The End of the Immortal Path

Chapter 252 - 168: Qing Dai: The Immortal Sect Won’t Be Able to Stop the Young Miss From Leaving

"What, is Fellow Daoist Shangguan disappointed he didn’t get to face him?

"According to some, it seems he hasn’t even completed his power fusion yet.

"By the time he finishes his fusion, we’ll have long since left the Outer Sect.

"There won’t be a chance to fight."

Shangguan Liuyun looked at the person beside him and spoke softly, "Next month is the competition for the Promotion Skill. He jumped from the Seventh Courtyard to the First, Second, and Third Courtyard. Do you think he can participate in the Promotion Skill competition directly from the Sixth Courtyard?"

Shangguan Liuyun turned to leave, adding as he went, "You celebrated too soon, Junior Sister Gu. You might just get to witness his prowess for yourself."

Gu Yuexi shrugged. "You think I can’t beat him? In one month, he won’t have time to complete his power fusion, nor will he have time to practice a Secret Technique.

"I have the advantage no matter how you look at it."

Shangguan Liuyun glanced back at her. "Is that all prowess is about?"

Hearing this, Gu Yuexi paused, stunned. "If not that, then what?"

Shangguan Liuyun sighed. "It doesn’t matter anymore. But for me, I might be able to contend with him. And that’s only because he’s young. Otherwise, I wouldn’t stand a chance.

"Encountering him at this point in time is both my good fortune and my misfortune."

Gu Yuexi was shocked. "You’re saying he can contend with you? How is that possible? I know better than anyone what your strength is.

"You’re far beyond what those so-called geniuses can compare to.

"And Jiang Man not only pulls all-nighters, but his progress is also insufficient."

Shangguan Liuyun said calmly, "A Celestial Pride is something you can’t understand. You don’t need to understand. Just accept it.

"Just wait. You’ll meet him soon enough.

"If he is a true Celestial Pride, that is."

With that, he turned and left.

He needed to prepare for the Promotion Secret Realm in a month’s time.

—

Jiang Man looked at his ranking, not at all dissatisfied.

He thought he would only make the top fifteen.

He hadn’t expected to be eighth.

As for the team’s thirteenth place...

That was pretty good too.

Most of his matches were draws, and he had relied on his young age for his score.

He had won too few matches outright.

But he had also lost very few, so placing in the top fifteen would have been a great result.

Now, he also had the qualifications to enter the Promotion Secret Realm.

He was hesitating whether to enter this year or next.

Logically, he would be in his best condition next year.

But...

’Opportunity is right in front of me. As an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, can I really let it slip away?’

Of course not.

’The only thing I’m lacking is the complete power fusion.’

’I can skip learning a Secret Skill, but the power fusion must be complete.’

Otherwise, the promotion wouldn’t mean much.

Afterward, Jiang Man found Mr. Yan. The first order of business was naturally to hand over the stone.

"It’s related to the Evil God?" Yan Yiqiu felt something was off.

’Why is it related to the Evil God again?’

’I’m just an instructor in the Outer Sect.’

’How did I get involved in something like this?’

In the end, she had no choice but to accept it, resolving to send it off immediately.

This thing was a hot potato.

Then, Jiang Man brought up the second matter.

He wanted to participate in the Promotion Secret Realm.

To compete for the Promotion Skill.

Hearing this, Yan Yiqiu was stunned once more.

It was only then that she came to her senses, remembering that the person standing before her was the most talented individual she had ever seen.

To others, his Cultivation journey was the stuff of legend.

"What was your individual ranking?" Yan Yiqiu asked.

"It was decent. Eighth," Jiang Man replied.

’Decent? You sure have a way with words.’ Yan Yiqiu fell silent for a moment before saying, "I will submit the application. We should have an answer in a few days."

Eighth place.

’This year might be the most dazzling of my entire teaching career.’

’If Jiang Man successfully enters the Promotion Secret Realm, obtains the Third Skill, and then comes back to cultivate... ’

’And then breaks through again before the new year...’

It was almost too incredible to imagine.

After that, Jiang Man returned to his small courtyard. He felt he probably didn’t have much time left here.

He needed to continue completing his power fusion.

He was on a tight schedule.

Besides, it was already the sixteenth of September. Song Qing had probably already returned to Luoyun City.

He hadn’t been able to pay the man back with interest this time.

"What was the grand competition of the First, Second, and Third Courtyard like?" Cao Cheng asked as soon as Jiang Man arrived.

"How many people participated?" An Rong also asked.

Jiang Man thought for a moment. "Around a thousand, maybe more? There were eight or nine hundred at Foundation Establishment Perfection."

Hearing this, both Cao Cheng and An Rong were stunned.

How many at Foundation Establishment Perfection?

Eight or nine hundred?

How did you fight your way into the top ten?

Zhuo Bufan hesitated for a moment before asking his clan sister, Zhuo Ling, about it.

Jiang Man remarked with a sigh, "She’s a good person."

Zhuo Bufan was confused.

Why was she a good person?

Zhao Yaoyao reminded him, "Before, people approached you hoping you would marry into their family. But recently, they probably want you to take a wife, or even a concubine."

How did she know?

Because her clan had given her orders to do so, but she had refused.

Although her family was somewhat displeased with her refusal, they had no choice but to accept it.

Because if she didn’t do such a thing, they could remain fellow Student Cultivators from the same courtyard with a good relationship.

Once she took on that task, their friendship would become transactional.

It was already difficult to win him over; doing this could lead to him pushing them away entirely.

There was no need for that.

They could just send someone else.

For this, Jiang Man nodded his thanks.

Of course, no matter who came, his answer would be the same.

Those people wouldn’t pester him endlessly.

"Actually, some people will try every way they can to get close to you, build familiarity, and then look for an opportunity," Lin Qingshan said.

He didn’t believe those people would give up.

They would definitely use any means at their disposal.

Some might even resort to extreme measures.

He had to be on his guard.

"How do the women who approach him compare to me?" An Rong asked, lifting her chin.

Cao Cheng shot her a glance. "If they were all sending women like you, their clans would be in decline."

"I suspect you’re not even a man," An Rong said with disdain. "Any real man would admire me on sight."

As she spoke, she looked toward Lin Qingshan and the others.

Lin Qingshan was silent for a moment before taking out a notebook. "Taunted by An Rong for being desperate."

Wei Beichuan wrote, "An Rong called me trash."

An Rong: "..."

Zhao Yaoyao said, "Just cut it off, then."

Jiang Man shook his head. These people were wasting too much time. He should just get back to his Cultivation.

Everyone: "..."

Jiang Man didn’t stop cultivating until Mr. Yan arrived.

She had brought many things with her.

There was the Secret Technique for passing the assessment, the reward for handing in the stone, plus the rewards for his eighth-place individual ranking and thirteenth-place team ranking.

Although he wasn’t sure what they were yet, Jiang Man had a feeling he was about to become rich.

——

「A quaint courtyard.」

Meng Qiewei stood under a tree, her head slightly raised, watching the branches sway.

Qing Dai came in from outside, stood beside her miss, and also looked up at the tree. "Miss, what are you looking at?"

Meng Qiewei didn’t move an inch. "This tree is sick."

Qing Dai was surprised. "Sick?"

Meng Qiewei said casually, "An Evil God is attempting something. Find some time to notify the Immortal Sect. It should be related to the rain from before."

Qing Dai didn’t dare hesitate and immediately sent out a message.

She would have those Elders pass on the news.

Since her miss had spoken personally, there was no room for error.

If this was indeed a ploy the Immortal Sect had failed to notice, then they would have a hard time stopping her miss from going out this time.

Of course, she couldn’t take her power with her.

Otherwise, the Immortal Sect would never agree.

But even without her power, the people on the list were theoretically not allowed to go out.

She then relayed the latest news. "A message came back from the new generation of Celestial Prides. It’s about that all-nighter Celestial Pride.

"It says he participated in the assessment for the First, Second, and Third Courtyard.

"He placed eighth.

"It seems he also plans to participate in the Promotion Secret Realm.

"The new generation of Celestial Prides also said that while the Golden Core realm is a major hurdle, choosing to back him firmly now would be providing timely aid. Waiting until after his Core Formation, however, would merely be adding icing on the cake.

"He thinks we should arrange a marriage for him with someone from the Direct Lineage.

"The specific form of the alliance is entirely open to discussion."

As she spoke, Qing Dai looked at her miss. "Miss, do you think what the new generation of Celestial Prides said makes sense? This all-nighter Celestial Pride is indeed progressing at a divine speed, but the Elders feel that such speed also has its problems. They say how far one can go isn’t directly related to how fast one advances through Foundation Establishment.

"They still want to wait and see.

"Because judging by his past attitude, he is probably unwilling to marry into a family.

"Ultimately, Foundation Establishment is too weak a stage to really tell anything."

"Where do you think their bottom line is?" Meng Qiewei asked.

Qing Dai understood her miss’s thoughts. She wanted to wait for those people to give their approval so she could slip out with them.

Therefore, her miss wouldn’t refuse this matter, but she wouldn’t bring it up proactively either.

"They’ll probably only start considering it after he reaches Core Formation," Qing Dai guessed.

Meng Qiewei pulled her gaze back and looked at Qing Dai. "How long do you think it will take him to reach Core Formation?"