Chapter 95 – A Bizarre Talent: I Can’t Be the Only Unlucky One

Chapter 95 – A Bizarre Talent: I Can’t Be the Only Unlucky One

Su Xing’s face flushed red at her words.

Though he was a battle-hardened veteran inside the simulator, in the real world he was still a greenhorn who had never set foot on an actual battlefield.

Being teased by Jin Congxue like this left Su Xing momentarily flustered.

But as someone with thick skin, Su Xing quickly recovered. He pulled Jin Congxue into his arms and teased back, “Oh? Then how does Sister Xue’er plan to help me?”

This sudden embrace caught Jin Congxue off guard instead, and in an instant her blush spread from her cheeks all the way down to the base of her neck — an utterly adorable sight.

Seeing Jin Congxue’s flustered state, Su Xing feigned confusion and said:

“Huh, I thought you were very experienced, Sister… Don’t tell me you’ve never tried either?”

Su Xing deliberately pitched his voice higher as he teased, making Jin Congxue even more embarrassed.

Jin Congxue shyly wriggled free from Su Xing’s embrace and hastily changed the subject: “Ahem, the goods stockpiled by the Lingyun Merchant Association in other cities have started being gradually transferred over, but the quantities are enormous so they’re not easy to settle all at once. There should be an even larger shipment arriving next week…”

As she spoke, Jin Congxue handed over a storage ring and said:

“This is the latest batch — roughly six hundred thousand pieces of white-grade equipment. You’ll have to wait another week for the rest…”

Su Xing nodded after hearing this and said, “Understandable. After all, you can’t get fat in one bite. The real value of a trading company lies in providing a steady, continuous stream of income…”

Jin Congxue gave Su Xing a surprised look and teased, “Not bad, Boss Su — you’ve actually developed a business mindset now?”

Su Xing grinned and replied:

“Of course. Just look at who I learned from.”

“Here — this is your five thousand pills for the week…”

Su Xing handed the pills over to Jin Congxue.

After accepting the pills, Jin Congxue promptly showed him the door: “Ahem, well, now that we’ve finished our business matters… isn’t it time you headed back to school?”

Su Xing was taken aback. “You’re not even going to treat me to a meal?”

Jin Congxue’s pretty face reddened as she said, “I wouldn’t dare keep you around. Who knows whether you’d end up eating food or eating something else entirely…”

Left with no choice, Su Xing could only head back to school.

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was around, Su Xing entered the Blessed Spirit Field. The six hundred thousand pieces of white-grade equipment yielded a whopping 3.3 million energy points.

With this, Su Xing’s energy broke through once again, reaching 9.2 million points!

“It’s just a shame — if I could break through ten million points, I’d unlock purple-grade talents…”

Su Xing sighed, but then reconsidered. What he urgently needed to improve right now was his alchemy skills and Body Tempering cultivation. Drawing purple talents wasn’t that pressing — it was just a matter of waiting one more week, which was perfectly acceptable.

On the afternoon of March 10th, New Era 2024, Su Xing activated the simulation right on schedule.

“Begin simulation!”

【Ding! This simulation consumes 2,700 energy points. Remaining energy: 9,200,888 points. Remaining simulation attempts: unlimited.】

【Simulation begins!】

【Drawing a white talent costs 100 energy points, a green talent costs 1,000 energy points, and a blue talent costs 10,000 energy points. Would you like to draw?】

“Draw a blue-grade talent!”

【Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the blue talent: I Can’t Be the Only Unlucky One!】

【I Can’t Be the Only Unlucky One】: You are a natural jinx. You’ll step in dog droppings every time you leave the house, and even drinking water will get stuck between your teeth. Moreover, your bad luck doesn’t just affect you alone — those around you will gradually become unlucky as well.

Su Xing frowned slightly upon seeing this talent and muttered in confusion, “Being unlucky to the extreme… that counts as a talent?”

“Whatever, let’s just run the simulation and see!”

【In the Blessed Spirit Field, you realize you are in a simulation.】

【You begin refining the new week’s batch of Beauty-Preserving Pills and Healing Pills, but to your surprise, you — who could normally refine pills with your eyes closed — actually suffer a furnace explosion. Though you aren’t injured, the explosion still puts a damper on your mood for alchemy.】

【So you temporarily set aside pill refining and turn to tending your spirit plants instead. But unexpectedly, while watering the Spirit-Gathering Flowers, your hand slips and you pour half a ladle too much water, drowning one of the Spirit-Gathering Flowers on the spot.】

【Feeling gloomy, you cook some Spirit rice to have a meal. But to your shock, in the course of a single meal, you choke over twenty times. A mighty Nascent Soul cultivator, nearly killed by choking on food.】

【Fortunately, your luck isn’t all bad — there happens to be water within arm’s reach. Otherwise, you might truly have become the first Nascent Soul cultivator in history to choke to death.】

Black lines appeared on Su Xing’s forehead.

“Damn, this talent is way too unlucky… Am I literally a jinx descended from the heavens?”

“The thing is, I still have the positive talent Lucky Streak active! Without it, I’d probably be in mortal danger just walking down the street…”

Su Xing’s teeth ached at the thought. He felt somewhat worried about the future of this simulation, but pressed on regardless.

【After several consecutive days of misfortune, you become paranoid and start approaching everything with extreme caution.】

【What saddens you even more is that over the next six months, your bad luck causes the Tarot Trading Company’s growth to slow drastically — even teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Jin Congxue expends tremendous effort just to keep the Tarot Trading Company afloat.】

【Unfortunately, even Jin Congxue begins to suffer from bad luck due to her close association with you.】

【Left with no choice, to prevent the people around you from sharing in your misfortune, you can only spend most of your time holed up in the Blessed Spirit Field, cultivating and refining pills in solitude.】

【Until one day, the Wang Qingxuan you’ve been longing for finally contacts you. You are overjoyed, hoping to bring your bad luck to bear on the Advent Cult.】

【After one night, Wang Qingxuan takes you to meet an Elder of the Advent Cult.】

【To your surprise, that Elder seems to find you disagreeable on sight and hesitates over whether to let you join the Advent Cult.】

Su Xing was dumbfounded at this and complained, “Damn it, when your luck is bad, even drinking water gets stuck between your teeth… They’re actually going to refuse to let me join the Advent Cult?”

【Left with no alternative, you can only show off a bit of your alchemy skills, demonstrating that you can refine pills to enhance others’ strength, hoping to use this as your ticket into the Advent Cult.】

【That Elder ultimately agrees to let you join the Advent Cult. After all, alchemy is genuinely useful to the Advent Cult, and he has no choice but to accept you.】

【Because you’ve revealed your alchemy abilities, Old Dog Zong within the Advent Cult quickly sets his sights on you, wanting you to join his faction.】

【You naturally know what Old Dog Zong is scheming. Joining his command would be a dead end, so you make every excuse to stall and refuse to join.】

【But you are merely a newly inducted member of the Advent Cult, while Old Dog Zong is a Protector with overwhelming authority. You have no way to resist.】

【Just when you think your only option is to defect from the Advent Cult, Luo Shuying proposes to recruit you into her faction.】

【You are ecstatic and join Luo Shuying’s faction.】

【The next day, you speak the pre-arranged code phrase to Luo Shuying. But because your luck is so terrible, Luo Shuying actually expresses doubt. Only after your repeated explanations does she finally believe you.】

【You tell Luo Shuying that your luck has been exceptionally poor, and aside from necessary contact, you wish to minimize your interactions with her.】

【Luo Shuying gathers all the medicinal ingredients you need, and you begin refining pills.】

【In the second year, having provided the Advent Cult with numerous pills throughout the year, you earn the appreciation of the upper echelons and successfully rise to the rank of Elder.】

【But what puzzles you is that the vast majority of Cult members who consumed your pills end up seriously injured or dead in various mission accidents.】

【In the year since you joined the Advent Cult, its overall strength has not only failed to increase but has actually declined significantly.】

【Fortunately, no one connects this eerie phenomenon to you. You continue taking Primordial Martial Pills daily for cultivation and studying alchemy.】

【Because you hold the rank of Elder, you enjoy considerable freedom within the Cult. Between your alchemy and cultivation sessions, you decide to explore the Luotian Assembly dungeon.】

Su Xing felt a surge of anticipation — was he finally going to enter the mysterious Luotian Assembly dungeon?

But then a twinge of worry crept into his heart.

“Damn, with luck this bad in this simulation, I’m not going to get wrecked in the Luotian Assembly dungeon, am I?”

Su Xing figured the Luotian Assembly dungeon posed no mortal danger, so it should be fine.

He continued the simulation.

【You travel across mountains and rivers to arrive at the Capital City, where the Luotian Assembly dungeon is located.】

【Just as you prepare to enter the dungeon, the administrator informs you that only one person may enter the Luotian Assembly dungeon at a time. Entry requires advance booking, and appointments are currently filled for the next month.】

【Left with no choice, you make a reservation. One month later, you return to the site of the Luotian Assembly dungeon.】

【This time, you successfully enter the dungeon.】

【The next day, you emerge from the Luotian Assembly dungeon. Aside from some muddled memories in your mind, you come away with nothing.】

Su Xing stared blankly at this, black lines rising on his forehead. “What do you mean, ‘aside from memories, nothing gained’?! What did I actually see inside the Luotian Assembly dungeon? How can you skip over the most critical part?”

Su Xing felt helpless but understood — to get a detailed look at this dungeon, he would have to use immersive simulation to find out what actually happened inside.

He continued reading.

【After exiting the dungeon, you try to book another session, only to be told that each person may enter this dungeon at most once per year. Left with no choice, you can only reserve a slot for next year.】

【At this point, you still have half a year before your next entry into the Luotian Assembly dungeon. You decide to head back to the Advent Cult first.】

【Unexpectedly, on your way back, someone marks you as a target.】

【Those tracking you are from the Great Xia upper echelons. They’ve discovered that you are an Elder of the Advent Cult, a traitorous organization of the human race. You are personally captured by a Martial Emperor-stage powerhouse and thrown into military custody.】

【Facing relentless interrogation and torture, you can only claim that you infiltrated the Advent Cult as a mole, with the goal of acquiring the Cult’s resources to benefit the human race.】

【The Great Xia leadership doesn’t believe this and demands evidence, asking who your handler is.】

【You naturally have no handler, since right now you are a genuine Advent Cult traitor to humanity — you simply plan to defect from the Cult in a few years.】

【To prove your innocence, you can only request a private meeting with Lu Yuanwu, because you know Lu Yuanwu could not possibly be a traitor to the human race.】

【You successfully meet with Lu Yuanwu and give him the tens of thousands of pills you’ve accumulated over the past year. After verifying their efficacy, Lu Yuanwu is delighted and proposes that you join the Great Xia Military under his protection.】

【You decline Lu Yuanwu’s offer, because you know your objectives haven’t been achieved yet — Old Dog Zong still lives, and the Advent Cult’s remaining value hasn’t been fully exploited.】

【Most critically, you worry that joining the Great Xia Military would bring misfortune upon them.】

【So you propose a cooperation arrangement with the Great Xia Military: every three months, you will provide them with a batch of pills, but these pills cannot be consumed until five years later. This is to prevent your betrayal of the Advent Cult from being discovered prematurely.】

【At the same time, you present your own demand: every three months, the Great Xia Military must provide you with a batch of Heavenly King-stage Demonic Beast Blood Essence in return, no less than three hundred catties.】

【Lu Yuanwu agrees to your terms without much deliberation. Though Demonic Beast Blood Essence is precious, compared to the pills you can provide, it’s hardly worth mentioning.】

【You successfully return to the Advent Cult. Everything appears normal as you continue your daily pill refining. With the aid of the Demonic Beast Blood Essence, however, your cultivation advances even more rapidly.】

【In the third year, you select an auspicious day. Under Luo Shuying’s escort, you arrive once again at the Capital City. This time, you prepare to explore the Luotian Assembly dungeon once more!】

【After communicating with the dungeon administrator, you are about to enter the Luotian Assembly dungeon.】

Su Xing hurriedly murmured to himself:

“I want to use immersive simulation!”

【Ding! You have successfully activated immersive simulation. 100,000 energy points consumed. Simulation duration: one hour. Remaining energy: 9,090,888 points!】