Choosing Rewards

However, just as Shu Kingdom had defeated Wu Kingdom and was carrying out its grand unification, the Sword Spirit Sect Leader colluded with the Foreign Race and began an invasion. The Foreign Race invaded, burning, killing, looting, and committing every evil imaginable. They treated the people of Shu Kingdom as Two-Legged Sheep to be eaten, utterly erasing their humanity. This left Shu King Liu Yu furious, and he urgently mobilized every force at his disposal to suppress them.

However, the Foreign Race was powerful, while the Great Xia Land had suffered years of warfare. Though the rivers and mountains had been unified once more, it had long since lost its former glory, its strength weakened to the extreme. Naturally, it could not stand against the Foreign Race. Left with no choice, Shu King Liu Yu could only ask the Sword Spirit Sect to act and help deal with the Foreign Race.

Faced with the rampant Foreign Race, everyone in the Sword Spirit Sect was equally enraged. All the Supreme Elders descended the mountain, intending to slaughter the Foreign Race. That same year, you descended the mountain to gather medicinal herbs. Meanwhile, the Sword Spirit Sect Leader sneered and secretly contacted the Foreign Race, selling you out to them.

Then, a powerful being from the Foreign Race made a move, seeking to force you into submitting to them and refining medicine for them. With your unyielding iron bones, how could you possibly defect to the Foreign Race? In the end, you died in battle.

Because of your death, this simulation has ended.

"Has the Sword Spirit Sect remained neutral for a thousand years? It seems that most of the Sword Spirit Sect's upper ranks are good people after all."

As Wang Ping looked over the simulation, his impression of the Sword Spirit Sect improved greatly. He was rather surprised.

"Still, no matter how good a faction is, there will always be a few rat droppings that spoil the whole pot of porridge. That Sword Spirit Sect Leader is undoubtedly one such rat dropping."

Wang Ping narrowed his eyes again. Thinking of what the Sword Spirit Sect Leader had done, killing intent flickered in his gaze.

The Sword Spirit Sect fought for the world, yet that man had colluded with the Foreign Race and plunged the land, which had only just regained peace, back into the flames of war—all merely to kill him.

Given the current situation, even if the Foreign Race was driven back in the end, Shu Kingdom would likely be unable to recuperate and rebuild.

In the end, it would most likely be annexed by Chu Kingdom.

After all, even with Zhao Kingdom keeping Chu Kingdom occupied, Shu Kingdom's strength would become far too weak. Chu Kingdom would only need to send a tiny fraction of its forces to conquer it, and Zhao Kingdom would be powerless to stop it.

Still, being annexed by Chu Kingdom was probably already the best possible outcome.

Without Chu Kingdom, Shu Kingdom would likely be wiped out by the Foreign Race, its clan exterminated and its people left to suffer.

Besides, the Sword Spirit Sect Leader was a ruthless man as well. Even the simulated Wang Ping had failed to kill him. It seemed that dealing with him by ordinary means would be difficult.

"Hmph. No matter how cunning and vicious you are, as long as I am strong enough, I can break the deadlock with sheer force. No one can stop me."

Wang Ping snorted coldly and stopped dwelling on it.

Ding! Rewards have been generated successfully. The host may choose two of the following rewards:

①. Earth Grade Low Rank Skill · Sword Essence Art.

②. Earth Grade Low Rank Martial Art · Sword Control Art.

③. Green Talent · Beast Taming Expert.

④. White Talent · Jinx.

⑤. White Talent · Dressed Plainly.

⑥. Sword Intent comprehended.

⑦. Life experience.

⑧. Spirit Origin Realm First Layer cultivation.

"There are quite a lot of reward options this time. And I can choose two rewards again—the system really is becoming more and more generous."

Looking at the long list of reward options, Wang Ping sighed in admiration.

Then, he began to ponder seriously.

White Talent · Jinx—honestly, ever since this simulation began, he had wondered whether the system had selected the wrong talent for him.

After all, the simulated him had truly brought ruin upon those around him.

He had doomed Bai Tianhong to death, and everyone in Chi Village had vanished as well. It was utterly absurd.

As for Beast Taming Expert, that talent had practically no presence at all.

He had obtained a Silver Moon Wolf cub, yet the simulation system had not even been interested enough to mention what became of it after being raised. It was absurd to the extreme.

"None of the three talents are useful. Skip them directly—their value for the cost is far too low."

Wang Ping's gaze flickered as he turned to the skill, martial art, and Sword Intent.

All three rewards were quite good.

"However..."

After giving it some thought, Wang Ping looked toward the seventh option again, his eyes flickering.

Life experience—he had chosen this option before.

He knew very well that choosing it would allow him to personally experience the simulated life from a first-person perspective.

At that time, his martial will would become even more resilient, while his experience in cultivation, combat, the skills he had learned, and the martial arts he had learned would all synchronize completely.

He would also learn every detail omitted from the simulation's text.

Experiencing such a life would undoubtedly bring him enormous benefits.

The benefits it would bring to his future martial cultivation went without saying.

This time, he had lived for a very long time. By experiencing this life, he could directly learn the Earth Grade Low Rank Skill · Sword Essence Art, the Earth Grade Low Rank Martial Art · Sword Control Art, and the other martial arts cultivated by his simulated self.

It was quite possible that even his alchemy would advance further.

Moreover, he might gain all of the simulated self's insights into the sword path, directly mastering Sword Intent as well.

It could be said that the reward option of life experience was absolutely the best choice, combining many rewards apart from cultivation itself. Its value for the cost was terrifyingly high, and it was also an option with a relatively low chance of appearing.

But Wang Ping had read the contents of this simulation.

He knew very well that the him in this simulation had been left with far too many regrets and misgivings—he had fallen into despondency several times and nearly succumbed to demonic deviation more than once.

The life experience would make him feel as if he had personally lived through that life. It would absolutely affect him, and it might even cause him to fall into demonic deviation.

After all, he already knew how the future would unfold, yet he could only watch helplessly, powerless to change anything. Perhaps the impact would be even greater than he imagined.

"This reward is undoubtedly the best one." Wang Ping muttered to himself. "If I'm afraid of even this little tempering, then even with the simulator, I could never achieve much. If my state of mind can't keep up, something will go wrong sooner or later. For example, the me in this simulation was unable to break through to the Spirit Origin Realm for so long precisely because of problems with his Dao Heart and state of mind."

"Therefore, I have no need to fear. Instead, I must regard this life experience as the best possible tempering for myself. As long as I can steady my mind and improve my state of mind, great fortune awaits."

By the end, Wang Ping's expression had turned resolute, his eyes bright and spirited.

"System, I choose ⑦ and ⑧."

Wang Ping silently said in his heart.

As Wang Ping made his choice, he felt his consciousness sway as a change came over him.

Everything that followed was beyond his control. From a first-person perspective, he watched it all unfold, yet he could change nothing, like a ghost.

What the other Wang Ping saw and heard, his partings and reunions, joys and sorrows, and insights gained through cultivation—all entered Wang Ping's heart.

The feeling was incredibly wondrous.

Very soon, he personally experienced the sorrow of parting from Chi Village and the bewilderment he felt toward the future.

Next came the year he spent in Blackwind Town, followed by his ascent to the Sword Spirit Sect, where he became a Guest Elder and met Bai Tianhong.