Faced with Jiang Man's inquiry, Luo Xuan felt a wave of bitterness.
Had this been an ordinary contest, she might not have lost.
Jiang Man's fighting style was certainly over the top, but it was not without counters. Fang Yong had merely suffered from never having encountered it before.
Yet...
She had been plotted against by Cheng Yu and severely wounded. There was simply no way she could battle Jiang Man, whose score was already higher than hers.
Now, her only option was to see if she could overcome Fang Yong.
Both of them were gravely injured. As long as she gave him no time to recover, she still had a fighting chance.
And so...
She chose to concede.
Everyone understood her decision. Thus, the final contest came down to Fang Yong and Luo Xuan.
After Zhao Leming announced Jiang Man's advancement, he looked at Luo Xuan. "Do you wish to issue a challenge?"
"I challenge Fang Yong," Luo Xuan said.
Hearing this, Zhao Leming nodded and instructed the contenders for the next match to prepare.
Fang Yong, having barely had any time to rest, was forced to step into the center of the courtyard once more.
His opponent was not giving him any breathing room whatsoever.
Naturally, this was only normal. Had he been in her shoes, he would have done the exact same thing. When it came to securing a qualification, who would care about courtesy? The obvious move was to strike while an opponent was down.
Jiang Man stepped back to the sidelines.
Watching the ring, the little fatty asked curiously, "Brother Jiang, who do you think will win?"
Jiang Man felt that both of them were remarkably formidable.
"I think Luo Xuan will win," the little fatty continued.
"Why?" Jiang Man asked.
"Even though both are badly hurt, Luo Xuan rested for quite a while. Plus, she has plenty of pills to temporarily boost her combat strength," the little fatty explained.
"If Luo Xuan loses, do you think I'd have a chance to become her guard?" Song Qing chimed in.
Jiang Man thought that would be quite difficult.
"Aren't you trying to steal Brother Jiang's job?" the little fatty remarked.
"When the time comes, I'll take Brother Jiang's lead in everything," Song Qing replied earnestly. Then he sighed. "A pity Brother Jiang gave me an opportunity before and I failed to seize it."
"I'm not an escort guard," Jiang Man explained once again.
He did not elaborate further, however, because Luo Xuan and Fang Yong had already engaged in combat.
"What about Cheng Yu?" the little fatty asked curiously.
"You want to be her personal guard?" Song Qing inquired.
"I'm not worthy." The little fatty had plenty of self-awareness on that front.
"Sometimes it's not about being worthy; it's about whether you fight for it. What if they're thin-skinned and agree just to save face? Either way, you'd get to stay in the city," Song Qing advised helpfully.
Boom!
The clash in the ring cut off their conversation.
At that moment, they saw both Fang Yong and Luo Xuan attacking with fierce aggression. Both were already bloodied and battered, adopting an entirely mutual-injury style of fighting—trading blow for blow to see who would collapse first.
Neither was willing to lose. As the exchanges dragged on, their movements grew slower and slower, their bodies stained with more and more blood—some their own, some their opponent's.
Toward the end, it was sheer willpower keeping them upright as they forced down their injuries and refused to fall.
Until the very end.
Luo Xuan collapsed first.
Her body had reached its limit. Chang Qiwen's desperate, all-out kick had inflicted far too much damage. Otherwise, she would have had a real chance of winning.
Teacher Fu sighed and carried Luo Xuan away to treat her injuries.
In the end, Fang Yong emerged victorious. Moments later, he collapsed as well.
Out of the five competitors, only Jiang Man remained standing in perfect health.
"Brother Jiang, is this just good luck?" The little fatty looked at him in disbelief.
Everyone else had suffered grievous injuries, yet Jiang Man was completely unscathed.
"It's strength," Jiang Man said flatly.
The little fatty remained bewildered, wondering if there was some secret trick to growing stronger.
Yet Jiang Man had long since told him; the fellow simply hadn't believed it. Marrying an immortal maiden could indeed spare one decades of detours. If it worked out, one's progress would be swift beyond measure. If it failed, one would be six feet under within three days—decades earlier than the usual century-long life expectancy. That, too, counted as bypassing decades of detours.
Shortly after, Zhao Leming finalized the qualifying spots.
First place: Jiang Man.
Second place: Fang Yong.
The others had failed to qualify.
Song Qing sighed ruefully. "Luo Xuan was so close to winning."
The little fatty was equally emotional. "To think Luo Xuan held first place for so long, only to lose in the end. By all accounts, she should have had a great chance. If only Chang Qiwen hadn't suddenly exploded with power... Come to think of it, weren't those spells and pills from the Cheng family? Where did he get them?"
Jiang Man pondered briefly before saying, "Cheng Yu probably gave them to him."
Hearing that, the little fatty could hardly believe it. "No way... Chang Qiwen was bought off by Cheng Yu?"
For a moment, the little fatty found it hard to accept. Cheng Yu always seemed so gentle and kind, so pleasant to everyone. How could she...
Jiang Man patted the little fatty on the shoulder and said with heartfelt gravity, "Be careful around pretty women in the future. The prettier a girl is, the better she is at deceiving people."
The little fatty was struck speechless.
"Jiang Man, come with me," Zhao Leming called out at that moment.
He then addressed the rest of the courtyard: "The rest of you can spar among yourselves. Come back tomorrow to receive your rankings, after which you will have a half-month recess. In January, cultivation will resume. Make the most of this final half-year or so."
The others felt a mix of wistfulness and helplessness. Their journey along the path of cultivation was finally nearing its end, yet there seemed to be little prospect ahead. All they could do was strive to find a way forward; this remaining half-year was precisely the window granted to them to find a path for their futures.
Before long, Jiang Man arrived at Zhao Leming's office.
"Teacher Zhao." Jiang Man offered a formal greeting.
Looking at the young man before him, Zhao Leming was still inwardly astonished.
Back in August, Jiang Man had been unable to even pay his cultivation fee, yet barely four months later, he had not only secured a qualification spot but had also taken first place in the Sixth Courtyard. Furthermore, he appeared to have mastered a mortal-rank superior grade Visualization Method, possessing dense spiritual qi and fine control over it. His future was boundless.
As expected, whoever had chosen him from the shadows would never allow his foundation to be ruined. In truth, it was his own vision that had been too narrow. Everything Jiang Man had done had its reason and confidence behind it.
"Do you know where you rank across the seven courtyards of Qingyun Pavilion?" Zhao Leming asked.
Jiang Man shook his head.
"Under the Yunqian Division sit the Three Halls and Six Pavilions. Among them, Qingyun Pavilion holds nineteen spots in total, and your current ranking is fourteenth," Zhao Leming explained. "In previous years, those who successfully entered the sects were almost always ranked in the top five, or even the top three. Of course, there are occasional exceptions. So if you wish to enter a sect, you must improve as quickly as possible.
"Even then, that ranking would only get you into the most ordinary branch of a sect. If you want to reach a better place and secure superior resources, the higher your ranking, the better.
"Furthermore, while the others will be on recess for the latter half of the month, you and Fang Yong will spend this half-month competing for cultivation techniques within the Yunqian Division. There will be opportunities to obtain medium-grade versions of the Qi-Linking Method, the Qi-Blood Method, and the Visualization Method. On top of that, it is even possible to acquire superior-grade spells. Within the next two days, the Technique Transmission Office will send you word. Do not leave the Yunqian Division."
Jiang Man was quite surprised.
He had not expected there to be cultivation techniques as rewards. A medium-grade cultivation technique had eleven layers, capable of boosting one's cultivation speed by two entire tiers. Obtaining one would be ideal, and acquiring a superior grade would be even better.
After inquiring about a few other matters, Jiang Man took his leave.
He had not gathered much actionable intelligence, but the competition seemed quite fierce, meaning he would have to tread carefully when the time came.
Two days later.
Having rested sufficiently in the medical ward, Luo Xuan woke up.
She exchanged a few quiet words with the attending teacher, then silently departed the Yunqian Division.
Having failed to secure a qualification spot, she had to return home and report to her parents, then await whatever arrangements they made for her.
Though she was a young lady of noble birth, without a qualification, she would have no freedom left.
Chapter 48