Regarding the specifics of that catastrophe, opinions are varied.
Some say the immortal was enraged, causing blood to flow like a river.
With just a wave of a hand, seventy percent of the high-ranking martial artists vanished!
Others say several Grandmasters launched a surprise attack, catching the Immortal Master unawares and even injuring him, but eventually, the Immortal Master brought out a treasure like yellow paper to annihilate the martial arts experts.
Some also say that if not for the royal guards, the Immortal Master might have perished.
…
Even along the way, the accounts of Chen Xiaosheng and Su Jishi differ greatly, so Li Ji'an cannot ascertain the truth.
However, the final result is consistent—the number of martial artists in the world was halved.
Including sects, families, and friends... executing nine clans, slaughtering ten clans, with methods so cruel that besides the main culprits being cast in iron and sculpted to eternally apologize at the feet of the Immortal Master, the rest were executed by slicing, dismemberment, boiling, grilling—all sorts of punishments.
Since then, everyone in the world has accepted that the only path to the Immortal Realm is to become an Immortal Seedling.
Li Ji'an, while showing respect to the Immortal Master, also silently mourned many martial arts predecessors.
He should thank them, for if not for their exploration, Li Ji'an would have spent several lifetimes searching for other possible paths.
And every additional lifetime would bring considerable risks for him.
After registration, Li Ji'an had no intention to wander around the Imperial City and returned directly to his residence.
Third place in Chong'an Prefecture, yet almost at the bottom in the Immortal Palace.
Moreover, this place gathers talents from all over the world, besides the reserve Immortal Seedlings like him who arrived for the Immortal Scripture, there are also many seedlings cultivated from a young age, martial arts geniuses from various regions like fish in a river, in large numbers, while land is precious in the Imperial City, so his allocated quarters are shared by four in a small courtyard, smaller than the single courtyard he had in Chong'an Prefecture.
His allocated quarters are located in the corner of the Immortal Palace accommodation area, the other three are not part of the reserve Immortal Seedlings of this session, fortunately, the four rooms in the small courtyard are independent, with only a shared small courtyard, so it does not disturb too much.
After resolving the lodging issue, he continued his cultivation with undivided attention.
One must say, the resource supply from the Immortal Palace is indeed generous; the Treasure Beast meat only obtainable through connections in Chong'an Prefecture is almost supplied without limit.
Even the rare Immortal Pills and Divine Medicine in Chong'an Prefecture are selectively rewarded.
Among them, he even saw the "Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill," a dream for his next life.
This greatly increased Li Ji'an's motivation.
Two months later, all the Immortal Seedlings gathered, and once again he saw the sisters Ning Yutan.
And learned a major news—two Immortal Seedlings of this realm have died, including the prodigy of the Wang family of the Grandmaster family and the genius son of the Prefect of Qiong Province Mansion.
The Wang family was intercepted by two unknown Grandmasters, their ancestor was held up, and the Immortal Seedling was killed.
As for the group from Qiong Province Mansion, including the Reception Immortal Official and fellow reserve Immortal Seedlings, none survived!
The Emperor was enraged, issuing three royal decrees to announce the world, condemning the villains on behalf of the immortals, swearing to capture the ringleader and severely punish him, and ordered Dali Temple to unite with the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Supervision Office, and the Shadow Guard to lead the three armies, even if it means digging up the earth to catch them.
This news even made Li Ji'an feel a chill, if not for the underestimation, Duke Dingguo's group would likely have faced a grim fate.
He decided in his heart to start the next life as close to the Imperial City, or even directly from the Immortal Palace.
Besides worrying about being attacked halfway after finally becoming an Immortal Seedling, there's another reason—King Yun's group faced no interception!
Such schemes, regardless of King Yun's intentions, ensure that King Yun, the most powerful among the vassals, and the incumbent Emperor will oppose each other, ultimately leading to a life-or-death struggle.
Chaos in the world is evident, the only ones possibly unaffected are the immortals desired by both parties and the Seeking Immortal Palace built for them.
"Will class struggle ultimately turn into internal struggle?" Li Ji'an shook his head slightly, showing little interest in the affairs of the Mortal Realm.
As one of the remaining eight Immortal Seedlings about to meet the Immortal Master and follow him to the Immortal Realm, Ning Yutan holds an extremely high status in the Immortal Palace.
Even Eunuch Mo, the renowned third-ranking figure on the Grandmaster List, shows great respect to Ning Yutan.
Moreover, due to her charming appearance, vibrant and modest personality, and high emotional intelligence, she is quite adored by the other five male Immortal Seedlings.
Even rumors say that the seventeen-year-old prodigy with this session's top talent declared to become Ning Yutan's Dao partner after reaching the Immortal Realm.
"Brother Li, they are really annoying, I just want to quietly sit with you now, without any disturbances." Ning Yutan first complained, then glanced at Ning Sujin inside the room, speaking in a slightly childish tone.
"Absolutely not!" Li Ji'an immediately refused.
The three of them were fellow townsmen from Chong'an Prefecture, so gathering together was understandable.
If it were only the two of them in the same room, it could cause unnecessary trouble.
Especially that young prodigy, being successful at a young age, he is arrogant, his heart nature not mature enough. If someone incited him with a few words, aiming at Li Ji'an with the reputation and privileges from imminent ascension would not be worthwhile.
At present, due to the reduction of the ten Immortal Seedlings agreed upon by the immortals, there is a need to recruit two additional ones from the remaining reserve Immortal Seedlings.
Looking around, nobody dares to target the already settled reserve Immortal Seedlings in the Immortal Palace, except for the eight Immortal Seedlings.
Thus, at this moment, these reserve Immortal Seedlings are all secretly exerting effort, as competitors, hoping for the removal of others until only they themselves and one other remain, leaving ample room for caution.
"Why?" Ning Yutan, seeing Ning Sujin has not yet opposed, was instantly teased as Li Ji'an's refusal was so decisive, making her eyes slightly red with grievance.
"You idiot, do you want to endanger Ji'an?" Ning Sujin cursed before Li Ji'an could speak.
Ning Yutan's eyes rolled, realization dawned, she wrinkled her nose, conceding, "Brother Li, I'm sorry, it's just hard for me to part with the moments alone with you, I failed to consider."
Dealing with smart people is indeed easier, also saving Li Ji'an from making excuses.
"Brother Li, rest assured, I will wait for you in the Immortal Realm, I believe ten years from now, we can certainly reunite." Subsequently, Ning Yutan, not caring about Ning Sujin, or perhaps intending for Ning Sujin to see, emotionally expressed several times.
Conversely, Ning Sujin remained silent, not speaking a word, and refrained from interrupting.
Until Ning Yutan mentioned she had asked her father, and Duke Dingguo's Mansion would strongly support Li Ji'an, Ning Sujin couldn't help but say, "Fool, Duke Dingguo's Mansion is now precarious, the future is uncertain, where is the energy to support us?"
"You speak nonsense, I'm about to go to the Immortal Realm, and His Majesty relies so heavily on my father, Duke Dingguo's Mansion certainly can thrive!" Ning Yutan did not agree with Ning Sujin's words.
"Humph! Short-sighted fool. His Majesty appointed your father as the Imperial Envoy to investigate Prince Yun's Mansion, do you think His Majesty merely distrusts Prince Yun's Mansion?"
"Don't forget, of the four local Immortal Seedlings this session, only Prince Yun's Mansion and you remain unscathed." Ning Sujin sneered coldly.
"This... You mean His Majesty also suspects us, Duke Dingguo's Mansion… no, we encountered assassination attempts, unlike Prince Yun's Mansion." In this aspect, Ning Yutan remained relatively naive.
Ning Sujin regarded Ning Yutan as if she were an idiot, "Some things don't require looking at the process, just the result!"
"You…"
"Dong! Dong! Dong…" As Ning Yutan was about to rebut again, an imposing bell ringing suddenly sounded outside, deafening!
"Nine rings of the Golden Bell?"
"An immortal descends to the mortal realm!"