I Could Be Young Again

The carriage to the prefectural city was provided by the academy, and the county government had even sent constables to escort it. The journey was uneventful, and they arrived safely half a month later.

His past-life experiences had left him thoroughly familiar with Shangyi County. With Purple Heaven Temple backing him, he had practically nothing to worry about there.

But upon arriving in Chong'an Prefecture, Li Ji'an instinctively became cautious with his words and actions.

He declined the senior coachman's kind offer to show him around the prefectural city, which was several times more prosperous than Shangyi County, and headed straight to the Immortal Seeking Academy to report in.

"Even a dragon can rise from shallow waters! Young friend, your prospects are boundless. Please sit for a while; I'll prepare your credentials." Thanks to Li Ji'an placing second in the entire prefecture in this year's martial examination, the academy's steward treated him with great courtesy and spared no praise.

Li Ji'an bowed respectfully. "You flatter me, sir. I hardly deserve it. I'm deeply grateful that you would handle this personally."

The old steward raised his brows slightly and gave Li Ji'an another careful look. "Good, good. You've achieved success at a young age, yet you're neither frivolous nor arrogant. You have an excellent temperament as well. Your future is boundless."

Li Ji'an bowed again.

Although he had never been to the prefectural city in his previous life, he had learned a great deal about it through various channels. The Prefectural City Immortal Seeking Academy belonged to the Immortal Seeking Palace, the most powerful department in the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty.

The masters of the Immortal Seeking Palace were personally appointed by the emperors of every generation.

Anything under heaven could be delayed, but when it came to selecting Immortal Seeds, not the slightest carelessness was allowed.

That was the Zhao Imperial Clan's ancestral motto, handed down from generation to generation.

Even the Chong'an Prefecture prefect, a Principal Fourth Rank official, wouldn't dare throw his weight around in front of the steward of the Chong'an Prefecture Immortal Seeking Academy.

Moreover, anyone appointed to this post had to be at least a Blood Transformation Perfection Great Martial Master.

Skin, flesh, bone, blood, marrow, and organs—Skin Grinding was only the foundation, Muscle Compaction was the entry point, and Bone Forging was a threshold that barred eight out of ten martial artists.

As for Blood Transformation...it was a heavenly chasm, barring ninety-nine percent of the people in the world.

Only when the essence of one's Mortal Blood had been refined into pure qi and blood could one truly shed the mortal body and gain transcendent power—to subdue dragons and tigers, and stand against an army alone.

The Immortal Seeking Palace's true "Immortal Seeds" were expected to reach Blood Transformation Perfection.

In this life, Li Ji'an had been taking medicinal supplements since the age of eight, giving him exceptional Root Bone. Combined with the ten years of martial arts experience from his previous life and the improved comprehension granted by "Growing Young Again," he had stood in stance for three months, completed Skin Grinding in half a year, and reached Muscle Compaction in a year. His progress could be called remarkable.

But he still didn't dare take the next hurdle, "Bone Forging," lightly.

As for reaching Blood Transformation Perfection before the Immortal Seed Ceremony, he wasn't very confident.

The Immortal Seeds had been selected once five years ago. In theory, Li Ji'an still had two chances in this life: one at twenty, five years from now, and another at thirty, fifteen years from now.

If he reached Blood Transformation Perfection in five years, he would have a good chance.

But by the time he was thirty, fifteen years from now, he would have reached the age limit, and his age score would be close to zero. To stand out among the entire Immortal Bestowed Dynasty and make the top ten, he would probably need to reach Marrow Cleansing Perfection or even minor mastery in Organ Refining to be competitive.

"This is your academy token. Keep it safe. With this token, no one in all of Chong'an Prefecture will want to offend you." Steward Hao handed Li Ji'an the engraved token and offered a casual word of advice.

"Thank you, sir!"

The more Steward Hao looked at Li Ji'an, the more he liked him. Feeling the vigorous qi and blood radiating from him at such close range, he nodded again and again, his eyes brimming with regret.

"Young is good. There's nothing like being young." He was already over seventy, and his qi and blood were declining faster by the day. He was on a steady downhill slide, regretting more and more the arrogance and conceit of his youth. Seeing Li Ji'an today reminded him of his former self.

Back then, he hadn't been as accomplished as Li Ji'an, who had reached Muscle Compaction Perfection at fifteen. Yet he had been self-important and complacent, lost in flattery and empty praise, and led astray by worldly temptations. Though he'd had the talent to become a Qi and Blood Grandmaster of his generation, he had ultimately stopped at Blood Transformation, forced to watch himself wither and rot away.

He dreamed of returning to his youth, but alas...flowers could bloom again, while people could never be young again.

"Xiao Li, achieving success young isn't always a good thing. Late bloomers can still reach the Dao. Work hard, and don't waste your talent." Before leaving, Steward Hao couldn't help offering a word of advice.

But that was all he could do. Young people who hadn't experienced the world and had already achieved astonishing success found it hard to hold on to their true selves.

Even the soundest advice was impossible to understand without experience or elders who had taught it to them from childhood.

Li Ji'an took Steward Hao's advice to heart.

Still, the principle didn't really apply to him.

On the contrary, with his ability to "Grow Young Again," he could "be young again." He was bound to experience success at a young age many times in the future, and the possibility of becoming a late bloomer was practically nonexistent!

Besides, how could so-called "late blooming" compare with the accumulation of countless lifetimes?

After bidding farewell to Steward Hao, he was escorted by an attendant from the academy to the residential area.

"Master Li, you placed second in the entire prefecture, so you've been specially assigned a private courtyard in District A. This way, please." As the attendant led the way, he introduced the various areas of the academy and the rules to Li Ji'an.

"Thank you!" As steady as ever, Li Ji'an had naturally already learned everything in detail from the head of the Shangyi County Martial Arts Academy, ensuring he knew what to expect and how to stay safe at the Prefectural City Immortal Seeking Academy.

The Immortal Seeking Academies in the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty's thirteen prefectures were under immense pressure too. If they failed to send a qualified Immortal Seed to the Immortal Seeking Palace in the imperial capital for ten consecutive years, they would be severely punished!

There had even been cases where an angry emperor had sentenced officials to death for dereliction of duty.

The Chong'an Prefecture Immortal Seeking Academy had already gone three years without sending an Immortal Seed to the Immortal Seeking Palace.

That was why they treated geniuses and candidates for Immortal Seed status with such special consideration.

The attendant treated Li Ji'an respectfully all along the way, never missing a chance to flatter him. But as they reached the entrance to the District A dormitories, he furrowed his brows, gave Li Ji'an an apologetic smile, and hurried forward.

"Have you all forgotten the academy's rules?"

Five students stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the District A entrance. Their somewhat careless expressions turned solemn the moment they saw Li Ji'an and the attendant approach.

Ignoring the attendant's rebuke, the five headed straight for Li Ji'an.

Li Ji'an raised his brows slightly, a faint smile appearing on his face.

He recognized one of them. It was Xiao Wu, the little fellow who had entered the Martial Arts Academy in the eighth year of Li Ji'an's previous life there.

At thirteen, Xiao Wu had just entered the Martial Arts Academy. He was still a child, and it was his first time away from his parents' care, so he'd been lonely and dejected.

Thinking Li Ji'an was part of the academy, Xiao Wu had grown somewhat attached to him. Li Ji'an had no airs about him and was kind and humble.

Later, when Xiao Wu learned Li Ji'an's true identity, he had been stunned, but the revelation only brought them closer. They had practically become friends despite their age difference.

Children spoke without restraint. Xiao Wu often teased Li Ji'an for being older than his father yet coming to practice martial arts alongside him and becoming his senior fellow apprentice. He said it was embarrassing.

But he only allowed himself to tease Li Ji'an; he wouldn't let anyone else do it. Whenever someone mocked Li Ji'an, Xiao Wu had even gotten into a few fights with them.

Li Ji'an still remembered that just before the martial examination, Xiao Wu had thumped his chest and promised that once he passed, he would come back and look out for Li Ji'an. He had even said that if Li Ji'an ever had a son, he would pay for the medicinal ingredients needed for Nourishing Tendons and Strengthening Bones.

But Li Ji'an had "grown young again" before Xiao Wu could even take the martial examination.

For the next five years, Xiao Wu had been at Purple Heaven Temple, and Li Ji'an had lost track of him.

When Li Ji'an had just entered the Martial Arts Academy two years ago, he learned that Xiao Wu had failed the martial examination back then. Two years later, in his second attempt, he had only just scraped into the Immortal Seeking Academy. He had now been there for five years.