Chapter 420: The Fourth Life Sets Sail Again

Chapter 420: Chapter 170: The Fourth Life Sets Sail Again

Xu Lei’s father was old and ailing.

After becoming Emperor, he had been utterly devoted to the court’s affairs.

As a result of his tireless efforts, his body had broken down from overwork.

He had never wanted to rebel in the first place, but Xu Lei and his own numerous subordinates had forced his hand.

Once he became Emperor, he resolved to govern the realm well, believing it was the only way to be worthy of the throne.

And so, he had worked himself into the ground.

Now, with old age upon him, he could no longer hold on and passed away.

“My son, my son… My Crown Prince. I… I’m not going to make it. And you are still so young!”

Before he died, Xu Lei’s father gazed at him and offered this one lament. Then, he breathed his last.

Xu Lei’s mother was also white-haired now, but as the esteemed Empress Dowager, she was still alive.

After all, she didn’t have to concern herself with the court’s affairs, as the imperial harem was forbidden from meddling in politics.

Thus, her health was still relatively robust.

As for his father’s loyal commanders, they had all become decorated nobles over the years.

Of course, even though his father had been forced to rebel, he had thought of his descendants. After ascending the throne, he had stripped those same commanders of their military power.

He even established a system that prevented generals from holding a post in any one place for too long, ensuring they were regularly rotated.

He feared a repeat of his own past, which could lead to the Great Kang Dynasty’s downfall.

Xu Lei paid little mind to these matters. He never went out of his way to learn the details, only hearing of them in passing.

“Uncle Crown Prince, am I governing the realm to your satisfaction?”

One day, the reigning Emperor of the Great Kang Dynasty, now a middle-aged man, approached Xu Lei with deference. “It’s been many years,” he continued. “I never imagined you would still look so young. Do you have any instructions for me?”

“I have no instructions.”

Xu Lei shook his head. “You’re ruling the country well. Keep it up.”

With that, Xu Lei departed.

He spent another five years feigning Cultivation.

At last, the Magical Power he had expended to save his father was fully replenished.

On this day,

Xu Lei turned forty-six.

His mother also finally passed away.

Xu Lei received a summons from His Majesty the Emperor of Great Kang, whose hair had now turned white, and rushed back to see his mother one last time.

“My son… my son… Your mother is no Cultivator, just an ordinary mortal woman. I don’t know how I ever gave birth to someone like you.”

On her deathbed, Xu Lei’s mother spoke weakly. “As a mortal, I know I may not be qualified to comment on your life. But I want to know… how long will you continue your solitary Cultivation? What Realm must you reach before you can finally marry and have children?”

She had likely wanted to ask these questions for a long time but had never dared, only voicing them on the verge of death.

However, before Xu Lei could answer, his mother passed away.

Xu Lei couldn’t help the tears that welled in his eyes.

It was the love of a mother for her child.

Of course, in this life, Xu Lei had no intention of taking a wife, building a harem, or having children.

The children he’d had in his previous life with Qing Lian and his other wives had already propagated his bloodline, creating a flourishing clan in this era.

So, it was fine if he didn’t have any of his own this time around.

Besides, Xu Lei had to maintain the facade of a genius Cultivator singularly focused on the path of Cultivation.

This was all to create a plausible reason for Crossing the Tribulation and Ascending at an early age, so that beings like Bodhisattva Guan Yun in the heavens wouldn’t find him too abnormal.

To play this role convincingly, Xu Lei had decided to remain celibate.

Now, after forty-six years of this performance, with his mother’s passing, Xu Lei decided it was time for the finale.

And so, after his mother’s funeral was concluded,

Xu Lei proceeded to a mountaintop near the Capital City to undergo his Crossing the Tribulation and Ascending.

That day, countless mortals and many of the Capital City’s elite witnessed the event.

From the mountain beside the Capital City, waves of multicolored light pulsed, and a radiant glow rippled outwards.

The legendary genius, the Crown Prince, reverted to the appearance of a young man and, accompanied by the brilliant light, ascended into the heavens.

This, of course, was all part of Xu Lei’s plan.

In his current state, he had no fear of other Cultivators causing trouble, nor was he concerned about entanglements with mortal karma.

He intentionally made the event as spectacular as possible to truly cement his persona as the genius Crown Prince.

As for why he had reverted to the appearance of a fourteen-year-old boy—it was, of course, because he had successfully completed his Crossing the Tribulation.

This time, Xu Lei’s Crossing the Tribulation was hardly an ordeal.

As he was bathed in the celestial light, he simply inherited the entirety of his Cultivation from his past life.

He then easily endured the Nirvana Fire.

In fact, the Cultivation within his body was even stronger now than it had been right after he completed the tribulation in his past life.

He wasn’t weak and depleted like before.

Of course, he hadn’t yet mastered the Bodhisattva Realm. If the Bodhisattva Realm was indeed divided into Small Realms, Xu Lei guessed he was still only in the first or second one.

Still, Xu Lei was quite pleased with his current condition.

He had successfully crossed the tribulation again, and he was even a bit stronger than last time—though not by a huge margin.

But at least he had ascended once more with a new face, a new identity, and a new name.

At that moment, Xu Lei found himself being drawn once again to the plaza of the Celestial Palace.

To Xu Lei’s surprise, neither Bodhisattva Guan Yun, Bai Ling, nor any of the others were there.

Instead, the same Fat Buddha from before came out to greet him. Of course, this time the Fat Buddha didn’t recognize him as the man he had killed twice decades ago.

“Hahaha! The genius Crown Prince! I’ve heard all about you.”

The Fat Buddha slung an arm around Xu Lei’s shoulders. “The Venerable speaks very highly of you. I knew you would ascend, but I never imagined it would be this fast! To reach the Bodhisattva Realm in a mere forty-odd years! Excellent, excellent. Come with me!”

With that, he turned and started walking deeper into the Celestial Palace.

Xu Lei showed not a hint of animosity toward the Fat Buddha. Instead, he feigned shock and awe, looking all around like a country bumpkin in the big city.

And so, he followed behind the Fat Buddha, heading deeper and deeper into the Celestial Palace.