The world was fickle.
Some matters and some people always defied expectations, setting off down a path completely beyond comprehension.
Jiang Man was just such a person.
Cheng Moyang recalled that the first time he had ever learned of this person was because he wanted to tease Fang Yong.
And that person had been caught up in their midst by accident.
Back then, the youth had been on the verge of being unable to pay his cultivation fee.
He had assumed the boy was someone driven to a dead end.
There was no need to push him further.
Who could have guessed that he would rise straight up afterward, turning into an amusing pauper?
They had seized the chance to make sport of him, just as they did with Fang Yong, letting him feel helplessness, despair, and melancholy.
More than that, they wanted him to see clearly that there was nothing alike between them.
Studying in the same place and doing the same things did not make them the same kind of people.
As for what became of people like them, Cheng Moyang had never really cared.
If they could stay, they stayed; if they couldn't, it just meant finding another lackey, another person to tease.
It had no bearing whatsoever on his life.
Yet an insignificant figure like that now posed a threat to him.
"Someone from the Li family went out of their way to send me a message, informing me of their recent investigation. They confirmed that no one is backing him," Cheng Moyang said with a smile. "The Li family wants me to deal with Jiang Man so they can conveniently reel him in afterward.
"Ranked second in the Six Pavilions, he's worth winning over.
"I just don't know what they want him for.
"Whether they intend to trample on him using this trial or trample on him after entering the sect."
Either way, once a contract was signed, one was essentially doomed to be stepped on.
And people like Jiang Man almost always had to agree to these contracts.
Because the further one advanced, the more spirit sources were required.
Talent was not eternal, but spirit sources were.
With spirit sources came geniuses and a future.
With only talent, there might not be a future at all.
Especially talent without backing or spirit sources.
Crushing a pauper without background, even one with a bit of talent, remained an easy task.
"He truly has become a threat to you, Young Master Cheng. Back then, we should have pushed harder and made him lose his qualification outright," the diminutive Young Master Yang said.
"You harbor quite a grudge, don't you?" Cheng Moyang said with a laugh. "Understandable. Your third place vanished the moment he showed up, knocking you down to fourth.
"But do you think he's still the same person he was back then?
"Trying to suppress him now, especially within the Yunqian Division, is practically impossible.
"Otherwise, the other families would have made their move long ago."
With that, Cheng Moyang walked over to a chair at the side and sat down. "He is, after all, first in Qingyun Pavilion and second in the Six Pavilions.
"How many years has it been since Qingyun Pavilion took first place in the Six Pavilions?
"Suppress him with power and influence?
"Qingyun Pavilion would have to agree first.
"The instructor responsible for him would have to nod, too.
"He may be a poor man now, but he is no longer a poor man without backing."
Young Master Yang was slightly surprised. "That's true. If we clash with him directly, we'll only get ourselves tied down."
Now, Jiang Man was second in the Six Pavilions and at the Qi-Linking eighth layer.
Without relying on family power, he could not be kept down—unless they resorted to some underhanded tricks.
With a calm expression, Cheng Moyang said, "It comes back to the same point. We're too close to him, and our cultivations are too close. If we ruin his path, we'll practically ruin our own as well.
"We toyed with him back then because he was an amusing pauper.
"Now... he's a pauper valued by Qingyun Pavilion.
"There's no need to provoke him.
"The Li family is bound to do something, but we won't serve as their cat's-paw."
Pausing, Cheng Moyang continued, "We might as well go have some fun with Fang Yong. He still wants to come cultivate with us to maintain his image as Young Master Fang.
"A young master like me, first in the Six Pavilions, keeping company with him...
"How many people must envy him?
"They all have to call him Young Master Fang."
"He probably still doesn't know what we really think of him," Young Master Yang chimed in with a laugh.
Cheng Moyang pondered for a moment, then said, "Even so, we still need to keep an eye on the Sixth Courtyard during the monthly assessments from now on.
"If Qingyun Pavilion hadn't withheld the rankings, how could everyone have been caught so off guard?"
Young Master Yang nodded. "I wonder if he'll make any more progress. With three months left, there shouldn't be any room for improvement.
"The Qi-Linking eighth layer is his limit."
Just how difficult it was to advance again was something they both knew all too well.
After all, they were at this realm themselves.
—
Toward evening, Jiang Man went to the Spirit Gathering Hall once more.
He found that relying solely on the Spirit Gathering Hall might not be enough.
The gap between the Qi-Linking eighth layer and the ninth layer was rather wide.
Advancing in the time remaining would be extraordinarily difficult.
Poverty really was an easy obstacle to his talent.
Even if he absorbed it fast enough, without enough spirit sources, reaching the Qi-Linking ninth layer in three months was simply impossible.
Not even the eleventh layer of the Qi-Linking Method could accomplish that.
Moreover, his advantage was diminishing now. After all, the top cultivators had likely brought their Qi-Linking Methods to the highest layer as well, and they had plenty of spirit sources.
Never mind catching up to them; just not falling behind would be an achievement.
"Why isn't anyone sponsoring me with a huge pile of spirit sources for free?" Returning from the Spirit Gathering Hall, Jiang Man looked at the old yellow ox and asked.
The ox replied calmly, "Didn't I get you a wife for free? Even if your wife did run off."
"Old Yellow, did you see right from the start that I was no ordinary dragon in a pond, which is why you stayed by my side?" Jiang Man asked.
The old yellow ox paused, slightly raised an eyebrow, and glanced at him.
In the end, it lowered its head and went back to chewing grass.
Jiang Man felt a bit disappointed. He truly lacked spirit sources.
Now that he was at the Qi-Linking eighth layer, there ought to be other avenues.
Like borrowing from the little fatty or Chang Qiwen.
Unfortunately, in the eyes of the vast majority of people, the Qi-Linking eighth layer was his ceiling.
Because the Qi-Linking ninth layer was simply too far away.
And the bottleneck was even thicker.
Breaking through required massive resources.
Just as Jiang Man prepared to cultivate, he suddenly noticed someone walking toward him step by step in the distance.
It was a middle-aged man.
"Someone from a family has come looking for you," the old yellow ox said.
Jiang Man grew alert. "Old Yellow, will he attack me?"
"No, unless he no longer wants his family," the old yellow ox said.
"If he really doesn't want his family anymore, Senior, remember to protect me," Jiang Man pleaded.
Calling him Senior now.
The old yellow ox had grown used to being called Old Yellow; being suddenly addressed as Senior felt rather unfamiliar.
Jiang Man's power began circulating within him.
At the Qi-Linking eighth layer, he should at least be able to attempt an escape.
If he could run to the Guard Post, he would be safe.
"Are you nervous?" Luo Huaili asked, looking at Jiang Man.
The visitor was naturally none other than Luo Huaili, the head of the Luo family, whose heart was set on recruiting a son-in-law.
*Next time I'm stronger than you, I'll pay you a late-night visit too, and let's see if you're nervous,* Jiang Man thought, though his words gave no offense. "Senior is looking for me?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Luo, and I am the head of the Luo family," Luo Huaili said earnestly. "You should know why I have come to find you this time."
Recruiting a son-in-law? The answer sprang to Jiang Man's mind at once.
Yet he was still puzzled. "Does a matter like this warrant Senior coming in person? And late at night, no less."
"It was a bit rushed, but I truly couldn't wait any longer. I've come to invite you to join the Luo family. You may name whatever conditions you wish," Luo Huaili said sincerely, looking at Jiang Man.
"I won't marry into the family."
"Then that won't do."
"..."
Chapter 72