Chapter Summaries

After years of forced dock labor, Chen Yi drew the Mythic Simulator Entry and began his first simulation. He left his revenge plans against the Black Stone Gang and his family’s killers for later as the simulation started.

• Chen Yi worked at the docks with Dachun while enduring beatings and recalling how his family had been massacred and he had been forced into labor by the Black Stone Gang.
• Chen Yi’s annual entry draw ended, and he obtained the Prismatic Mythic Entry, Simulator.
• Chen Yi learned that the Simulator let him live through simulations, draw entries, and inherit his entries, memories, realms, methods, and skills when a simulation ended.
• Chen Yi vowed to settle accounts with the Black Stone Gang and his family’s killers, then began his first simulation during lunch.

Chen Yi used the simulation to discover that the Black Stone Gang planned to feed him to the River Demon, then escaped across the Qing River with Dachun’s help. The simulation paused as Chen Yi weighed seeking refuge with his Third Sister, whose husband was a Martial Artist, against hiding in the wilderness.

• Chen Yi equipped the White Strip in the Waves trait and learned that the Black Stone Gang planned to send him and two other laborers to the River God.
• Chen Yi fled into the Qing River, and Dachun set fire to cargo at the dock to distract the gang members pursuing him.
• The Black Stone Gang attacked Dachun, while Chen Yi escaped across the river and survived the crossing.
• Chen Yi considered seeking refuge with his Third Sister in White Cloud County Town to learn about the Martial Dao or hiding in the wilderness.

Chen Yi’s simulation forced him into marriage with the bandit leader Xu Linglong, but she later helped him escape when government soldiers attacked Flying Tiger Stockade. Chen Yi chose to flee through a secret cave, prioritizing survival and more trait draws.

• Chen Yi fled toward White Cloud County but was captured by bandits led by Xu Linglong, who forced him to marry her.
• Xu Linglong’s father, Xu Hu, welcomed their marriage, and Chen Yi endured life as her husband while enjoying the stockade’s comforts.
• In his second year, Chen Yi gained the trait “The Beauty of Ji Ni” and remained unable to practice Martial Dao because he had no Root Bone.
• Government soldiers attacked Flying Tiger Stockade after the Second Leader betrayed it, and Xu Linglong dragged Chen Yi to a secret cave passage so he could escape.
• Chen Yi decided to take the cave passage and leave rather than return to fight or help the authorities destroy the bandits.

Chen Yi’s simulation followed his life as Chen Dong, a commoner who married the proprietress of Yuelai Inn and built a comfortable family life despite the dangers faced by ordinary people. By age thirty-seven, he had a thriving inn, two children, and was so immersed in his simulated happiness that he nearly forgot it was a simulation.

• Chen Yi learned that Shen Qingshan had been executed for murder and that Third Sister’s home had been sealed, leaving him worried that she had been exiled.
• Chen Yi took the name Chen Dong and became a waiter at Yuelai Inn, where a Martial Artist broke his arm over savory tofu pudding.
• Chen Dong and the proprietress fell in love, married, and made the inn flourish, raising him from poverty into the gentry class.
• At age twenty-eight, Chen Dong drew the green Term “The Older the More Fortunate,” which guaranteed a rare Term at certain extractions after age sixty.
• Chen Dong and the proprietress had a son and later a daughter, celebrating both births with lavish feasts.
• By age thirty-seven, Chen Dong had a comfortable life with his family and nearly forgot that he was in a simulation.

At sixty, Chen Yi’s simulated self finally obtained a Low-Grade Bone Structure and began training at Thunderbolt Martial Hall despite his age. After a year without progress and amid others’ ridicule, Chen Dong remained determined to enter the Martial Dao.

• A demonic Martial Artist killed Chen Dong’s daughter, and his grieving wife later died; Chen Dong buried them both.
• Chen Dong’s son, Chen Dong, went to fight the Southern Border forces and died, leaving his father his ashes and a final letter.
• After war and a Tiger Demon destroyed Chen Dong’s livelihood, he left White Cloud County Town and lived beside his family’s graves.
• At age sixty, Chen Dong received the Low-Grade Bone Structure trait and paid Niu Dandan to teach him martial arts.
• After a year of cultivation without progress, Chen Dong ignored the ridicule and vowed to step into the Martial Dao.

Chen Dong spent decades training at Thunderbolt Martial Hall, finally reaching the Third Stage of Body Refining before dying at eighty after drawing the trait "Serious Punch." Chen Yi received Chen Dong’s memories, cultivation, traits, and Reckless Bull Strength, gaining the foundation for his next life.

• At seventy, Chen Dong replaced "The Older the More Fortunate" with "Effort Will Be Rewarded" and continued training at Thunderbolt Martial Hall.
• Chen Dong entered the Body Refining Realm, and Niu Dandan welcomed him into the martial hall as family.
• By seventy-nine, Chen Dong had reached the Third Stage of Body Refining, but illness left him bedridden as Niu Dandan visited him.
• At eighty, Chen Dong triggered a guaranteed trait draw and obtained "Serious Punch" before dying of old age.
• Chen Yi inherited Chen Dong’s memories, Third Stage of Body Refining cultivation, sixty-two traits, and entry-level Reckless Bull Strength.

After advancing to the Third Stage of Body Refining, Chen Yi accepted a guidance task to infiltrate the Black Stone Gang and escape with Dachun. He caused a revolt at the dock, defeated the overseers, and seized Wang Qiang’s hammers, leaving the fight poised to continue.

• Chen Yi equipped five terms and accepted the guidance task, which offered a simulation, a premium term draw, and a Flame Iron Heavy Sword.
• Chen Yi decided to pretend to join the Black Stone Gang and leave with Dachun, then smashed his bowl to provoke the overseers.
• Dachun smashed his bowl too, and an overseer whipped him before attacking Chen Yi.
• Chen Yi caught the overseer’s whip and sent him into the Qing River, then defeated the other overseers and threw them into the water.
• Wang Qiang confronted Chen Yi with a pair of small hammers, but Chen Yi took them before Wang Qiang could react.

Chen Yi beat Wang Qiang, then demonstrated his strength to the Black Stone Gang’s Fourth Leader and accepted Shi San’s invitation to join the gang. He planned to use his new position as cover while looking for a chance to leave with Dachun.

• Chen Yi hammered Wang Qiang for abusing the dock workers, and the laborers and overseers cheered as he beat him.
• Shi San ordered the Fourth Leader to test Chen Yi, and Chen Yi landed a powerful Serious Punch that injured him.
• Shi San invited Chen Yi to join the Black Stone Gang, and Chen Yi agreed after claiming Wang Qiang had ignored his earlier disclosure that he was a Martial Artist.
• Shi San blamed Wang Qiang for overlooking Chen Yi and ordered him thrown back into the water, where he drowned.
• Shi San hosted a banquet for Chen Yi and appointed him as an instructor for the gang’s lower-ranking members, keeping him away from the gang’s core.

Chen Yi began a new simulation to escape the Black Stone Gang’s control and save Dachun from being offered to the River God. He kicked Fourth Leader and the other gang members into the river, then fled with Dachun as the Fish Demon devoured them.

• At Shi San’s banquet, Chen Yi learned that the gang planned to take Dachun and other laborers to feed the River God.
• Chen Yi completed his guidance mission, received a Crimson Longsword, drew the White term Dragon Plays with Phoenix, and started a new simulation.
• Chen Yi joined Fourth Leader’s trip to the river, where the gang brought Dachun and two laborers as offerings.
• Chen Yi kicked Fourth Leader and the gang members into the river, then grabbed Dachun and fled.
• A Fish Demon surfaced, mistook Fourth Leader for the intended offering, and devoured him and the other gang members.

Chen Yi brought Dachun to White Cloud County, reunited with Chen Yun and Shen Qingshan, and found Dachun work at Yuelai Inn. Shen Qingshan gave Chen Yi the Shen Family’s cultivation methods and suggested he join the Monster Slaying Division, while the massacre at Luoding Village remained unexplained.

• Chen Yi chose to take Dachun to White Cloud County and defeated Xu Linglong’s bandits on the way, sparing them and warning her about Second Leader.
• Chen Yi and Dachun reached Chen Yun’s home, where Chen Yun joyfully welcomed them and thanked Dachun for saving her brother.
• Chen Yi arranged for Dachun to work at Yuelai Inn, where Mei Sanniang agreed to provide him with food and a place to help.
• After Shen Qingshan saw Chen Yi’s strength, Chen Yi claimed a passing old man had taught him, and Shen Qingshan gave him four Shen Family cultivation methods.
• Shen Qingshan encouraged Chen Yi to train for the Monster Slaying Division and said the Luoding Village killers had left no clues, though he suspected they had silenced someone who knew too much.

Chen Yi learned the basics of the Martial Dao, joined the Monster Slaying Division, and was framed for murdering villagers in Fire Prosperity Village. Shen Qingshan confronted Head Constable Han Sheng as the constables tried to take Chen Yi away.

• Shen Qingshan taught Chen Yi about cultivation realms and methods, then gave him four middle-grade Cultivation Methods.
• Chen Yi trained for a year, improved his combat skills, and joined the Monster Slaying Division through Shen Qingshan's introduction.
• Shen Qingshan led his team to Fire Prosperity Village to investigate reports of an Ox Demon, and Chen Yi found villagers' corpses in a courtyard.
• Han Sheng arrived with constables and accused Chen Yi of killing eighteen villagers, then had him bound and arrested.
• Shen Qingshan stopped Han Sheng and demanded an explanation for arresting Chen Yi.

Chen Yi confessed to the crimes charged against him and was sentenced to penal military service instead of execution, thanks to Shen Qingshan’s efforts. On the journey to the Southern Border Army, he drew the Epic trait Eidetic Memory and arrived at camp, where he faced a veteran convict named Old Liu.

• Feng Yucheng intervened when Han Sheng came to arrest Chen Yi, and Shen Qingshan could not prevent Chen Yi from being taken away.
• Chen Yi immediately confessed to the cases Han Sheng listed and was sentenced to penal military service after Shen Qingshan secured a commutation.
• Chen Yun, Shen Qingshan, and their daughter saw Chen Yi off, and Chen Yi refused Shen Qingshan’s plan to help him escape so Third Sister’s family would not be punished.
• Chen Yi drew the Purple trait Eidetic Memory, replaced Dragon Plays with Phoenix, and traveled for more than a year to the Southern Border Army.
• The army assigned Chen Yi to the Logistics Battalion, where Old Liu challenged the newcomer and Chen Yi claimed he had killed more than a hundred people.

Chen and the Logistics Battalion caught Pockmarked Face attempting to blow up the army’s gunpowder depot and brought him before General Sun Cheng'en. Sun refused to record merit for the exiled soldiers but offered them silver, leaving Chen to choose whether to accept it or request something else.

• Chen kept watch on Pockmarked Face after recognizing him as an enemy mounted archer from an earlier ambush.
• Pockmarked Face joined the Firearm Battalion and volunteered to guard the gunpowder depot.
• Chen and the Logistics Battalion surrounded and captured Pockmarked Face as he tried to ignite a fuse.
• Chen’s group reported the spy to General Sun Cheng'en, who confirmed the plot by secretly moving the gunpowder and leaving the depot as a test.
• Sun refused to record merit for the exiled soldiers but gave each of them a silver ingot and asked Chen whether he wanted the reward.

Chen Yi used his eidetic memory to expose a Southern Border spy and impress Sun Cheng'en, who made him a military adviser and supplied him with cultivation resources. The simulation left Chen Yi thriving in the army, while the man watching in reality envied his success.

• Chen Yi refused silver and asked Sun Cheng'en for cultivation pills, then answered questions about the suspected spy and explained that he had a good memory.
• Sun Cheng'en tested Chen Yi's memory and asked him to repeat the test the next day; Chen Yi recalled every detail and earned the general's trust.
• Sun Cheng'en appointed Chen Yi as a military adviser and promised to trade his contributions for pills, crystal stones, and other rewards.
• Chen Yi became indispensable throughout the camp, and Old Liu and the other logistics soldiers benefited from his rising status.
• Sun Cheng'en continually supplied Chen Yi with resources, and Chen Yi used them to improve his cultivation while giving Spiritual Artifacts to his followers.
• The man watching the simulation envied Chen Yi's life in the military camp and said he wanted to be conscripted too.

Chen Yi and Sun Cheng'en's border troops were trapped at Yan Pass while the imperial court repeatedly ordered them to attack Dashiguo without reinforcements. Sun Cheng'en finally prepared to draw the enemy away so his soldiers and the civilians could escape, refusing Chen Yi's hint that he could deal with the imperial envoy instead.

• Chen Yi observed that Dashiguo's Savage Elephants seemed sick, and Sun Cheng'en warned that the enemy might be baiting the defenders into a trap.
• An imperial envoy delivered another golden edict ordering Sun Cheng'en to attack, and Sun Cheng'en refused to lead his troops to certain death.
• Two months later, the envoy returned and threatened Sun Cheng'en with execution if he disobeyed again.
• Sun Cheng'en told Chen Yi, his deputy, and trusted generals that he would lead his guard through the South Gate while the soldiers and civilians escaped through the North Gate.
• The generals urged Sun Cheng'en to rebel, but he refused, and Chen Yi suggested dealing with the imperial envoy before Sun Cheng'en ended the discussion.

Unable to sleep before Sun Cheng'en’s final battle, Chen memorized the cultivation methods of the general’s guards and was sent away with the civilians. When the border army turned back to fight, Chen was dragged into the retreat and ended up fleeing the Dashiguo ambush, where Old Liu called to him from inside a dead elephant.

• Chen found Sun Cheng'en’s personal guards copying their inherited cultivation methods and promised to preserve them by memorizing them all.
• Sun Cheng'en led his eight hundred guards into battle while twenty thousand soldiers escaped the city disguised as civilians.
• The soldiers learned Sun Cheng'en had sent them away to escape and turned back to fight alongside the border army, despite their commanders’ orders.
• Sun Cheng'en’s tent guards forcibly carried Chen away from the battle, as ordered, while the border army sent troops to protect the fleeing civilians.
• The Dashiguo Army ambushed the civilians, and both tent guards died protecting Chen as he fled the slaughter.
• Old Liu called Chen over from inside the asshole of a dead giant elephant.

Chen Yi gained the Spider Senses trait and, after surviving the fall of Yan Pass, continued searching for a Martial Dao sect that might help him reach the Spirit Gathering Realm. Old Liu joined him after learning his family had been destroyed, and the two traveled through the Central Plains seeking smaller sects.

• Chen Yi replaced Effort Will Be Rewarded with Spider Senses, which helped him and Old Liu survive the battlefield as the Suzhou border army was wiped out and Dashiguo seized the province.
• Old Liu warned Chen Yi to conceal his identity, and Chen Yi decided to seek a Martial Dao sect and a Spirit Gathering Pill.
• Chen Yi and Old Liu visited Old Liu's hometown, where Old Liu learned his parents had lost everything and his sister had died in a brothel.
• Chen Yi heard that the Dagan court planned to cede Suzhou territory and marry Princess Baihua to the Dashiguo King, while threats mounted across the empire's borders.
• Chen Yi chose to keep searching for Martial Dao sects rather than rebel or settle down, and Old Liu asked to travel with him.
• Chen Yi and Old Liu began visiting smaller, newer sects, since major sects would not accept a thirty-something disciple who had not reached the Spirit Gathering Realm.

Chen Yi and Old Liu found Lingfeng Pavilion massacred, where Chen Yi seized a Spirit Gathering Pill and broke through to the Spirit Gathering Realm. He then realized Old Liu had orchestrated the slaughter, and Old Liu revealed he had gained his power six years earlier from an unknown object.

• Chen Yi and Old Liu discovered that every disciple at Lingfeng Pavilion had been killed like the villagers they had encountered on their travels.
• Old Liu found two Spirit Gathering Pills, and Chen Yi and Old Liu each took one to cultivate.
• Chen Yi used the Fervent Heart Art and crystals from the military camp to break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm.
• Chen Yi questioned how Old Liu had recognized the pills, and Spider Senses warned him that Old Liu was dangerous.
• Old Liu admitted that he had slaughtered the villages and Lingfeng Pavilion, then said he had gained his strength six years earlier after obtaining something.

Chen Yi discovered that Old Liu had been using the Myriad Souls Banner to slaughter villagers and drain his own life, then barely survived Old Liu’s attack when the eighteen sects intervened. The Golden Body Realm fighters drove Old Liu to flee, while Chen Yi was left gravely injured and unconscious.

• Old Liu revealed the Myriad Souls Banner, and Chen Yi recognized him as the likely demonic Martial Artist from his earlier simulation who had killed his daughter.
• Old Liu admitted that feeding the banner had helped him reach the Soul Tempering Realm and insisted that becoming stronger justified its cost.
• Old Liu offered to share the banner with Chen Yi, but Chen Yi used a Smoke Escape Bead and the Zhengyang Art to try to escape.
• The Myriad Souls Banner dispelled the smoke and unleashed ghosts that overwhelmed Chen Yi until fighters from the eighteen sects arrived to attack Old Liu.
• Three Golden Body Realm Martial Artists joined the battle, forcing Old Liu to flee, while the banner’s attack left Chen Yi gravely drained of Origin Qi.
• A large-faced person recognized Chen Yi as a benefactor and offered to care for him as he lost consciousness.

After recovering under Xu Linglong’s care, Chen Yi settled in Makou Town and opened Cheng'en Martial Hall to fulfill his comrades’ wishes and recuperate. Three years later, he spotted Dachun among two beggars on the street.

• Xu Linglong told Chen Yi how his warning had helped her escape the raid on Flying Tiger Stockade, and he turned down her affection by claiming he could not perform.
• Chen Yi chose to settle down, and Xu Linglong helped him establish Cheng'en Martial Hall in Makou Town.
• Chen Yi accepted local youths as students, taught those with Root Bone to enter the Martial Dao, and referred promising students to the Clear Soup Sect.
• After three years, Chen Yi left routine teaching to hired instructors and focused on restoring his health.
• Chen Yi recognized Dachun among two beggars and hurried over to call out to him.