Chapter 245 - Invincible Posture

Xiang Liang and Qiao Yu, who had just entered the First Courtyard’s territory, were somewhat surprised."They changed the rules? And to a team battle, no less." Xiang Liang frowned. "This is good for the top-ranked people; the strong will team up with the strong, and the weak with the weak. In that case, we’re at a disadvantage. Jiang Man wasted so much of our time. He said two days, but it’s been more than ten and there’s still no sign of him. Who knows where he’s gone."

Qiao Yu sighed as well. "To think I even arranged for someone to teach him a lesson. I wonder if he knew the situation beforehand and used it to turn the tables, just to mess with us."

Xiang Liang nodded. "That’s certainly possible. Anyone from the Seventh Courtyard who can make it to this assessment is no simpleton."

Neither of them cared much.

It was just a casual little scheme. If they got to see Jiang Man stumble, great. If not, it was no great loss.

It didn’t delay their progress.

They wouldn’t compete with Jiang Man for rankings because there was no need.

They had already gotten everything worth fighting for during Foundation Establishment. There was no longer any conflict over rankings.

Their sights were set on Core Formation.

There was no need to care about such a meaningless ranking. Only someone like Jiang Man would need it.

With seven days left, they needed to find some teammates.

As for Jiang Man, they weren’t optimistic. After all, his team consisted of a disciple from the Second Courtyard who could barely be called a genius and an ordinary one from the Third Courtyard.

It was truly impossible to have any high hopes for them.

After hearing the rules had changed, Jiang Man wasn’t surprised.

But when he heard the assessment was in seven days, he was stunned.

According to what the bald man had said, if he did nothing, he would have had at least half a month, maybe even more.

With that much time, after his Cultivation Skill reached Great Success, he could have continued to use the Hundred Refinement Stone to force a partial fusion of his powers.

With his peerless Talent, his Top-grade Skill Purple Mist Divine Light at Great Success, and his mastery of Magic Skill applications, he could have led Gao Rong and the others into the top ten, even if his powers had only halfway fused.

But now, there were only seven days.

It was barely enough time for his Cultivation Skill to reach Great Success, leaving no time for his powers to fuse.

In this state, and saddled with a senior sister from the Second Courtyard who had barely reached Perfection and Gao Rong from the Third Courtyard who was still at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, even cracking the top fifty would be a long shot.

Jiang Man heaved a heavy sigh.

’I’ve shot myself in the foot.’

’I still haven’t worked hard enough.’

’Otherwise, no matter how weak Gao Rong and the others are, I could carry them to first place.’

’Of course, there’s no point in complaining. I just have to keep working hard.’

Moreover, the sudden change in rules was clearly because of the appearance of the Demon Race.

The Sect’s intention was to have them deal with it.

As for why it was in seven days, he had no idea.

After that, Jiang Man never stopped, just continuously practiced his Body Refining Skill.

「One day.」

「Two days.」

It wasn’t until just past midnight on the eighth day that Jiang Man finally let out a heavy breath.

’It’s done.’

’My Seven-Star Body Refining Technique has reached Great Success.’

"It’s a pity Old Huang isn’t here to see me break through my limits."

"His loss."

At this moment, he could see Arrays operating throughout the entire First Courtyard’s territory.

The random assignment would begin after dawn.

He still had half a night.

Out of curiosity, Jiang Man touched the Demon-Revealing Mirror again.

He concluded that one hundred and eight members of the Demon Race had appeared.

"That many? I wonder if we’ll get randomly assigned to them."

Jiang Man looked at the stone in his hand again. There was currently no change.

A single touch still registered as ’Not Worth Mentioning.’

After that, he stopped overthinking it and prepared to begin fusing his powers.

’The time is too short, so it won’t be very effective.’

’But I can’t give up, either.’

’It’s a shame I don’t have any Elixirs.’

As Jiang Man was thinking this, he suddenly thought of the Evil God.

’If I go to sleep now, will I be able to enter that dilapidated house again?’

’Cultivation inside there is much more effective than out here.’

After a moment of thought, Jiang Man decided to give it a try.

Soon, he found a spot and closed his eyes.

He then successfully entered a dream.

He appeared in a fog, and ahead of him was the ruined temple he had seen before.

The light was a bit brighter than before.

After entering, he saw that besides the text on the message stele, nothing else had changed.

"Do everything possible to save Huo Bingzhi."

Jiang Man was quite surprised as he looked at the message.

’Is this Huo Bingzhi that important?’

’Then how could I just stand by and do nothing?’

Jiang Man picked up the brush and left a message: "I, Jiang Man of Cloud Mist Peak, am willing to risk everything, but my strength is insufficient. I need help. Who will join me?"

After putting down the brush, he just had to wait for others to seek him out, and then they would go rescue the person together.

’Another payday.’

And so, Jiang Man continued his Cultivation.

As expected, he could absorb the surrounding aura to improve himself.

He could clearly feel the three forces within his body.

Cultivation, Physical Body, Spirit.

At this moment, he circulated his Cultivation Skill, as if breaking down the barriers between the three forces to fuse them.

In half a night, he used the Evil God’s power to create cracks in the barriers, and some of the powers began to fuse.

Unfortunately, it was only a little.

When the powers fused, he felt his Foundation Establishment Body awakening bit by bit.

The powers were becoming integrated.

’A shame it was only a little.’

When he finished, Jiang Man looked at the candlelight next to the statue and noticed it had become a bit brighter again.

And with that, he vanished from the spot.

The moment he woke up, he checked the time. The sky was about to brighten.

The random assignment was about to begin.

He found Gao Rong and Su Qinya, who were still by the cauldron.

The bald man and his group were nowhere to be found.

"They said they were going to find another teammate." Gao Rong looked at Jiang Man and said, "Young Master Jiang, I must be a burden, right? Why don’t you..."

Jiang Man stopped him from finishing his sentence. "The chances of getting into the top fifty with you two aren’t high, but I’ve always been someone who can seize those slim chances."

Su Qinya was also a bit surprised.

She didn’t understand why he wouldn’t just team up with the bald man’s group directly.