Beneath the moonlight, Jiang Man gazed helplessly at the person before him.

The man had come to let him state his terms.

But when he did, the man had rejected them outright.

’So, how are we supposed to continue now?’

"Why are you unwilling to marry into our family?" Luo Huaili asked.

Jiang Man answered honestly, "I am already married. I cannot marry into another family."

’The Fairy’s background is anything but simple, and my own strength is far too weak.’

’If I offend her by doing this, any chance of survival I might have had would likely vanish in an instant.’

’Besides, I haven’t reached that point yet.’

’It’s not as if I’m completely out of options.’

’I can still earn more Spiritual Source, and if that doesn’t work, I can always borrow from Chang Qiweng.’

’There are many ways.’

’Marrying into a family is far from the best option.’

Besides...

Once you marry in, leaving isn’t easy.

Once you sign the contract issued by the Immortal Sect, it essentially binds you completely.

"You’re from Bei Village. I’ve investigated; you’re not married at all. And even if you were, I could give your wife enough Spiritual Source to convince her to divorce you." Luo Huaili stared at Jiang Man, his tone serious. "I know you have pride, and I understand you have ambition."

"But the Luo Family can provide you with ample resources."

"All you have to do is join the Luo Family."

"There’s no downside for you."

"We will grant you your freedom. The only thing is that from now on, the Luo Family will be your home. When you achieve greatness, you will simply be expected to protect your own family."

"Along the way, you can have a few children, and your life will be complete."

"Perhaps you feel you’re advancing quickly now, but you must have noticed how difficult it is to reach the Qi Refining Ninth Layer."

"It’s nowhere near as simple as you imagine."

"You can’t do it alone."

"And after you enter a Sect, it will be dozens of times more difficult than it is here."

Jiang Man felt the man had a point. It was incredibly difficult to go it alone.

’But it’s not just about marrying in; he wants me to have children, too.’

’Children who would carry the Luo surname.’

’My Unparalleled Celestial Pride would be forever tarnished.’

Of course, it was a valid path.

It was just a path he didn’t want to take.

Besides, he wasn’t that desperate yet.

It wasn’t a matter of him being noble. It was a matter of him still having other options.

His Talent still served as his safety net.

Seeing Jiang Man’s impassive expression, Luo Huaili said, "Do you think you can get far on your own? In reality, the Yunqian Bureau is just the beginning. The most difficult time is when you enter a Sect."

"With the Luo Family’s help, your path will be much smoother."

"Or is it that you feel the resources the Luo Family is offering aren’t sincere enough? Do you require something more?"

After a moment of thought, Jiang Man decided it was best to be direct. "It isn’t that the Luo Family’s resources are insufficient. The problem lies with me."

"For now, I don’t intend to be bound to anyone. Furthermore, my marriage is real, so I have no plans of that nature at the moment."

"Marrying into a family just isn’t suitable for me."

"However, if it were a matter of simple sponsorship, I would be more than willing."

"For instance, I would be willing to help the Luo Family in ways that are within my capabilities."

"Anything the Luo Family proposes?" Luo Huaili pressed.

Jiang Man shook his head.

’It couldn’t be helped.’

’There was no way to know what the Luo Family might ask of him.’

’What if they asked him to sacrifice himself for the sake of a Luo Family member in a Sect?’

’He couldn’t do something like that.’

Thus, their interests were in conflict.

Luo Huaili tried to persuade him further.

Logically, the man was indeed sincere, but what Jiang Man truly relied on was beyond anything he could possibly imagine.

Therefore, the advantages he described were not irreplaceable to Jiang Man.

He had his Talent, the Evil God, and the Fate Chart that came from his marriage—an inheritance that must have come from the Fairy Race.

For now it was a curse, but it was also a great opportunity.

Because of all this, what he needed most was freedom.

And a family, in its desire to maintain control, could never grant him that freedom.

Eventually, Luo Huaili left.

His expression was dark; he clearly felt Jiang Man didn’t know what was good for him.

There was nothing Jiang Man could say to that.

’He was right. I don’t know what’s good for me.’

’But it came down to the same thing: the Luo Family knew nothing about what it meant to be an Unparalleled Celestial Pride.’

"Old Huang, why can’t they just form a good connection and sponsor me directly?" Jiang Man asked.

The Old Yellow Ox replied casually, "Back when you were poor, did you ever go somewhere, lack the Spiritual Source to pay for directions, and ask someone to guide you, promising you’d thank them properly afterward?"

Jiang Man froze at the words.

He remembered his first time at the guard post.

"If so, did you give them a Xie Li afterward?" The Old Yellow Ox raised an eyebrow at Jiang Man. "Humans are forgetful creatures, especially when it comes to acts of kindness."

"A moment of gratitude is genuine, but that gratitude doesn’t last long."

"Forgetting it entirely is actually one of the better outcomes."

"The worst is when time passes and the debt can’t be repaid. The debtor starts to resent the one who helped them."

"Eventually, they’ll even say, ’It’s not like I begged them for help.’"

"Over time, a favor turns into a grudge."

Jiang Man nodded. "So for those families, it’s not about earning goodwill, it’s about avoiding making an enemy?"

The Old Yellow Ox said no more.

Jiang Man felt the Old Yellow Ox had a point. It was like the old saying: a little help earns you gratitude, but a lot of help earns you an enemy.

No wonder Patriarch Luo never mentioned simple sponsorship.

Someone must have been badly burned by that before.

’But hasn’t anyone ever profited greatly from such a gamble?’

After that, Jiang Man began his Cultivation.

His eighth "Gourd" of Qi Refining was still completely empty.

Accumulating Spiritual Qi was incredibly difficult.

He needed more Spirit Gathering Pills.

Then there were his Physical Body and Spirit.

The more he improved these two, the fewer bottlenecks he would face in his Cultivation.

「April 1st.」

Jiang Man yawned and headed for the Sixth Courtyard.

He hadn’t slept again last night.

He simply couldn’t fall asleep.

’The Luo Family already paid their visit. I wonder when the Li Family will show up.’

’Logically, those two should be the only ones seeking me out.’

Pushing the thoughts aside, Jiang Man made his way into the Sixth Courtyard.

He saw quite a few people along the way, but no one paid him any mind.

’Even though I’m number one in the Cyan Cloud Pavilion, it’s not like they know who I am.’

However, as he arrived, Jiang Man spotted Fang Yong.

It looked like he was waiting for him.

"Young Master Fang, were you looking for me?" Jiang Man asked.

He wasn’t particularly worried about the person before him.

They weren’t in competition with each other anymore.

’How could there be any competition between someone at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer and someone at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer?’

"Did you marry in?" Fang Yong asked bluntly.

Jiang Man was taken aback and asked in return, "Did *you* marry in?"

Fang Yong shook his head. "No."

Hearing this, Jiang Man was rather surprised. "Why didn’t you, Young Master Fang?"

"The terms offered to you and me were surely different. The best offer for marrying in came from the Luo Family, and they would have naturally given you the most freedom. But my ranking isn’t high enough, so the freedom they offered me was too little," Fang Yong said calmly. "There was one condition I couldn’t accept, so I chose not to marry in."

Every word he said made it clear that Fang Yong had seriously considered marrying into a family.

But in the end, he had given up on the idea.

’I, on the other hand, never really considered it at all.’

From the very beginning, he’d had no intention of marrying in or serving another family.

"What about you?" Fang Yong asked.

Jiang Man shrugged. "I’m already married. My wife doesn’t approve of me getting married off."

Fang Yong frowned.

But he didn’t press the matter.

Because he had heard from the Luo Family that Jiang Man of Bei Village was not, in fact, married.

’He’d invented a wife out of thin air.’

"Young Master Cheng said the Li Family will be looking for you," Fang Yong added as a reminder before heading inside.

The Little Fatty came up from behind, sidling up to Jiang Man with an admiring look. "Brother Jiang, how’d you do it? Second in the Six Pavilions just like that?"

Jiang Man shot him a glance. "Hard work. I don’t just practice my Cultivation in the courtyard. I secretly practice when I get back home, too."

Xiaopang: "..."

’That’s not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear it was all because of your natural talent!’