This World Is Hopeless

Eunuch Mo, who was third on the Grandmaster Ranking, personally came to invite me. Instead of going to the Imperial Palace, he went straight into the Immortal Hall.

After watching his retreating figure disappear into the Immortal Hall, which was as heavily guarded as it was on the day of the Immortal Ceremony, Li Ji'an's mind was flooded with thoughts.

Especially when he then saw the Emperor emerge from the Immortal Hall and stand respectfully outside, waiting patiently. He was certain his previous guess had come true.

Ever since the Immortal Master first descended to the mortal world over a hundred years ago, only the Immortal Ceremony had marked their arrival. An unprecedented event had occurred.

"Is this visit truly just for Ning Sujin?"

"No wonder I couldn't avoid it no matter what. These cultivators likely have ways to track people."

"Because of her ability to predict fortune and misfortune?"

"Ning Yutan..."

Numerous clues flashed through Li Ji'an's mind, but only the thread concerning Ning Yutan seemed the most plausible.

However, what he couldn't understand was that Ning Yutan had gone to the cultivation world five years ago. Why was this happening only now?

Time trickled by...

Until night fell and the evening drum sounded, the gates of the Immortal Hall suddenly opened.

Ning Sujin walked out of the Immortal Hall with a complex expression. She passed through the heavily guarded armored soldiers and came before Li Ji'an.

"The Immortal Master is going to take me to the Immortal Realm!"

"What is the fortune?"

"Great fortune!"

Li Ji'an stared into her eyes, but ultimately saw no ripples. He smiled freely, "That's wonderful!"

"Take care!"

"You too!"

This time, there was no clear sight of Flying Swords or Flying Boats, only a distant flash of light.

Li Ji'an waved towards the streak of light in the sky, sighing at the impermanence of life.

In the days that followed, without Ning Sujin's ability to predict fortune and misfortune, he became even more cautious in his actions.

Four years passed in a flash.

As the once-a-decade Immortal Ceremony was about to begin, the Immortal Palace became tense. The patrolling armored guards increased by fifty percent, and the hidden experts also became alert.

"Swish~" A soft sound came from Li Ji'an's room. A stone slab, four fingers thick, was pierced by a needle-thin blast of energy.

"Hoo... the limit. My Vital Energy and Blood, even after reaching minor success in Marrow Cleansing, still can't be projected more than a zhang. The condensation of Vital Energy and Blood isn't fine enough... I wonder how the Su Family's Stormy Pear Blossom Needles are stimulated and condensed?"

Another four years passed. Li Ji'an's internal energy only advanced by a small step. This was naturally the result of him suppressing his progress.

His external martial arts, however, advanced by leaps and bounds. With his extraordinary comprehension, and the reference and inspiration from thousands of first and second-rate martial arts on the lower three floors of the Scripture Pavilion, he now had considerable insights into condensing and projecting Vital Energy and Blood.

Based on numerous martial arts, he optimized and created several martial arts that were no less inferior to those on the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

However, he could only stop here.

To create top-tier martial arts requires more than one lifetime. Which of the top martial arts on the martial arts rankings weren't the result of generations of continuous improvement, optimization, and iteration?

He could only hope that after this Immortal Ceremony, he could enter the middle or even the upper three floors of the Scripture Pavilion. If he had those top-tier martial arts as a foundation, coupled with increased comprehension in the next life, his hopes would be very high.

"Brother Li, will you be taken to the Immortal Realm by an Immortal Master next year?"

Zhao Yunsheng, who had been a hostage in the Immortal Palace for nine years and was now seventeen, stepped forward and removed the stone slab that Li Ji'an had pierced. He happened to be installing it on a wooden cart he had invented.

Li Ji'an shook his head, "That's naturally impossible."

"Then you just like practicing martial arts... you know, what people call a martial arts fanatic?" Zhao Yunsheng, who had almost grown accustomed to life in the Immortal Palace, asked while fiddling with the wooden cart.

"Perhaps." Li Ji'an smiled noncommittally.

During these four years, he had interacted with Yun Sheng the most. He also liked Yun Sheng's single-minded dedication to carpentry. At least he was pure and had no ulterior motives.

Their interactions were peaceful.

However, this peace was still broken three months later.

As the Immortal Ceremony approached, Prince Yun, who had been in a standoff with the Emperor, suddenly launched an attack. He led a large army, gathered refugees, and took control of the five northwestern prefectures overnight.

The Emperor was furious. The reason he hadn't taken forceful action all these years was that he planned to stabilize Prince Yun and wait until this Immortal Ceremony to curry favor with the Immortal Master, then ask the Immortal Master to intervene. This would have been achieved without bloodshed. But he had underestimated Prince Yun's cunning.

Moreover, the Emperor had deployed a large number of troops and experts to ensure the safety of the Immortal Seeds, and Prince Yun had indeed caught him off guard.

The Emperor summoned his trusted ministers, including Duke Zhenguo, to the court overnight to discuss countermeasures.

However, before Duke Zhenguo could lead his troops out of the Imperial City, Prince Yun's petition written in blood had already reached the court.

In front of all the civil and military officials, Prince Yun's envoy held up the blood-written petition, lamenting and crying injustice. He claimed that his rebellion was not out of his own volition but for self-preservation. Someone had revealed to him that the Emperor was about to move against him. He also claimed that the Immortal Seed calamity nine years ago was absolutely not his doing. If the Emperor could find the culprit from that year and clear his name, and announce to the world that he would no longer pursue the matter, Prince Yun was willing to relinquish his military power and beg for forgiveness.

This move gave the Emperor, who was in a somewhat passive position at this critical juncture, a glimmer of hope.

As long as he could stall until next year's Immortal Ceremony, everything would be resolved.

So, after cursing Prince Yun, he grudgingly agreed.

But what he didn't expect was that a Censorate official stepped forward with unwavering courage at this moment. Citing the desire to prevent the suffering of the people and the shedding of blood, he used his life to impeach and expose the current Crown Prince, claiming that he was the mastermind behind the Immortal Seed calamity nine years ago, with the aim of usurping the throne.

In an instant, the old Emperor's Vital Energy and Blood surged. He had naturally suspected his grandson regarding the events of the past, but lacked evidence. Due to Prince Yun's many forceful displays, his suspicion of Prince Yun grew. Later, an Immortal Master's reprimand forced him to focus his attention on the next Immortal Ceremony and Prince Yun.

At this, his suspicion was amplified infinitely.

Furthermore, in the current situation, not only was the Imperial Grandson highly suspected, but even if he weren't, the Emperor might push him forward to temporarily appease Prince Yun.

The Imperial Grandson received the news and was forced into a palace coup. The Grandmaster behind him surfaced and engaged in a great battle with the Emperor.

While grandfather and grandson were slaughtering each other, Duke Zhenguo personally led a large army to welcome Prince Yun into the Imperial City, ultimately capturing the Emperor in one fell swoop...

The dynasty was shaken, and the world turned upside down. Yet, within the Immortal Palace, there were almost no changes. Aside from a few top experts rushing to support the Emperor, everything else was normal.

By the time Li Ji'an received the news, the dynasty had temporarily stabilized.

Prince Yun proclaimed to the world that the Imperial Grandson had rebelled and murdered his ancestors, and that he had led the army to quell the rebellion, ultimately accepting the throne in a time of crisis.

Duke Zhenguo performed an unparalleled feat and was enfeoffed as a Prince!

What made Li Ji'an sigh the most was a piece of gossip suggesting that Duke Zhenguo's ancestor was once the foremost fierce general under the first Prince Yun. He was granted the title Marquis Dingyuan and stationed in Qingzhou, a result also aided by the first Prince Yun.

Even after several generations, the Marquis Dingyuan's mansion and Prince Yun's mansion continued their ancestral friendship.

"Brilliant, truly brilliant! Yet, also quite uninteresting..." Li Ji'an sighed, lamenting the effort some people expended for power and status.

Of course, all this gossip was told by Zhao Yunsheng when he was brought into the Imperial Palace, enfeoffed as the Imperial Grandson, and, out of boredom, came out to play with him.

A year later, the Immortal Ceremony began as usual.

According to Zhao Yunsheng, the Immortal Master saw that the Emperor had changed, and didn't even ask a single question. Instead, because the quality of this year's Immortal Seeds was higher than the previous session, they bestowed immortal treasures.

From then on, the Immortal Seeds of this world were completely hopeless. Li Ji'an no longer deliberately suppressed himself, dedicating more energy to internal energy cultivation.

It was precisely because of Zhao Yunsheng, the Imperial Grandson, that he was smoothly able to remain in the Immortal Palace and was assigned to the Scripture Repository.

Thus began decades of stable cultivation, just like any other day