Jiang Man had entered the Secret Realm at midnight, and it was midnight again when he returned.

The moment he returned, the Old Yellow Ox came in.

It had a stalk of grass in its mouth and was still chewing slowly.

"Old Huang, aren’t you worried you’ll get fat eating a midnight snack this late?" Jiang Man asked.

"It’s free," the Old Yellow Ox said calmly. "Do you have to pay to eat?"

Jiang Man shook the eighteen thousand Spiritual Source in his hand.

He said nothing.

The Spiritual Source said it all.

’Three thousand I earned myself. I have no idea where the other fifteen thousand came from.’

’But since the Secret Realm gave it to me, I doubt the Sect will ask for it back.’

He calculated the days.

’It should be September now.’

’The time of year for new disciples to arrive.’

’Chang Qiweng should be here by now.’

’Time to get ready to pay him back.’

Jiang Man checked his funds and found he only had twenty-one thousand.

And that was only because the Secret Realm had suddenly given him fifteen thousand.

Otherwise, he’d only have six thousand.

’This Secret Realm is a great place, actually giving me fifteen thousand. I wonder if it was just me or if everyone got it.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

’I’m still short by a lot. I also owe Song Qing three thousand five hundred. Xiaopang isn’t an issue, since we’re both in the Sect and I can pay him back anytime.’

Jiang Man found it all a bit troublesome, but it was September.

’The Qi Refining Secret Realm might have opened by now. Fang Yong has probably already gone in.’

’I’m just not sure if he’s reached Foundation Establishment.’

’If he succeeded in his Foundation Establishment...’

’He should be able to earn a good amount of Spiritual Source.’

’I’ll find a chance to ask him.’

He was also quite curious about the annual rankings.

But there should be a fifteen-day break at the end of the year.

Classes wouldn’t start until the fifteenth of September, so he would just have to wait.

’Perhaps the contest for the Seven Peaks is still going on.’

After handing the Seven Star Condensing Yuan Technique to the Old Yellow Ox, Jiang Man decided to begin his Cultivation.

But just as he stepped into the courtyard, the Old Yellow Ox suddenly spoke up. "Not so fast. Go take a bath first."

Jiang Man was puzzled.

He sniffed himself. "I don’t smell anything."

"You smell of your wife’s tricks from the Secret Realm," the Old Yellow Ox said abruptly.

Jiang Man froze, stunned. "Meng Qiewei? She left something on me?"

The Old Yellow Ox nodded.

"Can’t I use a Magic Skill to remove it?" Jiang Man asked immediately.

"No. You couldn’t even guard against it when you entered. Doing so would have just confirmed your presence in the Secret Realm." The Old Yellow Ox walked over to the courtyard and took another bite of grass.

"Then what if her trick activates and leads her right to me?" Jiang Man asked.

Chewing on a mouthful of weeds, the Old Yellow Ox said, "Then it would mean that for an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, you have some pretty bad luck."

Jiang Man nodded and said with a smile, "It seems that as an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, my luck is simply boundless."

The Old Yellow Ox simply lowered its head and continued eating the few remaining weeds in the courtyard.

After his bath, Jiang Man began his Cultivation.

He was currently at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, with a Physical Body Third Layer and Spiritual Fourth Layer.

His skills included the Wandering Dragon Ninth Layer, the Nine-Layered Shadowless Palm, and the Celestial Heart Seal Eight-Layer.

Now that the selection was over, he wasn’t in such a rush.

’Time to focus on the Celestial Heart Seal.’

’At most, it will take three days to reach the Ninth Layer.’

—

「Early Morning.」

Yu Wanyi awoke from her meditation. Realizing it was about time, she decided to go inquire about the rankings from the Secret Realm selection.

Many people had gone to the Secret Realm selection, but only one person had been chosen from the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Courtyards combined.

And those who entered the selection were also ranked.

Someone with Jiang Man’s Cultivation would certainly be at a disadvantage, but as long as he made it into the top fifty, it would be considered an excellent performance.

If he didn’t even make the top fifty, he had most likely been eliminated.

For someone with Jiang Man’s Cultivation, simply getting the qualification meant his rank shouldn’t be too low.

This selection was judged on both strength and performance.

Therefore, for someone from the Ninth Courtyard to enter and gain anything at all would be a good performance.

Just as she stepped out the door, she saw Xia Jin.

It was Xia Jin who had recommended she find Jiang Man.

"Senior Sister Xia," Yu Wanyi said with a smile.

"I hear the rankings for the Secret Realm are out. What’s your guy’s number?" Xia Jin asked as Yu Wanyi approached.

Yu Wanyi stopped and shook her head slightly. "I don’t know, I’ll have to ask him. Was there anything unusual about the rankings this time?"

Xia Jin thought for a moment. "There were some issues with this selection, actually. They say someone appeared in the Secret Realm who has made a lot of enemies."

"What kind of person? Are they very strong?" Yu Wanyi asked curiously.

"Not particularly strong." Seeing that Yu Wanyi was on her way out, Xia Jin fell into step beside her. "They say this person knows the Celestial Heart Seal, and is at the Eighth Layer at a minimum."

"Against opponents of the same Realm, he used an Eighth-Layer Celestial Heart Seal. The match had to be decided within an hour, or the one on the Defensive Array would be declared the loser."

"So, a lot of people suffered greatly because of that Celestial Heart Seal."

"Even though most managed to catch up later, gritting their teeth and enduring the remaining nine matches."

"But some still ran out of time and couldn’t pull through."

"Now, this person has become a public enemy to most of the participants."

"The problem is, all anyone knows is that his number is 210. They know nothing else."

Walking beside Xia Jin, Yu Wanyi was somewhat surprised. "That powerful? But shouldn’t it take a very long time to master the Celestial Heart Seal to the Eighth Layer?"

"Could he be someone from the Second or Third Courtyard who spent all his time on the Celestial Heart Seal?"

Xia Jin was noncommittal. "That’s certainly a possibility, and others are speculating the same. But the roster is secret. They’re still trying to narrow down the candidates to see if he’s a true prodigy or just an older disciple using his age to bully others."

"His rank should tell us something. What is it?" Yu Wanyi asked.

As she walked along the path, Xia Jin said, "His rank is somewhere in the thirties, which isn’t very high. That’s why they’ve narrowed their suspicions to disciples around the level of the Third Courtyard—they think he’s probably an older disciple who’s just spent more time cultivating a single skill to bully others."

Hearing this, Yu Wanyi wasn’t too concerned. "He’ll get what’s coming to him. Someone is bound to cause trouble for him, but it has nothing to do with me."

"The person I’m backing probably didn’t run into number 210. After all, their strengths are on different levels. The opponents number 210 faced were likely all strong, right?"