"For soone like that to still be criticized only shows how short-sighted people are."
Jiang Man looked at the man before him and thought, ’He’s truly worthy of being called a Celestial Pride.’
’All I did was pull an all-nighter, and I get praised like this.’
’If he weren’t from ng Qiewei’s family, I’d definitely want to be his friend.’
’Also, he didn’t have to specifically point out that I’m poor.’
Just then, Ji Hao changed the subject. "So, I’d like to ask you... would you be willing to marry into our family?"
Jiang Man was stunned.
’Marrying into another family again.’
"Can’t I be the one to marry her?" he asked.
"It’s not entirely out of the question. How about this: would you be willing to change your surna to Ji and marry a woman from a side branch of our clan?" Ji Hao asked.
Jiang Man stared blankly at him. "Change my surna to marry soone from your side branch?"
"That’s right. The children will take your surna," Ji Hao said.
Jiang Man was silent for a long ti. ’This guy really knows how to talk.’
’The Luo Family Patriarch wouldn’t have put it like that when he ca.’
’He was so rigid.’
’No wonder this guy is a Celestial Pride while the Luo Family Patriarch is just an ordinary expert.’
’But why a side branch?’
Jiang Man asked out of curiosity.
’He was an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, after all.’
Ji Hao explained, "It’s because you’re only at Foundation Establishnt. Accomplishnts at the Foundation Establishnt stage don’t really an much, so while many people are interested in you, they won’t go too over the top."
"The world of the Immortal Sects is vast. No matter how fast you reach Foundation Establishnt, it’s still just Foundation Establishnt. The journey has only just begun."
"This path is far too long."
"Early achievents only prove that you’ve perford well at this stage."
"It’s hard to say what will happen later."
"There are far too many people like that."
"You can consider this making an early move to win you over."
"I can’t agree to that," Jiang Man said.
"Why? Is it because it’s a side branch?" Ji Hao asked.
Jiang Man answered honestly, "It’s because I already have a partner."
Ji Hao wasn’t surprised, as he had clearly heard such rumors. He continued, "That makes sense. But who is this partner of yours? Is she that important? Is she beautiful?"
"Beautiful?" Jiang Man said with a smile. "She’s more than beautiful. She has a grace that’s matched only by her wisdom, an elegance that is peerless. Her brows are like distant, ink-washed mountains; her eyes, like the captured light of autumn waters. Her lips are as if touched with crimson, and she shines with a natural radiance even without a trace of makeup."
"Her skin is fairer than snow, her dark hair a cascading waterfall. When she walks, the hem of her dress sways gently, ethereal as smoke and mist, as if she’s completely untouched by the mortal world."
"Her disposition is gentle, yet she is not weak. She treats others like a soft spring breeze, and there’s always a hint of a smile in her voice when she speaks."
’Every ti I think about her, I feel a chill down my spine, like I could be targeted for revenge at any mont,’ Jiang Man thought to himself.
Ji Hao was a little surprised. She sounded extraordinary. He asked, "So you two are mutually in love?"
"Mutually in love? It’s not sothing that can be explained in a sentence or two." Jiang Man feigned a reminiscent look. "To , she is like pear blossoms reflected on a spring river—silent, yet deeply moving."
"She is not like a scorching fire, but like a gentle rain that nurtures all things, silently seeping into the very fabric of ti."
"A single, casual word of concern, or the softness in her eyes as she glances back. There’s no need for vows, for our bond is stronger than Golden Stone."
"Even as the world changes, she remains true to her original heart."
’Her questioning once every few months, visiting in person every year, single-mindedly plotting her revenge... I guess that counts as ’nurturing all things’ and ’remaining true to her original heart,’’ he mused.
Ji Hao’s brow furrowed. "Are you sure you’re not just making all this up?"
Jiang Man shrugged and smiled. "In any case, I’m already married."
"So no changing your na, no marrying into a family?" Ji Hao asked.
Jiang Man nodded. "Have you ever seen an Unparalleled Celestial Pride marry into another family and change their na?"
Ji Hao shook his head, but added that he had never seen an Unparalleled Celestial Pride to begin with.
Jiang Man waved and walked away. "You will."
He didn’t tell Ji Hao that he was looking at one right now.
Ti would prove everything.
Watching Jiang Man leave, Ji Hao sighed. ’So it really isn’t him. Could my senses have been wrong?’
In truth, he hadn’t left his family to find the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart. That was just an excuse to get away; he had other things to do.
It was only by chance that he’d co here and genuinely sensed the Fate Chart’s presence.
It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
But he was certain it had to be the Fate Chart.
He had never heard of anyone in his clan having such a sensation.
As for why, he had no idea.
Perhaps he truly had a unique affinity with the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart.
So, he began to investigate.
At first, he zeroed in on Wei Ran.
Later, Jiang Man’s fa began to skyrocket.
He investigated him and then locked onto Jiang Man as well.
Between the two, he could only test one of them for now.
He was leaning toward Jiang Man.
That was why he had co here to make contact.
Unfortunately...
It wasn’t him.
The item he carried was a special tool his clan used to find the bearers of the Fate Chart through the generations.
It had never been wrong.
Therefore, he ruled Jiang Man out.
That only left Wei Ran.
Still, he wanted to win Jiang Man over. Proposing he marry into the family was just one thod.
Since he refused, he would have to wait for a future opportunity.
Finally, Ji Hao breathed another sigh of relief. ’Good thing it wasn’t him.’
In truth, even if he had confird it was Jiang Man, he wouldn’t have known what to do.
Send a ssage back to the clan?
What if the Young Mistress was displeased?
He would be finished.
So, confirming it *wasn’t* him was actually the risk-free outco.
He just needed to send a ssage back saying he was making progress.
————
Back at his residence, Jiang Man gnawed on a stead bun while listening to the Old Yellow Ox’s explanation.
The Purple Mist Divine Light was incredibly complex. Even with the Old Yellow Ox’s guidance, a single day was not nearly enough ti.
"You need to bring the relevant books. At the very least, you need to understand the concepts I’m talking about. I’ll help you mark the key points."
"We don’t have enough ti for to explain everything in detail."
The Old Yellow Ox then ntioned three books.
The first was *An Overview of Resonating Thin Spiritual Qi into Light*, the second was *Stabilizing Spiritual Qi Vibration Frequencies*, and the third was *An Introduction to Spiritually Connecting with Thin Spiritual Qi*.
In short, systematic study was extrely complicated.
"This is supposed to take two days, but how long will I have to spend reading?" Jiang Man lanted.
Reading was such a waste of ti.
After a mont of thought, Jiang Man asked, "Can I just ask that Ji Hao directly?"
"You can. He should be able to explain it clearly, but you’ll still need to study it systematically," the Old Yellow Ox replied.
Jiang Man had no choice but to morize the relevant content from the books and then slowly deduce the rest from what Old Huang said.
"You need to be careful now," the Old Yellow Ox warned. "That item in his hand is extrely powerful. The protections I spent over a decade placing on you were almost completely broken without a trace. One more ti, and he’ll really discover the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart."
Hearing this, Jiang Man froze.
’Protections that took over a decade to build were nearly breached?’
’I never expected it to be so dangerous.’
’The people from ng Qiewei’s family are really not to be trifled with.’
After that, Jiang Man continued to read.
After one night, Jiang Man returned the books. "I’m done. It took all night, and my head is killing ."
"I’ve gotten past these parts. I just need to fill in the rest."
The Old Yellow Ox, munching on grass, began to explain the subsequent steps.
「The next day.」
Jiang Man absorbed it all.
"I get it now. All that’s left is for to try it out. It won’t take up too much ti. Good thing there was only a little I had to morize myself. Any more and it really would have wasted ten-odd days."
After bidding farewell to Old Huang, Jiang Man went to the small courtyard to assemble.
Whether he could obtain a Spirit Sword would all depend on this.
He had indeed seen a group of people enter the Sect via Sword Control yesterday.
It was quite a grand display.
But they had no interaction with the Outer Sect.
Watching Jiang Man leave, the Old Yellow Ox sighed to itself.
Other than being poor, it had yet to see any shortcomings in Jiang Man.
However, aside from Cultivation and improving his Magic Skills, Jiang Man wouldn’t learn anything else.
It was such a sha.
He even felt that systematic study was a waste of ti.
Jiang Man’s answer to it had been: "An Unparalleled Celestial Pride doesn’t have to be omnipotent. They have to know how to make trade-offs, to let so things go."
"Wanting to grasp everything doesn’t make you an Unparalleled Celestial Pride. It just makes you greedy."
"Once you have enough Cultivation, you can turn back and have everything you wanted."
——
「A quaint courtyard.」
ng Qiewei was strolling by the pond in the backyard.
Wherever she went, the fish followed, as if waiting to be fed.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps ca from outside.
As they drew near, the footsteps slowed to a graceful, asured pace.
"Young Mistress, I have returned." Qing Dai’s voice sounded from outside.
ng Qiewei sprinkled so fish food into the water, not even lifting her head. "Have you brought more interesting news?"
"As brilliant as ever, Young Mistress." Qing Dai approached with a smile.
ng Qiewei glanced at her. "What is this interesting news?"
"News ca from the new-generation Celestial Pride. He said he has locked onto two individuals who might be the Young Master-in-law." Qing Dai watched her mistress’s expression, and seeing no issue, continued, "He said two people are the most likely candidates. One is the young prodigy, Wei Ran."
"The other is the ’All-Nighter Celestial Pride,’ Jiang Man."
"After weighing his options, he felt Jiang Man was a better fit."
"So he used the clan’s secret detection treasure to test him."
————
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