The words, the rows of rewards—they all left Yu Wanyi momentarily stunned.

She even wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

’Could these things have anything to do with me?’

’Absolutely impossible.’ 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

But everyone was looking at her, their expressions of envy all too real.

It was the same way she had looked at others before.

At that moment, Senior Sister Xia nudged her. "Looks like you’ve got a pleasant surprise."

Only then did Yu Wanyi finally come to her senses.

It seemed she had...

...hit the jackpot.

’To accomplish in half a month what takes others three years...’

She turned and looked at the senior brother who was cradling his sword.

The moment their eyes met, he turned his head to leave. "See you around."

Then he departed in a hurry.

He was too ashamed to linger.

Yu Wanyi had no time for him; her first priority was to head to Cloud Mist Peak.

Investment slots had always been limited. When she first received hers, her original plan was to invest in someone wealthy who had sufficient Talent for Cultivation Skills and Magic Skills.

Someone like Fang Tiancheng, for instance.

That would have been a stable enough investment.

At least she wouldn’t have lost out.

Choosing Jiang Man was a complete coincidence; Senior Sister Xia had only mentioned him to her once.

So she made a special trip to see him.

He was certainly capable, but she felt he lacked long-term potential.

Fang Tiancheng was the most suitable candidate.

But since she had come for Jiang Man in the first place, she felt she should see it through and chose him anyway.

She figured that at worst, she wouldn’t lose out on her investment.

In reality...

He had reached Foundation Establishment in half a month, an achievement not seen in decades.

And she, his investor, was only just finding out about it.

’I’m going to be criticized for this.’

—

「Meanwhile.」

Gao Rong walked toward Red Water Peak with a somber expression.

Today was the day the rankings were released, and he suddenly thought of Xiaopang’s friend.

He decided to go and see for himself.

At first, he had been sure his judgment was correct: the man wasn’t worth paying attention to.

The man was nowhere to be found in the top ranks of the Rehabilitation Courtyard.

To gauge the quality of Xiaopang’s friends, he had specifically checked all the rankings, wanting to see exactly where this Jiang Man placed.

However, after checking all the courtyards on Cloud Mist Peak, he still couldn’t find the name.

He only learned the answer after inquiring with the relevant personnel.

Jiang Man wasn’t in the Rehabilitation Courtyard. He was in the Foundation Establishment Courtyard.

He had reached Foundation Establishment fifteen days after his entry.

Driven by curiosity, he checked the Cloud Mist Peak rankings again.

First assessment: ranked number one.

Although it was only first place within his courtyard, still...

Ranking first in the Yunqian Bureau was easy, but ranking first among peers in the Foundation Establishment Courtyard was much harder.

Each peak only had one Foundation Establishment Courtyard per year, and all its disciples had competed their way up from the Qi Refining Courtyard and the Rehabilitation Courtyard.

Upon seeing Jiang Man’s name, he was filled with regret.

He hadn’t bothered to be kind, and now he was facing this helpless situation.

So he decided to go and ask Xiaopang.

Some matters had to be dealt with quickly.

Jiang Man was no match for him now, but it wouldn’t be long before he was surpassed.

When that day came, if the man decided to recall the past, then...

...he would be in enormous trouble.

He had looked down on people before, but it had never caused him any problems.

Especially those from Luoyun City—few of them were worthy of any serious consideration.

But as the saying goes, walk by the riverside long enough, and your shoes are bound to get wet. When he was younger, he had still made an effort to be kind to others.

But as his strength grew, and he saw no one else rise to prominence...

...he gradually came to believe it was rare to meet those who could turn the tables against all odds and rise through the ranks.

In his mind, those people should have been dazzling from the very beginning.

Sighing to himself, Gao Rong arrived at Xiaopang’s place.

He found Xiaopang watering Spirit Medicines, while Luo Xuan was tending to a few of the plants.

"Second Brother?" Xiaopang looked at the newcomer in surprise.

Gao Rong asked calmly, "Has anyone in the Yunqian Bureau been giving Jiang Man trouble?"

"Of course," Xiaopang replied immediately. "Quite a few, actually."

"And the people who gave him trouble, how did they handle it in the end?" Gao Rong asked.

Xiaopang thought for a moment before saying, "Fang Yong should know. I heard he caused some trouble for Jiang Man once, too."

After finding out about Fang Yong’s situation, Gao Rong decided to go find the man.

As he was leaving, Xiaopang offered a kind reminder, "Second Brother, Brother Jiang has already reached Foundation Establishment. You’d better be polite to him."

Hearing this, Gao Rong asked him, "When did you find out?"

Xiaopang answered truthfully, adding that he had wanted to give him a reminder but couldn’t find him.

Gao Rong was silent for a moment before saying, "If anything important comes up in the future, you can come find me. I can’t help with major issues, and I don’t want to help with minor ones, but you can still come and tell me about them."

Afterward, Xiaopang watched him leave, then turned curiously to Luo Xuan. "Miss Luo, what did my Second Brother mean by that?"

Luo Xuan thought for a moment, then said, "He’s probably blaming you for not telling him that Jiang Man reached Foundation Establishment."

"Sometimes taking a loss is a blessing in disguise," Xiaopang said, unconcerned.

—

"When it comes to dealing with Jiang Man, everyone uses the same method," Fang Yong said, looking at the man before him.

Although he didn’t know how Young Master Gao had provoked Jiang Man.

He certainly had experience in this area.

"You’ve offended him before?" Gao Rong asked.

He had come straight here after leaving Xiaopang.

Without a moment’s delay.

His biggest fear was being too late.

Fang Yong nodded earnestly. "Yes, we had a small disagreement, but it was resolved later."

Gao Rong asked how he did it.

Fang Yong’s answer was simple: Jiang Man was poor.

And a poor man who, for now, had very little income in the way of Spiritual Source.

That was why the matter had to be resolved as soon as possible.

Because in a short time, he would probably start earning Spiritual Source.

Gao Rong was confused.

Fang Yong used himself as an example. He had an investor, and now that he had shown progress, his funding had increased.

The same would be true for Jiang Man, and it wouldn’t be long before his investment funding increased substantially.

Of course, he wasn’t about to mention that his own funding had only increased by five hundred.

Gao Rong understood how these things worked. He then asked Fang Yong how much he had paid.

"Twelve thousand," Fang Yong said calmly. "If what Young Master Gao did wasn’t too egregious, seventeen or eighteen thousand should be enough. After all, this is a grudge between those at the Foundation Establishment realm.

"I was only at the Qi Refining realm at the time.

"If Young Master Gao doesn’t mind, I can go and have a word with him for you."

"Go now," Gao Rong said immediately.

Cloud Mist Peak.

By the cliff’s edge.