[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality":3,"chapter-a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-chapter-18":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Mortal's Journey to Immortality",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2334944,4565,"Chapter 18","a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-chapter-18",18,"\u003Cp>“Is this Senior Li so famous? What’s his background?” Han Li asked, surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t even know Senior Li?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve been in seclusion for several years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s right, right—I forgot about that! My memory’s really bad. I always assumed no disciple in the Seven Mysteries Sect could be unaware of Senior Li, so I forgot you were in seclusion.” Xiao Suanpan suddenly realized and hurriedly apologized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me about Senior Li, please.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Han, of course—I and all the younger disciples know every detail of Senior Li’s exploits.” Seeing that Zhang Shopkeeper’s side hadn’t yet sent out Senior Li’s opponent, Xiao Suanpan began recounting the legendary tales of this famous figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Han, I’m not bragging, but Senior Li’s deeds aren’t just known to us younger disciples—even the older ones know plenty. Back then…” He perked up, launching into the story with such vigor and spit flying that he seemed like the hero himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to Xiao Suanpan’s detailed account, Senior Li’s exploits truly had a touch of legend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior Li had climbed the mountain four years ago—not with Han Li’s cohort. He hadn’t passed the initial test and became a provisional disciple. But during the half-year assessment, he ranked first in every category and was the only one among all disciples to survive thirty rounds in the final sparring match. This shattered all previous records for provisional disciples and drew the attention of several senior figures. After examination, the results were shocking: Senior Li’s innate talent was average, his growth potential limited. The diagnosis was disappointing, and no senior figure took him as a disciple. After two years of basic training, he still became a disciple under an ordinary guardian, learning only a few common martial arts—Wind and Thunder Saber, one of the Seven Mysteries Sect’s ordinary mid-level techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it had ended there, Senior Li would have been merely a flash in the pan. But soon after, he used this unremarkable Wind and Thunder Saber to shine brilliantly in next year’s junior disciples’ competition, rising into the top sixteen—the only newcomer to rank so high. This made him the sect’s focus once again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In every subsequent contest, Senior Li fought with fearless ferocity, always securing a high rank and bringing great honor to the new disciples. Last year’s grand competition saw him clinch third place. Remember, the top two were disciples who had entered over a decade ago—though still juniors, they were twenty-seven or twenty-eight, their internal energy far more refined than his. Many disciples believed that if Senior Li had their level of internal cultivation, first place would have been his for the taking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Senior Li attracted renewed attention from above and was specifically assigned to participate in major external missions. While other new disciples still trained hard within the sect, he had already earned numerous merits for the Seven Mysteries Sect and gained the notorious reputation of “Li the Tiger.” Rumor had it he was about to be granted a rare exception to enter the Seven Perils Hall and train in deeper arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Han Li couldn’t help but be moved. If all this were true, Senior Li was truly extraordinary. To rise so high from the status of a provisional disciple—Han Li himself felt a pang of admiration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After half a day of hesitation, Zhang Shopkeeper’s side finally sent out a disciple, gritting his teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This disciple clearly had decent martial skill—he drew a gleaming, flexible sword from his waist. The blade was no thicker than a thumb, limp and pliant—clearly not something an ordinary person could wield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior Li sensed someone approaching and slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and radiant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly roared—a thunderclap splitting the clear sky—making everyone in the arena’s ears ring. The opponent shuddered, his face twisting with fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the roar echoed, his long saber swung—flashes of blade-light danced, a sequence of linked strikes instantly transforming into over a dozen shadowy blades, surrounding his opponent in a net of steel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man was quick-witted; though flustered, his flexible sword darted unpredictably, venomous and cunning, his defense still impenetrable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who’s that?” Han Li couldn’t help asking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhao Ziling, disciple of the Fifth Elder. His Willow-Whisper Sword Art is notoriously difficult to deal with.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How does he compare to Senior Li?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No match at all,” Xiao Suanpan said proudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then why doesn’t Zhang Shopkeeper send out someone stronger?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah! Zhao Ziling is their strongest. Besides, among all us new disciples, who could possibly beat Senior Li? Sending anyone else would be pointless.” He grinned with malicious delight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, Zhao Ziling’s swordplay hadn’t collapsed yet, but his momentum was gone—crushed under Senior Li’s long saber. Any expert could see his defeat was merely a matter of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Li watched for a while, and a doubt formed in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I find something strange—why aren’t there any older disciples here? Even if they’re forbidden to compete, surely someone would come to watch? Yet inside and outside this arena, not a single senior disciple is present—only us teenagers are watching. Why is that?” Han Li asked bluntly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Suanpan’s expression changed at Han Li’s question. He stared at him with a strange look, leaving Han Li bewildered—had he asked something taboo?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Web\u003C\u002Fp>",872,"2026-06-20T21:12:45.940Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f6d0792389fd0f0d48fee240f7540d45abc583e7692d7f2d3d52fc66b0d0fd06","a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-chapter-19","a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-chapter-17",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-cover.jpg"]