Second Simulation

"Please choose your background for this simulation."

"Commoner: Born into a lower-class family with a troubled destiny, requires zero to one hundred points."

"Noble Elite: Born into a wealthy noble family, requires one hundred to ten thousand points."

"Martial Arts Family: Born into a family of martial artists, both your parents are warriors, and your blood flows with the Yuan-Qi of martial arts. Your talent far surpasses ordinary people. Requires two thousand to fifty thousand points."

Seeing the background options, Fang Yuan directly chose the commoner and then moved on to the talent options.

"Sword Art Talent (Basic): Requires simulator points one to one hundred."

"Sword Art Talent (Middle): Requires simulator points one hundred to ten thousand."

"Cultivation Talent (Basic): Requires simulator points one to one hundred."

"Blade Art Talent (Basic): Requires simulator points one to one hundred."

...

Numerous talent options popped up, appearing before Fang Yuan's eyes.

"I still need some points to extend the time of this simulation. In that case..."

Fang Yuan contemplated for a moment and chose Cultivation Talent, investing ten simulator points.

"Twenty simulator points left, all used for extending time."

With a passing thought, Fang Yuan skipped some other options and moved on to the time selection.

"Two simulator points can extend the time by one year... then let's use them all for extending time!"

Fang Yuan invested all the remaining points into extending time, directly extending the simulation time from ten to twenty years.

"Twenty years should be enough for me to accomplish what I need in this simulation."

As long as he didn't die, he could survive for twenty years, and then the simulation would end.

Fang Yuan looked at the fully selected options, took a deep breath, and with a slight mental focus, clicked on the start simulation button.

"Selection complete, simulation initiated!"

With a mechanical sound, a deep and pitch-black void simultaneously emerged, emitting an infinite suction force.

Fang Yuan felt a slight shake in his consciousness and was then drawn into the black hole. His entire being became hazy, unconscious.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself in the midst of the simulation. He was lying on the straw in a stable, and several robust horses were munching on fodder beside him.

The stable was well-arranged, with a faint smell despite being a place for raising horses, and the floor was clean.

Observing the surroundings, memories began to slowly surface in Fang Yuan's mind.

Realizing the memories in his mind, Fang Yuan suddenly understood, "I have become a stable boy."

Realizing this, Fang Yuan couldn't help but shake his head.

It seemed that an origin without investing any points was indeed a pitfall. In the previous simulation, he was a refugee, and this time, he was a stable boy.

Although being a stable boy seemed much better than being a refugee, a stable boy was still a servant, subject to others' commands.

"Wang Cheng, stable boy of the Zhao family, born to raise horses for the Zhao family, a slave to the Zhao family for generations."

Flipping through the memories in his mind, Fang Yuan sighed softly.

In his view, this identity was not as good as the refugee in the previous simulation. After all, refugees had no restrictions, while as a stable boy in the Zhao family, which was a dominant force in Kang City, with the family head Zhao Kang being a martial arts expert, there was no room for him to play.

"I must find a way to leave the Zhao family."

"Now, I am Wang Cheng, the natural-born child of the Zhao family, and I can’t leave as I wish..."

The natural-born child was the child born to a slave in the family head's household, and according to the host’s memories, it meant being a slave for generations, unable to break free.

"It looks like I can only take the opportunity to escape when I go out to buy fodder every five days."

Fang Yuan had already learned from the memories that he had to go out every five days to the market in the north of the city to buy fodder for the horses.

"After escaping, I must find a place far from Kang City to survive, then practice martial arts and establish power..."

He was the natural-born child of the Zhao family. If he betrayed the Zhao family and was found by them, he would undoubtedly have a bad ending.

With these thoughts, Fang Yuan took a deep breath and continued to peruse the memories in his mind.

As Wang Cheng's memories were read one by one, Fang Yuan also absorbed a lot of information from them.

He had made a remarkable leap in understanding the art of horse care and discerning the physical condition of equines. In a moment, he transitioned from a state of profound ignorance regarding equine habits to a proficient master of this discipline.

"Although I have absorbed these memories, they have not caused any disturbance to my true self."

Fang Yuan silently watched Wang Cheng's memories, his mind undisturbed.

Because these memories, though vast, lack emotions, they didn't affect his temperament at all. After all, they were just memories and wouldn't evoke any emotions while Fang Yuan was watching. For Fang Yuan, even though he assimilated these memories, it was no different from watching a movie.

"Perhaps the power of the simulator is at play here." Fang Yuan silently scrutinized his inner self, gaining insight. While these memories might not have emotions for others and couldn’t influence their temperament, the sheer complexity of these memories was a form of contamination. However, this contamination didn't exist for Fang Yuan, and it didn't affect him in the slightest.

"After all, I am just a stable boy; there's no memory of any martial arts cultivation method." Shaking his head, Fang Yuan finished watching Wang Cheng's memories. He then stood up from the hay pile and began tending to the horses.

"This time, there are more memories than in the previous simulation. Also, as Wang Cheng, the natural-born child of the Zhao family, he is quite trusted and has a deeper understanding of this world."

Through the information he acquired in the previous simulation and Wang Cheng's memories, Fang Yuan now had a broader understanding of his current position in this world. The world was vast, with numerous dynasties and countless martial arts experts. Kang City, where Fang Yuan currently resided, was a city within the Great Wei territory.

"Last time, I was in Great Zheng. Perhaps I can go take a look later and see the traces I left from my previous simulation. I wonder how much time has passed since my last simulation." Different dynasties have different year names, and Fang Yuan didn't find any information about Great Zheng's year name in Wang Cheng's memories.

Shaking his head, Fang Yuan silently tended to the horses, waiting for the right moment. In four days, he would go out to buy fodder, and that would be his chance to escape.

Although he had a relatively comfortable life in the Zhao family, Fang Yuan wasn't accustomed to being dependent on others and certainly didn't want to be anyone's servant. Moreover, he couldn't openly practice martial arts within the Zhao family; he was constantly restricted.

As Fang Yuan pondered while caring for the horses, a maid approached from a distance. "Wang Cheng, the young lady has ordered you to take good care of Rouge. Tomorrow morning, the young lady will be going out for leisure, and she'll need you to lead the horse."

Rouge was a small horse, gentle in temperament, and the favorite of Miss Zhao Yu.

Hearing the voice, Fang Yuan turned to the maid and nodded, saying, "I understand." A moment later, watching the maid's departing figure, Fang Yuan felt a slight joy in his heart.

“Perhaps I don't need to wait for four days; maybe tomorrow is the opportunity for me to leave the Zhao family.”