Chapter 244 - 165: Touching the Demon-Revealing Mirror

Although they couldn’t understand why he would be practicing a Body Refining Skill at a time like this, they respected the choice of a prodigy.

But what they were really thinking, no one knew.

Jiang Man asked them how to contact the Sect.

The bald man took out a Talisman and said, "This is a Talisman for contacting the Sect. One thousand Spiritual Source."

Jiang Man bought it without hesitation.

He figured there should be a reward for reporting it.

Soon, the message about the Demon Race was sent out.

Afterward, Jiang Man asked about the remaining time in the Grand Competition.

"From the looks of it, the best prizes haven’t been fought over yet, so it won’t end so soon. If things go smoothly, there’s still about half a month left," the bald man said.

Half a month was enough for Jiang Man.

After that, he went back to continue his Cultivation.

He was about to reach the Great Success stage.

The sturdy man watched Jiang Man leave and asked curiously, "He’s from the Seventh Courtyard. Isn’t he going to fight for a ranking?"

The bald man shook his head and looked toward Gao Rong and the others.

Gao Rong had no idea either.

Su Qinya remained silent.

’There’s no logic to it at all.’

’If he doesn’t go to the Second Courtyard to raise his ranking now, it’ll be too late.’

——

Meanwhile, Zhuo Ling’s team had already seized a supply of resources.

These were resources specifically arranged to aid in their advancement.

They could speed up one’s progress to the Core Formation realm, and the higher one’s Talent, the more effective they were.

Not only that, but the supply also contained Elixirs for healing injuries and Attack Talismans.

This gave them a huge advantage in the subsequent random encounters.

It would allow their bodies to sustain combat for extended periods.

But even now, she hadn’t heard any news about Jiang Man.

"The two geniuses from the Fourth Courtyard have already reached the First Courtyard’s area, but there’s still no news of Jiang Man," a male teammate said with regret. "There’s a chance he didn’t even get in, or maybe he’s still in the Second Courtyard fighting for a rank."

"There’s still some time before the final contest. Maybe we can go out and look for him," another woman on the team suggested.

Hearing this, Zhuo Ling shook her head. "Perhaps I’m being too serious about this. Let’s just leave it to fate. For now, let’s head to the ranking peak and wait for the others to arrive."

Only when a certain number of people had gathered on the peak would the random matchmaking Array activate.

The more you won, the higher your rank; the more you lost, the lower your rank.

Therefore, the penalty for conceding immediately upon meeting a strong opponent and moving to the next match was extremely severe.

You might not be able to recover even with three consecutive wins.

It was an unforgiving system for the weak.

But rankings were always meant for the strong.

Just as they were about to leave on their swords, Talismans suddenly flew toward them from the sky.

They quickly landed in front of the group.

Then, they received a message.

The rules had changed.

In seven days, within the First Courtyard’s area, all teams would face random encounters, with rankings determined by wins and losses.

Opponents could randomly be any other person, or any Demon Beast.

Each battle would last for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

"Why did the rules suddenly change?" Zhuo Ling was stunned.

’And it’s team battles, so how will the rankings be calculated?’

But for them, this was a good thing, as all three of them had high rankings.

——

「Outer Sect.」

Zhuo Bufan, Zhao Yaoyao, and the others often appeared near the ranking boards for the First, Second, and Third Courtyards, waiting for the Grand Competition to end.

"I heard your Zhuo Family plans to deal with Jiang Man? Does she have a good chance of winning?" Zhao Yaoyao asked.

"Very good," Wei Beichuan said while Absorbing Qi. "Zhuo Bufan’s clanswoman, Zhuo Ling, is at Foundation Establishment Perfection. Her powers have successfully integrated, she has a bonus from her Talent with Talismans, and she’s ranked in the top twenty."

"Jiang Man is powerful, but he seems to be lacking a Top-grade Body Refining Technique."

"His power integration is also incomplete."

"He’s at a disadvantage."

Zhuo Bufan nodded. "Looking at it that way, you’re right. But this is all temporary."

"If they run into each other and Jiang Man loses because of his inexperience, won’t he hold a grudge against you when he gets back? Put your name on his little list?" Cao Cheng asked.

Zhuo Bufan: "..."

Then he turned to look at An Rong.

The latter had an innocent look on his face. "I didn’t say anything. Why are you staring at me so fiercely? You can’t just bully people with low rankings like this."

"Since you’re bullying me like this, it’s only natural that Jiang Man would bully you too."

Zhuo Bufan: "..."