Chapter 17 – The Final Simulation, Foundation Establishment Stage Nine!

“I choose to bring out the talent: Wood-Fire Dual Spiritual Root!”

【Ding! You have chosen to bring back Wood-Fire Dual Spiritual Root (green talent) from the simulation. 10,000 energy consumed. Remaining energy: 8,040.】

【Ding! A white-tier talent of the same type has been detected. The Wood-Fire Dual Spiritual Root talent will overwrite it.】

With the enhancement of the Wood-Fire Dual Spiritual Root, Su Xing’s five senses became noticeably sharper.

Su Xing took out a spirit stone and began cultivating. He could clearly feel the refreshing sensation of spiritual energy entering his body.

“Whew… a dual spiritual root really lives up to its reputation. The cultivation efficiency is so much higher than before!”

The corners of Su Xing’s mouth curved upward slightly. Having this dual spiritual root meant he could at least obtain the mysterious elder’s special reward.

A bag of spirit seeds and the 《Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique》.

The Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique—that was an immortal art worth ten billion energy!

By comparison, the Half of the Eternal Spring Art that Su Xing had previously obtained was only worth 3,000 energy.

The value of the Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique was self-evident.

But at the same time, Su Xing fell into deep thought.

The elder’s origins were mysterious, and he possessed such a precious immortal art. He was undoubtedly a great power in the cultivation world. If Su Xing could take him as a master, the benefits would be enormous.

“The elder said I hadn’t completed his task yet, and that I started cultivating too late… but he didn’t outright refuse to take a disciple.”

“That means there’s still a possibility I could become his disciple!”

Su Xing raised an eyebrow, a vague idea forming in his mind.

He still had one simulation attempt remaining—one more chance to try.

But before testing this idea, Su Xing needed to accumulate more energy to support it.

“Sigh, I only have a little over eight thousand energy left. To bring back what I want… I need to save up at least a few thousand more.”

Though Su Xing had his cheat, and the future looked promising, for now he was just a pitiful grinder.

After finishing his cultivation session, Su Xing contacted several junior students to run dungeons and level up.

Over the next week, Su Xing went through the same monotonous routine of cultivating and grinding dungeons.

The good news was that after his Qi Refinement breakthrough, his speed at farming equipment and power-leveling in dungeons had increased significantly.

The bad news was that Su Xing nearly missed his flight to Jinling City.

Fortunately, he managed to catch it just in time.

On the afternoon of November 18th, New Era Year 2023, at two o’clock, Su Xing boarded the plane to Jinling City.

The Capital City and Jinling City were separated by thousands of miles, so Su Xing would be on the plane for four or five hours.

After boarding, Su Xing closed his eyes as if resting, but in reality, he was preparing for one final simulation before entering the Azure Cloud Spirit Fields dungeon.

“Begin simulation!”

【1,100 energy consumed. Remaining energy: 13,780. Remaining simulation attempts: none.】

【Simulation begins!】

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

“Draw a white talent.”

Su Xing chose the white talent. After all, his goal for this simulation was already set—to bring out cultivation progress. Spending 1,000 energy on a green talent would be a waste.

Energy was extremely precious, and Su Xing naturally had to be frugal.

The mysterious elder had said he started too late, which clearly meant Su Xing’s cultivation level was too low. Perhaps if his cultivation were just a bit higher, he could pass the task assessment.

【Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the white talent: Resolute Countenance!】

【resolute countenance】: Your face appears resolute and upright to others, making you seem like a righteous person. It is easier to earn others’ trust.

Su Xing nodded slightly upon seeing this talent. It was neither great nor terrible, but it had its uses.

【On the plane, you realize you are in a simulation. You take a nap to relieve the exhaustion from days and nights of power-leveling.】

【That evening, you arrive in Jinling City. You find a spot outside the city to cultivate through the night.】

【The next day, you begin searching for Jin Congxue.】

【That evening, you encounter Jin Congxue as she is preparing to return to the city.】

【You tell her you are lost. Jin Congxue sees your Resolute Countenance and thinks you look like a good person, so she invites you to head back to the city with her.】

【Jin Congxue takes you along the small path she frequently uses. Before long, you both discover the Azure Cloud Spirit Fields dungeon.】

【You enter the Azure Cloud Spirit Fields dungeon.】

【You encounter the mysterious elder, who assigns you both the task of tending the fields.】

【Over the next week, you begin tilling the fields and nourishing the spirit grain with spiritual energy. Since your cultivation is at Qi Refinement Layer Five, your spiritual power is relatively pure, and the spirit grain grows well.】

【In your spare time, you also help Jin Congxue tend to her spirit fields.】

【One week later, the mysterious elder presents your rewards.】

【The mysterious elder gives Jin Congxue thirty spirit stones and thirty jin of spirit rice, then sends her out of the dungeon.】

【The elder produces a stone for testing aptitude. You test as having a Wood-Fire Dual Spiritual Root.】

【The elder nods with a smile and rewards you with a bag of spirit seeds and the immortal art, Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique.】

【You wish to take the elder as your master. The elder refuses.】

【Unwilling to give up, you ask what the requirements are to become his disciple.】

【The elder sighs and says your aptitude is acceptable, but your cultivation is too low. If you were a Golden Core cultivator, perhaps he could take you as a disciple.】

【You nod and ask the elder if you could exchange the Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique for spirit stones instead.】

【The elder frowns slightly, thinking you don’t know what’s good for you, but still gives you one thousand spirit stones.】

Joy spread across Su Xing’s face when he saw this, and he murmured:

“Just as I thought—it’s because my cultivation is too low… As long as I can demonstrate enough potential, I might just be able to become that mysterious elder’s disciple!”

His heart racing with excitement, Su Xing continued reading.

【You take the spirit stones and leave the dungeon.】

【A few days later, you return to the Capital City’s university and begin cultivating day and night.】

【Thanks to your Wood-Fire Dual Spiritual Root, your cultivation advances rapidly.】

【In the second year, you successfully break through to Foundation Establishment Stage One, becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator.】

【In the third year, your cultivation breaks through to Foundation Establishment Stage Two. You have 1,000 spirit stones remaining.】

【In the fifth year, you successfully break through to Foundation Establishment Stage Four. You have only 700 spirit stones remaining.】

【In the seventh year, your cultivation continues to advance steadily. You become a Foundation Establishment Stage Six cultivator, with only 300 spirit stones remaining.】

【You realize that at this rate, your remaining spirit stones cannot sustain your cultivation all the way to the Golden Core stage.】

【So you begin budgeting your spirit stones meticulously, converting them into spiritual energy and cultivation progress as efficiently as possible.】

【This year, you attend your sister Su Nian’an’s funeral.】

【In the eighth year, because you are conserving spirit stones, your cultivation progress slows and you remain stuck at Foundation Establishment Stage Six.】

【In the ninth year, you successfully break through to Foundation Establishment Stage Seven.】

【In the tenth year, you attend your good brother Yu Yan’s funeral.】

【In the eleventh year, your cultivation advances to Foundation Establishment Stage Eight. You have only 100 spirit stones remaining.】

【You remember that Jin Congxue still has thirty spirit stones, but you have been so focused on cultivation these years that you never got around to contacting her.】

【So you spend half a year frantically grinding dungeons for equipment and power-leveling to earn money.】

【Thanks to your outstanding strength, Silver-stage dungeons are effortless for you. In just half a year, you earn two hundred million.】

【You find Jin Congxue and offer to buy her spirit stones with the two hundred million.】

【Jin Congxue agrees, since the spirit stones aren’t of much use to her.】

【With your remaining 130 spirit stones, you begin cultivating day and night, budgeting every last drop of spiritual energy from each stone.】

【In the fifteenth year, two months before the great beasts arrive, you successfully break through to Foundation Establishment Stage Nine!】