In front of the ranking noticeboard, a young man stared silently at the Six Pavilions rankings.
Beside him, a woman asked in wonder, "Yang Ling, you're only ranked third. Could there be a mistake?"
Yang Ling looked like a gentle, refined gentleman.
At this moment, he smiled wryly as well. "Yes, third."
"I heard the person in second is dirt-poor. You're both at the Qi-Linking eighth layer, so he shouldn't be a match for you." The woman was utterly baffled.
Yang Ling narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
In truth,
he had already seen Jiang Man.
To be precise, he had been trailing Gao Nian all along,
waiting for an opportunity to launch an ambush.
He had known well in advance that Gao Nian was bringing so many people to deal with him.
Yet he had never anticipated that Gao Nian would run into Jiang Man's group.
He had witnessed Jiang Man take action with his own eyes.
Though they were ordinary spells,
every move was at maximum potency, executed with seasoned mastery, and transitioned seamlessly. In just a few breaths,
he had severely battered Gao Nian and her entire party.
Such a feat.
He could not accomplish it.
He had imagined facing Gao Nian and the others; he could win, but not easily—certainly nowhere near as effortlessly as what he had just seen.
After only a brief weighing of options, he had abandoned the contest for the Nine Clouds Dragon Suppressing Seal.
A true dragon had emerged from among commoners.
He could not suppress him.
There was simply no need to provoke a conflict.
Qi-Linking was only the beginning; the path ahead remained long.
Now, however, the pressure fell upon Cheng Moyang.
One wondered what he would do.
Though first place in the Six Pavilions was not as prestigious as first place in the Yunqian Division, it was still quite a title.
It was one thing if he had never attained it, but now that he held it,
he would hardly let it go easily.
"Why is it first place in the Six Pavilions versus first place in the Yunqian Division? Does the Three Towers not have a first place?"
the woman asked beside Yang Ling as they walked away.
Yang Ling looked rather astonished. "Isn't first place in the Three Towers the exact same thing as first place in the Yunqian Division?"
Enlightenment dawned on the woman.
That made sense.
***
When Jiang Man returned, he checked the rankings along the way.
Unfortunately, he did not see the little fatty and the others.
It was a slight pity.
Otherwise, he could have observed how their expressions shifted when faced with the rise of a prodigy.
Still, placing second across the Six Pavilions was beyond Jiang Man's expectations.
He had already been certain of taking first in Qingyun Pavilion.
Yet across all Six Pavilions, only a single person had surpassed him.
Even Yang Ling, who was likewise at the Qi-Linking eighth layer, ranked below him.
Just how this ranking was calculated, however, Jiang Man did not understand.
If Yang Ling truly was inferior to him, was he truly inferior to Cheng Moyang?
Jiang Man pondered for a moment and decided the Yunqian Division could make mistakes too.
After all, even a veteran evil god like the old yellow ox could misjudge a prodigy from time to time.
So why couldn't the Yunqian Division?
Nevertheless, that Cheng Moyang's strength was this formidable was also unexpected.
No wonder Fang Yong insisted on fawning over him.
He had quite an eye.
Upon his return to the stable courtyard, the old yellow ox asked him, "Did you succeed?"
Jiang Man nodded. "Naturally. Now that I've secured the Nine Clouds Dragon Suppressing Seal, first place in the Yunqian Division is well within reach."
Chewing on grass, the old yellow ox remarked, "You're getting far too full of yourself."
Jiang Man answered with a smile.
His talent gave him no room for modesty.
Of course, his peerless prodigy fate afforded him no such opportunity either.
If he failed to enter in first place, whether he could obtain the Origin Condensation Method at that time was far from certain.
And should he fail to obtain it,
what awaited him was the total loss of his cultivation.
Under such immense pressure, he could only unleash his talent and diligence,
making everyone in the Yunqian Division bear witness.
Afterward, Jiang Man took out the Nine Clouds Dragon Suppressing Seal
and began reading to comprehend it.
Cultivation had never been a matter of merely obtaining a manual and practicing by the book.
One had to understand what the text actually meant
before one could cultivate accordingly.
If one could not comprehend the contents within, cultivation was impossible.
It required a certain foundation—
especially for superior-grade spells,
much like the superior-grade Visualization Method before.
Jiang Man opened the book and found its text obscure and difficult to parse.
"Before heaven and earth divided, true qi swirled in mist. The dark firmament hung its signs, weaving the lunar glow into scripture.
The thick earth harbored virtue, coiled hornless dragons lying in wait.
Patterned on the earth's condensed power, fashioned into a spirit seal, named 'Nine Clouds.'"
Jiang Man realized that with his current grasp of spells, trying to master this was simply too difficult.
Without a certain foundation in terminology shifts and conceptual understanding, it was out of the question.
This was precisely why the various courtyards required teachers to explain and guide them;
it was not something one could pick up just by looking at the technique manual.
Even an illiterate genius could never cultivate on his own.
In the end, Jiang Man turned his gaze to the old yellow ox.
"Senior, please explain this to me." Jiang Man walked over to the old yellow ox.
Hearing this, the grass-chewing old yellow ox slightly raised an eyebrow, looked at him, and said calmly, "That won't work well. My understanding isn't traditional enough. The Immortal Gate has its own revised theoretical framework, and I know little about it.
"Teaching you rashly could easily steer you onto the wrong path.
"You'd best have someone else teach you once first.
"After that, explain it to me. I can assimilate their theoretical framework, which will allow me not only to clarify the conceptual approach to this spell for you, but also help you apply it to other spells.
"Still, you need more grounding.
"Of course, if you truly have no other avenue, you could take a gamble and learn from me. Perhaps we might stumble upon the right way."
Jiang Man sighed slightly. "Are evil gods really restricted this severely?"
"More than that," the old yellow ox said placidly. "Under the Great Governance of the Immortal Gate, it's beyond your imagination."
"It seems that without me, you can barely take a step, Old Yellow," Jiang Man remarked wistfully.
"I, on the other hand, can always find another way out; you cannot," the old yellow ox replied.
Jiang Man did not mind. Leaving the stable, he headed toward the Sixth Courtyard.
He had to seek out Teacher Zhao, and if that failed, he could only turn to Teacher Fu.
Fortunately, he had earned two hundred spirit sources today, which ought to suffice.
He had never intended to let them teach him for nothing.
That was not sustainable.
Mutual benefit lasted longer.
Besides, cultivating later on would require a great deal of spirit sources; he needed to keep earning money.
First place in the Yunqian Division would not be easy to secure.
Moreover, he needed to be wary of Cheng Moyang.
At first, the other party had treated him as a pauper, toying with him for amusement.
Now, he was not just a pauper, but a rival pauper.
Any targeting now would certainly not be as mundane as before.
Right now, he even had to give Fang Yong a bit of berth.
If another spirit colt collapsed, that would be a true headache.
Furthermore, with his rank rising so high, those clans would probably try to recruit him again.
Even if he continued to refuse them, they might not let the matter rest.
If they coerced him through various means, the trouble would be even greater.
As for accepting, their terms were simply not worth agreeing to.
If worse came to worst, he could only consult Teacher Zhao to see if he could obtain another feeding method from the old yellow ox.
***
Elsewhere.
Teacher Zhao sat at his desk, where six letters were laid out before him.
Every single one was addressed to the same person.
"I never expected the second contest to end with such a result."
In his understanding,
without sufficient resources backing them, a student's ranking after the second contest usually dropped.
Even if Jiang Man had progressed quickly before, his momentum was bound to slow down later.
Because once the quota spots were decided, each major clan would relentlessly pour in resources to elevate their candidates as fast as possible and widen the gap,
maximizing their chances of entering a sect.
Therefore, impoverished student cultivators who lacked clan backing
would inevitably plummet down the ranks.
He had not thought Jiang Man would fall, but he had never imagined he would jump straight to first in Qingyun Pavilion—
let alone leap to second across the Six Pavilions.
"The surprises never cease."
Teacher Zhao let out a heavy sigh.
This was truly a massive vortex.
Now, even staying out of it would not be easy for him.
If the major clans were rejected this time, they would likely be displeased.
And if something happened to Jiang Man and Zhao failed to protect him, then should Jiang Man rise to prominence, he would surely hold a grudge.
Chapter 67