He had thought he was quite strong, but the assessment made him realize he still wasn’t working hard enough.

He had to keep cultivating. Even time for idle chatter would have to be sacrificed.

He’d have to eat faster, too.

He was at Foundation Establishment, but he still had to eat.

Once he reached the Golden Core realm, that probably wouldn’t be necessary anymore.

He’d heard that Golden Core Ancestors could subsist on Spiritual Qi, with no need to fill their stomachs with grains.

「The next day.」

December 3rd.

It was the day the assessment results were released.

Everyone, whether from the new Rehabilitation Courtyard or the Foundation Establishment Courtyard, was paying close attention to the rankings.

People from other Sects would also take a cursory look, hoping to recruit more talent.

Jiang Man arrived very early this time.

So did most of the others.

This time, everyone sat calmly in their seats, waiting in silence.

Soon, Yan Yiqiu walked in.

She held a stack of papers in her hand.

As she entered, her gaze swept across the room before she spoke calmly, "First, take a look at your scores and rankings. I’m sure many of you already have your suspicions."

"This assessment was certainly full of surprises."

She then began to hand out the papers.

When she reached Jiang Man, Yan Yiqiu gave him a meaningful look and said, "Your score is a bit of a shame. You fell a little short."

Hearing this, the others were perplexed.

’Just how bad does a score have to be to be called "a little short"?’

Jiang Man was taken aback. ’By all rights, I shouldn’t have done poorly.’

’Do they really think my Talent is just for show?’

’I have my Talent as a safety net, plus the aid of Flawless Elixirs.’

’There’s no way I could have done poorly.’

He immediately looked down at his information sheet.

December 3rd.

Wuyun Sect.

Outer Sect Cloud Mist Peak.

Foundation Establishment Front Courtyard, Ninth Courtyard.

Name: Jiang Man.

Rank: 1 (of 24)

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Introduction.

Physical Body: First Layer Introduction.

Spirit: First Layer Introduction.

Minor: None.

Hidden Spirit: Intermediate.

Resources Awarded: "Simple Yuan Condensation Method," "Simple Body Refining Technique," "Simple Observation Method."

Score: 98.

Evaluation: Two points short of being able to freely choose a master.

After reading the sheet, Jiang Man’s brows furrowed tightly.

’Two points short?’

’That really is a shame.’

’If I’d known about this, I would’ve just skipped class to cultivate.’

’I would have had plenty of time.’

’But...’

’I didn’t know.’

’Even without skipping class, if I had just cut down on my meal times and idle chatter...’

’...I would have had a chance.’

’I guess I was still too lazy.’

’I rested for too long and it delayed my progress.’

’But it’s fine. It’s just about choosing a master.’

’It’s not a big deal.’

’With the Old Yellow Ox around, whatever those masters teach is bound to be inferior, and their methods are unbelievably slow.’

’Learning systematically from them could never be this fast.’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’For now, I’ll just keep borrowing the Old Yellow Ox’s Profound Wisdom to raise my Cultivation.’

By now, everyone had finished reading their own sheets.

Zhao Yaoyao sighed inwardly. She had thought she would get first place, or second at the very least.

But...

She was third.

’Then who got first and second?’

’One must be Zhuo Bufan, but who’s the other?’

’An Rong?’

’Her chest is too... ample. That’s got to affect her cultivation. There’s no way she could be in the top two.’

An Rong, meanwhile, looked at her fifth-place ranking and sighed.

’I was really held back.’

Yan Yiqiu returned to her position at the front and looked down at everyone. "You’ve seen the documents, so you should now be aware of your scores and ranks."

"The official rankings will be posted at noon."

"However, since this is your first assessment, it’s a good time to learn from the experiences of others."

After a brief pause, she said slowly, "Jiang Man."

Hearing his name, Jiang Man stood up, confused.

"Share your cultivation experiences with us," Yan Yiqiu said. "Or rather, explain how you achieved your score."

The others were baffled. Why ask Jiang Man to share his experiences?

’What experience could he possibly share besides pulling all-nighters?’

Everyone, whether on Cloud Mist Peak, other peaks, or even in the Inner Sect, already knew that cultivating through the night was the wrong approach.

Jiang Man looked at Mr. Yan and said, "Because I have good Talent, and I’m diligent."

"Is ’diligence’ staying up all night?" Yan Yiqiu asked.

"It’s working day and night, forgoing food and sleep," Jiang Man replied.

"Everyone says cultivating all night harms one’s Heart Spirit. What are your thoughts on that?" Yan Yiqiu asked.

Jiang Man said calmly, "I’ll see what happens as I cultivate. The strong never complain about their circumstances."

Yan Yiqiu looked at Jiang Man, then at the other perplexed students, and said slowly, "Explain your thought process."

Jiang Man looked at her and spoke softly, "I cultivate through the night. One of my days is equivalent to two of yours. When you cultivate, I cultivate. When you rest, I’m still cultivating."

"In other words, while you’re treading water, I’m still surging ahead, always staying in front of you."

"Since I’m always ahead of you, shouldn’t my heart be filled with joy and power?"

"How could my Heart Spirit possibly be damaged?"

"That’s just an excuse the weak make for their own laziness."

Yan Yiqiu was silent for a long moment before saying, "But it has been this way since ancient times."

"Just because it’s always been that way, does that make it right?" Jiang Man looked at Yan Yiqiu and said calmly, "The great order of the Immortal Sects has made Immortal Cultivation accessible to all. Mr. Yan, you still don’t understand the weight of those words."

"The times have already changed."

Yan Yiqiu looked at Jiang Man, her eyes betraying a flicker of emotion.

The other students were baffled and wanted to argue.

But a few fell silent, lost in thought.

Yan Yiqiu calmly observed the scene and said softly, "Announce the rankings."

At her words, the students fell silent, confused as to why the rankings were suddenly being announced.

Weren’t they supposed to be posted on paper at noon?

Yan Yiqiu ignored them and announced slowly, "Foundation Establishment Front Courtyard, Ninth Courtyard. First place: Jiang Man, with ninety-eight points."

"Second place: Zhuo Bufan, with twelve points."

Before the students could even process their shock, she gathered her things, turned, and left. "Class dismissed."

At that moment, Jiang Man looked at the stunned crowd and shook his head. "With scores like that, I honestly don’t know how any of you sleep at night."

With that, he turned and walked away.

"Wait," Zhao Yaoyao called out, staring at Jiang Man. "Where are you going?"

Jiang Man looked at her, baffled. "Back to my room to cultivate in secret, of course."

He then turned and left.

The room fell silent.

’Dude, what are you even doing?’

’Why take it this far?’

Jiang Man returned to his residence and grinned at the Old Yellow Ox. "Old Huang, my brilliance has now illuminated the world."

"Aren’t you afraid there won’t be any Spiritual Qi left on Cloud Mist Peak to absorb?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.

Jiang Man shrugged. "The strong never complain about their circumstances."

"Your Spirit Medicine consumption is about to double," the Old Yellow Ox remarked casually.

Jiang Man fell silent.

—

"The results don’t come out until noon. Why are we going over so early?" Yu Wanyi asked, puzzled, as they headed toward the Outer Sect.

"Cloud Mist Peak’s results are released earlier," Senior Sister Xia explained.

Hearing this, Yu Wanyi immediately grinned. "Does that mean I can check and leave right away, without having to stick around and see everyone else looking happy?"

They only needed to go to the small hill to check the rankings of the disciples on their investment lists, not the entire public ranking.

As long as a name was recorded there, it meant a resource reward.

When the two of them arrived at the small hill, they found it was already crowded.

Everyone was there to see how the disciples they had invested in had ranked.

"Senior Sister Xia and Junior Sister Yu are here as well?" A man of about twenty-four or twenty-five walked over, a sword cradled in his arms. "I recall Senior Sister Xia didn’t invest in anyone this year, otherwise I’d really want to have a little competition."

Yu Wanyi looked at him and said, "You should go compare notes with Senior Brother Lu. See whose investment is more impressive, yours or his."

"I couldn’t possibly do that. Wouldn’t I just be asking for humiliation? I came here specifically to pick on an easier target." The man looked at Yu Wanyi. "Junior Sister Yu, you invested in someone, didn’t you? How about a friendly wager?"

"Help me look up the rankings for the new disciples from Cloud Mist Peak’s Rehabilitation Courtyard," Yu Wanyi requested, quick as a flash, giving him no chance to respond.

The rankings appeared a moment later.

A disciple from Luoyun City named Fang Yong had made the list, but he wasn’t the one Yu Wanyi had invested in.

The sword-cradling man looked disappointed, having missed out on winning some Spiritual Source.

Yu Wanyi shook her head. She didn’t mind too much, though she was naturally a little disappointed.

She couldn’t expect too much, after all.

Just as she was about to leave, the attendant called out, "Wait a moment. There’s a note here from the Foundation Establishment Courtyard. It says that if Senior Sister Yu comes by, she should also check the rankings for the new disciples in the Foundation Establishment Front Courtyard."

Yu Wanyi found it odd, but she requested the query anyway.

The new rankings appeared.

The name at the very top of the list seemed to shine with a brilliant light.

Beneath the name, a brief profile appeared.

This profile appeared automatically, a feature reserved for when a world-shaking dark horse emerged from the investments.

Jiang Man: Reported to the Sect on August 17th, placing first from Luoyun City’s Yunqian Bureau. Entered the Qi Refining Secret Realm that same night via special reward. After thirteen days, he returned, having successfully achieved Foundation Establishment. Reported to Cloud Mist Peak’s Foundation Establishment Courtyard. Three months later, he participated in the assessment and, with an absolute leading score, claimed first place.

Investor: Yu Wanyi.

Eligible to claim: Fastest Foundation Establishment Reward.

Foundation Establishment Achievement Reward.

First in Courtyard Reward.

Dark Horse Reward.

Discerning Eye Reward.

As the text materialized, the entire hall fell silent.

The words seemed to burn with a brilliant light, searing themselves into the eyes of everyone present.

—