Actually, I'm Married

On the evening of September 14. When Jiang Man returned to the stable courtyard, the first thing he did was clean up the stables. He washed and brushed down the horses' coats. Over recent days, several horses had been borrowed, leaving him with considerably more free time. Once he finished, he finally walked over to the old yellow ox and asked, "Old Huang, how has your health been lately?" The old yellow ox lifted its brow slightly and replied, "I'll live a long time yet. You, on the other hand, might not. If you fail tomorrow's assessment, you won't have much of a life left." Jiang Man: "..." That was true enough. His cultivation was still slightly lacking right now; he needed to grow stronger as soon as possible. The practical combat assessment was on the seventeenth. As long as one scored at least sixty points, one would have a chance to take part in practical combat. Or if one ranked in the top five. Meeting either criterion would suffice. Because the courtyards were generally of average caliber, the Sixth Courtyard would essentially only advance its top five. As for the other courtyards, that was harder to say. Jiang Man asked for some advice regarding combat experience. "With the way you only unleash your most powerful moves, you're already stronger than many people with ample experience," the old yellow ox said while chewing grass. "Apart from technique, what makes others formidable are spells you know nothing about. "So for you, the shorter the combat lasts, the better." Jiang Man understood: it meant relentlessly using overwhelming force to shatter the opponent's rhythm. Open with all nine dragons bursting forth, followed by Three Powers Force combined with Six Harmonies Palm. Employ everything in its strongest posture, in relentless succession. Thanks to the spell innate qi, his mastery and circulation of spells were profoundly deep, and the intervals between unleashing techniques grew shorter as his familiarity deepened. The physical body's regulation of force was also exceedingly swift, which was tied to the Visualization Method to some degree. He possessed numerous advantages. Yet his disadvantages were just as glaring: his fundamental comprehension of magic was not deep enough, and besides lacking practical combat experience, he knew nothing of other people's spells. Jiang Man sighed heavily. "Feeling how difficult it is to secure a qualification?" the old yellow ox asked. Jiang Man shook his head. "No, I just feel my cultivation speed has been too fast. In three months, I've covered a road that takes others years, leaving my basic knowledge of spells struggling to keep up." The old yellow ox fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you still want a wife?" Jiang Man looked at it, puzzled. "Once I recover some strength, I'll find you another wife," the old yellow ox said earnestly. Jiang Man stared at it and shook his head. "No thanks. You'd better keep her for yourself, Old Huang." Back when he was a fool, he had nodded—and ended up with a peerless prodigy fate. It was too late to regret it now. The old yellow ox lowered its head in silence and resumed chewing grass. Jiang Man also prepared to cultivate properly. He would not be able to step into the Qi-Linking seventh layer today, but there were still two days left; it was not out of the question. Yet not long after he started cultivating, Jiang Man saw a slender, graceful figure walking over beneath the moonlight. The newcomer was none other than Cheng Yu, who had come by before. Jiang Man watched her, feeling puzzled. Delivering another letter? Right on the day before the assessment, too. Was this an attempt to rattle his composure? Perhaps tomorrow morning he should hand the envelope over to little fatty untouched, letting him experience the cruelty of a courtyard mate. It would definitely shake his spirit to its core and send him tumbling straight to dead last in the assessment. Even so, gaining the favor of the number two student would give him some past glory to reminisce about in his old age. "I'm back," Cheng Yu said with a smile. "Am I interrupting your cultivation?" "If you leave quickly, not at all," Jiang Man replied truthfully. Pausing for a brief moment was no big deal. Cheng Yu paid no mind to his bluntness, saying instead, "I came to ask for your reply. You saw the envelope last time, and with the assessment right upon us, do you have anything you want to say to Luo Xuan? "I can bring it to her right now." Jiang Man shook his head. "No." "Why not just say a line or two?" Cheng Yu said rather helplessly. "After all, someone is waiting anxiously for a reply." Jiang Man found the whole matter thoroughly troublesome. Pausing for a beat, he said, "I'm married." Jiang Man felt nothing he could say would carry more punch than those words. This way, he would never have to worry about replying again. Cheng Yu froze completely, genuinely shocked. The answer caught her entirely off guard. After a momentary hesitation, she finally asked, "Married? What do you mean?" "It means someone already admired me, and I've bowed to heaven and earth with her," Jiang Man said. Bowing to heaven and earth was true enough. As for admiration... She had not explicitly denied it, either. Cheng Yu could hardly believe it. "Who on earth would marry the old you?" Jiang Man: "..." Afterward, he told her it was a girl from his hometown. Cheng Yu stood stunned where she was, first letting out a sigh before immediately speaking up again: "Actually, it's not a big deal. It doesn't mean you have no chance at all. "As long as you and Luo Xuan secure the qualifications together, the past is nothing more than fleeting smoke. "The path of immortal cultivation grants immense lifespans, completely unlike ordinary cultivators. "Even a hundred years from now wouldn't be too late." Cheng Yu composed herself and continued, "Enough of that. I won't tell Luo Xuan about this for the time being. Both of you focus on cultivating well. "Take this—it's information I gathered on Fang Yong's spells. "It might be of use to you." With that, Cheng Yu quickly took her leave, looking as though she were the one who had suffered some great grievance. Jiang Man frowned. There was definitely something off about Cheng Yu. But there was no time to dwell on it. He needed to pour everything into facing the upcoming assessment. Regardless of whether anyone else secured a spot, he had to take first place. Only then could he reliably claim a qualification. After that came cultivation. Only when dawn broke did Jiang Man rest for a brief spell. Along the way, he glanced through the information on Fang Yong's spells. Divine Travel Step: Sixth layer. Six Harmonies Palm: Ninth layer. Three Powers Force: Ninth layer. Dragon Suppressing Method: Ninth layer. Collapsing Torrent Technique: Ninth layer. Azure Smoke Prelude: Ninth layer. Basic Sword Technique: Ninth layer. Every single spell provided by Qingyun Pavilion had reached the ninth layer under Fang Yong, without exception. It seemed his talent was extraordinarily high. In addition, the booklet recorded other spells Fang Yong possessed: The Yang family's Thousand Waters Technique: Sixth layer. The Cheng family's Hundred Battles Method: Sixth layer. The Luo family's Empty Force Palm: Sixth layer. Brief descriptions followed each. Even so, Jiang Man was quite astonished. Why had Fang Yong been able to learn so many spells from other families? Though they were only at the sixth layer, so long as they were utilized well, they could substantially boost his combat strength. He truly would not be an easy opponent. And beyond these, Fang Yong possessed spells that had yet to be revealed. Learning many spells did not necessarily make someone strong, but mastering so many and taking them to their limits was undeniably impressive. The other families' arts capping out at the sixth layer was not because Fang Yong could not advance further, but because the manuals were restricted. Each family had only permitted him to study up to the sixth layer. Even if he had secretly mastered them beyond that, he could not display it openly; getting found out would bring trouble. Furthermore, the booklet contained notes on Fang Yong's habits—even down to his daily routines. Certain gaps in his routine and behavioral quirks were detailed so thoroughly that it stopped just short of telling Jiang Man where he could poison the man. She harbored ill intentions indeed; if he were caught, the qualification would simply pass down the line. Soon, Jiang Man arrived at the courtyard. Everyone wore grave expressions. Those whose scores hovered near sixty were especially desperate to fight for a future for themselves. The two days of assessments brought nothing novel. Steady as ever, it went just like that across the entire Qingyun Pavilion. Two days later, on December 17, Jiang Man arrived early in the morning at the Sixth Courtyard. Not only him—the others had arrived quite early as well. Little fatty said nervously, "I wonder what my ranking will be." With that, he looked over at Jiang Man. "Brother Jiang, what about you? How many points do you think you got?" Jiang Man did not speak, his eyes drawn instead to Teacher Zhao entering ahead. Holding a sheet of paper, Teacher Zhao pasted it directly onto the wall and said, "We will announce the overall rankings directly, and then begin the practical combat assessment."