Chapter 1: The Outsider from the Village, the Exiled Crown Prince
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In the depths of winter, snowflakes danced through the air as howling winds prowled outside, their shrill blasts echoing against the walls. Inside, Wang Chu slowly opened his eyes, half-sat up, and rubbed the sleep from his drowsy gaze. Though he wore only a thin white robe and the stove in the room had long since gone cold, the young man—who appeared to be no more than eighteen or nineteen—seemed impervious to the chill. He pushed aside the quilt, set his feet on the ground, yawned, and stretched lazily.
As was his habit, he glanced at his own attributes:
[Age: 968 years]
[Cultivation: Great Perfection of the Grand Ascension]
[Spiritual Power: 999999999+]
[Soul Power: 999999999+]
[Lifespan: 999999999+]
...
[Yesterday: +6 Spiritual Power, +5 Soul Power, +6 Lifespan]
Seeing the uniform rows of nines and the notices of attribute increases, Wang Chu’s expression remained unchanged; instead, a faint disappointment flickered in his eyes.
“As expected, my cultivation hasn’t advanced at all.”
He closed the panel, murmuring softly to himself.
Wang Chu was not a native of this world, but a traveler from another. Upon arriving, he awakened the Eternal Longevity System as an infant. The system required little of him; so long as he ate well, drank well, and lived well, his spiritual power, cultivation, and lifespan would steadily increase.
Thanks to this system, Wang Chu had lived peacefully for centuries, achieving an unprecedented feat: with more than eight centuries of life, he reached the Grand Ascension, a realm most cultivators could only dream of and would never attain in their lifetimes.
After reaching the Great Perfection of Grand Ascension, Wang Chu had expected his cultivation and attributes to continue breaking through effortlessly, just as before. He was only half correct. His other attributes continued to grow, but his cultivation had stagnated.
Fortunately, after a century of research, Wang Chu understood the cause and had found a solution.
After a simple wash, Wang Chu opened the door and stepped outside. Standing on the threshold, he gazed at the curling smoke from the chimneys of the nearby Ruins Village and the icicles hanging beneath the eaves, lost in thought.
Over the nine centuries he had spent in this world, Wang Chu had witnessed countless people and events. Now, only Ruins Village remained at his side.
“Big brother!”
Suddenly, a tender voice called from not far away, pulling Wang Chu from his drifting reverie. He lowered his head and looked toward the source of the sound.
A little girl with twin braids, chubby cheeks flushed red, and large, clear eyes was skipping toward him.
Wang Chu smiled and walked to meet her.
In no time, he stood before the girl. She patted her chest, breathed out a warm puff, caught her breath, and spoke,
“Big brother, a group of strangers arrived in the village.”
Wang Chu was a little surprised.
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“Strangers? What are they here for?”
Ruins Village was remote, rarely visited by outsiders.
With her hands behind her back, the little girl replied,
“They seem to be looking for someone.”
“Looking for someone?” A barely perceptible shadow crossed Wang Chu’s eyes. “Who are they searching for?”
The girl pouted, “I don’t know, but they told Grandpa Village Chief that if he helps them find this person, they’ll reward him with a hundred million spirit crystals and a territory spanning ten thousand miles.”
“A hundred million spirit crystals! A territory of ten thousand miles!”
Even Wang Chu, familiar with spirit crystals, could not help but widen his eyes in shock at the figure. Spirit crystals were the highest currency on the continent; a single one could support an ordinary family for a lifetime. A hundred million—such an amount would be a significant sum even for a top-tier second or third-rank power.
And a territory of ten thousand miles, that needed no further explanation. In today’s world, only a handful of powers could boast such extravagant promises.
Why would such a power come to Ruins Village searching for someone?
Could it be...
“Xiao Yan, are you sure you heard right? A hundred million spirit crystals and a territory of ten thousand miles?”
The little girl’s eyes darted, then she affirmed, “That’s what they said. Xiao Yan would never hear wrong, big brother! Isn’t a hundred million spirit crystals a lot?”
Wang Chu smiled wryly, “Even ten of our villages wouldn’t be able to store that many spirit crystals.”
The girl was instantly stunned, her mouth forming an ‘O’ shape. “Ah, how could there be so many? That person those strangers are looking for must be really important to them.”
Wang Chu reached out and patted the girl’s head, squinting as he said,
“That’s right. If the person were you, Xiao Yan, I’d sell you without hesitation.”
Upon hearing this, the girl puffed out her cheeks like an angry pufferfish.
“Ugh! Big brother would never sell me!”
Wang Chu pinched her cheek, “Heh, that depends on how you behave. If you keep being naughty and sneak candy at night, I’ll definitely sell you for money.”
Xiao Yan rolled her eyes, “Hmph! I don’t believe you!”
Though she said this, her eyes began to glisten with tears.
Seeing this, Wang Chu stopped teasing, not wanting to see her cry. He smiled, “Of course I’m joking. My Xiao Yan is worth far more than a hundred million spirit crystals.”
At these words, the girl’s tears paused, her mouth pursed in a pout, and she said with a touch of pride,
“Hmph, I knew big brother was just teasing Xiao Yan.”
Seeing her cheerful again, Wang Chu grew serious and asked,
“Are those people still in the village?”
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Xiao Yan nodded,
“Yes! When I left, they were still talking to the village chief.”
Wang Chu stroked his chin and nodded,
“Come, let’s go have a look.”
The girl took Wang Chu’s hand,
“Alright! Big brother, let me tell you, there’s a big sister among them, and she’s really beautiful.”
...
“This wretched village surely can’t have any news of the Crown Prince. The chief already said there’s no long-lived young man here—negotiating with these villagers is just a waste of time.”
At this moment, inside a room in Ruins Village, a man clad in a brown brocade robe complained to the woman beside him. She was beautiful, her demeanor cold and elegant, dressed in a white skirt.
This man was Xu Ji, the current Superintendent of Great Rui’s Ling City. The woman at his side was his superior, the Governor of Ling City, Qiu Yeqing.
Great Rui was the most powerful dynasty on the continent. As the leaders of Ling City, their status was exceedingly rare; even the heads of eighth or ninth-rank sects would bow and curry favor upon meeting them.
It seemed absurd that such a task as searching for someone would fall to them—especially in a remote village.
Yet the person Xu Ji and Qiu Yeqing sought was extraordinary.
He was the Crown Prince of Great Rui, lost among the common folk as a baby. The Emperor had spent vast resources and time searching for him, yet the prince remained missing.
After checking the window and door to ensure no one was listening, Qiu Yeqing finally replied,
“The higher-ups said not to overlook a single inhabited place; we must check every location with the treasure orb. Don’t complain.”
Xu Ji shook his head and fell silent, tapping the wooden table impatiently with his finger.
“The current Emperor’s power is boundless, surrounded by prodigies. Surely there are easier ways to find a single person. Forget the rest—send a Nascent Soul master to sweep the lands with divine sense, and it wouldn’t take long to locate the Crown Prince... Unless, perhaps, the prince is already...”
The woman’s gaze dropped as she interrupted,
“Mind your words!”
Xu Ji wisely left the thought unfinished, though his impatience showed.
After a moment’s silence, Qiu Yeqing said,
“You think the higher-ups haven’t tried those methods? The Crown Prince bears royal blood and is shielded by great fortune, plus other reasons. Ordinary methods simply cannot find him. Only our current approach offers a slim hope of fishing him from the mortal world.”
Hearing her explanation, Xu Ji’s irritation eased a little. He took a deep breath and changed the subject,
“The village chief said he’d go inform the villagers, but why is he taking so long? Slow as ever.”
“By the way, haven’t you felt something odd?”
Qiu Yeqing frowned, focusing on a different concern.
Xu Ji dismissed her,
“What’s odd? This godforsaken village—what could possibly be strange?”
Qiu Yeqing looked thoughtful,
“I can’t say for sure, but something feels off. The villagers here seem very different from any we’ve met before.”
Xu Ji scoffed,
“Qiu, you’re overthinking. I’ve secretly checked their cultivation with my divine sense—they’re all ordinary people with no spiritual power. What could be strange about them?”
Qiu Yeqing shook her head,
“Perhaps I am overthinking.”
...