The End of the Immortal Path

Inside the Secret Realm.

The various teams were still striving to compete for a spot.

Ye Jingtian’s team was exceptionally careful along the way.

Even without Jiang Man, they seemed to be handling things with ease.

But the further they explored, the stranger things felt.

"We haven’t run into any trouble. What’s going on? Has our luck been this good?" Mo Xin asked.

"Maybe it’s because Jiang Man is still holding on," Ye Jingtian concluded after a long moment of thought.

The others were baffled.

They thought it was unlikely.

"It’s very likely," Ye Jingtian explained. "He’s a genius, after all. As long as he’s not reckless, he should be able to last for a while in here."

"Him, not reckless?" Mo Xin shot back.

For a moment, Ye Jingtian didn’t know how to respond.

Jiang Man was indeed reckless, catching them completely off guard.

But as things stood, their journey was indeed going more smoothly than they had anticipated.

"Let’s not overthink it. For now, let’s head up as quickly as possible and see how the other teams are doing. If things go well, we might make it onto the ranking board," Ye Jingtian said.

Afterward, they faced the Secret Realm’s many traps, but they managed to escape them all smoothly.

It was as if the traps had grown much weaker.

It was only when they ran into other teams that they began to fight over resources.

Half a month later.

They had suffered several setbacks and were covered in injuries.

The only thing they were thankful for was that their path upward had been clear of major spatial obstacles.

Otherwise, it would have drained even more of their energy, perhaps even preventing them from reaching the higher areas.

As they continued their ascent, they saw a floating mountain peak.

The peak was riddled with numerous spatial traps. The slightest misstep could cause one to fall or run into another team.

It could be said that their inexplicable luck had allowed them to conserve a great deal of strength.

This was the only reason they could contend with some of the stronger participants.

And earn more points.

At the end of the fifth month.

After several brutal battles, the four of them finally came to a halt halfway up the mountain.

They had no choice but to withdraw from the grand competition.

By now, they had already surpassed most of the other teams.

They should have a chance to enter the Immortal Sect’s grand competition.

According to their original plan, two of them at most would have qualified.

"It’s truly bizarre. Could it be we were just blessed with extraordinary luck?" Ye Jingtian couldn’t help but wonder aloud.

The Monk also frowned. "It is very strange."

Since he was the one testing for traps, he felt it most keenly.

But no one had an answer for them. They could only leave first and figure it out later.

The moment they returned to the main square, they felt the strange gazes of the people around them.

"They seem to be talking about us," Mo Xin said.

"They are, but with a hint of schadenfreude," said the young woman next to the Monk.

"Brother," Ye Xiaoshuang called out, running over excitedly. "Did it go well for you?"

Ye Jingtian nodded. "Everything went smoothly. In fact, it was surprisingly smooth. Our luck was very good."

"Your luck was good?" Ye Xiaoshuang glanced around and whispered, "Could it be because of Jiang Man?"

Hearing this, the four of them were confused.

Because of Jiang Man?

They had considered it at the start, but for it to last the entire month was just too strange.

It didn’t seem like something Jiang Man could have caused.

Besides, they didn’t understand why Ye Xiaoshuang was being so cautious.

Mo Xin voiced her thoughts, concluding that it couldn’t have been Jiang Man. "Even if he was eliminated late, he couldn’t have brought us good luck for an entire month.

"Or are you saying he’s lasted until now?"

"No." Ye Xiaoshuang immediately shook her head and explained, "You’ve misunderstood. Jiang Man didn’t last a month."

The others weren’t surprised by this, but her next words stunned them. "He came out on the very first day, and it caused a huge uproar.

"Oh, what I mean is, he wasn’t eliminated.

"Look at the very top of the stone monument."

The four were skeptical.

They turned to look at the top of the stone monument.

Written there in bold letters was: First Place, Jiang Man of Wuyun Sect’s Cloud Mist Peak.

The moment they saw that line of text, the pupils of the four contracted.

They even wondered if they were seeing things.

Just as they were about to question Ye Xiaoshuang, a group of people headed toward them.

They looked like they were about to start trouble.

"Brother, Senior Sister Mo, let’s get out of here," Ye Xiaoshuang said, immediately pulling them away.

As they left, they clearly felt something was off.

Everyone around was staring, watching them go.

Some even looked eager to make a move.

This only confused them more.

「A short while later.」

In a deserted place, Ye Jingtian was utterly stunned after hearing Ye Xiaoshuang’s explanation.

’A blessing, or a curse.’

They had achieved a better score in the competition for spots because of Jiang Man.

But they had also been swept into a strange storm because of him.

In the end, Ye Jingtian came to a conclusion.

A Celestial Pride was not to be provoked.

Even just casually letting one join their team and leaving them to their own devices could lead to being swept up in a storm for some unforeseeable reason.

Powerless to resist.

The targeted animosity of a Peak Master was something they could not possibly withstand.

For now, they could only hide and wait for the grand competition to begin.

In the meantime, they had to restrain themselves and avoid stirring up trouble.

They also had to prepare themselves mentally; the Immortal Sect’s grand competition would likely not go smoothly.

"I also need to reconsider our attitude toward Jiang Man," Ye Jingtian sighed.

But there was a silver lining: the spots were already confirmed, so there was nothing their team could do.

It was impossible to kick Jiang Man out and prevent him from entering the Immortal Sect’s grand competition.

Otherwise...

Someone would come looking for them very soon.

But even so, it wouldn’t be long before someone came looking for them anyway.

No matter how they tried to escape, it would be difficult to get out of this vortex.

Sure enough, just three days later, a man named Qin Wen found Ye Jingtian.

He came with a sincere offer, hoping that once Ye Jingtian entered the Immortal Sect’s grand competition, he would use a Secret Skill to reveal their location.

This would allow them to cooperate in dealing with the situation to come.