The End of the Immortal Path

Jiang Man nodded.

The two of them went out into the courtyard, where Qing Dai had set out some pastries.

She then stood to the side to watch, wanting to see how capable the Young Master was.

JINGLE. With a crisp chime, Ji Meng launched her attack.

BOOM!

Jiang Man casually threw out a palm strike.

He blocked the attack.

He used Immovable as a Mountain.

The moment their palms met, he felt that her Palm Force was soft and weak, completely harmless.

Miss Ji Meng’s palm strike was quite ordinary.

’Miss Ji Meng’s palm strike is pretty average,’ Jiang Man assessed internally.

But not long after taking Ji Meng’s palm strike, Jiang Man suddenly felt a stinging pain in his palm.

He pulled his hand back and found no wound.

Before he could investigate, Ji Meng attacked again.

Her speed was incredible.

Jiang Man defended with Immovable as a Mountain. No matter how fast she was, he could block each and every blow.

But after just a moment,

stinging pain flared up all over his body, disrupting the flow of his Spiritual Qi and his balance.

Just then, Ji Meng closed in. Unable to dodge in time, he took a palm strike to the chest.

BAM!

He was sent flying backward.

Fortunately, Ji Meng pulled her punch at the last second. Otherwise, he would have landed in a pathetic heap.

After steadying himself, Jiang Man frowned.

He found it extremely strange. He had clearly blocked every single move.

But his body had still been injured.

"Is this a special Magic Skill?" Jiang Man asked curiously.

Ji Meng shook her head. "No, it’s just a simple Palm Skill. My control is just a bit stronger than yours."

Jiang Man was baffled.

’This is more than just "a bit" stronger.’

"Logically, Immovable as a Mountain should have been able to block it, but you only have the form, not the spirit." Ji Meng looked at Jiang Man and explained seriously, "Body Techniques combine Qi and Blood, Spiritual Qi, and a subtle application of Spirit. Among these, Qi and Blood is the foundation of the technique. You are a Magic Cultivator, so you use magic as your foundation. Your Golden Core has already achieved a thorough connection with your Physical Body. You should be able to use your Golden Core to mobilize your Qi and Blood and complete the foundational switch."

Qing Dai, standing to the side, sighed to herself. ’The Young Master doesn’t even know this. It will surely take him a lot of time to accomplish it.’

’He’ll need to carefully sense his body’s power, and then...’

"Alright, the switch is done. Miss Ji Meng, let’s try again," Jiang Man’s voice cut in.

Qing Dai was stunned.

’Done?’

Then, she watched the Young Master and the Young Miss spar. He stood his ground like a mountain, completely unshaken.

He had really done it.

Both form and spirit were present.

The subtle control of his Spiritual Qi, the command of his Spirit.

There wasn’t the slightest flaw.

At that moment, Qing Dai felt she should change her opinion of the Young Master.

She couldn’t judge his progress by conventional standards.

After all, he was the man who had married the Young Miss.

He had no choice but to improve.

But she was still curious how the Young Master and the Young Miss had actually gone through with the wedding ceremony.

And how long could the Young Master keep up this effort?

She recalled others who possessed the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart. They seemed to spend their entire lives striving in their cultivation.

They could never properly enjoy life, let alone spend much time with their wives, right up until their deaths.

Because for them, wasting time was tantamount to a slow suicide.

After sparring with Ji Meng for a day, Jiang Man felt he had benefited immensely.

Finally, he ate some pastries and took his leave.

He also packed some to go. Before leaving, he said to Ji Meng, "Miss Ji Meng, I’ll be entering the Grand Tournament soon. If I come across anything interesting, I’ll get it for you as a gift."

Ji Meng smiled. "In that case, I won’t charge Young Master Jiang any interest. But before you go, you need to calculate your debt and write it down."

Jiang Man seemed to have a sudden realization. "I would have forgotten if you hadn’t mentioned it, Miss Ji Meng."

Ji Meng shook her Silver Bell, a smile in her voice. "It’s fine. As long as I remember."

In the end, Jiang Man calculated the debt. The total was fifteen thousand six hundred.

’Is that all?’

’I can pay that back.’

Watching Jiang Man leave, Ji Meng finally turned her gaze to the written debt. "He doesn’t seem to think much of this amount."

"The Young Master seems to owe many people Spiritual Source. I wonder if that will cause problems," Qing Dai said.

Ji Meng wasn’t concerned. Instead, she asked, "Have there been any changes in the clan recently?"

"Yes. The new Celestial Pride wants to bring you and the Young Master closer. However, the Young Master has been making a name for himself lately. Especially with the arrival of True Master Tai Hua, which proved the Young Master’s innocence, they now suspect the Immortal Sect has begun to foster him. The Direct Lineage is getting restless, wanting to snatch the marriage alliance from the Side Branch," Qing Dai explained.

"Then why haven’t I received any news about this?" Ji Meng asked.

Her current status is with the Side Branch, so she would naturally be affected.

"They did try to bypass the new Celestial Pride and contact the Young Master themselves. But the new Celestial Pride sent a letter back to the clan containing his Sword Intent. The difference this time was that he had completely refined it. After that, the clan lamented that a Celestial Pride abroad is not always bound by clan orders." Qing Dai smiled. "For some reason, the new Celestial Pride thinks very highly of the Young Master. He used to be so careful when dealing with the clan, but now he’s started threatening them."

"His potential is now realized. The clan can’t stop him from doing what he wants. The only thing he lacks is the clan’s resources," Ji Meng said.

"Yes. And since he originally claimed he was coming here to find the Young Master, some people in the clan are now asking him if he’s made any progress. Also, regarding your marriage alliance, they’ve proposed a plan. They want to test him. They’ll be coming to ask me about it soon. What are your thoughts, Young Miss?" Qing Dai asked.

Ji Meng turned to Qing Dai. "You handle it."

"Then I’ll handle it as I see fit?" Qing Dai asked tentatively.

Ji Meng nodded, then added, "But you need to write a letter."

—

「Jiang Man’s Residence.」

Jiang Man had just returned when he received a letter from Miss Ji Meng.

"My wife misses me. She wrote me a letter the moment I left." Jiang Man sighed with emotion to Old Huang. "Does your wife miss you like this?"

Old Huang turned a deaf ear and continued to eat his grass silently.

Jiang Man opened the envelope and was a little surprised. ’A test? She’s from the Ji Family’s Side Branch. Now they need to test the marriage candidate?

’And they’re asking for my opinion?

’That’s not what they said back then. Mr. Ji was practically begging me to marry her. Could it be that the Direct Lineage thinks I’m too outstanding and wants to push Miss Ji Meng aside?’

Jiang Man took up his brush and wrote a reply: ’Miss Ji Meng still doesn’t understand what an Unparalleled Celestial Pride is. Tell them to come at me with the full specifications for testing one. If the standard is too low, I’ll look down on them.’

As he wrote, Jiang Man felt he might be coming on a bit too strong.

In the end, he reluctantly revised his wording: ’Miss Ji Meng, rest assured. Even if it’s a test of the highest specifications, I will advance with irresistible force. Give me time, and the roles of offense and defense will surely be reversed.’

Then Jiang Man handed the envelope to the Seven-Colored Bird. "Miss Ji Meng is beautiful and kind-hearted. I won’t marry anyone but her. Xiaocai, please tell Miss Ji Meng that for me."

The Seven-Colored Bird took the envelope without a sound.

Old Huang watched all of this, still chewing on his grass.

It seemed to be hesitating, wondering if it should tell Jiang Man about the Seven-Colored Bird’s situation. If Jiang Man kept praising it like this, his life would just keep getting better and better.

————

「A Quaint Courtyard.」

A message landed beside Qing Dai’s true body.

She slowly opened her eyes.

She casually grabbed a box of tea and hurried outside, full of excitement.

As soon as she left the courtyard, she saw Ji Wuye waiting. He still had the appearance of a middle-aged man.

He was looking around cautiously, not even daring to breathe too heavily.

This was the Eldest Miss’s residence, and he was terrified of being seen by her.

Not that anything terrible would happen, but he was simply afraid of being spotted.

Even when he’d done nothing wrong, he always felt like he was at fault.

It was easy for things to go wrong.

"Miss Qing Dai." Ji Wuye breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her.

Qing Dai immediately came over. "What is it?"

As she spoke, she stuffed the box of tea into his hands.

"This... I couldn’t possibly," Ji Wuye said, feigning reservation as he held the tea.

"It’s fine. We’re on the same side. Of course we should share good things," Qing Dai said earnestly.

"Miss Qing Dai really is on our side. I haven’t doubted you at all recently," Ji Wuye said.

Qing Dai immediately asked him his reason for coming.

"It’s like this. Didn’t the new Celestial Pride recommend that Jiang Man? He is indeed outstanding, and there’s a good chance he’ll enter the Immortal Sect’s Grand Tournament this time. The clan wants to give him some tests, starting with the first trial of the tournament, to see if he’s worthy of the marriage alliance. Since this involves the new Celestial Pride, we wanted to ask the Eldest Miss for her opinion," Ji Wuye said softly.

"The marriage alliance is with the Side Branch?" Qing Dai asked.

"Yes," Ji Wuye nodded.

Qing Dai pretended to ponder this, then said, "Then it should be of the highest specifications, of course. This will let the Side Branch know if he is sincere. If he isn’t, then we’ll have to drop the matter. But we still have to save face for the new Celestial Pride, so... we’ll just have to trouble the Direct Lineage and let them complete the marriage alliance instead."

————

Ting Fengyin going mad, the origin of the Old Yellow Ox, and the father-in-law’s Broken Sword are all part of the main story.

I can’t write them as side stories.

I can only write about them in a simplified way within the main text.

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