[One year later]
[Year 35, you turned exactly fifty years old]
[The past year had been one of hard work]
[On this day, you completed your third true qi condensation]
[Your seventh-grade pill refining technique took a major step toward minor mastery, nearing a substantial breakthrough]
[With Yan Zhixue's death threat gone, you could finally live with dignity and work seriously]
[After hiding from Yan Zhixue for over two years, the crisis was finally resolved]
[You felt immensely emotional]
[You ran to the mansion garden and dramatically shouted: "Snow and wind oppressed me for two, three years—"
"Add them together makes five years—"
"Finally, I'm free!"]
["Free—!"]
[You spread your arms and shouted with abandon]
["Young master? Young master!!"]
[Old Wang came over and had to shout repeatedly before you stopped your exclamation]
["What is it?" You turned your head]
[Old Wang looked at your lower body: "Young master, at least wear pants next time you come out."]
[You looked down and realized in your excitement today, you'd rushed out naked to recite poetry]
[Looking around, then at yourself between the legs: "Old Wang, nobody else saw, right?"]
["Well... probably not..." Old Wang looked uncomfortable]
[You sighed lightly: "What a pity."]
[Returning to your room with visible regret]
[That evening, Hu Zhongxuan dined with you]
[He told you Li Anlong had spent the past year bloodily purging those involved in Li Jiang's coup attempt—the Blood Demon Sect, Eastern Sea Pavilion, and three mid-sized sects]
[Of the Blood Demon Sect's twenty-one Ultimate Grandmasters, nine were hunted down and killed, while twelve remained at large, suspected to have fled to Jin Yue Nation]
[What shocked you was that Blood Demon Sect's leader Zhou Qiyun had also died—again at Lin Jingzhi's hands]
[You marveled at this world being like a Mickey's Fun House—truly marvelous]
[Eastern Sea Pavilion's fifteen Ultimate Grandmasters saw eight killed and seven escaped]
[The other three sects' five Ultimate Grandmasters all perished]
[Additionally, all martial artists below Ultimate Grandmaster level from these five factions were captured by Li Anlong and executed]
[Many core members even received the special "nine familial exterminations" package]
[The killing spree left heads rolling]
[The entire martial world was so intimidated that no fights occurred for a long time]
[But deposed Crown Prince Li Jiang remained missing, greatly angering Li Anlong]
[Li Jiang's entire bloodline was executed]
[Li Anlong also ordered the execution of Li Jiang's two younger brothers and their families]
[Some officials, considering them still imperial relatives, petitioned for exile instead of execution]
[Li Anlong happily read the petition... then had that official's entire family executed]
[Though Li Anlong dealt with Li Jiang's clan]
[Hu Zhongxuan said Li Anlong remained irritable over failing to find Li Jiang himself, often flying into rages]
[...]
[Late night, imperial city, Wenhua Hall]
[Li Anlong sat imposingly on the dragon throne]
[A chief eunuch stood attentively beside him]
[Li Anlong spoke slowly: "Has he been driven there?"]
[The eunuch bowed: "Your Majesty, the rebel crown prince has been secretly driven to Prince Yongning's domain."]
[Li Anlong nodded leisurely: "That Earth Source on my precious grandson is quite tempting. Let's see if Prince Yongning can remain eternally peaceful!"]
[...]
[Year 36]
[Your pill refining achieved a breakthrough—rising from Initial Achievement to Minor Mastery]
[Hu Zhongxuan was happier than if he'd fathered a child himself]
[He drank heavily that day, eventually digging up his daughter's wedding wine buried just last year to share with you]
[Your true qi reached its fourth condensation]
[However, your Divine Micro-Vision stalled after Major Mastery—you knew reaching Perfection would be difficult]
[Fortunately, Major Mastery sufficed—combined with Mind Awakening Technique, your pill refining progressed astonishingly fast]
[During this period, you returned to Danxia Sect]
[First visiting Lin Mo—you arrived cheerfully but left gloomy]
[Because twenty-seven-year-old Lin Mo had already reached early Dragon Transformation realm—a full major realm above you]
[Facing such absurd talent, you wondered what window heaven had closed for him?]
[Then you remembered—]
[Lin Mo's academic performance was terrible—back in your hometown, he'd have dropped out before finishing compulsory education]
[But you? Before transmigrating, you were a prestigious vocational college expert!]
[Not only that—you'd taken the vocational-to-undergraduate tribulation exam! With 450 total points, you narrowly failed by only 384 points—just short of breakthrough]
[But you considered yourself half-stepped into undergraduate realm—a Half-Step Undergraduate!]
[You'd heard above undergrads existed Master's ancestors—truly terrifying!]
[And beyond that—horrors called Doctors, whose mere thought made you tremble]
[You'd even heard rumors of something beyond Doctor—the unspeakable Postdoctoral entity]
[Postdoctorals allegedly defied conventional logic—transcending academic constraints to become working beasts]
[Regardless, academically you'd truly "won hemp" compared to Lin Mo—like Qin Shi Huang touching live wires]
[Comforted by this realization, you happily left Lin Mo]
[Next visiting Bai Chen and Jiao Mingxu]
[Bai Chen's Mingchun Court brothel thrived increasingly, attracting tourists from afar]
[He'd won "Outstanding Entrepreneur" three years running]
[Jiao Mingxu's martial arts school also flourished—producing many outstanding security captains and underworld enforcers]
[His daughter Jiao Xiaoyao already had a daughter—forty-five-year-old Jiao Mingxu now a grandfather, constantly grinning while holding his granddaughter]
[Returning to Danxia Sect, Ruan Bai hurriedly prepared to welcome you]
[Ruan Bai said your former residence was cleaned daily, always awaiting your return]
[Visiting the courtyard—indeed spotless]
[Protected by barriers—ordinary access forbidden]
[Seeing the meticulously preserved courtyard, you even considered buying a ticket to enter]
[Finally burning paper offerings at Xie Huide and Deng Rusong's graves]
[Realizing you might be getting old—now muttering to yourself before graves]
[After burning joss paper for the two old-timers, you returned directly to the capital]
[You could have stayed at Danxia Sect—but Hu Zhongxuan asked about your pill progress eight hundred times daily]
[Remembering his care at Yajiangkou, you returned to reassure him]
[You could always revisit Danxia Sect later]
[The day you returned, Hu Zhongxuan announced deposed Crown Prince Li Jiang had been captured]
[Prince Yongning Li Yu caught him—sending Li Jiang to the capital, arriving tomorrow]