Chapter 183: Chapter 136: More Assertive Than the Champion

That afternoon.

Zhuo Bufan left the Foundation Establishment Courtyard.

He looked up at the bright sky and let out a heavy breath.

Then he looked down at the paper in his hand. The entire sheet trembled and shook along with his hands.

After a long moment, the trembling in his hands finally subsided. He then gently folded the paper and put it away.

Only then did he start walking again, wanting to go back and get some proper rest.

There were some things in this world you couldn’t force, and you couldn’t fight for.

The only thing to do was to accept them.

’So what if I’m a genius? So what if I’m invincible?’

’It just means I had never met a true prodigy before.’

Suddenly, Jiang Man’s recent words echoed in his mind.

"This time, it’s not that you were weak, but that I was too strong."

Zhuo Bufan sighed and descended Cloud Mist Peak.

He gazed at the crimson-tinged river ahead, then followed it upstream.

He had never paid any attention to this Chishui River before.

Now, looking at its waters, he felt like a lone leaf on its surface, unable to comprehend the river’s vast and mighty expanse.

Eventually, he arrived at Red Water Peak and entered a large winery.

He walked straight to the rear courtyard and saw a middle-aged man.

The man was ladling out a scoop of wine, focused on tasting it.

After a long moment, he looked at Zhuo Bufan, put down the ladle with a smile, and said, "Young Master Zhuo, what brings you here? Have you brought the latest rankings?"

Zhuo Bufan shook his head, looked at the man, and said calmly, "I came to inform you of something. The prodigy of the Eighth Courtyard has returned. From now on, wherever he is, first place will be."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man looked at the young man before him with some surprise. "The prodigy of the Eighth Courtyard has returned? How much of a prodigy can he be? Is he better than Wei Ran of Peach Blossom Peak?"

Zhuo Bufan recalled Jiang Man’s score, and a strange sense of confidence surfaced. "Wei Ran was just lucky. The prodigy I’m talking about didn’t participate in last year’s annual assessment."

The middle-aged man smiled. "So, Young Master Zhuo, you came in second?"

Zhuo Bufan showed no psychological burden from this. "When facing an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, the goal is to follow closely behind him. Right now, my resources are insufficient. I need more to even get close to him.

"Getting an Unparalleled Celestial Pride to remember you, to gain his attention—sometimes, that in itself is an opportunity.

"I have this opportunity now. Whether the clan seizes it is up to you.

"I have already informed you of his appearance.

"In the end, if I cannot get close to him or make him remember me because of a lack of resources...

"...then that will be your failure.

"And an even greater loss for the family."

After speaking, Zhuo Bufan turned and left.

The middle-aged man watched him disappear from sight and couldn’t help but laugh. "He came in second, but he sounds even more confident than someone who came in first. Still, who is this number one?"

He hadn’t even heard the name before.

"Should we report this?" someone asked from the corner.

"Report it. After all, this is Young Master Zhuo’s tactic to hold on to his resources. Whether he succeeds is up to him," the middle-aged man said with a chuckle. "If he fails, his resources won’t be any less than before. As long as his overall ranking doesn’t drop, it’s fine.

"Besides, it’s not a bad thing that he’s starting to show some cunning."

"Should we pay attention to this year’s annual rankings?" the voice from the corner asked.

"Of course we should, but this year’s rankings aren’t as interesting as last year’s. We should focus more on the Ninth Courtyard," the middle-aged man said.

That was because for the Ninth Courtyard, this was the first year everyone would be ranked together.

The previous first-place student from the Eighth Courtyard was usually gone by now, having moved on to the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Courtyards to experience the pressure there.

Once they qualified, they naturally had to find a way to secure a high enough rank in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Courtyards.

This made the Eighth Courtyard’s annual rankings seem somewhat lackluster in comparison.

"So, should we increase Young Master Zhuo’s resources on our end?" the voice from the corner asked.

"It’s good enough if we don’t reduce them. If we actually increased them, we wouldn’t be able to answer to the clan," the middle-aged man said casually.

"And report it truthfully?"

"Report it truthfully."

The corner fell silent for a moment before the voice asked, "Is it possible that a true prodigy has actually appeared?"

"Do you believe that?" the middle-aged man asked, turning to look at the corner.

"No."

"Exactly. What kind of prodigy would wait until the second year? He’d be needlessly missing out on a golden opportunity. It’s just an excuse. We’ll just keep an eye on it for now. Let’s see what Young Master Zhuo is capable of. The fact that he could pull something like this is already quite impressive. At the very least, his drop in ranking won’t cause the clan to immediately cut his resources. He’s created some suspense."

————

It was already late when Jiang Man left the Eighth Courtyard.

He had mainly been called over by Mr. Yan to discuss some matters.

For instance, the recent annual assessment.

He was asked about his team.

Jiang Man answered truthfully.

Fang Yong, Lin Qingshan, and himself.

Because there was no one from the Seventh Courtyard on his team, Yan Yiqiu was slightly worried.

It was well-known that the people from the Seventh Courtyard were not weak.

Before she could finish, Jiang Man cut in with a question.

"Are you telling me to avoid a direct confrontation with them?"

Yan Yiqiu was at a loss for words.

She felt that Jiang Man was not very good at conversation.

She hadn’t even said the words yet, but he had already jumped to that conclusion.

In the end, Yan Yiqiu told him that what is too unyielding is easily broken.

Jiang Man paid it no mind.

’What is too unyielding is easily broken? In the end, that just means it wasn’t unyielding enough.’

’Besides, he wasn’t being unyielding; he was simply acting according to his strength.’

’If his strength was insufficient, he naturally wouldn’t say a word.’

’He’d just have to wait a few months.’

’Would an Unparalleled Celestial Pride be a fool?’

Jiang Man paused.

He realized that he really had been a fool in the past.

Afterward, Yan Yiqiu told him that the goal this time was to obtain the qualification for the Secret Technique, which was extremely important.

Jiang Man took out the qualification token.

Yan Yiqiu was stunned.

But the annual assessment still had to continue, because he had to place in the top three at least once. Of course, as soon as he did, he would receive the Upper Chapter.

And this Upper Chapter was top-grade.

Jiang Man was a little surprised. ’If I get all three Chapters, wouldn’t that be on the same level as the Celestial Heart Seal?’

’It should be even stronger.’

He walked out of the Eighth Courtyard.