Tying the score still hadn’t convinced Cheng Moyang to cultivate in the courtyard.

He still left early, just as before.

But after he went back, he never went out again.

In the past, he would go out for leisure and to toy with the poor.

But ever since the rumor about Jiang Man never sleeping started, he hadn’t gone out for a single day.

This second-place ranking hung like a dark cloud over the Six Pavilions.

It put immense pressure on them.

This was the first time the Six Pavilions had ever felt such pressure.

However, the rising price of Elixirs gave the wealthy geniuses some breathing room.

Under these circumstances, no matter how hard Jiang Man worked, his progress would be slowed.

Jiang Man paid no mind to any of this.

He was now completely and utterly focused on his Cultivation.

He had even set aside his Magic Skills for the time being.

Mr. Fu had tried to advise him.

But Jiang Man simply nodded and didn’t resume practicing his Magic Skills.

Zhao Leming observed this but said nothing.

During this time, the great families had made a few moves against Jiang Man.

They especially tried to make an issue of his all-night Cultivation, demanding he get proper rest.

If it had been a demand for something like solitary confinement, the Cyan Cloud Pavilion could have rejected it outright.

But on the issue of "balancing work and rest," the Cyan Cloud Pavilion was ambivalent.

They even leaned toward accepting the complaint and counseling him.

But Mr. Zhao shut it down.

Beyond that, there were other petty tricks to frame him.

For instance, they claimed he bought two pounds of coarse rice but only paid for one.

With the backing of those families, the incident escalated quickly.

But before it could even reach Jiang Man, Mr. Zhao intercepted and quashed it.

Each incident was designed to be mentally draining.

Yet none of them ever truly reached him.

Jiang Man knew nothing of this at first. It was only after the assessment, when he went to see Mr. Zhao, that he was told everything.

Mr. Zhao explained how difficult it had been to fend them off.

Jiang Man understood. This was a reminder of the efforts made on his behalf, and that sufficient compensation was expected.

Jiang Man had no objection. If those troubles had reached him directly, he would have been the one with the biggest problem.

’A good environment is crucial for Cultivation,’ he thought. ’Who could possibly endure constant harassment from people like that?’

As time went on, Jiang Man’s supply of Elixirs dwindled.

He was even forced to buy some at exorbitant prices.

By the end of May, Jiang Man had consumed all his Elixirs, and even his Spiritual Source was nearly depleted.

With that, he glanced at his eighth "Gourd"—it was ninety-eight percent full.

One more Elixir, and it would probably be full.

But a single pill now cost 640.

He couldn’t afford it.

’I have to find a way to handle this.’

And there were still fifteen days until mid-June.

"Giving up?" the Old Yellow Ox asked, ambling over.

Jiang Man shook his head. "My Talent is a given. How could I possibly lose?"

"Then you’re just poor," the Old Yellow Ox said, lowering its head to graze.

And it was true, Jiang Man was poor.

At this point, even if he worked lighting lamps in the Spirit Gathering Hall, it would take him seven days to afford a single Elixir.

To face the upcoming bottleneck, he needed to strengthen his Spirit to facilitate the breakthrough.

And he would need more than just one or two Elixirs for that.

He was in short supply, but the other poor disciples were even worse off.

Fang Yong had told him that many people had already signed contracts.

Of the five who had gone to see Wang Yan, only he and Fang Yong hadn’t yet signed a contract with a family.

「June 1st.」

The new rankings for the Sixth Courtyard were posted.

First place: Jiang Man, ninety points.

Second place: Fang Yong, seventy-five points.

Seventy-five points meant he was at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

Advancing to the Seventh Layer without a family’s backing made Jiang Man think of Wang Yan.

’It seems... Fang Yong must have gotten her support.’

’I wonder what kind of contract it was.’

Now, among the poor disciples, Jiang Man was likely the only one who hadn’t joined a family or some other clandestine faction.

"Ninety points... I can’t even imagine," Xiaopang said with a sigh, staring at the scores.

Xiaopang had dark circles around his eyes, and he looked to be in poor condition.

He looked like he could collapse at any moment.

However, his Cultivation had improved significantly.

His score hadn’t changed much, but he was finally no longer ranked fifth from the bottom.

Once he reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, it was even possible he could break into the top fifteen.

After all, he pulled more all-nighters than anyone else.

But whenever anyone asked if he was pulling all-nighters to cultivate...

...Xiaopang would vehemently deny it.

Song Qing looked at Xiaopang’s dark circles, opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped.

In the end, he said nothing.

"Brother Jiang, here’s this month’s Spiritual Source and Elixir," Xiaopang said, handing over his monthly "tuition."

Jiang Man felt a pang of regret. ’Why did I ask for Spiritual Source? I should have just asked for Spirit Gathering Pills directly.’

’Now, Spiritual Source can’t even buy a decent Elixir.’

Afterward, Jiang Man handed Xiaopang the third book.

This would be about enough.

"Keep cultivating hard. You’ll make a name for yourself eventually," Jiang Man encouraged him.

If he gave up now, he’d just be going home to inherit the family business.

He couldn’t bear to see his good friend fall into such a decadent lifestyle.

’Struggling through the night is the righteous path.’

Xiaopang accepted the book with delight. "Brother Jiang," he said, "I heard that genius from your village finished the Yunqian Bureau’s curriculum last month and was taken to the Sect ahead of schedule."

"They say he even brought someone along with him to the Sect."

"Whoever got taken along is seriously lucky."

"They get to skip the assessment and start cultivating at the Sect months early."

Hearing this, Jiang Man was rather surprised. "Finished the Yunqian Bureau’s curriculum early?"

It was the first time he’d ever heard of something like that.

Xiaopang nodded seriously. "That’s right. I heard they reached the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, Qi Blood Technique Ninth Layer, and Nine Layers of Visualization Method, all within a year."

’That means at least Qi Refining Sixth Layer,’ Jiang Man thought. ’Truly impressive.’

’To think Bei Village produced such an incredible genius.’

Jiang Man was surprised.

He wracked his brain but couldn’t recall who it might be.

Back then, he had been a simple-minded kid. He couldn’t even remember the faces of those who occasionally bullied him.

He really had no recollection of anyone his age. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Besides, years had passed. Even if they had met as children, they probably wouldn’t recognize each other now.

Back in the village, everyone was dark-skinned and scrawny. Now, after leaving, their skin would have become fair.

Their Essence, Qi, and Spirit would be completely different as well.

Recognizing each other would be nearly impossible.

If they went back now, they’d seem completely out of place.

The village was too harsh; it couldn’t properly nurture anyone.

"If Brother Jiang had been this incredible back in the outer courtyards, you could have gone to the Sect early too," Xiaopang said, sounding regretful.

"And I could have taken you with me?" Jiang Man asked.

"No way. Even though you can bring someone, they still have to meet the requirements—at least Qi Refining Seventh Layer," Xiaopang said after a moment of thought. "I heard the person who went along this time was from a small branch of the Wang Family."

"Their surname is Wang?" Jiang Man asked, slightly curious. "What’s their name?"

"I don’t know," Xiaopang replied, shaking his head.

Jiang Man naturally thought of Wang Yan. She had also said she would be leaving around the end of April or the beginning of May.

’The timing matches,’ he thought.

’So...’

’...Fang Yong was chosen by that genius?’

’He has a backer now. No wonder he advanced to the Seventh Layer so quickly.’

’This is only the beginning. Once he enters the Sect, he’ll probably have someone paving the way for him there too.’

’But that’s all temporary.’

’I will surpass them soon enough. Just like my Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart implies, first, I will see their backs, and soon after, they will be left so far behind they disappear from view entirely.’

Just then, Zhao Leming suddenly walked in.

The Sixth Courtyard instantly fell silent.

His gaze immediately fell on Jiang Man and Fang Yong. "There’s a change in the upcoming competition," he announced. "The list of available Magic Skills and Cultivation Skills is out. Take a look."

As he spoke, he handed them two envelopes.

Jiang Man was taken aback. ’So soon?’

In the past, the envelopes were never delivered until the sixteenth or seventeenth of the month.

’But it’s only the first.’