[Embryonic Breath Realm Perfection], Earning Spirit Stones, the Third Simulation

Chen Fan did not choose to break through within the Lineage's grounds. He knew all too well the principle that possessing a jade treasure could itself be a crime.

The [Simulator] was his greatest secret.

He quietly left the Lineage's compound and found a secluded cave outside, silently saying to himself:

"I choose option one, cultivation realm."

Boom!

An immense surge of blood and vital energy instantly flooded his body. His muscles, sinews, and bones crackled like thunder as his strength soared wildly at an incredible speed.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, lightning seeming to flash within them. With a gentle clench of his fist, the surrounding air let out a piercing crack as though crushed in his grip.

Great Perfection of Embryonic Breath Realm, Ultimate Strength!

Feeling the strength within him, more than ten times what it had been before, he felt little joy. Instead, he immediately checked the Simulator's cost for the next simulation.

[Current Rank]: Embryonic Breath Realm (great perfection)

[Simulation cost]: 10,000 low-grade Spirit Stones per use

[Remaining uses]: 0]

Ten thousand!

Chen Fan was speechless. The Simulator's appetite was far too enormous.

At this rate, once he broke through to the Qi Refining Realm, a single simulation would probably cost a million or even ten million Spirit Stones. The cost at the Foundation Establishment realm was beyond imagining.

If he relied on keeping his head down and cultivating diligently, he probably could not scrape together enough for even one simulation in a hundred years.

He had to find a way to earn Spirit Stones—and it had to be fast and discreet.

He changed his strategy. Rather than return to the Lineage to take missions, he turned his attention to the Black Markets in several nearby towns, which operated in the gray areas.

These places were a jumble of fish and dragons. Only Spirit Stones and strength mattered; no one asked about origins.

Using some rudimentary disguise techniques he had acquired during the simulations, he concealed his identity and took missions.

To be safe, he only accepted missions marked [Embryonic Breath Realm, second layer (Qi and Blood Like a Dragon)]. Playing it safe was his guiding principle.

His first Black Market mission was to escort a shipment of unidentified goods through a dangerous stretch of woodland.

There were scares but no real danger, and he repelled several waves of wild beasts.

Completing the mission earned him five hundred Spirit Stones, but after the Black Market's cut and the middleman's fee, only three hundred actually reached Chen Fan's hands.

"Three thousand two hundred..." As he calculated the shortfall, the road ahead felt endlessly long.

But his resolve was firm, and he did not lose heart. Thus began his quiet, regular routine of "earning Spirit Stones."

After completing a mission, he would change his appearance and identity, then wait a while before accepting another.

Occasionally, when he encountered a lucrative mission rated [Ultimate Strength], he would cautiously accept it, relying on his true strength.

But he always waited at least ten days before reporting its completion and changed his appearance again, never drawing attention.

He was like a hunter prowling through the shadows, patient and cautious.

Three months quietly slipped by.

When the final mission payment reached his hands, Chen Fan counted the mountain of Spirit Stones glittering with spiritual light in his storage pouch and let out a long breath.

At last, he had gathered ten thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

He returned to the secluded cave and, without any hesitation, deposited all the Spirit Stones.

[Energy: 10,000]

"Begin simulation."

[Ding! Deducting 10,000 energy points]

[Ding! Drawing talents...]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have drawn:]

[Blue talent: Random Fortuitous Encounter] (Guaranteed to grant an unclaimed fortuitous encounter beneficial to you as you are now. High probability of a minor encounter, low probability of a medium encounter, extremely low probability of a major encounter.)

[Blue talent: Twice the Results with Half the Effort] (Anything conceptually defined as a task will be half as difficult for you to perform.)

[Blue talent: Can Take a Couple Hits] (Regardless of differences in realm and rank, you can withstand two attacks while remaining "alive.")

As he stared at the three talents appearing on the screen of light before him, Chen Fan's heart pounded and his breathing quickened.

[Blue talent: Random Fortuitous Encounter]

[Blue talent: Twice the Results with Half the Effort]

[Blue talent: Can Take a Couple Hits]

These... were these really blue talents?

Chen Fan could hardly believe it.

Compared with the physique and luck talents drawn in his previous two simulations, the power and versatility of these three talents were simply on another plane!

"[Random Fortuitous Encounter]... It guarantees a fortuitous encounter. Even a minor one would be like charcoal delivered in the snow for me right now."

"If I struck it incredibly lucky and landed that extremely rare [major fortuitous encounter]..."

The mere thought set his heart ablaze, but he quickly calmed himself. The probability was simply too low.

"[Can Take a Couple Hits]... Withstand two attacks head-on regardless of realm?"

This was nothing short of a divine lifesaving skill. It meant that even if he faced enemies in the Qi Refining Realm or higher in the future, he would have a sliver of a chance to struggle free and escape alive.

But in the end, his gaze locked firmly on the second talent.

"[Twice the Results with Half the Effort]... Anything conceptually defined as a task becomes half as difficult..."

He murmured to himself, a brilliant light bursting from his eyes.

"Breaking through a cultivation realm is absolutely one of the most legitimate 'tasks' under Heaven and Earth!"

What did that mean?

It meant his rate of cultivation accumulation would double!

It meant the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks would be halved!

It meant that a realm others needed a hundred years of painstaking effort to reach might take him only fifty!

This was a genuine accelerator that would benefit his entire cultivation journey!

Compared with the uncertainty of [Random Fortuitous Encounter] and the passive defense of [Can Take a Couple Hits],

[Twice the Results with Half the Effort] was a foundation that could actively drive him to keep climbing higher!

"That's the one!" Chen Fan no longer hesitated, his resolve unwavering. "I choose [Twice the Results with Half the Effort]!"

[Ding! Talent selected successfully. Beginning simulation...]

[Simulation begins!]