The Reversal System: Only for the Elite at the Mahayana Stage

The Jiang family's main hall and corridors were empty, with only the occasional servant sweeping the floor. The once bustling training grounds were also deserted, though the wear and tear on the grounds indicated frequent use.

Jiang Li wandered through the Jiang family estate like a ghost.

He followed his memories through many places, but after five hundred years, the Jiang family had changed significantly from what he remembered.

The place that most resembled his memories was the small house he had lived in when he first arrived, bearing an eighty percent similarity.

He guessed that perhaps someone had moved in after he left, and once he became the People's Emperor, the Jiang family had hurriedly cleaned up the small house, trying to restore it to its original state.

Jiang Li shook his head regretfully and headed toward the ancestral hall.

During the Jiang family's ancestral worship, the oldest elder would kneel in the ancestral hall, praying for the ancestors' blessings, while everyone else stayed in their rooms, practicing inedia for nine days, not uttering a word to show their piety.

In the ancestral hall, an elderly man, so old that the wrinkles on his face nearly covered his eyes, knelt in prayer.

Jiang Li approached him and used a bit of magic to see what the elder looked like in his youth. The elder bore a three to four-point resemblance to Jiang Yixing, indicating he was either Jiang Yixing's son, grandson, or an even younger descendant.

Jiang Yixing's memorial tablet was prominently displayed at the bottom of a group of tablets.

Jiang Li sighed softly and turned to leave the Jiang family estate.

Jiang Yixing had ultimately died.

Although it was expected, Jiang Li still felt a bit despondent.

As Jiang Li strolled out of the Jiang family estate, his thoughts were interrupted by a shrill voice.

"Sir, it's been ten days! Why haven't you sent anyone to find our child?"

"We demand to see the city lord!"

Across from the Jiang family estate was the city lord's mansion, where several couples were desperately pleading with the guards to see the city lord, but the guards remained unmoved, as if they hadn't heard the pleas.

"Without the city lord's permission, no one is allowed to see him. Please leave immediately."

Another guard, unable to bear the sight, patiently explained, "Folks, the city lord's mansion is always short-staffed. You only mentioned that your child was kidnapped, and you followed the trail to Qingcheng before losing it. With so many people coming and going in Qingcheng every day, the kidnapper could have just been passing through. Even if we wanted to search, we wouldn't know where to start."

"Children have gone missing in several nearby cities, and all the trails end in Qingcheng. Our child must be here!" another person said angrily.

He had tied a protective charm with a tracking spell to his child's wrist. After the child went missing, he followed the spell's trail to Qingcheng, where it vanished. He had met other parents in similar situations, some even losing their children directly in Qingcheng.

He couldn't believe Qingcheng wasn't involved!

"My child was lost in Qingcheng. How could the kidnapper just be passing through?"

Another guard, expressionless, said, "Please understand our manpower shortage. If you can prove the kidnapper is in Qingcheng, we'll definitely send people to search. How about that?"

"What kind of nonsense is this!"

"We demand to see the city lord!"

"Our children went missing here, and the officials do nothing. Is this how the People's Emperor's homeland operates?"

"My child was lost in Qingcheng, and you still want proof? How absurd!"

The voices of the guards and the parents grew louder, eventually escalating into a quarrel, attracting the attention of several Jiang family protectors.

"How dare you cause such a ruckus on the day of the Jiang family's ancestral worship!" one protector shouted sternly as he stepped out of the Jiang family estate.

"You, as guards of the city lord's mansion, allow a group of troublemakers to gather here. Aren't you afraid of the city lord's wrath?"

The guards, hearing this, hurriedly tried to drive the people away. Jiang Li, unable to watch any longer, dispelled his invisibility spell and sneered from the side.

"The Jiang family sure is imposing. You even manage the area in front of the city lord's mansion. If you like meddling so much, why not take care of the cleanliness here too?"

The protector was furious. "How dare you speak ill of the Jiang family! You have some nerve!"

The parents who had lost their children and the city lord's guards were also shocked. The current People's Emperor hailed from the Jiang family. Not just in Qingcheng, but throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty, no one dared to speak to the Jiang family like this. Was this person a fool?

Suddenly, a middle-aged man rushed over, quickly pulling Jiang Li aside. He smiled apologetically at the Jiang family protector while secretly transmitting a message to Jiang Li.

"Kid, are you tired of living? Just starting out in the world and already offending the Jiang family? Get out of here quickly. This matter involves the People's Emperor. Don't get involved!"

The middle-aged man hurriedly dragged Jiang Li away.

Before anyone could react, the two had disappeared.

"Where did they go?"

"Which family are you from? Didn't anyone tell you not to provoke the noble families before you left home?"

The middle-aged man dragged Jiang Li to a secluded corner and scolded him.

Seeing Jiang Li's youthful face and reckless behavior, and noting the high-quality material of his clothes, he assumed Jiang Li was a child from a prominent family out for some experience.

"In any other dynasty, I wouldn't dare provoke unreasonable noble families. But this is the Great Zhou, where the law rules. Even noble families can't ignore the law."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man was even more convinced of his assumption. This kid must be from a major sect or a prominent family; otherwise, he wouldn't have such a broad perspective, comparing the Great Zhou with other dynasties.

One must know that the Great Zhou Dynasty was vast. An Elemental Infant stage cultivator might not leave the Great Zhou in their lifetime, let alone compare it with other dynasties.

"The law rules? You can say that anywhere in the Great Zhou, except for the Jiang family." The middle-aged man paused and continued, "The Jiang family is backed by the People's Emperor. Who in the Great Zhou dares to punish them? They say the People's Emperor is impartial, but who can guarantee he has no bias toward his own family?"@@novelbin@@

Jiang Li frowned slightly at this. "As far as I know, the People's Emperor has left the Jiang family for five hundred years and hasn't returned once. Doesn't that prove he's distanced himself from the Jiang family?"

The middle-aged man sneered. "That's just propaganda to build his impartial image. Blood is thicker than water. Who's to say he hasn't secretly returned to the Jiang family?"

"When you're out in the world, don't believe everything you hear. The world isn't as bright as you think."

The middle-aged man acted as if he had seen through the world's darkness.

Jiang Li thought to himself, When did I ever return here? How come I don't know about it?

"Do you have any evidence for what you're saying?" Jiang Li's tone hinted at questioning, but the middle-aged man, basking in his own pride, didn't notice the hostility in Jiang Li's voice.

"Of course I do," the middle-aged man said confidently. "I once eavesdropped on a conversation between the Jiang family head and the Qingcheng city lord. The Jiang family head hinted that the People's Emperor often secretly returns to visit his descendants."