On this day, the Immortal Palace was in an uproar.
The moment Li Ji'an stepped into the Immortal Palace holding the token of the first rank on the Grandmaster List, all the masters guarding the palace were alarmed.
One after another, they appeared to see.
"What kind of prodigy could Brother Li have taken a liking to?"
"Anyone who catches the eye of Elder Li is surely extraordinary!"
"Could it be someone born with the Dragon and Tiger Aspect?"
...
Calmly watching the group of old acquaintances, Li Ji'an showed a bit of innocence.
"Just so-so..."
Finally, the anticipated voice of dissent, though late, arrived.
The crowd looked up and saw that familiar figure atop the tower.
Lei Jingchuan!
The fifth son of the Lei Family in Yan Province, and also the current Empress's father.
Originally the ninth on the Grandmaster List, he ascended to the top as experts in the Imperial City either perished or were seriously injured due to the power struggle in the court.
However, just as he was using his status as the top rank to enter the Imperial City to rescue his daughter and son-in-law, Li Ji'an suddenly emerged and seized the top spot before he even had a chance to sit securely.
After challenging Li Ji'an three times in a row and losing each time, he swore to defeat him fair and square once in his life to reclaim the top position, so he stayed in the Immortal Palace.
With a rugged personality, outwardly cold but inwardly warm, only stubborn in speech.
But after a year of training with Li Ji'an, he showed slight improvement, at least not daring to be stubborn in front of Li Ji'an anymore because Li Ji'an would hit him without considering the occasion, showing no mercy.
"Elder Lei, be cautious with your words. That cautious nature of Elder Li's might just be secretly protecting this little guy," someone softly reminded.
Lei Jingchuan snorted coldly, "Hmph, the old man is just speaking the truth, would he dare to act against me because of this?"
"Whoosh~" He spoke lightly, but the next moment he flew away without hesitation.
His words continued as he left, "Not only will I defeat him fair and square, but my disciple will also surpass his. Just you all wait and see."
Li Ji'an couldn't help but show a trace of a smile.
Among Zhao Yunsheng's children, the ninth princess Zhao Shuyao had the best talent, naturally intelligent with excellent roots.
Last year, when she was seven, Zhao Yunsheng wanted Zhao Shuyao to apprentice under Li Ji'an, but Lei Jingchuan, using his identity as maternal grandfather, forcibly took her as his disciple.
"That old rascal..."
Just as Lei Jingchuan left, Emperor Zhao Yunsheng also arrived at the Immortal Palace.
Everyone saluted, "Long live Your Majesty!"
"I am well, no need for such formalities!" Zhao Yunsheng immediately spotted Li Ji'an among the crowd.
With just one glance, he paused slightly.
The other people here had basically never seen what Li Ji'an looked like when he was young, so they didn't feel anything.
But when Zhao Yunsheng arrived at the Immortal Palace as a hostage at seven, Li Ji'an was nineteen, and after nine years of daily interaction, he had vivid memories of Li Ji'an at that time.
This child's features bore some resemblance to that of Li Ji'an back then.
"What's your name?" Zhao Yunsheng asked, slightly excited.
Li Ji'an, unmarried and childless at sixty, even he had thought of arranging a marriage for him. Now, with many wives and concubines, and children bringing him joy, he sometimes worried for Li Ji'an.
What does it matter if he's so skilled in martial arts or even the world's number one? If he never marries and has children, what will be left of him after a hundred years?
"Your Majesty, I am Li Chang'an."
"Li Chang'an!" Zhao Yunsheng's breath hitched even more upon hearing the name.
"Chang'an... Chang'an... it fits Brother Li's character. Could this be Brother Li's child? Grown so much, and I didn't even know? Kept it even from me? A top master himself, why keep it a secret? Perhaps the burden of being a master..."
For a moment, Zhao Yunsheng was both amused and annoyed.
"Very well, very well, walk with me." Since Brother Li wanted to keep it secret, Zhao Yunsheng chose to respect his wishes.
Having his suspicions, he didn't ask further and instead took Li Ji'an for a walk around the Immortal Palace.
"Where has your master gone now?"
"He said he wanted to clear away some vicious diseases and would be back after." Li Ji'an replied.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunsheng understood immediately, "Then it shouldn't be long. I've issued an edict: in my empire, child trafficking and body mutilation are strictly prohibited."
"Your Majesty's wisdom is unparalleled!" Li Ji'an responded with a smile of praise.
If the Emperor of this world had done so earlier, how could Li Ji'an have suffered such hardships during his first Rejuvenation?
With Zhao Yunsheng leaving, Li Ji'an officially embarked on his path in this lifetime.
This life began exceptionally smoothly but did not make Li Ji'an complacent.
On the surface, it seemed like Li Ji'an's past life's peak martial prowess had created this success, but in reality, the root lay in the martial limits of this world, which seemed low given his combined comprehension from four lives.
Moreover, the key in this life lay in his understanding of Zhao Yunsheng with whom he had shared nine years, and the fact that Zhao Yunsheng had never seen him at the age of eight, otherwise, he couldn't guarantee the start would be foolproof.
However... if we talk about being foolproof.
Perhaps only on the day when he truly attains immortality will it be so, otherwise, every time he undergoes Rejuvenation, regardless of how superior his abilities are, reset to zero in an instant, that gap and feeling of powerlessness—no one can truly feel at ease.
In the days that followed, Li Ji'an maintained the highest level of medicinal baths and supplements, training his muscles and bones diligently.
Until at thirteen, the Immortal Palace held a bone-assessment ceremony just for him, confirming the Dragon and Tiger Form.
On that day, Lei Jingchuan also brought Zhao Shuyao, pretending not to know after having already assessed her, verified the Luan Phoenix body himself, but insisted on letting Zhao Shuyao showcase it before everyone.
Thus, the rivalry of the Dragon and Tiger, Luan Phoenix began.
Of course, this was all of Lei Jingchuan's own volition, Li Ji'an simply smiled and let it pass.
However, what left Li Ji'an finding the situation both amusing and frustrating was that for the sake of so-called fairness and justice, seeing that Li Ji'an had not appeared for five years, while the other tutors dared not interfere, fearing Li Ji'an's neglect would lead to poor cultivation, Lei Jingchuan came to supervise Li Ji'an from time to time.
Admonishing him not to slack off, not to be distracted by other things.
Eventually, he even brought Li Ji'an to his courtyard to be tutored alongside Zhao Shuyao.
This hindered Li Ji'an's plan to cultivate his self-created external martial arts that replenished qi and blood right at the start, and in the end, with no other choice, he personally wrote a letter warning Lei Jingchuan not to meddle unnecessarily.
This move infuriated Lei Jingchuan, yet he could not confront Li Ji'an directly to argue, almost driving himself into a fit.
Zhao Shuyao also developed a bias against the famous Li Ji'an because of this, ultimately targeting Li Chang'an.
For Li Ji'an, these events served as spices in the otherwise monotonous and repetitive cultivation life.
Entering the Martial Dao for the third time, starting from Pile Skill again lacked any excitement or challenge, the Dragon and Tiger Form, coupled with his self-created martial arts from previous lives nourishing him anew, with enhanced spiritual power in this life, within two years, he was just beginning Blood Exchange.
This result astonished everyone beyond measure, setting a record in the Immortal Dynasty for the fastest entry into the Blood Transformation Realm, and by far.
At the age of eight in this life, it was just one year since the last Immortal Scripture Day had passed, with nine years till the next, and nineteen years till the one after that.
When entering the Blood Transformation Realm, he was fifteen, just two years away from the new Immortal Scripture Day.
Normally speaking, within two years he could reach Bone Marrow Forging without issue.
However, he decided to slow his pace temporarily.
Two years later at the Immortal Scripture Day, he entered Blood Exchange Minor Achievement, not becoming an Immortal Seedling.
Meanwhile, Zhao Shuyao, despite doubling her efforts, eventually caught up to him, reaching Blood Exchange Minor Achievement, also missing the Immortal Seedling.
This gave Zhao Shuyao the illusion of being on par with Li Ji'an.
Until ten years later, she became utterly disillusioned.
After the Immortal Scripture Day, Li Ji'an took six months to achieve Blood Exchange Perfection, two years to complete Bone Marrow Forging Perfection, three years to achieve Refining the Internal Organs Perfection, and four years to refine Qi and Blood to the point of Qi and Blood like a Dragon!
On this day, Li Ji'an finally stepped into the Immortal Hall, quietly waiting for the Immortal Master to descend...
The time had come to proceed to the Cultivation Realm!