Chapter 40: Evolve, Li Changsheng
"Again."
[Simulation begins.]
[At age twenty-one, you followed Su Qingyu back to the Su family's ancestral grounds. From the Su family's scripture pavilion, you obtained a third-tier alchemy inheritance. You devoted yourself to studying alchemy within the Su family.]
[...]
[At age seventy-nine, your alchemy skills advanced to the early third-tier.]
[At age one hundred and thirty, your alchemy skills advanced to the mid-third-tier.]
[At age one hundred and forty, you were killed by a Medicine King Sect powerhouse.]
"Choose the second option!"
Your alchemy skills finally reached the mid-third-tier.
[...]
[...At age fifty-nine, your alchemy skills advanced to the late third-tier.]
[At age one hundred and ten, your alchemy skills reached the peak of the third-tier.]
[You searched for a fourth-tier alchemy inheritance within the Su family but were informed that the Su family possessed no such inheritance.]
[You bid farewell to Su Qingyu, intending to search for a fourth-tier alchemy inheritance outside. Su Qingyu, who had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, accompanied you.]
[At age one hundred and twenty, after traveling to many places, you found nothing.]
[You parted ways with Su Qingyu and infiltrated the Medicine King Sect to steal their inheritance. You were discovered in the Medicine King Sect's scripture pavilion. You fought three hundred rounds against a Medicine King Sect Nascent Soul elder but were ultimately outmatched and trapped within the Medicine King Sect's formation.]
[Half a month later, Su Qingyu received news of your plight. Together with the Su family's ancestor, she stormed the Medicine King Sect to rescue you. However, they were ambushed by the Long family's Nascent Soul cultivators and the Medicine King Sect's powerhouse. Su Qingyu was killed by the Medicine King Sect's patriarch with a single sword strike, and the Su family's ancestor was severely injured and fled.]
[You died!]
"Choose the second option!"
Li Changsheng made his choice without hesitation.
Your alchemy skills reached the peak of the third-tier!
It seems the Medicine King Sect has more than one Nascent Soul cultivator, and the Su family actually sent two Nascent Soul elders to storm the Medicine King Sect for his sake!
"The Su family is reliable—they really step up when it counts!"
Li Changsheng murmured.
Although this happened in the simulation, he felt indebted to them.
With his system, he could grow stronger and repay them later.
...
"Again!"
[At age twenty-one, you followed Su Qingyu back to the Su family. At the Su family, you obtained an inheritance in formation techniques that could take you to the early fourth-tier. You went into seclusion to study formation techniques.]
[At age forty-nine, your formation techniques advanced to the third-tier.]
[...]
[At age ninety-five, your formation techniques advanced to the mid-third-tier.]
[At age one hundred and thirty-five, your formation techniques advanced to the late third-tier.]
[...]
[...At age fifty-seven, your formation techniques advanced to the peak of the third-tier.]
[At age one hundred and twenty-one, your formation techniques advanced to the early fourth-tier.]
Li Changsheng opened his eyes, his mind flooded with countless experiences in formation techniques, as if he had hundreds of years of experience setting up formations.
He casually adjusted the formation he had set up earlier. The formation's aura instantly changed. What was originally a simple formation meant to mask movement now radiated intense killing intent. Even a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator would be instantly annihilated if they stepped into this casually adjusted formation.
"I should now have combat power comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator, right?"
Li Changsheng murmured, "It seems I need to gather some formation materials!"
Although he still had some decent materials on hand, enough to set up a formation capable of killing peak Golden Core cultivators, he could already kill peak Golden Core cultivators with his current strength. If he wanted to set up a fourth-tier formation capable of killing Nascent Soul cultivators, he would need many more materials.
...
"Again!"
Li Changsheng said resolutely.
Having more skills never hurt. Since he still had over a dozen simulation opportunities left, he decided to push the four major cultivation arts to their current limits!
[...At age forty-five, your talisman crafting advanced to the second-tier.]
[...]
[Your talisman crafting advanced to the peak of the third-tier.]
After spending five simulation opportunities—equivalent to roughly six hundred years—Li Changsheng finally elevated his talisman crafting to the peak of the third-tier.
[...]
[At age forty-five, your artifact crafting advanced to...]
After six more simulations, Li Changsheng's artifact crafting reached the peak of the third-tier. He could now forge ordinary spiritual artifacts, though he currently had no materials to craft any.
...
A smile crept onto Li Changsheng's face as he murmured:
"Now, I've achieved well-rounded development in wisdom, physique, and skills. I wonder if I'm ready to kill one or two Nascent Soul cultivators?"
"I still have four simulations left. Let's try!"
[Simulation begins.]
[At age twenty-one, you followed Su Qingyu back to the Su family and began collecting materials for crafting spiritual artifacts, talismans, and formations.]
[...]
[At age one hundred and twenty-seven, you felt you were ready and quietly approached the Medicine King Sect. Over the course of a year and a half, you set up seventeen types of killing formations thirty miles outside the Medicine King Sect.]
[At age one hundred and twenty-eight, you stealthily infiltrated the Medicine King Sect. With the help of a peak third-tier concealment talisman, you successfully stole the fourth-tier alchemy inheritance. However, the moment you obtained it, you were discovered by a Medicine King Sect Nascent Soul elder.]
[You immediately threw three hundred third-tier talismans at the elder, lightly injuring him, while you made a quick escape.]
[As you fled the Medicine King Sect's formation, you were struck by a sword light unleashed by another Medicine King Sect Nascent Soul cultivator. Thanks to your protective spiritual armor, you only suffered minor injuries. You threw out several hundred more third-tier talismans, forcing the two Nascent Soul cultivators to take cover.]
[You fled into the pre-arranged formations. The two Nascent Soul cultivators entered the formations, and while you studied the fourth-tier alchemy inheritance, you controlled the formations to attack them. They were forced to dodge and defend, appearing quite disheveled.]
[After more than ten minutes, the Medicine King Sect's patriarch arrived. With a single sword strike, he tore a hole in the formation and rescued the two Nascent Soul cultivators.]
[The three of them joined forces and killed you.]
[You died!]
"Hah!"
Li Changsheng's eyes snapped open, and a smile spread across his face.
"Choose the second option!"
Over a hundred years of experience in crafting talismans and setting formations flooded Li Changsheng's mind, along with a volume of alchemy inheritance titled The Medicine King Scripture, Volume One.
"As expected of the Medicine King Sect's inheritance!"
Li Changsheng's lips curved into a slight smile. Although this was only the first volume of The Medicine King Scripture, it contained a vast array of knowledge. Not only did it detail alchemy techniques up to the fifth-tier, but it also recorded countless rare herbs, their properties, and the types of pills they could be used to refine.
Many of these herbs were things Li Changsheng had never even heard of.
...
"Start the simulation!"
[...You devoted yourself to studying alchemy. At age one hundred and forty, you were killed by a Medicine King Sect powerhouse.]
[...]
[...At age ninety-five, your alchemy skills advanced to the fourth-tier.]
[At age one hundred and thirty, you successfully refined a Nascent Soul Pill. You went into seclusion and consumed the pill, attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.]
[The breakthrough failed, and you were severely injured.]
[At age one hundred and forty, you were killed by a Medicine King Sect powerhouse.]
This...
Li Changsheng was speechless. How poor was his aptitude? The Nascent Soul Pill increased the chance of a successful breakthrough by forty percent, and even if the breakthrough failed, it wouldn't kill him or affect his cultivation. Yet, he still failed.
"Choose the second option!"
With Li Changsheng's choice, the fourth-tier alchemist was born!