in2ebook Chapter 17 Cultivation Breakthrough, System Settlement
Chapter 17 Cultivation Breakthrough, System Settlement
Therefore, Lin Hanzhou began to spend more time, as an ordinary person, walking through the prosperous world he had created.
He had seen the fields and heard the hearty laughter of farmers celebrating a bountiful harvest.
He had witnessed the lively scene of vendors in the market arguing heatedly over a few coins, their faces flushed.
He had heard the children in the school recite in unison, "At the beginning of life, man is inherently good."
He had also heard storytellers in teahouses recount the legendary tales of this "enlightened sage emperor."
.........
This is the human world.
It is filled with the seven emotions and six desires, filled with birth, aging, sickness and death, and filled with the mundane realities of daily life.
This is a completely different world from the numbers and words he has seen in memorials to the throne over the past eighty years.
Experiencing the myriad aspects of life, his state of mind began to transform without him even realizing it.
A month later, Lin Yuan's state funeral concluded, and everything settled down.
Lin Hanzhou summoned his personally groomed Crown Prince Lin Qi and entrusted the entire Sui Dynasty to him.
Now that he is over forty, he is calm, capable, and competent enough to be a qualified monarch.
Later, on a clear morning, Lin Hanzhou summoned all civil and military officials and publicly announced his intention to abdicate and pass the throne to the Crown Prince.
He knew that his mission as "Emperor" in this world was complete.
It's time to let go.
The news caused an uproar throughout the country.
Countless commoners and officials spontaneously knelt outside the palace gates, weeping as they pleaded with the "Enlightened Emperor" who had brought eighty years of prosperity to the Sui Dynasty to stay.
But no one can shake Lin Hanzhou's will.
A grand and solemn abdication ceremony was held as scheduled.
Lin Hanzhou personally handed the Imperial Seal, which symbolized the highest power of the empire, to the Crown Prince.
He himself retreated to the background and became the "Retired Emperor" of the Sui Dynasty.
From that day on, he completely disappeared from the world's sight.
He secluded himself in the most spiritually rich area of the palace, devoting all his time and energy to cultivation.
After a month of such cultivation, his cultivation level remained stuck at the peak of the first rank, unable to advance any further.
Lin Hanzhou had clearly anticipated this outcome.
He knew that if he wanted to break through to the second tier, he would need a large number of rare and precious materials, preferably second tier ones.
However, even with the utmost national resources, he failed to find any second-tier natural treasures during his reign.
After all, spiritual energy is extremely scarce in this world, and even first-tier natural treasures are extremely rare, let alone second-tier ones.
Realizing that he could only break through by relying on rare and precious materials, Lin Hanzhou changed his strategy accordingly.
He chose to leave the palace and go deep into the mountains to search for traces of rare and precious materials.
For ease of movement, he lived deep in the mountains.
Although he is nearly 100 years old, he has taken good care of himself over the years, and his strength has hardly declined.
This is why he could roam freely in the deep mountains, and even tigers had to take a backseat.
Another ten years passed, and Lin Hanzhou grew increasingly old, yet he still hadn't found any trace of the second-tier natural treasure.
Even among first-tier rare and precious materials, he only managed to find five.
These five plants were clearly not enough for his breakthrough, so Lin Hanzhou did not choose to pick them, but waited for them to advance.
In this way, he added a new task to his daily routine: to check on the five medicinal herbs every day.
Finally, perseverance pays off. In the thirteenth year of Lin Hanzhou's seclusion in the deep mountains, he found a second-tier spiritual herb.
After confirming its effects, Lin Hanzhou swallowed it directly and then used the medicine's power to break through his limits.
Without any bottlenecks, his cultivation level reached the first level of the second-tier Qi Gathering Realm almost instantly.
Feeling the surging spiritual energy within his body, Lin Hanzhou felt more comfortable than he had in a hundred years.
This bottleneck that had held him back for decades was finally broken through at this moment.
The benefits of the breakthrough were also visible to the naked eye; his aged face became rosy, and he looked much more energetic.
After that, Lin Hanzhou stopped searching for rare herbs and instead spent more time enjoying life.
Anyway, he couldn't cultivate anymore after reaching the second level, and spiritual herbs were extremely rare, so he might as well just give up.
If he gets really bored, he can hunt tigers to relieve his boredom.
Forty years passed in this way, and Lin Hanzhou reached the age of one hundred and fifty-one.
He knew clearly that his time was coming to an end; an ordinary second-tier martial artist would only be a little over a hundred years old.
With little time left, he returned to the palace, hoping to see Lin Qi one last time.
However, he discovered that the former crown prince, Lin Qi, had already passed away, and now Lin Qi's son, Lin Mu, had succeeded to the throne.
Upon hearing this news, he couldn't help but marvel once again at the power of time.
He was filled with mixed emotions as he recalled the past.
At this moment, Lin Mu heard that the Emperor Emeritus had returned and rushed over.
He bowed respectfully to Lin Hanzhou, his eyes filled with awe.
Looking at the young emperor before him, Lin Hanzhou seemed to see himself in his younger days.
After confirming that Lin Mu's abilities were up to par, he politely declined the other party's offer to stay and began to use this last bit of time to properly observe the world.
As he walked through the bustling streets of the capital, looking at the throngs of people, he couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity mixed with strangeness.
This scene is exactly the same as that of the capital a hundred years ago; it seems to have changed, yet it hasn't.
In the end, Lin Hanzhou passed away peacefully in the depths of the palace at sunset.
On his deathbed, he vaguely remembered that when he first transmigrated, it was also a sunset like this.
The sunset is infinitely good, just near dusk.
Thinking of this classic line of poetry from his past life, Lin Hanzhou's consciousness plunged into darkness.
Just then, a long-lost system notification sounded in his mind.
[Ding! The host has survived for 140 years in the world of the "Great Sui Dynasty". The dream journey has ended.]
[Final settlement in progress...]
[Host's identity: Eleventh Prince of the Sui Dynasty, the Enlightened Emperor.]
[Core Achievement 1: Defying Fate to Ascend the Throne. Changing one's fate from cannon fodder to successfully ascend to the throne. Rating: Excellent.]
[Core Achievement Two: Eradicate the Aristocratic Families. With swift and decisive action, the five major aristocratic families were destroyed, eradicating a thousand-year-old scourge upon the empire. Rating: Excellent.]
[Core Achievement Three: Ushering in a Golden Age. Implementing new policies, reforming the nation, and creating the "Enlightened Golden Age," bringing national strength and people's livelihood to their peak. Rating: Excellent.]
[Core Achievement Four: Martial Arts Innovation. Promoted a completely new martial arts system, raising the overall level of martial arts worldwide. Rating: Excellent.]
[Final Fate Alter Assessment: The Sui Dynasty was originally scheduled for a reign of three hundred years, but due to the host's intervention, its reign was significantly extended to eight hundred and thirteen years, causing a major shift in the trajectory of world destiny!]
Overall Rating: S+ (Perfect)
[Rewards are being distributed based on overall evaluation...]
[Congratulations, host, on completing the beginner trial! You have received: Dream World Cultivation Feedback! 1000 points! System Shop unlocked! Dream Talent Function unlocked!]