Chapter 87: Chapter 86: Starting Today, I Am Invincible in the Yunqian Bureau

Li Yuan’s appearance took Jiang Man by surprise.

Tomorrow was June sixteenth.

The day of the competition for the Magic Skills.

Logically, Li Yuan should have been absent.

He had already prepared for Li Yuan’s absence and figured out what he would do.

He never expected the guy to actually show up.

He steadied his Heart Spirit and brought the Spiritual Qi in his body under control.

If he hadn’t reached the Spiritual Sixth Layer, it really would have taken him a few days to consolidate his cultivation.

The only shame was that his Physical Body wasn’t strong enough.

Otherwise, the process would have been even faster.

"Young Master Li, you were looking for me?" Jiang Man asked.

"The Li Family has done a lot of things to target you. Did you know that?" Li Yuan asked.

Jiang Man nodded. "I know. I also know they were definitely going to make you miss it."

"You knew?" Li Yuan said, quite surprised. "Don’t you care?"

"What’s there to care about?" Jiang Man shrugged. "If you wanted to be absent, it’s not like I could have stopped you."

’Although, now I probably could.’

’But if the Li Family tried to pull something then, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself.’

’Especially with Li Yuan siding with the Li Family, it would be impossible to explain things clearly.’

’It would just be a huge hassle.’

’It’s like back then. I wanted a Qi Cultivation Skill, and Li Yuan wanted a Visualization Skill.’

’Our interests were different.’

’So we could never reach an agreement.’

So, for an Unparalleled Celestial Pride like him, it didn’t matter whether Li Yuan showed up or not. The result would be the same.

Li Yuan was a bit surprised by Jiang Man’s answer. The other man didn’t seem to care much whether he participated or not.

He had wanted to press the issue, but he quickly gave up on the idea.

None of that mattered.

Right now, there was only one thing he wanted to know.

"What are your intentions?" Li Yuan, feeling he hadn’t been clear enough, spoke again. "In this competition, which prize are you aiming for?"

Jiang Man could tell the other man was more serious than before. ’He must be about to make some major decision.’

’And that decision seems to depend on my attitude.’

’Ever since my Cultivation improved, I’ve even started to influence the sons of rich families.’

He didn’t overthink it, however, and simply stated his intentions plainly. "The best one, of course."

Li Yuan immediately asked, "And do you know what the best one is?"

’I still can’t trust the judgment of a poor person.’

’I have to be sure.’

’It’s not that I’m prejudiced, but this is just how poor people are.’

’I’ve seen it countless times.’

’Jiang Man might be a genius, but he’s still poor.’

’There are things he’s never seen, and that’s that.’

Jiang Man looked at him. "You’re not telling me you don’t know, are you?"

Li Yuan: "???"

’The nerve of this guy.’

"So you’re going after the Celestial Heart Seal?" Li Yuan asked.

Jiang Man walked over to the stables and started brushing a horse. "Yeah. If not the Celestial Heart Seal, what else would I go for?"

Li Yuan frowned. He felt that the other man was being too nonchalant.

’Doesn’t he know how many people are fighting for it?’

He asked just that.

The answer he received was simple enough: "Let them compete. When has it ever not been a crowd of people competing?"

Li Yuan felt uneasy. These were two completely different situations.

He had spent so much time mulling this over, mentally preparing himself for this very moment.

He never imagined that, from Jiang Man’s perspective, it was all so trivial.

He felt like they were on completely different wavelengths.

"How am I, the first-ranked, supposed to be on the same wavelength as you, the fourth-ranked?" Jiang Man stated matter-of-factly.

For a moment, Li Yuan was speechless.

But Jiang Man continued, "What I want has always been simple. Before, I wanted to be number one in the Cyan Cloud Pavilion. Now, I want to be number one in the Yunqian Bureau.

"It doesn’t matter if something like this has happened in the Six Pavilions before.

"What’s important is that it’s about to happen now."

Li Yuan looked at Jiang Man, and that feeling of him being impossibly cocky returned.

Then, he took a deep breath and said, "I’m in."

With that, he turned and left, as if he had made up his mind about something.

Jiang Man was baffled. ’In on what?’

But Jiang Man didn’t dwell on it.

First, he would finish his chores, then consolidate his Cultivation.

Then he’d discuss a strategy with the Old Yellow Ox.

The final competition was tomorrow.

Taking first place wouldn’t be easy.

It wasn’t something you could get just by boasting about it.

Time was too tight.

And besides Jiang Man, everyone else was also constantly scheming.

All for the sake of obtaining the best prize.

Furthermore, there was one huge difference this time: the locations of the other Magic Skills were unknown, but the location of the Celestial Heart Seal was public knowledge.

It was as good as openly telling everyone that they would have to fight for it.

Time passed quickly.

That night, some people finally went to sleep, needing to be in peak condition.

But Jiang Man didn’t sleep. He needed to consolidate his Cultivation.

Just before dawn.

He got up to make breakfast. He had to eat his fill today.

Otherwise, he was afraid he wouldn’t be in top form.

While he was cooking, Jiang Man looked at the Old Yellow Ox and asked, "Old Huang, do you think my chances of winning are high?"

"Not high," the Old Yellow Ox answered honestly.

The Yunqian Bureau wasn’t without cultivators at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

And Jiang Man had only just broken through, lacking the time to properly consolidate his new level.

Not only that, but there were also considerable gaps in his application of Magic Skills and his practical combat experience.

Jiang Man nodded slightly. "Then do you think I can seize those slim chances, Old Huang?"

This time, the Old Yellow Ox fell silent.

It just went back to quietly eating its grass.

Jiang Man smiled faintly and went back to his cooking.

Then, he served the food and ate.

It was still just a simple meal.

Just enough to stave off hunger.

He was just too poor.

All his resources went into Cultivation.

So his diet suffered as a result.

But that didn’t matter.

All his efforts would eventually be rewarded.

After he finished eating, Jiang Man bid farewell to the Old Yellow Ox.

He said softly, "Old Huang, I’m off. I’m going to make a name for myself in the Yunqian Bureau."

The Old Yellow Ox didn’t say a word, simply watching as Jiang Man left.

Before, it wouldn’t have really agreed with Jiang Man’s words, nor would it have truly believed them.

But...

After being surprised so many times, it could no longer rely on its own experience to predict the outcome.

So far, everything the young man had done had been utterly ox-tonishing.

It had certainly never seen an Unparalleled Celestial Pride before.

So anything was possible.

Now, it had to admit that Jiang Man, at the Qi Refining Stage, was far beyond any genius it had ever known.

It was no exaggeration to call him an Unparalleled Celestial Pride.

After that, the Old Yellow Ox went back to eating its grass, paying no more attention.

The results would be known in due time.

——

「At the foot of the back mountain.」

Yan Huimin was waiting at their usual spot. They were destined to fail this time, but she didn’t want to give up.

At the very least, she wanted to witness the competition for herself.

It was rumored to be the most intense competition in history.

After waiting just a moment, she saw a familiar face.

Her face filled with astonishment. "Young Master Li?"

Li Yuan had arrived.

He simply gave a slight nod, then began to wait for Jiang Man’s arrival.

「After a long while.」

He frowned. "Why does he always have to show up at the last possible second?"

Yan Huimin paused for a second, then shook her head. "He’s probably cultivating."

Her saying that only made Li Yuan feel more pressured.

’We’re just waiting around here, and he’s back at his place cultivating?’

’Is he trying to kill us with pressure?’

If she had said that about anyone else, Li Yuan would never have believed it.

But when it came to Jiang Man...

It was entirely possible.

Just as the time was drawing near, Jiang Man did indeed appear in their line of sight.

"The location is halfway up the mountain. Quite a few people should be up there by now. What’s our plan?" Li Yuan asked as soon as he saw Jiang Man.

Yan Huimin was a bit confused. "Where are we going?"

Jiang Man strode past them, continuing toward the back mountain. "To compete for the best prize, of course. Let’s go. I’ll lead you to fame in the Yunqian Bureau.

"From this day forward, everyone in the entire Yunqian Bureau will be my defeated foes."

Yan Huimin thought for a moment before helping to correct him, "You need to add ’Student Cultivators’ after ’Yunqian Bureau’."

Li Yuan shot Yan Huimin a sidelong glance. "You talk too much."