The Third Simulation

No sun or moon in the death row.

Who knew how much time had passed? Zheng Qian suddenly opened his tightly shut eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them.

"What incredible strength! Is this the effect of the talent 'Strength Multiplier'?"

Feeling the terrifying power in his body, which had increased another two or three times over, Zheng Qian's face lit up with joy.

Of course, this increase in strength was not solely the effect of the talent 'Strength Multiplier'; it also included the power gained from advancing from the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm to its peak.

He immediately began impatiently testing whether he could break the chains around his hands and feet.

Very soon—

"Crack..."

With an almost inaudible sound of a chain breaking, Zheng Qian immediately noticed a hair-thin crack had silently appeared in the rusty iron shackle around his left wrist.

"There's hope!" Zheng Qian's eyes swiftly filled with delight as he looked at the crack in the iron shackle.

The first step of his prison-break plan had finally succeeded!

But this was still not enough!

There was still time. He had to do everything possible to raise his strength to its current limit first.

So, he still had to continue simulating!

With a thought from Zheng Qian, his Attribute Panel swiftly appeared before him:

[Myriad Worlds Simulator]

Host: Zheng Qian

Realm: Peak Body Tempering Realm

Talents: Eating is a Blessing (White); Strength Multiplier (White); (White Talent Refresh Chances *1)

Simulation Points: 1 (Recovery Rate: 1 point/7 days)

Storage Space: One Thousand Cubic Meters (+)

After glancing at his completely renewed attributes, Zheng Qian softly shouted without hesitation, "Continue!"

[ Ding! 1 Simulation Point consumed. Simulation initiated! Randomly selecting a Martial World... ]

[ Ding! World selection complete. The host will enter the Tai Chi Zhang San Feng World! ]

"Tai Chi Zhang San Feng?"

Hearing the notification in his mind, Zheng Qian froze for a moment before immediately recalling what world this was.

He knew this world very well. Its protagonist was naturally Zhang San Feng, the founding patriarch of Wudang.

Yet the person who had left the deepest impression on him was its greatest villain, Dong Tian Bao.

He was ruthless and vicious, willing to do anything to achieve his goals. He betrayed his brothers, personally killed the woman he loved, slaughtered innocents at will, treated the soldiers under his command as less than human... and much more.

No matter how one looked at it, he was an utterly heinous villain.

Especially his line, "Heaven is vast, earth is vast, but I am the greatest. My fate is mine to decide, not Heaven's!" It remained deeply etched in Zheng Qian's memory even now.

Yet Dong Tian Bao had given his whole heart to Zhang Jun Bao, the brother he had grown up with. After rising to power, he had always wanted Zhang Jun Bao to conquer the world alongside him, and even until his death, he had never used his ultimate move, the Bora Palm, against Zhang Jun Bao.

Of course, even if he had used it, it probably would not have been a match for Tai Chi Fist.

Just as Zheng Qian was sorting through the plot, the simulator's notification sounded in his mind once more:

[ Ding! World loading complete. Would you like to draw a talent? ]

"Yes!" Zheng Qian answered silently in his heart without hesitation.

[ Ding! One White Talent Refresh Chance consumed. Drawing talent... ]

[ Talent draw complete. Congratulations, host, for obtaining the White Talent [Martial Arts Enthusiast].

With this talent, the host will be interested only in martial arts. While practicing martial arts, the host can devote himself wholeheartedly, as though aided by the gods. ]

[ Select this talent or redraw? Yes/No ]

"[Martial Arts Enthusiast]? Only interested in martial arts? This..." Zheng Qian narrowed his eyes as he murmured hesitantly, staring at the talent he had drawn.

The talent [Martial Arts Enthusiast] was indeed excellent and would certainly be of great benefit to his martial arts training.

But this talent would affect his temperament, making him uninterested in anything other than martial arts.

Unfortunately, he had no extra Simulation Points to redraw a talent. With no other choice, he could only confirm in his heart, "Yes, select this talent."

Fortunately, it would only affect him during the simulation. At worst, he could simply choose not to inherit the talent after the simulation ended.

[ Ding! Talent successfully loaded. Simulation begins... ]

As Zheng Qian made his choice, that pale blue screen immediately appeared before him once again.

Then, lines of black text began appearing across the screen.

[ Year One: You were born in 1240 to an ordinary farming family in Henan.

This was already the late Southern Song. The court imposed countless harsh taxes and levies, leaving the people in misery, while peasant uprisings rose one after another across the land.

Your parents were both farmers. They rented five mu of land from Shaolin Temple and took on odd jobs in their spare time, barely managing to keep the family fed. ]

[ Your father was delighted by your arrival. Though illiterate, he specially spent five copper coins to ask the only teacher in the surrounding villages to give you an impressive name: Zhao Jian. ]

[ With the combined effects of the talents 'Eating is a Blessing' and 'Strength Multiplier,' you had been able to eat a great deal since childhood, but your body was also sturdier than those of children your age.

This left your parents both happy and worried. They were happy that your body was as strong and healthy as your name suggested, but worried because the family's limited income made it difficult for you to eat your fill even a few times. ]

[ Year Four: As you began forming memories, your talent 'Martial Arts Enthusiast' also began to take effect. Every day, you wanted to play with spears and staffs, turning your home upside down and leaving it in constant chaos. ]

[ Year Six: At five years old, your appetite and strength increased greatly. You still spent every day playing with spears and staffs, and you even beat up every child under ten in the village, making your parents apologize to others more times than they could count. ]

[ Year Seven: One month before your birthday, you beat up the young master of Squire Liu from the neighboring village.

Your parents feared retaliation from Squire Liu. Since the family could no longer afford to support you, they decided to send you to Shaolin Temple, over twenty li away, both to take refuge and to earn a meal.

Not yet six years old, you understood nothing. Your father simply carried you on his back and personally delivered you to Shaolin Temple.

Your bones were extraordinary and your natural physique robust, making you excellent material for martial arts training. Combined with your clean family background, Shaolin Temple accepted you and made you a member of the Miscellaneous Servant Court. ]

[ One month later, on your sixth birthday, you awakened the wisdom of your past life. You learned of your previous and current lives, as well as your present circumstances.

Having awakened your memories, you naturally inherited your martial arts realm at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm. You immediately began secretly practicing the Hun Yuan Pi Li Quan to recover your strength. ]

[ Year Eight: After a year of arduous training, your strength successfully recovered to the early stage of the Body Tempering Realm. ]

[ Year Ten: Your strength successfully recovered to the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm. ]

[ Year Twelve: Because of your good performance over the past five years, you successfully advanced from the Miscellaneous Servant Court to the Arhat Hall, giving you more time to practice martial arts and recover your strength. ]

[ Year Fourteen: Your strength successfully recovered to the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm.

That same year, you also met this world's protagonist, Zhang Jun Bao, and its great villain, Dong Tian Bao, who had come to Shaolin to study under a master. Both were only eight or nine years old then, five or six years younger than you. ]