[The first purple talent, [Damaged Spacetime Token, an unexpected change]

[You chose to perform [Ascension] on [Beloved Object], but before that, you had something else to do—use this one-use blue Talent, [Beloved Object], first.]

[Once you had used it, you would upgrade it.]

[After all, using the Talent once did not mean it would disappear!]

[You acted without delay!]

[You immediately stilled your mind and focused, intensely visualizing your most pressing need—a Heaven and Earth Wonder that would let you safely break through to [Heaven-grade Qi Refining]!]

["Use [Beloved Object]!"]

[As the thought settled, a gentle blue light flashed across your palm. No earth-shaking phenomena appeared; a familiar bead, the size of a longan and an antique gray all over, quietly materialized.]

[Sure enough, it had answered your needs again. It was precisely the [Heaven and Earth Wonder] that had helped you attain Heaven-grade Qi Refining last time!]

[You carefully put the bead away. This meant that your minimum goal for this simulation]

[—safely breaking through to [Heaven-grade Qi Refining]—had already been secured.]

[Next came the main event.]

[Your consciousness sank into your Sea of Consciousness again, focusing on the Talent rune of [Beloved Object], which had dimmed slightly after being used once.]

[It was time!]

["Activate [Ascension]. Target—[Beloved Object]!"]

[In an instant, a blue radiance far more brilliant than before flooded into the dim rune, like sweet rain nourishing parched earth.]

[The rune trembled violently. The blue on its surface rapidly faded, replaced by a noble, profound purple!]

[The light grew ever brighter until the entire rune had transformed into a brand-new mark flowing with purple Dao resonance!]

[A stream of information then poured into your consciousness:]

[Purple Talent: Wish Echo]: I heard the echo of a [wish].

[Ability]: Disregards differences in [Rank], comprehensively assesses your current circumstances, and obtains the object best suited to you.

[Note]: An advancement of [Blue talent: Beloved Object]. It remains a one-use talent, but its functionality has undergone [Ascension] in [essence].

[Disregards differences in Rank... comprehensively assesses my circumstances... obtains the object best suited to me...]

[You mulled over the description again and again, towering waves surging through your heart!]

[This effect was far more than a mere notch above the simple [Beloved Object]!]

[It no longer mechanically answered what you "thought" you needed. Instead, from a higher, more comprehensive perspective, it directly determined what was "best suited" to you!]

[More importantly, the words "disregards differences in Rank" were like a bolt of lightning cleaving the darkness, revealing the hope of stepping off the Chessboard!]

[Such a coincidence? A trace of doubt flashed through your mind.]

[You had only just realized in reality that you were trapped in a "dead end" under the gaze of a [Nascent Soul True Lord],]

[and the [Simulator] had delivered [Ascension] in this simulation, with the resulting Talent pointing straight at the heart of the problem?]

[This coincidence was altogether too perfect.]

[But digging deeper would accomplish nothing now. Whether or not a deeper scheme lay behind it, seizing the opportunity before you was what mattered.]

[With this Talent, perhaps you would no longer need to risk approaching Chen Qingyan.]

[You hesitated no longer. With anticipation and resolve, you activated your sole Purple Talent:]

["Use [Wish Echo]!"]

[A gentle, mysterious purple radiance flashed before you. Unlike the previous wonder, which had appeared directly in your hand, the purple light gathered this time, slowly condensing into a physical object]

[—a token.]

[You looked closely. The token was neither metal nor wood, its texture smooth and warm, its color deep. A single large, ancient, enigmatic character was engraved on its front:]

["Time."]

["Time?" You picked up the token. It felt slightly cool in your hand, but beyond that, you sensed nothing unusual.]

[Confusion crossed your face, though you did not doubt the token's value]

[—the effect of [Wish Echo] was plain to see. Whatever it provided was unquestionably the optimal answer to your current circumstances.]

[What puzzled you was how to use it.]

[You tried claiming ownership with a drop of blood, but the blood quietly slid off the token without leaving a trace.]

[You sent your divine sense into it, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea. You could perceive neither an internal structure nor any information.]

[You infused it with spiritual power. The token did not react at all, as though it were merely a piece of ordinary wood.]

[You even tried chanting the "Time" True Word, or touching the token to other objects...]

[You tried every method you could think of, yet the "Time" token remained dormant, without the slightest sign of activation.]

[During this process, you had used the [Eye of Illusion] to examine the [token],]

[and discovered that its description contained only a few short lines.]

[Damaged Spacetime Token]

[Opportunity category: unowned]

[You learned only its name; nothing else was displayed. Yet this also indirectly indicated how powerful it was.]

[After struggling with it for a long time, you had no choice but to give up.]

[Unlike a [Heaven and Earth Wonder], this token could not be directly refined and absorbed. It seemed more like a [supreme treasure] with a special function.]

[The central issue in my current circumstances is preventing a [Nascent Soul True Lord] from peering into my Fortune.]

[Then this treasure, the one 'best suited' to me, must possess the ability to interfere with or even use Obstruction to block that scrutiny, and its grade must be unimaginably high.]

[You analyzed it calmly.]

[Perhaps... this supreme treasure does not require me to activate it at all?]

[Perhaps it began working the moment I obtained it, but at my current cultivation realm, I simply cannot detect any trace of its operation?]

[With that in mind, you made a cautious decision:]

[Wait!]

[You would wait a year first.]

[You would observe whether, over that year, your Destiny showed signs of being moved by an invisible hand, as it had in the previous simulations.]

[If a year passed peacefully, without the slightest sign of a True Lord plotting against you,]

[then you could essentially conclude that this "Time" token was quietly doing its work, holding an invisible protective umbrella over you.]

[That would be the moment for you to break through to [Heaven-grade Qi Refining] again!]

[Age 20]: [You had long since left the [Chen Family], blending into the bustling city and keeping an extremely low profile.]

[Throughout that year, the [Damaged Spacetime Token] still showed no unusual activity. You had even wondered whether its damaged state was the reason.]

[But you decided to wait no longer and simply break through. Continuing like this would only waste Temporal Light!]

[Since this was how [Wish Echo], the [Purple Talent], had arranged things, you were not overly worried.]

[And so, one day, you began your breakthrough to [Heaven-grade Qi Refining]. With memories of the previous simulation, you traveled the familiar road with practiced ease.]

[You successfully broke through in only the time it took an Incense Stick to burn. But just as you reached [Heaven-grade Qi Refining], an unexpected change erupted!] ```