Evergreen Immortal-Chapter 1: Li Rui

Qinghe County, Anning, Yunzhou, Yu.

Winter arrives, and with it, a night of snow.

Chou Hour (1–3 AM).

With a creak, the door of a small room in the southeast corner of the Zhu Residence was pushed open.

Li Rui tucked his hands into the sleeves of his cotton-padded jacket. His boots crunched on the snow as he shivered and made his way to the stable.

Every night, he came to check whether the two young stable hands were slacking off. Of course, at his age—where a full bladder often woke him up at night—he had long since lost the habit of sleeping in.

Seeing the feed trough filled to the brim with dry hay, Li Rui finally felt satisfied and headed back to his room.

"A horse won't grow strong without a midnight feed."

The Zhu family’s horses were more valuable than people.

If the old master of the Zhu family noticed the horses getting thin, even an old stableman like Li Rui, who had worked for fifty years, wouldn’t escape a scolding.

Back in his warm room.

Li Rui no longer felt sleepy. He reached beside his pillow, took out a tobacco pipe, tapped the brass pot against his shoe heel, stuffed in some tobacco, and took a few puffs. Smoke quickly filled the room.

Leaning back comfortably, he stared at his own dry, wrinkled, calloused hands.

"How have I lived this long?"

When spring arrived next year, he would be seventy. In this era, reaching seventy was an incredible rarity. The county magistrate might even come to see him, and the Zhu family might grant him freedom from his indentured status.

But it didn’t really matter to him anymore.

Looking back on his life, he had no hobbies, no achievements, and had accomplished nothing.

Well, perhaps smoking tobacco counted for one.

"What a wretched fate… I’m actually a modern man."

That’s right. Li Rui was a transmigrator.

But he was probably the most unfortunate transmigrator ever with no system, no golden finger. He had been stuck in this world for fifty years.

His body's family had suffered misfortune, forcing them to sell him into servitude at the Zhu family. Unable to withstand hardship, the original Li Rui had frozen to death one winter, and that was when Li Rui took over the body.

Relying on literacy and quick thinking, he had managed to secure the position of a stableman.

As a skilled profession, being a stableman offered much better treatment than ordinary servants, at least he never had to worry about food or clothing.

Using knowledge from his past life to change his fate?

He was of a lowly caste, if he did anything too extraordinary, the Zhu family would see him as a monster and have him beaten to death.

As he grew older, his status within the Zhu household gradually rose. People even called him Old Li. He took on two apprentices, allowing him to avoid personally feeding the horses.

His days were decent enough.

Marriage and children? He never considered it. His contract was a red deed, unless granted freedom by the master, he couldn’t escape servitude, not even if he paid a ransom.

According to the laws of Yu Kingdom, lowly castes remained so for generations, meaning any children he had would be born slaves.

Why bring children into such suffering?

In his younger years, he had a few lovers, but even the youngest among them passed away a few years ago, he was the one who buried her.

Passing down his knowledge of horse care to his apprentices was his way of ensuring that when he died, they would at least provide him with a thin wooden coffin for burial. That would be a good end to his life.

All fates are sealed, not a thread left to mortal hands.

Just then!

A series of small glowing words appeared before his eyes.

[Detected Host. Congratulations, you have unlocked the Perfect Life!]

"A golden finger?"

"Why is it only appearing now?!"

Li Rui's heart, which had long been as calm as an ancient well, was once again stirred into waves. But what the hell was this so-called "Perfect Life"?

He was nearly seventy, practically at death’s door—what perfect life could he possibly have?

Before he could think further, more glowing words appeared.

[At birth, you triggered a celestial phenomenon. You possess the legendary Martial Bone, a talent unseen in ten thousand years. From the moment you were born, your fate was sealed, you are destined to be the strongest in the world!]

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Li Rui’s expression became… peculiar.

This was a perfect life. But…

It had nothing to do with him.

Not to mention being born with an innate martial physique, he had even trained for a few days with the martial instructors of the Zhu household in his early years.

"The strongest in the world?"

He hadn’t even touched the threshold of martial arts.

Martial cultivation had insanely high requirements for one’s physique. For ordinary people, even stepping onto the path was near impossible.

Besides, he was already seventy!

Being born with martial bones? What kind of sick joke was this?!

But then, a glowing panel appeared before his eyes.

[Talent Acquired: Martial Bone!]

[Name: Li Rui]

[Age: 0]

[Talent: Martial Bone (Extremely rare, born to be unrivaled)]

[Achievements: 0/100]

The moment the panel appeared, Li Rui suddenly felt it—something new had emerged within his spinal column.

His previously cold limbs became warm, and his vitality surged to levels he had never experienced before.

"This is real?!"

Li Rui's eyes widened in disbelief.

But this gift had come way too late.

Considering the average lifespan in ancient times, he had already lived decades past his expected years. Even in the best case, he might have ten years left. What could he possibly do with this talent now?

"Men have finite lifespans, but immortals do not."

"If something like the Martial Bone exists, then perhaps… immortals exist too. At seventy, I may be old for a commoner, but in the world of cultivators, this could still be my prime!"

Li Rui forcibly calmed his excitement.

"In Anning Prefecture, there are martial artists practicing longevity techniques, some living up to 120 years. Martial arts isn’t just about combat, some techniques also prolong life."

"The great Daoist sects of Yu Nation are said to have white-haired immortals. Their strength cannot be measured by age."

More importantly, he had one major advantage over other Martial Bone prodigies.

He was steady.

If he had been born with a celestial phenomenon, his talent would have attracted envy and danger. Without powerful parents, his Martial Bone would have been a curse rather than a blessing.

A certain senior surnamed Huang had suffered this exact fate.

Some gifts are not necessarily good to obtain too early.

Seventy years old is just right!

And judging by the system, Martial Bone wasn’t the only reward.

His gaze shifted to the Achievements section. Instantly, countless phrases appeared before his eyes:

Achieve scholarly honors, Fame across Jianghu, Dominating the battlefield…

By completing these achievements, he could earn achievement points, which could then unlock new rewards.

When he saw [Ascend to immortality and become an ancestor], it strengthened his belief even more.

Li Rui steadied his emotions.

Those achievements were far off. For now, his priority was training.

"I recall Zhu family’s guard captain, Yang, bragging while drunk about a longevity technique, Eight Pieces of Brocade. He claimed it could let a person live to a hundred years old. I’ll ask him for it tomorrow."

With Martial Bone, how could he possibly fail to master such a minor technique?

Early morning.

Wrapped in a cotton robe, Li Rui headed toward the Zhu family’s martial training grounds.

The Zhu family was a powerful household in Qinghe, employing over ten guards. No mere bandits dared provoke them, and their estate had been peaceful for decades.

Li Rui could navigate the Zhu estate with his eyes closed. He soon arrived at an open training ground behind the mansion.

A burly middle-aged guard spotted Li Rui and grinned.

"Old Li, what are you doing in the martial arts field? Thinking of stretching those old bones?"

Several other guards heard this and also agreed with a burst of laughter.

Li Rui had long been accustomed to this kind of scene and ignored the crowd.

He approached the eldest guard in the group, Yang Yong.

"Old Yang, about that Eight Pieces of Brocade… You still willing to teach it?"

The elderly guard named Yang Yong was stunned for a moment, "Old Li… You seriously want to learn martial arts?"