Free Web NovelChapter 317: Chapter 198: Zhao Family: Why Are We Being Arrested?
The fifth day.
All the externalized Golden Core Power suddenly halted, then began to flow back.
The sixth day.
The power finished flowing back completely. Cracks appeared on the surface of the Golden Core, and with a loud BANG, the outer layer shattered, unleashing a brilliant, dazzling golden light.
The second Gourd, the one for Cultivation, opened along with it.
The Golden Core grew a size larger.
The weight of his Spiritual Qi multiplied.
It was now the fifth day of the fifth month.
The entire breakthrough process, from start to finish, had taken a total of ten days.
Ten days fewer than he had anticipated.
After briefly stabilizing his Cultivation, Jiang Man let out a sigh of relief.
He began studying the twenty-one entry-level Array Pattern books.
He needed to improve as much as possible within the Immortal Mansion.
Once he was out, everything would be restricted.
Even his use of Spiritual Source would be limited. At that point, there was basically no difference between being free and being captured.
But that was for after he left.
Inside the Immortal Mansion, he was still free.
Therefore, he had to study as quickly as possible and convert all his Spiritual Source into Elixirs.
That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about reporting every expenditure of Spiritual Source once he got out.
However, the fact that he’d managed to narrowly escape this disaster was all thanks to Ting Fengyin, and secondarily, the director who had spoken up for him.
It had taken the two of them together to tie the vote.
Otherwise, he would have been truly finished.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently, and a tremendous roar echoed from outside.
The Array nearly shattered. The sudden change startled Jiang Man.
In the several months he had been here, this was the first time such a strange event had occurred.
As far as he could tell, the great fog was immutable.
He couldn’t see the outside world or touch anything beyond his barrier.
His only way to expand his view was by using the Array.
Now, it seemed, things were starting to change.
’This is a bit early.’
He had only just advanced, and the only real improvement was the increased weight of his Spiritual Qi.
Everything else was still lacking. It would be a real shame if he couldn’t study and improve in peace.
He decided to take advantage of the current stability to study first. When those two returned, he would immediately buy the Chao Yuan Taiyang Pills.
His preparations had been insufficient when he entered.
Mainly because he had never imagined Old Huang would be exposed, which had nearly gotten him branded as one of the Evil Demons and Outsiders.
「Two days later.」
Jiang Man closed the first book.
He was still finishing one book every two days.
At that rate, the twenty-one books would take him forty-two days.
The difficulty had indeed gone up a level, but he still only needed to read each one once.
After the great tremor, Jiang Man hadn’t noticed any changes, but when Shangguan Lingyue and his companion returned, they brought someone with them.
It was another woman.
She was quite seriously injured.
She could barely stand.
Shangguan Lingyue looked at Jiang Man and explained, "This is a fellow disciple of ours. She needs to recuperate here. Until she’s recovered, she probably won’t be able to go out and search for things."
"I won’t stay here for free. I can offer ten thousand Spiritual Source," the pale-faced woman said.
Jiang Man’s brow furrowed. ’Spiritual Source?’
’Spiritual Source is the last thing I want right now.’
Seeing Jiang Man frown, the woman’s heart tightened.
Shangguan Lingyue was also worried. His Cultivation was indeed higher than Jiang Man’s, but his skill in Arrays was likely inferior.
Before, he wouldn’t have paid him much mind, but after the great tremor...
Many arrays and cordoned-off areas had been shattered by the quake.
He had thought this place would be the same, but...
It hadn’t budged an inch, which proved the array master had a solid foundation.
He had already surpassed at least half of the people here.
So, he really couldn’t push the other party too hard.
But before they could say anything else, Jiang Man spoke. "There’s no need for Spiritual Source. Do you have any Elixirs?"
They were all taken aback by his words.
"What kind of Elixir do you need, fellow Daoist?" the injured woman asked.
"Chao Yuan Taiyang Pills," Jiang Man replied without concealment.
Now that he was at the Middle Stage of Golden Core, there was no need to hide it.
If it came to a fight, he wasn’t afraid of them.
’We’re all of the Same Tier. I’m an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, so why would I fear them?’
As for fortuitous encounters, he couldn’t care less. The most crucial thing was to improve as quickly as possible inside the Immortal Mansion.
"Weren’t you at the Early Stage of Golden Core?" Hai Lian asked curiously.
Jiang Man smiled and looked at them. "Could I not have advanced to the Middle Stage of Golden Core in the long two months I’ve been here?"
’The long two months?’
The three of them exchanged a glance.
It was as if they were saying:
’Do you believe him?’
’I don’t. You?’
’I don’t either.’
In short, they all felt Jiang Man was bluffing. Of course, since he claimed to be at the Middle Stage of Golden Core, they would just go along with it.
Immediately, the injured woman asked, "How many Elixirs do I need to give you?"
"Just give me two for myself. As for the others, you can discuss it among yourselves," Jiang Man said.
Soon, two Chao Yuan Taiyang Pills were placed in Jiang Man’s hand.
Jiang Man continued, "Do you have any more Chao Yuan Taiyang Pills? I can buy them, or I can trade Chao Yuan Shaoyang Pills for them. I’ll make up the price difference."
A Shaoyang Pill costs one thousand eight hundred.
A Taiyang Pill costs two thousand three hundred.
There’s a five hundred difference.
He originally had sixty-eight Shaoyang Pills. He had consumed ten for his breakthrough, leaving him with fifty-eight.
"Make up the difference with Spiritual Source?" the injured woman asked.
Jiang Man nodded.
He didn’t have to think hard to know they had bought their Elixirs at a discount. If he paid them five hundred Spiritual Source, they would make a profit.
If he went outside, he could also buy them at a discount.
But his spending was restricted and had to be reported. It would be troublesome if he wasn’t allowed to buy them.
So, right now, this wasn’t a loss; it was a gain.
Afterward, he traded for twenty Chao Yuan Taiyang Pills from the three of them, paying the price difference of ten thousand Spiritual Source.
He was left with 137,000 Spiritual Source, thirty-eight Chao Yuan Shaoyang Pills, and twenty-two Chao Yuan Taiyang Pills.
Jiang Man didn’t ask about the situation outside. Instead, he continued to leaf through the Array Pattern books.
The great tremor from before made him feel that the Array needed to be reinforced, or it would collapse.
Especially since Shangguan Lingyue had been subtly probing him, asking if his attainments in Arrays had recently improved and if he had enhanced the Array.
This made him understand even more clearly that if he wanted to remain safe, he had to strengthen the Array.
「The next day.」
Shangguan Lingyue and the others went out again.
The injured woman watched Jiang Man warily, worried he was plotting something.
However, she discovered that Jiang Man began to draw Spiritual Qi to himself, and after that, he simply read the Array Pattern Books without stopping.
Two hours.
Four hours.
Twelve hours.
One day.
Two days.
The woman was shocked to find that he read nonstop, day and night, constantly flipping through the books.
He didn’t even spare her a single glance.
Watching Jiang Man close one book only to immediately open another, the woman couldn’t help but ask, "Do you just read books like this all the time?"
"What else would I do?" Jiang Man said without looking up. "Waste two days doing nothing, like you?"
"Aren’t you curious about my background?" the woman asked.
She was actually very beautiful. She was just curious if the man before her truly had a heart as still as water.
He wouldn’t even look at her.
But Jiang Man’s eyes never left his book. "I’m not curious, since you paid with Elixirs."
After saying that, he fell silent and continued to read.
"I know who you are, and I also know that many people want to teach you a lesson in here," the woman said seriously.
"I know that too," Jiang Man replied calmly.
The woman was stunned, asking in disbelief, "And that’s it?"
At that, Jiang Man raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at the woman. "It’s not ’just that.’ I’m waiting for them. Giving them a chance, and giving myself one too."
"A chance for them to chase me, and a chance for me to leave them completely in the dust."
"You’re no match for them," the woman said, slightly annoyed by Jiang Man’s composure.
Jiang Man withdrew his gaze and said no more.
’There’s no point in saying more; she wouldn’t believe me anyway.’
’I just need to keep getting stronger.’
’After all, I’m only at the Middle Stage of Golden Core right now.’
’I wonder what the highest Cultivation level is in this area.’
「Ten days later.」
It was the twentieth day of the fifth month.
Jiang Man had already read twelve books.
During that time, he had modified the Array twice.
He hadn’t expanded it further.
He felt that expanding it would compromise its stability.
He would wait until he had finished all twenty-one books before expanding it again.
On this day, he received another report.
Regarding the Zhao Family, some members had been released, but others were still detained for investigation.
In addition, they once again mentioned the translation of the stone stele.
If they didn’t find the relevant person soon, they were afraid there would be delays.
The appearance of the New Evil God had disrupted their plans.
Jiang Man remained silent for a moment before he began to write.
He then sent out the translation content from Old Huang.
Only the three directors would be able to receive it.
’This should help solidify my position.’
’Before, they couldn’t figure out my background.’
’But if I don’t do something, my claims will seem empty.’
’Now, there’s some substance to them.’
——
「Zhenyue Hall.」
The three directors gathered once again.
"Did you all receive it?" Red Eagle asked, looking at the others.
Xiang Tianlin nodded. "It should be authentic."
You Yu said, "So what exactly is this Inspector’s background? He knew there was a problem with the Zhao Family at a glance, and he knows so much about the stone stele."
"It’s strange," Red Eagle began. "I get the same feeling I did when I was investigating the case involving Jiang Man and the Zhao Family. It doesn’t quite add up."
"I think he’s known the contents of the stele for a long time but held off on sending it."
"He’s sending it now because he happened to be part of the previous meeting."
"He sent it to make us understand his capabilities."
"But someone from an Immortal Sect with real power wouldn’t care about such things."
"They’re incredibly arrogant."
"I don’t think his background is as strong as he lets on."
The other two were silent for a moment.
This was all just speculation.
"I’m going to test him. I want to see what kind of backing he has in the Immortal Sects," Red Eagle said.
Once he had a rough idea of the man’s background, he could seize the initiative.
Unlike now, where he knew nothing at all.
