Returning Home Old After Leaving Young, Who in the World Doesn't Know Me

The Human Emperor Palace is revered by the Nine Provinces, holding a transcendent status. One of its duties is to mediate between various forces, preventing deadly conflicts among cultivation sects that would lead to widespread suffering.

When cultivators reach the peak, a single thought can topple mountains and overturn seas. If two such peak cultivators were to fight to the death, the devastation wrought upon the Nine Provinces Continent would be unimaginable.

History bears examples of this. Back then, the Old Human Emperor had passed away, and the new Human Emperor had yet to arise. An Ancient Sect clashed with a Dynasty, escalating into an irreconcilable conflict. The two sides waged war, striking without mercy, engulfing half the Nine Provinces. Anyone who dared to step forward and mediate was annihilated by the combined forces of the Ancient Sect and the Dynasty.

It was not until the new Human Emperor, Jiang Li, ascended and, bearing the will of all living beings, slew both the Sect Leader of the Ancient Sect and the Great Zhou Monarch, that this calamity across the Nine Provinces was quelled.

The Nine Provinces Continent is filled with Dynasties and Sects standing side by side, competing and spurring each other on. This was the policy set by the First Generation Human Emperor, and it was also the conclusion reached by successive Human Emperors through repeated deliberation.

Cultivators possess both a desire for immortality and a fierce, combative nature. Suppressing them outright is not a long-term solution; cultivators need an outlet for conflict. Thus, the Human Emperor Palace did not suppress other forces but instead provided various forms of assistance, encouraging competition among them. It was precisely for this reason that geniuses emerged endlessly across the Nine Provinces, never experiencing a gap.

And it was also for this reason that the Nine Provinces Continent had so many nations.

Over a thousand small countries and nine great Dynasties formed the basic structure of the continent.

Only those with ten thousand years of national fortune, enduring without decline, could be called a great Dynasty.

Jiang Li's hometown was located within the Great Zhou Dynasty, but it was an unremarkable small city in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Situated on a plain, it had no scenic mountains or waters, nor any mineral veins or spiritual treasures. If not for being Jiang Li's hometown, even people from the Great Zhou Dynasty might not know such a small city existed.

In Jiang Li's memory, the strongest person in that small county town was only at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

And Jiang Yixing, who once had the chance to break through to the Golden Core Stage, was naturally considered an extraordinary genius.

Jiang Li stood at the city gate, staring blankly at Green City, which bore no resemblance to the one in his memory.

The once low, moss-covered Green City had vanished, replaced by towering walls built from refined steel stone and a gate large enough for any beast mount, regardless of size, to leisurely enter.

Young wandering swordsmen roamed the rivers and lakes, parents brought their children to soak in the Human Emperor's spiritual aura, cultivators hoped for the Human Emperor's blessing to break through bottlenecks—all of this had transformed the unremarkable Green City, from the moment Jiang Li became the Human Emperor, into a low-key yet richly meaningful city.

Even the guards at the city gate were cultivators at the Golden Core Stage.

Because of this, the city gate was bustling with people, extremely lively.

Upon entering Green City, the first thing that caught the eye was a massive Bronze Statue. The statue depicted a man with an imposing bearing, holding a long halberd, gazing in all directions like an immortal god inspecting the mortal world.

It was none other than the Human Emperor, Jiang Li.

He had thought that returning here would be like "asking with a smile where the guest came from," with no one recognizing him. Jiang Li had only worn a straw hat, and beneath the hat's shadow was a face identical to the Bronze Statue's.

Who would have thought the reality would be "who in the world does not know you"? Many people were worshipping around the Bronze Statue. Jiang Li could feel the Faith Power emanating from the statue, and he quickly used a spell to change his appearance.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where the Jiang Family is?" Jiang Li grabbed a random person and asked.

The person looked quite old, walking slowly.

Of course, in terms of actual age, Jiang Li was still older.

"Young man, you must be from out of town. Everyone in Green City knows the Jiang Family is right in the very center of Green City, next to the City Lord's Mansion," the old man said with a smile, pointing. "It's over there."

The old man had a heavy accent, hard for non-locals to understand, but since Jiang Li was originally from Green City, it wasn't a problem.

"I heard that the Jiang Family used to be just a small clan, tucked away in a corner of Green City. Later, after Jiang Human Emperor ascended, cultivators kept coming here to investigate the reason for his rise to power. The Jiang Family seized the opportunity, maneuvered through it, and rose to become the largest clan in Green City."

"Although the Jiang Family didn't move their residence, as Green City expanded, the Jiang Family's location gradually became the very center of the city."

The old man looked left and right, and seeing too many people around, he pulled Jiang Li into a corner and said in a low voice, "There are rumors that the Jiang Family controls all of Green City. Even who becomes the city lord is decided by the Jiang Family."

"The Great Zhou Dynasty governs by law. How could such a situation exist?"

Jiang Li shook his head, refuting the old man's claim.

The Great Zhou Royal Family delved deeply into the Time Dao and could Trace Time, revealing the truth of any matter. He had met both the previous and current generations of the Great Zhou Monarch, and both strictly followed the law without overstepping. If those above set an example, those below should also abide by the law.

Jiang Li had also traveled through the Great Zhou, experiencing its customs and having disputes with local powers. The government always resolved matters based on the facts, without bias due to a person's local influence.

Among the nine great Dynasties, only the Great Zhou Dynasty was unique in binding its national fortune to the law, governing the country by legal standards. If the monarch knowingly allowed someone to violate the law without punishment, the national fortune would be affected. In severe cases, the national fortune might even crush the monarch to death!

The other Dynasties all revered martial power, where the law was something that could be trampled upon, openly or covertly, at will.

That the Jiang Family could influence the city lord—he believed that. But to say they could decide who became the city lord—that was unreasonable.

Seeing that the old man knew something, Jiang Li continued asking, "Is the Old Ancestor of the Jiang Family, Jiang Yixing, still alive? What is his cultivation level?"

"That, I wouldn't know," the old man shook his head. "But if you want to visit the Jiang Family, you'd better wait two days. It's the Jiang Family's ancestral worship period right now. The mansion is sealed for nine days, no outsiders allowed. Today is the seventh day."

"I didn't expect to run into the once-a-decade ancestral worship. I wonder if this is good luck or bad luck," Jiang Li chuckled. The Jiang Family did have a tradition of ancestral worship, once every ten years. The original owner of this body had only been eighteen when he died and had experienced it only once.

The old man looked at Jiang Li strangely and said slowly, "According to the older generation, the Jiang Family originally held ancestral worship once every ten years. It was only after Jiang Human Emperor ascended three hundred years ago that the worship became more frequent—from once every ten years to once every five years, and then to once a year now."

The old man asked respectfully, "Senior, your cultivation level..."

To live for three hundred years, one's cultivation must be at least the Nascent Soul Realm.

Jiang Li smiled faintly, not picking up on the old man's question. Instead, he thanked him and walked along the road to the Jiang Family mansion.

The Jiang Family's main gate was tightly shut, with a Formation activated—a clear sign of the sealed mansion for ancestral worship.

Although the Formation provided protection and several Golden Core Stage cultivators were stationed around, it was still a simple matter for Jiang Li to enter.

As the Human Emperor, he would naturally receive a warm welcome from the entire Jiang Family. But Jiang Li didn't want that. He had never had any fondness for the Jiang Family. In the five hundred years since leaving, he had never once returned here. Even so, the Jiang Family still had the audacity to use his name to throw their weight around in Green City, completely forgetting how they had once cold-shouldered and bullied the original owner of this body.

If he showed up now, the Jiang Family would probably be overjoyed and seize the chance to make a big public display.

Jiang Li casually cast a spell to conceal his form and swaggered into the Jiang Family mansion.