Others cultivate immortality through talent, fortune, and bloodline. Lu Chang'an relies on influential patrons, brothers, connections, and a little shamelessness.
A poor boy from Qingshi Town with a mixed Five Elements spiritual root, he is told at the spiritual aptitude test that the third level of Qi Refining is his limit. The Sword Peak takes the gifted disciples away, and the first thing he asks is whether the Miscellaneous Peak provides meals. At the bottom of Qingyun Sect, he tends spiritual fields, hauls grain, and keeps accounts. What he sees is no immortal paradise, but job security, factions, and ledgers that claim a full load despite being short two sacks.
He is glib, good at reading people, willing to give others their place, and bold enough to pass a raw deal along. In a run-down courtyard, he takes in a laid-back master, Shen Qingzhu, while a remnant patriarchal soul lives in his jade pendant, waking for just one hour a day. Neither patron is willing to help him become an immortal, but they are the first to make him understand that in the world of cultivation, strength sets your ceiling, connections determine whether you get through the door, and no one truly wants to burn bridges without a reason.
Wang Hu wants him to bow his head, and Elder Zhou wants his name. He can scheme and take advantage, but he must not harm the innocent without cause or betray those who truly trust him. His path from menial servant at the Miscellaneous Peak to the Dao Ancestor of Human Connections is not about constant power-ups and face-slapping. It is about slowly turning people who had nothing to do with one another into people willing to stand up for him.
