The End of the Immortal Path

The man put away the portrait and took out a contract. "You should know who I work for. Here’s the contract. You can take a look first."

Jiang Man’s heart sank. It really was one of Peak Master Bai’s men.

’I couldn’t avoid it. I wonder if I’ll still be able to borrow what I need later.’

Jiang Man accepted the contract and discovered it contained an irresistible power. Once signed, he feared it would be nearly impossible to violate.

Violating it would require paying a massive amount of Spiritual Source.

More than he could ever afford.

Jiang Man didn’t rush to read it. Instead, he asked, "If I don’t sign, will you attack me, Senior Brother?"

"Not in the Outer Sect," the man said.

Jiang Man nodded. ’So he’ll do it in the Inner Sect.’

Just then, the man looked at Jiang Man and said, "You’re too young."

Jiang Man, who had been about to inspect the contract’s contents, looked up at the man in astonishment.

He didn’t understand what he meant.

"Haven’t you noticed that all the famous geniuses have powerful backgrounds?" the man sneered, staring at Jiang Man. "Do you think others aren’t geniuses? That they don’t have the strength to make a name for themselves?"

"And then you, a poor prodigy, just happen to show up and start getting famous?"

"So young!"

"It’s just that everyone else understands a simple truth: without backing, without power, you shouldn’t draw too much attention to yourself."

"A defenseless genius is just exposing himself, telling everyone that there’s a fat sheep ripe for the picking, isn’t he?"

"The nail that sticks up gets hammered down."

"Only by hiding your strength can you hope for a future."

"Did you think that getting a spot so quickly was a good thing?"

"Besides earning the awe of nobodies, all you’ve attracted are the schemes of powerful figures with ulterior motives."

"And the resentment and jealousy of certain people."

"If you had just waited another seven or eight days, you wouldn’t have ended up in this situation."

As he said this last sentence, his gaze fell upon the contract in Jiang Man’s hand.

Jiang Man hadn’t expected the man before him to say all this.

But the man didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping. He continued, "You have a benefactor. Perhaps you think they can stand against the Peak Master."

"But have you ever considered why a Peak Master is a Peak Master?"

"There’s more than one or two Elders with Cultivation on par with his, so why did a shameless man like him become a Peak Master?"

"Why?" Jiang Man asked.

The man chuckled, his voice low. "You have a benefactor, but he doesn’t have a background? Without a background, how could he hold his position as Peak Master so securely?"

"You don’t really believe he’s all alone, that he became a Peak Master as a mere Loose Cultivator, do you?"

"The Wuyun Sect is subordinate to the Immortal Sect. How do you think someone is chosen for a high-level position like Peak Master?"

Jiang Man had never really thought about these things.

’It seems Peak Master Bai is even more dangerous than I imagined.’

However, he didn’t take the man’s words to heart.

Because regardless of whether this Peak Master had a background or not, he was powerless to deal with him.

For now, the plan remained unchanged.

’First, get stronger. That’s all that matters.’

There was no point in wondering if he’d made a mistake.

Things had already come to this; naturally, the priority was to raise his Cultivation.

He was different from others. He didn’t just need Spiritual Source, but also ancient artifacts.

The more he stood out, the more ancient artifacts he would come into contact with.

All the covetous gazes and prying were just side effects of unlocking his Talent.

In silence, Jiang Man examined the contract’s contents.

Fifty thousand Spiritual Source per month, plus ten of each corresponding Elixir.

The demands were also simple: be obedient. For example, during major competitions, he was to show a sense of collective spirit and yield when told to.

If he left the Sect and entered the Immortal Sect, he would also be required to join a designated faction.

He could not refuse or evade certain necessary Sect missions without cause.

It also stated that most of the time the Sect would have no missions for him, and major competitions were infrequent.

The restrictions weren’t ironclad, but they certainly limited his future path and freedom.

’This isn’t for me.’

But he had to admit, the offer was generous—that much Spiritual Source per month.

Jiang Man mused that selling himself was actually quite profitable.

Then, he returned the contract to the senior brother before him and said, "My apologies for making you come all this way for nothing, Senior Brother."

The man took back the contract, not at all surprised. It was as if he had seen this scene many times before. He looked at Jiang Man calmly and asked, "Do you know how much power a Peak Master has?"

Jiang Man shook his head.

The man continued, "One Sect Leader, two Guardians, and six Peak Masters. They are the nine most powerful people in the Sect."

"Under normal circumstances, if you want to meet a Peak Master, you need to enter the Inner Sect. After graduating from the Inner Sect and passing the Sect’s core assessment, you would become a Direct Disciple of an Elder. Only then, with a Peak Master’s recommendation, could you enter the Immortal Sect."

"Only then can an ordinary Student Cultivator even get a chance to see a Peak Master."

"Everyone you know in the Sect, no matter what family is behind them, is utterly worthless in front of a Peak Master."

"So, after your refusal, all the families will avoid you like the plague."

"Student Cultivators who are on good terms with you will also shun you."

"There will even be families who attack you just to curry favor with the Peak Master."

"The Peak Master doesn’t actually have to do anything. As long as his attitude towards you is clear, there are plenty of people below him who will decide to do things on their own."

"You’d better think this through."

"I’ve seen many people refuse. It’s not that none of them held out until the end, but their fates were never good."

"Even those who made it to the Immortal Sect ended up fleeing in disgrace."

The man looked at Jiang Man. "Are you sure you refuse?"

Jiang Man nodded slightly. "I’m sure."

The man said no more, simply turning and departing through the air.

Watching him leave, Jiang Man asked with some curiosity, "Senior, what was his Cultivation level?"

"Much stronger than you," the Old Yellow Ox replied casually.

"No more talk. I need to go find them and borrow some Spiritual Source as soon as possible," Jiang Man said.

But just as he neared the small courtyard, someone saw him and quickly walked away.

Some people were even whispering amongst themselves.

Jiang Man was a little surprised. ’How could they be so fast?’

He had come to borrow the funds at the first possible moment, but he was still a step too late.

’It seems he already had everything arranged before he even arrived. Such swift and decisive methods.’

Jiang Man was astonished.

It was the first time he had ever faced a situation like this.

After that, he didn’t continue toward the courtyard.

The people there all had families behind them, to one degree or another.

Just going in would have been fine, but asking for something would be putting them in a difficult position.

It was unnecessary.

After a moment’s hesitation, he headed for Xiaopang’s shop.

When he arrived, he found the shop was closed.

Next, he went to his own shop. He found that although it was open, there were no customers.

Song Qing was sitting at the entrance, confused about the situation.

Seeing Jiang Man, Song Qing immediately brightened. "Young Master Jiang."

Jiang Man asked, "No business?"

"Just today. Business was fine before," Song Qing said, not thinking much of it.

Jiang Man asked about Xiaopang and the others.

The answer he got was that their shops were open.

Jiang Man nodded.

He didn’t ask any more questions and just told him to watch the shop well.

If anything happened, he should just back down if possible, and closing up shop was no big deal either.

Song Qing was baffled.

But Jiang Man didn’t elaborate. ’It’s time to suffer the consequences now.’

’I might not even be able to pay a month’s salary. How could it not be a bitter time?’

Out of curiosity, he went to Fang Yong’s shop.

To his surprise, it was also closed.

’His influence is really something,’ Jiang Man couldn’t help but sigh.

All the shops run by people he knew were closed. He feared their backers had pulled them away for a "talk."

Xiaopang had a family behind him, and Fang Yong had investors.

So all these people would be affected.

It wasn’t that the Peak Master was targeting these Qi Refining cultivators directly, but that the people backing them feared the Peak Master and had no choice but to recall them first.

Otherwise, with their meager Qi Refining Cultivation, how would they even know they had offended a Peak Master?

---

「Wei Ran’s Residence.」

Fang Yong looked quizzically at Wei Ran, who was sitting on the floor performing calculations. "Did something happen?"

He had been suddenly told to close the shop, and then Cheng Yu was told not to go out or see anyone.

None of it seemed normal.

On top of that, Wei Ran had summoned him over immediately.

Something big must have happened.

Wang Yan sighed but didn’t speak.

Wei Ran kept his head down, silent for a long time before finally saying, "I received a message. Jiang Man has offended the Peak Master of Celestial Essence Peak. That Peak Master’s stance is very clear: he doesn’t like Jiang Man and wants to force him to sign a contract."

"He used his power to make us close our shops?" Fang Yong asked.

Wei Ran shook his head slightly. "He didn’t use any methods to make things difficult for Jiang Man, let alone for us."

Fang Yong frowned, not quite understanding.

Wei Ran sighed. "But anyone who dares to help Jiang Man becomes an enemy of the Peak Master. As long as you have a business or related assets, you could be targeted by others."

"The higher-ups only need to show their attitude, and plenty of people below will do plenty of things."

"For example, if someone holds a grudge against us and we help Jiang Man, that person could use it to make an issue of things. It might not have mattered before, but now it could easily cause problems."

Fang Yong was stunned. "So because of a single Peak Master’s attitude, everyone is going to avoid Jiang Man like the plague?"