Get the Hell Out!

As Li Chongwen had said, Li Yuan found the secluded little courtyard without much trouble. It looked utterly unremarkable.

He found the key beneath the threshold and let himself in.

The courtyard had only a single section, sparsely furnished and coated in a thin layer of dust. Clearly, no one had come here in a long time.

After locking the courtyard gate from within, he went straight into the side room. He quickly found the blue brick Li Chongwen had mentioned. Beneath it lay hard-packed earth.

He took a paper knife from the table and carefully dug into the ground. At roughly a foot deep, he struck something hard.

It was a small iron box wrapped in oilcloth.

Inside were a stack of silver notes, a small pouch of gold leaves, and an oil-paper packet.

He first unfolded the oil-paper packet and found several letters within, along with a list written on silk.

Li Yuan could not be bothered to inspect them closely. He tucked the packet into his robe, then roughly flipped through the silver notes. His eyes lit up—there were more than ten thousand taels.

That old bastard truly had a knack for amassing wealth. Li Yuan would gladly accept it; it could count as payment for avenging the original owner of this body.

He swept everything away, returned the emptied iron box to its place, filled the hole, replaced the brick, and restored everything to its original state.

With everything settled, Li Yuan smiled as he weighed the cloth pouch in his hand. It was no light burden. This windfall would be enough to see him through a good while, perhaps even let him prepare for the awakening ceremony.

Yes, the awakening ceremony.

For all those at the bottom of Great Tang society, it was the best chance to leap from fish to dragon. Any person who had turned fifteen, regardless of gender or birth, could attend the awakening ceremony held by the authorities every first month of the year.

Should they successfully awaken some talent, they would be qualified to enter Divine Martial Academy and study there, stepping into an entirely different world from that day onward.

Li Yuan had turned fifteen this year. He had registered long ago and only needed to wait for the ceremony half a month away.

After night fell, Li Yuan quietly left the courtyard. He wound through the maze of streets and alleys, only heading for a remote, abandoned Land God Temple after confirming no one was following him. Beneath broken bricks behind the idol, he buried most of the gold, silver, and pearls.

He then scattered a layer of dry dirt and grass clippings over it, taking only a few bits of loose silver with him.

Once that was done, he bought some flatbread and ate as he walked, all the way back to the Li residence.

The courtyard was a complete mess. Several servants watched him from afar as though he were the plague.

He walked straight toward the main hall. Madam Wang was directing people to pack things away. The moment she saw Li Yuan enter, her gaze turned venomous.

"You still know how to come back!"

Madam Wang's voice was shrill. "You jinx! Ever since you entered this household, we haven't had a single day of peace!"

"Now you've cursed your father into prison and gotten the house raided. Are you satisfied? Huh?"

Madam Wang was always skilled at smearing filth on him. Li Yuan lowered his head, shrank back a little, and murmured timidly.

"Mother, please calm your anger... Your son just went to visit Father in prison. He said we should sell that old house in the south of the city and gather some silver to make arrangements..."

"Sell the house?"

Madam Wang sprang up with a scream, pointing at Li Yuan's nose as she cursed, "Dream on! That house is mine. Your damned father transferred it into my name long ago."

Her eyes brimmed with malice as she ground out, "You little bastard, have you been eyeing that bit of ancestral property all along? I'm telling you, not a chance!"

"The family money was all taken by that old bastard to fill some bottomless pit. There isn't even a single coin left now, and you still want to sell this old woman's house?"

"Get out, get out, get out! Just seeing you brings me bad luck!"

"Get out!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she became. She grabbed a teacup beside her and hurled it at him. Li Yuan dodged in a fluster, and the cup grazed past his ear before smashing against the bluestone floor.

"Mother, Father is still waiting in prison for your son to save him!"

Li Yuan cried out with grief and indignation written across his face, though his feet slowly edged toward the door.

"This old woman has already divorced him! If you don't get out now, I'll break your legs and have you thrown out!"

Madam Wang shouted sharply. Several burly servant women had already surrounded him, each one glaring with ill intent.

Li Yuan turned and fled timidly. Only after he had completely left the residence behind did he stop.

Madam Wang's reaction had been exactly as he expected. What he wanted was to be driven from the household—a reasonable and legitimate excuse that would earn the sympathy of others.

He went directly back to the courtyard in Changning Alley. It was safe here for the moment, and besides, he had nowhere else to go.

Everything else could wait until after the Spirit Awakening Ceremony.

Outside the window, Chang'an had already entered curfew. The distant clamor of the marketplace drifted faintly through the night, making this tiny patch of heaven and earth feel all the more silent and cold.

Li Yuan lay on the bed fully clothed, staring at the pitch-black beams overhead. Yet his heart felt lighter than it ever had before. He had finally severed all ties with that family. He was alone now, but from this day on, the seas were wide and the skies boundless.

After a day of rushing about, his frail body—long weakened by malnutrition—could no longer hold out. Exhaustion swept over him, and Li Yuan sank into a deep sleep.

Who knew how much time passed before the heavy clouds outside the window dispersed, revealing a deep-blue sky.

A faint pale-golden glow quietly emerged from between his brows. The light flowed and gradually outlined the phantom image of a palace.

It was only palm-sized, ancient and strange in design—neither palace nor tower. Its eaves curved sharply upward, its bronze doors tightly shut, and its entire form shrouded in a faint radiance.

It hovered silently above Li Yuan, rotating slowly.

A thread of starlight slanted through the window lattice into the room and fell upon the palace's phantom image.

Bzz—

A soft hum sounded. The palace slowly absorbed the starlight, and the radiance enveloping its surface seemed to brighten slightly.

As Li Yuan slept, his brows unconsciously drew together, then gradually relaxed again. He seemed entirely unaware of what was happening.

Divine Martial Academy, Chang'an.

Today was the tenth day after the Lantern Festival, as well as the annual Spirit Awakening Ceremony, commonly known as the awakening ceremony.

The plaza before the academy was already packed shoulder to shoulder.

Countless young men and women had gathered here with their families.

Some wore brocade and fine garments, while others wore ragged cloth. Their faces held both nervousness and longing.

After all, this was not merely a test. To them, it was a watershed that would decide their fate.

Li Yuan moved slowly forward with the crowd, alone. He deliberately chose a spot near the edge and quietly observed his surroundings.

A high platform had been erected at the front of the plaza. Several people sat atop it. At the center was an elderly man with white hair and beard, his face lean and refined. He was Su Wenyuan, the academy's headmaster.

The man beside him was around forty, exceptionally tall and powerfully built. He wore a fitted black outfit beneath a dark-red half-sleeved outer garment. A black tower was embroidered over his left breast in silver thread.

It was the emblem of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Merely standing there, he was like a battle blade drawn from its sheath, too intimidating for anyone to meet his gaze.

"Silence!"

A low shout instantly crushed all the noise. It came from the black-clad man.

His cold gaze swept over the dark sea of people below the platform. Wherever it passed, everyone felt their breath catch.

"I am Chen Shuo, a patrolling captain of the Chang'an County Demon Suppression Bureau."

His voice boomed like a great bell. "By order of the bureau, I have come today to preside over this Spirit Awakening Ceremony together with Headmaster Su."

He paused slightly, his gaze growing sharper. "Those with talent who can awaken may enter Divine Martial Academy to study. In the future, you may join the Demon Suppression Bureau and slay demons, serve the imperial court, or found your own sect. Your prospects are vast."

Hearing his words, many faces filled with eager anticipation.

"And if you have no talent..." Chen Shuo's lips pulled into a hard, cold curve. "Then go home obediently. Study, farm, trade, and live honestly as an ordinary person."

His words were like a ladle of cold water, dragging the hopeful youths back to reality.