The mountain air was a sharp blade against Ren's skin, but he barely noticed. His body thrummed with a terrifying, contradictory power: the **A-grade Demonic Innate Talent**, the radiant **A+ Pure Yang Physique**, the elusive **A Shadow Walker**, and now, the profound **A++ Karmic Affinity (Light)** and the intuitive **A+ Formation Master's Heart**. He was a walking paradox, a convergence of extremes, and the sheer potential felt exhilarating, terrifying.
His real-world cultivation, already at **Qi Refinement Stage 9**, was on the cusp of breaking through to Foundation Establishment. With his newly integrated talents, the bottleneck felt less like an impassable wall and more like a fragile membrane. He dedicated days to relentless meditation, his conflicting Qi flows strangely harmonizing under the influence of his Pure Yang and Demonic talents, guided by his refined perception. He refined his physical body with brutal, masochistic training, remembering the resilience that had saved him in his last simulation. He was not just absorbing Qi; he was forging himself anew. And then, it broke. A surge of spiritual energy, a resounding crack within his meridians, and the world shifted. **Foundation Establishment Stage 1.** He had done it. Real, tangible power.
His resource acquisition became a predatory art. No longer just scavenging, Ren now strategically targeted hidden spiritual veins in the mountains, his Karmic Affinity guiding him to forgotten caves rich with low-grade spirit stones. His Danger Sense kept him clear of patrolling cultivators or powerful spirit beasts. His Shadow Walker talent allowed him to slip into abandoned cultivation sites, rumored to be dangerous, and emerge with valuable, discarded artifacts. He traded with a cold, shrewd efficiency, understanding market demands with an intuitive grasp. His goal was clear: accumulate enough resources for his long-term ascension, and for the arduous journey to **Nascent Soul**, the realm where legends truly began. He would protect his future Li Mei, and the only way to do that was to become utterly, undeniably powerful.
He returned to his secluded inn, the pile of spirit stones growing. The System shimmered, a familiar, cold presence, yet he felt a strange sense of anticipation.
**SYSTEM ERROR DETECTED: SIMULATION COST IMBALANCE.**
**PREVIOUS SIMULATION COST OF 3 LOW-GRADE SPIRIT STONES RECALIBRATED.**
**NEW SIMULATION COST: 90 NORMAL SPIRIT STONES.**
**(Note: 1 Low-Grade Spirit Stone = 10 Normal Spirit Stones)**
**NEW TALENT TIER UNLOCKED! A+++ Grade Talents now have a chance to appear!**
Ren stared at the screen, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. *Ninety normal spirit stones. A fairer exchange, perhaps. But a steeper barrier to entry.* It mattered little. His efficiency had skyrocketed. The System's cold, logical recalibration felt almost… just. And A+++ talents. The peak of the known scale. His ambition burned brighter.
**Simulation Cost: 90 Normal Spirit Stones.**
**Choose Influence:**
* **[Righteous Influence]**
* **[Demonic Influence]**
**Choose Starting Identity (Affects available talents):**
* **[Pleb (F-C Grade Talents)]**
* **[Outer Sect Disciple (D-B Grade Talents)]**
* **[Manager's Illegitimate Child (C-A Grade Talents)]**
* **[Hidden Family Young Master (A-A+ Grade Talents)]**
* **[Inner Sect Genius (B-S Grade Talents)]**
* **[Sect Prodigy (A+-S Grade Talents)]**
* **[Monarch Child (S Grade Talents)]**
**Choose Talent Type (A+++ and S-Grade talents are extremely rare):**
* **[Righteous Innate Talent]**
* **[Righteous Normal Talent]**
* **[Demonic Innate Talent]**
* **[Demonic Normal Talent]**
Ren chose **Righteous Influence** once more. He had a debt to repay, a past failure to rectify. For identity, he chose **Sect Prodigy**. *This will give me the status and resources to truly lead, to reshape the sect from within.* He selected **Righteous Innate Talent**.
**Random Talents Generated for Righteous Innate Talent (A-S):**
* **[A+] Spirit Sword Heart:** Exceptional affinity for sword arts, grants breakthroughs in complex sword techniques.
* **[A++] Divine Sense Resonance:** Innate ability to perceive and manipulate spiritual energy with unparalleled clarity.
* **[A+++ Heaven's Chosen One]:** A child of destiny, favored by the world's Qi, attracts unparalleled opportunities, avoids fatal misfortunes, accelerates enlightenment.
Ren's heart hammered. A+++! **Heaven's Chosen One!** This was not just luck; this was destiny. The very heavens would conspire for him. He immediately selected it. For his second talent, he needed something that would secure his position and allow him to protect his sect.
**Second Talent Slot (Choose from generated list):**
* **[A] Medical Grandmaster:** Innate talent for healing and pill concoction.
* **[A+] Strategic Mind:** Exceptional tactical and strategic planning abilities.
* **[A++] Law Comprehension:** Innate understanding of world laws, allowing for deeper insights into techniques and Dao.
*Strategic Mind. To lead, to plan, to anticipate. To outmaneuver the betrayers.* He chose **A+++ Heaven's Chosen One** and **A+ Strategic Mind**. The 90 normal spirit stones vanished. The room dissolved into blocks of shimmering text. Ren felt an overwhelming sense of destiny, a warm, pervasive glow that infused every fiber of his being.
---
**SIMULATION LOG: ATTEMPT 10**
**YEAR 1: Favored by Heaven. Ren is reborn into the **Azure Dawn Peak Sect**, this time not as a mere Young Master, but as a true **Sect Prodigy**, blessed by the **[A+++ Heaven's Chosen One]** talent. His birth causes auspicious phenomena, alerting the entire sect, including the Sect Master, **Grandmaster Yun**, to his unique destiny. His cultivation is meteoric, reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 1 by the age of 15, shattering records. He learns all formations, all professions, absorbing knowledge like a sponge due to his **[A+ Strategic Mind]**, which constantly analyzes and optimizes. He effortlessly gains the favor of elders, avoids hidden pitfalls, and even finds legendary cultivation resources on chance encounters.**
**YEAR 10: Love Blooms Early. Ren quickly encounters **Li Mei**, a talented junior sister, her kindness and sincerity a familiar beacon. This time, armed with his immense luck and proactive nature, Ren is bolder. He cultivates their bond from the start, protecting her from petty jealousies, sharing resources, and guiding her cultivation path with his superior insights. Their relationship blossoms rapidly, deepening into a profound love, a genuine connection that anchors him amidst the relentless pursuit of power. He realizes the value of such a bond, something he had carelessly lost in his previous simulation.**
**YEAR 50: The Sect's Ascendance. Ren, now a venerable elder and the sect's most powerful prodigy, guides the Azure Dawn Peak Sect through decades of prosperity. His [A+++ Heaven's Chosen One] talent deflects all major misfortunes, turning crises into opportunities. His [A+ Strategic Mind] uncovers insidious plots of the Blood Cult and internal betrayers long before they can materialize. He systematically purges the corrupt elements, strengthens the sect's foundations, and expands its influence. Grandmaster Yun, proud and content, eventually passes on, making Ren the **Sect Master** at the age of 60. He rules with a firm but just hand, eliminating the hypocrisy he once loathed, yet maintaining the sect's righteous facade.**
**YEAR 100: The Cultivation Plateau. Ren, alongside Li Mei (now his beloved and a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator herself), guides the sect to unprecedented heights. He pushes his own cultivation to **Golden Core Stage 5**, a realm of immense power, but finds himself stuck. The breakthrough to **Nascent Soul** remains an insurmountable wall. The resources required are astronomical, the opportunities non-existent, and the dangers of attempting it blindly, suicidal. He exhausts all avenues, his [A+++ Heaven's Chosen One] talent, while still powerful, cannot simply conjure a Nascent Soul breakthrough. He studies ancient texts, seeks forgotten realms, but the path forward is dark and perilous.**
**YEAR 180: A Life Fulfilled. Ren, now an old man, his hair streaked with silver, sits beside Li Mei, her own face etched with the lines of age. They have reigned over the Azure Dawn Peak Sect for over a century, transforming it into a true beacon of righteousness, protecting countless mortals. They are legends, revered across the land. The desire for Nascent Soul, for eternal life, still flickers, but the risks are too great. He cannot bear to leave Li Mei, to risk his life and abandon her to a world he has worked so hard to purify. He has chosen love over boundless power. They grow old together, their days filled with quiet contentment, their legacy cemented in the sect they nurtured.**
**YEAR 199: The Gentle Farewell. Ren and Li Mei, hand in hand, sit on a mountain peak overlooking their thriving sect. They are frail, their Golden Core cultivation slowly dimming, the limitations of mortality finally catching up. They share a last, loving glance, a century of shared life, love, and struggle reflected in their eyes. They breathe their last together, their bodies fading as their souls gently intertwine, disappearing into the vastness of the Dao, leaving behind a legacy of peace.**
**SIMULATION ENDED.**
**YEARS LIVED: 199 YEARS.**
**SURVIVAL POINTS GAINED: 3000 (For achieving Golden Core peak, leading a sect to prosperity, preventing annihilation, and experiencing a fulfilling life).**
**ACHIEVEMENTS: Sect Leader. Golden Core Realm Achieved. Karmic Master (Apex). Formation Grandmaster (Apex). Strategic Mastermind. Traitor Purifier. True Love's Bond.**
**NEGATIVES: Failed to Breakthrough Nascent Soul. Limited Ambition (Chose Love Over Immortality).**
**SIMULATION EXPERIENCE EXTRACTION AVAILABLE. Cost: 200 Survival Points.**
**TALENT EXTRACTION AVAILABLE: [A+++ Heaven's Chosen One]. Cost: 500 Survival Points.**
**TALENT EXTRACTION AVAILABLE: [A+ Strategic Mind]. Cost: 150 Survival Points.**
**NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: KARMIC CONNECTION!**
**Upon encountering a person from a completed simulation, Host may activate a karmic thread, allowing for enhanced perception of their emotions and intent. Cost: 1000 Survival Points (per connection). (Warning: One-time connection per individual. Cannot be undone.)**
---
Ren gasped, bolting upright in his inn bed, the familiar scent of old wood and faint incense filling his nostrils. Tears streamed down his face, not of sorrow, but of an overwhelming, bittersweet fullness. Two hundred years. He had lived, loved, led, and died a peaceful, complete death alongside Li Mei. He had achieved the apex of mortal cultivation, become a Golden Core Grandmaster, and purified a sect. He had *chosen* to stop, to not risk everything for immortality, to remain with his beloved.
He accessed the System, his hand shaking. 3000 Survival Points. A new record. He immediately spent **200 Survival Points for the full simulation experience**. The wisdom of leadership, the intricacies of sect politics, the joy of shared love, the quiet contentment of old age – it all flowed into him, a stark contrast to his previous bitter endings. He then extracted the talents: **500 Survival Points for [A+++ Heaven's Chosen One]** and **150 Survival Points for [A+ Strategic Mind]**. The very essence of destiny's favor and ultimate cunning settled within him, alongside his other, now strangely harmonious, talents.
A new line of text shimmered on the System panel: **Karmic Connection Unlocked!** *Upon encountering a person from a completed simulation, Host may activate a karmic thread...* Ren stared at it, his heart pounding. Li Mei. He could feel her. He could find her. The thought ignited a fierce, protective fire within him. He was no longer just simulating for himself.
He sighed, the sound a mix of weary resignation and burning resolve. This world. It was a rotten, corrupted place, filled with betrayal and arbitrary cruelty. But he had seen its beauty, too. He had known love, and achieved a form of greatness. He would not just survive now; he would thrive. He would rise above its inherent unfairness. He would be one step ahead of everything. And he would find Li Mei. He would simulate, and he would gather power, until he could truly stand at the pinnacle of this vast, terrifying, beautiful world.
---
Now, armed with an unprecedented array of talents and a powerful new motivation, what is Ren's precise, calculated next step in the real world to accelerate his cultivation towards Golden Core and begin his search for Li Mei, utilizing his knowledge of formations, resources, and the karmic connection?