Who Would Secure an Assessment Spot

While he waited, the middle-aged man seemed somewhat uneasy.

Standing at the entrance, he craned his neck to look inside, then glanced at Jiang Man.

Seeing this, Jiang Man naturally stepped away and went to the pavilion, hiding half his body in the shadows.

He would not be easily noticed there, nor would he lose sight of the gate.

As a guard, he had to watch for anyone entering.

People leaving did not matter much, but entry had to be controlled more strictly.

From the shadows, Jiang Man saw Fang Yong come out.

Looking at the middle-aged man again, he found him standing perfectly straight, with no sign at all that his foot was injured.

Fang Yong did not look pleased as he came up to the middle-aged man.

His lips moved several times, his expression carrying a hint of reproach. He seemed to scold the man a little.

Jiang Man did not deliberately use spiritual qi to listen to exactly what he said.

The middle-aged man had needed him to step aside just now, so naturally, he ought to show some consideration for the pride of those involved.

Whose pride it was, however, remained unknown.

The middle-aged man merely kept his head lowered and smiled apologetically. Only after Fang Yong finished speaking did he take out a bag.

He handed it over with a smile.

It was probably Spirit Source.

After accepting the Spirit Source, Fang Yong said something else. This time, he said an extra sentence.

Jiang Man merely watched.

Then Fang Yong went inside, seemingly adding another warning as he turned away.

The middle-aged man simply nodded and smiled apologetically.

Then he stood on tiptoe, watching Fang Yong leave, and only then relaxed his foot.

A pained expression appeared on his face.

Jiang Man emerged from the shadows, sat in the pavilion, and beckoned to the middle-aged man.

The man came over and sat down, asking curiously, "Has something happened at the Azure Cloud Pavilion?"

Jiang Man was puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

"I feel... our young master doesn't seem to have rested well. He hardly spoke, and he was in such a hurry." The middle-aged man paused, then looked at Jiang Man respectfully. "I took the young master's family name, so my surname is Fang as well. They all call me Steward Fang. May I ask your name, Sir Guard...?"

"My surname is Jiang," Jiang Man said.

As for what the man had mentioned, that was naturally because Fang Yong had no time left either.

Jiang Man was not resting, and Luo Xuan was not resting, so what right did Fang Yong have to rest?

Would he dare rest?

But Jiang Man merely shook his head, not telling the man before him the truth.

"Are you planning to head back?" Jiang Man asked, glancing at the sky.

"I'm planning to rest nearby for a while, then leave at daybreak." As he spoke, Steward Fang took the best-looking steamed bun from his bag and offered it to Jiang Man, saying ingratiatingly, "Would you like something to eat, Guard Jiang?"

Looking at the steamed bun made from coarse grains, Jiang Man reached out and accepted it. "You'll leave at daybreak?"

"I'll leave at daybreak." Steward Fang smiled and nodded.

This place was for the guard. Not just anyone could rest here.

"Then sit in the pavilion for a while. Leave once it's light." With that, Jiang Man left the pavilion, eating the steamed bun.

He prepared to cultivate.

The man's thanks came from behind him.

Yet not long afterward, when Jiang Man looked at the pavilion again, he found the man curled up on the ground, asleep against its side.

His hand kept a tight grip on his food bag, as though afraid his dry rations would spill out.

There was actually a cushion in the spot Jiang Man had vacated.

The man had not dared sit on it.

Jiang Man moved a little farther away and began cultivating.

This time, he circulated the Qi Refining Method to improve his cultivation.

He specifically took a Spirit-Gathering Pill so he could improve faster.

Otherwise, he would just be wasting time.

This continued until a fish-belly white appeared on the horizon.

Steward Fang woke at once and used his clothes to wipe the spot where he had sat.

Then he prepared to leave.

Jiang Man was already awake. Eating the remaining half of his steamed bun, he asked, "Leaving now?"

"Guard Jiang." Steward Fang bowed respectfully. "Sorry for troubling you, Sir Guard. It's light now, and I'm pressed for time."

Jiang Man waved the steamed bun in his hand. "The bun is pretty good."

As he spoke, he felt around on his person and tossed over a medicinal plaster. "A thank-you gift."

It was a plaster for treating external injuries.

Catching the plaster, Steward Fang hurriedly tried to refuse.

But Jiang Man waved goodbye to him.

He did not dare go against him either.

In the end, he offered an earnest word of thanks before activating the Spirit Travel Step and leaving.

With that, Jiang Man ate his steamed bun as he headed to the Azure Cloud Pavilion's Sixth Courtyard.

As the one in first place, he had to continue leading the courtyard in cultivation.

He would also borrow some Spirit-Gathering Pills from Little Fatty while he was at it.

This time, Little Fatty lent him five.

For the final ten days, Jiang Man would keep taking Spirit-Gathering Pills to improve his cultivation.

He had also exchanged all his Spirit Source for Spirit-Gathering Pills.

Ten in total.

That gave him fifteen pills.

Combined with the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Method, a breakthrough was not out of the question.

The days passed one by one.

Jiang Man's cultivation kept improving as well.

With so many Spirit-Gathering Pills, the water in the sixth "gourd" rose at a rate visible to the naked eye.

One day later.

Twenty percent.

Two days later.

Thirty percent.

Four days later.

Fifty percent.

Seven days later.

Seventy percent.

September fourteenth.

Ninety-nine percent.

The Spirit-Gathering Pills were all gone.

At the same time, his physical body had also successfully reached the fourth stage.

Once the "gourd" filled with water, he would have met every condition for advancing to Qi Refining, Seventh Layer.

Qi Refining Sixth Layer, physical body at the fourth stage, and Spirit, First Stage.

Still, Jiang Man had not dared neglect his Spell Arts during this time either.

Teacher Fu had been teaching all along, placing particular emphasis on Spell Arts.

Even Mr. Zhao's lessons had become less frequent.

By now, Jiang Man had brought every Spell Art he had obtained to the ninth layer.

But his skill in using them was lacking.

He lacked practical combat training.

He had sought out Steward Miao several times.

However, sparring partners also needed extensive practical combat experience.

So Jiang Man could only practice on Luo Xuan and the others.

Unfortunately, these people merely fed him moves.

They had no intention whatsoever of exposing their true strength.

Though Jiang Man still had a certain amount of confidence in a fight.

After all, his spiritual qi had been absorbed through the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Method.

The weight of his spiritual qi was absolutely not in the same league as theirs.

But sometimes, strength alone was not enough, unless one was much stronger than the enemy.

"Brother Jiang, are you nervous?" Little Fatty came up beside Jiang Man in the courtyard and asked.

He took a deep breath, working hard to calm himself.

Jiang Man looked at him in surprise. "You're nervous?"

"How could I not be? Tomorrow is the Brand-New Assessment, the Qualification Competition," Little Fatty said.

"You made the top five?" Jiang Man asked uncertainly.

He had been so focused on cultivation lately that he had barely paid attention to Little Fatty.

"No, but tomorrow's assessment is when I lose my chance at a spot." Little Fatty sighed. "After that, I'll have nothing more to do with the Wuyun Sect.

"I'll never have another opportunity like this in my life.

"It means that, starting tomorrow, my life will take a new path.

"Though we can keep studying at the Azure Cloud Pavilion for another six months, the path into the sect will have nothing more to do with people like us."

Jiang Man nodded. That was true.

Starting tomorrow, they would face a turning point in their fate.

It was only natural to be nervous.

He was the same. Though he had ranked first before, no one would have stood still this month.

Perhaps someone had already taken another step forward.

Heaven and Earth had yet to settle; he could not let his guard down.

"Brother Jiang, who do you think will get the second spot, besides you?" Little Fatty suddenly asked.

Jiang Man thought for a moment. "Chang Qiwen is the least likely."

Jiang Man had fought him before. Though his mastery of Spell Arts was decent, it was only decent.

He fell far short of Luo Xuan.

He did not measure up to Fang Yong either.

Luo Xuan had previously held first place, so logically, she was the most likely.

But...

Chang Qiwen had someone backing him, and that person was very likely Cheng Yu.

Then, with deliberate targeting outside the arena, the outcome inside the arena could also be affected.

So Cheng Yu's chances of winning were also very high.

By contrast, Fang Yong was somewhat unremarkable, with the lowest chance of winning.

Besides that, Jiang Man was also worried about himself, and whether he too might be caught in certain people's schemes.