Starting Five Hundred Years Late

Nine Provinces Continent, atop Ji Lei Mountain.

Dark clouds blanketed the sky, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Bronze-colored heavenly lightning flickered in the clouds, like dragons and snakes crawling behind the dark veil, both divine and demonic. The pressure of the heavens weighed down like mountains, making one tremble with fear.

The booming thunder echoed as if drums were beating in one's ears, deafeningly loud.

Vast heavenly lightning poured down, transforming into electric plasma, surging onto the figure standing with hands clasped behind their back atop Ji Lei Mountain. The figure allowed the heavenly lightning to strike, standing firm and unmoving.

After the lightning tribulation, Jiang Li looked at the sky with anticipation.

However, the sky was only clear after the dark clouds dissipated, and there was no golden Immortal Ascension Ladder that he had hoped for.

"As expected, I still can't ascend."

Jiang Li muttered to himself in disappointment, filled with melancholy. This was his fifteenth time undergoing the Immortal Ascension Tribulation.

Ascending through tribulation was not a nebulous legend, but had clear evidence. The Nine Provinces Continent still had Immortal legacies, Immortal Artifacts, Immortal Techniques, and those old antiques who had seen the Immortal Ascension Ladder.

According to those old antiques, the Nine Provinces Continent often had great cultivators ascending to immortality thousands of years ago. As long as they passed the heavenly tribulation, the Immortal Realm would send down the Immortal Ascension Ladder to welcome the cultivators.

However, for some unknown reason, the Immortal Realm no longer sent down the Immortal Ascension Ladder, cutting off the path to ascension, causing countless great cultivators to sigh and die in frustration.

Jiang Li transmigrated to the Nine Provinces Continent five hundred years ago. Without any golden finger, he rose from humble beginnings through hard work, wisdom, and luck, overcoming various difficulties and obstacles. Finally, he cultivated to the highest realm of the Nine Provinces Continent, the Great Ascension Stage, becoming the current Human Emperor, the undisputed number one person in the Nine Provinces Continent.

Transmigrating to a world of cultivation and not being able to ascend was truly a regrettable thing.

Jiang Li had also thought that if he had a golden finger, such as a system or a portable old grandfather, he might have been able to avoid some detours.

Then he was relieved, what was the point of thinking about these things now? Whether he had a golden finger or not, he had already reached his current position, and now looking back, weren't those detours a kind of fun?

[Detecting host information, the Counterattack System is activated.]

[Name: Jiang Li]

[Age: 518 years old]

[Identity: Current Human Emperor]

[Cultivation: Great Ascension Stage]

A mechanical voice sounded in Jiang Li's ear.

Jiang Li subconsciously opened his divine sense, making a vigilant gesture, but as he heard the voice clearly, he was stunned, and a feeling of excitement or helplessness welled up in his heart. He smiled and cursed, "Isn't it too late for you to come, system!"

Although he smiled and cursed, he still had to open the system.

[This system is a Counterattack System, assisting the host in defeating all those who look down on the host.]

[Please receive the newbie gift pack.]

Hearing the word "counterattack," Jiang Li felt a deep sense of unease in his heart, but he still suppressed his unease and said, "Receive."

As soon as he spoke, a large pile of things appeared in front of Jiang Li out of thin air.

He sat cross-legged and counted these things.

As soon as he opened the small medicine bottle, he could smell a fragrance, which improved his state of mind. This was the fragrance that only Top Grade pills had.

Twenty Top Grade Qi Gathering Pills, which had miraculous effects on the Qi Refining Stage.

One Top Grade Foundation Establishment Pill, which could help the Qi Refining Stage achieve perfect Foundation Establishment.

Ten low-grade Talismans, including two Strength Talismans, two Swiftness Talismans, two Concealment Talismans, and four Tranquility Talismans.

One hundred and fifty low-grade Spirit Stones.

A damaged Daoist Art, Four Ounces Deflects a Thousand Pounds. The system thoughtfully added a note on the side.

[Four Ounces Deflects a Thousand Pounds is a secret technique of the Dao Sect. Mastering the incomplete version will make you invincible in the Qi Refining Stage. You can spend 100,000 Source Points to complete it.]

[Current Source Points: 0]

Jiang Li looked at this pile of things, speechless.

Wasn't this newbie gift pack a little too newbie-ish?

Jiang Li carefully examined these items. The most valuable was probably this tattered Daoist Art, which was not only tattered but also incomplete.

"And Four Ounces Deflects a Thousand Pounds..."

Jiang Li pondered for a moment, then took out a brand-new book from his storage ring. The book was also named Four Ounces Deflects a Thousand Pounds.

This was personally copied and given to Jiang Li by the Dao Sect's sect master, and it contained insights and annotations from various Dao Sect elders.

Generally, extremely powerful Daoist Arts have realm thresholds. For example, the Heavy Earth Sect's Cauldron Suppresses the Central Plains requires Golden Core Stage mana to activate, and the Heart Demon Sect's Butterfly Transforms Yin and Yang also requires Golden Core Stage mana to activate.

The greatest advantage of Four Ounces Deflects a Thousand Pounds is that it has no restrictions on spiritual energy. It emphasizes using force according to one's will, overcoming the strong with the weak. It is very suitable for fighting against higher-level opponents and is a rare Daoist Art without a threshold.

After carefully comparing the two books, Jiang Li confirmed that the content was the same and couldn't help but wonder, "They are indeed good things, but why are these things all for the Qi Refining Stage?"

"System, what is my cultivation level?"

A mechanical voice sounded.

[Great Ascension Stage.]

"Did you give the wrong newbie gift pack? Is this not a Qi Refining Stage newbie gift pack, but a Great Ascension Stage newbie gift pack?"

[After inspection, no error.]

"What is my cultivation level?"

[Great Ascension Stage.]

"What level of people is the newbie gift pack you gave suitable for?"

[Qi Refining Stage.]

"Was there a mistake?"

[After inspection, no error.]

"My level..."

[Great Ascension, no error.]

"Alright." Jiang Li was speechless. "It can even answer preemptively now."

Jiang Li didn't know whether to say this system was rigid or intelligent.

[Releasing newbie mission. This mission cannot be refused or avoided.]

[Failure penalty: Unable to unlock the remaining functions of the system.]

[The system's functions include: Shop, Spiritual Qi Infusion, Heart Demon Avoidance, Space Movement...]

[Newbie Task: Jiang Yixing, relying on his status as the son of the clan leader, has repeatedly bullied you. Please defeat Jiang Yixing.]

Jiang Li was filled with question marks.

Jiang Yixing, a familiar name, who was that again?

Flipping through his memories to the beginning of his transmigration, Jiang Li finally remembered who Jiang Yixing was.

Jiang Li's father was the previous clan leader. After his father died, he left behind only orphans and a widowed mother. His mother then died due to a serious illness, leaving Jiang Li without parents.

After his parents died, Jiang Yixing, relying on his father being the son of the current clan leader, bullied people everywhere. His favorite target was Jiang Li, which gave him a strange sense of accomplishment. Jiang Yixing was also the most talented in the entire clan, so no one could say anything. Jiang Li was also useless, doing nothing after being bullied, constantly complaining, and eventually died of anger.

That was when he transmigrated.

After transmigrating, Jiang Li determined that staying in this family would do more harm than good, so he directly ran away from home.

That was five hundred years ago.

From the current perspective, Jiang Yixing's so-called best talent in the entire clan would at most allow him to reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime, and then grind his way to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. The probability of achieving Golden Core was extremely low.

The lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is no different from that of a mortal, at one hundred and forty years. The lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator varies from person to person, between two hundred and three hundred years.

Regardless of whether Jiang Yixing ultimately reached Foundation Establishment or Golden Core, he is now deader than dead! And the most crucial thing is that this newbie task doesn't seem to be meant for the current him! "System, what era is it now?"

[Yan Calendar 4300.]

"It's Yan Calendar 4800 now!"

Jiang Li finally understood where his unease and sense of incongruity came from. This broken system started five hundred years late!

[Please refer to the time recognized by the system.]

Jiang Li trembled with anger.

"I demand a change of task."

[Task cannot be changed.]

"Jiang Yixing is already dead!"

[Please refer to the time recognized by the system.]

"I am now at the Great Ascension Stage, fighting a Jiang Yixing who is either at the Qi Refining Stage or Foundation Establishment Stage, is that appropriate? Is that what you call a reverse attack?!"

[Please complete the newbie task.]

"Restart the system."

[Please complete the newbie task.]

"Uninstall the system."

[Please complete the newbie task.]

Jiang Li almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

He should have guessed when he first saw the words "Reverse Harem"—this damned Reverse Harem System! As the current Human Emperor and the strongest person in the Nine Provinces, who was he supposed to reverse harem?

"What kind of broken system is this? What use are you!"

Jiang Li resolved to ignore the system. It had booted up five hundred years late and wanted him to defeat a dead man. How was he supposed to do that? Through mental gymnastics?!

Below Ji Lei Mountain, countless powerful cultivators awaited the Human Emperor's tribulation. These people were either helmsmen of great sects, rulers of dynasties, or old monsters who had lived for thousands of years.

These sect leaders and old ancestors possessed earth-shattering cultivation. If the Immortal Realm weren't so distant now, they would have long secluded themselves to focus on transcending the tribulation and ascending. Some had even passed the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, but their number couldn't compare to Jiang Li's tribulation attempts.

They came not to see if Jiang Li could transcend the tribulation, but to see if there was any possibility of ascension afterward.

But this tribulation was destined to disappoint them. After the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, there was no legendary Immortal Ascension Ladder.

Immortal Ascension was out of reach. This thought inevitably appeared in the minds of the sect leaders and old ancestors.

Although they had expected it, a faint haze still clouded their hearts.

Jiang Li flew down from the mountain peak. Even those who weren't good at reading faces could see the disappointment in Jiang Li's heart.

If it were just one tribulation without ascension, Jiang Li wouldn't be too disappointed. But this sudden system made him think he had a golden finger that could help him ascend, but he didn't expect it to be a useless finger.

The sect leaders and old ancestors naturally saw Jiang Li's unusual state of mind, but they still put on a happy expression and congratulated Jiang Li.

"Congratulations, Human Emperor Jiang, on passing another Heavenly Tribulation."

"It was nothing, nothing."

"Just watching from the side was frightening, but Human Emperor Jiang passed through safely. Your cultivation must have improved again!"

"Just luck, just luck."

"If Human Emperor Jiang can ascend, you will be a hegemon in the Immortal Realm!"

"The road to ascension is long and arduous, and we still need to work together."

"Human Emperor Jiang must come to this old man's sect and give a lecture on cultivation experience to the unpromising younger generation. Human Emperor Jiang must give this old man some face."

"Senior Zhang, what are you saying? Jiang Li remembers your teachings. In a few days, Jiang Li will exchange some cultivation experiences with Senior Zhang and let the juniors listen in."

"It's a pity that the Immortal Realm is too far away from us, its location is uncertain, and the barrier between realms is too thick. Otherwise, with Human Emperor Jiang's cultivation, it might not be impossible to break through the barrier with force!"

"Who doesn't know that your Mount Sumeru lineage is the best at the Dao of Space? If anyone can locate the Immortal Realm, it must be you!"

Jiang Li was very polite to these sect leaders, thanking them one by one, and promised that he would go to various sects to give lectures and impart experience in the future, which made these sect leaders very happy.

After saying goodbye to the sect leaders, Jiang Li summoned the system again. The old Buddha of Mount Sumeru's words had given him inspiration.

"System, can you send me to the Immortal Realm?"

[The system will open the space teleportation function later, which can take the host to the Immortal Realm.]

"Can you send me there now?" Jiang Li was overjoyed. This system was still a bit useful. It was indeed a golden finger.

[Please complete the novice task first, host.]

Jiang Li patiently explained to the system, "You send me to the Immortal Realm first, and through the Immortal Realm, I can reach the Underworld. I will find Jiang Yixing in the Underworld, and then defeat him, so I can complete the task."

[Please complete the novice quest first, Host.]

"Can you be flexible? How about an IOU? You can't expect me to beat up a dead man."

[Please complete the novice quest first, Host.]

"Damn system!"

Jiang Li felt that this wasn't a golden finger, but rather God giving him the middle finger.

While cursing the system for being useless, he pondered how to complete the system quest.

For example, find someone named Jiang Yixing, beat him up, or find someone and force him to call himself Jiang Yixing, then beat him up, or dance on Jiang Yixing's grave...

Of course, these were all backup plans. The first option was naturally to go back to his hometown and see if Jiang Yixing was still alive. Maybe he got an longevity pill, oh, one wouldn't be enough, he'd need a dozen, then he could barely live to this day, or maybe he received enlightenment from a master and broke through to the Core Formation Stage. With the Core Formation Stage's lifespan of around five hundred years, he could just barely be alive now...

In short, aptitude wasn't the only determining factor. For example, he, Jiang Li, was a good example. If it weren't for his diligent cultivation, and the small help from his Heavenly Spiritual Root and Immeasurable Dao Body, he wouldn't have been able to cultivate to the Great Ascension Stage.