The Magistrate of the Immortal’s Heaven Justice League, Xian Ling, was engrossed in paperwork for an upcoming Peach Feast when one of his trusted agents, Xi Zuo, comes in. Heads bowed, Xi Zuo trotted in and stopped exactly 25 steps before Xian Ling’s desk. Kowtowing three times, he remained on his knees after the final bow. Xian Ling covered his mouth with a fan, allowing himself a small, sly smile. Truly, Xi was a paragon of what Immortal’s Heaven stood for—tradition and balance. Xian even contemplated rewarding him with a Youth Pellet, given Xi's graying beard, wrinkled face and aged body paled in comparison to Ling's pristine, clean-shaven face of a teenager. However, it was regrettable that Xian possessed only twenty of these pellets, all reserved for himself to maintain his own gorgeous appearance. The Magistrate pretended not to notice his visitor, looking busy with paperwork, skimmed through a report about spare lanterns, approved a few requests without looking, before finally shifting his attention to his devoted agent.

- You may stand up, Agent Zuo, - Xian finally announced with as much regal tone as possible; protocol must be maintained no matter what. The Harmony of Heaven will be undisturbed no matter what.

- Thank you, oh great and just Magistrate, - Xi Zuo finally stood up and deeply bowed again, to show his deepest respects towards his superior.

- Tell me, Agent Zuo, what brings you to me this day? - asked Xian, despite the fact that he well knows why Xi Zuo is here; he just loves formalities.

- It is about our most recent Immortal, the one who was called Luo Shu An in his mortal life, Your Honor.

Xian once again covered his face with a fan to hide a disgusted scowl. He harbored disdain for everything mortal. Ling had lived in Heaven for so long that he no longer felt or understood their petty needs and plights. After all, why eat food and sleep when you can simply gather Qi to regain strength? Why cover yourself with disgusting furs when you can just invoke the Fire Element to warm yourself? Why grow old when you can consume a Youth Pellet to keep yourself pristine for a thousand years? And all those bodily fluids...

Xian shuddered and dismissed that thought—mortals are disgusting, barbaric, and weak. No matter, he had a duty to do. He quickly composed himself and stood up from his table.

- Very well, Agent Zuo, we shall discuss this business in private. Come with me, - Xian slowly walked out from the cabinet towards his garden, and Xi quickly followed behind him, heads as low as etiquette prescribes, not a cun less or more.

Once they were inside the garden, they both stepped into a pavilion that stood perfectly in the middle of an impeccable garden in the shape of bagua, eight trigrams. Both the magistrate and his agent walked in silence until they reached the pavilion. Finally, away from prying eyes and ears, they could relax, to a degree.

- So, your report, Agent Zuo, - said Xian as he began his midday routine of exercises.

- Very well, Your Honor, - replied the agent as he sat upon the cold stone floor. He cleared his throat and began telling the magistrate about Luo Shu An...

Luo Shu An, or Zhe Hong Yeren in his new Immortal life, has been living in Heaven for already 3 thousand years. In his previous life, even living up to eighty was considered an outstanding feat, but here, many saw him as an adult observing a child who had just learned how to talk and speak. His new master and superior, Hei Bao Tu from the Grasshopper Sect, was 15 thousand years old, and he was often called a “youngster.” While at first, he objected to having a master, Zhe Hong quickly changed his mind after being pounded into the ground in a variety of ways: I mean, who knew that hair could hit you like a mule, a brush could cut like a knife, and words really CAN break bones?! Down in Jianghu, he was a fearsome warrior who wiped out a whole army of ten thousand men, but up here, with all this crazy Immortal stuff, he saw himself as a stupid animal who stumbled into a master’s house. So, Yeren swallowed his pride and began diligently learning everything that he could and was allowed to by Hei Bao Tu.

The first thousand years flew by in the blink of an eye, but at the end of it, Zhe Hong was confident enough to attend his first Immortal Tournament, which he won, barely. He was still brutalized, but Bao Tu, satisfied with his student’s endurance and perseverance, allowed him to leave the grounds of the Grasshopper Sect unsupervised and taught him how to use Grasshopper Leap to traverse long distances. Yeren’s first attempt was… humiliating, but after a few tries, it came to him as naturally as refining Qi.

For the next few hundred years, he spent exploring Immortal’s Heaven to his heart’s content, attending a few sparring matches, minor tournaments, and events, while never stopping to learn how to get more and more powerful. He made a few friends, mostly young Immortals from other Animal Sects, and even participated in Fire Tower’s challenge. He didn't win that one, but his tenacity and ambition were noticed by the representatives from Huxian Lodge, which took a keen interest in his persona. Then he was approached by an Outer Houses Alliance captain for recruitment to their ranks.

- Ah, he’s been scouted by the Ascended Beasts Army? And the Outer Houses Alliance thinks now they have a fighting chance? - Xian Ling mused, concentrating on his fan’s strokes. - Ho ho, the next Heavenly Faction’s war is going to be interesting…

- I'm sorry, your Honor, but he turned them both down, - Xi Zuo courtly replied.

- What?! Zhe Hong Yeren thinks he will be allowed to be a major player? - The Magistrate was offended by this statement. - The nerve!

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- No offense, your Honour, it seems like he has no interest in the politics of Immortal’s society at all. He goes so far as to call sacred practices of Immortal’s society 'bothersome' and 'petty.'

- Am I hearing this correctly, Agent Zuo, that Yeren finds our time-honored, harmonious traditions wanting? Does he have no desire for prestige and fame that comes from them? Is he an idiot?!

- Apparently so, Magister Ling.

Magister Ling scoffed at this notion. What is this man thinking? The Harmony of Immortal’s Heaven depends on 'petty' intrigues and schemes to function! Then Xian Ling quickly composed - an outliner like him will never maintain this position for long. This pointless rebellion never lasts for more than a few hundred years, but eventually, these firebrands fall in line. They always do; the Magistrate was made sure of that.

He finally took his attention back to Xi Zuo, who continued in a more hesitant tone. If rumors are true, at the end of the second millennium, Zhe Hong Yeren became a frequent guest in Pearls of Wisdom Parlor. Such unusual behavior from a withdrawn Yeren made people talk. The handmaidens of that place came to the only logical conclusion they could think of: his goal was to court Yu Meiren, the Jade Beauty herself. This ridiculous and baseless rumor, due to Zhe Hong’s political indifference and their vast social gap, nonetheless, spread like wildfire. When it reached Shao Dong, the patron of Yu Meiren, he was so enraged by it, Zhe Hong and him fought several times over this matter, with no clear winner. This became the favorite topic of gossip and socialites for some time. No comments from usually elusive and secretive Yu Mieren only further fueled talks and, over time, grew even more outrageous. This madness stopped only after the Bureau of Harmony had to step in. These days, however, it's old news, but people still love to speculate on who Yu Meiren would choose, as Zhe Hong is still, allegedly, trying to court the Jade Beauty.

And so far, people are more in favor of wild and unpredictable Zhe Hong Yeren instead of courteous and honorable Shao Dong, purely out of scandalous notions.

- Scandalous, for sure, but let's not devolve into gossip, - Xian reprimanded his subordinate, while mentally taking a note to look more into that juicy gossip himself. - We are not some kind of female mortals, washing dirty cloth that is covered in… bodily fluids… Still, so far, this Zhe Hong Yeren is nothing more than just yet another barely grown immortal with an attitude. Barely worth our attention, really.

- I’m afraid, your Honor, he is more than that - interjected Xi, catching his master’s attention.

By the end of the second millennium, Zhe Hong Yeren realized one simple truth - Immortal’s Heaven is stagnant and complacent. They have no desire to do something outside of their narrow view of the world. Any form of innovation is deemed as heretical and outlawed. Rare geniuses and odd talents were quickly prosecuted and stamped out. For the last few thousand years, he was the only new Immortal, but he witnessed at least two exiles. Even doubting that Immortal traditions are, in fact, not perfect, is considered a crime against the perfect world they lived in.

This realization made Yeren restless. At first, he was careful with his quest for knowledge. He tried to speak with the Shing Immortals from the Celestial Bureaucracy, but it was barred from “lowly Immortals” by some God’s decree. Zhe Hong sought out rare, yet ridiculed Jing Immortals and quickly realized that there were none in Immortal’s Heaven: they were long gone, exiled or worse. This made him more and more desperate, reckless. Yeren even petitioned to seek out the scholars from Tianlong Palace, but those attempts were snipped in the bud.

His former comrades turned away from him, his master disowned him, and Zhe Hong quickly became an outcast. Sinister rumors began to spread—that Yeren had turned away from Righteous teachings and began seeking Devil cultivations. This infamy made the Justice League take a look into Yeren's affairs.

Based on these rumors, Agent Zuo has begun spying on a young Immortal. After watching Yeren for some time, Zuo discovered that Zhe Hong is trying to hone and develop some kind of strange moves, never seen before in Immortal’s Heaven, and it seems they were tied to his four arms. While he didn't see those moves in action, from what he’s gathered, they are not a part of orthodox teachings but rather his own invention, derived from the otherwise unremarkable fighting style of the Yangmeng School.

- This is indeed a troubling development, Agent Zuo. - The Magistrate finished his Flying Justice Stance and swiftly switched towards the Hammer of Justice Stance. - Immortal’s Heaven is not a place for unorthodox and unproven teachings. This could disrupt our plans and ruin harmony. Tell me, Agent Zuo, has he committed any crime? A rebellious brute like him probably broke one of Heaven’s many laws, yes?

- No, Your Honor. Despite being under strict supervision by his master and our spies, we haven't caught him in anything incriminating. Zhe Hong is desperate, yet careful and crafty.

The thought of Zhe Hong not even considering a crime never occurred to both of them. He was guilty in their heads.

- That is indeed problematic, - said Xiang Ling, finishing his exercise. - We can't prosecute him without any concrete evidence unless we want to draw the ire of other Heavenly Factions or, worse, the direct attention of Our Majesty, the Jade Emperor himself.

The Magistrate contemplated his options and ways to remove this troublemaker without making much of a fuss. And then, an ingenious idea struck him, and he chuckled to himself while stroking his cleanly shaven chin. "Oh, this one is truly a genius idea that will strike two birds with one stone!" He quickly composed himself in front of his agent and sighed in pretentious resignation:

- Guess we have no choice but to use IT…

- Your Honour, you don't mean…- said Agent Xi in disbelief.

- Yes. The infamous manual of the First Heretic. - The Magistrate gritted his teeth just by uttering this title.

The First Heretic—an Immortal who tried to destroy Heaven for reasons unknown. Nobody knows what he looked like, what his name was, or even what his powers were. His crimes against Heaven were so severe that the Jade Emperor himself had to step down and stop him. Ever since then, he disappeared, but his manual remained, for reasons unknown.

This manual is a true enigma. Unorthodox. Utterly deranged. Yet so powerful that, if legends are true, it is capable of driving insane anyone who tries to read it. Vile and complex sorcery made it indestructible. The Immortal’s Heaven's greatest taboo. And the current guardian of the manual is Yu Meiren, the Jade Beauty herself…

The Magistrate allowed himself yet another smile. Soon, no one will bother Immortal’s Heaven's status quo, and everything will be the same once more, forever more...