Recaps

Jiang Man received Spirit Source from Li Yuan and Fang Tianyi, then learned he could study a Middle-Grade Cultivation Method for a fee. He decided to pursue first place in the Cloudfront Office instead, while Old Jin of the Li Lineage confirmed Jiang Man had not paid the tuition and prepared to speak with him.

• Jiang Man accepted two thousand Spirit Source from Li Yuan and six thousand from Fang Tianyi, who warned Li Yuan that trouble might be coming.
• Jiang Man received a letter offering the Azure Cloud Pavilion's top three a chance to learn Middle-Grade Cultivation Methods for ten thousand Spirit Source.
• Jiang Man borrowed three thousand Spirit Source from Chang Qiwen and agreed to repay thirty-five hundred in September.
• Jiang Man told Old Yellow Ox that he would skip the Middle-Grade Qi and Blood Method because his goal was to become number one in the Cloudfront Office.
• Old Jin of the Li Lineage confirmed that Jiang Man had not paid tuition for a Middle-Grade Cultivation Method and decided to go speak with him.

Jiang Man rejected the Li Lineage’s offer and faced pressure over his access to cultivation resources, but Mr. Zhao resolved the trouble at the Spirit-Gathering Hall. Jiang Man left the middle-grade cultivation method unpaid for and focused on his own cultivation as the third contest approached.

• Lao Jin offered Jiang Man ten thousand spirit sources a month to join the Li Lineage, but Jiang Man refused after citing better offers from other lineages.
• Lao Jin warned that the Li Lineage could disrupt Jiang Man’s work and use the contest’s team rules to block him from obtaining spell arts.
• Jiang Man visited Steward Miao, who said orders barred him from the Spirit-Gathering Hall for now and gave him a Spirit-Gathering Pill.
• Mr. Zhao assured Jiang Man he could focus on cultivation, and the Spirit-Gathering Hall soon notified him that the issue had been resolved.
• Jiang Man encouraged Little Fatty to keep cultivating toward the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, then ignored an envelope demanding payment for the middle-grade cultivation method.

Jiang Man learned that the great lineages had driven up pill prices to pressure people who refused their contracts, threatening his plans to advance. Fang Yong offered to take him to someone who could sell him pills at the original price, though the deal would likely have conditions.

• Jiang Man found that Spirit-Gathering Pills and other pills had risen in price, so he asked Zhao Leming whether he was being targeted.
• Zhao Leming explained that the great lineages had coordinated bulk purchases to pressure people into contracts, and predicted pill prices would climb to around six hundred.
• Jiang Man visited the Sixth Courtyard and saw that the rising prices were troubling its poorer cultivators.
• Fang Yong offered to connect Jiang Man with a seller who could provide enough pills at the original price, but warned that the seller would likely impose conditions.
• Jiang Man agreed to go with Fang Yong while intending to stay within the Cloudfront Office, where Zhao Leming could protect him.

Jiang Man secretly cultivated harder after pill prices rose, while Luo Xuan and Cheng Yu discussed marriage prospects and the Luo Lineage’s growing urgency. Fang Yong took Jiang Man to meet a connection who had warned him about the price increase.

• Little Fatty warned Jiang Man that rising pill prices were meant to pressure cultivators like him into signing contracts, and Jiang Man teased him about wanting a wife who allowed concubines.
• Jiang Man secretly cultivated during Mr. Zhao’s lesson and left early to return to cultivating, prompting others to sigh with relief.
• Luo Xuan and Cheng Yu discussed Jiang Man’s relentless cultivation, the failed search for a live-in husband, and Fang Yong as a possible match.
• Luo Xuan reflected that the Luo Lineage was running out of time and that her father still hoped Jiang Man might join the family.
• Fang Yong told Jiang Man that a woman had warned him in advance about the pill-price increase, leaving Jiang Man wondering whether Fang Yong had been buying low and selling high.

Jiang Man and Fang Yong met Wang Yan, who offered poor Student Cultivators pills at their original price in exchange for drawing diagrams from a cultivation method. Jiang Man discovered the method was an upper-grade Qi and Blood Method, a subject he knew little about, and learned that the worst drawing would lose ten pills to the best.

• Fang Yong told Jiang Man that a wealthy woman was approaching poor Student Cultivators, and warned him to be cautious.
• Fang Yong brought Jiang Man to meet Wang Yan and three other Student Cultivators from the Three Towers; they shared their names and rankings.
• Wang Yan offered each of them up to thirty pills at the original price in exchange for drawing circulation diagrams from a cultivation method.
• Jiang Man recognized the text as an upper-grade Qi and Blood Method and struggled to understand its terminology.
• Wang Yan announced that the worst drawing would lose ten pills to the best, so Jiang Man began working harder to protect his allotment.

Jiang Man struggled to reconstruct a meridian diagram, and Wang Yan judged his comprehension ordinary before deciding not to help him. He bought Spirit-Gathering Pills and cultivated nonstop, ending the month tied with Cheng Moyang for the top assessment score.

• After six hours studying an upper-grade cultivation method fragment, Jiang Man failed to complete the meridian diagram and explained his reasoning to Wang Yan.
• Wang Yan rated Jiang Man's comprehension a seven, suspected his cultivation speed came from resources rather than exceptional talent, and decided he was not worth supporting.
• Wang Yan offered the group different pill-purchasing limits, and Jiang Man arranged with Fang Yong to buy extra pills, purchasing forty in total.
• Jiang Man returned to the stable and cultivated continuously, while pill prices rose and Azure Cloud Pavilion members grew exhausted from following his pace.
• At the end-of-month assessment, Jiang Man scored ninety and tied with Cheng Moyang of Heavenly Origin Pavilion.

Jiang Man remained focused on cultivation while Zhao Leming shielded him from the lineages’ efforts to interfere, but his pill supply ran out before his eighth gourd was full. After the Sixth Courtyard rankings confirmed Jiang Man in first place and Fang Yong in second, Zhao Leming announced that the contest’s spell-art and cultivation-method lists had arrived unusually early.

• Jiang Man learned from Mr. Zhao that he had intercepted the lineages’ attempts to force Jiang Man to rest and to accuse him of stealing rice.
• By the end of May, Jiang Man had used up his pills and nearly all his Spirit Source, leaving his eighth gourd ninety-eight percent full and a single pill beyond his means.
• The June rankings placed Jiang Man first with ninety points and Fang Yong second with seventy-five; Jiang Man suspected Fang Yong had received Wang Yan’s support.
• Little Fatty told Jiang Man that a Bei Village genius had completed the Cloudfront Office’s lessons early and gone to the sect with someone from the Wang Family.
• Zhao Leming arrived on June first and gave Jiang Man and Fang Yong the newly issued lists of spell arts and cultivation methods for the contest.

Jiang Man learned that the final contest offered a spell art beyond mortal grade and a secret realm qualification connected to Foundation Establishment, then borrowed pills and Spirit Source from his friends to prepare. Cheng Yu and Luo Xuan discussed his borrowing and the contest, leaving Cheng Yu asking what Luo Xuan’s family intended to do.

• Zhao Leming told Jiang Man and Fang Yong that the Heavenly Heart Seal was not a mortal-grade spell art and that the Qi Refining Secret Realm qualification was connected to Foundation Establishment.
• Jiang Man decided he needed to compete and borrowed Spirit-Congealing Pills from Fang Yong, then borrowed pills and Spirit Source from Chang Qiwen.
• Little Fatty gave Jiang Man twenty Spirit-Gathering Pills, and Song Qing lent him two more.
• Cheng Yu asked Luo Xuan whether she planned to lend Jiang Man Spirit Source, then revealed that she had lent Chang Qiwen six thousand so he could pass it to Jiang Man.
• Cheng Yu asked Luo Xuan what her family intended to do.

Luo Xuan discussed the Luo Lineage’s worsening prospects with Cheng Yu, while Jiang Man learned that he needed a secret-realm qualification to pursue the Origin Condensation Method and began preparing for the competition. Li Yuan, ordered by his lineage to withdraw, decided to seek Jiang Man and fight back after the secret-realm place changed his prospects.

• Luo Xuan told Cheng Yu that the Luo Lineage had stopped pressuring people to take a son-in-law as its situation worsened.
• Old Yellow Ox explained to Jiang Man that entering the secret realm was the standard route to Foundation Establishment, and Jiang Man resolved to secure qualification.
• Jiang Man took leave to cultivate and planned to exchange his Spirit-Gathering Pills for Spirit-Congealing Pills to raise his mental realm.
• Teacher Fu warned Zhao Leming that powerful figures would compete for the secret-realm qualification, and Zhao Leming agreed to watch out for Jiang Man.
• Li Yuan told Yan Huimin to attend the competition while revealing that his lineage had ordered him to withdraw and avoid the Back Mountain.
• Li Yuan decided to visit Jiang Man and resist his lineage’s orders because winning a secret-realm place could earn him the elders’ support.

Gao Cunfeng tried to stop Little Fatty from overcultivating, while the Cloudfront Office prepared for the Third Contest and Jiang Man quietly pursued his own training. Jiang Man left the Spirit-Gathering Hall with a newly strengthened, unusually heavy body and found Li Yuan waiting at his lodgings.

• Gao Cunfeng and Elder Chen worried that Little Fatty's intense cultivation would harm him, so Gao Cunfeng planned to replace and destroy his cultivation books.
• As the Third Contest approached, Fang Yong revealed that the Fang, Li, and Cheng Lineages were competing, while Jiang Man declined to join any recruitment effort.
• Jiang Man raised his mental strength to the sixth layer but, short on time and resources, went to the Guard Office to buy three thousand Spirit Sources' worth of access to the Spirit-Gathering Hall.
• The next day, Jiang Man returned from the Guard Office with faint footprints marking his heavy steps and found Li Yuan waiting at his lodgings.

Jiang Man chose to compete for the Heavenly Heart Seal and prepared for the final round despite his slim odds. As the competition began, he set off with Li Yuan and Yan Huimin to challenge the other Student Cultivators.

• Li Yuan confronted Jiang Man about the Li Lineage’s attempts to keep him from competing and asked which Spell Art he wanted.
• Jiang Man said he would fight for the Heavenly Heart Seal and declared that he intended to become Cloudfront Office First.
• Jiang Man consolidated his cultivation overnight, and Old Yellow Ox admitted that his chances were poor but that Jiang Man might still surprise him.
• Li Yuan and Yan Huimin waited at the foot of the Back Mountain for Jiang Man to arrive.
• Jiang Man joined them and led the way up the mountain to fight for the Heavenly Heart Seal, saying he would make his name known throughout the Cloudfront Office.

Jiang Man led Li Yuan and Yan Huimin toward the Secret Realm eligibility contest despite having no plan beyond reaching the woods quickly. He defeated Cheng Moyang, Yang Ling, and Yang Feng in a single strike and continued up the mountain with his companions.

• Jiang Man told Li Yuan and Yan Huimin to find a way into the woods while he went in from the front to obtain what they needed.
• Jiang Man's group met Cheng Moyang, Yang Ling, and Yang Feng at a mountain fork, where the two teams were intercepting people heading uphill.
• Jiang Man asked Cheng Moyang to let him pass if he helped deal with Yang Ling, then advanced when Cheng Moyang and Yang Ling prepared to fight him.
• Jiang Man crushed the three men's golden dragons with his spiritual qi and used the Nine Clouds Town-Dragon Seal to strike them down.
• Jiang Man headed up the mountain with Li Yuan and Yan Huimin, while Li Yuan declared that they would witness a miracle.

Jiang Man climbed the mountain, defeated Fang Yong’s patrol team, and reached a grove guarded by puppets and surrounded by three rival lineages. He prepared to attack Li Yuan of the Li Lineage because its people had provoked him.

• Cheng Moyang and Yang Ling realized Jiang Man had surpassed them and sent word about his strength to those above.
• Jiang Man defeated Gao Jin, a woman, and Fang Yong, then directed Fang Yong to an upper-grade Qi Refining Method in exchange for no change to his debt.
• Jiang Man reached a grove where nine puppets guarded three books and an iron token while the Fang, Cheng, and Li Lineages faced off around it.
• Jiang Man told Li Yuan and Yan Huimin to hide and wait for the grove to open, then said he would attack Li Yuan because the Li Lineage had provoked him.

Jiang Man stormed the Three Towers contest and defeated Li Yuan, overcoming the other cultivators who tried to stop him. He declared Li Yuan eliminated and resolved to become a mountain Li Yuan could never surmount.

• Li Yuan and the others hid and waited, unsure how Jiang Man would challenge the Three Towers’ leading cultivators.
• Jiang Man charged toward Li Yuan, using the Dragon-Suppressing Method and Six Harmonies Palm to knock aside the cultivators blocking his way.
• Li Yuan met Jiang Man with the Nine Clouds Town-Dragon Seal and Thousand Thunder Technique, but Jiang Man repeatedly attacked and wore him down.
• Li Yuan offered to pay Jiang Man double, then ordered a group to stop him; Jiang Man swept them aside with several spell arts.
• Jiang Man struck Li Yuan into the ground with the Nine Clouds Town-Dragon Seal and Collapsing Flow Technique, then kicked him toward the crowd and declared him eliminated.

Jiang Man defeated Li Yuan, then pursued Cheng Ning and overcame her defenses before defeating Fang Tiancheng as well. Cheng Ning conceded, but Jiang Man still attacked her, intent on leaving her gravely wounded.

• Jiang Man defeated Li Yuan, and Li Yuan ordered his people to withdraw rather than let another lineage claim the Secret Realm opportunity.
• Jiang Man chased Cheng Ning through repeated exchanges of Azure Smoke Prelude, then broke through her Hundred Battles Mountain Shield with his Nine Clouds Town-Dragon Seal.
• Cheng Ning and Jiang Man fought with shields and rapid attacks until her defense faltered, but Fang Tiancheng intervened to protect her.
• Jiang Man attacked Fang Tiancheng, injured his arms and ribs, and drove him into the ground.
• Cheng Ning conceded, but Jiang Man advanced and struck her with Nine Seals Unite anyway.

Jiang Man defeated Cheng Ning and Fang Tiancheng, then joined Li Yuan and Yan Huimin to claim the items and secure a place in the Secret Realm. Meanwhile, Little Fatty went to check the rankings, and Gao Cunfeng arranged to replace the books in his quarters while he waited for contest results.

• Jiang Man broke Cheng Ning’s face and leg, then broke Fang Tiancheng’s leg and forced the Fang Lineage to give up fighting.
• Fang Yuanyuan and Fang Tianyi withdrew, while Li Yuan realized Jiang Man had entered the woods and hurried to claim credit for sending him there.
• Jiang Man entered the woods with Li Yuan and Yan Huimin, defeated the puppet, and secured the items without anyone daring to attack.
• Fang Tiancheng asked why Jiang Man was so strong, and Jiang Man said he cultivated at night; Li Yuan mocked the defeated fighters for sleeping.
• Little Fatty left the Gao Residence to check the rankings, and Gao Cunfeng had his books removed and replaced with Elder Chen’s books.
• Gao Cunfeng invited Elder Chen to wait with him for the contest results and discuss the Gao Lineage’s chances.

The Cloudfront Office rankings named Jiang Man of the Azure Cloud Pavilion first, ahead of the three leading contestants from the major lineages. Gao Cunfeng learned that Jiang Man had defeated everyone and urgently ordered the steward to save the young master's books from the fire.

• Elder Chen predicted that Li Yuan had the best chance of winning, while Fang Tiancheng and Cheng Ning also had paths to victory.
• Little Fatty and Song Qing learned the Six Pavilions rankings had been canceled and went to check the Cloudfront Office rankings.
• The rankings placed Fang Tiancheng fourth, Cheng Ning third, and Li Yuan second, with Jiang Man first.
• Little Fatty and Song Qing were stunned to see Jiang Man atop the rankings, while Cheng Yu and Luo Xuan reacted to his rise.
• A servant told Gao Cunfeng that Jiang Man had won and that the rankings described him as having defeated all of Cloudfront Office.
• Gao Cunfeng learned the young master's books were being burned and shouted for the steward to put out the fire.

After claiming first place in the Cloudfront Office, Jiang Man recovered from his injuries, struggled with his debts, and began studying the difficult Heavenly Heart Seal. He returned to the Stable to find his beautiful wife waiting in his room, and she asked whether he was unhappy to see her.

• Cheng Moyang and the others saw Jiang Man ranked first and accepted that his victory overshadowed their defeat.
• Jiang Man explained that he had intended to secure first place and recover the Secret Realm spots, then returned to the Stable injured and exhausted.
• Jiang Man calculated that he owed forty-three thousand Spirit Sources and asked Old Yellow Ox to explain the Heavenly Heart Seal.
• Old Yellow Ox taught Jiang Man the seal, and Jiang Man found it difficult to cultivate, managing only an initial grasp after repeated practice.
• Steward Miao told Jiang Man that the lineages were investigating his abundant spiritual qi, while Jiang Man planned to ask about rewards for being first.
• Jiang Man found a stunning woman waiting in his room; Old Yellow Ox told him she was his wife, and she asked whether he was unhappy to see her.

Jiang Man refused to trust the immortal maiden, who revealed that her name was Meng Qiewei and warned him about the dangers of the Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny. At the Cloudfront Office, Luo Xuan and Cheng Yu discussed their uncertain futures and plans to reach the Sect.

• The immortal maiden told Jiang Man that her chastity mark proved their marriage was real and explained how her lineage's Fate Pattern had given him the Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny, but Jiang Man refused to reveal his name or whereabouts.
• Meng Qiewei said she would return and left her name on the table before vanishing; Jiang Man then discussed her claims with Old Yellow Ox and decided to focus on cultivation and repaying his debts.
• At the Cloudfront Office entrance, Cheng Yu told Luo Xuan she planned to find someone to take her near the Sect, while Luo Xuan considered the marriage arrangements her family needed her to pursue.
• Luo Xuan and Cheng Yu watched two men discuss marriage and guard work, and Cheng Yu remarked on Chang Qiwen's many jobs.

Jiang Man collected Spirit Source from former rivals, repaid several debts, and secured a resource-escort job that would let him travel to the Sect and repay Chang Qiwen. The chapter ended with Meng Qiewei hearing rumors about a rising prodigy who wanted to reclaim his Fate Pattern, before her maid asked whether she had killed her husband.

• Fang Yong apologized to Jiang Man, gave him a thousand Spirit Source, and forgave his debt for the pills.
• Little Fatty told Jiang Man that others believed he had hidden his talent while mastering the Qi Refining Method, and Jiang Man gave him another book.
• Jiang Man received Spirit Source from grateful classmates and five thousand more from the Azure Cloud Pavilion, then learned the Cloudfront Office would protect him.
• Cheng Moyang, Yang Ling, Li Yuan, and Lao Jin apologized and gave Jiang Man Spirit Source, bringing his total to forty-four thousand.
• Jiang Man repaid several debts, accepted a resource-escort job from Zhao Leming, and gave Chang Qiwen a recommendation letter in exchange for Spirit Source and a promise to repay him next July.
• Meng Qiewei heard that a young prodigy intended to reclaim his Fate Pattern, and Qing Dai asked her whether she had killed her husband.

Meng Qiewei investigated rumors about the Evil God while Jiang Man continued cultivating and worrying about his debts and her possible return. As the August 15 Sect Examination began, Yu Wanyi noticed Jiang Man’s remarkable rise to Cloudfront Office First and prepared to assess him.

• Meng Qiewei asked whether anyone had speculated about erecting a tombstone for him, then told Qing Dai to investigate recent talk and newly emerged prodigies.
• Jiang Man filled his ninth spiritual-qi gourd, learned from Old Yellow Ox that he needed a separate Foundation Establishment method, and resolved to improve his body and mind before advancing.
• Cheng Yu offered Fang Yong fifteen thousand Spirit Sources and twenty Spirit-Gathering Pills in exchange for help establishing herself near the Sect, and Fang Yong struggled to decide whether to accept.
• Little Fatty broke through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer on August 10, prompting Gao Cunfeng to reconsider his plans for his son after receiving news from his elder brother.
• At the Sect Examination on August 15, Yu Wanyi reviewed the participants’ records and was surprised to find Jiang Man on the first page after Senior Sister Xia had asked her to watch him.

Jiang Man won first place in the Sect Examination and prepared to leave for the Sect, while arranging for Old Yellow Ox to follow later. As the Sixth Courtyard’s students went their separate ways, Gao Cunfeng visited Little Fatty and tried to discuss what kind of wife he wanted.

• Yu Wanyi reviewed the examination results, selected Jiang Man and four others to enter the Sect, and assigned the Cloudfront Office its remaining duties.
• Jiang Man placed first in the examination’s written and combat rounds, then joined his classmates in writing keepsake inscriptions before their final lesson ended.
• Little Fatty told Jiang Man he would go to the Sect to help his uncle run a shop, while Song Qing said the Gao Lineage had hired him as a guard.
• Jiang Man gave Zhao Leming two spirit-beast rearing books, sold him Lao Jin’s IOU for seven thousand Spirit Sources, and arranged for Old Yellow Ox to travel later with the remaining group.
• Gao Cunfeng visited Little Fatty and asked what kind of wife he wanted; Little Fatty insisted on a slim, pretty girl with lower talent and cultivation than his own, leaving Gao Cunfeng worried about finding a match.

Jiang Man left Falling Cloud City for the sect, said goodbye to Old Yellow Ox and his former teachers, and received guidance from Yu Wanyi during the journey. He learned about sect specializations and Foundation Establishment, then heard that a powerful genius from his city was already advancing toward it.

• Jiang Man said goodbye to Old Yellow Ox, taking the Wooden Sword and promising to meet him at the sect after reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Jiang Man thanked the Guard Office guards, then received Teacher Fu’s book on the Heavenly Heart Seal as Mr. Zhao and Teacher Fu saw him off.
• Yu Wanyi carried Jiang Man and the Cloudfront Office’s top five toward the sect and explained its cultivation paths, supplementary disciplines, and fees.
• Yu Wanyi gave Jiang Man a Token providing monthly Spirit Sources and a Foundation Establishment guide, and told him to avoid making an enemy of a recruited genius from Falling Cloud City.
• Yu Wanyi explained the advancement requirements for Foundation Establishment and said the other genius already met them and might enter a Secret Realm to advance next year.

Jiang Man entered the Wuyun Sect and learned that the Qi Refining Secret Realm would open that night, so he rushed there before settling in or reporting to Cloud Glow Peak. After arriving in the realm, he refused a wealthy disciple’s offer to help gather Foundation Establishment aura because he needed to improve his Advancement Method first.

• Yu Wanyi brought Jiang Man and the others to the Wuyun Sect, explained their benefits and cultivation requirements, and left them at the main gate.
• Jiang Man learned that the Qi Refining Secret Realm would open at midnight and paid a middle-aged man to explain the Advancement Method before heading to the entrance.
• Jiang Man entered the teleportation array with his Token, familiarized himself with the Advancement Method while waiting, and was transported beside a river in the mist-shrouded secret realm.
• A wealthy young man offered Jiang Man Spirit Sources to help him gather Foundation Establishment aura, but Jiang Man declined because he needed to cultivate and improve his Advancement Method.

Jiang Man completed the Advancement Method, reached the summit, and discovered that the cauldron there contained a message for Xiang Tianlin. As Jiang Man began establishing his foundation, He Chenfeng and Bai Danyan reopened registration and again found Jiang Man absent.

• He Chenfeng waited until dawn for the missing applicant from Falling Cloud City, then closed the registration book when the applicant failed to arrive.
• Jiang Man practiced the Advancement Method over several days, reaching its ninth level while learning how Foundation Establishment attempts worked.
• Jiang Man traded five thousand Spirit Sources to Zhao Yaoyao for Foundation Establishment Qi and another five hundred for a map to the summit.
• Jiang Man reached the summit and used the Heavenly Mirror of a Hundred Books to identify the Primordial Xuanhuang Cauldron and its envelope marked for Xiang Tianlin.
• Jiang Man began establishing his foundation as mist surged into him, while He Chenfeng and Bai Danyan reopened registration and again found him missing.