Saving Decades of Detours

Faced with Jiang Man's question, Luo Xuan felt quite bitter too.

In a normal contest, she might well have won.

Although Jiang Man's fighting style was somewhat excessive.

It was not without a counter.

Fang Yong had merely suffered because he had never encountered it before.

But...

Cheng Yu had schemed against her, leaving her badly injured. She simply could not fight Jiang Man, whose score was even higher than hers.

Now she could only try to see whether she could defeat Fang Yong.

Both of them were badly injured.

And as long as she gave him no time to recover.

She might still have a chance.

So...

She chose to concede.

Everyone could understand this outcome.

And so the final contest came down to Fang Yong and Luo Xuan.

After announcing that Jiang Man had qualified, Zhao Leming asked Luo Xuan, "Do you want to issue a challenge?"

"I want to challenge Fang Yong," Luo Xuan said.

Hearing this, Zhao Leming nodded.

Then he had the participants in the next match prepare.

Fang Yong, who had barely rested, was forced to return to the middle of the courtyard.

His opponent had given him no chance to catch his breath at all.

Of course, that was only natural.

He would have done the same.

As long as he could secure a place, why would he worry about much else?

Naturally, he would take his opponent's life while they were ailing.

Jiang Man returned to the sidelines.

Watching the courtyard, Little Fatty asked curiously, "Brother Jiang, who do you think will win?"

Jiang Man thought both of them were very strong.

"I think Luo Xuan will win," Little Fatty continued.

"Why?" Jiang Man asked.

"Although both of them are badly injured, Luo Xuan has rested for a long time, and she still has quite a few pills that can temporarily boost her fighting strength," Little Fatty said.

"If Luo Xuan loses, will I have a chance to become her guard?" Song Qing asked.

Jiang Man thought that would be quite difficult.

"Aren't you stealing Brother Jiang's job?" Little Fatty said.

"When the time comes, I'll follow Brother Jiang's lead," Song Qing said earnestly.

Then he sighed again. "It's just a shame Brother Jiang gave me a chance, and I failed to seize it."

"I'm not a personal guard," Jiang Man explained once more.

But he did not explain much in detail, because Luo Xuan and Fang Yong had started fighting.

"What about Cheng Yu?" Little Fatty asked curiously.

"You want to be her personal guard?" Song Qing asked curiously.

"I'm not worthy." Little Fatty knew his own limitations well in this regard.

"Sometimes it's not about whether you're worthy, but whether you try. What if they're thin-skinned and agree to save face? At least you'd be able to stay in the city comfortably," Song Qing advised kindly.

Boom!

The battle in the courtyard interrupted their conversation.

At this point, they saw that Fang Yong and Luo Xuan were attacking with extreme aggression.

Both of them had already suffered wounds.

They were fighting entirely by trading injury for injury.

It was just a matter of who fell first.

Neither wanted to lose, so as they exchanged blows, their movements grew slower and slower.

The bloodstains on their bodies grew more and more numerous.

Some blood was their own, and some belonged to the other.

Toward the end, sheer conviction alone kept them suppressing their injuries, refusing to fall.

Until, at last.

Luo Xuan fell first.

Her body had reached its limit. Chang Qiwen's kick had been too heavy.

He had staked his life on that kick.

Otherwise...

She would have had a chance to win.

Fu Yidan sighed and took Luo Xuan away for treatment.

In the end, Fang Yong won.

But soon he fell too.

Of the five contestants, Jiang Man alone remained standing, perfectly fine.

"Brother Jiang, was this just good luck?" Little Fatty found it rather hard to believe.

Everyone else was badly injured, while Jiang Man was completely fine.

"It was strength," Jiang Man said calmly.

Little Fatty was puzzled. Was there a trick to getting stronger or not?

Yet Jiang Man had already told him long ago. Unfortunately, he would not believe it.

Marrying an immortal maiden might well save him decades of detours.

If it worked out, his progress would be lightning-fast.

If he lost, he would be in the ground in three days.

That was decades earlier than going into the ground after a hundred years.

That counted as saving decades of detours too.

Afterward, Zhao Leming confirmed the places.

First place, Jiang Man.

Second place, Fang Yong.

Everyone else had failed to qualify.

Song Qing sighed. "Luo Xuan almost won."

Little Fatty was also moved. "I never thought Luo Xuan would lose after holding first place for so long. By rights, she had a chance.

"If Chang Qiwen hadn't suddenly erupted.

"Come to think of it, weren't those the Cheng household's spell arts and pills?

"Where did he get them?"

After a little thought, Jiang Man said, "Cheng Yu probably gave them to him."

Hearing this, Little Fatty found it hard to believe. "Surely not? Cheng Yu bought Chang Qiwen off?"

For a moment, Little Fatty found it difficult to accept. Cheng Yu was gentle and kind, and treated people warmly.

How could she...

Jiang Man patted Little Fatty's shoulder and said earnestly, "Be more careful when you meet beautiful women in the future. The prettier a girl is, the better she is at lying."

Little Fatty: "..."

"Jiang Man, come with me," Zhao Leming said then.

Then he told the others, "Hold your own matches too. Come collect your rankings tomorrow, then take half a month off.

"Resume cultivating in January. Make good use of the final six months and more."

The others felt rather wistful, and somewhat helpless.

Their path of cultivation was finally coming to an end.

But there seemed to be little in the way of prospects.

They could only work hard to find a way forward.

Those remaining six months and more were also time for them to find that way forward.

Soon, Jiang Man arrived at Zhao Leming's office.

"Mr. Zhao." Jiang Man offered a greeting salute.

Looking at the person before him, Zhao Leming was still shocked.

Back in August, Jiang Man had not even been able to pay his cultivation fees. Now, just four short months later.

Not only had he secured a place, but he had also become the best in the Sixth Courtyard.

Moreover, he seemed to have learned a Mortal Grade Superior Visualization Method.

His spiritual qi was abundant, and he could control it with precision.

His prospects were boundless.

Sure enough, someone in the shadows had chosen him. How could they allow him to damage his own foundations?

His own outlook had been somewhat narrow after all.

Everything Jiang Man did had reasons and confidence behind it.

"Do you know where you rank among the Azure Cloud Pavilion's seven courtyards?" Zhao Leming asked.

Jiang Man shook his head.

"Under the Cloudfront Office are the Three Towers and Six Pavilions. The Azure Cloud Pavilion has nineteen places in total, and you currently rank fourteenth," Zhao Leming said. "Judging by previous years, those who could enter a sect all ranked in the top five, or even the top three.

"Of course, there are exceptions.

"So if you want to enter a sect, you still need to improve as quickly as possible.

"But that would only get you into the worst places in a sect.

"If you want to go somewhere good and obtain better resources, the higher your ranking, the better.

"Also, while the others take the latter half of the month off, you and Fang Yong will spend those two weeks competing for cultivation methods at the Cloudfront Office.

"You'll have a chance to obtain mid-grade Qi Refining Methods, Qi and Blood Methods, and Visualization Methods.

"There may also be a chance to obtain Superior Spell Arts.

"The Dharma Transmission Office will send you word within the next two days. Don't leave the Cloudfront Office."

Jiang Man was quite surprised.

He had not expected cultivation methods as rewards too.

A mid-grade cultivation method-that meant eleven levels.

His cultivation speed could rise by two notches.

It would be ideal if he could obtain one.

A superior-grade one would be even better.

After asking about a few other matters, Jiang Man left.

He had not managed to obtain any useful information.

However, the competition seemed quite fierce. He would have to be careful when the time came.

Two days later.

Luo Xuan woke after getting nearly enough rest at the treatment office.

She said something to the teacher looking after her, then silently left the Cloudfront Office.

Now that she had failed to secure a place, she had to return and tell her parents.

Then she would wait for arrangements to be made.

Though she was the eldest young lady...

Having failed to secure a place, she no longer had any freedom.