Chapter 76: Chapter 75: Who in Their Right Mind Stays Up All Night Cultivating? Do You?

The top student of Cyan Cloud Pavilion was still cultivating and hadn’t left.

So, would the fourth-ranked student of Cyan Cloud Pavilion dare to leave first?

The top student was working hard at his cultivation, so how could he dare to go back and rest early?

’My rank is so low. Shouldn’t I reflect on myself?’

Li Yuan felt that if he dared to leave, he would be buried under an avalanche of such comments.

In the end, Li Yuan went back to cultivate.

The people in the Second Courtyard who hadn’t left yet were at a loss when they saw Li Yuan return to his cultivation.

’Why did he suddenly start cultivating again?’

Since the top student was working so hard, they didn’t dare to leave either.

Their ranks weren’t high enough; they didn’t deserve to leave.

Meanwhile, those who had already left Cyan Cloud Pavilion noticed that pitifully few people were coming out after them.

It had never been like this before.

’Where did everyone go?’

The student cultivators, who hadn’t gotten far, looked back inside with puzzled expressions.

It was especially strange to see people who had just walked out the main gate suddenly turn around and go back in.

At that moment, the crowd about to leave decided to go back and see what was happening.

Soon, they re-entered Cyan Cloud Pavilion.

This time, the desolation was even more palpable.

But as they got closer, they heard sounds coming from a courtyard. The people inside were all cultivating.

It wasn’t just one place; everyone in every courtyard who hadn’t gone home was cultivating.

This made the few people standing outside burn with shame.

’The top-ranked students are all inside cultivating. How could we have the nerve to go home?’

The days passed, one by one.

Fewer and fewer people left Cyan Cloud Pavilion each day.

「Three days later.」

At dusk, the gates of Cyan Cloud Pavilion, usually bustling with small groups, suddenly fell quiet.

Not a single person could be seen coming out.

This came as a surprise to the other Pavilions.

Five days later, a rumor began to spread from Cyan Cloud Pavilion.

"Nights are for cultivation, not for sleeping."

"How can you possibly sleep when you’re so young?"

For a while, the members of the other Pavilions felt a perverse trend was taking over Cyan Cloud Pavilion.

But then they learned that the student cultivator leading the charge was none other than the top student of Cyan Cloud Pavilion and the second-ranked student of the Six Pavilions.

He was working so hard he wasn’t even sleeping.

Every student cultivator felt insignificant and shallow.

Meanwhile, everyone in the other five Pavilions was staring at Cheng Moyang from the first courtyard of Celestial Essence Pavilion.

Because he was number one in the Six Pavilions.

So, whenever he decided to leave...

...everyone else could leave too.

Otherwise...

Who would dare to leave?

Cheng Moyang: "..."

He suddenly felt like he’d been put on the spot.

If he could maintain his top rank, it wouldn’t matter when he left.

But if someone else took first place next time...

...wouldn’t they blame him for not working hard enough?

’Why else would the second-ranked student become the first?’

’It must be because he cultivates tirelessly instead of sleeping.’

’As number one, not cultivating is laziness, and it would lead to a decline in my cultivation.’

It wouldn’t matter how much he actually improved; if his rank dropped, it would be seen as a decline in his cultivation.

"Young Master Cheng, what should we do?" Yang Feng asked, looking at Cheng Moyang.

Before, they were the ones toying with Jiang Man. Now...

...the tables had turned. Without lifting a finger, their opponent was putting immense pressure on them.

This was the first time he’d ever felt that cultivation itself could be so terrifyingly oppressive.

Cheng Moyang fell silent for a moment.

He was now in a difficult position, damned if he cultivated and damned if he didn’t. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He asked curiously, "What about Yang Ling?"

"He’s third, so he said it’s not his place to be concerned. That was the gist of it," Yang Feng said.

"Don’t worry about it for now. The Li Family hasn’t made a move yet, so we’ll carry on as usual," Cheng Moyang said calmly. "Let’s see if the Li Family can make him suffer a setback."

"Besides, the Qi Refining Eighth Layer is the limit for many people. Breaking through is easier said than done."

"Especially for someone poor."

’It won’t be easy for him to snatch first place from me.’

After that, Cheng Moyang took the lead and left.

Instantly, the tense atmosphere in the other Pavilions—all except for Cyan Cloud Pavilion—was broken.

After bidding farewell to Yang Feng, Cheng Moyang returned to his quarters.

Then, he began to cultivate.

He didn’t plan on sleeping.

In public, he could appear composed and ignore the second-ranked student’s cultivation.

But back in private, he couldn’t possibly stop to rest.

He had to cultivate without stopping.

Otherwise, he would fall behind.

He might even lose the honor of being number one.

Although it was difficult for the poor to advance, he couldn’t rule out the slim possibility.

He couldn’t afford to lose face like that.

He had to work even harder and use more Spiritual Source.

Only then could he afford to so casually break the tense cultivation atmosphere in public.

After a long night, a quite exhausted Cheng Moyang stopped, a doubt forming in his mind.

’Can someone really cultivate continuously without sleeping?’

’Wouldn’t that make it impossible to focus one’s Spirit, actually slowing down progress?’

’Or is Jiang Man secretly sneaking in some sleep before he cultivates?’

Unfortunately, he couldn’t reach a conclusion. He would just have to wait and see.

For now, he would continue his regular studies, then come back early to cultivate in secret.

He’d put a temporary stop to this game of mocking the poor.

Improving his cultivation and keeping his top rank were what mattered most.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Yang Feng emerged from his room, he ran into Yang Ling, who lived next door.

Yang Ling yawned and muttered to himself, "I slept so well last night."

He then turned to Yang Feng and said, "Young Feng, did you sleep well last night?"

Yang Feng looked at Yang Ling’s bloodshot eyes. "Is something wrong with your eyes?"

Yang Ling rubbed his eyes. "My cultivation went a bit awry last night. You don’t look too energetic yourself, Young Feng."

"Slept too long," Yang Feng said casually.

"You didn’t secretly pull an all-nighter to cultivate, did you?" Yang Ling said with a smile. "I remember you and your group left quite early. You didn’t seem like the type to disrupt your own cultivation rhythm."

"Why would I secretly stay up all night cultivating? Would you?" Yang Feng retorted.

"Of course not. Who would do such a thing? Only the poor need to abuse their bodies and Spirits like that. Are you poor?" Yang Ling said.

"Of course not. One shouldn’t learn the ways of the poor," Yang Feng said calmly.

Without another word, the two went their separate ways.

They didn’t study in the same Pavilion.

「Meanwhile.」

「In the stable courtyard.」

Jiang Man yawned.

His eyes felt a little sore.

"Strange. I’m at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, so why does it feel like my Spirit is being consumed even faster? Looks like I’ll have to focus on improving my Spirit first," Jiang Man mused.

"What have you been up to lately?" the Old Yellow Ox suddenly asked.

"Why do you ask?" Jiang Man retorted.

"A lot of people have been watching you at night. They leave at dawn," the Old Yellow Ox said.

Jiang Man thought for a moment and came to a conclusion. "They must be checking to see if I really don’t sleep at night."

"Why do they need to confirm that?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.

"They probably think I’m tricking them." Jiang Man calmly shook his head. "Why would I need to trick anyone into such a good habit? But I suppose they won’t doubt me anymore."

The Old Yellow Ox fell silent.

Jiang Man paid it no mind. He was about to head to the Sixth Courtyard to continue his cultivation.

He even cultivated during lecture hours.

He was truly running out of time and had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

But just as he stepped out of the courtyard, he saw Li Yuan.

The other man looked pale and seemed somewhat exhausted.

Still, he forced himself to look alert and said, "My previous outlook was too narrow. I was reckless and nearly ruined your plans. This is my apology."

With that, he offered two thousand Spiritual Source.

Jiang Man was rather surprised. The notoriously stingy young master was being this generous today?

’Is something wrong here?’