He Huai’an chuckled, saying Jiang Man was quite amusing.

He didn’t say much else.

Instead, he inspected the Spirit Medicine that had been brought.

He also gave Jiang Man a small test on the side.

Jiang Man answered each question perfectly.

"You do have some Talent for Alchemy," He Huai’an remarked, a little surprised.

But the greatest Talent for Alchemy was one’s Spiritual Source.

Out of a sense of duty, he still asked Jiang Man if he wanted to pursue Alchemy.

The answer he received was simple enough.

He wouldn’t.

He only wanted to improve his Cultivation.

A thousand points to Spiritual Source.

Thirty-four thousand remaining.

—

「The next day.」

Classes began at the Foundation Establishment Courtyard.

The Ninth Courtyard had already been in session for half a month, while the other courtyards were just starting today.

Jiang Man still didn’t know the results of the annual rankings.

Now that they had been promoted to the Eighth Courtyard, he wondered how the seats would be arranged.

When he arrived, he saw a few others were already there, but only Wei Beichuan was in the front rows.

He was sitting in the eighth-ranked seat.

’Was he ranked eighth directly in the annual assessment?’

At that moment, Wei Beichuan’s eyes were fixed on the fifth and sixth seats.

His gaze was murderous.

Jiang Man shook his head. ’That feeling of being watched, of knowing you could be taken out at any moment...’

’...is definitely not pleasant.’

’I wonder how those two feel.’

’But even though I was absent, are they still fifth and sixth?’

Jiang Man glanced at the first seat and was surprised to find his own name still written on it.

’So the seating hasn’t changed.’

’Does that mean Wei Beichuan ranked seventh in the annual assessment?’

’He’s impressive, all right.’

After a moment, Jiang Man sat down.

Zhuo Bufan, Zhao Yaoyao, and the others arrived soon after.

They were a little surprised to see Jiang Man.

"You’re back? You have no idea what people outside are saying about you," Zhuo Bufan said.

"Do people outside even know me?" Jiang Man asked.

’After all, my ranking has never left this small courtyard.’

’I’ve never made a name for myself outside, so logically, few people should recognize me.’

’It takes time for one’s light to illuminate Cloud Mist Peak.’

"Because many people knew you were first in our courtyard and wanted to team up with you for the annual assessment," Zhao Yaoyao said as she walked in. "But in the end, they discovered the person they were watching didn’t even make it into the Third Courtyard rankings."

"Everyone was surprised. They think you were just a flash in the pan."

"Or that you’ve gone poor and can no longer afford to advance your Cultivation."

"Some people had already made their plans, but your ranking suddenly threw everything into chaos."

"They’re very disappointed in you."

Jiang Man wasn’t bothered. "The Ninth Courtyard is supposed to be the weakest. Why would they want to team up with someone from there?"

"It’s related to the future competitions. There are Puppets in every event. If a team is made up entirely of students from the Seventh Courtyard, the difficulty is the highest. But if you add someone from the Ninth Courtyard, the difficulty is almost cut in half."

"But the team’s combat power also drops accordingly, so everyone was hoping the top student from the Ninth Courtyard would be a bit stronger so they could team up."

"Of course, that’s for later. There’s still the Third Courtyard ranking to show everyone’s true strength," Zhuo Bufan added.

Jiang Man understood.

’First comes the courtyard ranking. If you make the cut, you advance.’

’Then you participate in the Third Courtyard’s small-scale individual competitions to get a new ranking.’

’After that, you form teams for the Seven Peaks competition.’

’So it seems some people had their eyes on me, and might have even sent someone to test my strength.’

’Only to find out it was all for nothing.’

’The impact is limited, though.’

’No need to worry about it.’

’I just need to keep improving myself.’

’How can these trivial matters be more important than my Cultivation?’

’Once my light shines upon them, all these rumors and misunderstandings will vanish like smoke.’

Just then, Cao Cheng and An Rong walked in. They sat awkwardly in their seats, looking uncomfortable.

"What’s with this guy? Does he have to stare at us like that?" Cao Cheng demanded.

An Rong sighed. "He’s captivated by my looks."

"You’re so shameless," Cao Cheng spat.

Zhao Yaoyao sighed. "He’s a true genius. Why did you two have to provoke him back then?"

Cao Cheng, sporting dark circles under his eyes, said, "I refuse to believe he can outlast me."

’I’m going to redouble my efforts this year and push myself even harder.’

An Rong was shocked. "Are you going to abandon me?"

"Your beauty makes me sick," Cao Cheng said, disgusted.

"Once this Cultivation Stage is over, you’ll regret it. You’ll never experience someone like me again in this lifetime," An Rong said with disdain.

"He won’t abandon you." At this point, Lin Qingshan, who had been silent, said seriously, "He can’t surpass me."

An Rong stared at Cao Cheng and chuckled. "See? I have a loyal guardian."

Lin Qingshan gave An Rong a cold look and, imitating Jiang Man, took out a notebook to write something down.

"September fifteenth, first day of class in the Eighth Courtyard. An Rong compared me to a dog," Lin Qingshan recited as he wrote.

Everyone: "..."

Jiang Man felt a bit moved. No one in this little courtyard would mock him.

’But since I didn’t participate in the annual rankings, I’ve had fewer opportunities to use my little notebook.’

"Looks like everyone’s here," Yan Yiqiu said as she walked in.

"The Seven Peaks rankings are out. Twenty-five people made the list in total. Of those from our courtyard’s top ten, one made it into the new top ten—Zhuo Bufan placed seventh. It might seem like he’s at the bottom of that bracket, but Zhao Yaoyao is thirteenth and Lin Qingshan is fifteenth. Taking everyone into account, our courtyard is actually one of the best," Yan Yiqiu said with a smile. "I just didn’t expect the top student from each peak to be so outstanding."

"But it’s not surprising. The Noble Families backing them are more than rich enough."

"Also..."

Yan Yiqiu looked at Lin Qingshan. "You should at least buy some Spirit Medicine to get rid of those dark circles. Everyone is asking what’s wrong with you."

"Pulling all-nighters isn’t in vogue right now."

"If people notice, you might face obstacles."

"Unless someone has broken the limit."

As she said this, Yan Yiqiu’s gaze fell on Jiang Man.

’This one didn’t participate in the annual rankings.’

’Otherwise, my courtyard would have made a name for itself across the Seven Peaks.’

’But I’m not in a rush. I’ll give them another year. I don’t mind our courtyard being at the bottom this year.’

’Next year, the tables will turn.’

’However, the other courtyards really do have some terrifyingly talented individuals.’

She had to warn Jiang Man. If he wasn’t confident enough for the next annual assessment, he should avoid a direct confrontation, lest he get hurt.

The others in the courtyard didn’t care that their rankings weren’t very high. Their number one hadn’t even participated.

If he had...

...then four of the top sixteen would have been from their courtyard.

"Besides what you win in the competitions, there are also rewards for ranking well," Yan Yiqiu said to the group. "They should be delivered to you today."

"Furthermore, now that we are the Eighth Courtyard, you must begin studying a Minor."

"The total possible score has been raised from four hundred to six hundred."

’The total score has gone up.’

But Jiang Man still had no intention of studying a Minor.

’No time.’

’I need to raise my Nascent Condensation Skill to the Thirteenth Layer first, then re-cultivate a few things.’

That part wouldn’t take much time, but in a few months, his Fate Chart’s window would open. He had to improve as quickly as possible. Plus, he still had to learn the Five Elements Technique.

’Besides, I have another important reason not to take a Minor for now.’

’I don’t have any bottlenecks in my Cultivation, so I can keep raising my level to earn points.’

Others would eventually stagnate and would need to study a Minor to raise their score.

Yan Yiqiu then announced that after the next assessment, she would begin teaching Magic Skills and would be adding a practical combat class.

The practical combat might take place in the nearby mountains.

It would involve fighting Demon Beasts.

Practical combat experience would help in future competitions, so everyone was looking forward to it.

After class, Jiang Man went back to continue his Cultivation.

His progress with the Nascent Condensation Skill was now extremely fast.

「Seven days later.」

Eleventh Layer.

「Nineteen days later.」

Twelfth Layer.

「Thirty-eight days later.」

「Late October.」

Thirteenth Layer.

Only then did Jiang Man let out a sigh of relief.

"Old Huang, I’ve reached Great Success in the Seven Star Condensing Yuan Technique. What do you think?" he said, looking over at Old Huang.

Old Huang continued munching on his Spirit Grass, not even lifting his head.

It was as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Jiang Man didn’t mind and simply continued his Cultivation.

He had to completely replace his Spiritual Qi.

His Hidden Spirit also needed to be re-stacked.

Now, he just had to wait for the next assessment to give them all a little shock.

A Thirteenth Layer Hidden Spirit was worth a perfect score, after all.

——

「Within the Inner Sect.」

Xia Jin arrived at Yu Wanyi’s residence.

"Senior Sister Xia, what brings you here?" Yu Wanyi asked, a bit surprised. "I was just about to head out."

"Where are you going?" Xia Jin asked curiously. "Weren’t you planning to hide and not go out?"

"I heard Master Uncle Xiang’s residence has been rebuilt. I’m going to check it out... see if it’s flammable," Yu Wanyi said.

Xia Jin shook her head.

’She’s getting a bit sidetracked.’

But she had come on important business. "They’ve been searching for Number 210 for a long time without any clues, but I heard someone mention something."

"What?" Yu Wanyi asked, her voice laced with guilt.

"Someone said that Number 210 is from the Ninth Courtyard," Xia Jin said seriously. "But no one paid it any mind because it’s simply impossible."

"But..."

Xia Jin looked at Yu Wanyi and said intently, "But there really was someone from the Ninth Courtyard who participated."

Before the other could answer, however, Xia Jin quickly added, "But that’s impossible, right? It’s a miracle if someone from the Ninth Courtyard can even pass the assessment. How could they possibly cause so many people to suffer a loss?"

Yu Wanyi fell silent.

Xia Jin also fell silent.