Chapter 259 - The Teacher Told Me to Be the Sect Leader

This was the entrance to the Promotion Secret Realm.The first time he came, no one paid him any mind.

But this time, as he arrived at the small hill, many eyes fell upon him.

Among them, Wei Chuyao even came up to greet him.

Zhuo Ling just gave a nod of acknowledgment.

The others watched him with varying degrees of scrutiny and doubt.

However, no one stepped forward to say anything.

His eighth-place ranking wasn’t something people like them could question to his face.

Unless, of course, they were ranked in the top seven.

Jiang Man ignored their gazes, and his eyes finally landed on a man standing alone in the crowd, with a wide space around him.

Just standing there, the man exuded an oppressive aura.

Even Jiang Man found himself drawn to him. The man’s heavy presence announced to everyone around that the weight of his Spiritual Qi was extraordinary.

’So strong,’ Jiang Man thought, surprised.

Looking at the man, he felt as if he were looking at a reflection of himself—confident, brazen, with absolute control over his physical strength.

Previously, Jiang Man had considered himself invincible, but after seeing this man, he felt that sense of invincibility was on the verge of being shaken.

This person was dangerous.

’In a real fight, without the boost from my last two Secret Techniques, it’s hard to say who would win or lose.’

He soon learned the man’s name.

Shangguan Liuyun.

The number one disciple of the Outer Sect.

At this time, some people on the fringes, though they didn’t dare question Jiang Man directly, whispered amongst themselves. "I think his eighth-place rank is inflated. His team’s thirteenth-place rank is even more so."

"He only scored high because of his young age. That doesn’t count as his actual strength."

"If they want to judge by age, then just say that and send him back to the Seventh Courtyard."

"But he’s here to compete based on strength. Bringing age into it is just ridiculous."

"Losing to him so vaguely feels unfair."

Someone next to him nodded in agreement. "You have a point. Why don’t you tell the Sect that?"

"I did."

"And what did the Sect say?"

"The instructor told me to become the Sect Leader."

"And then?"

"I refused. The Sect Leader has no freedom as a Student Cultivator."

"I see."

Many people doubted him in secret, but none could refute the Sect’s decision.

So, some were secretly determined to compete with him.

Once inside the Promotion Secret Realm, they would make Jiang Man understand that his eighth-place rank was inflated.

Jiang Man didn’t blame them. He only blamed his own light for being too dim.

But that would change soon.

After emerging from the Secret Realm, in a few months at the earliest, his light would shine upon everyone in the Outer Sect.

Even those who were about to leave the Outer Sect.

Would bask in his brilliance.

"It’s about time. Everyone, prepare yourselves."

As the voice fell, everyone ceased their other activities.

Immediately after, the light of an Array spread across the square, teleporting everyone carrying an Iron Token into the Secret Realm.

After a dizzying sensation, Jiang Man found himself standing at a three-way fork in the road.

The place was empty, and he had no idea where the others had been sent.

But standing here, he could get a rough sense of his surroundings.

Ahead was a range of mountains, to the left was an endless sea, and to the right was a vast expanse of mist.

There were no instructions, no conditions.

Which path to take was entirely up to him.

However, the aura here was stronger than in the fixed Promotion Secret Realm.

Therefore, obtaining a Promotion Skill would be easier, especially in the mountains, where the feeling was particularly distinct.

’This is exactly as Mr. Ji described. It seems he really was the one who provided this Secret Realm.’

’Then it’s possible the Seeking Law Mist is here as well.’

Jiang Man’s gaze lingered on the mist. Without hesitation, he strode toward it.

As he walked in that direction, a fog began to rise around him.

The fog ebbed and flowed, landing on his body like tiny, thread-like attacks.

It forced one to activate their Cultivation to resist it.

But as he moved forward, the full extent of his power was unleashed.

No amount of fog could affect him.

Gradually, he began to see misty figures appearing in his surroundings.

Every figure sensed his arrival and turned its head in unison to look at him.

Their gazes were completely undisguised, as if trying to see through his very being.

Jiang Man paid them no mind and continued walking forward.

After a long while, the figures in the mist finally began to move.

One by one, they blocked Jiang Man’s path, about to strike.

Jiang Man walked straight toward them.

As he got close, he stomped his foot, unleashing the Bengliu Technique.

BOOM!

The figure’s body shattered from the bottom up, dissipating into mist.

Afterward, several palms appeared, striking other figures as they materialized.

They too dissipated into mist.

His path was completely unobstructed.

These things weren’t even worthy of a significant move from Jiang Man.

While these figures attacked, some people from the First Courtyard would occasionally appear.

They were somewhat surprised to see Jiang Man.

But they all launched an Attack without a moment’s hesitation.

One of them even declared he wanted to see what the "inflated" eighth-place ranker was really made of.

However, they were all shattered by a single, direct palm strike from Jiang Man.

They dissipated into the mist with looks of astonishment.

They couldn’t withstand a single blow.

Jiang Man wasn’t sure if they were real people or not.

Not until he saw Shangguan Liuyun, who merely glanced at him before dissipating on the spot.

This made Jiang Man realize he must have encountered real people.

He hadn’t expected such a strange convergence.

Passing through the mist, Jiang Man saw a city.

There were no people in the city, and no mist.

When Jiang Man entered, he found that the entire area outside the city was shrouded in mist.

It was as if he were trapped here.

Reaching the city center, Jiang Man looked up slightly and saw that the mist extended upward like the walls of a well.

And he was at the bottom of it.

It felt like being crushed at the bottom, with no way out.

There was no escape from this place.

At that moment, he felt his surroundings begin to change. The mist slowly turned a gloomy gray.

A negative aura began to spread with it.

It seemed intent on locking him here forever.

"You feel it, don’t you?" a sudden voice sounded from behind him.

Jiang Man turned to see a man dressed in black robes.

His brow furrowed. "Is that you?"

Hearing this, the man was taken aback but quickly composed his Heart Spirit. "You recognize me?"

"I don’t. I was just bluffing. I didn’t expect you to fall for it. Seems you’re not very experienced," Jiang Man said, retracting his gaze. "So we do know each other?"

"We do. Who do you think I am?" Chen Shi asked.

Jiang Man shook his head. "Can’t guess. But nine times out of ten, you’ve never been to my home."

’If you had, Old Huang would have sniffed you out.’

Chen Shi was inwardly shocked. ’This guy is uncanny.’

’Doesn’t that mean it would be easy to identify me?’

But he wasn’t nervous, because he had only met the other man on the archipelago.

’He’ll probably have a hard time guessing.’

Then, he looked at the sky and said, "Your situation is complicated. If the lock and the city don’t disappear, you won’t be able to obtain the Promotion Skill and will be trapped here forever."

"Can’t I just walk out?" Jiang Man asked.

"You can try. But once you’re out, all you’ll see is darkness, despair, and countless chains," Chen Shi said softly. "I can help you, but you need to become an Immortal Spirit Envoy."

Jiang Man looked at him and smiled. "Darkness and despair await outside?"

"Yes," Chen Shi said with certainty.

"Have you been there?" Jiang Man asked again.

Chen Shi fell silent.

Jiang Man chuckled. "Let’s go. We’ll go out and see for ourselves. And then I’ll let you feel the long-overdue Taiyang."

Chen Shi frowned, but before he could speak, Jiang Man had already strode away.

He had no choice but to follow.

This was a city of the mind. Those with an unsteady Heart Spirit would be trapped here forever.

He thought that even someone like Jiang Man would need some time.

And yet...

The wind howled.

The city, which had seemed so real, scattered with the wind.

It dissolved completely into mist.

When he looked back again, Chen Shi was stunned to find that the city had reappeared behind him at some point.

Back then, he had endured a long and painful ordeal to escape this city, even collapsing to the ground to struggle, wail, and beg.

It was ugly, unbearable, and he couldn’t stand to look back on it.

At that time, only he knew how helpless and desperate he had been.

But he had also hated himself for being too weak to walk out of the darkness.

So how did the person before him get out in the blink of an eye?

"What are you looking back at?" Jiang Man’s voice suddenly rang out.

Chen Shi immediately turned back around, only to see Jiang Man standing behind him.

At that moment, Jiang Man chuckled. "Are you looking at your former self?"

Chen Shi stared past Jiang Man and said, "You should worry about yourself. Your path is broken."

Jiang Man turned his head to look behind him, only to see that the entire path forward was blocked by iron chains.

There was no other way to go.

Not only that, but the surrounding mist was swirling, about to form a new well to drag people into the abyss.

Jiang Man looked at all this and said, "What do you mean, blocked? The only reason you think it’s blocked is because your Talent isn’t high enough."

"In my eyes, the path ahead is wide open."

After a pause, Jiang Man suddenly asked, "Were these the things that stopped you back then?"

Chen Shi didn’t speak.

Because he wasn’t worthy.

Compared to this, the things that had stopped him back then weren’t even worth mentioning.

In truth, he was also extremely surprised to see this scene.

This was a situation that gave a person no chance at all.

Even he could feel the despair and powerlessness.

’Does this person before me really not sense it at all?’

’Or is he just deceiving himself?’