You Really Chose?

If things didn't go smoothly... he might spend his whole life unable to find a Heavenly Flame, or perhaps he would luckily find one, only to die while merging with it.

Even if he was fortunate enough to merge with the first Heavenly Flame, could he survive merging with a second?

Xiao Yan held a pessimistic view.

The Flame Mantra would be powerful if successfully cultivated, but if he failed to cultivate it, couldn't find a Heavenly Flame, or died while merging with one, what use would it be?

Right now, the most important thing was to learn alchemy.

He needed to learn a way to treat his grandfather and mother through alchemy, then simplify it so ordinary healers could use it as well.

Having clarified his goal once more, Xiao Yan decided to choose an Earth Tier low-grade cultivation method.

[After thinking for a long while, you made your decision. You wished to choose an Earth Tier low-grade cultivation method.]

[With an Earth Tier low-grade cultivation method, your talent would allow you to rapidly grow stronger, learn and master alchemy, and rely on your formidable strength to quickly travel the lands and gather information on Heavenly Flames.]

[If you could obtain information on two or more Heavenly Flames, then in your next simulation, you could try cultivating the Flame Mantra.]

[Though Medicine Elder possessed an alchemist's pride, after spending so much time together, you knew the old fellow was still quite capable.]

[If you could revive him, then choosing the Flame Mantra and bringing him back to life could be considered repayment.]

Medicine Elder said softly, "No matter what you choose, you're still my disciple. I won't blame you for it."

[Hearing the usually temperamental Medicine Elder say that, you breathed a sigh of relief. Concealing the matter of the simulation, you explained the pros and cons of the two cultivation methods.]

[Directly dying while merging with a Heavenly Flame after cultivating the Flame Mantra was far worse than cultivating an Earth Tier low-grade cultivation method, becoming stronger in the future, and changing to a better cultivation method.]

[After hearing your well-reasoned analysis, Medicine Elder stared at you in disbelief. "You really chose?!"]

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yan watched Medicine Elder warily and slowly backed away.

In the previous simulation, Medicine Elder had been mentally broken by a teenager's insults. His temperament was truly rather poor. Who knew which nerve had gone wrong again?

Medicine Elder had believed that after observing Xiao Yan for years, and after diligently refining pills to aid his cultivation recently, Xiao Yan should have come to regard him, his teacher, much like a father.

Upon learning there was a way to revive this father of his, Xiao Yan should at most have hesitated because of the danger involved. But in the end, he should have chosen the Flame Mantra.

He had never expected Xiao Yan not only to disregard whether he lived or died, but even to abandon the girl he cared about. Medicine Elder couldn't help thinking of that utterly heartless traitorous disciple, Han Feng.

The Xiao Yan before him was even worse than Han Feng. Not only did he disregard his teacher's guidance, he had even abandoned his own love!

The more Medicine Elder thought about it, the more his expression darkened and brightened unpredictably, while a sense of loss filled his heart.

He had misjudged someone again...

Watching Medicine Elder's expression change several times, Xiao Yan knew he had made the wrong choice.

Having lost Medicine Elder's trust, Xiao Yan knew it was too late to say anything now. Rather than die in humiliation, he might as well seek a quick death!

As he watched Xiao Yan attack him with Eight Extremities Collapse, Medicine Elder's face was completely shrouded in a sinister gloom.

"Just as I thought, you're a beast! Good thing I never taught you alchemy, or you'd become another disciple who betrays his master!"

Seeing the words "simulation ended" appear so quickly, Xiao Yan froze on the spot.

This was far too difficult!

After two simulations, he hadn't even lived past twenty either time.

[Simulation Evaluation: You really chose.]

[Giving you the chance to choose only meant you should go through the motions. It wasn't really for you to choose.]

"Fuck!"

After steadying himself, Xiao Yan quickly began sorting through what he had gained from this simulation.

By comparing the two simulations, he found that even if he took the ring from his mother, Lin Shuiyao, ahead of time, she still fell ill in the end.

From this, it seemed Lin Shuiyao's condition had little to do with Medicine Elder.

As for Medicine Elder, he was a high-level alchemist who had experienced betrayal at the hands of a disciple.

That pain had been etched into his bones, so he was exceptionally strict in selecting disciples.

Perhaps before encountering him, Medicine Elder had also discovered quite a few people with decent talent.

But without exception, they either failed Medicine Elder's test of temperament and committed suicide after being unable to endure the humiliation of the outside world,

or they failed again when faced with the choice of cultivation methods because they did not choose the Flame Mantra.

Xiao Yan was willing to believe that when Medicine Elder said he didn't care about the choice, he had truly meant it.

But thinking that way was one thing. If his disciple truly didn't care whether his teacher lived or died, it would trigger Medicine Elder's inner demon, causing him to lose control...

[Please choose a simulation reward: a Heaven Tier soul-force cultivation method, the Holy Radiance Cauldron, or a Dou Technique even stranger than a Heaven Tier technique.]

Seeing the simulation rewards appear in the settlement, Xiao Yan felt greatly comforted.

Though the simulated life had been miserable, the rewards were incredibly generous. Any one of them, if taken out, would likely shake the entire Dou Qi Continent.

The Heaven Tier soul-force cultivation method ranked first and overturned the Jia Ma Empire's understanding of cultivation in one stroke.

It wasn't that soul force couldn't be cultivated. Rather, most soul-force cultivation methods from ancient times had already been lost, while this reward was among the finest of the finest cultivation methods.

The second reward, the Holy Radiance Cauldron, was similar to a Heavenly Flame. It was also something countless alchemists pursued fervently.

Much like the Heavenly Flame Ranking, there was also a Heaven Cauldron Ranking among alchemists.

As its name implied, the cauldrons recorded in the ranking were exceptionally perfect and outstanding medicinal cauldrons. There were thirteen cauldrons in total on the ranking.

Every one of these medicinal cauldrons possessed a charm capable of driving countless alchemists mad.

The Holy Radiance Cauldron ranked seventh among them and was an extremely high-quality medicinal cauldron.

The third reward was somewhat special...

This Dou Technique was somewhat similar to the Flame Mantra. Its initial grade was ordinary, but as the cultivator's realm improved, its grade would improve as well.

At the same time, if one possessed Heavenly Flames within their body, its grade would become even higher.

After understanding the three rewards, Xiao Yan first ruled out the Holy Radiance Cauldron.

Though the Holy Radiance Cauldron was priceless, it was completely useless to him right now.

Even if he became an alchemist in the future, it would take at least seven or eight years to fully realize its value.

Before becoming a powerful alchemist, an ordinary medicinal cauldron would be enough.

Looking at the Heaven Tier soul-force cultivation method and the Dou Technique even stranger than a Heaven Tier technique, Xiao Yan found himself conflicted for a moment.

Methods for increasing soul force were exceedingly rare, let alone a Heaven Tier soul-force cultivation method!

Meanwhile, that Dou Technique even stranger than a Heaven Tier technique could greatly save him time cultivating Dou Techniques in the future.

As his strength increased, the power of Yellow Tier and Profound Tier Dou Techniques from the initial stages of cultivation would gradually become obsolete, making them difficult to use effectively in battle.

With a set of Dou Techniques that could increase in power alongside his realm, it would never fall behind no matter how strong he became.

After thinking for a long while, Xiao Yan made his decision.

He wanted to choose that Dou Technique even stranger than a Heaven Tier technique!

Being able to cultivate soul force did indeed seem tempting, but what could he do after increasing his soul force?

Xiao Yan was already quite satisfied with his currently decent soul perception, and his soul level also met one of the three requirements for becoming an alchemist.

Even if he could cultivate that Heaven Tier soul cultivation method right now, aside from strengthening his perception and helping somewhat with alchemy, Xiao Yan couldn't see much benefit.

But that Dou Technique even stranger than a Heaven Tier technique was different.

Even without Dou Qi, he could begin learning it. As his strength increased, its grade would rise from zero along with it.

Such a Dou Technique, one that could be used for a long time, could play an enormous role if he encountered danger.