The Emperor responded with eight characters: “This child’s future is limitless.”

That night, an extraordinary phenomenon occurred above the imperial palace; a violent storm raged.

Amidst the lightning and thunder, the Crown Prince ascended.

Whenever someone ascends, the Celestial Realm trembles. This Crown Prince’s ascension caused the entire Celestial Realm to shake three times.

Achieving enlightenment is incredibly difficult.

It requires talent, cultivation, and opportunity. The birth of a god is often a long journey of hundreds of years.

There are prodigies who ascend to immortality at a young age; many who spend their entire lives cultivating for a hundred years without ever experiencing a heavenly tribulation; even those who experience a tribulation may die or be crippled; and countless ordinary mortals who live unremarkable lives, never finding their path.

This Crown Prince, however, was undoubtedly Heaven’s favorite. He obtained everything he desired; he accomplished everything he set out to do; he wished to ascend to godhood, and he did so at the age of seventeen.

He already enjoyed widespread popular support, and with the King and Queen mourning their beloved son, they ordered the construction of numerous temples and shrines in his honor, with statues erected throughout the land, receiving the worship of countless people. The more believers and temples, the longer his lifespan and stronger his power. Thus, the Crown Prince’s 仙乐宫 (Xian Le Palace) flourished and reached its peak in just a few years.

—Until three years later, when Xian Le fell into chaos.

The chaos stemmed from the tyrannical rule of the sovereign and a subsequent rebellion. However, even with the human realm engulfed in war, the Celestial Realm’s officials could not interfere arbitrarily. Unless demons and monsters crossed boundaries, things were left to their course. Imagine, if everyone intervened in human conflicts, supporting their own side, wouldn’t it lead to constant celestial battles? In the Crown Prince’s case, it was even more crucial to avoid bias.

But he didn’t care. He declared to the Emperor, “I will save all beings.”

The Emperor, possessing millennia of divine power, wouldn’t even casually utter those words. His feelings upon hearing the Crown Prince were easily imagined. He couldn’t stop him, saying, “You can’t save everyone.”

The Crown Prince replied, “I can.”

Thus, he descended to the mortal realm without hesitation.

The people of Xian Le naturally rejoiced. However, folklore throughout history has consistently taught a truth: gods who interfere in the mortal realm rarely have a good outcome.

The war, instead of subsiding, raged even more fiercely.

It’s not that the Crown Prince didn’t try, but his efforts only made things worse. The more he tried, the more chaotic the situation became. The people of Xian Le suffered heavy casualties, and finally, a plague swept through the imperial city, rebels stormed the palace, and the war ended.

If Xian Le was already clinging to life, the Crown Prince’s intervention extinguished it completely.

After the nation’s destruction, people finally realized something:

The Crown Prince, whom they worshipped as a god, was not as perfect and powerful as they had imagined.

To put it bluntly, he was a useless failure!

The pain of losing their homes and families was overwhelming. The injured people stormed the Crown Prince’s palace, overturning statues and burning the temple.

Eight thousand temples burned for seven days and nights, reduced to ashes.

From then on, a protective war god disappeared, and a god of plague was born.

People’s beliefs shape reality. Initially, this was true.

The Crown Prince couldn’t accept this reality. What he couldn’t accept even more was the punishment he faced: demotion.

His divine power was sealed, and he was cast down to the mortal realm.

He had grown up in luxury, never experiencing hardship. This punishment plunged him from the heavens to the mud. He experienced hunger, poverty, and filth for the first time. He also did things he’d never imagined: stealing, robbing, cursing, and self-abandonment. His dignity was lost, his self-respect shattered. Even his most loyal attendants couldn’t accept his transformation and left.

The phrase “In the depths of suffering, the heart remains in paradise” was inscribed everywhere on Xian Le’s stone monuments and plaques. If not for the war that destroyed almost all of them, the Crown Prince would have destroyed them himself.

This phrase was proven false. He couldn’t maintain inner peace amidst his suffering.

His ascent was swift, his fall even faster. His divine path was a fleeting glimpse, a moment of both magic and despair. It seemed like yesterday. The Celestial Realm sighed, but it passed.

Many years later, a tremendous boom shook the heavens. The Crown Prince ascended for a second time.

Throughout history, demoted officials either gave up or fell into the underworld, few ever recovering. His second ascension was spectacular.

Even more spectacular was that, after ascending, he stormed into the Celestial Realm, fighting his way through. He was demoted again after only a stick of incense.

A stick of incense. The fastest and shortest ascension in history.

If the first ascension was a beautiful story, the second was a farce.

After two demotions, the Celestial Realm was filled with disdain and vigilance towards the Crown Prince. After being demoted once, he’d suffered greatly; twice, wouldn’t he seek revenge?

However, this time, he didn’t succumb to darkness and adapted to his demoted life. His only problem was… he was too serious.

Sometimes, he performed street acts, mastering singing, playing instruments, and even breaking stones on his chest. Though it was known he was talented, seeing it firsthand was complex. Sometimes, he diligently collected scrap.

The celestial beings were shocked.

The situation was unbelievable. Saying “Your son is like the Xian Le Crown Prince” is now far more insulting than cursing someone’s lineage.

A former prince and celestial official, reduced to this state, is truly remarkable. He became the laughingstock of the Three Realms.

After the laughter, some might sigh: the once high-flying prodigy had truly disappeared.

His statues were overthrown, his country destroyed, leaving no believers, gradually forgotten by the world. No one knows where he wandered.

One demotion was a great shame. Two demotions, no one could recover.

Many years later, one day, the sky boomed again.

The heavens and earth shook.

The eternal lamps trembled, the flames danced wildly, and the officials awoke from their golden palaces, rushing to ask: Who ascended? What a tremendous spectacle!

They were amazed, then horrified, as all the gods were struck.

Are you done yet?!

The infamous oddity, the laughingstock of the Three Realms, the legendary Crown Prince, he—he—he—damn it, he ascended AGAIN!

The author has something to say: My readers on Jinjiang, I’ve kept you waiting!

This is my third time publishing on Jinjiang, and I’m still very nervous. I’ll start by beating myself up. This story was quite painful to write. I tried many new things, but my skills fell short, and the result isn’t quite what I wanted. I realized many of my shortcomings during the writing process. I don’t know what you’ll think of the final result, so please be prepared for it to be different from your expectations, ideally, have no expectations at all. You won’t see another Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, nor another Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. This is a completely new journey.