Mc would have stayed a surnameless farmer if that was the right choice or did everyone forget that aura cycling was forbidden for commoners including the mc.
It's not actually once again you don't read the lore it is actually allowed to cycle and even take gates outside Village you really should read up on lore. Cycling is very easy every citizen can get an aura and after that they won't be protected and are now forced to fight what Jack did was his own doing ,there is a reason only kids were sent rather than actual disciples with proper cultivation if it is still not clear to you jack had ap less than 200 lol and during first fight time he was also powerless it's his own grudge rather than any law or the sect the only place where cultivation is forbidden for most is Azuma Honsha the capital where even the nobles cannot cultivate.
This wouldn't even be hard to understand if you tried reading properly if there was an actual ban on it big chu would come to kill you it would be fair.There isn't any ban anyone can cultivate people don't do it because a warrior isn't protected neither is a person with Aura protected even a weak Aura user and now he has to fight. Most people don't have the talent to even reach 1000 ap so they basically signed their death now they cannot even go outside the village alone since the beasts will now actively hunt them while mortals don't get hunted . Hell becoming a warrior caste isn't even hard in outer lands all you need is getting an aura and then becoming a guard then as soon as few warrior caste die the magistrate will elevate you. So you once again talk about stuff you have no idea on.
People don't cultivate because it is hard and too many risks and the issue of jack and mc were between them there is a reason Mao doesn't care when Jack gets a beating first time he only cares when Jack almost died.
Once again AC isn't your typical cultivation story or xianxia where it is all doom and gloom the laborers also rarely get enslaved most of the slaves are former warriors now broken or bandits.
Was it forbidden? Not that I recall; it was just an expensive and for most people pointless undertaking (and, depending on your job, it could even be detrimental), but it wasn't forbidden.
The only ones I know who were forbidden from doing it were Crusher Mao's students.
It's not even expensive if you count just getting aura lol people don't do it because now they can die and also have to fight and also can be enslaved and as you said Mao doesn't allow his sect to cycle that is why there was the issue anyways Jack and others disliked that a laborer was cycling and getting power while real warriors have to train mind you a lot of places have the same practice. Powerful people don't cycle because it is a bad habit and cycling itself isn't good for them.
Warriors are the least protected caste lol because they are the ones who have to fight and also they are the ones who get enslaved the most and the biggest bottleneck being most people don't have the talent to reach even 1000 ap Mc is an anomaly for a laborer talent wise a laborer being 8/10 talent is like a warrior being 10/10 or even more but that isn't possible laborers on average have 1-2/10 talent and even 3-4 is considered Good for a laborer.
Also nice to see someone actually bothers to read and just doesn't assume or make things up idly .Idk why they keep thinking with the mindset that this is a xianxia World the mortal laborers aren't fodder they are protected the actual fodder are weak warriors and weak aura users who still aren't warrior caste.