Zhao Yaoyao averted her gaze and said no more.

’Worrying about others is a waste of time. I should focus on improving myself.’

’First place is mine for the taking.’

「Half a month later.」

「October 23rd.」

Jiang Man stopped his cultivation. He had now reached the Ninth Layer of the Nascent Condensation Skill, the Ninth Layer of the Body Tempering Skill, and the Ninth Layer of the Visualization Technique.

’There are still over thirty days until the first ranking assessment. It looks like opening the first Gourd and filling it up won’t be easy.’

Jiang Man felt his power and decided to open his Physical Body Gourd and Visualization Gourd first.

Then, he would focus all his efforts on raising his Cultivation.

’Opening the Gourd is the same as entering the realm, which should be enough to meet the requirements.’

Jiang Man started by cultivating the Quenching Method.

As he circulated his energy, he activated the Flawless Nourishing Essence Pill.

It began to cleanse his body’s meridians and channels.

Over and over again.

After a day, Jiang Man could feel the power of his Qi and Blood, bolstered by the Flawless Nourishing Essence Pill, surging toward the next Physical Body Realm. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

「Three days later.」

Bathed in moonlight, Jiang Man took a deep breath of Spiritual Qi.

A muffled sound then echoed from within his body.

The Qi and Blood in his Physical Body roiled, now capable of holding even more Spiritual Qi.

The Physical Body Gourd was open.

Physical Body First Layer.

Jiang Man then spent another day stabilizing his Physical Body to prevent the immense weight of Spiritual Qi from crushing him during future cultivation.

On the fifth day, Jiang Man began to cultivate the Visualization Skill.

Since it was the Simple Observation Method, it only manifested as a pure ball of spiritual light, but Jiang Man still pictured his Spiritual Level as a Gourd.

This cultivation session activated the God Strengthening Pill.

He had thought it would take another five days to open and stabilize the Spirit Gourd.

However, after just three days, Jiang Man found he had reached the Spiritual First Layer.

’It must be the result of a long period of accumulation finally paying off.’

During the Qi Refining Stage, he had practiced a Top-grade Observation Method.

「November 1st.」

’There’s still a month until the ranking assessment in December.’

’I should have enough time.’

"Old Huang, I always feel like there isn’t enough time. I wish I could be cultivating every single moment, but those people can sleep so soundly at night. How do they do it?"

Jiang Man spoke from the edge of a cliff, gazing down into the moonlit expanse.

The people of Cloud Mist Peak used to cultivate late into the night, but a while back, the consensus on the peak had shifted. They were now told to balance work and rest, to get enough sleep to nurture their mental state.

Gradually, everyone started spending less time on cultivation.

You could even see the clouds and mist occasionally.

Jiang Man tilted his head up slightly, looking at the bright moon. "But they’re right," he said. "The view from Cloud Mist Peak really is beautiful."

The Old Yellow Ox kept munching on grass, completely ignoring Jiang Man.

Jiang Man didn’t mind and simply resumed his cultivation.

To climb the rankings, he needed to advance his current Realm.

The Flawless Golden Yuan Pill stirred in response.

He absorbed Spiritual Qi.

Filling the first Gourd was not easy.

It was much more difficult than Qi Refining.

After five days, Jiang Man had only managed to complete ten percent.

Fortunately, the more he cultivated, the more adept he became, and the Flawless Golden Yuan Pill provided a powerful source of strength.

It was as if a ball of fire burned in his Dantian, and as long as his Nascent Condensation Skill was at a high enough layer, he could completely absorb its flames.

After ten days, Jiang Man had accumulated nearly thirty percent of the required Spiritual Qi.

From this point on, Jiang Man felt that as he accumulated more Spiritual Qi and circulated the Nascent Condensation Skill, his body would unconsciously store a portion of that power, which then roamed throughout his system.

His body was acting as a container.

If he hadn’t strengthened his Physical Body beforehand, he might not have been able to withstand it.

After all, during the Qi Refining Stage, his Physical Body had been his weakest aspect.

Jiang Man didn’t dwell on it and simply continued his cultivation.

Twenty days in, Jiang Man had successfully accumulated sixty percent.

The power stored within his body was also continuously increasing. It wasn’t advancing through layers, merely accumulating.

As long as his Physical Body was strong enough, it could keep storing more.

’No wonder He Chenfeng said you can’t casually provoke Foundation Establishment cultivators,’ he thought. ’You can never be sure how much power they have hidden away.’

「Late November.」

Jiang Man felt a tinge of regret.

’There’s still not enough time.’

’I thought I’d smoothly reach ninety-nine percent.’

But in reality, his elixirs were nearly depleted, and most of the Spiritual Qi he absorbed was being diverted into his body instead.

Now, his first Gourd was less than eighty percent full.

"Old Huang, why did it slow down near the end? Aren’t gourds supposed to be wider at the bottom?" Jiang Man asked the Old Yellow Ox as he walked into the courtyard at the crack of dawn.

"Maybe your analogy is wrong. Try thinking of it as a bowl; that’s more apt. If that doesn’t work, just picture the Gourd upside down," the Old Yellow Ox said offhandedly.

Jiang Man shook his head. "A bowl is too plain, and an upside-down Gourd would look ugly."

Not dwelling on it, Jiang Man just assumed that the later stages required more time to settle and consolidate.

「Cloud Mist Peak.」

「Foundation Establishment Front Courtyard.」

「Ninth Courtyard.」

When Jiang Man arrived, the others were already there.

"Jiang Aoye, why are you late?" a young man said with a laugh, looking at Jiang Man. "There are twenty-four of us in this courtyard, and you’re about to be at the very bottom."

"Maybe you should just get some sleep."

"There’s no need to torture yourself."

"Are you mocking me?" Jiang Man said, taking out a small notebook. "Let me jot that down. I’m always moving forward and I never look back, so it’s easy for me to forget who’s mocked me. I have to keep a record."

’He’d learned this lesson the hard way back at the Yunqian Bureau.’

’He could never remember who had wronged him.’

"Cao Cheng: Mocked me for being last," Jiang Man recited as he wrote, then put his notebook away.

Cao Cheng sighed. "You really are one of a kind."

"Why are you actually writing it down?" A buxom woman approached, smiling. "After you write it down, do you plan on getting revenge on everyone one by one?"

It was An Rong, who was well-known in the courtyard.

Jiang Man shook his head. "It’s not that serious. I just like to look at it from time to time and remember."

"In that case, let me give you something to write down," An Rong said with a laugh. "Keep pulling those all-nighters. You’ll be dead last forever, you little rookie. Next time you see me, remember to be more respectful."

Jiang Man politely obliged and wrote her down.

"An Rong: Cursed me for being last," Jiang Man recited as he finished writing and put the notebook away.

Zhao Yaoyao and Zhuo Bufan walked in and simply shook their heads.

’They truly couldn’t understand Jiang Man.’

’His single-minded focus on cultivation was baffling.’

’Perhaps this was the gap between the poor and people like them.’

’Such people had such a narrow worldview; no wonder they were perpetually poor.’

’They could never escape the mountains in their own hearts.’

’Influenced by the previous generation, their mindsets were deeply ingrained.’

’If Jiang Man hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment so quickly, they wouldn’t have paid him any mind at all.’

’Oh well. That was one less competitor for them.’

Meanwhile, Jiang Man sat in the very back.

Yan Yiqiu entered and looked at the assembled disciples. "Three months of cultivation have come to an end. Tomorrow, the assessment for your rankings will begin."

"The assessment is quite similar to the one for the Qi Refining Stage."

"It will be primarily a written exam."

"We will be assessing your Cultivation level, Physical Body level, Spiritual level, and Hidden Spirit Purity."

"The total score is four hundred points."

"Hidden Spirit Purity is the easiest section to score points in."

"Next year, scores for your Minor will be included."

"Furthermore, the top three in this assessment will earn the qualification to become a disciple. Although you’ll only be a Named Disciple, it will still be of some help to your cultivation."

"However, the masters for these three spots will be assigned randomly. You will not have a choice."

As she spoke, she looked toward Zhao Yaoyao and her group. "Seize this opportunity."

Then she turned to Jiang Man. "If you come in dead last, your investor might come looking for you."

Jiang Man asked curiously, "Will my investor also check the rankings when they’re released?"

"Yes. But does your investor know you’ve reached Foundation Establishment?" Yan Yiqiu asked, her curiosity piqued.

’Logically, if his investor knew, how could they let him keep pushing himself like this?’

"She doesn’t know," Jiang Man answered honestly.

Yan Yiqiu fell silent for a moment. "It seems there’s a lot you don’t understand. You have no way of contacting her?"

Jiang Man nodded.

"No matter. I’ll add a special note for you. As long as she checks the rankings, she’ll know," Yan Yiqiu said kindly.

Jiang Man was immensely grateful.

’Senior Sister Yu is so irresponsible.’

"Alright, use the remaining time to cultivate well. The assessment begins tomorrow on schedule. It will last for two days, and the rankings will be released on December third." Yan Yiqiu looked at the group and said seriously, "This first ranking is extremely important for all of you. The higher you place, the smoother your future cultivation will be."

---

「Inner Sect.」

「On a small path.」

Yu Wanyi walked beside another woman, sighing. "Tomorrow is the assessment. Another group of people will be getting resource rewards."

"And you?" the beautiful woman beside her asked.

"Me?" Yu Wanyi said with a sigh of resignation. "I’m afraid it’s not looking good. That man Senior Sister introduced to me seems to already have a cultivation partner. Not only that, but he’s also unwilling to let her go."

Senior Sister Xia smiled. "Perhaps that makes it an easier conquest."

"I gave him three years. All he has to do is reach Foundation Establishment," Yu Wanyi said.

"Are you going to check on him in a couple of days? The Rehabilitation Courtyard rankings have some rewards too, don’t they? Maybe he can rank near the top," Senior Sister Xia asked.

Yu Wanyi mulled it over. "I suppose I could. But Senior Brother Lu would probably be thrilled if he does poorly. I’ll just go for the spectacle."

"Jiang Man was fast at Qi Refining, but he lacks a deep understanding of Cultivation Skills."

"This assessment includes the Promotion Skill, so I’m afraid it’ll be tough for him."

Senior Sister Xia smiled faintly. "We’ll see. He performed very well during the Qi Refining Stage. He might just bring you some glory yet."

At this, Yu Wanyi also felt a flicker of anticipation.

’He’d better get a decent rank.’

’Otherwise, I’ll be so angry I might actually rush over and beat him up.’

’Having a cultivation partner and still not being motivated.’