I Am an Immortal Cultivator

[Year one. You are sixteen years old, already a mid-grade alchemist, with cultivation at the fifth layer of Qi Refining.]

[That evening, you leave your cave abode and visit Pill Master Yun.]

[Pill Master Yun is surprised by your arrival. After being turned away on several visits, he thought you had no desire to exchange ideas with him.]

[Still, he politely welcomes you into his cave abode.]

[Drawing on your experience from the previous simulation and your understanding of Pill Master Yun, you greatly ease the tension between you after only a brief conversation.]

[Then you take the initiative to discuss alchemy techniques with Pill Master Yun.]

[The alchemy techniques you share with Pill Master Yun are not your own. They come from the Alchemy Insights he gave you before passing away in the first simulation.]

[That volume of Alchemy Insights contains the distilled essence of Pill Master Yun's lifetime of alchemical expertise.]

[Other alchemists might gain only a glimmer of understanding after reading the Alchemy Insights.]

[But hearing its contents is like having enlightenment poured straight into Pill Master Yun's mind. After all, these Alchemy Insights came from him-from his future self, decades later, when his alchemy techniques had reached their peak.]

[In the first simulation, Pill Master Yun's skills peaked at the pinnacle of a High-Grade Pill Master, just a hair's breadth from touching the domain of a Second-Order Alchemist.]

[Of course, during this first exchange of alchemy techniques, you do not reveal the entire contents of the Alchemy Insights.]

[Instead, you share one percent of its contents.]

[Revealing everything at once would earn Pill Master Yun's gratitude only once.]

[But if you divided the contents into a hundred installments, Pill Master Yun would feel grateful to you a hundred times.]

[You help Pill Master Yun this way not because of your friendship in the previous simulation, but primarily for your own sake.]

[You are already a mid-grade alchemist. Naturally, your next goal is to become a high-grade pill master.]

[Yet you have no confidence in your ability to become a High-Grade Pill Master.]

[If Pill Master Yun becomes a high-grade pill master first, then spares no effort in guiding you with his newfound expertise, your chances of becoming a high-grade pill master will naturally increase greatly.]

[Having those who reach high grade first help those who come after them is a true test of human nature.]

[If Pill Master Yun simply ignores you after becoming a high-grade pill master, there would be nothing you could do.]

[Ye Feng, for instance, is exactly like that-a thoroughly ungrateful wolf.]

[But through the first simulation, you have come to understand Pill Master Yun's character very well. He is the sort who always repays a kindness.]

[Moreover, you have a deeper reason for helping Pill Master Yun.]

[Through the simulation, you learned that Pill Master Yun has a teacher surnamed Zhao, a Second-Order Alchemist capable of refining Foundation Establishment Pills.]

[After reaching perfection at the ninth Qi Refining layer, Ye Feng visited Pill Master Yun for this very reason. He wanted to use Pill Master Yun's connections to visit Alchemist Zhao and ask him to fire up his furnace and refine Foundation Establishment Pills.]

[Foundation Establishment Pills are strategic-grade pills in the cultivation world, capable of increasing the probability of breaking through from Qi Refining Perfection to the Foundation Establishment Realm.]

[Although you are currently only at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, you are just sixteen years old. In this simulation, you might well have a chance to attempt Foundation Establishment.]

[Thus, helping Pill Master Yun is also preparation for your future attempt to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.]

[A connection to a Second-Order Alchemist who can refine Foundation Establishment Pills is far too precious. Not only Qi Refining Stage cultivators, but even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators value it immensely.]

["Brother Yun, let's end our discussion here for today. I'm feeling a little tired."]

[Inside the cave abode, you sit facing Pill Master Yun and speak with a slight smile.]

["Huh? So much time has passed already?" Pill Master Yun checks the time and speaks with some disappointment.]

[Then he looks at you with burning eyes. "Brother Wang, discussing alchemy techniques with you has been an enormous help to me. I already feel that I've made considerable progress."]

[You have not revealed your real name to anyone outside, instead using the alias "King Lin."]

[Furthermore, you have altered your appearance and build to a certain extent. Secret arts of this kind are not uncommon in the cultivation world.]

["I've benefited greatly as well."]

[You speak with a smile.]

[This is true. Although your gains are nowhere near as great as Pill Master Yun's, your understanding of the Dao of alchemy has improved a little.]

["By the way, Brother Yun, I'll be leaving the market for a while shortly. Please look after my cave abode and that servant of mine while I'm gone."]

[You speak.]

[Next, you intend to return to the Zhou residence in the Qian Empire.]

["No problem, Brother Wang. Just go and take care of your affairs."]

[Pill Master Yun pats his chest and gives his assurance.]

[After a little over half a month, you arrive safely in the Qian Empire and return to the Zhou residence.]

[Your appearance causes a stir throughout the Zhou residence.]

["Qing, where did you go? You left a letter and then disappeared for almost a year..." Madam Zhou stares at you with tears in her eyes.]

["Exactly, Third Brother. You have no idea how much Mother has missed you all this time."]

[Your eldest brother, Zhou Wen, and your second brother, Zhou Wu, cannot help chiming in from beside her.]

[Although the Zhou Family is a powerful and prestigious clan in the Qian Empire, you have a good relationship with your two elder brothers, with no scheming or infighting between you.]

[Soon, your father, Zhou Shizhong, hurries back as well.]

[As commander of the imperial guards, Zhou Shizhong is away from home most of the time.]

["Qing, just where have you been hiding?" After returning, Zhou Shizhong looks at you with a frown and asks.]

[At first, Zhou Shizhong was not worried when you took Dachun with you and said you were going out to travel.]

[But after half a year passed,

and there was still no word from you, Zhou Shizhong began using his connections to search for your whereabouts.]

[The result, evidently, was that he found nothing.]

[You do not answer Zhou Shizhong's question directly.]

[Instead, you look around and have the servants withdraw.]

[During the nine-odd months spent waiting for your simulation count to refresh, you have been pondering how to prevent the Zhou Family from being purged and exterminated in the next simulation.]

[Could you rely on yourself alone? Right now, you are only a cultivator at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. Even in a simulation, where you can act more boldly, you do not believe you can deal with the Fourth Prince directly.]

[Thus, Zhou Qing decides to tell Zhou Shizhong outright that the Fourth Prince is preparing a rebellion, then have Zhou Shizhong relay the news to the Qian Emperor.]

[First, you will see how the Fourth Prince reacts once the Qian Emperor is prepared, and how the situation develops afterward.]

[Of course, rebellion is a matter of grave importance, especially when it involves a reigning emperor's son. If you are merely the Zhou Family's third young master, naturally no one will believe such a claim.]

["There's something I need to announce."]

[You look at Zhou Shizhong, Madam Zhou, Zhou Wen, and Zhou Wu, then say with a slight smile, "I am an immortal cultivator."]

[As soon as the words leave your mouth, you raise your right hand. A fireball half a meter across forms in an instant, then burns a table several meters away to nothing.]

[Everyone's eyes widen.]