Before the rankings were announced, a man stared silently at the Six Pavilions leaderboard.

A woman beside him asked curiously, "Yang Ling, you’re only ranked third. There must be some mistake, right?"

Yang Ling had the air of a refined and gentle young master.

He gave a wry smile. "Yes, third place."

"I heard the person in second is very poor. You’re both at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, so he shouldn’t be a match for you." The woman was completely baffled.

Yang Ling narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

The truth was...

He had seen Jiang Man.

Or rather, he had been tailing Gao Nian.

He was waiting for the right moment to launch a surprise attack.

He had long known that Gao Nian was gathering a large group to deal with him.

However, he never expected Gao Nian to run into Jiang Man’s group.

He had witnessed Jiang Man make his move with his own eyes.

Although they were ordinary Magic Skills...

’Every move was executed to its absolute limit. His Magic Skills were masterful, his transitions swift. In just a few breaths...’

...he had heavily wounded Gao Nian and the others.

Such a feat.

’I couldn’t do that.’

He had considered a fight against Gao Nian’s group. He would win, but it wouldn’t be easy—at least, not as effortless as what he had just witnessed.

After a brief assessment, he gave up on competing for the Nine Clouds Dragon-Suppressing Seal.

A true dragon had emerged from among the commoners.

He couldn’t suppress him.

There was no need for a conflict.

Qi Refining was just the beginning; the road ahead was still long.

But now, the pressure was on Cheng Moyang.

’I wonder what he’ll do.’

While being first in the Six Pavilions wasn’t as prestigious as being first in the Yunqian Bureau, it was still a title.

It would have been one thing if he’d never had it, but he had it now.

’He probably won’t let it go easily.’

"Why is it first in the Six Pavilions and first in the Yunqian Bureau? Doesn’t the third floor have a first place?" the woman next to Yang Ling asked as they were leaving.

Yang Ling seemed quite surprised. "Isn’t first on the third floor the same as first in the Yunqian Bureau?"

The woman had a sudden realization.

’That’s true.’

——

On his way back, Jiang Man took a look at the rankings.

Unfortunately, he didn’t see Xiaopang and the others.

It was a bit of a shame.

Otherwise, he could have seen their reactions to the rise of a celestial pride.

However, Jiang Man hadn’t expected to be second in the Six Pavilions.

He had already secured his position as Cyan Cloud First.

To think there was only one person in the Six Pavilions stronger than him.

Even Yang Ling, who was also at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, was ranked below him.

But Jiang Man didn’t understand how these rankings were calculated.

’If Yang Ling is really weaker than me, does that mean I’m really weaker than Cheng Moyang?’

Jiang Man mulled it over and concluded that even the Yunqian Bureau could make mistakes.

After all, if a veteran Evil God like the Old Yellow Ox could misjudge a celestial pride,

why not the Yunqian Bureau?

Still, Cheng Moyang’s strength was also unexpected.

No wonder Fang Yong was so desperate to cozy up to him.

’He has good judgment.’

When he returned to the stable yard, the Old Yellow Ox asked him, "Did you succeed?"

Jiang Man nodded. "Of course. Now that I’ve obtained the Nine Clouds Dragon-Suppressing Seal, first place in the Yunqian Bureau is within my grasp."

The Old Yellow Ox said while chewing on some grass, "You’re getting too arrogant."

Jiang Man just smiled.

His Talent didn’t allow him to be low-key.

Of course, his Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart didn’t give him that chance either.

If he didn’t get first place, it would be uncertain whether he could even obtain the Nascent Condensation Skill.

Once he failed to obtain it...

...what awaited him was the complete loss of his Cultivation.

Under such pressure, his only choice was to unleash his Talent and hard work.

Let everyone in the Yunqian Bureau bear witness.

Afterward, Jiang Man took out the Nine Clouds Dragon-Suppressing Seal.

He began to read and comprehend it.

Cultivation wasn’t as simple as getting a book and just following the instructions.

One had to understand what was written inside.

Only then could one follow its path to cultivate.

If you couldn’t comprehend the content, you couldn’t cultivate it.

It required a certain foundation.

This was especially true for a Top-grade Technique.

Just like the Top-grade Observation Method from before.

Jiang Man opened the book and found the text to be obscure and difficult to understand.

"Before Heaven and Earth were divided, the True Qi was a swirling mist. The Black Vault revealed its form, weaving nacreous patterns as its script."

"The deep earth bears its markings, where hornless and horned dragons lie in wait to strike."

"Emulating the Earth’s power to condense, controlled by a spiritual seal, it is named ’Nine Clouds’."

Jiang Man realized that with his current understanding of Magic Skills, learning this would be extremely difficult.

Understanding the shifting vocabulary and grasping the artistic conception was impossible without a certain amount of accumulated knowledge.

That was why every courtyard had instructors to explain and guide the students.

It wasn’t something you could master just by getting the Magic Skill and reading it.

Even a genius couldn’t cultivate on their own if they were illiterate.

Finally, Jiang Man looked at the Old Yellow Ox.

"Senior, please help me understand this." Jiang Man walked up to the Old Yellow Ox.

Hearing this, the grass-chewing Old Yellow Ox raised an eyebrow slightly. He looked at the person before him and said calmly, "I can’t, really. My understanding isn’t traditional. The Immortal Sects have their own revised set of theories, and I’m not very familiar with them.

"If I teach you rashly, it could easily lead you astray.

"It’s best if you have someone else teach you first.

"Then, you can tell me what you’ve learned. I’ll be able to absorb their theories. Not only can I then tell you how to approach this Magic Skill, but it will also be easier to apply that knowledge to other Magic Skills.

"But it will require a bit more of a foundation.

"Of course, if you have absolutely no other options, you can take a risk and learn from me. We might get lucky and guess correctly."

Jiang Man sighed. "Are Evil Gods really this severely restricted?"

"It’s worse than you think," the Old Yellow Ox said calmly. "Under the great order of the Immortal Sects, it’s beyond your imagination."

"It seems that without me, you’d be completely stuck, Old Huang," Jiang Man remarked with a sigh.

"I could find another way out. You, on the other hand, cannot," the Old Yellow Ox replied.

Jiang Man paid it no mind. He left the stables and headed toward the Sixth Courtyard.

He had to find Mr. Zhao. If that didn’t work, he’d have to find Mr. Fu.

Fortunately, he had earned two hundred Spiritual Source today, which should be enough.

He didn’t plan on having them teach him for free.

That wouldn’t be sustainable.

Relationships built on mutual benefit last longer.

Besides, his future Cultivation would require a lot of Spiritual Source, so he had to keep earning money.

First place in the Yunqian Bureau wouldn’t be easy to get.

Furthermore, he needed to be wary of Cheng Moyang.

Before, the guy had treated him as a poor man to be toyed with for fun.

Now, he wasn’t just a poor man, but a poor man who was also an enemy.

Any moves against him now would be nothing like the simple harassment from before.

Now, he even had to avoid Fang Yong when he saw him.

If his Spiritual Steed collapsed again, it would be a real headache.

Also, with his high ranking, those big families would probably try to recruit him again.

If he kept refusing, they wouldn’t necessarily just give up.

If they started using various methods to pressure him, the trouble would be even greater.

As for accepting, their offers weren’t worth it.

If things got bad, he’d have to find Mr. Zhao and see if he could get another animal husbandry manual from the Old Yellow Ox.

——

「Meanwhile.」

Mr. Zhao sat at his desk, on which lay six letters.

All of them were for the same person.

’I never expected the second competition to end like this.’

In his experience...

...without the backing of sufficient resources, a Student Cultivator’s ranking would usually drop after the second competition.

Even if Jiang Man had progressed quickly before, his pace was bound to slow down.

Because once the quotas were set, the major families would relentlessly pour resources into their chosen candidates to help them advance quickly and widen the gap.

Only then would they have a better chance of entering a Sect.

Therefore, poor Student Cultivators, if they weren’t backed by one of the families,

would seem to fall from grace.

He hadn’t thought Jiang Man would fall, but he also never imagined he would shoot straight to Cyan Cloud First.

And even leap to second in the Six Pavilions.

’The surprises never cease.’

Mr. Zhao heaved a heavy sigh.

This was truly a massive vortex.

It wouldn’t be easy for him to stay out of it now.

If the major families were refused this time, they would probably be quite displeased.

And if something happened to Jiang Man and he didn’t protect him, but the other party made it through on his own, he would likely hold a grudge.