If there was a recommendation from an allied civilization, it would be even easier.
Moreover, Li Aozi had two special advantages:
First, he was the legend who repelled the Mechanical World Society, with fame and status to back him up.
Second, he was an Ascender of the Sovereign pathway.
As a relatively young narrative-level civilization, the Empire didn't have many fully controlled pathways, only one—the Destroyer series under the Twilight Sword Saint pathway.
The advantage of this pathway was that there were no significant barriers to entry; anyone could practice it. The downside was that it lacked significant future potential, and ascending was not very difficult, especially with narrative help, which made it even easier. This also gave rise to the Empire's slogan:
"Everyone Ascends, Heroes Gather, Form the Empire."
