Sitting by the window in his room, Xiao Ming watched the faint clouds drifting past outside, and his heart stirred with emotion.
Flying was humanity's long-cherished dream.
In his previous life, people could only rely on tools such as airplanes to fly through the skies, but on the Dou Qi Continent, once one's strength reached Dou Wang, one could soar freely through the heavens.
Dou Wang?
Although for many people, Dou Wang was a realm they could never reach even if they spent their entire lives striving for it, Xiao Ming believed that he could attain it—and it would by no means be his endpoint.
Jia Nan Academy was the starting point.
After letting his thoughts wander, Xiao Ming collected himself, turned around, sat back down on the crude bed, and called out in his mind.
"Life Simulator, begin Life Simulation."
By his calculations, it was time for another Life Simulation. Xiao Ming would never miss any opportunity to simulate his life.
Sure enough, the Simulator's distinctive voice sounded in his mind.
[Ding, current number of simulations: one.] [Simulation Start--] [Day 1: You got up early, practiced Dou Skills for a while, then gathered at Wu Tan City's plaza. You boarded Jia Nan Academy's Flying Caravan.] [Day 2: You got up early. After washing up on the flying Magical Beast, you returned to your room to cultivate.] [Day 3: You woke from cultivation. After breakfast, you ran into Xiao Shan, and the two of you chatted for a while. Your instructor, Ge Hu, explained many of Jia Nan Academy's rules and precautions to you.] [Day 4: You discovered that the Flying Caravan had stopped and learned that it was replenishing supplies.] [Day 5: You rode a flying Magical Beast out of the Jia Ma Empire.] ... [Day 16: After many days of accumulation, you successfully broke through to Four-Star Dou Zhe.→] [Day 17: You passed through the Black Corner Region and arrived at Jia Nan Academy. That day, you received clothing, supplies, and lodging.] [Day 18: You attended the opening ceremony.] [Day 19: You attended half a day of classes, then cultivated until nightfall...] ... [Day 60: You went to the Alchemy Department to buy Qi Returning Pills. Seeing so many alchemists, you thought of their abundant wealth and connections and could not help feeling a trace of envy. You sighed that you lacked Alchemist Talent.] [Day 61: You cultivated for an entire day and broke through to Five Star Dou Zhe.] [Day 62: After class, you went to the plaza to practice the Dou Skill Fire Profound Palm.] ... [Day 90: You came into conflict with someone and easily defeated them.] [Day 92: The person from yesterday gathered several friends and tried to regain face, only for you to beat them into a complete mess.] ... [Day 100: You went to Trading Street, which had been spontaneously established by Jia Nan Academy students, and spent five hundred thousand gold coins on a Fifth Tier Magical Beast Flame, Flower Scorpion Beast Flame. After returning to your dormitory, you had Ling devour it. Ling grew stronger and gained a trace of poison properties.] ... [Day 220: You obtained a Dou Skill...] ... [Day 338: After cultivating for an entire day, you broke through to Dou Shi.] [Day 339: You honed your Dou Skills.] ... [Day 380: After getting up, you felt that your usually uneventful cultivation could no longer satisfy you. You signed up for Jia Nan Academy Enforcement Team and successfully passed the assessment. Since there was no uniform robe in your size, the staff measured your body and told you to come collect it tomorrow.→] [Day 381: You received an Enforcement Team blood robe that fit you.] ... [Day 460: On the outskirts of Peace Town, you and your teammates killed several Black Corner Region thugs who did not know their place, completing this patrol mission. That night, you broke through to Dou Shi Three-Star.] ... [Day 503: Because of your outstanding performance, the Enforcement Team leaders greatly appreciated you and rewarded you with the Profound Tier High-Grade Dou Technique, Explosive Flame Startling God Spear.] [Day 504: During a patrol, you killed a Dou Shi who had caused trouble.] ... [Day 712: It was your turn to take leave. You bought five bottles of Bone Regeneration Pill and Body Recovery Pill, left Jia Nan Academy alone, and headed to the Black Corner Region to gain experience.] [Day 714: In Green Rock Town, you killed several High-Rank Dou Shi who coveted your wealth. Their sneak attack left you lightly injured, and you found an Inn to recover.] [Day 715: While recovering from your injuries, you accidentally overheard people at the next table discussing Green Rock Profound Water. You learned that its exact location was within the Rock Cavity beneath the largest pond on the mountain east of Green Rock Town. You were overjoyed.] [Day 716: Once your injuries had healed, you headed to the pond. The moment you entered the Rock Cavity, you came under attack. Fortunately, thanks to the Spirit Nourishing Technique, your injuries were not serious. Looking up, you found several corpses already lying nearby and immediately understood: the two people attacking you were Fishing Guys. Enraged, you swallowed the Grade Three Medicinal Pill Blood Burst Pill, greatly increasing your strength. In the end, you used Ling to kill the two Great Dou Shi Five-Star enemies. After looting the bodies, you became rich overnight—and actually found Green Rock Profound Water on them.] [Day 717: You had Ling absorb Green Rock Profound Water. Ling's spirituality became even more abundant and gained Green Rock Profound Water's corrosive properties. Ling, having devoured Green Rock Profound Water, fed a portion of its energy back to you, allowing you to break through to Three-Star Great Dou Shi.] ... [Day 831: The Inner Academy Selection Competition began, and you signed up to participate.] ... [Day 838: You defeated your final opponent and successfully claimed first place.] [Day 842: Hu Gan brought you and four others into Jia Nan Academy's Library Pavilion. Inside the Library Pavilion, you obtained the Mysterious Rank Middle Grade Flying Dou Technique, Flying Cloud Wings.] ... [Day 1078: You entered the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower to cultivate and broke through to Nine-Star Da Dou Shi. You felt your cultivation beginning to slow, so you considered using pills to cultivate. However, your savings were limited, so you began considering going out to search for medicinal herbs.] [Day 1090: You gathered Purple Gold Sand in the forest and encountered a Fifth Tier Magical Beast, a Four-Tailed Demonic Fox. Relying on Flying Cloud Wings, you successfully escaped.] [Day 1091: Unwilling to give up on Purple Gold Sand, you secretly observed the area and finally obtained it.] ... [Day 1111: You ran short of money again and entered the forest once more.] [Day 1121: While searching for medicinal herbs, you provoked a group of Fourth Tier flying Magical Beasts. Because you had Flying Cloud Wings, you were not worried at all. During the chase, you accidentally entered the territory of a Sixth Tier Magical Beast and died.] [Simulation End--] [Drawing Talent Item--] [Currently available: Green Rock Profound Water, Mysterious Rank Middle Grade Flying Dou Technique Flying Cloud Wings, Alchemist Talent.] [Please choose one.]
"Didn't even make it to four years. Another death in my prime. I'm obviously such a cautious person, and I was just lamenting how flight was humanity's dream—then I immediately got a Flying Dou Technique. What a coincidence." Xiao Ming could not help complaining as he looked at the final result and the available choices.
In his previous Life Simulations, he had almost always died young and never survived more than a few years, so Xiao Ming found it rather speechless.
But it did not put any pressure on him. By now, he had grown accustomed to the ways his simulated self died. Cultivation was simply like that. He had no protector to guide him; struggling outside alone and dying from one careless mistake was perfectly normal.
Sometimes, when he saw his simulated self slaughtering enemies in all directions and escaping danger after danger, he even thought he was pretty impressive.
Still, all three options this time were quite good.
Xiao Ming rubbed his chin silently. It was rare to get a selection where all three choices were valuable. There was no need to mention the Flying Dou Technique—it had saved him several times in the Simulator.
Although the Simulator had not revealed much about Green Rock Profound Water, it should have been a Heaven and Earth Strange Object similar to Heavenly Flames. Even if it was not as precious as Heavenly Flames, it had allowed his Great Dou Shi self in the Simulator to break through two stars. For his current self, it could probably help him break through several stars. Most importantly, Ling could also grow from it. It was truly a fine treasure.
As for the last one...
A flash of excitement gleamed in Xiao Ming's eyes.
Alchemist Talent!
This was the first time he had drawn a Talent Item!
To be honest, all three items were useful, but Xiao Ming still made his choice without hesitation.
"I choose Alchemist Talent."
That was right—Alchemist Talent. Only an idiot would not choose it. With that identity, making money would not be so difficult. Who knew how many times his simulated self had died trying to earn money?
After he made his choice, a blossom of green light suddenly appeared before Xiao Ming. Before he could react, it swiftly shot into his body.
"Uh... why don't I feel anything at all?"
He felt himself all over, but Xiao Ming did not experience any discomfort, much less the intense pain he had imagined.
After waiting for a while and confirming that there was no problem, Xiao Ming could only sigh that this talent fusion was rather haphazard.
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