Simulation Ends, Late Bloomer

[The next day, the emperor died on Mount Zhongnan, and the news was kept secret, with no mourning announced.]

[Several princes hurried down the mountain.]

[Unexpectedly, not a single person blamed Mount Zhongnan.]

[Much less did anyone investigate the cause of the sovereign's death.]

[The originally solemn and dignified three-day rite of fasting and bathing now had only a sparse few eunuchs standing watch. The dragon body lay lonely and unattended. Not until three months later did the capital hurriedly dispatch envoys to escort the sacred carriage back to its place.]

[Half a month later, the situation in the capital changed abruptly. The second prince hastily ascended the throne as emperor and changed the era name to Political Harmony.]

[In September of the same year, the eighth prince fled the capital and hid in the Jiangbei lands of his mother's clan, issuing a proclamation to punish the traitors.]

["I am the closest kin of the state, the orthodox line of Great Qing."]

["The court and the realm have lost order, treacherous evils breed everywhere, there are no upright ministers at court, and wicked villains lurk within. I must train troops and punish them, to cleanse the sovereign's side. Righteousness and treachery cannot live beneath the same sky. I shall surely carry out Heaven's punishment, to bring peace to the altars of soil and grain. Heaven, earth, gods, and spirits, shine your witness upon my heart."]

[The aristocratic families of Jiangbei responded one after another.]

[The fourth prince and sixth prince followed closely after, issuing proclamations to punish the traitors. Beacon smoke rose on all sides within Great Qing.]

[Among them, the fourth prince's proclamation was especially eye-catching. In the text, he bitterly denounced: "That demonic woman North Wind has brought calamity upon the court's laws. Her crimes are too many for all the bamboo slips to record. Remove her, and thereby bring peace to the rivers, mountains, altars of soil and grain."]

[For a time, the state fell into great chaos.]

[The flames of war raged across southern Great Qing, while by contrast, the five northern prefectures remained without wave or ripple.]

[This year, you were thirty-three years old, and still quietly kept watch on Mount Zhongnan, devoting yourself to cultivation. Though your progress was extremely slight, you were not discouraged by it. Every day, bitter effort was your companion; at dawn you rose with the mist, and at night you slept with the stars.]

[Spring went and autumn came, and there was never the slightest hint of laziness.]

[Diligence can make up for clumsiness; so it has been since ancient times.]

[At year's end, Mount Zhongnan did welcome a happy event. Lu Yu accepted a second disciple, one he discovered among wandering beggars. The world had begun to fall into chaos again.]

[In the second year, your cultivation made some progress. Great Yellow Court broke through to the eighth layer, and you were happy in your heart.]

[Facing the bright, pure moon, you drank a jug of fine wine alone.]

[In the spring of the third year, news came from North Wind that Tuoba Shuyi's rebellion had succeeded. The next month, he proclaimed himself emperor in North Wind and set himself up as sovereign.]

[That same year, Great Qing suffered a drought unseen in a hundred years. The common people reaped not a single grain, aristocratic families' land annexations grew worse by the day, wars broke out frequently, and the people had no way to live.]

[In the south, an even larger-scale uprising erupted, shaking the foundation of the state.]

[At this storm-tossed moment, the eighty-year-old veteran general Wang Yang stepped forward, led troops into battle, pacified the rebellion, and saved the crisis.]

[Among the common folk of Great Qing, there was already a children's rhyme: "The emperor died on Zhongnan; the dragon qi is lost; this ten-thousand-li realm can no longer sit steady."]

[At the same time, Great Qing's neighboring state Qianyuan ended an eighteen-year-long civil war.]

[That same year, after Qianyuan ended its internal chaos, the sixth princess of the present dynasty ascended the imperial throne in a woman's body and changed the state name to Kaiyuan.]

[In the autumn of the same year, Qianyuan's armies marched out of Hangu Pass and attacked Great Chu.]

[At the end of that same autumn, the two states Han and Chu cast aside former grudges and smeared blood for an alliance on Mount Baoding, jointly resisting Qianyuan's invasion.]

[As the pass of the year drew near, Tuoba Shuyi of North Wind climbed high to sacrifice to his ancestors and held a banquet for the hundred officials. During the feast, he revealed his covetous intent toward the Central Plains: "I hope the qi of the Central Plains remains as before."]

[Across the whole world, wolf-smoke rose everywhere.]

[Yet northern Great Qing still maintained relative stability.]

[As the year's end approached, a new year was about to arrive, and one year after that would be the Jiazi year.]

[At this time, a letter from the north arrived at Mount Zhongnan. It was written by your old subordinate, Feng Haiping, a general of the Lu Family Army and one of the Twenty-Six Generals of Tingtai.]

[The Twenty-Six Generals were the twenty-six most outstanding people from the northern campaign in those years, all promoted by Lu Chen himself.]

[Feng Haiping now commanded Great Qing's Northern Defense Army, most of whom were old troops of the Lu Family Army.]

[You opened the letter. Most of its contents concerned border defense matters, mentioning North Wind's restless stirring and its seeming intent to march south.]

[At the end of the letter, there was also a blood-written petition attached. Written strikingly upon it were the names of the Twenty-Six Generals of Tingtai of the Lu Family Army, and on each name was pressed a bright-red fingerprint.]

[By the candlelight, there were only two sentences on the blood letter:]

["Respectfully submitting to the young guardian!"]

["When the year is Jiazi, all under Heaven shall be greatly auspicious."]

[You naturally understood the deeper meaning within.]

[You silently burned the letter, turned, and walked into the Tomb of the Living Dead, then began stance training as if no one else existed.]

[In the fourth year, you were now thirty-seven years old. Your cultivation had stood still for two years, and you had encountered a bottleneck.]

[In the fifth year, the world grew ever more unpeaceful. Qianyuan arrayed eight hundred thousand troops at Hangu Pass, watching like a tiger eyeing its prey.]

[In southern Great Qing, uprisings and bandits taking to the hills grew more and more numerous. Some people had already begun fleeing north for refuge.]

[At year's end, Lu Yu joyfully gained three new disciples. From then on, his sect had a total of seven disciples. Most of them were orphans from this chaotic age, yet every one of them possessed extraordinary talent and a pure, kind nature, and you liked them very much as well.]

[Because you had become their martial uncle, you felt doubly gratified.]

[Liu Jinchan once suggested that you also accept a few disciples, but you waved your hand and replied with a smile: "You'an's disciples are my disciples. I will also teach them all I have without holding anything back."]

[Under the careful guidance of Lu Yu, this great martial arts grandmaster, the seven disciples' martial skills advanced, their progress swift as the gods. One could truly say the sun renewed them and the moon transformed them.]

[Among them, the first disciple accepted many years ago had already surpassed your cultivation and become one of the outstanding figures of the sect.]

[You sighed faintly in your heart. Differences in talent truly were difficult to measure by ordinary reason.]

[The seven disciples all treated you with great respect, not daring to show the slightest neglect.]

[The world was very chaotic, yet Mount Zhongnan did not change.]

[In the seventh year, you were forty years old. As always, you began cultivating, and suddenly felt that something seemed different.]

[In the early morning, the red, blazing sun rose, and Mount Zhongnan's green mountains remained as before.]

[Congratulations: Through day after day of bitter training, Lu Chen has awakened the Late Bloomer fate.]

[Claim it now?]

1. Yes.

2. No.

As the light curtain on the cauldron flowed, it then froze in place.

When Yu Ke saw this, his eyes stirred with excitement.

Damn it!

This fate had finally awakened.

Lu Chen was now forty years old. Who knew if this fate could defy Heaven and change destiny?

"When people have their moments to defy Heaven, Heaven leaves no road absolutely barred."

Yu Ke did not hesitate. Add me... points.

Wrong channel!

Mm, choose for me!

Choose 1. Yes.

Following your choice.

The simulation continued.

[Your forty years of comprehension in cultivating the Dao surged in like a tide, and the cultivation bottleneck that had been troubling you was suddenly broken through.]

[The barrier between you and the canopy of heaven and earth was no more.]

[You only felt the mountain breeze blowing toward you.]

[Refreshing, limpid!]

[Your Great Yellow Court realm broke through four layers in succession from the ninth layer, a thick accumulation bursting forth all at once. At this moment, you stepped among the first-rate experts of the jianghu.]

[Morning glow rose from the edge of the sky.]

[As the rising sun climbed in the east, you looked at the horizon and spread your arms.]

[You threw back your head and let out a long cry to the sky, your heart surging.]

[The delight in your chest could no longer be restrained.]

[Unable to help yourself, you laughed loudly and said:]

["I cultivated the Dao for forty years, and at last there is morning glow opening for me."]

[The laughter echoed among the mountains.]

[Over the next two months, your cultivation advanced again, and your Great Yellow Court realm reached the highest stage.]

[Your cultivation began advancing a thousand li in a single day. Every day brought new breakthroughs and insights.]

[You stood among the mountains, and an aura arose of its own accord.]

[This year, you were forty years old. At last, you stepped into the grandmaster realm, becoming a true expert of the jianghu.]

[Today's simulation has ended. Please return tomorrow.]

[Reward is being obtained...]