Divine Fire in the Eyes

"Once someone dies, they can't come back. But I've heard that if you push martial arts to its peak, you can twist time like the immortals and bring people back to life. I believe your parents wouldn't want you to keep wallowing like this. If you train hard, they'll be at peace knowing it. And if you reach the pinnacle of martial arts, there's even a slim chance you could reverse time and revive them."

At that, Wang Ping thought for a moment before speaking up to console him.

Hearing this, the Village Chief froze and gave Wang Ping a long, hard look.

He'd thought Wang Ping was just an ordinary rich kid, never expecting him to say something so profound.

Whether training martial arts to the extreme could actually reverse time and revive the dead, he didn't know.

But he had heard of forbidden places in this world that could bring the dead back.

"Big brother, is that true? Can training in martial arts really bring my parents back?"

Chi Feng finally stirred, looking at Wang Ping with hopeful eyes.

"I can't guarantee it'll work, but there's definitely a chance."

Wang Ping replied, lacking confidence.

He had no clue what this world was like or how its cultivation system worked—he was just spouting stuff he'd read in too many novels.

Still, even if Wang Ping wasn't sure, the kid didn't have that many thoughts running through his head, nor did he catch the shift in Wang Ping's tone.

Chi Feng latched onto one thing.

Train in martial arts. Train like crazy, and he could bring his parents back. That was it.

"I'm going to train hard! I'll reach the Martial Dao Peak and revive my parents!"

Chi Feng clenched his fists. His once-dull eyes regained their spark, blazing bright as if a fire burned within them.

Wang Ping stared at those eyes and wondered if he was seeing things—was that really a flame?

"Wang Ping, thank you for this."

Seeing Chi Feng's fighting spirit restored and even a stunning goal set, the Village Chief smiled warmly and thanked Wang Ping.

Sure, Chi Feng reaching the Martial Dao Peak was nearly impossible.

Even more, for reasons unknown, their clan could barely break through to anything beyond the Innate Realm.

But as long as Chi Feng got his spirit back, that was enough.

He was still young. When he grew up and faced the harsh truth, it wouldn't matter as much.

"No need to thank me. You took me in, Chief, and I want to do something for the village."

Wang Ping scratched his head and smiled.

"If you don't mind, you can stay here as long as you like. I'll do my best to teach you martial arts. And if you ever want to leave, I'll have someone take you home."

The Village Chief nodded, looking at Wang Ping with nothing but kindness.

"I'd like to stay here for a while."

Wang Ping was overjoyed and quickly spoke up.

No way was he leaving.

In this world, he was a total blank slate, a drifter. Even with the simulator, his odds of dying were high.

After all, he could only use the simulator once a day, and he couldn't max out every detail.

Sometimes, the Butterfly Effect kicked in.

And the biggest thing—the Life Simulator right now couldn't help him get stronger.

So, no matter how he looked at it, staying in this village was the safest bet.

The Village Chief gave Wang Ping a long look and said with a smile, "If you want to stay, then stay. Whenever you feel like leaving, just tell me."

"Mm!" Wang Ping nodded.

"Chi Feng, from now on, you'll live with Wang Ping. Don't cause him any trouble, got it?"

The Village Chief turned to Chi Feng and instructed him.

"Don't worry, Grandpa Chief. I won't cause big brother any trouble."

Chi Feng muttered.

"Haha, Chi Feng's always been a good kid." The Village Chief stroked his long white beard, laughed heartily, and left happily.

"Big brother, you're from the outside world—tell me some stories about it!"

Once the Village Chief was gone, Chi Feng tugged at Wang Ping, his face full of hope.

"Didn't you say you weren't interested?" Wang Ping teased.

"I—I am interested. I just wasn't in the mood before." Chi Feng's dirty face flushed red as he spoke sheepishly.

"Haha, I get it." Wang Ping chuckled.

But then he hit a wall.

He wasn't from this world—just a plain old Transmigrator. If he started talking about the outside, he'd blow his cover in no time.

"Hey, how about I tell you some stories instead?"

Wang Ping thought for a moment, then spoke up.

He didn't know much about the outside world, and to satisfy Chi Feng's request, he could only fall back on the stories he'd read before.

"A story? What story?" Chi Feng asked curiously.

"One called Battle Through the Heavens," Wang Ping said with a faint smile.

As he began to tell it, an hour passed. Chi Feng listened, eyes shining, utterly captivated.

It wasn't until dusk fell and loud commotion came from outside that Wang Ping finally stopped.

"Brother Wang Ping, what happens next? Does Xiao Yan regain his Dou Zhe cultivation?" Chi Feng asked anxiously when Wang Ping paused.

He was so engrossed, waiting for Xiao Yan to make a stunning comeback as a Dou Zhe, that Wang Ping's sudden stop left him feeling frustrated.

"He succeeded in breaking through to Dou Zhe," Wang Ping nodded.

Hearing this, Chi Feng's eyes lit up, and he said admiringly, "He really did it! Xiao Yan's amazing."

Going from a genius to a waste, having his engagement called off, then rising again so quickly—it was truly inspiring.

"By the way, Chi Feng, that noise outside—is it your village's hunting party coming back?" Wang Ping looked out and asked.

"Yeah. The hunting team usually goes out once every three days, leaving at dawn and returning at dusk," Chi Feng nodded, his tone full of admiration.

"Brother Wang Ping, let me tell you, the hunters on the team are the strongest people in our village. Their cultivation is all at the Postnatal Realm, and the captain is even at the Innate Realm—really powerful. My old dream was to become the captain of the hunting team."

"Postnatal Realm? Innate Realm?" Wang Ping was taken aback.

What's with Innate Realm again?

Both Cai Yonglong and Fang Yun from the group chat had Innate Realms in their worlds, and now his world had it too.

"Chi Feng, do you know the specific cultivation rank divisions?" Wang Ping asked curiously.

"Strange, Brother Wang Ping, you don't know the cultivation ranks?" Chi Feng looked at him, his innocent eyes full of confusion.

"I'm just a scholar. I don't know much about martial arts—I want to understand it better," Wang Ping said, shaking his head.

"Oh, I see." Chi Feng nodded, not overthinking it, and explained earnestly: "Grandpa Village Chief said that in cultivation, the first three realms are Body Tempering, Postnatal, and Innate."

"The first major realm is Body Tempering, which specifically includes Muscle Training, Skin Training, Bone Tempering, Meridian Unblocking, and Organ Training. Organ Training is the hardest."

"The second realm is called the Postnatal Realm. After tempering the organs, you can condense true qi."

"After the Postnatal Realm comes the Innate Realm. Grandpa Village Chief said that the Innate Realm is just the threshold of true cultivation. Once you break through to the Innate Realm, you can shed all turbid qi, cleanse your marrow, and return to the innate body you had in the womb. From then on, you can not only abstain from food, but your strength will undergo a qualitative change, and your lifespan can extend to two hundred years."

"As for what's beyond the Innate Realm, Grandpa Village Chief never said, and I don't know either." Chi Feng scratched his head, explaining further, and at the end, he looked a bit embarrassed, yet also yearned for what lay beyond the Innate Realm.