Another Branch in the Simulation

Liu Chenyu turned to Xu Changxing and said:

"Would you rather cultivate in peace and safety, or risk your life in those secret realms with your senior brother, all for a sword art?"

With that attitude of yours, do I even have a choice?

The corner of Xu Changxing's mouth twitched. "I'd like to cultivate under you, Master."

Only then did a smile appear on Liu Chenyu's face.

He waved at Li Changge as though shooing away a fly and said:

"Get out, get out! Hurry up and leave. Every time you come back, you try to poach one of your junior brothers.

"Last time it was your second junior brother, and now it's your youngest junior brother.

"If you dare set your sights on them again, watch out, or I'll break your legs."

Li Changge took the scolding without getting angry. Grinning, he said, "I'm just trying to offer them another path."

After saying that, he turned to Xu Changxing again. "Junior Brother, I really am not trying to lure you into a pit.

"Come visit me when you have time, and you'll see I wasn't lying.

"Compared to holing up in the sect and burying yourself in cultivation, life over there is much more exhilarating.

"Whatever cultivation resources you want, you can win them with the sword in your hand..."

Before he could finish, Liu Chenyu interrupted:

"If you have more resources than you can use, then give your junior brother some.

"You want to poach your own junior brother, yet you can't even bear to part with a few spirit stones.

"As the eldest senior brother, you might as well die of stinginess."

Li Changge slapped his forehead. "Right, right! You're absolutely right to scold me, Master."

As he spoke, he held out a Storage Bag to Xu Changxing and said:

"I came back in a hurry this time and didn't prepare anything decent.

"Take these for now. Next time we meet, I'll have a lavish gift ready for you."

Xu Changxing thanked Li Changge, then reached out and accepted the Storage Bag.

Liu Chenyu seemed terrified that Li Changge would lure away his third disciple.

Before Li Changge could exchange more than a few words with Xu Changxing, Liu Chenyu chased him out.

Then Liu Chenyu explained his insights into cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Realm to Xu Changxing once more before letting him leave.

By the time Xu Changxing returned to his own peak, the sky had gone completely dark.

The darkness did nothing to dampen Xu Changxing's spirits, however.

He was in quite a good mood and immediately took out the Storage Bag Li Changge had given him.

The Storage Bag was of rather high quality. Not only was its interior spacious, but its exterior also had a layer of restrictions.

If Xu Changxing infused it with his own aura, outsiders would find it difficult to open without breaking the restrictions.

That alone showed just how deep Li Changge's pockets were.

In truth, this layer of restrictions was not especially useful. It could only guard against petty thieves, not attempts by high-level cultivators to break it.

Yet adding the restrictions cost quite a bit, making them a means for some cultivators to flaunt their status.

Xu Changxing had not expected even the Storage Bag Li Changge casually handed him to be worth so much.

None of his previous simulations seemed to have mentioned this.

Was it because I completed foundation establishment, so Eldest Senior Brother upgraded his welcoming gift too?

Curious, he opened the Storage Bag and examined its contents.

The first thing he sensed was a gleaming mass of spirit stones.

Xu Changxing made a rough count and found at least three thousand low-grade spirit stones inside.

Beside the large pile of low-grade spirit stones sat another, smaller pile.

These spirit stones gave off a richer aura, and the spiritual energy within them was purer. They were all Medium-Grade Spirit Stones.

Though there did not seem to be many Medium-Grade Spirit Stones, there were still over twenty.

One Medium-Grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for roughly a hundred low-grade spirit stones.

In other words, the spirit stones in the Storage Bag alone were worth a full five thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Besides the spirit stones, it also contained some pills needed for cultivation, a jade slip, and a flying sword's Sword Pellet.

At the sight of the Sword Pellet, Xu Changxing's heart suddenly began to race.

Whether in the novels of his previous life or through what he had learned in this one, he had heard more than once how formidable flying swords were.

So when Li Changge had offered to teach him the Five Elements Sword Art earlier that day, he had indeed been tempted.

Only Liu Chenyu's attitude and his own desire to take the safe path had kept him from accepting Li Changge's invitation.

He had actually felt somewhat disappointed when he failed to obtain the sword art then.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Li Changge to give him a flying sword's Sword Pellet as a welcoming gift.

Since he even gave me the Sword Pellet, could the jade slip contain...

Excitement surged through Xu Changxing, and he immediately seized the jade slip.

Sure enough, the jade slip contained a wood-attribute sword art!

This sword art was called the "Yi Wood Sword Art."

Seeing the name of the Sword Art, the corner of Xu Changxing's mouth could not help twitching.

The name was simply too ordinary, much like personal names such as "Li Qiang" or "Wang Wei."

Any wood-attribute sword art whose creator could not think of a name could be called the "Yi Wood Sword Art."

The quality of these "Yi Wood Sword Arts" varied wildly.

The earliest version was said to have originated from the Five Elements Sword Art and had been a section of that supreme sword art.

Later, the name had been used to death, and the quality of the arts bearing it had become wildly inconsistent.

Now Xu Changxing could only hope that Li Changge's "Yi Wood Sword Art" was not some defective version.

He read through the sword art and was surprised to discover that it was divided into Foundation Establishment and Core Formation sections.

It looked as though there might even be a Nascent Soul section after the Core Formation section.

This sword art seems to be of pretty high quality, so why give it such an ordinary name?

Could Eldest Senior Brother be hopeless at naming things?

Xu Changxing shook his head, casting those thoughts aside.

Whatever the quality of this sword art, he had no other choice for the time being.

Besides, sword arts could be changed. Once he obtained a better one, there would still be time to switch.

Rather than rushing to cultivate the sword art, however, he took a small pile of low-grade spirit stones out of the Storage Bag and fed them into the system to add points.

He wanted to see whether he could improve his proficiency in the sword art through a system simulation.

Once his points reached one thousand, he said without hesitation, "Begin simulation!"

[Month one: You refined the Sword Pellet Li Changge gave you and began practicing the "Yi Wood Sword Art."]

[Month two: Although you did not deliberately cultivate, your cultivation still advanced to the foundation establishment middle stage without you realizing it.]

[Month three: The Sect Grand Competition began. Thanks to the advantage of your flying sword, you performed impressively, making Liu Chenyu see you in a new light.]

[Month nine: Your Yi Wood Sword Art grew increasingly proficient, and your cultivation advanced to the foundation establishment late stage.

Just as you were preparing to travel outside the sect, Li Changge came to see you again and invited you to fight in his secret realm.

After a moment's hesitation, you accepted Li Changge's invitation.]

"Huh? Something changed again this time."

Xu Changxing was momentarily taken aback when he read this.

In the previous simulations, Li Changge had barely played any role at all.

This time, however, Li Changge had made a forceful entrance.

Could it be because I didn't display that monstrous talent this time, so Master didn't nurture me as an Immortal Seedling, giving Eldest Senior Brother the chance to succeed?

With a trace of puzzlement, Xu Changxing continued watching the rest of the simulation.