Hua Chuan was surprised to see you.
You were taken in for an examination.
The results showed that you had consumed some item with incredibly potent life force, which had caused your cultivation to rapidly break through to Apprentice Rank, ninth stage. A large part of that effect still remained.
Three Illusion Tree Valley was surrounded.
After a search, your Iron Vine Grass was discovered, along with the 100 milliliters of Locke Divine Water.
However, Pansy had been lucky enough to escape the disaster.
You marveled at his cleverness.
Because you intended to rebel, you had to be executed as a warning to others, even though you had become quite valuable. And so, during a global broadcast, you were killed.
You were dead.
But your corpse had not gone to waste. Every bit of flesh and blood had been put to good use.
This simulation ended.
Evaluation: C-88
Through carelessness, you had met your end halfway, despite having had an excellent chance of escaping. But your death had not been meaningless; it had laid a solid foundation for the rebellion a year later.
You could choose one of the following:
One: Apprentice Rank, ninth stage
Two: Slightly increased cultivation talent
Three: 1 drop of Locke Divine Water
"An evaluation! It's still an evaluation!"
Han Han felt utterly helpless. He had obtained a full 100 milliliters of Locke Divine Water in the simulation, but in the end, he could only choose a single drop.
After thinking for a moment, Han Han chose the second option.
For now, one drop of Locke Divine Water wouldn't change anything. As long as he couldn't solve the problem of Iron Vine Grass being unable to break through to Planetary Rank, having more resources would be useless.
An improvement to his cultivation talent would be more effective for him at present.
He also knew this was an effect of consuming that drop of Locke Divine Water in the simulation. It might not be very noticeable.
Then again, if it were too noticeable, he wouldn't have chosen it!
At the same time,
the system reward was granted. An invisible force descended upon Han Han's body, slightly improving his absorption efficiency.
"First, I'll finish gathering the Three Illusion Leaves. Then I'll go back and see how much I've improved."
"Whoosh!"
With a single leap, Han Han began gathering them with practiced ease.
Half a day later,
Han Han returned to the Tree House and eagerly tried cultivating. He sat cross-legged, palms facing upward, as wisps of cosmic energy began to flow into his body.
"One times!"
Han Han was delighted. Compared to before, his cultivation speed had increased by at least onefold. "It's probably because this is my first time using it. Even one drop has a very noticeable effect."
"What a shame about the simulation, though."
He somewhat regretted bringing out the Iron Vine Grass. Ever since he had taken it out to cultivate, unexpected things kept happening in the simulations.
Still, he had to admit he really would have done the same thing.
"I've encountered Pansy several times in the simulations, but I've never even seen what she looks like. There's no way I can approach her in real life beforehand."
The repeated simulations showed that Pansy was probably somewhere nearby. But her name had only come up later. How could he make contact with her ahead of time?
"Wait."
"The aura of Locke Divine Water!"
Han Han recalled what had been mentioned in the simulation. "Pansy must have come into contact with Locke Divine Water by now. Maybe I can use that to figure things out..."
"Still, no." Han Han rejected the idea of approaching Pansy in advance. "The risk is too great. I should keep simulating until I can make absolutely sure."
He had already made up his mind.
If too many unexpected things happened, he would abandon the Iron Vine Grass and escape Thousand Leaf Planet as he had in the successful simulation before.
With the Life Simulation System, he would never lack resources. He could make plans for the Locke Divine Water later. Gaining his freedom came first.
He was lucky to have Pansy. Otherwise, escaping would have been no easy feat.
"Hum~"
Night fell. The nights on Thousand Leaf Planet were exceptionally beautiful, with a faint purple glow spreading across the starry sky.
Before he knew it,
half a year had passed.
Han Han realized that the simulations had fallen into a loop again. In every one of them, he went to ask Pansy for Locke Divine Water and broke through to Apprentice Rank, ninth stage after drinking it.
But those 60 simulations hadn't been fruitless. After choosing the talent improvement 45 more times, his cultivation speed had become nearly five times what it had been at the start.
In fact, it had already reached that point on the 44th try. The effect of his 45th choice had been almost negligible.
In the remaining 15 simulations, he had chosen to store the Locke Divine Water in System Space every single time.
"Hum~"
His aura suddenly surged.
"I did it."
Han Han abruptly opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face. This was a breakthrough he had achieved through his own hard work.
He had also confirmed through simulation that breaking through half a year early wouldn't draw Hua Chuan's attention. Otherwise, he would rather have delayed for another half year.
"According to the simulation, once I break through to Apprentice Rank, eighth stage, I'll start looking for subordinates. Later, I'll run into Pansy... Maybe I can try this." Han Han thought.
He had to break the cycle and lead his simulated self in a new direction.
He got up, left the Tree House, and headed for Three Illusion Tree Valley.
Three Illusion Tree Valley was roughly triangular, with the entrance at one corner. He had hidden the Iron Vine Grass at another corner.
Now he was heading toward the remaining corner.
For the sake of this plan, he had spent the past two months gathering Three Illusion Leaves in this area. That way, his movements would seem more natural and he wouldn't give himself away.
"Drip!"
As he gathered Three Illusion Leaves, a drop of Locke Divine Water suddenly appeared in midair about a hundred meters away.
This was an ability of System Space.
An extracted item could appear anywhere within a hundred-meter radius, though not inside an object—only in the open.
At the same time,
as the drop of Locke Divine Water seeped into the soil, its rich life force began nourishing the Three Illusion Tree.
Unlike Iron Vine Grass, the Three Illusion Tree wouldn't absorb it as effectively, and the process would be several times slower. It would probably take more than ten days for anything unusual to show.
But Han Han didn't need to wait that long.
"Start the simulation," Han Han silently said.
[Life Simulation begins]
[Age 22, you are gathering Three Illusion Leaves in Three Illusion Tree Valley. You vaguely sense that one of the Three Illusion Trees nearby seems more vibrant, but the change is so slight that it would be hard to notice without looking closely.]
[Day two, you search for subordinates while gathering Three Illusion Leaves. When you pass that Three Illusion Tree again, you can clearly see that its leaves are glossier. But that isn't your concern, and after gathering the leaves, you leave.]
[Day three, that Three Illusion Tree has grown taller. You realize there may be a treasure beneath it, but you also know it is beyond your reach, so you hurry away.]
[Day four, you don't go to investigate.]
[Day five, that Three Illusion Tree can no longer be kept hidden. It has grown far taller than the other Three Illusion Trees, and you see several guards seal off the area.]
[You are ordered to cultivate in the Tree House.]
[Three Illusion Tree Valley is thoroughly searched. Fortunately, the search area is far from where the Iron Vine Grass is hidden. And since you had it burrow underground several months earlier, it is not exposed.]
"Things have changed!"
Han Han was delighted. All his careful planning had paid off.
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