The Splendor of First Place

Little Fatty had no questions about his own ranking.

He was now fifth from the bottom; that one point had let him overtake quite a few people.

With the Spirit-Gathering Hall's help, his progress could be called lightning-fast.

He worked hard himself, and his family was willing to give him resources.

It was just too exhausting.

Simply cultivating alongside Jiang Man already meant working harder than most people.

If not for his good resources,

he really would not have been able to keep up with the others who worked this hard.

But however hard he worked, the outcome would remain the same: he could not obtain a spot or join the Wuyun Sect.

So although he worked hard, he still accepted his own mediocrity.

Being unable to take the best path did not mean he had no path to take.

For now, he still had to keep his family from beating, scolding, and comparing him.

Because of Jiang Man's rise, his family would compare him to Jiang Man.

Especially now that the latter had ranked in the teens.

Only a dozen or so places separated them. The gap was not large; he could catch up.

If Jiang Man could do it, why couldn't he?

To make his family understand that he really could not, he could only pin his hopes on Jiang Man.

He hoped Jiang Man could enter the top ten.

Although Jiang Man had said making the top ten would be difficult this time, eleventh or twelfth would do as well.

The gap would still be a dozen or so places, but its significance would be different.

So he had been waiting for the rankings to be announced at noon.

As for Jiang Man not coming, he did not mind.

Jiang Man had already mentioned it yesterday, though he did not know what was keeping him busy.

Perhaps it was still the matter of his earlier arrest.

That affair should have been no small matter, but strangely, all three of them had emerged unscathed.

That meant Chang Qiwen also had someone backing him.

While he waited, Song Qing came over to ask about Jiang Man.

He told him the truth.

Afterward, Song Qing asked roughly where Jiang Man would rank.

Little Fatty hesitated before saying, "Eleventh or twelfth, if things go well."

Hearing this, Song Qing marveled at how fast his progress was.

It was hard to imagine how many resources Luo Xuan had given Jiang Man to let him progress so rapidly.

He was envious, and he longed to become Luo Xuan's guard too.

He did not need much. A third of Jiang Man's resources would be enough.

Or even a tenth would do.

At least he would be able to stay in Falling Cloud City openly and legitimately.

He would not have to return to the village.

Finally, it was time for the rankings to be announced.

Little Fatty immediately looked at tenth place.

Tenth place: Xie Kecheng, fifty points.

What a shame.

Little Fatty felt rather helpless.

He immediately looked at eleventh and twelfth.

To his surprise, neither was Jiang Man.

"No way. Did he perform badly?"

Normally, an off performance would not happen in a test assessment.

Then he checked thirteenth and fourteenth.

Not there.

Fifteenth and sixteenth.

Still not there.

In an instant, he felt he might have been wrong. He should check the top ten.

Next came ninth and eighth.

Neither.

Seventh and sixth.

Neither of those either.

Fifth and fourth.

Still not him.

For a moment, he was bewildered.

Where had Jiang Man gone?

"Song Qing, have you seen Jiang Man? Why can't I find him?" Little Fatty nudged Song Qing beside him and asked.

At that moment, Song Qing mechanically raised his hand. "Look there."

Little Fatty looked in the direction Song Qing pointed.

Then he froze where he stood. An inexplicable chill spread through his entire body, and his scalp tingled.

He saw the ranking at the very top.

First place: Jiang Man, sixty-four points.

"That has to be fake, right?" Little Fatty could hardly believe it.

He was not the only one. Everyone else felt the same.

They had known Jiang Man would improve.

But they had never imagined he could reach the top.

First place.

First place required not only talent, but vast resources as well.

Especially when someone surged into first place in such a short time-the resources required were already immense.

They had imagined Luo Xuan taking first, or Fang Yong.

But Jiang Man...

How could it be him?

Luo Xuan stood where she was, equally astonished.

Fang Yong was even more shocked.

Cheng Yu narrowed her eyes, her thoughts unknown.

Chang Qiwen recalled what had happened earlier. He felt Jiang Man had deliberately shown weakness to get him sent to the Law Enforcement Office.

Then voices began to rise.

"Wasn't Jiang Man being nurtured by Luo Xuan? How did he surpass her?"

"No idea. Is there some inside story?"

Listening to these voices, Luo Xuan left in silence.

Before, she had felt that such rumors were giving Jiang Man credit. Now, they were slapping her in the face.

Elsewhere.

Jiang Man entered a courtyard compound.

The compound had three courtyards, one behind another. Jiang Man was in the outermost courtyard, which had six rooms.

"Go wait in Room One. Everyone will be here soon. You can't wander around here. Everyone with this type of Token goes to Room One. There are three types of Tokens in total," the guard patiently explained.

Hearing this, Jiang Man thanked him gratefully.

Then the guard lingered a little longer.

Seeing this, Jiang Man could only give him ten Spirit Sources.

Only then did the guard leave, satisfied.

Those few sentences had cost him ten Spirit Sources.

Being a guard here really was an easy way to earn Spirit Sources.

After waiting there for a while, Jiang Man saw people arriving one after another.

Everyone who entered would look over the people inside.

Especially their outward appearance, such as their clothes.

The five people who arrived after him were dressed in fine silks and satins.

Only Jiang Man wore coarse cloth and hemp garments.

The difference between them went without saying.

At that moment, a tall, burly man came over to Jiang Man and asked curiously, "Which family groomed you as a live-in son-in-law?"

Jiang Man: "..."

After a pause, the man shook his head. "Even a live-in son-in-law wouldn't be as shabby as you. You're probably a death-sworn retainer who's already signed away his life, aren't you?

"Is it the Luo Lineage?

"They don't have anyone outstanding, and there seem to be some problems with their foundations too. It's perfectly normal for them to find a death-sworn retainer.

"Forget it. You don't have to answer me. I wasn't planning to befriend you anyway."

Jiang Man: "..."

The others chuckled too.

No one gave an ugly duckling a second thought.

Jiang Man did not mind. Time would prove everything for him.

It had simply been too short a time since he woke up.

But in half a year at most, all these people would be defeated at his hands.

There was no rushing it.

Soon, everyone quieted down.

Then two young people entered, a man and a woman.

The man wore a composed expression, his aura deep and powerful, making everyone involuntarily lower their heads.

Everyone was stunned. What level of great cultivator was this?

Even the men and women who had been brimming with arrogance did not dare show the slightest laxity.

"I won't check your qualifications. Now, I speak, and you listen. Don't ask questions. Comprehend it yourselves." The man looked at everyone before him. "Understood?"

Everyone lowered their heads to indicate they understood.

At this moment, rich or poor, everyone was equal before this great cultivator.

"Sit." As his voice fell, the man waved a hand. "Read the book for an hour. After that, I'll explain it to you for two hours. You may all work on comprehending it until midnight.

"After midnight, leave the books behind. Once we've confirmed whether you succeeded, you may leave."

As soon as Jiang Man received the book, he began examining it.

What met his eyes were five large characters: "Water-Wood Visualization Method."

He immediately activated the Heavenly Mirror of a Hundred Books.

Then its pages stopped at the final page.

[Not worth mentioning]

Jiang Man: "..."

Then Jiang Man opened the book to read it. The first page contained the Visualization Method's diagram and written record.

The diagram depicted a great cauldron formed from converging water and wood.

Beside it was written: "It is said that heaven and earth teem with mingling energies, and water nourishes the virtue of wood. Take the image of Kan and Li joining in harmony, follow nature's impetus of growth, use the Azure Dragon's Jia and Yi as the substance and the Black Tortoise's Ren and Gui as the function, merge the achievement of water and fire in harmony, and form the cauldron of life-giving water and wood."

Jiang Man continued reading.

He found the text obscure and difficult to understand. Without someone to guide him, even if it were given to him, he might not be able to understand it, let alone master it.

This...

It was too difficult.

Without a foundation to support him, it was like reading a heavenly script.

No wonder the commonly used methods were all simplified ones.