Zuo Guangshu was indeed a simple and amusing young man.

Moreover, because of the relationship with Zuo Guanglie, Jiang Wang felt very close to him. Spending time with him felt almost the same as with Zhongxuan Sheng and the others.

The difference was that Zhongxuan Sheng’s verbal skills had reached a transformative stage, and he wouldn’t easily allow anyone to get the better of him.

Zuo Guangshu, this young man, had exceptional talent, but he was thin-skinned, couldn’t take a joke, and sometimes he was even awkwardly inarticulate, getting easily teased into a fiery temper, which was quite entertaining.

Jiang Wang took joy in teasing him.

As for the gravity of the matters on the End of the World Platform, there was no need to discuss them with this young man.

"By the way," Jiang Wang remembered something and asked, "What is the relationship between Dou Zhao and Dou Min?"

It wasn’t that he was particularly concerned about Dou Zhao; although Dou Zhao was renowned for being the strongest Neifu Cultivator across Chu Country, he had already ascended to the Outer Building. So even at the Yellow River Gathering, they wouldn’t cross paths.

As for Dou Min, he was an "old friend," and it was only right to show some interest.

"Both from the Dou Family, they are half-brothers with the same father," Zuo Guangshu replied casually: "Dou Zhao is the eldest son born to a concubine, while Dou Min is younger and born to the legal wife. However, I heard from my grandfather that Dou Min has almost no chance of inheriting the family leadership, as the gap in strength is too wide. Why, you know him?"

"We’ve had dealings," Jiang Wang said with a smile, vaguely answering before asking another question: "Does your grandfather actually take the time to talk to you about these things?"

From what Jiang Wang knew, Zuo Guangshu was someone who dedicated himself to cultivation and shouldn’t concern himself with such matters.

Being the lord of the Zuo Family, Zuo Guangshu’s grandfather had countless affairs to deal with every day.

Looking at the Zhong Xuan Family for comparison, Zhongxuan Yunbo, who had retired from his armor for many years, was still busy managing family affairs. With the never-ending stream of big and small matters each day, he had little time to concern himself with the likes of Zhongxuan Sheng.

Zuo Guangshu’s grandfather, still serving in the court, had his hands full with state and family affairs. And yet, he still took interest in the affairs of juniors like Dou Min, taking time to talk about them with Zuo Guangshu.

This was indeed rare.

"He talks about it often," Zuo Guangshu admitted with a sigh: "I don’t like to listen, but I don’t want to make him sad, nor my mother. So I listen attentively."

With Zuo Guangshu’s father gone, and his brother, who shone like the sun, also gone, it seemed the entire future of the Zuo Family rested on his shoulders.

One could only imagine the pressure this child carried.

Jiang Wang changed the subject, "Really, is Dou Min that weak?"

"Not to say he’s weak, seeing as he has also obtained the Fighting Golden Body, and his path forward has opened. If he can make a breakthrough before the Yellow River Gathering, it’s not impossible for him to stand alongside people like Chu Yuzhi," Zuo Guangshu replied, very precise when it came to evaluating strength: "But Dou Zhao is just too strong. The Dou Family’s hereditary Fighting Techniques, known as ’the foremost Killing Technique since the descent of the modern era’. Dou Min has mastered only three forms to date, and they are not perfect. Dou Zhao, on the other hand, has mastered them all, each form perfect. He has overpowered all the Neifu Cultivators in Chu Country; he has no equal."

Chu Country was a powerful nation, second to none compared to Qi Country. Considering Dou Zhao’s ability to overpower his peers and dominate without rival in Chu, his strength was self-evident.

Jiang Wang had only seen Dou Min use the Divine Skills once in Chi Yun Mountain, but before Dou Min could demonstrate his full capabilities, Jiang Wang suppressed him using the power of the mountain.

Later, after exchanging information with Ye Qingyu, he learned that Dou Min had previously used a formidable technique called Divinity Extinguishes.

The strength of the complete set of the Seven Fighting Techniques could be imagined.

From his perspective at the time, Dou Min and Zuo Guangshu were closely matched, but the current Zuo Guangshu obviously considered himself slightly superior.

Now, from what Jiang Wang saw, if Dou Min didn’t make significant progress, indeed he likely wouldn’t surpass Zuo Guangshu, who had unlocked the Divine Skills of the River Lords.

But his and Zuo Guangshu’s judgment might not necessarily be the absolute truth.

In actual combat, there were too many factors that could affect the outcome.

Like Ji Shaoqing, who had opened the Heavenly Gate, Jiang Wang believed he too had the credentials to make it into the top ten of the Inner Mansion in the Taixu Illusion Realm. Having the qualifications didn’t mean it could surely be achieved, though.

Zuo Guangshu, who had reached twenty-seventh place in the Inner Mansion Realm of the Taixu Illusion Realm using only Dao Techniques, would definitely have a chance for the top ten once unlocking his Divine Skills.

But if Ji Shaoqing were to fight to the death with Zuo Guangshu, even Jiang Wang, who had fought against both, would have had a hard time asserting the outcome.

"It doesn’t matter," Jiang Wang said with ease, "even if Dou Zhao is strong, it’s not my turn to worry."

In his heart, he was actually more concerned about the fact that Zuo Guangshu had deliberately not mentioned Qu Shunhua again... Was the kid feeling guilty?

Zuo Guangshu had no idea what Jiang Wang was thinking about, and simply said, "You may not need to consider it now, but eventually, you’ll have to face it."

Jiang Wang laughed, "You seem to have a lot of confidence in me."

"There aren’t many who can beat me," Zuo Guangshu snorted coldly, "I just have confidence in myself."

"Then you have a good eye," Jiang Wang complimented.

"That’s enough for today," Zuo Guangshu composed himself, brushing off his sleeves to appear mature and composed, "You’d better get on with the arrangements for the Yellow River Gathering. I’m quite interested to see how you’ll handle things in reality, whether you can truly be... ’Dugu Wudi’."

"We’ll see," Jiang Wang said.

The Discussion Platform split apart and they each returned to their respective places.

[Inner Mansion Realm Rankings on the Discussion Platform, twenty-seventh.]

He moved up a spot, and Zuo Guangshu moved down a spot.

Jiang Wang didn’t immediately log out, but instead initiated another battle.

...

...

After six days of continuous challenges in the Taixu Illusion Realm, Jiang Wang emerged from his secluded room.

From ranking ninety-first, he fought his way up to tenth without a single defeat.

If everything went as expected, he had only five battles left before he could claim the glory of being among the Taixu Five Elements Cultivators.

It had to be said, Zhongxuan Sheng’s ability to get things done was truly top-notch.

When Jiang Wang began his seclusion, the twenty mu of land Lv Zongxiao had granted had just started demolition of the original buildings, with everything in disarray.

By the time he came out, the Tai Xu Corner Tower was nearly complete...

The branch of the Sanfen Xiangqi Tower had already been erected and was open for business. Not knowing what the situation was like inside, Jiang Wang didn’t go to see, nor did he intend to.

The Dayuan Gambling House, personally named by Zhongxuan Sheng, was doing even better business, attracting plenty of customers.

The various shops ordered by Heavenly Mansion City Lord Lv Zongxiao to be tidied up and constructed outside of those twenty mu were also completed.

Taverns, inns, teahouses, clothing stores, cosmetics shops... everything one could need was there.

The only exception was the construction right in the center of the twenty mu, surrounded by fences and concealed by arrays; it drew particular attention.

Given the interest that the Tai Xu Corner Tower had generated even before its completion, there was no doubt it would be a sensation once it officially opened.

Any cultivator with ambition couldn’t easily let go of the Taixu Illusion Realm after experiencing it.

Top-tier scions like Zuo Guangshu and Zhongxuan Sheng, who lacked nothing in Cultivation Techniques, could always be found battling others in the Taixu Illusion Realm whenever they had the chance.

The Discussion Platform alone was enough to draw many people, not to mention the Daoist Platform. The latter was even more attractive; after all, in this world, there are more people who lack everything than those who have everything.

Upon finally seeing Jiang Wang, who had been difficult to catch, Zhongxuan Sheng’s nose wasn’t really like a nose, his eyes weren’t really like eyes, he said, "Lord Jiang, you really are a busy man, mastering the art of delegating!"

Just to gather the materials for the Tai Xu Corner Tower in such a short amount of time was no easy feat. Zhongxuan Sheng had not only managed to gather them quickly but also arranged everything in an orderly fashion; one could imagine how much effort he had put in during this period.

Jiang Wang, knowing his own guilt, steered the conversation away from the Tai Xu Corner Tower and said seriously, "No idle chatter today, I have an important matter to discuss with you."