"Every morning, the first thing I had to do was—"
Yun Shou opened his eyes. "Complete the daily task. Simulation, begin!"
Ding! Foundation -1%, current Foundation: 245%
Nearly two and a half times the Foundation—he had never possessed such outstanding talent aptitude before!
Early that morning, you rose and headed straight for the Qing He Gang to find Xu Ruohai.
But unlike the previous simulation, when you had gone to negotiate properly and leave the gang in peace, this time, you intended to beat him up before leaving.
Yet the moment you reached the village entrance, several people blocked your path. Taking a closer look, you saw the Shao Brothers—the ones you had beaten until they sprayed shit yesterday—followed by several official Qing He Gang members in distinctive uniforms.
This group clearly revolved around a middle-aged man dressed more lavishly, a minor leader of the Qing He Gang.
This man was Mu Jian, the Qing He Gang's Twentieth Seat, a Second-rate Martial Artist—and the biological uncle of both Shao Yimao and Shao Erdan!
"Twentieth Seat..." Yun Shou complained for the second time. "Shallow waters breed many turtles."
He put the matter of water and turtles aside for now. What truly caught his attention was the change in the simulation. Those two things actually have an acquaintance in the gang, and he's even a Second-rate Expert. Why wasn't this mentioned in the previous simulations...?
On second thought, Yun Shou understood. During his first two simulations, he had been unable to afford provoking Er Shao, so naturally they had never come looking to cause trouble.
In the third simulation, he had started out as a Second-rate Martial Artist. He had merely punched each of Er Shao once—not badly enough for their uncle to see any need to make an enemy of a talented teenage Second-rate Martial Artist.
Then, the Yun Shou in reality and the Yun Shou in the simulation had differed in spirit. One knew that he would rapidly grow stronger in two days, while the other knew he was already inside a simulation and had to practice martial arts step by step.
The former's greater confidence moved Uncle Ji, prompting him to withdraw all the money he had saved—only for a passing Shao to notice and begin plotting to steal it.
As for the fourth simulation, he had begun as a First-rate Expert and charged directly to the Qing He Gang headquarters. At that time, Shao Yimao and the others were probably preparing to steal the money when they heard the gang intended to treat Uncle Ji and Yun Shou well, so they did not dare make a move. Thus, the conflict had never erupted.
Therefore, through all these twists of fate, Er Shao had brought their uncle to the village entrance early that morning to seek revenge.
"They're at the village entrance now?"
Having worked out the chain of cause and effect, Yun Shou looked toward the village entrance.
While the simulation ran, time outside continued to pass in sync.
Fortunately, simulations proceeded very quickly, as though they were played at high speed within his mind. Even his longest simulation so far—the fourth—had only consumed one minute of real time.
(ps: There would be no melodramatic plot where he simulated and leveled up while fighting.)
Mu Jian looked at you coldly. Sensing that something about you was different, he sneered. "You dared practice martial arts in secret behind the Qing He Gang's back?"
He could tell that your spirit and bearing were entirely unlike those of an ordinary person, but he did not think you were particularly strong. At such a young age, you had likely only recently encountered martial arts, and without dietary supplements, reaching Third-Rate would already make you a little genius.
Then, drawing on the experience accumulated over the previous two simulations, you tried to make Mu Jian lose control of his sphincter as well... but with Internal Force protecting his body, it was not so easy to pull off.
Under your beating, Mu Jian chose to follow his heart and start spraying.
Yun Shou: "..."
No, no, no! Why had the me in the simulation become so heavy-tasted!?
Yesterday, he had only been fighting for fun. He had never considered turning this into one of his regular methods!
After beating Mu Jian, you headed straight for the Qing He Gang headquarters. Along the way, you grabbed a steel saber, coated it in Azure Force Qi, and opened with a sweeping slash that forced several Second-rate Martial Artists back.
After calling Xu Ruohai out by name, your saber flowed and exploded with every stroke. Over thirty or forty exchanges, you once forced Xu Ruohai into a disadvantage.
Having lost face before his subordinates, Xu Ruohai became enraged and was about to order everyone in the gang to swarm you... but you suddenly retreated several steps and signaled for them to stop.
You said, "When all is said and done, the Qing He Gang was in the wrong here. You exploited an ignorant young boy like me into signing a contract of sale, and then that Mu-whatever-Jian, a forty-something old man, brought his two nephews in their twenties to bully a child like me. What could I do? Can you really blame this on me?"
Xu Ruohai's face turned livid. "..."
The Qing He Gang leaders said, "The lad's words make sense!"
"Exactly! How could you bully a child? He's still young and doesn't know better. Gang Leader, just forgive him this once."
"He's a child, he doesn't know better. He was only playing around."
Xu Ruohai's livid expression gradually changed. In a deep voice, he said, "This matter was indeed Mu Jian's fault to begin with."
You discovered that this gang leader was indeed quite skilled at finding himself a way down the steps.
All the "misunderstandings" were resolved at that moment. You alone could not defeat Xu Ruohai and the rest of the gang, while Xu Ruohai could not bear the mounting losses either.
A world where only Mu Jian and his two nephews were injured had been achieved.
You demanded compensation from Xu Ruohai: the destruction of your contract of sale, along with an additional sum of silver.
The next day, you traveled to Qingcheng, dozens of li away. In this simulation, you intended to make Qingcheng your main base before the Alien Demon descended, and to contact Zhu Baowen once more.
But first, you registered for the Lin Family young lady's Martial Arts Tournament to Choose a Spouse.
You cut through the competition like a hot knife through butter. You were far stronger than in the previous simulation, and nearly every match was an instant kill—until you encountered the other First-rate Expert on the arena besides yourself.
He called himself the Chibi Guest. His full name was Zhang Xiaoran. His title came from his towering build and the reddish tint of his skin due to his martial arts, as though a crimson wall stood there.
Upon facing him directly, you realized that he was in his thirties, with a vast and terrifying presence. His talent aptitude for martial arts was likely not much lower than yours, and he had definitely reached the stage of Vital Energy Infused into Bone. He might even possess an innate gift like Dragon Elephant Strength.
If you fought, you would not be his match—because you had only reached thirty percent progress in Extreme Viscera Enhancement, still in the foundation-laying stage among First-rate Martial Artists. Vital Energy Infused into Bone was when strength began to soar rapidly.
Fortunately, just like in the last simulation, Zhang Xiaoran stated that he had no intention of competing for first place. He had merely come to casually crush weaker opponents for fun. He showed goodwill toward a teenage First-rate Martial Artist like you and said he would not steal what you desired.
Using the Qing He Gang's money, you treated him to a meal. At the same time, you told him the title you had just chosen for yourself: Yun Wu Dao. Wu represented the fifth simulation, while Dao represented the saber, your most commonly used weapon.
The title was strange, but martial artists were full of strange people. Zhang Xiaoran did not care. After a lengthy conversation, you became friends.
Before you continue