Chapter 70: Chapter 69: My Talent Isn’t High Enough, and I’m Not Working Hard Enough

The main hall of the Luo Mansion.

Luo Xuan looked at her father, remaining silent.

In just a few short months, he seemed to have aged a great deal.

The entire future of the Luo Mansion rested in his hands.

Now, they were on the edge of a cliff.

She could understand her father’s pressure.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t directly help bear the burden.

External pressure, internal pressure.

Both were storms that were difficult to weather.

Especially the pressure from the Sect.

Her second uncle’s disappearance was the most fatal blow.

Luo Huaili looked at the returned Luo Xuan and said softly, "You’re back?"

Luo Xuan bowed slightly. "Father."

"Have a seat," Luo Huaili said gently.

Only after she was seated did he continue, "Have you thought about what we discussed before?"

A marriage alliance, or recruiting a husband for you.

Luo Xuan didn’t rush to state her opinion, asking instead, "What are your thoughts, Father?"

"Recruiting a husband is the best option. A promising candidate has appeared in the Six Pavilions. His background is clean, making him the best choice right now." Luo Huaili looked at her and said softly, "You should be very familiar with him. He’s also a Student Cultivator from the Cyan Cloud Pavilion’s Sixth Courtyard.

"He’s your peer."

"Jiang Man?" Luo Xuan asked.

"Yes." Luo Huaili wasn’t surprised. He simply remarked, "I really didn’t expect someone like him to emerge from the Cyan Cloud Pavilion. How come I’ve never heard you mention him before?"

Luo Xuan thought for a moment before replying, "Because he only just emerged recently. He used to be very ordinary."

"No wonder. He hasn’t accepted sponsorship from any family, so our chances are high." As he spoke, Luo Huaili looked at Luo Xuan. "What’s his impression of you?"

Luo Xuan pondered for a moment, then said, "He treats me no differently than anyone else—not bad, but not good either. As for any romantic feelings, I’ve seen no sign of them whatsoever."

"Is it that extreme?" Luo Huaili was shocked. His daughter’s disposition and looks were far beyond ordinary, yet she was treated just the same.

He didn’t quite believe it, but even if it were true, he wasn’t discouraged. He then spoke again, "Setting that aside, if you were to marry him, would you be willing?"

Luo Xuan looked at her father. She wasn’t the least bit surprised by his words.

’I suspected this before coming back.’

’First in Cyan Cloud, second in the Six Pavilions... no family would be willing to ignore that.’

’And the Luo Family would certainly be paying close attention to him.’

But no matter who the Luo Family chose, she couldn’t say no.

However, there was something she had to tell him beforehand. "Father, you may not know this, but Jiang Man is already married."

Hearing this, Luo Huaili froze, surprised. "He’s married?"

Luo Xuan nodded. "He’s married."

Luo Huaili was silent for a moment before saying, "What if that could be... resolved?"

Hearing this, Luo Xuan fell into a brief silence but still nodded quickly. "Then I will follow your arrangements, Father."

’I don’t think Jiang Man will agree. My strongest impression of him is one of self-confidence and impartiality—in his eyes, everyone is more or less the same.’

’A person like that would never agree to marry into our family.’

’If the Luo Family uses me to recruit him, the final outcome will be rejection, and I will lose all face.’

’If others found out, they would probably mock me for it too.’

’But...’

She couldn’t refuse. She couldn’t even remain silent for too long or try to make excuses.

Doing so would only add to her father’s pressure.

So she agreed.

From the day of her defeat, she had already chosen to accept everything.

After that, Luo Xuan stood up and left.

Luo Huaili sat in the hall for a long time. Jiang Man was too perfect for the Luo Family. He wasn’t willing to give up just like that.

So he decided to try again.

Once March was over, things would become even more difficult.

This time, the Li Family would likely be their biggest competitor.

Because there was someone with the surname Li on Jiang Man’s team.

This was a potential threat.

—

「Evening.」

Jiang Man had been listening intently to Mr. Fu’s explanation.

Just the simple explanation took a considerable amount of time.

Not only that, but he also needed to watch her demonstration and then learn from it.

Jiang Man studied late into the night before he roughly understood how to cultivate the Nine Clouds Dragon-Suppressing Seal.

Nine Layers and Nine Seals.

Three Seals Combined achieves the Tenth Layer.

Six Seals Combined achieves the Eleventh Layer.

Nine Seals Combined achieves the Twelfth Layer.

According to Mr. Fu, a normal Top-grade technique should have a Thirteenth Layer.

This one had a flaw, so it only had twelve.

But since it surpassed the Eleventh Layer of a Middle Grade technique, it was still considered Top-grade.

Afterward, Jiang Man practiced for a while. After a long time, he finally completed the first circulation.

His Magic Skill Innate Qi moved along with it.

Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to enter the First Layer of the Nine Clouds Dragon-Suppressing Seal.

’Two more times should do it.’

Since it was getting late, Mr. Fu didn’t plan to continue her instruction.

Instead, she told Jiang Man to go back and study it on his own, and that he could ask her again on April 1st if he had any questions.

Jiang Man thanked her and went to find Mr. Zhao.

Seeing this, Fu Yidan didn’t think much of it and left first.

’Second in the Six Pavilions... there’s a lot to deal with here.’

"Finished learning?" Zhao Leming asked calmly from inside the room.

’In truth, I haven’t quite made up my mind, but there isn’t much to think about either.’

’Mr. Fu’s attitude is also very clear. This is the first time I’ve ever seen her guide someone so late into the night.’

Jiang Man nodded and asked respectfully, "Mr. Zhao, do you think I’ll run into trouble if I refuse these families?"

"A certain amount of trouble, yes," Zhao Leming surmised. "They will definitely approach you privately, especially the Li Family and the Luo Family.

"Other families might approach you as well, but their desire won’t be as strong.

"You’re second in the Six Pavilions, but second is still overshadowed by first.

"And compared to the third floor, the gap is also quite large."

Hearing this, Jiang Man grew a little curious. "Why are the Li Family and the Luo Family so intent on it?"

"Because there’s someone with the surname Li on your team. Relatively speaking, they control whether you can participate in the third qualification contest." Zhao Leming raised an eyebrow at him and reminded him, "You should have read the rules. To compete for the Magic Skill, you need three people to go together.

"If even one person is absent, you can’t get the Magic Skill.

"If the person from the Li Family refuses to go, or even withdraws from the Magic Skill competition on that day entirely...

"What will you do?"

Jiang Man was stunned.

’I hadn’t thought about that.’

’Are they really that shameless and despicable?’

’It seems like having high Talent and being willing to work hard isn’t quite enough.’

Jiang Man mulled it over for a moment and concluded that his Talent just wasn’t high enough, and he wasn’t working hard enough.

Having figured this out, Jiang Man asked, "Are there any other problems besides that?"

Zhao Leming was silent for a moment. Finally, as if he had made an important decision, he spoke slowly. "There are, but as the person in charge of the Courtyard, I will help you fend off most of the problems. You don’t need to worry about any pressure from within the Yunqian Bureau, and no one will be able to make trouble for you through the Bureau.

"I can guarantee that.

"But you will likely encounter all sorts of people and all sorts of schemes.

"If it’s a simple frame-up, I can handle it.

"Anything too complicated will require a certain price to be paid.

"For now, all I can say is that you need to be careful.

"My own power isn’t that great, but I will do everything I can."

Jiang Man was a bit surprised to hear that Zhao Leming was willing to help.

And he hadn’t proactively asked for any benefits.

’That means I’ll have to give him something later.’

Pausing for a moment, Jiang Man asked curiously, "The Li Family probably doesn’t think that highly of me. Why are they so insistent that I join them?"

Zhao Leming paused, looked at Jiang Man with an unreadable expression, and said, "Perhaps it’s just a matter of convenience for them."