Extracting Cultivation, Simulator 4.0 Version Update!

But the biggest problem right now was that Su Xing’s simulation energy was down to only 350 million.

And extracting both of these rewards would require over 500 million energy…

“Looks like I’ll have to find a way to get more energy.”

Su Xing furrowed his brow slightly, then suddenly thought of something and murmured:

“Come to think of it, it’s been over a week now. That batch of high-grade exotic metal I gave Jin Congxue should have been partially refined by now, right?”

At this thought, Su Xing’s eyes lit up, and he quickly called Jin Congxue.

“Hello, Sister Xue! It’s me…”

“How much of the exotic metal I asked you to refine has been completed?”

Su Xing asked somewhat anxiously.

Jin Congxue’s voice came through from the other end.

“About a third or so. Why, do you want to pick up a batch early?”

Su Xing nodded repeatedly when he heard this. “Yes, Sister Xue, I have an urgent need for it right now…”

Jin Congxue thought for a moment, then said:

“Alright then, come over to my place now. I was just about to inspect the dungeons anyway, so let’s go together. I’ll help you retrieve the exotic metal that’s already been refined while we’re at it!”

Su Xing nodded eagerly.

He then disguised his appearance and concealed his aura once more before heading to the villa to meet Jin Congxue.

Under Jin Congxue’s guidance, Su Xing soon arrived at a dungeon entrance.

After presenting their credentials, the two entered the mining dungeon.

Upon entering, Su Xing swept his gaze around the surroundings, then habitually released his divine sense.

This mining dungeon wasn’t very large—only a few square kilometers at most.

Under Su Xing’s divine sense, every detail within the mining dungeon was observed with perfect clarity.

Over a thousand low-ranking Class Users, ranging from Bronze rank to Gold-stage in strength, were using specialized machines to refine and process Exotic Metal Ore.

In the warehouses and open areas, mountains of raw ore that had yet to be refined were piled high.

Su Xing walked up next to a large chunk of unrefined ore laced with exotic metal.

With a thought, he attempted to absorb it.

【Ding, detected impure metal containing a small amount of simulation energy, valued at 10,293 energy points. Absorb?】

Su Xing chose not to absorb it.

Because without refining, absorption only yielded half the energy.

While it would eliminate the refining time and only require mining, for Su Xing, the efficiency of obtaining simulation energy was essentially the same.

Of course, if Su Xing were willing to personally mine the high-grade Exotic Metal Ore himself, his energy acquisition speed would undoubtedly be much faster.

Before long, under Jin Congxue’s guidance, Su Xing arrived at a warehouse filled with a considerable amount of already-refined high-grade Exotic Metal Ore.

Su Xing placed all of the refined ore into his storage ring, then followed Jin Congxue to the next dungeon.

Only after visiting six mining dungeons in succession did Su Xing finally bid farewell to Jin Congxue.

Back at the Dormitory, Su Xing decisively entered the spirit field grotto-heaven.

He then prepared to convert the refined Exotic Metal Ore into simulation energy.

【Ding, detected large quantity of energy-containing materials, total value: 730,560,000 energy points. Absorb?】

Su Xing’s eyes lit up at this, and he did some quick mental math.

The exotic metal ore he’d sent over previously was worth approximately 2 billion energy after refinement, and would take over three weeks to fully refine.

Now that just over a week had passed, that was roughly a little more than one-third.

“Total value of over 700 million, huh… The difference before and after refining really is enormous!”

Su Xing exclaimed, then decisively chose to absorb it all.

After absorption, Su Xing’s energy reached an unprecedented height—1,081,020,000 simulation energy!

It had directly surpassed one billion!

At the same time, the Simulator’s notification chimed in Su Xing’s ears.

【Ding, detected that host’s accumulated energy has reached one billion. Now initiating Life Simulator 4.0 version update. Updated features are as follows:】

【1. Unlocked Golden Legendary talent draw function. Spend 1,000,000 simulation energy per draw. Each draw has a 1% chance of obtaining a Golden Legendary quality talent, and a 99% chance of obtaining a Purple quality talent.】

【2. For every 100,000,000 energy points spent, the probability of drawing a Golden Legendary quality talent increases by 1%. The maximum cap for the current version is 50%.】

【Supplementary Clause 1: If a Golden quality talent is not drawn on any given attempt, the probability of a Golden quality talent appearing on the next draw increases by 10%. This pity counter accumulates. Drawing a Golden talent resets the pity counter…】

【Supplementary Clause 2: Note that Golden Legendary quality talents represent a massive upgrade compared to Purple talents. Please use them wisely…】

Su Xing carefully read through the terms of this Life Simulator update.

In just a few short minutes, Su Xing’s emotions soared, crashed, then soared again!

From excitement to cursing, then to relief…

The good news was that with the Simulator version update, Su Xing could now draw even more precious Golden Legendary quality talents!

And the draws weren’t even expensive—only 1,000,000 simulation energy per attempt.

The bad news was that this damned thing was actually a probability-based gacha, with only a 1% chance of getting a Golden Legendary quality talent…

So, given the Simulator’s notoriously stingy gacha mechanics, there was a very high probability that Su Xing would spend a million and only get a Purple talent.

The final piece of good news was that there was a pity system! And the pity even accumulated!

For example, if Su Xing spent 1,000,000 simulation energy on his first draw and only got a Purple talent,

then the probability of drawing a Golden talent on his next attempt would jump from 1% to 11%!

And the time after that, it would become 21%…

So even if Su Xing’s luck was absolutely terrible, and the Simulator’s gacha rates were as stingy as ever,

at most eleven draws, and Su Xing would have a 101% probability—a guaranteed Golden Legendary quality talent!

“Damn it, my luck can’t really be that bad, can it… Seven or eight draws at most should do it, right?”

Su Xing thought tentatively, while also noticing the final notification from the update.

“Golden Legendary quality talents will be a terrifying upgrade compared to Purple ones—but just how terrifying exactly?”

At the same time, the Simulator’s notification chimed in his ears.

【Ding, spend 100,000,000 energy to perform the version update?】

Su Xing didn’t hesitate much at this. He currently had over a billion energy on hand.

Spending 100 million wasn’t a big deal. But if it was about spending 100 million just to increase the Golden talent probability by 1%, Su Xing wouldn’t be willing.

After all, with eleven draws at most—just 11 million total—he could guarantee himself a Golden talent.

The probability boost could wait until Su Xing had more energy to spare in the future.

With that thought, Su Xing nodded:

“Confirmed. Proceed with the version update!”

【Ding, you have successfully spent 100,000,000 energy on the version update. Remaining energy: 981,020,000.】

【Life Simulator 4.0 version updating… Version update successful!】

【Ding, Life Simulator 4.0 is now at your service!】

A string of notification chimes rang in Su Xing’s ears.

But the simulation cooldown hadn’t ended yet, so Su Xing chose to first extract the rewards from his previous simulation.

“I choose to extract Void Return Stage, Third Layer cultivation, and 31,000-zhang divine sense!”

【You have successfully extracted 31,000-zhang divine sense. Cost: 210,000,000 energy. Remaining energy: 771,020,000 points.】

【You have successfully extracted Void Return Stage, Third Layer cultivation. Cost: 300,000,000 energy. Remaining energy: 471,020,000 points.】

As the Simulator’s notifications faded, two streams of mysterious energy merged into Su Xing’s body.

The first thing Su Xing felt was the explosive surge of cultivation aura throughout his entire body!

In just a few breaths’ time, he broke through directly from Spirit Transformation stage, Great Perfection to Void Return stage, First Layer!

Upon reaching Void Return stage, First Layer, Su Xing’s spiritual energy cultivation was a full three times stronger than at Spirit Transformation, Great Perfection!

The river of spiritual energy had finally converged into a mighty torrent!

Now, with every gesture, Su Xing’s spiritual energy surged more violently than ever, allowing him to mobilize vastly greater amounts of power with effortless ease.

Correspondingly, the power of Su Xing’s techniques and arts multiplied several times over in that very instant!

But it didn’t end there…

Immediately after, Su Xing’s aura surged violently upward by two more levels.

Void Return stage, First Layer… Void Return stage, Second Layer…

And finally—Void Return stage, Third Layer!

Su Xing’s spiritual energy aura had shot straight to Void Return stage, Third Layer.

And it wasn’t the fragile kind of newly-entered, either. Even among those at Void Return stage, Third Layer, he would be considered exceptionally powerful.

The explosive surge of spiritual energy also caused Su Xing’s overall aura to become somewhat wild and turbulent.

Su Xing sat cross-legged, centering his mind and guarding his consciousness.

He worked to carefully regulate the surging energy within his body…

A quarter of an hour later, Su Xing had completely reined in his explosive aura.

In that moment, Su Xing opened his eyes and held out both hands, a strange light flickering in his gaze.

“So this… is what a Void Return Stage, Third Layer cultivator feels like?”

“Hss~ This level of spiritual energy, this degree of spiritual qi manipulation — it’s at least six or seven times stronger than when I was at Spirit Transformation, Great Perfection!” Su Xing couldn’t contain the elation surging through his heart.

“As expected, the further one progresses along the path of cultivation, the harder it becomes… but at the same time, the gap between each realm grows as vast as a heavenly chasm!”

Su Xing was thoroughly satisfied with his current cultivation.

“If I can learn two more offensive divine abilities to match my current spiritual energy level…”

“Combined with my Void Shattering realm cultivation, I should be able to hold my own against late-stage Void Return powerhouses without falling behind in the slightest!”

One must understand — the higher the realm, the harder it became to fight above one’s level.

But Su Xing cultivated both qi and body, and had also mastered swordsmanship. Even at the Void Return stage, he could still fight opponents above his level!

Su Xing willed it, and a tornado-shaped spiritual energy vortex appeared in his hand.

This was a technique Su Xing had developed on his own — Spirit Burst!

The technique was simple in concept: continuously compress spiritual energy with absolute force, then unleash it all at once when compression reached a certain threshold!

The result was staggering destructive power!

Though it couldn’t compare to true divine abilities, in terms of raw power alone, it was already on par with ordinary techniques.

Su Xing gazed at the spiritual energy vortex in his hand and kept pouring his spiritual energy into it.

Violent spiritual energy surged madly into the vortex, causing it to tremble at increasingly high frequencies.

After several breaths of sustained effort, the vortex in Su Xing’s hand had swelled to the verge of detonation.

“If this vortex were to explode inside Capital City, it would probably flatten everything within a radius of several dozen kilometers — nearly half the city reduced to rubble.”

“Even a Peak Martial Emperor powerhouse taking a direct hit from this Spirit Burst would likely die on the spot!”

“An early Legendary powerhouse might suffer severe injuries?”

Su Xing roughly assessed the power of the Spirit Burst he had developed.

Then with a thought, he slowly drew the spiritual energy back into his body, and the vortex in his hand gradually dissipated.

Su Xing shook his head slightly, still somewhat dissatisfied:

“This Spirit Burst, while impressive in power, is still too crude… Relying purely on spiritual energy compression — yes, the power goes up, but the spiritual energy consumption is considerable too…”

Su Xing estimated that if he had released that vortex capable of destroying half of Capital City, it would have consumed roughly one-tenth of his total spiritual energy.

Though with his Heavenly Spirit Root, Su Xing could recover quickly — the consumption was still too steep.

“Perhaps I should modify the Spirit Burst going forward… incorporate elemental spiritual energy to form different types of vortexes?”

“For instance, a wood-attribute vortex, a fire-attribute vortex… or even a lightning-attribute vortex!”

Su Xing’s eyes lit up. Overall, he was quite satisfied with this technique he had developed.

Though it currently only rivaled ordinary techniques, if he continued to research and refine it…

Perhaps one day it could truly become a minor divine ability, or even a major divine ability!

“Besides spiritual energy… it’s time to test my divine sense as well!”

With a thought, Su Xing left the spirit field grotto-heaven and returned to the Real World.

Only in the Real World could Su Xing unleash the full might of his divine sense.

With a mental command, Su Xing’s divine sense surged outward like a tidal wave, engulfing the entirety of Capital City in the blink of an eye.

And the range was still expanding.

Ten thousand zhang… fifteen thousand zhang…

Twenty thousand zhang… twenty-five thousand zhang… thirty thousand zhang!

In the end, Su Xing’s divine sense settled at a range of thirty-one thousand zhang!

This meant that with Su Xing at the center, everything within a radius of thirty thousand zhang — one hundred kilometers — fell within his divine sense!

Converted to area, that was roughly over thirty thousand square kilometers!

In plain terms…

Not only was the entire Capital City within Su Xing’s perception, but more than a dozen surrounding cities had also fallen within the scope of his divine sense!

Su Xing carefully savored the changes in his divine sense. After a while, he seemed to sense something — as if some mysterious world was calling to him!

That was… the Void Realm!

Su Xing swiftly retracted his divine sense and did not rashly enter the Void Realm.

“Given the current situation, I still know too little about the Void Realm… I should thoroughly investigate it through simulations first, and only attempt to enter once I’m absolutely certain it’s safe…”

Su Xing shook his head slightly.

He had always been cautious. If he entered the Void Realm now, it would undoubtedly expose him to Protector Dragon.

And that was clearly not what Su Xing wanted.

After all, Su Xing’s greatest advantage right now was that the enemy was in the open while he remained in the shadows!

“Protector Dragon… though he only holds the rank of Protector, he guards the Advent Cult’s treasury!”

“In my estimation, Protector Dragon’s true strength is likely even more terrifying than the three faction leaders of the Advent Cult!”

Su Xing fell into deep contemplation. His current understanding of the Advent Cult was fairly thorough.

Starting from the Elder rank, only Heavenly King-stage powerhouses and above could hold the position.

The rank of Protector required one to be a Peak Martial Emperor powerhouse approaching Legendary.

Above the Protectors were the three faction leaders — of the Transhuman Faction, the Zealot Faction, and the Coexistence Faction.

These three leaders, by Su Xing’s estimates, should be equivalent to late-stage Legendary to Peak Legendary powerhouses…

As for whether anyone stood above the faction leaders… Su Xing didn’t know yet.

But based on his analysis, there should be!

Because the three factions held considerable ideological differences. Without an absolute power holding them together, they would have long since gone their separate ways.

“As for Protector Dragon, his strength is probably even a notch above the faction leaders?”

Su Xing even speculated whether Protector Dragon might be the true leader of the Advent Cult.

After all, Protector Dragon had arrived here roughly a thousand years ago, which aligned with the timing of the Advent Cult’s founding…

And Old Dog Zong had been personally recruited into the Advent Cult by Protector Dragon…

“Whether he’s truly the supreme leader remains unknown… but until I figure it out, it’s best not to expose myself!”

Su Xing thought to himself, then retracted his divine sense and returned once more to the spirit field grotto-heaven.

Back in the grotto-heaven, Su Xing immediately resumed his daily routine of refining pills and collecting spirit liquid.

After this simulation, Su Xing had become even more keenly aware of the importance of spirit liquid.

With spirit liquid, his cultivation speed at the Void Return stage was a full six times faster than using low-grade spirit stones!

Compared to cultivating with spiritual qi alone, the difference was probably dozens of times over!

Before long, another week passed, and the date arrived at September 30th.

Su Xing disguised his appearance and suppressed his aura, then went to meet Jin Congxue with five thousand freshly refined pills.

Jin Congxue was wearing a casual, loose-fitting athletic outfit today, but the baggy clothes still couldn’t conceal her graceful curves.

Su Xing and Jin Congxue chatted while eating their meal together.

Soon the meal was finished, and Jin Congxue produced a storage ring, saying:

“As you mentioned, the second batch of high-grade exotic metals has been refined…”

“By next week, all the exotic metals should be fully refined. And the custom fourth-order exotic metal pill furnace you ordered should be completed by then too…”

Su Xing nodded slightly upon hearing this and said with genuine gratitude:

“You’ve worked hard these past weeks, Sister Xue!”

With that, Su Xing produced a small bottle of Essence Nurturing Pills and said:

“These pills will greatly benefit your strength growth… Take them yourself, and don’t let anyone else know about them.”

“The sooner you break through to Heavenly King-stage, the more at ease I’ll be about your safety…”

Given Jin Congxue’s talent, breaking through to Heavenly King-stage wasn’t difficult — it was merely a matter of time.

If she was willing to invest significant resources and have higher-ranked Class Users carry her through dungeons for leveling, she could probably reach Peak Grandmaster within a year.

This was the advantage of being a Class User!

Compared to powerhouses from other worlds, Earth’s unique Class User system meant that strength could often be increased simply by killing monsters. The trade-off was that, compared to powerhouses of the same rank, Class Users tended to be somewhat weaker.

And Su Xing’s pills could perfectly compensate for this shortcoming.

Jin Congxue accepted the pills, her beautiful eyes brightening.

She couldn’t help herself and planted a kiss on Su Xing’s cheek.

The moment it was done, Jin Congxue shrank back like a startled fawn, her pretty face flushed with a delicate blush.

Su Xing was a young man full of vigor — how was he supposed to handle that?

But before he could make any further move, Jin Congxue stammered:

“That… that was your reward… ahem, as for anything else, we’ll talk about it later…”

“Thank you for always trusting me… thank you!”

Su Xing knew that Jin Congxue’s heart was gradually turning toward him, so he was in no rush.

He left the villa, and after confirming no one was following him, removed his disguise and restored his true appearance.

Back at the dormitory, Su Xing entered the spirit field grotto-heaven.

He converted the new batch of goods into simulation energy, and just like that, his simulation energy surged once again to over 1.1 billion!

Seeing that the simulator’s cooldown had ended, Su Xing murmured:

“It’s time for a new round of simulation… I wonder if I’ll be lucky enough to draw a golden talent?”