First Place Is More Dangerous Than You Think

A letter of admiration. Those few short words left Luo Xuan, who was usually unperturbed by emotion, utterly bewildered. She found it hard to believe. She had no idea what Cheng Yu had actually done. Yet whatever she had done was undoubtedly for the sake of securing a qualification spot. Still, why resort to writing a letter just for a spot? "Haven't you ever heard of the honey trap?" Cheng Yu smiled as she looked at Luo Xuan. "If a honey trap is used well, these men are mine to manipulate as I please. Once that happens, would getting a spot be difficult for me? "Unfortunately, it failed—and it failed in a direction I can't even begin to fathom." Luo Xuan did not care whether it had failed or not. She only wanted to know whom the letter had been written to, and what was written inside. Cheng Yu pointed upward. "To the number one of our courtyard, of course." "Jiang Man?" Luo Xuan asked immediately. "What did you write?" Cheng Yu could only read it out, word by word: "*Seeing my words is as if we were face to face...*" "Stop reading it—write it down," Luo Xuan cut in at once. Her scalp tingled just listening to it. Yet the moment she read the contents, Luo Xuan said with a grave expression, "Go clear this up and tell him you were the one who wrote it." "Look at how anxious you are," Cheng Yu replied nonchalantly. "What's so bad about him misunderstanding? He took first place after cultivating for only a few months. Is he unworthy of you?" Luo Xuan shook her head. "Those are two different matters. A misunderstanding is a misunderstanding, and everything else is everything else." "You really are still too naive. If you just let the error run its course, and he has feelings for you, it would bring you immense benefits." Cheng Yu sighed and shook her head. "There's no need to clear anything up, either. He'll realize soon enough that I wrote it. I never truly intended to pave the way for you. "In the end, my goal was to bring him under my thumb so he would go through fire and water for me. "To become a sharp blade in my hands." Luo Xuan frowned. "You have no idea what you're doing. He took first place. He is far more dangerous than you think." Cheng Yu chuckled. "It's not as exaggerated as you make it out to be. Reasonably speaking, I should have succeeded. What young man doesn't harbor ideals of beauty in his heart? You are that vision of beauty in everyone's eyes. "Someone from an impoverished background like Jiang Man is especially sensitive. "His yearning for you would surely burn with passion. Even if he suspected it might be fake, he would still believe a fraction of it. "What if it were real?" Pausing briefly, Cheng Yu continued, "So even if he had doubts, he would still do something. "For example, heavily injuring your greatest rival, Fang Yong. "Then Chang Qiwen would heavily injure you, leaving me as the ultimate victor. "After that, I would let him know the letter came from my hand. "That it was merely a young woman's shyness, borrowing another's name. "A complete closed loop. "I would have the qualification spot, and the man would be bowing at my feet." Luo Xuan looked at the woman before her and drove the knife in without hesitation: "And in the end, Fang Yong battered you bloody, leaving you sprawled pathetically on the ground with no one caring in the slightest." A look of regret crossed Cheng Yu's face. "Yes, I lost. My resources were severely cut, and I can't even afford to keep personal guards anymore." She paused, then asked, "What about you?" "My fate was sealed long ago." Luo Xuan lowered her eyes and sighed softly. "It comes down to no more than two paths: taking in a matrilocal husband, or an arranged marriage." Cheng Yu's eyes lit up. "Taking in a matrilocal husband? Then two people in our courtyard fit the bill: Jiang Man and Fang Yong." Luo Xuan kept her eyes downcast. After a moment, her gaze followed the strands of hair drifting beside her ear, looking in the direction from which the wind blew. No one knew what thoughts were running through her mind. Perhaps neither of those choices was what she truly wanted. *** Elsewhere. Luo Huaili had also obtained some information. Many candidates had emerged from the various villages, but few had managed to secure qualification spots. Among those few, candidates without explicit financial backing were even rarer. Yet by coincidence, there were two such candidates in the very courtyard where Luo Xuan resided. And those two were precisely the ones who had edged his daughter out of the qualification spots. "Valiant heroes indeed emerge from the youth." He felt a wave of admiration. Yet he could not help feeling a touch of helplessness as well. Even so, he still needed to make contact with these young men. *** At the Spirit Gathering Hall. Manager Miao was exceptionally warm. Previously, she had merely sensed that Jiang Man showed signs of rising. Now, he had successfully secured the qualification for the sect assessment. If things continued to go as smoothly as before, entering the sect was only a matter of time. Therefore, regarding his request for an early advance of spirit sources, she made a resolute choice... "No." Before Jiang Man could even react, Manager Miao immediately continued, "If I did that, wouldn't you be forced to come work here? Delaying your cultivation would be terrible. "These two hundred spirit sources—I will lend them to you out of my own pocket, and you don't need to repay me. "Use them with an easy mind." Jiang Man felt deeply moved. He resolved to repay her as soon as possible all the same. Aside from this, he still owed Little Fatty a dozen or so Spirit Gathering Pills. That debt would be harder to settle, but he still had eight months. He would surely find time to earn enough spirit sources to pay it back. Afterward, Jiang Man asked about the Technique Transmission Office. It was indeed arranged in three-person teams. When the time came, they would proceed to the technique transmission grounds on the back mountain. There were spiritual qi areas, qi and blood areas, mental areas, and spell areas. Whatever one wanted had to be fought for. Whoever seized it kept it. The catch was that all three members had to go together. Otherwise, nothing could be claimed. Because of that, the team's objective had to be aligned. Having had his questions answered, Jiang Man was stunned. That truly was troublesome. The others had no need for a Qi-Linking Method, while he had no need for a Visualization Method. Jiang Man asked whether it was possible to seize two. Regrettably, it was not. Not only that, but once a technique was claimed, none would be left for other teams. Thus, among the nineteen people in Qingyun Pavilion, there were seven teams in total. Only three of those teams would be able to obtain a cultivation method; the rest could only vie for spells. As for the two missing members, Manager Miao said someone would be brought in to fill the vacancies. After thanking her, Jiang Man returned to his residence. Now, he had no choice but to break through. *** The next day. Before the back mountain. The woman who had previously given Jiang Man the token stood respectfully beside a man and said, "That Jiang Man doesn't seem very satisfied with our choice. He comes from a village outside the city and places great importance on a Qi-Linking Method." The woman was named Yan Huimin, ranked third in Qingyun Pavilion's Second Courtyard. The man beside her stood seven feet tall, his qi and blood surging with vigor, and his bronze skin resembled an iron bastion. At this moment, he looked at her and said slowly, "What is his ranking?" He did not care much about what such people thought; someone brought it up every year. It was an all too common occurrence. Their eyes could see nothing beyond Qi-Linking Methods, their vision severely constrained. There was no need to hold it against them too harshly. People were simply different. It was not their fault. One had to understand them, and then have them follow one's lead so they could realize the shortcomings of their past. Only then would they understand what the right choice was. "Qi-Linking sixth layer, two places below me," Yan Huimin paused, then added, "Fourteenth in Qingyun Pavilion." "Then he is still some distance away from the Qi-Linking seventh layer." The man shook his head. "No need to worry too much. Once we explain it properly to him later, he'll understand why we are vying for a Visualization Method." Pausing, he asked out of curiosity, "He comes from the Sixth Courtyard?" "Yes," Yan Huimin nodded. "Isn't that the courtyard where the young lady of the Luo family resides?" The man was somewhat puzzled. "What rank did she take?" "She didn't make the cut," Yan Huimin replied. The man was surprised. "Are there young masters and young ladies in the Sixth Courtyard who are wealthier than her?" Yan Huimin thought for a moment and said, "The other one is named Fang Yong." "Does the Fang family have someone like that?" The man pondered briefly, then came to a sudden realization. "Ah, I remember who he is. That nominal young master who always trails behind Young Master Cheng." After that, he gave the matter no further thought and said, "It's almost time. Has he not arrived yet?"