「Late August.」

Tomorrow was the annual assessment.

At this moment, everyone in the Ninth Courtyard was extremely puzzled.

Jiang Man had been absent for many days.

The assessment was tomorrow; if he didn’t show up soon, he would miss it.

They only knew that Jiang Man had taken a leave of absence, but not where he had gone.

"Mr. Yan, is Jiang Man coming back for the assessment tomorrow?" Cao Cheng asked.

The others were curious as well.

However, Yan Yiqiu looked at them all and shook her head. "It’s hard to say. If he doesn’t show up for the assessment, it will be a golden opportunity for all of you to vie for first place."

"Of course, when we’re promoted to the Eighth Courtyard in September, he will still be ranked first."

"His ranking won’t be changed."

Zhuo Bufan grew excited. "So you’re saying I have a shot at being number one?"

"And why can’t it be me?" Zhao Yaoyao chimed in.

Suddenly, they were all praying that Jiang Man wouldn’t return for the assessment.

Wei Beichuan, however, didn’t care whether Jiang Man returned or not. He couldn’t aim for first place anyway.

But this time, he was certain he could surpass many others.

His gaze was locked onto Cao Cheng and An Rong.

’Before long, the fifth and sixth ranks will be crushed beneath my feet.’

’This annual assessment probably won’t be enough, but I can at least put some pressure on them.’

’I’ll slowly close the distance and watch them despair.’

’I’m going to hunt them both down.’

’Back then, I didn’t pull all-nighters. I went easy on them.’

’Now...’

’It’s time they felt the terror of being hunted down and surpassed.’

’First, I’ll break into the top ten. Then, I’ll close in on them little by little, making them scramble and fight for their positions, before finally and decisively cutting them down.’

’Both of them are going down.’

At this moment, Cao Cheng and An Rong were on pins and needles.

Ever since Wei Beichuan started pulling all-nighters, they’d felt as if something terrifying had its eyes on them.

They were constantly on edge.

"It’s fine, we’re probably just scaring ourselves. What if he only makes it to fifteenth or fourteenth after the assessment? It’s not like everyone else will just stand still and let him catch up," An Rong said, forcing a smile.

Cao Cheng scoffed. "Does he look like he’s only going to improve by one or two ranks?"

"He was just as full of himself at the start," An Rong said.

"Was he pulling all-nighters at the start?" Cao Cheng asked.

An Rong was left speechless.

Zhao Yaoyao shook her head and sighed. "Why do you two do this to yourselves?"

Zhuo Bufan said, "Don’t worry. I’ll go have a chat with him later and remind him how Jiang Man operates."

Still, they were all very curious. Where on earth had Jiang Man gone?

And would he actually return tomorrow?

If he didn’t return, wouldn’t he miss out on a lot?

After all, many people were watching to see who would take first place in the Ninth Courtyard.

He would probably face quite a bit of criticism.

After all, the annual assessment, the Third Courtyard rankings, and the Seven Peaks competition were the ultimate tests of a Student Cultivator’s true strength.

---

Jiang Man stopped his Cultivation and let out a long, heavy breath.

’Only the seventh day.’

’Good thing I understood it so thoroughly.’

’Otherwise, I really might not have been this fast.’

’The main reason is that the Magic Skill was free to claim, so its difficulty wasn’t very high.’

’But the Celestial Heart Seal is another story.’

’The remaining six or seven days might not be enough.’

’I especially need to figure out if it’s still possible to seize a Magic Skill stone pillar on the fifteenth day.’

’Besides, if the one I have my eye on gets snatched by someone else, it’d be a huge loss.’

’There’s another problem: I have no idea where the Top-grade Yuan Condensation Technique is.’

’Cultivating on my own definitely has its downsides.’

"Fellow Daoist." At this time, Ninety-nine spoke up.

Jiang Man turned to look at the two of them, figuring he could ask them for information.

"How much do you two know about the rules?" Jiang Man asked, tossing fifty Spiritual Sources their way.

’I wonder if this is enough.’

’This guy must be pretty poor,’ Ninety-nine thought as he accepted the Spiritual Source. ’Fifty Spiritual Sources to ask for information here...’

’But I have my own problems, so I can’t refuse.’

"I know quite a bit. What is it you want to ask?" Ninety-nine asked.

Jiang Man mulled it over for a second before asking, "There should be a Top-grade Yuan Condensation Technique here. Do you know where it is?"

"Over there." Ninety-nine pointed to the nearest stone pillar. "That’s the spot. The competition for it is extremely fierce."

"I’m sure you’ve noticed."

Jiang Man paused. The competition over there was indeed intense.

’Looks like a lot of people have their eyes on the Top-grade Yuan Condensation Technique.’

"I’ve heard there’s another location with a Top-grade Yuan Condensation Technique, but it offers two completely different types. You’d have to see if one is compatible with your own Cultivation Skill."

"Otherwise, your Cultivation will take twice the effort for half the reward," Ninety-eight added helpfully.

Jiang Man, however, wasn’t concerned. He was opting for a complete Reincarnation, so he didn’t care if it took twice the effort for half the reward.

’It wouldn’t take him much time anyway.’

"So, has the item on that stone pillar been taken yet? In theory, ten wins should be enough to get the Cultivation Skill and the qualification that comes with it," Jiang Man said.

"Normally, it would be. But since obtaining the Cultivation Skill is the same as obtaining the qualification, it doesn’t always get taken," Ninety-nine explained. "That’s because most people aren’t here for the Cultivation Skill itself, but for the qualification."

"So they’ll look for a Cultivation Skill with less competition. That way, even in a random matchup, they’re more likely to face a weaker opponent."

"Because of this, winning the Top-grade Cultivation Method isn’t as straightforward as it seems."

"It’s not always possible to string together ten consecutive wins."

"People usually have to wait until the very end."

This surprised Jiang Man.

’But it’s definitely a good thing for me.’

He then asked about the location of the other Top-grade skill.

’It’s always good to have options.’

The other location was farther away, and the directions weren’t very precise.

After all, neither of the two had been there themselves.

Jiang Man decided to focus on improving his Celestial Heart Seal for now.

’Without the Celestial Heart Seal, I might not succeed.’

’The competition is really intense.’

But he had one more question. "If you fail a challenge, do you lose the right to challenge again?"

"No. To issue a challenge, you need to pay one thousand Spiritual Source. Only the first time is free," Ninety-nine explained. "Everyone only found out about that rule after coming in, so many people can’t actually continue to challenge. No one expected to have to spend Spiritual Source in here."