Chapter 46: Four Months of Arduous Cultivation, Clearing the River Channels

...
"That's right."
"Only by entering officialdom and putting into practice what you have learned from books, by personally discovering the needs of the people through their lives and desires, can one truly serve them."
"Whether by fulfilling their needs or reforming systems, one governs a region for the people and the nation."
"In this process, not only can you realize your ideals, but you can also mend the flaws in your Dao heart. When you feel you have forged a complete path for what you desire in your heart, that will be the moment you break through the Purple Mansion realm!"
Cao Chengyu spoke well; the reason Ning Wenjun frowned was all due to the entrenched belief in male superiority.
Even among cultivators, men far outnumber women.
There are no women in the bureaucracy at all.
Such an undertaking is a tremendous shock for those living in a feudal environment like them.
"Chengyu, it's not that I'm dismissing your solution, but the impact of a woman entering officialdom is too great; I fear there will be much opposition in court."
"How about disguising yourself as a man? Without relying on the Ning family's influence, starting from the scholar's exam, you could better understand the ordinary person's path of advancement and witness the darkness of officialdom."
"With the Ning family's resources, there should be many advanced disguising techniques. You don't need to fool those at the Purple Mansion or Golden Core level, just ordinary people and some low-ranking cultivators."
"..."
"..."
Disguising herself as a man...
Gradually, a brilliant gleam flashed in Ning Wenjun's eyes, and a vigorous new energy began to radiate from her; it seemed she had found her path.
...
A night passed.
Ning Wenjun ultimately decided to follow his advice. She would spend the coming days preparing and had no time for clandestine meetings.
Her favorability remained at 89; no doubt, when she completed her practical experience, the bottleneck at 90 would naturally move to the next stage.
With that, his two current goals were temporarily accomplished. Should he look for new targets, or...
He shook his head, dismissing any reckless thoughts.
In the days that followed, Cao Chengyu entered closed-door cultivation, occasionally visiting the task hall to complete a pill-refining mission and accumulate contribution points to exchange for water-type spiritual items.
These would provide nourishment for the advancement of his Water Spirit Pearl.
The five elemental pearls were on their way to being upgraded, and Cao Chengyu's cultivation grew deeper day by day.
He also completed the alchemy assessment for promotion to Purple Guard.
With a higher monthly stipend, his clothes turned purple, and his alchemy skills naturally "advanced" to a higher rank.

Four months later...
[Cao Chengyu]
Age: 15.3
Cultivation: Late Spirit Refining Realm (98%)
Technique: Yellow Court Canon
Skills: Basic Alchemy Method (Stage 1), Basic Artifact Refining Method (Stage 1 Artifact)
Spells: Azure Flood Dragon Sleeve (Advanced 99%), Five Wheel Departure Fire Technique (Advanced 99%), Lightless Shield (Advanced 99%), Yellow Cloud Technique (Advanced 99%), Drizzling Rain and Frozen Sword (Advanced 88%), Mountain Lord Tremor Body Technique (Advanced 79%)
Secret Arts: Poison Eye (Advanced 99%), Burning Body Fiery Art (Superior 0%)
Divine Ability: Evolutionary Law (?)
[Evaluation]: A Purple Guard of the Skywatching Tower in arduous cultivation, entangled between two women; unable to choose between fish and bear’s paw, should he have both, or leave?
His fifteenth birthday passed quietly.
Cao Chengyu had been cultivating for nearly a year, and his Spirit Refining Realm was about to reach completion.
All his advanced spells were stuck at 99%, unable to progress.
It might be a matter of cultivation, or perhaps the power of his divine ability is insufficient, or maybe these spells have reached their limits.
After all, you can't push a low-grade spell to the level of a divine ability; its very conception lacks substance.
The Burning Body Fiery Art, however, was promising; after supplementing its missing parts, it proved to be a superior spell, one belonging to the Purple Mansion realm.
Its progress was at zero, likely due to his current cultivation.
Over these four months, his five elemental pearls were nearly complete.
Only the Water Spirit Pearl lagged slightly, still needing a water-type treasure for its advancement.
After four months of arduous cultivation, he grew restless and decided to go out for a change of pace.
He could also resolve the Water Spirit Pearl issue.
As for Ning Wenjun, aside from knowing she had gone to another continent, there had been no news.
It suited him just fine, as it coincided with Luo Yuzhu's absence, giving Cao Chengyu much freedom.
He stood, vented his pent-up energy,
and took his Heavenly Scent Spirit Cat to the task hall.
Circling about, he arrived at the task hall, where he saw the long-absent Chi Mingzhu and Wang Daoming together, entering and leaving side by side.
Before his closed-door cultivation, Cao Chengyu had refined Qi-gathering Pills for them twice; now, upon seeing them again, their cultivation remained at the early stage of Spirit Refining.

Such is the impact of a cultivator's talent.
Affinity for spiritual energy may seem insignificant, but it is closely tied to a cultivator's progress.
The same pill: Cao Chengyu could refine seven or eight a day, while for them it might only be one or two, and even then the effect was mediocre.
When they first entered the tower, their cultivation was similar; now, after just half a year, Cao Chengyu had reached the late stage, while the other two were still circling the early stage.
Such disparity was partly due to resources, but more crucially, talent.
The Yellow Court Canon subtly optimized his aptitude and comprehension, making it truly extraordinary.
Now, having reached completion in Spirit Refining, the Yellow Court Canon’s Spirit Refining chapter had run its course. If he re-tested with the so-called Spirit Testing Orb, whose maximum value was 100,
he estimated he could reach 120.
He would need to acquire the Yellow Court Canon for the Dao Body realm; both its effects and his Evolutionary Law divine ability were of great importance to him.
Thinking of this, Cao Chengyu regretted opening the treasure box obtained from Ning Wenjun too early.
He realized he needed to keep a box handy at all times, lest, upon breaking through a major realm, he lacked subsequent cultivation techniques.
A box that could yield whatever he most needed was truly a heaven-sent treasure for him.
The two were also there to take on a task.
After chatting for a while, Cao Chengyu could not bear their intimate display and politely declined their invitation to travel together.
In the end, he accepted a task to clear the canal and left Skywatching Tower to travel alone.

[Clearing the Canal]
Task Description: Six hundred miles north of the capital lies the Wraith Grand Canal, a waterway built in the previous dynasty for trade. Now its tributary to the capital is blocked, suspected to be due to water monsters, requiring Skywatching Tower's intervention.
Task Requirement: Spirit Refining cultivators, mid to late stage.
Task Reward: Two hundred spirit stones, five hundred contribution points.
Time Limit: Fifteen days.
Taking on such a task, Cao Chengyu wanted to test his Heavenly Scent Spirit Cat’s abilities. The Wraith Grand Canal was rich in water vapor and treasures, but after so many cultivators had searched, it was now hard to find any.
The Heavenly Scent Spirit Cat could identify all things and, with its superb sense of smell, should help him solve the final cultivation issue for the Water Spirit Pearl.
Leaving the city, he stopped by to see Little Wind, then mounted his Bamboo Leaf flying artifact and headed for the tributary to the capital.
The tributary was closer, about five hundred miles from the capital.
The Bamboo Leaf artifact was somewhat slow, but flying nonetheless, and after two days of intermittent travel, he arrived at his destination.