Battle Simulation

Looking at the vast white space before her, Shi Lan was still wondering what it was when detailed information about the place flooded into her mind.

Shi Lan closed her eyes and began to digest the information.

After a while, Shi Lan slowly opened her eyes, relief filling them. It was a good thing this side quest hadn't failed; otherwise, the loss would have been incalculable.

This virtual space had three main functions: environment simulation, battle simulation, and character simulation.

Environment simulation was exactly what it sounded like: it could recreate all kinds of environments from the outside world, including weather, terrain, and every object present in that environment.

Battle simulation contained many subfunctions. It could create a mirror image of Shi Lan herself.

The mirror image knew all the cultivation techniques and martial skills Shi Lan knew, and she could adjust its proficiency to suit her wishes, from beginner to mastery. It could spar with her and help her build combat experience—in short, it was an excellent way to hone her fighting skills.

Character simulation was a branch of battle simulation, and the function Shi Lan was most interested in. It could recreate anyone Shi Lan had met, with the simulation's accuracy determined by how much contact she had had with them.

This accuracy didn't refer to appearance, but to strength.

Shi Lan opened the list of characters she could currently simulate. At the very top was Shi Feng, whose simulation accuracy had already reached a perfect ten out of ten.

Below him were the names of the guards who had accompanied her on her previous outing. Their simulation accuracy was around three or four out of ten.

Shi Tianlu and Su Lanyue appeared after the guards, with similar accuracy ratings of less than two out of ten.

After them came a large number of names Shi Lan didn't recognize. They were probably the city's common folk.

After giving the list a quick look, Shi Lan tapped Shi Feng's name. She was still quite curious about his exact strength.

[Character simulation activated. Target: Shi Feng. Current simulation accuracy: 10/10. Adjust?]

"No adjustment. Leave it at ten."

[Activate environment simulation?]

"Activate it. The Shi Clan training grounds."

The space around her warped. In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into the Shi Clan training grounds.

The blazing sun hung overhead, and a gentle breeze drifted past. If not for Shi Feng, standing not far in front of her with an expressionless face, Shi Lan would almost have thought she had really arrived at the training grounds.

[Character simulation complete. Environment simulation complete. Begin battle?]

Shi Lan licked her lips, took a couple of excited, deep breaths, and said:

"Begin!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Shi Feng vanished from Shi Lan's sight.

Shi Lan blinked in confusion. Suddenly, her vision darkened. In the space of a single blink, Shi Feng had appeared right in front of her, less than an arm's length away!

Before Shi Lan could react, she felt an immense force slam into her chest.

"Crack—"

A series of sharp, crisp sounds of bones breaking rang in Shi Lan's ears.

Her mouth filled with sweetness, and she couldn't help spitting out a huge mouthful of blood. Her whole body flew backward, completely beyond her control.

Before she could even hit the ground, Shi Lan felt a large hand grab her head and instantly tighten its grip!

"Crack..."

At the sharp snap, Shi Lan lost consciousness.

"Hah... hah..."

Shi Lan kept taking deep breaths, her body trembling uncontrollably. She had really died just now—and been killed without the slightest ability to fight back.

There truly was great terror between life and death. The ancients hadn't lied.

Shi Lan had no desire to experience that suffocating feeling a second time.

[Battle simulation ended. Host defeated. Replay battle?]

Hearing the system prompt, Shi Lan gradually came back to herself.

After calming her emotions, Shi Lan nodded. "Replay the battle."

She hadn't even had time to react before, so naturally she didn't know how "Shi Feng" had killed her.

A gigantic light screen slowly unfurled before Shi Lan. Two figures stood facing each other: a replay of the battle simulation she had just fought.

"Begin!"

At the command of the Shi Lan in the replay, "Shi Feng" suddenly vanished. The next time he appeared, he was already standing right in front of her.

"Shi Feng" didn't waste a moment. He raised a hand and struck Shi Lan in the chest with his palm. His powerful force pierced straight through her body, shattering who knew how many of her ribs.

Shi Lan's chest caved in instantly. The force of the palm strike tore the clothing on her back to shreds, and she had nearly been punched straight through.

After Shi Lan flew backward, "Shi Feng" immediately pursued her, seized her head, and snapped her neck without the slightest hesitation.

Hearing the sharp crack from the light screen, Shi Lan felt her teeth ache. Shi Feng really didn't hold back when he struck.

In the end, she still hadn't figured out exactly how strong Shi Feng was. But one thing was clear: she was far too weak right now.

Shi Lan sighed and exited the virtual space.

Her most pressing task now was to quickly raise her strength to the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm and complete the system's quest.

[Two items in the system storage are about to exceed their storage period. Please retrieve them in time. Once the storage period expires, the system will reclaim them automatically.]

Shi Lan paused, then opened the system storage and took out the Body Tempering Pill. After a moment's hesitation, she took out the White Crane Skirt as well.

It was a two-star item, after all. It would be a shame to let the system reclaim it. Even if she didn't wear it herself, she could give it to someone else.

Shi Lan carefully folded the White Crane Skirt and tucked it into the very bottom of her wardrobe. Then she placed the Body Tempering Pill in a small brocade box and put it away.

Once she had tidied everything up, Shi Lan went to the desk and picked up the Blood Ginseng, which already had a large bite taken out of it.

After estimating how much she had eaten, Shi Lan brought the Blood Ginseng back to her mouth and took another bite.

The familiar warmth surged through her. Not daring to dawdle, Shi Lan sat down where she was and began circulating the Jade Forging Art.

After absorbing this wave of medicinal power, Shi Lan felt her strength increase another notch. She was drawing closer and closer to the first level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Before long, noon arrived. Zique came to deliver medicinal food again, this time in a much larger portion than yesterday.

"Madam told the Eldest Young Master to stay home and focus on practicing martial arts for the time being. She said not to go out and cause trouble again."

After Zique left, Shi Lan wolfed down the medicinal food in a few bites, then buried herself in training again.

By evening, more than half of the hundred-year Blood Ginseng had gone into Shi Lan's stomach.

Thanks to the Jade Forging Art, she showed none of the signs of taking too much nourishment, and her strength continued to grow steadily.

Gradually, Shi Lan's sinews, bones, skin, and flesh seemed to reach a critical point. The white current produced by the Jade Forging Art flowed faster and faster.

Suddenly, it was as if she had pierced through a layer of paper. Shi Lan felt refreshed from head to toe. Unable to help herself, she opened her eyes, stood up, and began practicing the Vajra Divine Fist.

As Shi Lan moved, a series of sharp cracks rang out from her bones and joints.

Her sinews and bones rang in unison—the first level of the Body Tempering Realm was complete!