"Jade Gui"

"Grandpa, have you really lived for almost three thousand years in your Purple Mansion form? Is your master really a True Lord as my parents told me?"

In Lin Qi's memory, this was probably the question she asked her grandfather most often out of curiosity when she was a child in her previous life.

In fact, she would always regret it later.

Because, in my memory, my grandfather was a quiet person, and he disliked the environment of this era.

He grew weary of the gradually deteriorating giant corporation, and consequently, dissatisfied with his parents who followed the crowd.

So, after his father, whom he had fathered due to a momentary lapse of judgment, broke through to the Purple Mansion and was finally able to take care of him—

Having decided to leave the head office, he relinquished the position he held at Five Laws Perfection.

Then, without any hesitation, he left Upper City and returned to the small mountain where he had once lived during the ancient cultivation era, where he lived in seclusion.

He rebuilt the Daoist temple there, a structure typical of the old era.

After thinking about it, I planted a large tree in the yard that should have been in the spot I remembered.

He lived like this all his life, for hundreds of years after leaving the company.

No one came to visit him, because in this day and age, leaving the company meant losing all value.

Therefore, even his own parents never came to visit him.

Thinking about it this way, the short period when his parents entrusted him with their care was probably the only time he wasn't so lonely.

But all those questions I asked, again and again, probably only brought this old man, who liked to look at the big tree and reminisce about the old days, endless annoyance.

As Lin Qi grew up, she always felt regret about this, especially during the final days of her grandfather's long life.

It gave him a brief respite from loneliness, but it didn't bring him peace, which he cherished.

But she didn't know whether she should be glad or not, because if she hadn't asked those seemingly ridiculous questions...

Before returning to the Upper City, would Grandpa pass on the "Jade Gui" to him, a treasure even his parents were unaware of?

"Of course--" In my memory, Grandpa would always shake his head and chuckle when he heard that question, and then answer with the exact same sentence.

It's unclear whether his reaction was due to boredom or because he was reminiscing about the past.

Even a Great True Person Five Laws Perfection would be considered remarkable if they could live for three to five hundred years in this day and age.

"But Grandpa has lived for almost three thousand years, isn't that amazing?"

As a child, I was confused, but I still knew it was a very large number.

So he always looked at the old man with admiration, his eyes shining as he asked:

"Amazing... But how did Grandpa do that?"

How did you do that?

This question concealed secrets that only Purple Mansion True Person was worthy of knowing, so the old man never gave her a direct answer.

He just smiled and gave an analogy.

"Because there was once a thief who stole something, which implicated almost everyone, so now all the Purple Mansion True Person are dying younger and younger."

"But coincidentally, at that time, Grandpa's master was still alive. He stepped in to protect Grandpa and prevented him from being implicated."

"That's why Grandpa was able to live so long--"

Lin Qi wouldn't pursue the answer, because at that time she didn't know what it meant.

But her curiosity wouldn't stop there, so she would always follow up with more questions:

"So it's because Grandpa's master is so powerful... If that's the case, is he really the legendary Golden Core True Lord?"

"Um."

Every time this topic comes up, the old man would turn his head away and look at the big tree in the yard, lost in thought.

"But why have I never heard of him?"

"My parents also said that Grandpa's master is not among the four True Lord currently in our 'Jade Dragon Instruction'."

"You've heard of him, you just didn't know it referred to him..."

In the Q&A session, Grandpa would only refute Lin Qi here, then use a twig to draw the words "Jade" on the ground and gently tell her.

"The first two characters of the giant company's name, 'Jade Dragon Instruction,' are taken from your grandmaster's Daoist title."

Do you know why?

"Because he is one of the two founders of this giant company we stand on."

Lin Qi didn't believe it, her little face always pouting. "Grandpa is lying to me. If that's the case, then why did Mom and Dad say that our family doesn't even have a university admission guarantee?"

"My dad got into university on his own back then—"

"He also said that he almost went to a junior college, missing out on a bachelor's degree as his first degree, and was always ridiculed by the relatives of those True Lord disciples at school because of this."

At this point, the old man would only appear saddened and remain silent for a long time before slowly giving his answer.

"Because the adult has disappeared, Grandpa is useless, he can't find him, and nobody knows where he went."

"And after his disappearance, another great man gradually ceased to manage the giant enterprise, handing it over to other later True Lord— "

"And those True Lords..."

"They are willing to abandon everything for profit, disregarding all consequences, even killing former friends for a pittance."

"After the big boss left, everyone wanted a piece of the profits left behind by the giant corporation, until they devoured them completely."

"Heh... They see that Grandpa is all alone, so they always bully him."

"Of course, they probably also wanted to test the situation of the master, to see if the master had really disappeared, or had perished for some unknown reason."

"So, it's been tough on your father and you..."

When the old man said these words, Lin Qi at that time did not understand how much pain and sorrow he was carrying.

It wasn't until later that she came to understand it.

However, even though she was too young to understand, she would still innocently hold her grandfather's fingers with her two little hands.

Comfort this elderly person who clearly looks very distressed.

"Those people are so annoying, bullying Grandpa... Hmm... If I become stronger than Grandpa in the future, I will definitely avenge him."

"But if that doesn't work... then forget it..."

Even the youngest child knows what the Golden Core True Lord means, so Lin Qi's promise was weak and feeble.

But this always amuses the elderly, and it happens every time.

And it wasn't until that last time, when Lin Qi was about to return to the Upper City...

The old man, who had repeated the conversation to the forgetful woman once more, gave her a piece of Jade after hearing her say that.

Grandpa said that this Jade is called "Jade Gui), a divine object bestowed upon him by his grandmaster when he first went to the Guangling Palace to listen to scriptures with his master when he was young.

It can reside in a person's Primordial Spirit, and then transform into a destiny that resonates with that person.

The wonders of destiny are boundless, and its value even surpasses that of the sacred bodies researched by most giant corporations.

Therefore, even someone with such low aptitude and wisdom as him still managed to ascend to the position of one of the Five Dharmas within a few hundred years.

It's a pity he lacked the aptitude for seeking gold, thus wasting the "Jade Gui"—

However, he doesn't have much time left, so he can finally take it out and give it to someone more suitable to own it.

"Our little Qi will definitely be even more amazing than Grandpa in the future, so Grandpa is now entrusting this 'Jade Gui tablet' to you."

Soon after, the "Jade Gui" merged with Lin Qi, transforming into a destiny.

Its name means. "Daily progress leads to mastery of skills."