[No female lead, no clichés, not a wish-fulfillment story, excellent writing, first-rate plot. If you don't like this kind of story, please don't read it.]

The thirty-first year of the Gregorian calendar.

Snow falls in the cold winter.

Many things happened that year: a new divine child was born in the Divine Sect, thirty-six golden lotuses bloomed in the Buddhist Temple, and a madman emerged from a dilapidated Taoist temple on the verge of collapse.

The North Sea churns as if to swallow the heavens and earth.

A small blade of grass grew on the three thousand miles of barren land in the Demon Kingdom.

In the same year, a brother and sister walked into Chang'an City, carrying a crumpled letter, and stepped into the grand scheme of things.

......

Years later, Li Ziji sat cross-legged on the peak, a long sword across his knees, and murmured to himself: "I would rather suffer eternal damnation than seek liberation from the saints."

[Time Travel + Bastard Son of Duke's Mansion + No System + Imperial Examination + Intrigue] I've traveled through time. The good news is that I've become a bastard son of Duke Wei's Mansion, with no worries about food, clothing, or livelihood. The bad news is that he's not only unpopular, but also ridiculed and looked down upon. Haha, don't despise a poor young man, and watch him study and take the imperial examination. Protagonist: Wei Yunzhou