Taking Ji Ning as Disciple and the First Simulation

Great Xia World, Anchan Commandery city.

Inside the Black-White Academy's main hall.

"Ji Ning, are you willing to take me as your master?"

"Disciple Ji Ning, pays respects to Master."

Looking at the figure in black Daoist robes before him, Ji Ning performed the kowtow ritual of a disciple without a moment's hesitation.

Based on the intelligence he had gathered, he knew a little about the Immortals of the Black-White Academy.

The "Immortal Ganyu" before him was undoubtedly the most mysterious and unfathomable existence within the academy.

Immortal Ganyu was a Loose Immortal who had lived for over three million years.

For a cultivator, there is a disaster every three hundred years and a tribulation every nine hundred; disasters are easy to avoid, but tribulations are inescapable.

Without becoming a Celestial Immortal, the endless cycle of three disasters and nine tribulations would continue to haunt one. One can only imagine how powerful an Immortal who has truly survived for three million years must be.

Today was the day Ji Ning joined the Black-White Academy. According to tradition, he should have been taken in as a disciple by a Primal Daoist, an Earth Immortal, or a Loose Immortal.

Ji Ning never expected that the one to eventually appear and take him as a disciple would be "Immortal Ganyu."

At this moment, the other Primal Daoists, Loose Immortals, and Earth Immortals of the Black-White Academy were equally shocked and incredulous. They, too, never imagined that their long-absent "Grandmaster" would suddenly appear to take in a mere Purple Mansion cultivator.

One must know that the man had been in the Black-White Academy for over three million years; he rarely showed his face, let alone took on disciples. Most of them only knew that such a Grandmaster existed within the academy.

"Rise."

Zhou Yu waved his hand, using his magic power to lift Ji Ning up. Looking at the still-youthful boy, his heart was filled with emotion.

After waiting for over three million years, he had finally succeeded.

He had transmigrated into this world three million one hundred and ninety thousand years ago. In his first thirty thousand years, he had embarked on the path of cultivation and displayed remarkable talent, but during his final tribulation, like the vast majority of Void Refinement Earth Immortals, he failed and became a Loose Immortal.

Zhou Yu was naturally unwilling to die under the endless cycle of disasters and tribulations, so reincarnation became his only option.

However, to reincarnate without a powerful background is a life-or-death gamble. Even if successful, there is no guarantee one will truly transcend the tribulation to become an Immortal.

The more powerful a Loose Immortal is when they reincarnate, the more formidable their Celestial Immortal Tribulation will be; this layer of karma is inescapable.

Thus, Zhou Yu decided to find himself a backer.

He could not rely on ordinary Celestial Gods or True Immortals.

As a transmigrator, Zhou Yu naturally set his sights on the potential-filled Ji Ning. Not long after his failed tribulation, his Second Primordial Spirit arrived in Anchan Commandery and found a way to join the Black-White Academy to wait.

To be honest, Zhou Yu was gambling, because he had no idea when Ji Ning would appear, and in the vast Great Xia World, there were no reference points for him to confirm the timeline.

But as it turned out, he had won the bet.

Zhou Yu had lived for three million years, just to wait for this potential-filled Ji Ning.

It is fate, Zhou Yu thought. If I had waited another one or two million years without any major breakthrough, I would have been forced to reincarnate.

"Ji Ning, come with me."

After saying this, Zhou Yu took Ji Ning and departed on a cloud.

Soon, the news of Immortal Ganyu taking on a disciple spread through the entire Anchan Commandery like a gale.

Never mind the Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals; even Celestial Immortal Tuoshan of the Northmont Clan of Anchan paid close attention to Zhou Yu.

The strength of Loose Immortals varies wildly. For those under a million years old, there is a significant gap in strength every hundred thousand years, and a million-year Loose Immortal is said to be comparable to a Celestial Immortal.

But Celestial Immortal Tuoshan did not care about ordinary million-year Loose Immortals; after all, they usually only reached the threshold of a Celestial Immortal. Zhou Yu was different—living for so long meant his strength was immense.

Zhou Yu's strength might even surpass that of an ordinary Celestial Immortal, which made Celestial Immortal Tuoshan take him very seriously.

After all, such a powerful Loose Immortal was in Anchan Commandery, and Anchan Commandery was his Northmont Clan's territory.

"Could it be that this Immortal Ganyu feels he can no longer hold on and intends to find a successor?" Celestial Immortal Tuoshan speculated.

It was not strange; for a Loose Immortal to live over three million years was already heaven-defying. If he just kept holding on, how much longer could he last?

"Hmm, this Ji Ning..." After having someone investigate, Celestial Immortal Tuoshan smiled with satisfaction.

Not only did Ji Ning have no grudges against his Northmont Clan, but he was also on good terms with the Northmont Clan disciple, Beishan Baiwei.

"Since that is the case, there is no need to interfere." Celestial Immortal Tuoshan stopped worrying about it.

Three days later.

Within the Black-White Academy, there was a mountain peak listed as an absolute forbidden zone.

From the outside, the peak looked only a hundred feet tall, but the internal space was astonishingly vast, spanning ten thousand miles in radius.

This was the "Nine Absolutes Universe Array" set up by Zhou Yu, a formation that contained the essence of his millions of years of cultivation.

He had practiced since he was a child, stepping onto the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth by the age of thirty; for over ten thousand years thereafter, he had relied on that Great Path to dominate the region.

After his failed tribulation, Zhou Yu gradually carved out another path during his long years of cultivation—the Array Dao.

Although the Array Dao was vast and complex, Zhou Yu's talent for it was surprisingly high. As he meditated, his insights into the Array Dao rapidly caught up to his Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and he combined the two.

It was by relying on this that he had been able to survive until now.

When it comes to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and the Great Dao of Arrays, Zhou Yu is only slightly stronger than the average million-year loose immortal.

However, the combination of these two paths has elevated him to a higher level.

"Ji Ning is already on the right track; the next step is to let him grow slowly." Zhou Yu sat alone in a pavilion, deep in thought.

He dared not force the growth, fearing he might ruin a potential-filled asset like Ji Ning.

In reality, Zhou Yu understood he was overthinking things. Since Ji Ning possessed such potential, minor changes to his growth trajectory would not affect the big picture.

But given that the future was at stake, he dared not be careless.

To put it broadly, if Ji Ning failed to grow, let alone his own reincarnation and tribulation, the entire Three Realms would likely be annihilated.

Just as Zhou Yu was pondering, suddenly—

[Heavens Simulation loading complete. One free simulation attempt granted. Start simulation?]

"Hm?"

Zhou Yu was stunned as a flood of information poured into his mind.

Is this a real golden finger? Not an illusion? Zhou Yu found it hard to believe. This Heavens Simulation had been loading for three million years?

So I survived these three million years, but what if I had died? Zhou Yu felt quite speechless.

Nevertheless, he dutifully began to process the information flooding his mind.

Although he reckoned that relying on Ji Ning would give him a high chance of success in his reincarnation and tribulation, it would naturally be better if he could rely on himself.

"Heavens Simulation allows for virtual life simulations across the myriad worlds of the heavens. If the simulation goal is achieved, the illusory experience can be turned into reality, granting a new avatar in the world where the simulation took place."

"Additionally, if the simulation is successful, one can obtain the unique talents possessed during that simulated life."

Zhou Yu pondered rapidly. This Heavens Simulation did not seem to provide direct help, but it was truly heaven-defying.

As long as the simulation succeeded, he could directly obtain an avatar, which was equivalent to having an extra life in another world.

"Let's give it a try." Zhou Yu quickly made his decision.

With a thought, he directly used the free simulation attempt.

[Drawing simulation world.]

I hope to draw the Desolate Era World where I currently reside, Zhou Yu thought to himself.

If he drew the Desolate Era World and succeeded in the simulation, it would be equivalent to gaining an extra avatar directly.

He wouldn't even need to reincarnate; he would immediately possess another chance to undergo the tribulation.

According to the information he had, the probability of drawing a world where he already had an avatar was not small; it was not like looking for a needle in a haystack.

As Zhou Yu waited, the draw finally yielded a result.

[Draw successful. Target world: Swallowed Star World!]

"Hm? Didn't get it?" Zhou Yu didn't dwell on it; the Swallowed Star World was not bad either.

[Drawing initial talent--]

[Draw successful. Please choose from the following three talents.]

[1. Child of Laws: Affinity with the ten laws reaches the peak level.]

[2. Luck Boost: Chance of encountering opportunities and turning danger into safety increases significantly.]

[3. Potential Boost: Insight is easier to improve through tempering.]

"Hm? These three talents..."

Zhou Yu fell into deep thought.

Without a doubt, the first one was immediately ruled out. Because the talent he chose would be synchronized to him after the simulation, depending on the degree of completion.

The first talent was clearly only useful in the Swallowed Star World; its utility was too narrow, so Zhou Yu didn't consider it.

The second and third were both very important, and Zhou Yu wanted both.

But he could only choose one.

"Then I'll go with three." Zhou Yu finally made his decision.

He couldn't grasp the second option; it relied entirely on luck, which didn't quite fit his personality.

Zhou Yu liked control, just like the "Array Dao" he excelled in. He had to perfectly control every detail without the slightest omission; anything that couldn't be perfectly controlled was a failure.

After Zhou Yu selected his talent, lines of text appeared again.

[Please choose one of the following simulation goals.]

[1. Reach the peak of World Lord within 100,000 years: Upon completion, obtain a peak World Lord avatar and 50% effect of the talent 'Potential Boost'.]

[2. Become an Immortal within 1,000,000 years: Upon completion, obtain an Immortal avatar and the full 'Potential Boost' talent.]

[3. Break through to Universe Master within 100,000,000 years: Upon completion, obtain a Universe Master avatar and 300% effect of the talent 'Potential Boost'.]

"These simulation goals..."

Zhou Yu was secretly shocked; they were all more monstrous than the last. There was no need to even mention the third goal; whether or not it could be achieved was entirely up to fate.

Even the second goal was incredibly difficult.

Becoming an Immortal in the Swallowed Star World would be no simpler than his own tribulation to become a celestial. If he possessed his memories from the Desolate Era World during the simulation, there would be a good chance of success.

However, the reality was that in the simulation, he would not have the memories of his time after transmigrating to the Desolate Era World, only the memories from before that transmigration.

Under these circumstances, becoming an Immortal was far too difficult; any minor accident could lead to failure.

Not to mention, there was even a time limit.

"As for the simplest goal, the first one, it isn't exactly easy either." Zhou Yu frowned and thought for a moment before making his choice.

"Goal two—become an Immortal!"

"Achieving this goal will grant the complete 'Potential Boost' talent, which is decent enough. While the rewards for the third goal are better, no matter how I look at it, the odds are just too low." Zhou Yu shook his head inwardly.

Choosing the second option was the safe route. In Zhou Yu's view, the difficulty of this choice and the rewards upon completing the simulation were both within his acceptable range.

At this moment, after Zhou Yu made all his selections, an invisible force enveloped him. Time around him came to a complete standstill, and the simulation began.