This is a novel about mortals, high martial arts, immortal cultivation, and the System.
Xiao Ce, son of a military family, watches his clan perish in tragedy, then returns from death carrying his hatred.
He fakes his death and disappears into the city, enduring humiliation and lying low. He doesn’t pick fights or draw attention, and he never confronts anyone head-on. If he can’t win, he kneels; if he can’t afford to provoke someone, he hides.
Before others, he is humble as dust. Behind their backs, he is as ruthless as a blade. He secretly gathers a force of loyalists and lays an intelligence network, controlling the rivers and mountains of the mortal world with the power of an ant.
Only after reaching the pinnacle of the mortal world does he discover that another path exists: the path of immortal cultivation.
And the golden finger he received upon being reborn will only fully awaken when he comes into contact with immortal arts:
One automatic enlightenment each day, and spirit stones awarded daily based on his cultivation level, one stone per layer, increasing with each level.
Seeking eternal life, and more importantly, wanting to protect his wife and children in the mortal world, he enters an immortal sect and starts out as its lowest-ranking servant.
He never picks a direct fight with the strong or acts on a moment’s impulse. If he can kneel, he kneels; if he can endure, he endures. He polishes shoes and flatters, bends over backward to please, and even calls others “father,” all so he can survive and climb higher.
He hides a blade behind a smile, schemes in secret, and rises by taking advantage of others, stepping over piles of corpses as he climbs.
What he seeks has never been momentary satisfaction, but eternal life and power:
Only by growing stronger can he bring his wife and children onto the path of immortality, or establish an immortal cultivation clan in the mortal world that will endure forever and keep them safe for life.
From the agony of his clan’s destruction in his previous life, to dominating the mortal world in this one, and then through the bloodshed of the immortal path,
he uses endurance as armor, ruthlessness as his blade, enlightenment to break through realms, and spirit stones to pave the way.
From a lowly ant in the city streets, to an emperor of the mortal world, and then a formidable figure in the immortal realm,
he will ultimately stand at the summit of all worlds and, from the humblest beginnings, hold up the sky for his wife and children!
This is a work that I have carefully polished, and I have put a lot of effort into it from character setting to plot advancement. The story contains laughter and tears, growth and regret. I hope readers can find resonance while reading. Don't seek to amaze everyone, but seek to be sincere and moving. If you are willing to calm down and read, I believe you will feel the warmth and sincerity between the lines.