When Spring Never Comes

[Updates paused. The worldbuilding got too big for my writing ability. I'll rewrite it later.]

Once, a young person traveled thousands of miles, eyes shining, to ask about the path to immortality. They asked the Emperor three hundred questions, and the Emperor answered every one.

At the end, the young person scratched their head and grinned. "I have admired you for a long time. Since you ascended to the Immortal Steps, I am the only one in a hundred years to have seen your face... A friend repeatedly asked me to put a question to you on their behalf."

"Have you ever regretted it?"

Qin Zhengchun's face was hidden behind the twelve rows of beads on her crown.

The throne of the supreme immortal stood high above, cold and austere.

She had been lonely and helpless as a child, wandering from place to place. Hardship had hounded her in her youth, and she had left her home on the brink of death. She spent a hundred years drifting through hatred, then a thousand years burning in the flames...

All ties of kinship were severed. Every friend was dead.

She thought for a long time, lowered her eyes, and asked her own heart. Then she replied:

"Never."

A guide for readers:

1. Female protagonist, with a power-growth progression.

2. The heroine is mildly adored by everyone, but she is not a perfect character.

3. One-on-one, both leads are sexually inexperienced. The male lead has little presence except in the first few chapters.

4. It may lean toward an ensemble cast, with women making up most of the characters.

5. A writing exercise. Please be gentle.

Theme: Never bow to fate