Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Mortal Martial Saint — The 1st Simulation Ends! All Options Inherited!

But this style of action did not seem like something the Qian Emperor would do.

The current Great Qian Emperor, Xiao Cheng-yuan, was a man of exceptional talent and ambition—domineering and autocratic.

Before he ascended to the throne, there had been 8 kings of different surnames.

Now, 60 years into his reign, 3 of those kings had their entire families exterminated and stripped of their titles, while 2 others had been stripped of their royal ranks.

These had all been thunderous measures, carried out openly and publicly.

They had firmly entrenched the Qian Emperor's domineering reputation in the hearts of the people.

If he had truly wanted to deal with the Guardian King's Manor, there was no need to resort to such underhanded methods—a single imperial edict ordering the family's extermination would have sufficed.

Doing it this way, in contrast, would only diminish his own authority.

Or perhaps someone had used barrier or formation arts to conceal the disturbance here—and that was why the imperial court had not reacted?

【“Silence your treacherous nonsense—His Highness is a Half-God. How could he possibly have fallen!”】

【Dian Cheng-feng, who had long venerated Zhao Shi-zhong as a god, refused to believe it. He let out a thunderous roar, and a blood-red killing light surged skyward. In an instant, the phantom of a colossal blood-red tiger, several dozen zhang in length, blotting out the sky and earth, materialized overhead.】

This was… a Celestial Dharma Form!

Dian Cheng-feng was actually a Mortal Martial Saint?

Zhao Jin was stunned.

He did not know much about Dian Cheng-feng's past.

All he knew was that Dian Cheng-feng had once served beside Zhao Shi-zhong as Guard Commander for over 20 years, before sustaining an injury and withdrawing to a supporting role.

He never imagined that Dian Cheng-feng was a Dharma Form Martial Saint!

Among the black-robed assailants, there did not appear to be any Martial Saints.

Perhaps this night of extermination still had a chance of being turned around?

【The blood-red tiger was savage and ferocious—with a single lunge, it slaughtered dozens of the black-robed assailants.】

【Dian Cheng-feng roared for you to go first, vowing to cover your retreat.】

【With no time to deliberate, you broke through the manor gates under the cover of the blood-red tiger and burst into the main street.】

【However, what awaited you were over 20 Luohou Guards from the Observatory.】

【The Luohou Guards were the Observatory's elite unit, tasked specifically with capturing and executing Transmigrators.】

【You could see that all 20-odd of these individuals had reached the Purple Mansion Realm.】

【And you knew—there was no escaping today!】

"Luohou Guards?"

Zhao Jin's brow furrowed.

Since the Luohou Guards were an official organization, this meant the imperial court was far from ignorant of what was happening at the Guardian King's Manor.

Could it truly be the Qian Emperor's hand at work—only doing it covertly out of deference to the Guardian King's distinguished merits?

He felt there were still a number of suspicious inconsistencies in all of this.

The true mastermind behind the extermination disaster remained beyond his reach to identify.

But these Luohou Guards—they would likely become his great enemies in the days to come.

【Dian Cheng-feng, seeing this, moved to come to your aid.】

【But at that moment, to the west, a towering Immovable Wisdom King Dharma Form suddenly appeared—99 zhang in height, its entire form dark blue-black, with fearsome fangs and a wrathful expression, bearing 3 eyes and 4 arms, wielding a vajra chain in its left hand and a demon-subduing sword in its right.】

【With just 1 strike of the chain and 1 swing of the sword, it bound and slew Dian Cheng-feng's blood-red tiger Dharma Form.】

【Dian Cheng-feng suffered the backlash, spitting blood from his mouth as he toppled backward.】

【Seeing no hope of escape, you unleashed your killing move—Embryonic Sun Devourment—and perished together with the nearest Purple Mansion Realm Luohou Guard!】

【You died on the Night of Extermination. Simulation ended!】

"How are there Buddhist sect members now?"

Zhao Jin was deeply bewildered.

When the Luohou Guards had appeared earlier, he had assumed the mastermind was the Great Qian government.

But now, with a Buddhist Martial Saint abruptly appearing, he was utterly confounded.

Qian Emperor Xiao Cheng-yuan had launched a suppression of Buddhism—some 10 years ago, with a single imperial edict, he had uprooted dozens of Buddhist temples in the capital.

Today, the relationship between the Great Qian court and the Buddhist sect was not quite as hostile as fire and water, but it was certainly far from cordial.

Within Great Qian's borders, the most renowned Buddhist temple was only Dragon Elephant Prajna Temple.

In contrast, it was Wu Nation to the south—a land of rivers and marshes—where Buddhist temples flourished.

Even several Wu Nation rulers had renounced the throne to take monastic vows.

A Buddhist Mortal Martial Saint brazenly appearing in Great Qian's capital—and striking at the Guardian King's Manor at that.

Was that not openly slapping Qian Emperor Xiao Cheng-yuan across the face?

Even if the Emperor wanted to destroy the Guardian King's Manor, there was no reason to use such a method, surely?

Zhao Jin felt that this extermination disaster was growing ever more murky and impenetrable.

Was the old man alive or dead?

Who was the true mastermind behind the Night of Extermination?

And what was the Great Qian court's actual stance on all of this?

Zhao Jin felt his head was about to explode.

【Beginning simulation settlement—congratulations, Host, on obtaining 6 options!】

【You have obtained cultivation at the Innate Realm 4th-Tier!】

【You have obtained all memories from the 3-year span!】

【You have obtained all cultivation and combat experience from the 3-year span!】

【You have obtained Talent Tags (upgradeable): Tag Plunderer (Green), Hard Work Always Bears Fruit (Green), Extreme Yang Constitution (White), Born With Brute Strength (White), Extraordinary Bone Aptitude (White).】

【You have obtained Arts and Martial Techniques: Wind-Cleaving Blade Art Lv4, Marrow-Cleansing Scripture Lv3, Luohan Fist Lv1, Golden Crow World-Illuminating Scripture (Upper Volume) Lv2, Flame-Wood Blade Art Lv5, Soul-Severing Finger Lv4.】

【You have obtained Items (7): 1 Top Courtesan Sachet, 300,000 taels in silver notes, 1 bottle of Meridian-Opening Pills, 1 pack of Condensing Energy Powder, 1 bottle of Heavenly Martial Force Spirit Liquid, 1 copy of Blazing Sun Formula, 1 Blazing Flame Blade.】

【This Simulator is Version 2.0—no need to choose just 1 option. All may be fully inherited!】

【Please confirm: inherit all?】

System—do you have any manners?

Did that even need to be asked?

Zhao Jin immediately cried out: "Yes yes yes!"

【Congratulations, Host—all options have been fully inherited!】

In the next moment, an astounding change swept through Zhao Jin's body.

A vast surge of flesh and blood essence came flooding forth, causing his originally gaunt and frail frame to fill out and grow robust.

The meridians that had been blocked and stagnant due to the influence of the Shattered Heart Parasite discharged great quantities of black impurities, leaving all 100 of his channels unobstructed.

Enormous waves of Postnatal inner energy coursed through his four limbs and every inch of his body.

Before long, it all converged in his Cinnabar Field, causing it to expand tenfold in an instant.

Thereafter, the Postnatal inner energy shed its old form and transformed into Innate True Energy—then transformed again into Golden Crow Martial Force, carrying an intense scorching effect.

All 365 of his Major Acupoints blazed like stars, radiating light all around him.

And then came the flood of memories—rushing in like frames of a film.

Zhao Jin felt as though he were personally living through events yet to come.

In particular, those 2 women—Li Xiang-jun and Dong Xiao-wan—were truly peerless beauties, leaving him with lingering impressions that refused to fade.

Zhao Jin had not expected that he would still get to experience that.

Of course, those scenes were not to be publicized—not even with censorship applied.

There also came a torrent of cultivation experience, transforming Zhao Jin from a complete novice in the martial path into a seasoned expert in the blink of an eye.

And finally, the Night of Extermination at the end—that atmosphere of utter despair—made him feel as though he had truly been there himself.

Zhao Jin resolved that in the next simulation, he absolutely could not die again after 3 years.

He would exhaust every possible means to find a path to survival.

When Zhao Jin had fully absorbed all his cultivation and memories, he opened his eyes.

At that moment, aside from a coating of black impurities on the surface of his skin, a heap of miscellaneous objects had also appeared around him.

There were silver notes, cultivation resources, and a divine weapon.

But the first thing Zhao Jin reached for was the Top Courtesan's sachet.

He pressed it to his nose and drew a deep breath—a delicate, intoxicating fragrance seeped in.

Embroidered on the outside of the sachet was the character "Li."

This was the object Li Xiang-jun had gifted to Zhao Jin after claiming the title of Top Courtesan and receiving her first client.

Thinking back on how warmly the two of them had gotten along during the simulation—

And yet, when Zhao Jin had gone to Great Snow Mountain to cultivate, Li Xiang-jun had suddenly vanished without a word, for reasons unknown.

He had failed to protect her, and that left Zhao Jin with no small measure of regret.

Zhao Jin swore that in the next simulation, he would absolutely put in more effort—and let her understand what it meant to be "happy."