Jiang Man left the courtyard.
He met very few people along the road; it was already too late at night.
However, those who did appear looked toward the Sixth Courtyard with curiosity.
Seeing Jiang Man emerge, one of them immediately stepped forward.
His simple attire gave off an approachable air.
As he walked up, he spoke politely: "Brother, are you from the Sixth Courtyard?"
Jiang Man had been deep in thought, but hearing someone call out, he tilted his head and pointed at himself with curiosity. "Are you talking to me?"
"That's right." The speaker walked over with two companions.
Looking toward the Sixth Courtyard, he asked, "What is your Sixth Courtyard up to? Why are so many people still there this late?"
Jiang Man stared at him in silence.
The leader cursed under his breath and handed Jiang Man five spirit source.
Pocketing the spirit source, Jiang Man answered truthfully, "Cultivating."
The man looked bewildered. "Cultivating this late?"
"It's so early, what else would we do if not cultivate?" Jiang Man countered.
The man looked utterly dumbfounded.
With that, Jiang Man walked away.
He had spoken nothing but the truth. If one did not cultivate this early and did not cultivate at night, wouldn't that be squandering an entire day?
Returning to the stable, Jiang Man chatted with the old yellow ox while resting.
He spoke of the day's events.
The old yellow ox asked with curiosity, "You say you don't sleep at night—aren't you worried they'll also stay up training?"
Jiang Man looked puzzled. "Why should I worry? Even among geniuses, there are differences."
The old yellow ox: "..."
Soon, it asked about the peerless prodigy fate.
"It's indeed complete. Right now, the peerless prodigy fate is trembling. The inherited item and the next requirement should appear soon." Jiang Man was also curious about what the fate would grant this time.
It would likely be something like pills.
If it were a cultivation technique, he wouldn't dare practice it recklessly.
If caught, his future would be utterly ruined.
***
Elsewhere.
Luo Xuan and Cheng Yu walked together on their way back.
"Isn't this Jiang Man a bit unusual?" Cheng Yu looked at Luo Xuan.
Luo Xuan fell silent for a moment before saying, "He is. I've never seen anyone shoot to the very top in such a short time.
"I almost suspected he was hiding his strength from the beginning.
"Waiting until the end to deliberately unleash it.
"All to attract attention, draw resource sponsorship,
"and gain better cultivation resources,
"the better to make a push in next year's sect assessment."
Cheng Yu asked in shock, "Is that really true?"
"Probably not," Luo Xuan sighed, shaking her head. "I almost wish it were. But sparring with him today, I found he truly knows next to nothing about spells, and he has no real combat experience.
"His control over his power is decent, but far from exceptional.
"So he truly achieved all this in a short span of time.
"How he did it, though, I can't tell."
Cheng Yu looked surprised, then asked, "Then do you still want to recruit him as a guard?"
At those words, Luo Xuan glanced at her companion with mild surprise and said, "He is first place."
A simple sentence, seemingly calm, yet tinged with bitterness.
She was the one who had held first place.
Two years of hard work, never daring to slacken for an instant, pouring in every ounce of effort.
All to stand firm in that position.
And now...
It had been taken from her so easily by someone else.
Some had told her he was merely lucky, backed by massive resources.
Others had told her he was just a wild kid from an impoverished village—what did holding first place matter?
He wouldn't get far.
Yet...
First place was first place. That was an indisputable fact.
Within the courtyard, their statuses had shifted.
Still wanting to recruit him as a guard would simply be humiliating herself.
Rather than trying to tame him, it would be better to find a way to rattle his state of mind so he underperformed next month.
Yet such things required opportunity; they could not be fabricated out of thin air.
Still, she was not without a chance.
Spells were his weakness, which happened to be her strength.
Practical combat also accounted for a large portion of the score.
For now, she could not afford distractions; she simply had to work hard enough.
If he cultivated without sleeping, she would do the same.
Facing such a formidable rival, how could she possibly sleep?
If she could make progress over this final half-month,
her chances of victory would be even greater.
After parting ways with Luo Xuan, Cheng Yu shook her head slightly. "Luo Xuan's vision remains as ordinary as ever. Such prime material, yet how can he be brought under control?"
Cheng Yu pondered as she walked.
Her previous method had failed. Even if Chang Qiwen dragged Luo Xuan down, Cheng Yu might not necessarily take her place.
"As long as I find a way to turn Jiang Man into a pawn, it will work. But what should I use?" Cheng Yu looked up at the bright moon in the sky.
She murmured to herself, "With a youth's mindset, everyone must have an idolized object of admiration in their heart, pure like moonlight.
"Such an object is usually the most dazzling of all.
"Luo Xuan is precisely that kind of person."
Luo Xuan was a young lady of noble birth, blessed with talent, a gentle nature, and an elegant, dignified bearing. Not only that, her beauty was striking, her figure graceful and pleasing to the eye—a woman endowed with countless virtues.
For someone like her, merely exchanging a few extra words with an impoverished boy would set his heart racing.
If she showed affection toward some poor, rustic youth, he would gladly carve his heart out for her.
"No matter how gifted a person is, it cannot change his nature. The poor carry inferiority in their bones. Even if they possess pride, they cannot escape a beauty's favor.
"Even heroes succumb to the charms of beauties, let alone a poor boy blessed with some talent who suddenly found himself riding high on the winds of success." A smile danced in Cheng Yu's eyes.
"If Jiang Man were to receive a letter of admiration from Luo Xuan, urging him to defeat Fang Yong so they could secure the spots together and be together afterward, I wonder how he would react."
Who could resist Luo Xuan's admiration?
Even if he had doubts, he would still want to try, wouldn't he?
That way, Fang Yong would be severely wounded, and Chang Qiwen could drag Luo Xuan down into mutual ruin.
Then...
She could smoothly take second place.
Luo Xuan could bow out on the grounds of failing to secure a spot, and the person would still be hers.
"Though the plan could fail, the odds of success aren't low.
"Besides, there is room to advance or retreat, with plenty of options.
"The only difficulty is making him believe it."
Yet making him believe it was simple: as Luo Xuan's close friend, she would deliver the letter herself.
Who could doubt such a letter?
She would simply tell him that Luo Xuan wouldn't speak of it until the results were out.
Then everything would proceed smoothly.
Cheng Yu looked away from the moon with a smile.
She wondered whether an inexperienced poor boy could withstand a letter of admiration from Luo Xuan.
Still, she leaned toward the possibility of Jiang Man failing midway.
That would make him even easier to rein in.
So what if he was a genius?
Even geniuses had weaknesses.
***
At that moment, the trembling of Jiang Man's peerless prodigy fate had ceased.
Two pills emerged from the peerless prodigy fate and promptly settled into his dantian.
Both were pills of exceedingly high quality.
However, he was not yet certain what specific pills they were.
He would need to ask the old yellow ox.
There was no rush.
After all, the pills were there to stay and would not vanish.
The pressing matter was to see what the third requirement of the peerless prodigy fate would be,
and how much time it had granted him.
Chapter 36