Little fatty had no doubts whatsoever about his own ranking.
He was now fifth from the bottom; his single point had eliminated quite a few people.
With the assistance of the Spirit Gathering Hall, his progress could truly be considered rapid.
He worked hard himself, and his family was willing to spend resources on him.
It was just exhausting.
Merely keeping pace with Jiang Man's cultivation already meant working harder than most.
If not for his good resources, he genuinely would never have kept up with people who trained that hard.
Yet no matter how hard he worked, the outcome remained unchanged: he could not secure a spot, nor could he enter the Wuyun Sect.
So while he worked hard, he had already made peace with his own mediocrity.
Just because the best path was closed to him did not mean he had no way forward at all.
For now, the priority was to avoid beatings, scolding, and comparisons at home.
Ever since Jiang Man's rise, his family constantly compared him to Jiang Man.
Especially after Jiang Man broke into the teens.
He was only a dozen or so places behind him; the gap was small and within reach.
If Jiang Man could do it, why couldn't he?
To make his family understand that he truly wasn't cut out for it, his only hope lay in Jiang Man.
He hoped Jiang Man could break into the top ten.
Although Jiang Man had said entering the top ten this time would be difficult, placing eleventh or twelfth would be fine too.
The difference would still be a dozen or so places, but the meaning would be entirely different.
So he had been waiting for the midday announcement of the roster.
As for Jiang Man not showing up, he didn't mind.
Jiang Man had mentioned it yesterday, though what he was busy with was anyone's guess.
Perhaps it still had to do with his previous arrest.
That incident shouldn't have been a minor matter, yet strangely enough, all three of them were completely fine.
It showed that Chang Qiwen had backing as well.
While waiting, Song Qing came over to ask about Jiang Man.
Little fatty answered honestly.
Afterward, Song Qing asked where Jiang Man was likely to rank.
Little fatty hesitated before saying, "If all goes well, probably eleventh or twelfth."
Hearing that, Song Qing sighed with emotion. The progress was far too fast.
It was hard to imagine how many resources Luo Xuan had poured into him to allow Jiang Man to advance at such a blistering pace.
He felt envious and longed to become Luo Xuan's guard as well.
He didn't need much—a third of Jiang Man's resources would suffice.
Or even a tenth would do.
At least it would allow him to remain openly in Luoyun City, rather than being forced back to his village.
Finally, the time arrived for the rankings to be announced.
Little fatty immediately cast his gaze toward tenth place.
Tenth place: Xie Kecheng, fifty points.
A pity.
Little fatty felt rather helpless.
He quickly looked toward eleventh and twelfth.
Neither of them was Jiang Man.
"No way? Did he underperform?"
Normally, in standard testing and assessments, such slips did not happen.
Then he checked thirteenth and fourteenth.
Not there.
Fifteenth and sixteenth.
Still not there.
In an instant, he thought he might have been mistaken and should have looked at the top ten instead.
Next came ninth and eighth.
Not him.
Seventh and sixth.
Not him either.
Fifth and fourth.
Still not him.
In a flash, he was completely bewildered.
Where was Jiang Man?
"Song Qing, did you see Jiang Man? Why can't I find him?" Little fatty nudged Song Qing beside him and asked.
Song Qing raised his hand mechanically. "Look up there."
Little fatty followed the direction Song Qing was pointing.
Then he froze on the spot, an inexplicable chill running through his entire body as his scalp went numb.
He saw the very top of the ranking.
First place: Jiang Man, sixty-four points.
"This has to be fake, right?" Little fatty could hardly believe his eyes.
Not just him—everyone else felt the same.
They knew Jiang Man would make progress.
Yet never had they imagined he could reach the summit.
First place.
First place required not only talent, but also a massive amount of resources.
Surging to first in such a short time required an astronomical fortune.
They had considered Luo Xuan, and they had considered Fang Yong.
Yet Jiang Man...
How could it be him?
Luo Xuan stood where she was, utterly astonished.
Fang Yong was even more shaken.
Cheng Yu narrowed her eyes, lost in thought.
Chang Qiwen recalled what had happened before; he felt Jiang Man had deliberately feigned weakness just to get him thrown into the Law Enforcement Office.
Soon, whispers began to ripple through the crowd.
"Isn't Jiang Man being groomed by Luo Xuan? How did he surpass her?"
"Who knows? Is there some inside story?"
Listening to the chatter, Luo Xuan walked away in silence.
Before, she had felt such rumors were flattering to Jiang Man, but now they felt like a slap across her face.
***
On the other side.
Jiang Man entered a courtyard.
This compound consisted of three courtyards; Jiang Man was in the outermost one, where six rooms stood.
"Go wait in Room One. Everyone will be gathered shortly. You cannot wander around here at will. Everyone holding this type of token gathers in Room One; there are three types of tokens in total," the guard explained patiently.
Hearing this, Jiang Man expressed his gratitude.
Then the guard lingered for a moment.
Seeing this, Jiang Man had no choice but to hand over ten spirit sources.
Only then did the guard depart, fully satisfied.
Just those few words had cost him ten spirit sources.
Being a guard here truly was an easy way to earn spirit sources.
After waiting a while, Jiang Man saw people trickling in one after another.
As they entered, they all sized up those inside.
Particularly their outward appearance, such as their clothing.
The five people who entered afterward were dressed in fine silks and satins.
Only Jiang Man wore coarse hemp clothes.
The contrast between them was self-evident.
At that moment, a tall, burly man walked over to Jiang Man and asked curiously, "Which family groomed you to be their matrilocal son-in-law?"
Jiang Man: "..."
Pausing, the man shook his head. "Even a matrilocal son-in-law wouldn't look this shabby. You're probably a death sworn who already signed a contract of indenture, right?
"The Luo family?
"They don't have anyone outstanding, and their foundation seems to have run into trouble. Taking on a death sworn would be quite normal.
"Forget it, you don't need to answer me. I had no intention of befriending you anyway."
Jiang Man: "..."
The others let out soft chuckles as well.
No one spared a second glance for an ugly duckling.
Jiang Man didn't mind; time would prove everything for him.
He had simply awakened for too short a time.
In half a year at most, all of them would be defeated by his hands.
There was no rush.
Soon, the room fell quiet.
Two young figures entered, a man and a woman.
The man looked entirely composed, carrying a profound, heavy aura that compelled everyone to bow their heads.
The crowd was stunned—what level of great cultivator was this?
Even the previously arrogant young men and women dared not show the slightest slackness.
"I won't bother checking your qualifications. Now, I speak, you listen. Do not ask questions; comprehend on your own," the man said, looking down at the group. "Understood?"
Everyone bowed their heads to show they understood.
At this moment, whether wealthy or impoverished, all were equal before this great cultivator.
"Sit." The man's voice fell, and with a casual wave of his sleeve, he said, "Read the book for half an hour. After half an hour, I will lecture for one hour. You have until midnight to comprehend it.
"Leave the books behind after midnight. Once it is determined whether you succeeded, you may depart."
Jiang Man received his book and began examining it.
What met his eyes were five large characters: Water-Wood Visualization Method.
Immediately, he triggered the Heavenly Mirror Hundred Books.
The pages stopped at the final leaf:
[Not worth mentioning]
Jiang Man: "..."
Afterward, Jiang Man opened the book. On the first page was the diagram and inscription of the visualization method.
The diagram depicted a great cauldron formed from the confluence of water and wood.
Beside it was written: "It is said that heaven and earth intermingle in dense mists, and water nourishes the virtue of wood. Drawing upon the hexagram image of Kan and Li in mutual balance, modeling the natural impetus of living growth, taking Azure Dragon Jia-Yi as essence and Black Tortoise Ren-Gui as function, blending the achievement of water and fire in complete harmony, forming a cauldron of living water and wood."
Jiang Man continued reading onward.
He discovered the writing was obscure and difficult to comprehend. Without guidance, even if someone gave it to him for free, he might not be able to understand it, let alone master it.
This...
Was far too difficult.
Without a foundation to support it, it was like reading celestial script.
No wonder the common practice was to rely on simplified methods.
Chapter 32