He wandered the market, chatted with people, and caught up on the latest news of the area.

Half the cultivators at the Half-Month Market were unaffiliated, without family backing or other connections.

Some, having just entered the path or been in it a while, were huddled together discussing the county examination.

The county exam was Jiang Feng’s greatest concern of late, aside from cultivating, so he couldn’t help but go over and listen in.

Since he had yet to enter the threshold, the others cast him a glance but didn’t mind his presence.

Listening in, Jiang Feng quickly understood: for these unaffiliated cultivators, there was one task before they could register for the county exam—obtaining the Celestial Summons.

There were two main ways to acquire the Celestial Summons.

One was through family. Each officially recognized clan received several county exam slots annually, awarded to selected members who could then sit for the exam directly.

The other was via the government. Those without family could apply for the Celestial Summons at the authorities, and those who passed the test would receive the document and be eligible for the county exam.

Essentially, it was a preliminary qualifying exam before the county test.

The unaffiliated cultivators now gathered were discussing how to apply for the Celestial Summons, and they seemed rather anxious.

“Applying for the Celestial Summons is much harder than you’d think! Last year, I tried too, thought I was tough enough, but failed the test… I really underestimated the talent out there!”

Several in the group had failed last year. The mood was good, so they started comparing their results.

This preliminary test was like a simplified county exam: no earth trial, only sky trial and man trial.

The sky trial tested various aptitudes; the man trial wasn’t a fight with another person, but with a captured Bright Beast.

The burly man who’d first spoken had lost in the man trial to a first-tier, first-level Bright Beast and was eliminated.

Bright Beasts, like humans, advanced by tiers; a first-tier, first-level Bright Beast matched a cultivator at the earliest Dawn Realm.

From what Jiang Feng learned, all those who failed had decent scores in the sky trial but lost in the man trial.

The burly man sighed, “I’ve fought plenty of first-tier, first-level Bright Beasts before, but the one in the test seemed stronger than any I’ve met.”

He pulled out a leather pouch, crouched, and spilled its contents on the ground. All were materials from Bright Beasts of the first and second levels. Someone nearby, recognizing their worth, said, “Hey, these are pretty good! You took down all these yourself?”

The man thumped his chest. “Of course! All by myself. And yet, I still failed the Summons test. My luck…”

He sighed, deeply dejected.

“…I think something’s off,” someone suddenly said, frowning. “If only you failed, maybe it’s bad luck. But why did everyone stumble at the same hurdle?”

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