Chapter 523 - 289: Inner Sect Rankings, Part 2

Chapter 523: Chapter 289: Inner Sect Rankings, Part 2

His thoughts shot out like an unsheathed sword, striking at Bai Qiufeng’s own.

BOOM!

The formless collision made the surrounding chairs tremble.

The other two from the Bai Family immediately released their power, and Ji Linglong’s group was not to be outdone.

For a moment, the six of them were at a standoff, ready to clash.

The slightest friction would have triggered an all-out brawl.

Just then, a young man sitting in the middle spoke up. "Um, a friendly reminder for you all. While the Inner Sect’s rules are a bit relaxed, they aren’t so relaxed that you can get into a brawl on your very first day."

Hearing this, the several of them looked over.

The speaker appeared to be in his early twenties and was reading a book.

An unfamiliar face.

"It’s normal that you don’t recognize me. Allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Ji, and my name is Ji An," the young man replied softly.

At his words, Ji Shoumo and the others were stunned for a moment.

’The new young prodigy of the Ji Family?’

He rarely went out, so few people had ever even seen him.

No one said a word; instead, they all retracted their auras.

Seeing that they weren’t going to fight, Jiang Man walked to the back on his own.

’I can’t beat these people. Looks like I can’t sit in the front row.’

’They’re all at the Late Stage of Primordial Spirit or Primordial Spirit Perfection.’

’Even an Unparalleled Celestial Pride has to steer clear of them.’

He was twenty-eight this year, a newcomer to the Inner Sect.

He was far younger than these people.

After all, any one of them was at least fifty years old.

Aside from Wei Ran, no one else here was younger than him.

Jiang Man went to the back and sat down, leaving Zhuo Bufan and the others a bit bewildered.

’Why are there so many powerful fellow students right after we entered the Inner Sect?’

’This doesn’t make any sense.’

"I don’t even dare to speak loudly anymore," An Rong whispered.

"It’s fine, I don’t dare to speak at all," Cao Cheng added.

Zhao Yaoyao said, "What’s going on?"

Zhuo Bufan was silent for a moment before saying, "They were probably drawn here by the light of the Unparalleled Celestial Pride. They came in together, which means they know each other."

Lin Qingshan whispered, "Aren’t you guys seeing what’s important? Jiang Man is standing so close to that woman. He’s never been this close to any other woman before."

"Never been close to any other women?" A sudden voice sounded from behind them. "What was he like before?"

The group looked back to find a young, graceful woman standing beside them with a curious expression.

"My name is Xiaoqing. Can you tell me about Jiang Man’s past?" Qing Dai took out some tea leaves. "This is for you. I’m just like you all, so we’ll definitely be on the same side in the future."

The group was already poor, so upon seeing the tea leaves, they saw no reason not to accept.

"On the same side, definitely on the same side," An Rong said excitedly.

After breaking ties with their families, their lives had been too miserable.

She had even thought about marrying into a good life, but unfortunately, her Cultivation was too weak to land a good match.

’People these days are too pragmatic. They can’t appreciate my good qualities. They just say that plenty of people have those same qualities, but only those with high Cultivation are truly outstanding.’

’If I keep improving, then people with the same qualities as me won’t have as high a Cultivation.’

’And those with the same Cultivation won’t have as many good qualities as me.’

"What’s your relationship with Jiang Man?" Wei Beichuan asked.

The others were also quite curious.

"The woman next to him is my lady. According to the Ji Family’s arrangement, she is to marry Jiang Man, which makes him my young master," Qing Dai explained seriously.

’Young master, my lady, a marriage alliance?’

This string of words left the group in shock.

They then fell into a discussion.

Jiang Man watched the group chatting happily and felt they were probably bad-mouthing him.

However, as he took his seat, he felt the faint, intermittent gazes of some people in front.

’It seems they’re all observing me.’

Just then, two people walked in through the doorway: a middle-aged man and a mature but somewhat haggard-looking woman.

She looked to be about twenty-eight or twenty-nine.

Zhuo Bufan and the others looked at the newcomers with some surprise.

’Isn’t that Mr. Yan?’

’How has she gotten younger?’

Zhao Yaoyao said, "It’s probably because her Cultivation has improved. Mr. Yan seems to have reached Golden Core Perfection."

Yan Yiqiu looked at the twenty-three Student Cultivators of the Inner Sect’s First Courtyard with mixed feelings.

Her Cultivation, which had stagnated for decades, had been rising nonstop for the ten years she had been instructing at Jiang Man’s courtyard.

’What exactly forced me into this situation?’

’First, it was enduring Mr. Ji’s assessment, forcing me to raise my Cultivation.’

’Then it was the Law Enforcement Hall’s assessment, forcing me to raise my Cultivation.’

’And now it’s the Inner Sect assessment, forcing me to raise my Cultivation.’

’It’s unnecessary. It’s truly unnecessary to waste all this manpower and resources.’

At this point, the middle-aged man stood at the very front and addressed everyone below. "Starting today, I will be your Instructor. However, I won’t be around often. Mr. Yan will inform you of everything else.

"If you have any questions, you can also find her, and she will notify me.

"This applies to questions about Cultivation as well.

"I will come by once a month to answer your questions.

"Of course, I also have some other lecture locations. You can sit in if you’re interested.

"I specialize in Body Cultivation."

After that, the middle-aged man left.

Jiang Man was a bit surprised. ’He’s not even going to mention his name?’

Then, Mr. Yan looked at everyone below and announced the name of the Instructor who had just spoken.

Chen Yicheng.

Mr. Yan also introduced herself.

"I can’t teach you much. I am only responsible for informing you of the Inner Sect’s rules and important notices, as well as handling matters that are within my ability," Yan Yiqiu said to the crowd. "The Inner Sect is different from the Outer Sect in three ways: first, the lectures; second, the assessments; and third, the administration."

Jiang Man listened quietly and quickly got the general idea.

Lectures in the Inner Sect were not all held in the courtyard; instead, students were expected to go to various places to study on their own according to their needs.

This included Cultivation Skills, practical combat, Magic Skills, Spiritual Qi application, coordinating Minors, studying Minors, Breaking Arrays, Defense, and various other techniques.

Yan Yiqiu continued, "The rest is about the Inner Sect assessments. There is one assessment every year, a competition every three years, and a grand competition every ten years. You can obtain anything you need from these assessments, competitions, and grand competitions."

"What if we want to obtain a promotion slot?" Bai Qiufeng asked.

"A slot to the Primordial Spirit realm?" Yan Yiqiu asked.

"A slot to the Returning Void realm," Bai Qiufeng replied.

"Yes, we need slots as well," Ji Shoumo added.

Ji An also nodded. "We are also very curious about this."

Hearing this, Yan Yiqiu froze for a second. She felt like she had run into a courtyard full of Jiang Mans.

’You’re all about to reach the Returning Void realm, so what are you doing here?’

For a moment, she felt exhausted just being a teaching assistant.

’What on earth are they trying to gain by coming here?’

’Are they here to insult me?’

She quickly realized it wasn’t that she wanted to be here; she had been forced to come.

"I am not familiar with that. I will look into it in the next two days and will have an answer for you the next time I come to the courtyard," Mr. Yan said.

"Are the rewards from the assessments or grand competitions for the Golden Core realm or the Primordial Spirit realm?" Ji Linglong inquired.

"Both, but it still depends on your strength," Mr. Yan said.

She then took out twenty-three beads. "These are the items for your assessment."

Soon, everyone had a black bead in their hand.

"Bind it with your Spiritual Qi. After that, you’ll need to use your Spiritual Qi, Magic Skills, and other methods to turn it white. Your assessment score will primarily be based on this. Additionally, your Cultivation ranking will also be displayed through this bead," Mr. Yan said, pointing to a wall in the courtyard.

Sure enough, as they infused the beads with their Spiritual Qi one by one...

The courtyard’s rankings appeared.

First Place, Ji An.

Second Place, Ji Shoumo.

Third Place, Bai Qiufeng.

...

Tenth Place, Ji Meng.

Eleventh Place, Xiaoqing.

Twelfth Place, Jiang Man.

Thirteenth Place, Wei Ran.

...

Twenty-first Place, Cao Cheng.

Twenty-second Place, An Rong.

Twenty-third Place, Fang Yong.

An Rong was stunned. She looked at the two people in the back row, bewildered. "Why are they ranked ahead of me? Weren’t they seventh or eighth in the courtyard?"

A man and a woman in the back shrugged. "We’re just late bloomers. Once you reach Golden Core, Talent starts to matter a bit. We were poorer than you before, and we’re just as poor now. It all comes down to Talent."

Cao Cheng frowned. "Why am I behind them too?"

Fang Yong stared at the rankings and remained silent for a long time.

’I’m dead last.’

’But on the bright side, Jiang Man didn’t even make the top ten.’

’But if you exclude the eleven unknown people, Jiang Man is first.’

Yan Yiqiu stared at the rankings in silence for a long time. Every unfamiliar name was ranked above Jiang Man.

’What kind of courtyard have I been assigned to?’

After that, she explained a few more relevant rules and then left in a hurry.

She didn’t even dare to ask if anyone had any more questions.

"It doesn’t show the specifics of our Cultivation levels?" a woman asked with some regret.

Ji An said, "It will appear gradually. The bead needs some time."

Bai Qiufeng was silent for a moment, then said, "This is just a superficial ranking. Who will be first after a real fight is still uncertain."

Jiang Man paid them no mind. He just wanted to go back and continue his Cultivation.

’This ranking really is a bit low.’

’Right now, the most important thing is to shake off the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart.’

Four hundred days had passed since the requirement began. It was September, and he was twenty-eight. He still had all of next year, plus another month after that, before the Fate Chart would catch up to him.

About a month after next year, the Fate Chart would arrive.

Time was a bit tight.