Chapter 644 - 346: In This Realm, Only His Voice Remains

Chapter 644: Chapter 346: In This Realm, Only His Voice Remains

Ji Meng froze for a moment.

Qing Dai, who stood behind her, looked equally astonished. In the past, her lady had once longed for words like these. However, she had always relied solely on herself. With her lady’s beauty and figure, it wasn’t that no one was willing to marry her—it was just that none of them were worthy. A single glance from her lady was enough to terrify them into lowering their heads.

She wondered how on earth her lady’s husband withstood such pressure. But now that the Evil God with formidable Array abilities had appeared, that entity owed her lady a great deal. If they could extract some sort of price from her, then her lady’s husband would have truly kept his word.

"The top-ranked disciples are returning soon. Your husband might not be able to get it back," Qi Xi said. "Of the top eight, more than half have reached Primordial Spirit Perfection, and the rest are on the verge of breaking through. Moreover, almost all of them have mastered a Grand Technique. Their strength far surpasses others in the same Realm. Especially after receiving guidance from Mr. Tantai and Mr. Ji, their progress has been absolutely meteoric."

"I don’t know, but perhaps my lady is just happy to hear him say that," Qing Dai replied. This was her lady’s first time dealing with such romantic feelings, so she was easily satisfied.

The next day.

Bai Ming returned.

He had deliberately come back early, arriving before the other members of the Ji Family, purely to suppress Jiang Man. After so much time had passed, doing nothing was no longer an option. The other party had reached Great Success in the Nine-star Series. If he didn’t suppress him now, there would be no chance in the future, and by then, they would lose everything.

Although they could try to push for a promotion, there were only three promotion spots available. Therefore, it was perfectly reasonable for him to strike early. He did this because he had no hope of securing a spot in the top three. Even though he had successfully broken through to Primordial Spirit Perfection, the advancement had been forced. Not only that, but having just broken through, he was no match for others at Primordial Spirit Perfection.

The only thing he could do was figure out a way to help the other two secure their promotions. At the same time, he needed to take the opportunity to suppress Jiang Man and disrupt his smooth growth. In doing so, he would have played a significant enough role.

He was especially thrilled when he learned that the assessment was scheduled for the end of February. Luck was on his side. Currently, in the small courtyard, he was the only one at Primordial Spirit Perfection. Furthermore, he had cultivated a Grand Technique.

With Jiang Man reaching Great Success in the Nine-star Series, no one in the same Realm could rival him. But since they were not in the same Realm, Jiang Man could still be suppressed. Of course, advancing one’s Cultivation with the Nine-star Series was also far more troublesome. A year or two of time was nowhere near enough. Reaching the Late Stage would be difficult enough.

However, as soon as he arrived at the courtyard, his brows furrowed. Ji Linglong had actually returned ahead of him. But soon, a smirk crept onto his face.

"I remember your Cultivation Skill is rather unique. Your breakthrough has to wait until the summer solstice, which is still a few months away," Bai Ming said with a smile.

Hearing this, Ji Linglong frowned. "Could I not have completed my breakthrough last year?"

"I don’t believe it. Our Talent is roughly the same, but you have fewer resources than me. No matter how fast you are, you couldn’t possibly beat me by over half a year," Bai Ming said as he stepped closer to her, smiling. "It seems your Ji Family miscalculated by letting you come back first."

Ji Linglong sneered, "You can try fighting me and see for yourself."

"No thanks," Bai Ming shook his head, looking smugly at the person in front of him. "If I fight you and cause too much of a commotion, I’ll get sent to the Law Enforcement Hall. Then wouldn’t I miss out on this assessment? In this assessment, I plan to single-handedly beat the three of you from the Ji Family."

Reaching Primordial Spirit Perfection gave him plenty of confidence. The members of the Ji Family were all at the Late Stage, so not a single one of them was his match. As for Jiang Man, he should still be at the Mid-stage of Primordial Spirit. That made him even easier to deal with. As long as he suppressed his growth, that would be enough.

Afterward, they entered the courtyard.

Mr. Yan looked at them and said, "There are still three days until the assessment. You can rest first before participating."

Bai Ming immediately asked, "Can those without external missions be absent?"

"No." Mr. Yan shook his head. "Without an ongoing mission or a special circumstance, you cannot be absent from the assessment."

Hearing this, Bai Ming looked at Ji Linglong and said, "It seems my return was perfectly timed. Sometimes, not having an external mission isn’t necessarily a good thing."

Ji Linglong sneered, "And perhaps coming back early is just asking to be humiliated."

"Are you talking about yourself?" Bai Ming said with a chuckle.

Ji Linglong didn’t reply; instead, she turned and walked toward her seat. She hadn’t seen Jiang Man today, but she was about to go look for him and the others. She hoped they would be careful.

That afternoon.

Jiang Man, who was deep in Cultivation, saw Ji Linglong walking over with Ji Meng.

He was somewhat surprised and wondered why his Gold Master had returned so early. However, her return immediately interrupted his Cultivation. He still needed another half a month to improve further. After that, he needed to start learning Arrays from Ji Meng, and finally, focus on the Evil God’s Technique. Arrays required deep thought and exploration, so learning them early would give him more time to ponder. The Evil God’s Technique, on the other hand, was mostly about accumulation. Its practical application still depended on the present.

"There’s a slight problem," Ji Linglong said solemnly after finding Jiang Man and Ji Meng. "Bai Ming came back early. What’s more troublesome is that he has broken through to Primordial Spirit Perfection. I still need a few more months, so I’m no longer his match.

"It’ll take a few months for our people to return. At best, they’ll make it in time for the assessment, but they can’t be here now. Bai Ming is obviously targeting Jiang Man. He wants to suppress his Great Success in the Nine-star Series."

"So what should we do?" Ji Meng asked.

"We can’t be absent, and it’s too late to take on a mission, so our only option is to fake an illness," Ji Linglong suggested. She went on to explain that they could pretend he suffered a Qi deviation. For example, they could claim his Spirit became too powerful and damaged his Physical Body, rendering him unable to participate in the assessment. This way, he could avoid Bai Ming’s edge.

Hearing this, Jiang Man paused. "Avoid his edge?"

He hadn’t encountered a situation like this in a long time. Or rather, very few people ever said such things to him anymore. Recently, he had indeed been avoiding certain people’s edge, but they were either Evil Gods or those on the hit list. When it came to people who weren’t much older than him, he had never once backed down.

"Sometimes you have to lay low when necessary. I can’t protect you right now, and you still need time to grow," Ji Linglong urged earnestly. "I know your Talent is high, I know you’ve achieved Great Success in the Nine-star Series, and I know that in a few years, they won’t be able to compete with you even if they try their hardest.

"But you’re too young right now.

"What you need most is time. And during this period, you have to avoid their edge. You need to make sure you can safely grow. Once you do, it will be their turn to avoid your edge."

Jiang Man shook his head slightly. "You’re both mistaken about one thing."

Ji Linglong was curious. "What thing?"

She wondered what else she could be wrong about. His progress was fast, and his strength was formidable. Given enough time, he would be invincible within the Primordial Spirit Realm. Where was the mistake?

"Time," Jiang Man said.

"What do you mean?" Ji Linglong asked.

"The resonance of a peerless prodigy," Ji Meng said with a smile. "You’ll understand in a few days. The perspective of a genius and the perspective of a peerless prodigy are completely different."

For a moment, Ji Linglong couldn’t understand what they were talking about.

Jiang Man asked, "When will the rest of the people be back?"

"Probably around June or July," Ji Linglong replied.

"That’s a shame," Jiang Man sighed softly. "I thought I could catch them all in one fell swoop. But that’s fine. The light will shine on them sooner or later. For now, let it shine on the two of you first."

Ji Linglong was stunned. She wondered what on earth he was mumbling about.

Three days later.

The day of the assessment.

For Jiang Man, today wasn’t a particularly special day, and the assessment wouldn’t take up too much of his time either. However, it was indeed time for a change in the rankings.

In the courtyard, Mr. Yan looked at the crowd and said, "This is just a courtyard assessment. You don’t need to stress over it too much. Its main purpose is to let you understand your current level. Then you can figure out what kind of review you want to undergo in July."

"Mr. Yan, can we use Grand Techniques in this practical combat assessment?" Bai Ming asked.

"Yes," Mr. Yan nodded. "There are no restrictions in this assessment. You can utilize your Cultivation and Magic Skills to their absolute fullest."

Ji Linglong looked at Jiang Man with a trace of worry. She wondered how these people could be so calm.

"Are you worried about Jiang Man?" Zhao Yaoyao asked curiously.

The seating arrangements for the assessment had been changed, and Zhao Yaoyao happened to be sitting right next to her. Ji Linglong nodded.

Zhao Yaoyao smiled. "Then your worry is completely unnecessary. Whenever Jiang Man participates in an assessment, he never ends up on the losing end. He only ever shines brilliantly. If he’s actively participating in the assessment now, it only proves one thing."

"What?" Ji Linglong asked curiously.

Zhao Yaoyao took a deep breath and said, "In this Realm, his voice is the only one left that matters."