After reaching the peak of the ninth level of the Innate Realm for ten years, Han Li felt fully prepared to break through to the Pihai Realm in order to become an Inner Sect Disciple and access better cultivation resources. In the end, he naturally failed.
Not only did he fail, but he also sustained serious injuries, and even his foundation was damaged, leaving him with no hope of breaking through to the Pihai Realm ever again.
Han Li did not give up and continued to cultivate diligently, hoping for a miracle.
After twenty more years of cultivation, he was still stuck at the peak of the ninth level of the Innate Realm and saw no hope of making a breakthrough. Han Li finally despaired.
He gave up on cultivating within the Sect and descended the mountain to return to Lingjun City, but by then his parents had long passed away.
With a sigh of sorrow, Han Li decided to get married and have children to continue the Han family line, which was what his parents had most hoped to see, but now they no longer had the chance.
That year, Han Li searched in Lingjun City and eventually found a quite suitable woman.
Named Liu Yuexin, she was eighteen years old with a graceful figure and stunning appearance, hailing from a minor family in Lingjun City. Her cultivation talent was unremarkable, and she was only at the eighth level of body tempering at the time.
With such talent, even Han Li's full support wouldn't have allowed her to break through to the Innate Realm.
After some consideration, Han Li decided to first take a concubine, and later find an opportunity to marry a wife with superior cultivation talent.
This was also for the consideration of future generations, as combining with a woman with high talent made it more likely to have descendants with high talent.
Since he could no longer break through to the Pihai Realm in this lifetime, he wanted his descendants to fulfill his regrets. It was his version of "hoping one's child becomes a dragon."
So, after making preparations, Han Li brought Liu Yuexin into his home as his first concubine.
Although she was a concubine, Han Li never mistreated her. He gave a generous dowry, and the treatment he provided made the Liu family almost dizzy with happiness.
Through his dedicated efforts, Liu Yuexin fell pregnant quite quickly.
Ten months later, Han Li's first offspring was born, a daughter with ninth-grade talent.
This was a pleasant surprise for Han Li; his first offspring actually possessed decent talent.
Having his foundation damaged and cultivating for another twenty years after the failure, even if he cultivated for several more decades until his death, he had no hope at all.
What delighted Han Li the most was that once he had offspring, his golden finger finally arrived, though late, it brought him to tears of joy.
The Longevity Family System!
Its purpose was to cultivate the owner into building a family of longevity. Specifically, for every additional offspring Han Li had, he would receive corresponding rewards including life span, cultivation level, pills, divine weapons, and more.
Currently, for every additional offspring, he could gain one year of cultivation level, one year of life span, and one Supreme Grade yellow-class Cultivation Technique. Note that these rewards are not diminished; whether it's the first generation, the second, or even the hundredth, the rewards for Han Li remain the same.
Additionally, if any of his descendants possessed cultivation talent, Han Li would receive corresponding rewards—the higher the talent, the greater the reward. Moreover, when a descendant begins their cultivation, it can also feed back a certain amount of cultivation to Han Li.
Once Han Li understood this, he was overjoyed. Indeed, having many children brings many blessings.
The daughter born by Liu Yuexin provided him with one year of cultivation, one year of life span, one Supreme Grade yellow-class martial technique, and some enhancement of Han Li's own talent.
Every time, the rewards of cultivation level and life span were guaranteed, while pills, weapons, Cultivation Techniques, and treasures appeared randomly.
The first daughter had ninth-grade talent, which provided Han Li with partial feedback, enhancing his own talent—a reward that could only be obtained if the offspring possessed cultivation talent.
Even though his damaged foundation meant he had no hope of reaching the Pihai Realm in this life, the System's reward of cultivation level broke this constraint. As long as he had enough descendants, he wouldn't need to cultivate; he could still break through to the Pihai Realm, or even higher realms.
In light of this, Han Li simply stopped cultivating; he was already at the peak of the Innate Ninth Grade, and further cultivation would be futile. Taking more concubines and having more children was truly the path to prosperity.
In the blink of an eye, many years had passed, and Han Li was now 195 years old, nearing the lifespan limit of the Innate Realm.
Over the years, Han Li had taken quite a few concubines, each with mediocre cultivation talent, and they had given birth to many offspring for him.
It wasn't that he didn't want to take more concubines, or that his body couldn't handle it; the main issue was the system's strict regulations about taking concubines.
They must have cultivation talent and a beauty score of at least eight.
This greatly narrowed the range of candidates for Han Li's concubines, forcing him to search slowly. After all, in the eyes of others, he was an Innate Realm cultivator nearing his lifespan limit; even less talented beauties were seldom willing to become his concubines.
Since he couldn't generate more resources himself, he decided to let his descendants procreate extensively. Although the rewards were less, they would accumulate over time.
Han Li encouraged childbirth and rewarded it heavily, allowing them to procreate to their heart's content. His lineage had already reached the fourth generation, with ninety-seven descendants in total.
Of these, only eighteen had cultivation talent, four with Ninth Grade talent, the rest being mediocre. Yet, this had significantly improved Han Li's own talent.
With his talent improved, Han Li expended the cultivation he had accumulated, resulting in a breakthrough to the Pihai Realm.
The Pihai Realm came with a lifespan of three hundred years, plus an additional fifty or so years he'd gained, meaning Han Li could now live up to three hundred fifty-two years.
Recently, Han Li was brimming with vitality. With close to one hundred sixty years of life remaining, he had plenty of time to break through to the next realm. Moreover, the accumulation in the early stage is the slowest; the speed of improvement actually increases later on.
Looking at the descendants and guests in the hall, Han Li felt a sense of pride in his heart.
Being in the Pihai Realm was enough to dominate Lingjun City, and in the whole of Fengyang Manor, he could be considered a local powerhouse. His status had already become quite high, and this was just the beginning.
In the future, his cultivation would continue to increase, and his status would rise further.
To avoid an untimely demise, Han Li decided to lay low for a while, taking things steady and not rush into taking risks for opportunities.
With the system in place, as long as he continued to take more concubines and have more children, the longer he would live, and the higher his cultivation would become—why bother with fighting and killing?
In the eyes of other cultivators, he must have seemed an anomaly. Who, with the hope of breaking through to a higher realm, would keep taking concubines, indulging in pleasures of the flesh? At most, they would find a like-minded partner to support each other.
Indulging in pleasure would only waste time, resulting in nothing in the end.
After his breakthrough to the Pihai Realm, Han Li's status rose, and his influence in Fengyang Manor increased greatly. He was just about to look for a beauty with Ninth Grade talent to take as a concubine when the Li Family sent Li Mingmeng to his door.
Han Li was aware of the Li Family's situation. The Li Family Patriarch was at the Eighth Grade of the Innate Realm, just a few years younger than Han Li, and did not have many years left to live.
Once the Li Family Patriarch died, the current family head, only at the First Grade of the Innate Realm, would not be able to hold the fort. The vast assets of the Li Family were likely to be unsustainable. Thus, after learning of the Han Family Patriarch's breakthrough to the Pihai Realm, the Li Family sent Lingjun City's number one beauty to become Han Li's concubine.
Li Mingmeng became Han Li's seventh concubine and the first with Ninth Grade talent, bringing the potential to produce offspring with Eighth Grade talent.
Although Han Li had several concubines, he treated each one kindly. Most of the resources awarded by the system, such as the Beauty Preserving Pill, Lifespan Extension Pill, Gathering Yuan Pill, and so on, were used for their benefit, to help them improve their cultivation and extend their lifespans.
Liu Yuexin, who had followed Han Li from the beginning, was of mediocre talent, but with Han Li's various resources, she had already broken through to the seventh level of the True Qi Realm and extended her lifespan to one hundred forty years.
If possible, Han Li hoped that his concubines could accompany him even further on his journey.
After the wedding, the guests and the host were all delighted, and Han Li also entered the bridal chamber.