Chapter 231 – Gold Talent, Unkillable Cockroach! The Three Thousand Worlds Approach! (10,000 Characters, Two-in-One)

When it came to choosing this simulation’s rewards, Su Xing naturally had nothing to agonize over.

Su Xing’s purpose for this simulation had always been to increase his combat strength and find a way to kill Old Dog Dragon.

That was precisely why he had chosen the Dragonslayer talent.

Although he hadn’t managed to meet the mysterious person, obtain the pass, and thereby enter the Three Thousand Worlds…

Being able to advance the Heaven Sword Art to Minor Mastery-level still represented a qualitative transformation of Su Xing’s strength.

“I choose the talent Dragonslayer, and the Heaven Sword chapter at Minor Mastery-level!”

Su Xing didn’t hesitate, speaking decisively.

【Ding. Detected that your talent slots are full. Would you like to spend one billion energy to expand… or perform a talent replacement?】

The simulator’s notification chimed in Su Xing’s ear.

Su Xing froze for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately let out a string of curses.

“What the hell! A purple talent costs one million energy, and a talent slot costs one billion? Are you messing with me?”

Su Xing’s teeth ached at once. One billion energy — for him, that was practically hemorrhaging resources.

That was enough to advance two minor realms within the Body Integration stage!

“Fine then, let me see what talents I can swap out.”

Su Xing’s gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【Name: Su Xing】

【Age: 22】

【Profession: Cultivator】

【Cultivation: Body Integration stage, first layer; Void Shattering Grand Perfection】

【Techniques: Ruyi Visualization Diagram, Eternal Spring Art, Myriad Blazing Flame Art】

【Talents: Wisdom in Foolishness, Innate Sword Physique, Spontaneous Epiphany, Formation Dao Prodigy, Alchemy Prodigy, Talisman Expert, Lightning-Wood-Fire Triple Heavenly Spirit Root, Strength to Uproot Mountains, Fortune in Commerce, Descendant of Shennong, Die With Eyes Open, Blessed by Fortune, Blessed by Fortune, Self-Help Guru, Level 10 Beast Tongue, Dragonslayer】

【Skills: Separation Fire Technique (Mastery-level), Alchemy Art (Minor Mastery), Supernatural Art Spirit Burst (Beginner), Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique (Beginner-level), 200,000-zhang divine sense (Subtle Realm), Primordial Energy (Projection-level Perfection), Three Talents Sword Art (Human Sword Perfection, Earth Sword Perfection), Protective Hardened Qi (Perfection), Myriad-Mile Tracking Art (Beginner), Eight Trigrams Divination Art (Major Mastery), Ruyi Golden Cauldron (Major Mastery), Formation Dao (Minor Mastery), Sword-Controlling Technique (Minor Mastery), Dao of Puppetry (Minor Mastery), various cultivation arts…】

【Special Physique: Heavenly Thunder Physique】

After breaking through to the Body Integration stage, Su Xing’s strength had undergone another tremendous leap.

Especially in recent simulations, Su Xing had mastered more cultivator arts and spent energy on immersive simulations to learn even more cultivation techniques. This undoubtedly filled in many of Su Xing’s shortcomings.

“But these talents… which one should I swap out?”

Su Xing rubbed his chin, somewhat hesitant.

Currently, virtually every talent Su Xing possessed provided him with no small amount of help, to varying degrees.

After deliberating, Su Xing’s gaze settled on two talents — Die With Eyes Open and Level 10 Beast Tongue!

These two talents were white and blue quality respectively.

They had some use for Su Xing, but not much.

Among them, the Die With Eyes Open talent was somewhat of a dead weight in most situations.

After all, as his strength grew, the enemies Su Xing encountered often wouldn’t leave him an intact corpse, so the information available to him would naturally be limited.

“But… I’m about to head to the Three Thousand Worlds…”

“That place will be completely unfamiliar to me, and there could very well be enormous dangers!”

“The Die With Eyes Open talent might actually bring me quite a bit of useful information…”

Su Xing then turned his gaze to the Level 10 Beast Tongue talent.

This talent’s use was the ability to understand the language and thoughts of beast-type creatures.

“But… I’ve previously drawn the purple talent Friend of All Beasts, which is the superior version of Level 10 Beast Tongue…”

“Perhaps I could extract the Friend of All Beasts talent later?”

Su Xing rubbed his chin.

Although the spirit vein dragon was a creature formed from spirit veins, it should still fall within the range of Friend of All Beasts’ effects.

And Su Xing’s Dragonslayer talent might have some negative side effects on the spirit vein dragon.

Looked at this way, if he could obtain Friend of All Beasts, it would greatly boost the spirit vein dragon’s favorability and loyalty toward Su Xing.

“Fine… I’ll replace the Level 10 Beast Tongue talent with Dragonslayer for now. When I need to use the spirit dragon, I’ll extract Friend of All Beasts then!”

So Su Xing thought.

Soon the simulator’s notification chimed in his ear.

【Talent swap in progress… Level 10 Beast Tongue talent successfully replaced with Dragonslayer!】

【You have successfully brought out the purple talent Dragonslayer. Cost: 1,000,000 energy. Remaining energy: 1,758,030,000 points.】

【You have successfully brought out Three Talents Sword Art, Heaven Sword chapter (Minor Mastery). Cost: 500,000,000 energy. Remaining energy: 1,258,030,000 points.】

As the simulator’s notification faded, two streams of mysterious energy flowed into Su Xing’s body.

A new talent appeared on Su Xing’s panel.

At the same time, dense sword intent and Sword Momentum coiled around Su Xing’s body!

Vast comprehension of the Heaven Sword Art merged into Su Xing’s mind.

Su Xing furrowed his brow tightly, carefully savoring this surge of memories.

Moments later, Su Xing had completely absorbed the memories, and his comprehension of the Heaven Sword Art successfully advanced to Minor Mastery-level!

With a stir of his heart, Su Xing’s eyes gleamed with a piercing light, his entire aura sharp as a sword.

Towering Sword Momentum gathered around Su Xing without dispersing, sending chills through anyone who beheld it.

Calming himself, he gradually restrained his presence, and only then did Su Xing slowly conceal the Sword Momentum.

“The Heaven Sword Art — merely at Minor Mastery-level, it already possesses such terrifying power!”

The corners of Su Xing’s mouth curved upward slightly. He was quite satisfied with the Heaven Sword Art, having taken yet another great stride in his Sword Dao cultivation.

After experiencing the growth in his strength, Su Xing began another round of puppet crafting.

A week quickly passed. During this week, he refined two more puppets, naming them Dan Five and Dan Six.

Su Xing now had a total of six puppets dedicated to alchemy. Combined with the help of his other living-dead puppets, the pills refined in a single week were no fewer than what Su Xing could produce himself.

“I’ve now accumulated over forty thousand Fasting Pills. By next week, I’ll be able to purchase another exotic metal mining zone dungeon!”

Su Xing was quite pleased with this.

On January 6th, 2025 of the New Era, Su Xing once again headed to the Villa district to meet with Jin Congxue.

Jin Congxue’s makeup was as stunning as ever that day. After dinner, Su Xing and Jin Congxue chatted at length before he reluctantly returned to the spirit field grotto-heaven.

Counting the new week’s goods, Su Xing’s simulation energy reached 1,413,480,000 points.

The moment the simulation cooldown finished, Su Xing spoke decisively.

“Begin simulation!”

【Ding! This simulation consumes 6,900 energy points. Remaining energy: 1,413,480,000 points. Remaining simulation attempts: none.】

【Simulation begins!】

【Drawing a purple talent costs 100,000 energy points. Drawing a gold legendary talent costs 1,000,000 energy points. Would you like to draw?】

“This simulation — I can cultivate the Myriad Blazing Flame Art to advance my Body Integration cultivation… or find a way to break through to the Primordial Unity realm. At that point, with Body Tempering at Primordial Unity and Qi Refinement at Body Integration… I should be able to kill Old Dog Dragon!”

“In that case, I won’t need to select the same talents as before… I might as well try drawing a gold talent!”

So Su Xing thought.

“Draw a gold quality talent!”

【Ding. Congratulations, you have obtained the gold talent Unkillable Cockroach. Accumulated talent pity counter reset to zero. Next gold quality talent draw probability: 10%…】

“As expected… wait, what!?”

Su Xing froze for a moment, then wild joy flashed across his face.

His second gold quality talent — just drawn, just like that!?

Su Xing took a deep breath and hurriedly looked at the talent he had drawn.

【Unkillable Cockroach】: Gold talent. Your vitality is as tenacious as a cockroach’s. Even when critically wounded and on the verge of death in battle, you have an extremely high probability of surviving. Your injury recovery speed is increased by 300%. (PS: The cockroach — a creature both weak and mighty!)

After seeing this talent’s description, Su Xing’s eyes immediately lit up.

“This seems to be… a talent that directly increases combat power!”

Su Xing began analyzing the talent’s description.

First, the easily understood part — the rapid increase in injury recovery speed. A three hundred percent boost to recovery speed, combined with Su Xing’s powerful Void Shattering realm physical body, gave him regenerative capabilities rivaling those of a Primordial Unity realm cultivator.

“But… what does it mean by ‘extremely high probability of surviving near-death states’?”

Su Xing rubbed his chin. He wasn’t yet certain of this talent’s practical application — it would need to be demonstrated in actual combat!

“With this talent, killing Old Dog Dragon while keeping myself alive shouldn’t be a problem!”

Thinking this, Su Xing gazed expectantly at the simulation panel.

【In the spirit field grotto-heaven, you realize you are in a simulation.】

【Half a month later, you have accumulated sufficient Great Wisdom state bonuses and prepare to enter the Luotian Assembly dungeon.】

Seeing this, Su Xing nodded slightly and murmured:

“Use immersive…”

【Ding. You have successfully used the immersive simulation function. Remaining energy: 1,410,080,000 points…】

…

The immersive simulation time ended quickly, and Su Xing returned to reality — only a few seconds had passed.

“Not bad. From Ghost Granny, I’ve gained more insights into the Dao of Puppetry… If I regularly seek her guidance, my Dao of Puppetry should steadily improve!”

Su Xing nodded in satisfaction.

He had no intention of wasting the Luotian Assembly — that precious experience-farming dungeon — and using immersive simulation to study the Dao of Puppetry was undoubtedly a good choice.

His gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【After leaving the Luotian Assembly dungeon, you gained much.】

【Another half month passes. As promised, you meet Luo Shuying and join the Advent Cult alongside her.】

【Thanks to the Self-Help Guru talent, you become a Protector of the Advent Cult and quickly amass a large following of devotees.】

【Afterward, you begin your routine of refining pills and accumulating Great Wisdom state bonuses.】

【A year passes like this…】

【In the second year, you prepare to enter the Luotian Assembly dungeon once more.】

“Use immersive…”

【Ding. You have successfully used the immersive simulation function. Remaining energy: 1,408,680,000 points…】

For two consecutive immersive simulations, Su Xing devoted himself entirely to comprehending the Dao of Puppetry.

After all, the further Su Xing progressed in the Dao of Puppetry, the more powerful the puppets he could refine.

At that point, Su Xing wouldn’t be limited to refining just two puppets per week — and his puppets could even refine pills beyond Fasting Pills.

“Not bad… After two consecutive sessions of Ghost Granny’s guidance, my comprehension of the Dao of Puppetry has deepened considerably. Perhaps I’ll soon be able to refine three alchemy puppets per week!”

Su Xing nodded slightly and turned his gaze back to the simulation panel.

【After leaving the Luotian Assembly dungeon, you return to the Advent Cult. No one detected anything amiss throughout the process.】

【You continued refining pills, accumulating Great Wisdom state bonuses.】

【Year three. By now you possessed over two hundred thousand pills for enhancing strength, and the six alchemy puppets had also stockpiled over five hundred thousand Fasting Pills for you.】

【You handed all these pills over to Lu Yuanwu, then returned to the Advent Cult.】

【In this simulation, you still had no intention of betraying the Advent Cult, but instead planned to attempt obtaining a pass to enter the Three Thousand Worlds through the mysterious figure.】

【Year four. You began cultivating the Heaven-tier technique, the Myriad Blazing Flame Art.】

【Because you were already a Body Integration stage cultivator, and had previously studied the Thousand Blazing Flame Art, your comprehension of the Myriad Blazing Flame Art was extremely fast.】

【In just one year, you successfully cultivated the Myriad Blazing Flame Art to the third layer.】

【Year six. Leveraging the Great Wisdom state bonuses you had previously accumulated, you successfully cultivated the Myriad Blazing Flame Art to the fourth layer.】

【Year seven. You continued cultivating the Myriad Blazing Flame Art, advancing it to late fourth layer.】

【Year eight. Your comprehension of the Myriad Blazing Flame Art successfully broke through to the fifth layer!】

In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly upon seeing this, murmuring:

“The Thousand Blazing Flame Art can only be cultivated up to the sixth layer at most. After reaching Perfection, one can break through to the Body Integration stage…”

“But if one wants to continue cultivating beyond Body Integration, comprehension of the Myriad Blazing Flame Art needs to reach at least the seventh layer!”

“However… the Thousand Blazing Flame Art and the Myriad Blazing Flame Art share the same lineage… the speed of re-cultivation really is incredibly fast!”

Su Xing nodded with satisfaction.

The Myriad Blazing Flame Art was a Heaven-tier technique, and what it brought Su Xing was far more than just an increase in his cultivation ceiling.

At the same concentration of spiritual energy, the Myriad Blazing Flame Art’s speed of absorbing spiritual energy and cultivating would far surpass that of the Thousand Blazing Flame Art.

When the time came, Su Xing’s rate of power growth would only be faster!

“It should take about ten-odd years for the Myriad Blazing Flame Art to reach the seventh layer, right?”

Thinking this, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【Year nine. You continued arduously cultivating the Myriad Blazing Flame Art. After reaching the fifth layer, you clearly felt your comprehension speed slow somewhat, but it still improved steadily.】

【Year ten. You arduously cultivated the Myriad Blazing Flame Art, reaching late fifth layer.】

【Year eleven. Through arduous cultivation of the Myriad Blazing Flame Art, you finally advanced it to the sixth layer!】

【After the Myriad Blazing Flame Art reached the sixth layer, your speed of absorbing spiritual energy was already more than double that of the Thousand Blazing Flame Art. Delighted, you continued cultivating the Myriad Blazing Flame Art.】

【Year twelve. You arduously cultivated the Myriad Blazing Flame Art.】

【That same year, with your assistance, Luo Shuying’s cultivation advanced to Late-stage Legendary.】

【Furthermore, as your tenure within the Advent Cult grew, more and more followers and cadres came to revere you greatly, and your status within the Advent Cult rose significantly.】

【You began laying plans to replace the leader of the Transhuman Faction.】

【Year thirteen. You arduously cultivated the Myriad Blazing Flame Art, advancing it to mid sixth layer.】

【Year fourteen. You arduously cultivated the Myriad Blazing Flame Art, making rapid progress, reaching late sixth layer.】

【Year fifteen. Through your schemes, you replaced the leader of the Transhuman Faction and killed them on the spot.】

【Upon learning of this, Old Dog Dragon came seeking you out, treating you with cold indifference.】

【You merely sneered at this. A mere Old Dog Dragon had already been placed on your death list for this simulation.】

【You paid no heed to other matters and simply continued arduously cultivating the Myriad Blazing Flame Art.】

【Year sixteen. You finally broke through the bottleneck and cultivated the Myriad Blazing Flame Art to the seventh layer!】

【From this point on, your Qi Refinement cultivation would be able to advance further!】

In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly upon seeing this, saying with satisfaction:

“Only thirteen years to cultivate the Myriad Blazing Flame Art to the seventh layer?”

“The speed of re-cultivation is truly terrifying… probably over a hundred times faster than before!”

Su Xing stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

“In this simulation, I naturally need to decisively kill Old Dog Dragon and find a way to contact the mysterious figure to obtain a pass into the Three Thousand Worlds…”

“But before that, I need to further increase my strength to maximize my chances of killing Old Dog Dragon!”

“Then let me test just how fast my breakthrough speed is at the Body Integration stage!”

Filled with anticipation, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【After careful deliberation, you decided to further increase your cultivation before the impending great battle.】

【At this moment, you possessed a mutated Heavenly Spirit Root, combined with the enhancement of a fifth-order micro spirit-gathering formation, making your cultivation speed comparable to a Super Spirit Root.】

【On top of that, the cultivation speed bonus from the Myriad Blazing Flame Art being a Heaven-tier technique made your cultivation speed even more astonishing.】

【Moreover, you had accumulated several million drops of spirit liquid, more than enough for your breakthroughs.】

【And so, you formally began your cultivation.】

【Within the spirit field grotto-heaven, you furiously circulated the Myriad Blazing Flame Art. The surrounding spiritual energy surged wildly into your dantian, rapidly converting into pure spiritual energy and personal cultivation.】

【Simultaneously, the fifth-order micro spirit-gathering formation inscribed on the skin of your abdomen operated automatically, boosting your cultivation speed by another fifty percent.】

【A mid-grade grotto-heaven was already a rare place of abundant spiritual energy in the Three Thousand Worlds, yet you were still unsatisfied.】

【You produced a bottle of low-grade spirit liquid, slightly opened your mouth, and swallowed several thousand drops.】

【You then circulated your technique, rapidly converting the pure spiritual energy from the spirit liquid into your own spiritual power.】

【Several days later, you slowly opened your eyes. Those several thousand drops of spirit liquid had been entirely converted into cultivation.】

【You clearly felt your cultivation advance somewhat, and you nodded with satisfaction.】

【Thus, you began secluded cultivation day and night within the spirit field grotto-heaven.】

【A year slowly passed in this manner…】

【In that single year, you absorbed nearly five million drops of spirit liquid, converting all of it into personal cultivation.】

【Your cultivation successfully reached late first layer of Body Integration, not far from the second layer.】

【Year seventeen. You entered seclusion for another half year, absorbing two million drops of spirit liquid and converting it all into personal cultivation.】

【Your Qi Refinement cultivation finally broke through to Body Integration stage second layer!】

In the Real World, Su Xing frowned slightly as he looked at the simulation text before him.

“Damn, the cultivation difficulty at the Body Integration stage is probably more than ten times higher than the Void Return stage!”

Su Xing quickly did some mental calculations.

Previously, during the Void Return stage, Su Xing needed only one or two million drops of spirit liquid to break through a single layer.

But at the Body Integration stage, the resources needed for a single-layer breakthrough had nearly quintupled!

And this was with the dual enhancement of having upgraded to the Heaven-tier Myriad Blazing Flame Art and possessing the fifth-order micro spirit-gathering formation.

“For an ordinary cultivator to advance from the first to second layer of Body Integration, even in a place rich with spiritual energy and using resources like spirit stones, it would probably take at least eighty years, or even over a hundred!”

“The path of immortal cultivation truly grows more difficult the higher one climbs!”

Su Xing calculated briefly. Without relying on spirit liquid, spirit stones, or other resources, purely cultivating within the spirit field grotto-heaven would probably require thirty to fifty years just to break through a single layer.

“Using low-grade spirit liquid, the cultivation speed is six times that of low-grade spirit stones… and using spirit stones is already several times faster than purely absorbing spiritual energy…”

“By that calculation, with each simulation guaranteeing twenty-eight years, I can only break through two or three minor layers per simulation… and at late-stage Body Integration, cultivation speed will probably slow even further!”

Su Xing shook his head slightly, dissatisfied with this.

According to his plan, going from Body Integration first layer to Body Integration Perfection should take no more than three simulations.

But at the moment, Su Xing seemed unable to meet this requirement.

“It seems… I’ll need to use the spirit vein dragon afterward to rapidly collect spirit liquid!”

“But for now, let me focus on finding a way into the Three Thousand Worlds first…”

Su Xing estimated that his remaining spirit liquid and spirit stones should be enough for him to break through one more layer during the upcoming great battle, reaching Body Integration third layer.

At that point, Su Xing’s odds of defeating Old Dog Dragon would increase by several more degrees.

With that thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【After breaking through to Body Integration second layer, you did not slacken your cultivation, but continued striving to increase your cultivation.】

【Year eighteen. You cultivated arduously for a year, exhausting your remaining several million drops of spirit liquid.】

【At this point, you had only a few hundred thousand spirit stones left.】

【You continued cultivating arduously, and another year passed…】

【Year nineteen. Your spirit stones were completely exhausted as well, so you prepared to head to the Myriad Wood Sect ruins to retrieve the spirit stones there ahead of time.】

【You traveled to the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts instance, spent several days collecting a few jade fragments, and successfully entered the Myriad Wood Sect ruins.】

【You casually killed the Void Shattering realm puppet, then took the several hundred thousand spirit stones from the ruins.】

【You did not disturb Perfected One Myriad Wood, nor did you release the spirit dragon, because you knew it was not yet time.】

【Because once the spirit vein dragon was released, it would inevitably alert Old Dog Dragon. You planned to break through one more cultivation layer before initiating the great battle with Old Dog Dragon.】

【And so you took the spirit stones and quietly left the Myriad Wood Sect ruins.】

【Year twenty. You exhausted the several hundred thousand spirit stones you had obtained, and your cultivation also climbed to late second layer of Body Integration.】

【Year twenty-one. With no cultivation resources left, you could only rely on absorbing ambient spiritual energy to cultivate.】

【Fortunately, the spirit field grotto-heaven was abundant in spiritual energy, and combined with your extremely fast absorption speed, your cultivation speed was still reasonably quick.】

【Thus, a year passed.】

【Year twenty-two. You strove to increase your cultivation but failed to break through.】

【Year twenty-three. Your cultivation improved noticeably, just one step away from Body Integration third layer.】

【By this time you had once again accumulated several hundred thousand drops of spirit liquid, but you did not intend to use them. Instead, you saved them to replenish spiritual energy during the upcoming battle with Old Dog Dragon.】

【Worried that you might not have enough remaining time to execute your plan, you disguised your appearance, concealed your aura, shielded your fate from divination, and made a trip to the Beast Taming World.】

【You entered the Slaughter Battlefield of the Beast Taming World, tearing through the legendary demon beasts on the battlefield like a tiger among sheep.】

【In just one year, you slaughtered all several hundred legendary demon beasts, and even killed the Silver-Haired Demon Emperor along the way.】

【Year twenty-four. You continued cultivating diligently.】

【Finally, one day you felt a stirring within. Spiritual energy surged through your entire body, and your aura spiked sharply…】

【You broke through to Body Integration third layer as naturally as water flowing downstream!】

【Having reached Body Integration third layer, you knew it was time to execute your plan!】

In the Real World, Su Xing nodded with satisfaction upon seeing this, murmuring:

“Not bad! There are still four years before the Amalgamated Beast descends… that’s more than enough time to kill Old Dog Dragon…”

“But how do I lure the mysterious figure into appearing?”

Su Xing frowned slightly. He could only hope that Old Dog Dragon carried some kind of magical treasure for contacting the mysterious figure.

Only then could Su Xing summon the mysterious figure, offer up the spirit vein dragon, and thereby travel to the Three Thousand Worlds.

“He should have one… After all, the mysterious figure came to Earth before, so Old Dog Dragon must have a way to contact him!”

With that thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【After your cultivation breakthrough, you familiarized yourself with your newfound strength, then set out for the Myriad Wood Sect ruins.】

【Upon entering the Myriad Wood Sect ruins, you awakened the slumbering Perfected One Myriad Wood.】

【A battle was instantly triggered…】

【With the Heaven Sword Art and swordsmanship that approached the level of Dao, you easily dispatched Perfected One Myriad Wood in just a few exchanges.】

【You then stored Perfected One Myriad Wood’s storage ring in the spirit field grotto-heaven and awakened the spirit vein dragon.】

【The spirit vein dragon broke free, its aura instantly blanketing the entire ruins and spreading throughout the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts instance. You sensed that as a fellow member of the Dragon Race, Old Dog Dragon had likely already detected the spirit vein dragon’s emergence.】

【Meanwhile, the newly freed spirit vein dragon was thrashing about frantically, desperate to escape.】

【You managed to deceive the Spirit Vein Dragon with just a single bottle of spirit liquid, coaxing it into the spirit field grotto-heaven.】

【Although it was somewhat fearful of the Dragonslayer aura on your body, a place abundant with spiritual energy was extremely tempting for a spirit vein dragon, so it still entered.】

【After completing all this, you left the ruins and found a large mountain nearby, adjusting your aura while awaiting Old Dog Dragon’s arrival.】

【Sure enough, Old Dog Dragon arrived within half a day.】

【Following the spirit vein dragon’s aura, he quickly locked onto your position.】

【You had been waiting for a long time. After half a day of adjusting your aura, you had already brought yourself to Peak condition, ready at any moment for a great battle with Old Dog Dragon.】

【Old Dog Dragon had no idea what you were thinking. He was puzzled as to why you had appeared in this place.】

【At the same time, he ordered you to hand over the spirit vein dragon, and perhaps he might spare your life.】

【You regarded this with utter disdain, holding the Blackice sword in hand, your intent needing no words.】

【A great battle was about to erupt!】

【Old Dog Dragon struck first, extending both hands which transformed into dragon claws, two streaks of crimson blood-light pressing toward you.】

【Seeing this, you also gave it your all. The imposing aura of a third-layer Body Integration cultivator surged forth as you charged head-on at Old Dog Dragon.】

【After merely exchanging a few rounds, Old Dog Dragon detected the terrifying aura on your body — that of a Body Integration stage cultivator.】

【Old Dog Dragon instantly cursed you for hiding so deeply, and demanded to know what schemes you harbored in infiltrating the Advent Cult.】

【You didn’t deign to answer, merely increasing the force of your attacks.】

【Dazzling sword radiance slashed across Old Dog Dragon’s chest, leaving several deep wounds.】

【Old Dog Dragon winced in pain and no longer dared to be careless. He soared into the sky and transformed into his true Dragon Race form to fight you.】

【A dragon a thousand zhang in length blotted out the sky and sun, nearly obscuring the sun and clouds above.】

【Compared to Old Dog Dragon’s size, you were like an ant.】

【But since when was a battle between cultivators decided by size?】

【The massive body actually granted Old Dog Dragon greater physical strength and defensive power, but for a sword cultivator like you, it instead made him a living target.】

【You soared skyward, spiritual energy surging through your body, rapidly gathering a vortex of energy in your palm, laced with dense wood-fire attribute spiritual energy.】

【Spirit Burst — unleashed at this very moment!】

【The terrifying Spirit Burst smashed directly into Old Dog Dragon’s skull, instantly leaving his enormous dragon head a bloody mess with shattered scales…】

【Old Dog Dragon howled in agony, his dragon roar piercing through the high altitude straight to the mountain range, rapidly spreading in all directions.】

【Within a hundred-li radius, nearly every living creature had its courage shattered by this terrifying dragon roar.】

【After his long howl, Old Dog Dragon’s dragon claw, brimming with horrifying force, lunged toward you.】

【The dragon claw instantly shredded your Protective Hardened Qi, pierced through your primordial energy armor, and left two wounds on your chest.】

【These wounds were not deep, but they still throbbed with a dull pain.】

【At the same time, you were surprised to discover that your talent “Unkillable Cockroach” had taken effect at this moment.】

【In merely a few breaths of time, the blood had already coagulated, and a peculiar force seemed to be repairing the wounds.】

【In less than a quarter of an hour, these wounds — originally considered minor injuries — had already mostly healed.】

【Highly satisfied with your newly acquired talent, you simultaneously unleashed sword qi. Two towering sword radiances slashed directly into Old Dog Dragon’s dragon claw.】

【One of Old Dog Dragon’s dragon claws was instantly severed by you. Connected to the heart through the fingertips, blood rained down upon the earth, and this excruciating pain made Old Dog Dragon’s body shudder instantly.】

【Immediately after, Old Dog Dragon roared in fury and unleashed the Dragon Race bloodline secret art — True Dragon Nine Transformations!】

【Seeing this, your gaze turned solemn. You knew that the real battle had only just begun!】

In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly and said:

“Unfortunately, what sword cultivators rely on isn’t just spiritual energy. The third layer of Body Integration compared to the first — while it does increase strength, the boost to my upper limit of power isn’t that significant…”

“To truly kill Old Dog Dragon, I still need to rely on the Heaven Sword Art!”

“Defeating Old Dog Dragon isn’t hard… but killing him is the difficult part!”

Su Xing let out a light sigh.

Defeat and kill — differing by just one word, yet the difficulty had to at least double.

In his last simulation, Su Xing had unleashed a single sword strike that combined the right time, right place, and right circumstances, striking Old Dog Dragon’s vital point — only then was he able to slay him.

“If I can replicate that sword strike again in this battle, I can definitely kill him!”

“And with the gold talent’s enhancement, even if Old Dog Dragon gravely wounds me at the same time, my life shouldn’t be in danger…”

Su Xing quickly devised his tactics.

Relying on his astonishing recovery ability, he would patiently wait for an opening, trade injury for a kill, and slay Old Dog Dragon!

His gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【After Old Dog Dragon unleashed True Dragon Nine Transformations, he instantly transformed into a black dragon ten thousand meters long, his aura surging to Primordial Unity realm Great Perfection.】

【In both physical body and raw strength, Old Dog Dragon had more than doubled…】

【But you were not alarmed by this. You simply continued swinging the sword in your hand, fighting while retreating, quietly waiting for your opportunity.】

【For a sword cultivator, victory or defeat often hinges on a single strike!】

【Before long, you and Old Dog Dragon had been locked in fierce combat for several hours.】

【Your Protective Hardened Qi had been shattered multiple times, and over half of the primordial energy in your body had been consumed.】

【You had also consumed several bottles of spirit liquid to replenish the rapidly depleting spiritual energy within you.】

【Dozens of wounds large and small covered your body, but under the enhancement of the “Cockroach” talent, they healed rapidly, having almost no impact on your combat ability.】

【Old Dog Dragon, on the other hand — because you had been deliberately showing weakness — had few wounds on his body, and in the battle seemed to have the upper hand over you.】

【And so, several hundred more rounds of combat passed.】

【You noticed that Old Dog Dragon’s techniques were increasingly focused on offense while neglecting defense, seemingly wanting to end the battle quickly.】

【You knew the moment had ripened, so you deliberately revealed an opening.】

【Old Dog Dragon predictably took the bait, attacking toward your opening, his dragon face twisted in ferocity, having completely forgotten about defense.】

【His terrifying dragon claw raked toward your abdomen — in less than an instant, it would take your life.】

【And at that very moment, you struck!】

【All your spiritual energy and Sword Momentum reached their zenith in a single instant, Essence of Strength and Essence of Speed layered upon the Blackice sword in your hand.】

【You swung the most powerful sword strike of your life!】

【Old Dog Dragon smelled death from this single strike, but it was already too late to dodge!】

【The dragon claw shattered your Protective Hardened Qi, and the terrifying impact instantly pierced through your abdomen, blood trickling down.】

【At the same time, the towering sword qi you unleashed sliced across Old Dog Dragon’s neck, carrying Origin Force with it, and cleaved Old Dog Dragon’s head clean off.】

【The hundred-zhang-long dragon head plummeted from high altitude, flattening a small hill upon impact.】

【In the moment before death, Old Dog Dragon’s eyes went wide, filled with terror and regret.】

【With this single sword strike, Old Dog Dragon’s body and soul were utterly annihilated!】

【At the same time, your abdomen had suffered an unprecedented grievous wound.】

【Your face drained of color, your spiritual energy unstable. Without concern for anything else, you immediately consumed the healing pills you had prepared in advance and began recovering from your injuries.】

【The talent “Unkillable Cockroach” took effect at this critical moment, rapidly consuming your stamina and spiritual energy to frantically repair the wound in your abdomen.】

【After merely a few days, the originally fatal injury had recovered to merely a serious wound, no longer threatening your life.】

【Now able to move again with some difficulty, you began examining Old Dog Dragon’s storage artifact.】

In the Real World, Su Xing let out a breath of relief when he saw this, a smile inevitably crossing his face.

“Finally, Old Dog Dragon is dead!”

Su Xing sighed lightly and began to review the gains and losses of this battle.

In this simulation, having obtained a new gold talent and paired with the Minor Mastery-level Heaven Sword Art, Su Xing’s strength was naturally superior to Old Dog Dragon’s.

But this superiority was limited — far from an absolute domination.

Even a lion hunting a rabbit must give its all.

Su Xing was confident he could defeat Old Dog Dragon, but killing him posed some difficulty.

Therefore, feigning weakness and delivering a decisive sword strike at the critical moment — exploiting the information advantage — was the superior strategy for victory.

“With absolute power, you can naturally crush your opponent with ease…”

“But when your strength falls short, applying a bit of wisdom can save a great deal of trouble…”

After a pause, anticipation gleamed in Su Xing’s eyes.

“Next, I can finally see what’s inside Old Dog Dragon’s storage artifact!”

His gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【After killing Old Dog Dragon, his body shrank from its original ten-thousand-meter length to merely a hundred zhang.】

【Looking at Old Dog Dragon’s transformed body, you estimated that he was probably still in the youth stage of the Dragon Race, hence the relatively modest size.】

【Since every part of a dragon’s body is a treasure, you began skinning and extracting tendons, taking out Old Dog Dragon’s dragon meat, dragon bones, dragon sinew, dragon claws, dragon horns… as well as a precious demon core — every last piece!】

【After collecting all these treasures, you found Old Dog Dragon’s storage bag and began rummaging through it.】

【As expected, Old Dog Dragon’s storage bag contained large quantities of Blood Spirit Stones, Blood Spirit Liquid, Blood Coagulation Pills, and similar items…】

【In addition, there were various miscellaneous items, magical treasures, jade slips, and several hundred thousand spirit stones.】

【After searching through it all, you quickly found your objective — a black communication jade slip.】

【This jade slip appeared to be extremely high-grade, a rare commodity even in the Three Thousand Worlds.】

【You were certain that Old Dog Dragon had used this very jade slip to contact that mysterious figure.】

【You didn’t rush to contact the mysterious figure, as you were still in a seriously wounded state. You planned to wait until your injuries had recovered somewhat before making contact.】

【Three months passed, and your injuries had fully recovered without leaving a single aftereffect. Your aura had been readjusted to its Peak, and you once again marveled at the power of the “Cockroach” talent.】

【One day, you cast a divination, and the hexagram showed great fortune. So you took out the jade slip and contacted the mysterious figure.】

【A faint glow flickered across the jade slip. You waited quietly, and after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, there was still no response.】

【Just as you were about to give up, an aged voice came through from the other end of the jade slip: “What do you want with me?”】

【The voice was intermittent, as though obstructed by some invisible force.】

【After some hesitation, you said: “The black dragon is dead.”】

【From the other end of the jade slip, the aged voice asked: “Who are you?”】

【You revealed your identity, telling him that you were the leader of the Transhuman Faction on Earth.】

【You explained that you and Old Dog Dragon had fought over a treasure, and you had killed him. You wished to take his place.】

【From the other end of the jade slip, the aged voice fell silent, seemingly deep in thought.】

【You spoke slowly: “I have obtained a spirit vein dragon and wish to present it to you, my lord.”】

【Sure enough, upon hearing the words “spirit vein dragon,” the aged voice’s tone changed for the first time.】

【He first asked if you were certain. After receiving your affirmative reply, he said: “Well done. I will send Blood Three to make a trip. If what you say is true, not only will you not be punished, but you will be handsomely rewarded!”】

【You asked when Lord Blood would arrive. The aged voice replied: as soon as one week, as late as one month.】

【You promptly agreed. The jade slip went silent, and you settled in to wait quietly.】

【Soon, a month passed.】

【During this month, you remained at the Advent Cult headquarters, quietly awaiting the arrival of this so-called “Blood Three.”】

【One day, at some unknown moment, an unfamiliar figure silently appeared behind you — and you hadn’t sensed a thing.】

【You immediately understood: this person was the “Blood Three” you had been waiting over a month for!】