After letting his imagination roam for a while, Zhou Qing gathered his thoughts.
Gold talents and multicolored talents were far beyond his reach.
Zhou Qing also had an urgent matter to consider.
Zhou Qing still had an urgent matter to consider.
In two years, the Fourth Prince would take the Qian Emperor hostage and purge the Zhou family.
The Zhou family were staunch supporters of the Eldest Prince and held great power. Their patriarch, Zhou Shizhong, even commanded the imperial palace guards.
In the eyes of the Fourth Prince, who was preparing to usurp the throne, such a family was undoubtedly a thorn in his eye and a splinter in his flesh.
Unless Zhou Shizhong was willing to pledge allegiance to the Fourth Prince ahead of time.
But from what Zhou Qing knew of Zhou Shizhong, the man would never surrender his allegiance, even if it meant dying, even if he had to watch his wife and sons beheaded before his eyes.
The Zhou family had enjoyed imperial favor for generations, and Zhou Shizhong had grown up alongside the Eldest Prince. Loyalty to his sovereign was etched into his very bones; there was no changing it.
Thus, if he wanted to change the Zhou family's fate in the simulation...
There were only two ways.
The first was to clash head-on with the Fourth Prince.
Zhou Qing immediately rejected that option.
Even after a single simulation, Zhou Qing's strength had increased tremendously...
But he was still only a Fifth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator.
The Fourth Prince had bided his time for years, was suspected of colluding with the Barbarian Tribe, and had immortal cultivators serving under him.
Zhou Qing had no confidence whatsoever in a head-on confrontation.
The second option was to flee.
There were still two years before the incident. As long as Zhou Qing took his entire family out of the Qian Kingdom...
They should be able to escape the Fourth Prince's purge.
He could flee with his family first and preserve their lives. Once he had undergone a few more simulations and gained sufficient strength, it would not be too late to return for revenge.
But before deciding whether to use the second option, Zhou Qing needed to confirm something else.
Zhou Qing steadied himself and looked at the illusory text at the bottom of his vision.
[Name: Zhou Qing] [Race: Human] [Strength: Fifth Layer of Qi Refining] [Craft: Mid-Grade Alchemist] [Age: 16] [Talent: Pill Toxin Bane] [Simulations remaining: 0]
Zhou Qing looked at the [Simulations remaining] field.
An illusory countdown appeared.
[02:56:13:42:16]
"Two years and fifty-six days of cooldown?"
Zhou Qing frowned.
Based on his previous experience, once the countdown reached zero, another simulation opportunity would "refresh."
"Hmm?"
When Zhou Qing focused his attention on the countdown, another piece of information flooded his mind.
I can shorten the countdown by staying in an environment rich in spiritual energy?
Zhou Qing thought to himself.
Simply put, the richer the spiritual energy in his surroundings, the shorter the countdown would be.
I still need to make a trip to Black Mountain Market.
Zhou Qing had already made his decision.
Black Mountain Market District was built atop a second-tier spirit vein, and the concentration of spiritual energy within it far exceeded that of the outside world.
Of course, other gathering places for immortal cultivators were also built atop spirit veins. But Zhou Qing knew Black Mountain Market best. He knew every major event that would occur there over the next sixty-odd years.
For Zhou Qing, Black Mountain Market was even safer than the Zhou Residence.
"Dachun!"
Zhou Qing immediately rose and called out.
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"Young master."
Dachun rushed in again and scratched his head with an earnest look.
"Young master, I feel like you're different from before."
Dachun blinked as he spoke.
"You're imagining things..." Zhou Qing glanced at Dachun.
After inheriting all the cultivation from the simulation, he had immediately activated the Breath Concealment Art to suppress every trace of his aura.
He had not expected Dachun to notice anything amiss even then.
"Dachun, I'm planning to take you with me to travel the world."
Zhou Qing made up an excuse at random.
Since he intended to go to Black Mountain Market, he certainly could not just leave without a word.
Traveling the world was a decent excuse.
The reason he wanted to bring Dachun was simply to put his parents at ease.
As the Zhou family's third young master, leaving the Zhou Residence to travel the world alone would definitely leave his mother unable to sleep.
"Huh? Travel the world?" Dachun's eyes widened.
"I've made up my mind."
Zhou Qing immediately wrote a letter explaining that he was taking Dachun away from the Zhou Residence to travel the world, and left it in his room.
Then he walked out the door.
"Young master, wait for me..."
Dachun immediately followed him.
The next day.
"Madam..."
A maid, her face pale, brought the letter to Madam Zhou.
"Qing, he..." After reading the letter, a trace of panic appeared on Madam Zhou's face.
Her youngest son was actually this bold? He said he would travel the world, and off he went?
The incident caused quite a stir in the Zhou Residence, and the patriarch, Zhou Shizhong, learned of it immediately.
"With Dachun there, Qing shouldn't run into any danger, should he?"
Zhou Shizhong's tightly knitted brows finally relaxed.
No one knew his family's affairs better than he did. He knew Dachun's strength, as well as his keen perception.
If Zhou Qing had left the Zhou Residence alone, he would certainly have spared no effort to search the entire Qian Kingdom and find his son.
But with Dachun accompanying him... Zhou Shizhong did not think Zhou Qing would encounter any danger.
At worst, he would suffer a little hardship.
"All right. Qing is sixteen now. It's good for him to get out and broaden his horizons."
Zhou Shizhong looked at his wife.
Half a month later.
Zhou Qing had arrived at Black Mountain Market Ward.
As for Dachun, he had naturally been settled at the foot of the mountain.
This time, Zhou Qing would not leave Dachun at the foot of the mountain for decades as he had in the simulation. Instead, he planned to bring Dachun up once he had established himself in the Market Ward.
After entering the Market Ward, Zhou Qing headed straight for the Pill Alliance's outpost.
Within Black Mountain Market Ward, the places with the richest spiritual energy were naturally the cave abodes and inns.
However, both cave abodes and inns required spirit stones to stay in.
But Zhou Qing had no spirit stones on him. Not only did he lack spirit stones, he did not even have the pill furnace essential to a pill master.
Still, with his experience from the simulation, Zhou Qing naturally knew how to move into a cave abode within the Market Ward and settle down as quickly as possible.
That was to join the Pill Alliance.
In the simulation, through Pill Master Yun's recom-
-mendation, Zhou Qing had also joined the Pill Alliance and learned a great deal about the organization.
Strictly speaking, the Pill Alliance was not a power bloc, and it placed very few restrictions on its members.
Its benefits, however, were quite generous. Simply joining the Pill Alliance entitled one to live in one of its cave abodes free of charge.
Of course, the threshold for joining the Pill Alliance was also extremely high. Even a low-grade pill master had to pass numerous tests to join. In the simulation, Zhou Qing had only become a member so quickly because he had Pill Master Yun's recommendation.
In reality, Zhou Qing had no recommendation from Pill Master Yun. But with his skills as a Mid-Grade Alchemist, he no longer needed one.
Although low-grade alchemists and Mid-Grade Alchemists were only one rank apart, their status was entirely different.
The Pill Alliance had no shortage of low-grade alchemists, but it eagerly sought the addition of Mid-Grade Alchemists and those of even higher ranks.
Soon.
Zhou Qing arrived at the Pill Alliance's outpost in the market.
A female cultivator in the middle Qi Refining period looked at Zhou Qing and asked softly, "Fellow Daoist, have you come to join the Pill Alliance?"
"Yes."
Zhou Qing nodded.
"May I ask what rank of pill master you are, Fellow Daoist?"
The female cultivator in the middle Qi Refining period asked.
"Mid-grade."
Zhou Qing answered.
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"A Mid-Grade Alchemist?"
The female cultivator in the middle Qi Refining period was secretly astonished. She had originally assumed Zhou Qing was merely a low-grade alchemist. After all, there were only so many Mid-Grade Alchemists in Black Mountain Market.
"Fellow Daoist, if you wish to join the Pill Alliance as a Mid-Grade Alchemist, you must pass a pill-refining test. During the test, you may only use the alliance's pill furnace and Earthfire. Is that acceptable?"
The female cultivator in the middle Qi Refining period asked cautiously.
"No problem."
Zhou Qing nodded.
"Fellow Daoist, please follow me."
The female cultivator in the middle Qi Refining period immediately led Zhou Qing toward the examination room.
Before long.
Zhou Qing arrived before a stone door.
The female cultivator in the middle Qi Refining period formed a hand seal, and the stone door slowly opened.
"Pill Master Yun, this mid-grade pill master needs you to examine him."
The female cultivator in the middle Qi Refining period spoke into the doorway.
"Oh?"
"A mid-grade pill master?"
A man with a thin face walked out.
"Pill Master Yun?"
Zhou Qing also looked toward the man, gazing at this "old acquaintance" with whom he had shared a close relationship in the simulation.