「The next day.」

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

Jiang Man hadn’t slept, having spent the entire night in Cultivation.

As he watched the fish-belly white of dawn spread across the sky, he knew he had missed his chance at the Mid-grade Qi Blood Technique.

But a prodigy also had choices, and what he truly sought had long since surpassed a mere Mid-grade Technique.

Late June was not a time for him to accumulate power, but to display his strength.

"What are you thinking about?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.

"About making some grand declaration. If I had enough Spiritual Source, I would’ve shouted it out loud," Jiang Man said.

"There are still people secretly watching you. They leave at dawn," said the Old Yellow Ox.

"That’s normal. They want to see if I’m just putting on a show or if I really never sleep." Jiang Man didn’t mind.

These days, no one left the Cyan Cloud Pavilion earlier than he did.

As long as he, Cyan Cloud First, didn’t leave, who would dare to casually walk out the Cyan Cloud Gate?

During this period, even those who slept probably couldn’t rest easy.

Because everyone was engaged in Cultivation. Sleeping meant falling behind, and falling behind meant receiving poor evaluations.

It would make finding a good position even more difficult.

Afterward, he planned to go buy some Elixirs.

Then he would start his push for the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

If he couldn’t advance, it would be impossible to become the Yunqian Bureau’s number one.

However, when Jiang Man went to buy Spirit Gathering Pills, he discovered the Elixirs’ price had gone up.

It had jumped from three hundred to four hundred.

’Why would this happen?’

’Is someone targeting me?’

"Fellow Student Cultivator, if you’re going to buy, you should do it soon. The price might go up again," the seller kindly reminded him.

Jiang Man was baffled. Why the sudden price hike?

’Could it be the Li Family?’

’Are they targeting me again?’

Jiang Man then asked about other Elixirs.

They had all gone up in price.

By fifty to one hundred and twenty.

Jiang Man asked for the reason and received a simple answer.

There were more buyers.

The Elixirs were becoming scarce.

So naturally, the price went up.

Jiang Man fell silent. ’How could this be?’

’Was the harvest for the Elixir ingredients bad this year?’

’Or have these people singled me out and are deliberately making things difficult?’

There were only three places in the entire Yunqian Bureau that sold Elixirs.

It was certainly a possibility.

’So, should I buy them or not?’

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Man decided not to buy them just yet. He needed to go back and ask why this was happening.

If he was being targeted, he could ask Mr. Zhao to intervene.

He should be able to resolve it.

’Still, the Li Family’s methods are truly ruthless.’

However, when Jiang Man asked Mr. Zhao, the answer left him stunned.

"The Elixirs have indeed gone up in price. And they’ll keep rising until June, maybe even August. In the time it took you to get here, the price has probably already risen to four hundred and thirty," Mr. Zhao answered truthfully.

Jiang Man was silent for a moment before asking, "Why such a sudden increase?"

’Is it really a problem with the raw ingredients?’

"There’s no problem with the raw ingredients. The supply of Spirit Medicines from various places is currently stable, with no major fluctuations." Mr. Zhao looked at Jiang Man and explained, "The real problem is that too many people are buying them. The volume is enormous. In a single afternoon, they nearly bought out the entire stock of Elixirs."

"So, the price went up."

’Who could possibly be using such a large quantity?’

’Even with people preparing for the third competition, it’s impossible that they’d buy out the entire stock.’

’After all, the participants are only a small fraction of the total population.’

’Unless someone is doing this on purpose.’

"Those families?" Jiang Man asked.

"Yes." Zhao Leming nodded. "That’s right. The word is, a lot of people refused the contracts this time, so the families are acting together to apply pressure."

"The Yunqian Bureau can’t intervene in a situation like this."

"Because all the buyers are Student Cultivators of the Yunqian Bureau."

"If we were to control it, one option would be to set a limit—say, five pills per person per month."

"The other option is the current situation: no limits, but rising prices."

"Besides, the Yunqian Bureau also needs to earn Spiritual Source. This is practically a blatant handout of Spiritual Source to the Bureau."

"The amount is greater than you can imagine."

"Opinions within the Yunqian Bureau won’t be unified on this, so the situation can’t be resolved."

Jiang Man had never imagined that he would one day be defeated by market prices.

With the price now at four hundred and fifty a piece, didn’t that mean his nine thousand Spiritual Source was now only worth six thousand?

’Had his assets shrunk by nearly half?’

He had never underestimated the power of the great families.

But he never thought their power would manifest in this way, obstructing his Immortal Path.

"The price will likely continue to rise, eventually stabilizing around six hundred. It should stay that way until the third competition, but it won’t drop immediately afterward. It probably won’t return to three hundred until around August," Zhao Leming reminded him again.

Jiang Man fell silent.

A direct cut of half.

Ten thousand Spiritual Source would only have the buying power of five thousand. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

In this situation, poorer cultivators who lacked strength would be utterly helpless.

The lack of Elixirs would make it nearly impossible for them to advance.

As a result, they were bound to fail the Sect’s entrance assessment.

Under these circumstances, many would choose to join those great families.

Jiang Man also asked how Zhao Leming knew all this.

The answer was simple: this sort of thing happened every few years.

It mainly depended on how many people signed the contracts.

If a large group of them banded together to refuse...

...then this was what happened.

It was all to consolidate the positions of the great families. Luoyun City was stable enough now; they didn’t need new families emerging to upset the balance.

After getting a clear picture of the situation, Jiang Man finally left.

On his way to the Sixth Courtyard, a million thoughts raced through his mind.

He felt a pang of regret.

’If I’d known this would happen, I should have just had Fang Tianyi and the others give me the Elixirs directly.’

At this rate, Song Qing would probably also regret getting rid of his Elixirs.

Elixirs bought for three hundred could now be sold for over four hundred.

If he had kept them, he would have made a pure profit of over one hundred.

Arriving at the Sixth Courtyard, Jiang Man found many people discussing the matter of the Elixirs.

The sudden, massive price hike was hitting them hard, too.

Many of the people here were poor; at most, they could only afford two or three Elixirs a month.

Now, they couldn’t afford them at all.

Fortunately, since they didn’t have to participate in the Sect assessment, they could bear it for a while.

Of course, many were kicking themselves. If they had known the price would go up, they would have bought some in advance to sell now.

They could have become much wealthier in an instant.

As Jiang Man entered, Xiaopang started to approach, but Fang Yong got to him first.

Seeing this, Xiaopang retreated to the side.

’The first and second place cultivators are talking. Someone at the bottom like me has no right to approach.’

Jiang Man and Fang Yong moved to the side.

"Do you know about the Elixir situation?" Fang Yong asked.

Jiang Man nodded. "I do. I heard the price might go up to six hundred. Does Young Master Fang have any connections?"

Fang Yong looked at Jiang Man, hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I do. Normally, it’s still the regular price of three hundred. But do you really need them? You’re at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer. You can get into a Sect even without Elixirs."

Jiang Man shook his head. "That would be too pathetic. It’s not a suitable look for someone like me."

’How could a prodigy like him enter a Sect looking like a stray dog?’

"End your Cultivation early today, and I’ll take you there." Fang Yong paused, then added, "But the other party will probably have conditions. I’m not sure of the specifics, but as long as they’re willing, you’ll definitely be able to buy enough Elixirs, and at the original price."

Jiang Man didn’t doubt him. Young Master Fang’s judgment was bound to be sharp.

After all, he was the kind of person who, when looking to make friends with a young master in the Six Pavilions, could find his way to the very best.

How could someone like that have poor judgment?

’I just don’t know what price I’ll have to pay.’

’Of course, I can’t go outside the Yunqian Bureau by myself. What if I get tricked?’

’Within the bounds of the Yunqian Bureau, I have Mr. Zhao’s protection. I won’t be wronged.’