Shen Li stared at the screen, his jaw clenched.
"Even with preparation… even with traps… I still couldn't stop them."
The simulator's cold message awaited his decision.
Without hesitation, he chose:
[Knowledge: Advanced trap engineering, siege delay tactics, combat evaluation, enemy movement prediction]
In the next moment, his mind flooded with tactics—schematics of pressure plates, delayed triggers, oil flues, reinforced bottlenecks… and battle flow. He could now predict movement, aggression curves, fallback paths—he saw fights like games of chess.
He raised an eyebrow.
"It seems a second-grade martial artist is far stronger than I assumed… beyond normal human limits. Not invincible, but definitely not someone you take head-on. You need traps… or surround and crush them."
Shen Li's expression hardened.
"If I know this much about the future and still barely survive… then I have to try again."
[Simulation Beginning – 1 Year Entered]
[Armed with future knowledge and complete awareness of the threat, you made the first move.]
[You rebuilt your wine empire in just under three months, utilizing prior connections, tactics, and experience.]
[Your daily income again reached 1–5 silver, scaling much faster than before.]
[This time, you diverted your focus to poison.]
[You scouted doctors, pharmacists, and underground alchemists—but none would sell you recipes. Many didn't even know anything capable of killing a Grade-2 martial artist.]
[Eventually, you gave up on formulas.]
[Instead, you turned to nature.]
[With some luck and coin, you managed to purchase a Five-Ring Venom Snake—a rare species with a terrifying property: it caused internal bleeding, accelerated bloodflow, and reduced clotting. Victims bled from all seven orifices. Even a Grade-2 martial artist would die from it.]
[With your business booming, you scaled rapidly—doubling your original profits.]
[You knew exactly when the attack would come. This time, you prepared not just to defend… but to kill.]
[You hired one Grade-2 martial artist—a rare move, thanks to your foresight and bulk payment.][You also employed 15 Grade-3 martial artists, giving them weapons laced with your snake venom.][You burned through your entire savings… but timed their contracts to expire right after the expected attack.]
[And the attack came, just as you predicted.]
[This time, your men were ready.]
[Venom-coated blades. Reinforced defenses. Surveillance points.]
[The enemy was powerful—but not prepared for your upgraded defense.]
[Half your guards fell, but the enemy was exterminated. You were victorious.]
[Now armed with legal cause—self-defense against assassination—you invoked your rights.]
[Normally, private forces weren't allowed to raid or loot enemy households.]
[But Gao Lupeng's aggression gave you legal pretext.]
[You gathered your surviving fighters and offered them a share of whatever wealth Gao Lupeng held.]
[They followed without hesitation.]
[You knew exactly where Gao Lupeng's base was: a compound in the city center with a secret underground dungeon.]
[Speed was critical—no time to alert patrols.]
[At night, you and your group struck.]
[It was a massacre.]
[Merchants and guards were killed in the crossfire.]
[Deeper in the compound, Gao Lupeng's final line of defense stood waiting—1 Grade-2 martial artist and 6 Grade-3s.]
[After a brutal fight, only one Grade-2 from your group survived.]
[But you made it through.]
[You found Gao Lupeng.]
[You gave the order: "Cut off his hands and legs."]
[Gao Lupeng screamed. He begged. He cried. You watched with a cold gaze.]
"This is for the legs. This is for the eyes. This is for the three months."
[You prepared to torture him slowly—to make him feel what you felt.]
But then—the patrol arrived.
They didn't investigate.They didn't arrest everyone.
They walked straight to Gao Lupeng.
And released him.
"He has background."
[You had no time to escape.]
[The patrol executed you on the spot.]
[Death Event: Soul Detached][You have died.][Cause of Death: Execution by city patrol following illegal retaliation.]
[Your soul drifts from your body…]
[But this time—you were lucky.]
[You died within Gao Lupeng's dungeon, a place soaked in suffering, vengeance, and Yin energy.]
[There was no sunlight to purge your soul.The air was thick with hatred, regret, and spiritual corruption—perfect conditions for a soul like yours.]
[Here, you lingered.]
[You could not regain consciousness.Your spiritual sense was weak, scattered—barely clinging to form.]
[But you drifted.]
[And you saw.]
[You witnessed countless people tortured beneath this estate—men, women, even children.]
[Their screams echoed through your ghostly mind.Many died. Many more were broken.]
[And among them… you saw Gao Lupeng.]
[Now crippled, bound to a wheelchair, his face twisted in fury and greed.His legs were gone. His body weak. But his thirst for power remained.]
[He was not alone. Doctors. Martial artists. Shadowed guests.He continued his trade, selling pain for profit.]
[While your soul wandered, the Yin-rich atmosphere nourished you.]
[You absorbed the despair. The curses. The fragments of souls who had lost all.]
[Slowly, your presence stabilized.]
[Your consciousness did not return—but your spirit hardened.]
[Simulation Timeframe Reached – 1 Year Passed]
[Simulation Ended]
[Body and Cultivation at Age 17 – Well-fed, refined stamina, martial coordination, and calm battle mindset]
[Knowledge: Poison mastery (Grade-2 capable), battle formations, martial ranking structure, leadership, economic scaling]
[Five-Ring Venom Snake – A living Grade-2 toxic serpent capable of killing advanced martial artists through blood thinning and internal rupture. Highly dangerous. Must be contained carefully.]
[Strengthened Yin Soul – Your soul has absorbed enough Yin energy to develop cohesion and latent consciousness. If you ever die again, you may awaken in a ghost state or embark on a path of ghost cultivation.]
Shen Li nearly choked on the water in his mouth.
"What?! Yin Soul?!"
He stared at the screen, eyes wide.
His fingers trembled as he hovered over the poison mastery segment—he wanted it. He truly did. But something about the Yin Soul... something primordial whispered inside him.
"God knows when I'll ever get a chance like this again."
Gritting his teeth, he made his choice:
[Strengthened Yin Soul – Selected]
The moment he did, he felt his chest tighten—no, expand, as if something inside had been inflated like a balloon.
He looked normal… but he knew something had changed.
Something invisible.Something dark.Something alive.
"I can't keep going like this."
He clenched his jaw.
"Gao Lupeng isn't just a sadistic merchant. He's targeting people with rare skills—like my wine formula, my venom knowledge…"
"And the patrol didn't even question him after he killed me."
Shen Li's eyes narrowed.
"He has powerful people behind him. That explains everything."
"Selling unique knowledge will only make me a target."
He needed a new plan.A safe plan.Something sustainable.Something unremarkable.
"Can I become a hunter? That would fit with my system too—killing for lifespan, collecting materials, selling meat."
He opened the panel again and started a fresh simulation.
[Simulation Beginning – 1 Year Entered]
...
[You have been killed and looted by bandits.]
...
[You escaped one bandit group—only to be caught by another.You were sold into slavery.]
[After a year of labor, you were burned alive in a forest fire—trapped inside a slave cage.]
...
[Simulation Ended]
Shen Li froze.
He burned many years. For nothing.
"How… how are there so many bandits? Is there a war? A famine?"
It didn't make sense.
If you lacked power, you were guaranteed to run into a bandit group.
Even merchant caravans—unless protected by strong forces or bribery—risked attack.
"Only big merchants or shady groups working with bandits are allowed to roam freely…"
"So even hunting is off the table."
Shen Li sighed and slumped against the wall.
He glanced at the panel again:
[Simulation Interface]Name: Shen LiRace: HumanLifespan:16 / 35
To simulate, enter how many years of lifespan you wish to sacrifice.[Awaiting Input…]
Twenty-three years spent.
His bones ached more than usual. His back felt tight. Even daily tasks drained him slightly.
He was aging.
"I still have over 200 silver. That should be enough to figure out a stable path… but chickens won't cut it anymore."
"Their lifespan is too short. The cost-to-reward ratio is awful."
He began scribbling notes.
"What I need now is something with low cost, high age. Something I can kill to regain years—quietly."
His eyes narrowed with thought.
"Turtles? Old donkeys? Cattle that no longer breed?"
He had entered a strange world.And in this world, even immortality came with the price of blood.
The next morning, Shen Li began asking around about livestock prices—specifically donkeys.
He wasn't interested in strong, young animals. He wanted the old, the sick, the ones no one else would touch.
It didn't take long before he found a lead.
"You looking for dying ones? There's a few beasts near death's door," a trader said, half-joking. "Take 'em off our hands and you'd be doing us a favor."
The price?
20 silver for an aged donkey that could barely move.15 silver for one sick and coughing, eyes already dim.
"A good deal."
He paid 34 silver for both.
The sellers looked relieved. Sick donkeys couldn't be eaten or sold to labor, so most just rotted to death.
In a twisted way… Shen Li had done them a favor.
He tied ropes to both animals and slowly, carefully, led them back to his estate on the outskirts of Qinghe County.
It took hours.
The older donkey stumbled constantly. The sick one wheezed and drooled. But eventually—he got them inside.
He didn't rest.
Without hesitation, Shen Li unsheathed a sharp knife and slit their throats cleanly. No hesitation. No noise.
He wrapped the meat from the old donkey and set it aside to cure for later meals.
The meat from the sick donkey…became bait.
[+17 lifespan][+31 lifespan]
His body jolted faintly—he could feel it.
That lingering fatigue, that creeping sense of age…Gone.
Shen Li exhaled, deeply.
Vitality had returned.
"Seventeen and thirty-one years," he whispered. "Even dying beasts still lived long lives…"
He cleaned his blade, wiped the blood from the stone floor, and stepped outside with a bow and quiver in hand.
The meat was left exposed in the clearing beside his estate—raw and stinking, just enough to lure what he needed.
He took position on the roof, bow resting on his lap.
"In the countryside, meat never rots alone."
He knew.
Flesh draws hunters.And hunters… draw the hunted.
There were always birds—carrion eaters, pack scavengers, or even the occasional fox.
As Shen Li sat silently with his bow, eyes on the baited meat just outside his estate, his mind drifted.
He glanced at the glowing system panel once more, thoughts heavy.
[Simulation Interface]Name: Shen LiRace: HumanAge: 16Lifespan:16 / 83
To simulate, enter how many years of lifespan you wish to sacrifice.[Awaiting Input…]
"No matter what I try… even when I stay locked in my house, I can never survive past two years. Something always happens."
He rubbed his temple, exhaustion creeping through his bones despite his rising lifespan.
"Maybe… it's time I try the most stable path there is."
"Martial arts."
Most couldn't enter this path.Too costly.Too slow.Too dangerous.
But Shen Li had something others didn't: time—and a system.
"With 200 silver, I can't do much. But if I can survive long enough, I can build a foundation…"
With that, he opened the panel again and began a new simulation:
[Simulation Beginning – 5 Years Entered]
[You chose to pursue martial cultivation.]
[In this county, there are no official martial schools. Martial arts are passed down privately—from guards to apprentices, or from clans to loyal followers.]
[Without a backing clan or military connection, you cannot enter any formal training institution.]
[Instead, you traveled to the Dart Bureau, a place where freelance martial artists, guards, and hunters gather.]
[After one month of searching, you found a martial artist willing to train you.]
[Name: Xu Chen – Grade-3 Martial Artist]
[He specializes in the Eagle Claw Style—a brutal close-quarters combat art focused on grapples, bone-breaking, and finger pressure strikes.]
[You struck a deal.]
Training Duration: 3 monthsMonthly Wage: 50 silver
[Master Xu Chen did not begin with fists.]
[He started by teaching you martial common sense—structure, timing, balance, and most importantly: patience.]
Only after that, he began training you in his family's art.
[Martial Art: Eagle Claw Fist Style]
[According to Xu Chen, this style was developed by his grandfather—a man known as the Sleeper. A reclusive cultivator who spent years lying in fields, watching eagles. He mimicked their hunting movements and gradually created a system of claw grips, joint locks, and dislocations.]
"The secret is in the fingers," he said. "Not the fists. Grip the heart, not just the limb."
[You learned all the forms and strikes in a week.]
[It wasn't complicated—just brutally efficient.]
[There were no glowing palms, no flying kicks, no internal power. Just lethal simplicity that relied on repetition and conditioning.]
[No mystical medicine. No shortcuts.]
Only grind.
[Master Xu Chen trained you faithfully for the entire three months.]
[By the end, your hands were calloused, your fingers able to hold iron rings without shaking, and your reactions sharp enough to disarm small knives.]
But your silver…was gone.
Even with future knowledge, you had no strength to exploit opportunities.
You were still weak.Still poor.
And so, for the first time in a long while—
[You chose a new path—not a thief, not a looter… but a hunter of lost corpses.]
[Your strategy was simple: do not fight bandits, do not touch battlegrounds.Instead, you track the dead—specifically, dead merchants carried away by panicked horses during caravan ambushes.]
[You already know from prior simulations:Bandits don't chase loose corpses.Patrols never notice the missing bodies.No one reports a dead man who disappears in the woods.]
[You spent the first month scouting escape paths—watching how horses flee once the attack begins.]
[Second month, you prepared ropes, caltrops, and traps to capture riderless horses without harming them.]
[Your first successful find:A dead merchant still strapped to his saddle, body jostling as the horse dragged him through the brush.]
[You brought him down carefully.Inside his coat: 12 silver, a silk map case, and a wooden pendant carved with a sect emblem.]
[Over the course of the year, you recovered over 14 corpses.]
[Simulation Year 2 – Continued]
[You had found your rhythm. By the second year, your scavenger method had earned you over 800 silver—an absurd amount for anyone outside the city's inner ring.]
[You continued practicing Eagle Claw, but frustration set in. The style, while brutal and useful in close quarters, felt increasingly rigid. It neglected too many muscle groups. The flow was predictable. Your instincts told you—this wasn't the art that would carry you to true power.]
"I'll need to change martial paths… eventually."
[But then the unexpected happened.]
[Some bandits noticed the pattern—your scavenging, your timing, your routes.]
[They set a trap.]
[You walked into it.]
[You barely escaped.]
[Your shoulder was slashed open. A blade grazed your ribs. You fled into the woods, bleeding, gasping, crawling.]
[You survived—but just barely.]
"Enough."
"No more corpse hunting. The game has changed."
[Simulation Year 3]
[Disaster struck.]
[Bandits breached the county city.]
[The sky turned red with fire. Smoke spiraled into the clouds. Screams echoed into the hills.]
[You watched from the outskirts—helpless—as buildings collapsed, homes were ransacked, people butchered.]
The city burned for three days.
[When the flames finally died down, the air was still.]
[Three great martial families rose to repel the attackers.]
[They won—but at a grave cost.]
[More than half the population was dead.]
[Of the three major families, the strongest—the Song Family—lost their patriarch, a Grade-1 Martial Artist.]
[Curious, and cautious, you entered the city in the aftermath.]
[Corpses littered the roads. Dogs barked over blood. The silence felt unnatural.]
[You saw the corpse of a towering man—one of the bandit leaders.]
[Name: Hou Qi – "The Iron Giant"]
[He was known for his cruelty, his enormous strength, and his iron shield that no one could break.]
[Even in death, he clutched the shield in both hands.]
[On that shield, you saw something that made your stomach twist.]
Palm prints.
Dozens of them.
[Some bent the metal.Some scorched it.One… had gone through.A single hole, clean and brutal, punched through by sheer power.]
"This… this is what a Grade-1 martial artist can do?"
You had never seen them fight.But now you could imagine.
"That man's shield… and body… were destroyed by a single palm."
[You stood before the corpse of a man feared by hundreds… killed like a wild dog.]
[The world you had stepped into was not just about money or survival anymore.]
It was about power.
[Year 3][Survivors began looting desperately—winter was approaching, and more than half the county's population had perished. The great houses withdrew to their family strongholds to lick their wounds.]
[You joined the chaos.]
[Using your caution and speed, you looted abandoned estates and ruined homes. You avoided conflict. You picked your targets.]
[By the end of the year, you had accumulated 3 gold coins and 500 silver—a small fortune for an outskirter.]
[You also discovered valuable intel: certain treasure-class items— blades, armor, had fixed locations known to the public. Though no one could confirm who looted them yet, rumors circulated fast.]
[You promised yourself: next time, you would target these specifically.]
[Your greatest stroke of luck came when you looted several abandoned pharmacies and alchemy stores. Everyone else overlooked them, but they held a trove of formulas, dried herbs, and refining equipment.]
[You began studying them, aiming to develop a supportive medicinal line for martial arts cultivation—specifically for enhancing the Eagle Claw method.]
[Year 4][You turned 20.]
[Most of this year was spent in deep study. You devoured alchemical texts, memorized properties, and experimented with low-grade mixtures.]
[Unfortunately, you couldn't create any breakthrough formulas. Some general-use cultivation enhancers existed—but they were too common and thus too expensive, as every martial artist desired them.]
[The city began accepting migrants, and many survivors were moving out. You considered it too—]
[—but having already survived a catastrophe, you felt this place would remain safe for the time being.]
[Year 5][Your relentless effort bore fruit.]
[You officially advanced to a Third Grade Martial Artist.]
[It was a notable milestone. Even among wealthy families, few reached this level by 21. You were now qualified to be considered elite, though not legendary.]
[You began searching for better martial techniques to break past your ceiling.]
[After weeks of searching, you found a reclusive Second Grade martial artist who agreed to teach you a Middle-Grade Martial Technique—for a steep price: 4 gold coins.]
[You paid it.]
[But joy turned to despair.]
[You learned a core truth of martial cultivation:The human body can only cultivate one body technique and one inner strength method.]
[You had already engraved Eagle Claw Style into your bones. It could not be replaced.]
[You could still learn a new inner breathing technique—but that was the only path left.]
[However, inner strength methods were rare. Even in First-Class powers, these high-grade arts were passed to one or two people only—often through bloodline or sect inheritance.]
[You realized your limitations.Even with talent, even with money—without a proper background or master—your path to First Grade was blocked.]
After reaching Third Grade with the Eagle Claw style, you searched desperately for a way forward.You discovered the brutal truth:There are no basic or intermediate inner breathing methods.Only the peak-tier techniques exist—methods passed down within true martial lineages, closely guarded by sects, families, or hidden clans.]
[Even among First Grade powers, only a handful of individuals are ever granted access to cultivate them.]
[Why? Because any who successfully cultivate an inner breathing method has the potential to reach First Grade Martial Artist—a realm that walks the line between human and superhuman.]
[But you also learned the price.]
[These peak inner methods require constant medicinal support—elixirs to nourish meridians, suppress backlash]
[And unlike body cultivation styles that eventually damage the flesh with wear and force,inner breathing methods leave no hidden harm—only a smooth, perfected path forward.]
[You felt envious. Power. Purity. Potential. All locked behind bloodlines and allegiance.]
[You tried to buy one. Nothing. No one sells them.]