Epiphany

Just as Xu Changxing was pondering where things had gone wrong, the system's voice rang out again.

[Simulation ended]

[Evaluation: You enjoyed boundless glory when you first began cultivating, but a single setback robbed you of all your edge, reducing you to a mediocre rogue cultivator.]

[Based on the simulation results, you may choose one of the following rewards]

[1. View footage of your simulated life from a first-person perspective]

[2. Cultivation at the late stage of Foundation Establishment]

As Xu Changxing had expected, the rewards this time had plummeted.

Normally, he should have chosen cultivation at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Yet something still rankled in his heart, and he could not tell where things had gone wrong.

Xu Changxing glanced at his remaining spirit stones and finally decided on the first option.

If he chose the cultivation reward, the spirit stones required for the next simulation would skyrocket, and his current supply might not be enough to run another one.

Besides, he was genuinely curious about the changes in his state of mind during this simulation.

"I choose 1!"

After Xu Changxing spoke, the text from the simulation transformed into scenes that appeared before his eyes.

Perhaps because his cultivation had improved again, the scenes before him were far more lifelike than those in the previous simulation.

He could even use his spiritual sense to perceive the outlines of the objects in the footage, as though he had entered some special secret realm.

Once he pressed the play button, the scenery around him began changing rapidly.

From studying the Yi Wood Sword Art to beginning his cultivation, Xu Changxing perceived every part of the process clearly.

To his surprise, he could even sense the changes in the true essence within his body.

Was there really such a huge difference in clarity between a thousand spirit stones and a few dozen?

This was worth every stone!

After grumbling inwardly, Xu Changxing devoted all his attention to perceiving the simulated scenes.

This was practically a chance to learn the entire process of sword cultivation from a first-person perspective.

If he could thoroughly digest it, he would achieve twice the results with half the effort when he cultivated himself.

That benefit alone made spending a thousand low-grade spirit stones on this viewing worthwhile.

Since Xu Changxing frequently needed to ponder the finer details of the changes in his spiritual energy, he did not watch very quickly.

It took a full day and night before he finished watching the process of cultivating the sword art.

By then, he had gained an exceptionally clear understanding of the Yi Wood Sword Art.

He reflected on it for a while longer, then continued watching the subsequent scenes.

He quickly skipped over the scenes of slow, painstaking cultivation, only slowing down a little when he reached the Sect Grand Competition.

Those battles benefited Xu Changxing immensely.

Not only could he see the fluctuations of the Spell Arts, but he could also sense how the true essence had circulated within his body at the time, making the experience deeply immersive.

Without those fast-forward buttons, he might even have believed he was the one fighting.

He practically experienced firsthand how his command of the sword art progressed from initial awkwardness to gradual mastery.

After the Sect Grand Competition ended, he increased the playback speed again.

Next came scenes of traveling the world and gaining insights into heaven and earth.

He sped this portion up a hundredfold, quickly skipping a great many meaningless scenes.

Only when he encountered battles or explorations of secret realms did he occasionally slow the playback.

Soon, the simulation reached the ninth year.

When his simulated self prepared to condense a first-grade Golden Core, Xu Changxing slowed the playback again.

From a first-person perspective, he personally experienced the process of condensing a first-grade Golden Core.

Xu Changxing savored it for a long while before continuing with the scenes that followed.

When he saw the Setting Sun Sect's gates breached, his emotions somehow began to fluctuate along with those of his simulated self.

Only then did he finally understand why this had tied a knot in his simulated self's heart.

The sight of those mountains collapsing was simply too devastating, and that sense of helplessness was truly impossible to forget.

Only after another long while did he speed up the playback again and watch what happened afterward.

Over the next hundred years or so, there was little worth watching.

Only when he heard that Li Changge had emerged and severely wounded the Yin Corpse Sect's patriarch did he slow the playback again.

He could clearly feel the knot in his simulated self's heart tightening at that moment.

So this was when my prolonged inability to condense a perfect Nascent Soul in the simulation began.

Xu Changxing quietly contemplated that feeling for a while before continuing to watch.

Though many scenes followed, few were worth examining closely.

He rapidly skipped over the meaningless scenes.

Only when he reached the final battle did he stop again to watch carefully.

He could no longer fully comprehend the circulation of true essence at the Nascent Soul Realm.

Yet Xu Changxing felt the despair of being grievously wounded in the simulation with extraordinary clarity.

Before he knew it, the scene leaped ahead several years, to when he passed away in his cave abode.

The image froze there.

"Whew..."

Xu Changxing let out a long sigh, withdrawing his consciousness from those illusory scenes.

At that moment, it felt as though a lifetime had passed.

He vaguely remembered feeling this way when he had first transmigrated into this world.

It was the feeling of having lived another life.

Xu Changxing clenched both fists tightly, then slowly relaxed them, only to clench them again a moment later.

After repeating this several times, he finally murmured:

"So this is what it feels like to witness your sect's destruction.

"Let me fulfill what you left unfinished!"

After saying this, he felt his entire body grow lighter, as though something had departed from within him.

Xu Changxing did not carefully examine the changes in himself.

Now, only one thought remained in his mind-practice the sword!

With a beckoning motion of one hand, he drew the Sword Pellet Li Changge had given him into his palm.

His true essence surged forth as he used a sword-control technique to wield the Sword Pellet.

By all rights, he had not yet finished refining the Sword Pellet.

Yet he simply felt that he should be able to wield this flying sword.

Defying all common sense, the Sword Pellet unfurled.

Like rain falling into a desert, Xu Changxing's true essence swiftly soaked into the Sword Pellet without the slightest resistance.

In mere moments, the flying sword was circling endlessly around him like a fluttering butterfly.

"Go!"

Following the methods in his memory, Xu Changxing attempted to execute the sword techniques he remembered.

Though this was his first time performing them, they felt inexplicably familiar.

The flying sword he had just refined also shared an indescribable affinity with him.

After only a few attempts, he could already wield the various sword techniques with ease.

The Sword Pellet assumed countless forms, dancing gracefully atop the deserted mountain.

That dance continued for dozens of days and nights.

Knock, knock, knock!

One day, someone suddenly knocked on Xu Changxing's courtyard gate.

"Senior Brother, are you there? Master asked me to tell you that the Sect Grand Competition is about to begin!"