1: Chapter 1: Signing in for Twenty Years, Cultivation Rises to Quasi-Emperor

Guangnan City.

Yicui Pavilion.

In a private room on the third floor, the bead curtains were half-rolled, and sandalwood incense curled in the air.

Shen Qingyuan leaned back on a soft couch, one hand supporting his chin and the other holding a glazed cup. The amber liquid inside reflected the moonlight from the window, shimmering with a gentle luster.

Two young women sat kneeling on either side of him; one massaged his legs while the other kneaded his shoulders. Their movements were gentle, yet their strength was just right.

In the center of the room, several songstresses danced gracefully to the sound of a zither. Their flowing sleeves fluttered, their waists swayed elegantly, and their eyes held a hint of lingering charm.

"Young Master, this servant offers you a toast."

The woman beside him picked up the wine pot and refilled his cup, her voice as soft and sweet as melted honey.

Shen Qingyuan gave a hum of acknowledgment and took the cup, but he was in no hurry to drink. He simply watched the performance lazily, his features filled with a sense of satisfied ease.

Just then—

"Ding!"

A crisp notification sound rang out in his mind.

"Today's sign-in successful! Obtained five thousand years of cultivation!"

"Detected that the host's cultivation has reached the limit of this world—the Quasi-Emperor Realm. Subsequent cultivation from signing in will be temporarily stored in the System space."

Shen Qingyuan's hand holding the wine cup paused slightly, a faint light flickering in the depths of his eyes.

Twenty years.

From his Transmigration until now, it had been exactly twenty years.

Twenty years ago, he was a 996 corporate slave who died from overwork, only to open his eyes and find himself transmigrated as a newborn baby.

No, to be precise, he was a baby who had just been brought back to the Shen Family.

That day, the Shen Family was very lively. Shen Nantian, the Shen Family's strongest Genius, had returned after many years away, carrying a child in swaddling clothes. Many Young Misses from prominent families cried until their bedding was soaked upon hearing the news.

Shen Qingyuan, wrapped in swaddles, kept his eyes open as he looked at this strange, ancient world. His mind was blank—where was the standard Transmigration package? Where was the Golden Finger? Where was the System?

Then, he cried.

Not because of sadness... but because he was simply too hungry.

In the days that followed, Shen Qingyuan lived a standard "baby life"—eating and sleeping, occasionally being carried by pretty maidservants to sunbathe.

Until one day, three months later, while he was daydreaming in his cradle, a "ding" suddenly sounded in his head.

"Sign-in System activated!"

"Detected that the host is in the main courtyard of the Shen Family. Sign in?"

Shen Qingyuan almost jumped out of his cradle at that moment.

The Golden Finger! It finally came!

He screamed wildly in his heart: "Sign in! Sign in!"

"Congratulations to the host for completing the first sign-in. Obtained—Primordial Dao Body!"

A warm current instantly flooded into his limbs and bones. Shen Qingyuan felt as if his whole body was soaking in a hot spring, so comfortable he almost groaned.

When he came to his senses, he found that his perception had become incredibly clear; he could even see the veins of the leaves outside the window with perfect clarity.

Even more absurdly, the System thoughtfully popped up a line of text:

"Detected that the host's current age is too young. The increase in cultivation will be automatically concealed and will not trigger any anomalies."

Shen Qingyuan was delighted.

This System is great!

From then on, Shen Qingyuan began his "sign-in life."

The first thing he did every day upon waking up was sign in.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for a successful sign-in. Obtained three thousand years of cultivation!"

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for a successful sign-in. Obtained Nine Revolutions Golden Core x10!"

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for a successful sign-in. Obtained Emperor-level Cultivation Technique: 'Grandmist Primordial Scripture'!"

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for a successful sign-in. Obtained extreme dao emperor weapon—heaven-slaying sword!"

One year, two years, three years...

Shen Qingyuan's cultivation soared as if it were on a rocket.

Body Refining Realm—Qi Condensation Realm—Meridian Opening Realm—Soul Fire Realm—Huahong Realm—Dharma Image Realm—Void Piercing Realm—Primal Chaos Realm—Asking Dao Realm—Saint—

Every time he broke through a major Realm, the System would automatically conceal the secrets of heaven.

Those anomalies that should have been world-shaking were all quietly suppressed.

Everyone in the Shen Family only knew that this child from the ninth branch of the Shen Family had been very well-behaved since childhood; he didn't cry or fuss, and spent all day sleeping.

Occasionally, when clan Elders passed by the courtyard and saw the little baby sleeping soundly in the cradle, they would stroke their beards and remark, "This child is clearly a person of great fortune; he even sleeps so peacefully."

---

"Young Master, please say something."

The woman on the other side pouted and gently shook his arm. "Is the dance not good? Why haven't you said a single word of praise?"

Shen Qingyuan finally withdrew his gaze, the corners of his mouth curling slightly as he said calmly, "The dance is not bad."

The two women looked at each other and couldn't help but cover their mouths and giggle.

Shen Qingyuan was a regular at Yicui Pavilion and was usually generous with his money. The girls in the pavilion all loved serving him, if for nothing else than because he was easy on the eyes.

At twenty years of age, he was handsome and elegant, the premier handsome Young Master in Guangnan City.

Unfortunately, none of them had the chance to spend a night of passion with Young Master Shen, which was quite a regret...

"Ninth Elder—"

A helpless voice came from the side.

Shen Qingyuan didn't even lift his eyelids.

The speaker was a youth in brocade robes, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with sharp brows and bright eyes. At this moment, however, he had a bitter expression, as if he had a belly full of words but didn't know how to say them.

The youth in brocade was Shen Quan, the son of the Shen Family's Clan Chief, Patriarch Shen Tianze.

According to seniority, Shen Qingyuan was Shen Quan's ninth uncle.

"Ninth Elder... Ninth Uncle!"

Shen Quan leaned closer. "You have to give me an answer!"

"My father sent me to invite you back to the manor. Tomorrow is the competition between the Five Great Families; you have to at least show your face, right?"

"If you don't go, my father will break my legs!"

Shen Qingyuan picked up his wine cup and took a sip, his tone lazy. "The Shen Family has so many Elders; can't they find two people to take charge of this sort of thing?"

Looking at him like this, Shen Quan felt his head throbbing.

To be honest, he really couldn't understand this Ninth Uncle of his.

Within the Shen Family, this Ninth Uncle was an extremely special existence.

His grand-uncle, who was Shen Qingyuan's father—Shen Nantian.

Shen Nantian was once the number one Genius of the Shen Family. In just a dozen years, he had cultivated all the way from the Body Refining Realm to the Dharma Image Realm, suppressing many Seniors and becoming famous throughout the Southern Region.

It was also under Shen Nantian's leadership that the Shen Family leaped to become a top power in the Southern Region and the overlord of Guangnan City.

Later, Shen Nantian went out for experience and once lost contact with the Shen Family.

Until over twenty years ago, Shen Nantian suddenly returned to the Shen Family holding the infant Shen Qingyuan.

Only then did the Shen Family know that Shen Tiannan had an heir.

But Shen Tiannan didn't stay in the Shen Family for long. Before Shen Qingyuan was six, Shen Tiannan often went out, and in the year Shen Qingyuan turned six, he left and never returned, with no news of him since.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingyuan's talent was mediocre. After cultivating for over a dozen years, he was only at the Meridian Opening Realm, with a significant gap between him and the other direct descendants of the Shen Family.

Yet, the clan Elders were all very caring toward Shen Qingyuan.

When Shen Qingyuan was eighteen, during the year-end ancestral sacrifice, it was announced in front of the entire Shen Family clan that Shen Qingyuan would take over the position of Ninth Elder.

Thus, Shen Qingyuan became the youngest Elder of the Shen Family.

Whenever he thought of this, Shen Quan felt that his father and the Elders were all getting senile!

Their Shen Family was the overlord of Guangnan City, after all; the clan Elders all had the strength of the Dharma Image Realm.

But look at the aura Shen Qingyuan was emitting—sixth level of the Meridian Opening Realm!!

His cultivation wasn't even as high as a junior like him; how was he fit to be a Family Elder!

Not to mention, Shen Qingyuan spent all day holed up in Yicui Pavilion and couldn't even be bothered to attend clan meetings, acting entirely like a profligate son.

Why did the clan still provide for such a person?

Shen Quan really couldn't figure it out.

But Shen Qingyuan was his Ninth Uncle after all, so every time he saw him, he had to be polite.

"Ninth Uncle, several Elders in the clan have gone into secluded cultivation. Now only the Third Elder and Sixth Elder are free." Shen Quan said with a bitter face, "My father's meaning is to ask Ninth Uncle to come along to bolster the presence, so the people from the other Five Great Families don't look down on us."

As he said this, he was grumbling in his heart.

Although the other Five Great Families of Guangnan City were slightly inferior in strength to their Shen Family, they still had several Dharma Image Realm experts.

With his Ninth Uncle's Meridian Opening Realm strength, how could he bolster their presence? It would be lucky if he didn't embarrass the Shen Family.

Shen Qingyuan raised an eyebrow slightly, looked at Shen Quan, and smiled. "Will your father really break your legs?"},{