Talent Entry Selection

After the five positive Talents came five negative ones.

Unlike choosing positive Talents, which consumed Talent Points, selecting these negative Talents granted additional Talent Points as compensation.

Heavenly Fiend Lone Star: You have no relatives or friends. Even if you deliberately try to make connections, you will lose them to all manner of accidents. Choosing this Talent requires -40 Talent Points.

Sign of Early Death: Your current Lifespan is reduced by half. Choosing this Talent requires -30 Talent Points.

Lost Fortune: You are fated for toil. No matter how much money or resources come into your hands, they will slip away for various reasons, leaving you unable to save anything. Choosing this Talent requires -20 Talent Points.

Alchemy Furnace Explosion: Compared to others, you are far more likely to blow up your furnace while refining pills, losing everything in the process. Choosing this Talent requires -10 Talent Points.

Gluttonous and Lustful: You possess an extraordinary obsession with food and beauty, one that may sometimes interfere with important matters. Choosing this Talent requires -10 Talent Points.

After reading through all the Talents, Lin Heng did some quick calculations.

He discovered that if he selected every negative Talent Trait, he would gain an additional 110 Talent Points. Added to the 90 Talent Points allocated at the start, it would be just enough to select all five positive Talents.

"The most expensive of these positive Talent Traits costs 90 Talent Points. Is that because I was allocated 90 initial Talent Points this time? They should be arranged according to the principle that the more expensive the Trait, the better its effect, right?"

"The purpose of these negative Traits is to give me extra Talent Points so I can equip more Talents?"

The thought flashed through Lin Heng's mind.

The next instant, Lin Heng began considering how to configure the Talents he would bring into this simulation.

"The simulator is in Survival Mode. If I want a high evaluation, I definitely need to survive as long as possible—to live longer and live better."

"My most urgent problem right now is food and survival. So I must choose the Reset Attributes Talent Trait and put more Attribute Points into Family Background. That will ensure I don't starve to death the moment the simulation begins."

"After solving the food problem, I need to find a way to grow stronger. Cultivation Prodigy must be selected. My next choice would be Innate Sword Seed, then Naturally Optimistic. As for Artifact Forging Expert, it isn't essential."

After determining the priorities, Lin Heng began deciding how many negative Talent Traits he could accept. That would determine which Talents he could choose for this simulation.

"Heavenly Fiend Lone Star is the first to be ruled out. It conflicts with the main goal of survival."

"If I want to survive and live better, I'll have to interact with others in the early stages and gain their help."

"Lost Fortune also conflicts with the main goal of survival, so it has to be ruled out too. Then there's Gluttonous and Lustful. This flaw may seem insignificant, but it's too uncontrollable. If it lets me down at a critical moment, it could be fatal."

"The only ones I can accept are Sign of Early Death and Alchemy Furnace Explosion. Alchemy Furnace Explosion is a must-pick. At worst, I just won't refine pills. It barely counts as a price at all."

Having thought that far, the only issue Lin Heng still had doubts about was whether he should choose Sign of Early Death.

This Talent Trait traded thirty-five years of Lifespan for thirty Talent Points, which would then let him choose the two extremely useful Talent Traits, Artifact Forging Expert and Naturally Optimistic.

Artifact Forging Expert aside, Naturally Optimistic could be paired with Cultivation Prodigy, allowing Lin Heng to persevere more easily on the path of cultivation during his simulated life and ensuring he could obtain a higher simulation evaluation.

"Trade it. Lifespan in a simulated life isn't worth much. I might not even live to thirty-five before some accident kills me."

"Besides, according to the simulator, cultivation can increase Lifespan. As long as I make it through the early stage, I can extend my life through cultivation before dying of old age and make up for this Talent Trait's drawback."

Without much hesitation, Lin Heng made his decision.

With that, the Talents he needed to choose became obvious.

By selecting the Gray Negative Traits Sign of Early Death and Alchemy Furnace Explosion, Lin Heng gained an additional forty Talent Points.

Together with the ninety Talent Points initially allocated to him, Lin Heng used the 130 Talent Points to select the four positive red Talent Traits—Cultivation Prodigy, Naturally Optimistic, Artifact Forging Expert, and Reset Attributes—spending every last Talent Point.

Next, Lin Heng used the Reset Attributes Talent Trait to reset and redistribute his Innate Attributes.

Finally, after confirming the allocation, Lin Heng obtained a brand-new Attribute Panel.

Name: Lin Heng

Race: Human Race Value 20

Lifespan: 5/35 years

Strength: Pathetically Weak

Family Background: 1→20

Charm: 14→20

Comprehension: 16→20

Constitution: 11→1

Fortune: 20→1

Talents: Past Life Wisdom Cultivation Prodigy Naturally Optimistic Artifact Forging Expert Reset Attributes Sign of Early Death Alchemy Furnace Explosion

Simulation Count: 4--

On this brand-new Attribute Panel, Lin Heng had directly raised Family Background, Charm, and Comprehension to their maximum value of 20.

The price was that both Constitution and Fortune had fallen to the minimum value of 1.

A Constitution of 1 meant Lin Heng would be frail and sickly. A Fortune of 1 meant he would have almost no chance of receiving any extra good luck in his simulated life, and whenever he faced the crossroads of fate, he would have to rely on his own wisdom to get through.

But Lin Heng felt that all of it was worth it.

A Family Background of 20 represented a top-tier family background, allowing Lin Heng to access cultivation more easily and receive greater support in Cultivation Resources.

A Charm of 20 ensured that he would be loved by elders, relatives, and friends, guaranteeing that he could fully capitalize on the benefits of his top-tier family background. A Comprehension of 20 ensured that once Lin Heng came into contact with cultivation, he could maximize the effects of the Cultivation Prodigy Talent Trait.

With the support brought by these three maxed-out Attributes, the thirty-five years of Lifespan Lin Heng had lost due to the Sign of Early Death Talent Trait, the weakness caused by his Constitution dropping to 1, and the almost nonexistent extra opportunities brought by 1 Fortune—all these negative effects could be compensated for.

As long as he could cultivate, and cultivate quickly, none of it would be a problem. Anything he wanted could be obtained through his own strength.

It was precisely with this mindset that Lin Heng now had this brand-new Attribute Panel.

"Begin simulation."

Lin Heng gave the Attribute Panel and Talent Traits one final inspection. Once he was certain there were no mistakes or omissions, he clicked the option to begin the simulation.

As Lin Heng selected Begin Simulation, the light screen representing the Life Simulator vanished from before him.

Other than that, no further unusual phenomena occurred.

It was then that Lin Heng caught a heady fragrance drifting past his nose.

Soon after, his consciousness sank uncontrollably into a haze.