He left the courtyard.
Jiang Man saw hardly anyone on the road. It was too late.
The people who did appear, however, looked at the Sixth Courtyard with some curiosity.
Seeing Jiang Man come out, they immediately stepped forward.
His plain clothes alone gave people a sense of closeness.
As they approached, one of them spoke gently. "Brother, are you from the Sixth Courtyard?"
Jiang Man had been thinking about something, but hearing someone call out to him, he turned his head and pointed at himself curiously. "Me?"
"Yes." The speaker came over with two others.
He looked toward the Sixth Courtyard and asked, "What's your Sixth Courtyard doing? Why are there still so many people there this late?"
Jiang Man looked at him without a word.
The man in the lead cursed inwardly and gave Jiang Man five Spirit Sources.
Accepting the Spirit Sources, Jiang Man answered truthfully, "Cultivating."
The man was puzzled. "Cultivating this late?"
"What else would you do this early if not cultivate?" Jiang Man asked in return.
The man looked dumbfounded.
Then Jiang Man left.
He had been telling the truth all along. If you did not cultivate this early, or cultivate at night, would you not be squandering the day?
Back at the Stable, Jiang Man chatted with Old Yellow Ox while resting.
He talked about what had happened during the day.
Old Yellow Ox asked with considerable curiosity, "If you tell them you don't sleep at night, aren't you afraid they'll stay up cultivating too?"
Jiang Man was puzzled. "Why would I be afraid? Even geniuses differ from one another."
Old Yellow Ox: "..."
Then he asked about the Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny.
"It's indeed complete. The Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny is stirring now, too. The inheritance items and the next requirement should appear soon." Jiang Man was also somewhat curious about what the Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny would give him this time.
It should be something like pills.
If it was something like a cultivation method, he would not dare practice it carelessly.
If he was caught, his future would be utterly ruined.
Elsewhere.
Luo Xuan and Cheng Yu were walking back.
"Isn't this Jiang Man a little unusual?" Cheng Yu looked at Luo Xuan.
Luo Xuan fell silent for a moment before saying, "He is a little unusual. I've never seen anyone shoot straight to first place in such a short time.
"I even suspected he was hiding his abilities from the start.
"Waiting until the very end to deliberately reveal his strength.
"Then drawing attention so some people would sponsor him with resources.
"And thus receiving better training.
"All to make a push for next year's Sect Examination."
Cheng Yu asked in shock, "Is that really what happened?"
"Probably not." Luo Xuan shook her head and sighed. "I wish it were, but when I fought him today, I found that he really knew very little about Spell Arts, and he had no actual combat experience either.
"His control over his strength was decent, but nowhere near outstanding.
"So he really did achieve this much in a short time.
"But I can't tell how he did it."
Cheng Yu looked astonished, then asked, "Do you still want to take him on as a guard, then?"
Hearing this, Luo Xuan looked at the person beside her with some surprise. "He's in first place."
A simple sentence, seemingly calm, yet bitter.
She had been the one in first place.
For two years, she had worked hard without daring to slack off in the slightest, exhausting every effort.
All to hold that position firmly.
And now...
Someone had taken it away so effortlessly.
Some had told her that he was merely lucky and must have vast resources supporting him.
Others had told her that he was nothing but a wild boy from an impoverished village. What did it matter if he came first?
He would not get far.
But...
First place was first place. That was an unalterable fact.
Their standing within the courtyard had changed.
Still thinking of taking him on as a guard would only invite humiliation.
Rather than win him over, she would be better off finding a way to disrupt his state of mind so he would perform poorly next month.
But something like that required an opportunity. It could not be conjured out of thin air.
Still, she was not without a chance of winning.
Spell Arts were his weakness, and happened to be her strength.
Actual combat also accounted for a large portion.
For now, she could not dwell on anything else. She had to work hard enough.
If he cultivated even at the cost of sleep, she had to do the same.
Facing such a formidable opponent, how could she sleep?
If she could improve in the remaining half-month or so.
Her chances of winning would be greater.
After parting with Luo Xuan, Cheng Yu shook her head slightly. "Luo Xuan's vision is as limited as ever. This really is a fine prospect. How should I win him over?"
Cheng Yu pondered as she walked.
Her previous method had failed. Even if Chang Qiwen dragged Luo Xuan down, she might not be able to move up.
"I just need to find a way to make Jiang Man a pawn. So what should I use?" Cheng Yu looked at the bright moon in the sky.
She murmured to herself, "With a young man's disposition, everyone should have someone they admire, like moonlight in their heart.
"That person is usually the most dazzling one.
"Luo Xuan is just such a person."
Luo Xuan was a young lady from a wealthy family, with good talent, a gentle disposition, and a dignified, elegant bearing. Not only that, her looks were outstanding, and her well-proportioned figure was pleasing to the eye. She embodied a host of virtues.
Someone like her only had to exchange a few extra words with some poor boy to make his heart race.
If she took a liking to some poor wild boy, he would even be willing to dig out his heart for her.
"No matter how talented someone is, it won't change his nature. Poor people are inferior deep in their bones. Even if they have proud bones, they still can't escape a beauty giving them her heart.
"Even heroes stumble at a beauty's gate, let alone a poor boy with decent talent who has suddenly found the spring wind at his back." A smile touched Cheng Yu's eyes.
"If Jiang Man received an Admiration Letter from Luo Xuan, asking him to work hard to defeat Fang Yong so they could both secure places and be together afterward, I wonder how he would react."
Who could resist Luo Xuan's admiration?
Would he not have to at least try?
That way, Fang Yong would be badly injured, and then she could have Chang Qiwen drag Luo Xuan into being badly injured too.
Then...
She could smoothly take second place.
That way, Luo Xuan could withdraw on the grounds that she had not secured a place, and he would still be mine.
"Though the plan might fail, its chances of success aren't low."
"Besides, this is something I can advance or retreat from. There are plenty of options."
"The only difficulty is making him believe it."
And making him believe it would be easy too. As Luo Xuan's close friend, she would deliver the letter herself.
Who could question the letter then?
She only needed to tell him that Luo Xuan would not mention this matter before the results were out.
Then everything could proceed smoothly.
Cheng Yu withdrew her gaze and smiled.
She wondered whether a poor boy with no worldly experience could withstand an Admiration Letter from Luo Xuan.
Still, she was more inclined to think Jiang Man would fail midway.
That would make him even easier for her to win over.
So what if he was a genius?
Geniuses had weaknesses too.
At this moment, Jiang Man's Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny had finished stirring.
Two pills emerged from the Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny, then fell into his Dantian.
Both were pills of extremely high quality.
But he was not yet sure exactly what kind of pills they were.
He needed to ask Old Yellow Ox.
There was no hurry about that.
After all, the pills would remain there. They would not disappear.
The pressing matter was to see what the Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny's third requirement was.
And how much time it had left him this time.
Before you continue