The top-ranked cultivator of Qingyun Pavilion was still cultivating, showing no sign of leaving.
Would the fourth-ranked cultivator of Qingyun Pavilion dare to take his leave first?
When number one was working so hard, how could he possibly have the nerve to head back early and rest?
With a ranking so poor, shouldn't he reflect on himself?
Li Yuan felt that the moment he dared to leave, such reproaches would engulf him like a tidal wave.
In the end, Li Yuan went back to cultivating.
Those still in the Second Courtyard watched Li Yuan return to his practice, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Why had he suddenly gone back to cultivating?
With even their courtyard's top rank pushing himself this hard, the others hardly dared to leave as they pleased.
With rankings nowhere near as high, they didn't deserve to leave.
Meanwhile, those who had already left Qingyun Pavilion noticed that pitifully few people were following behind them.
It had never been like this in the past.
Where had everyone gone?
One after another, student cultivators who had not walked far turned back to look inside, their faces filled with bewilderment.
It was stranger still to see someone who had just stepped through the main gates turn right back around and go in.
Curious, those who were about to leave decided to head back and see what was happening.
Before long, they reentered Qingyun Pavilion.
This time, the deserted quiet felt even more pronounced.
Yet as they drew closer, sounds drifted out from the courtyards—everyone inside was cultivating.
Not just in one place, either. Every single person remaining across all the courtyards was hard at work cultivating.
This made the few standing outside flush with embarrassment.
When the top-ranked were all cultivating inside, how could they have the nerve to go back and rest?
Day after day slipped by.
With each passing day, fewer and fewer people left Qingyun Pavilion.
Three days later.
At dusk, the main gate of Qingyun Pavilion, which usually saw crowds of three and five, suddenly grew deserted.
Not a soul was seen walking out anymore.
This left the other pavilions thoroughly bewildered.
Five days later, a rumor spread from Qingyun Pavilion:
Nights are meant for cultivating, not for sleeping.
You're so young, how can you even fall asleep?
For a time, people from the other pavilions felt an unhealthy, perverse trend was running rampant in Qingyun Pavilion.
Yet when they learned that the student cultivator leading this charge was the top rank of Qingyun Pavilion and second across all Six Pavilions—pushing himself so hard he went without sleep—the student cultivators across the pavilions suddenly felt small and shallow.
Soon, eyes from all the other five pavilions turned toward Cheng Moyang in Tianyuan Pavilion's First Courtyard.
Because he was number one across the Six Pavilions.
As long as he chose to leave, everyone else could leave too.
Otherwise...
Who would dare leave?
Cheng Moyang: "..."
All at once, he felt as though he had been put on the spot.
If he could keep first place, leaving wouldn't matter.
But if first place changed hands next time, wouldn't everyone blame it on him for slacking off?
Why else would second place become first?
It would surely be because that person went without sleep to cultivate relentlessly.
Sitting in first place without cultivating, letting laziness drag his cultivation down...
Regardless of how much progress he actually made in the meantime, if his rank dropped, it would be seen as a decline in cultivation.
"Young Master Cheng, what should we do?" Yang Feng asked, looking at Cheng Moyang.
Before, they had been the ones toying with Jiang Man. But now...
Without having to do a single thing, the other party had piled immense pressure on them.
For the first time, he realized that cultivation alone could produce such a terrifying sense of oppression.
Cheng Moyang remained silent for a moment.
At this point, cultivating felt wrong, and not cultivating felt wrong too.
Curious, he asked, "Where is Yang Ling?"
"He's third, so he's not worthy—that was roughly what he said," Yang Feng replied.
"No need to pay too much heed for now. The Li family hasn't made their move yet, so we'll carry on as usual," Cheng Moyang said calmly. "Let's see if the Li family can make him suffer.
"Besides, the Qi-Linking eighth layer is the limit for many. Breaking through is easier said than done.
"To say nothing of a pauper."
Snatching first place from his hands would not be easy.
Afterward, Cheng Moyang took the lead and departed.
Instantly, across the Six Pavilions—everywhere except Qingyun Pavilion—the tense standoff was broken.
Bidding farewell to Yang Feng, Cheng Moyang returned to his residence.
Then he sat down and began cultivating.
He had no intention of sleeping.
In public, he could remain composed and act as though he didn't care about the Six Pavilions' second-ranked student cultivating.
Once home, however, he naturally couldn't stop to rest.
He had to cultivate without pause.
Otherwise, he would fall behind.
He might even lose the honor of first place.
Though advancing was difficult for a pauper, one could never be too careful.
He couldn't afford that humiliation.
He had to work even harder and spend more spirit sources.
Only then could he maintain the facade of casually disrupting the cultivation atmosphere.
A full night passed.
Cheng Moyang finally stopped, thoroughly exhausted, and doubt crept into his mind.
Could anyone truly cultivate constantly without any sleep?
Wouldn't that destroy their focus and slow their progress instead?
Or was Jiang Man actually sneaking in naps before cultivating?
Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing and could only wait and see.
For now, he would attend his studies as usual, return early, and cultivate behind closed doors.
Playing games to toy with paupers was something he would set aside for now.
Raising his cultivation and keeping first place were what mattered most.
***
On the other side, Yang Feng stepped out of his quarters and ran into Yang Ling, who lived next door.
Yang Ling stretched, letting out a yawn, and muttered to himself, "I slept so well last night."
He then turned to Yang Feng and asked, "Little Yang, did you sleep well?"
Looking at Yang Ling's bloodshot eyes, Yang Feng asked, "Are your eyes bothering you?"
Yang Ling rubbed his eyes and said, "Ran into a slight hitch during my cultivation last night. Little Yang, you don't look very energetic either."
"Slept too long," Yang Feng replied offhandedly.
"Don't tell me you secretly stayed up cultivating last night?" Yang Ling teased with a chuckle. "I remember you guys left pretty quickly. You didn't look like the type to disrupt your own rhythm."
"Why would I secretly stay up cultivating? Would you?" Yang Feng countered.
"Of course I wouldn't. How could anyone do that? Only paupers need to torment their bodies and minds like that. Are you a pauper?" Yang Ling said.
"Naturally not. One shouldn't emulate the ways of paupers," Yang Feng said calmly.
Neither said another word, and each went his own way.
They did not study in the same pavilion.
***
Elsewhere, at the stable courtyard.
Jiang Man let out a yawn.
His eyes felt a bit dry and sore.
"Strange. Now that I'm at the Qi-Linking eighth layer, why does it feel like my spirit drains even faster? Looks like I need to boost my spirit first," Jiang Man mused.
"What have you been up to lately?" the old yellow ox suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?" Jiang Man asked back.
"Quite a few people were watching you through the night and only left at daybreak," the old yellow ox said.
Jiang Man pondered for a moment before arriving at the answer. "They probably wanted to see if I truly stayed awake all night."
"Why would they need to confirm that?" the old yellow ox asked.
"They probably thought I was deceiving them." Jiang Man shook his head calmly. "Why would anyone need to fake such a good habit? Still, they shouldn't doubt it anymore."
The old yellow ox fell silent.
Jiang Man paid it no mind, getting ready to head to the Sixth Courtyard to continue cultivating.
Even during lecture hours, he spent his time cultivating.
Time was running short, and he had to raise his strength as quickly as possible.
Just as he stepped out of the courtyard, however, he caught sight of Li Yuan.
The young man's complexion looked poor, tinged with exhaustion.
Even so, he forced himself to muster some spirit and said, "Before, my narrow vision nearly ruined your good fortune. It was truly rash of me. This is my apology."
With that, he handed over two thousand spirit sources.
Jiang Man was somewhat surprised. This stingy young master was actually being so generous today?
Could there really be no catch?
Chapter 75