I Have a Cultivation Simulator

After letting his imagination run wild for a moment, Zhou Qing reined in his thoughts.

Gold talents, prismatic talents... they were just too far out of his reach.

Zhou Qing had a much more pressing matter to consider.

Two years from now, the Fourth Prince would take the Gan Emperor hostage and purge the Zhou Family.

The Zhou Family were staunch supporters of the First Prince and held immense authority. Furthermore, the head of the family, Zhou Shizhong, commanded the palace's Imperial Guard.

To the Fourth Prince, who was preparing to usurp the throne, an existence like theirs was undoubtedly a massive thorn in his side.

Unless Zhou Shizhong was willing to pledge his allegiance to the Fourth Prince ahead of time.

But from what Zhou Qing knew of Zhou Shizhong, the man would never submit even if it cost him his life—even if he were forced to watch his wife and son beheaded before his own eyes.

The Zhou Family had enjoyed immense imperial favor for generations, and Zhou Shizhong had grown up alongside the First Prince since childhood. Loyalty to the sovereign was ingrained deep in his very bones; it was utterly impossible to change him.

There were only two ways.

The first was to clash with the Fourth Prince head-on.

Zhou Qing immediately ruled out this option.

Even though his strength had advanced significantly after a single simulation...

...he was still only a Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator.

The Fourth Prince had bided his time in the shadows for years, was suspected of colluding with the barbarians, and had immortal cultivators under his command.

Zhou Qing had absolutely no confidence in taking him head-on.

The second method was to run away.

The incident was still two years away. As long as Zhou Qing took his whole family and fled the Gan Kingdom...

...they should be able to avoid the Fourth Prince's purge.

He could flee with his family first to preserve their lives, then wait until he had gone through a few more simulations. Once he possessed enough strength, it would not be too late to return for revenge.

However, before committing to the second option, Zhou Qing needed to confirm one other thing.

Zhou Qing focused his mind and looked at the illusory text hovering at the bottom of his vision.

[Name: Zhou Qing]

[Race: Human]

[Strength: Qi Refining Fifth Layer]

[Profession: Mid-Grade Alchemist]

[Age: 16]

[Talent: Pill Toxin Nemesis]

[Simulations Available: 0]

Zhou Qing's gaze fell on the [Simulations Available] column.

An illusory countdown appeared.

[02:56:13:42:16]

'A cooldown time of two years and fifty-six days?'

Zhou Qing frowned.

According to his previous experience, once the countdown reached zero, a simulation opportunity would "refresh."

'Hm?'

As Zhou Qing focused his attention on the countdown, another piece of information flooded his mind.

'The countdown can be shortened by staying in an environment with dense spiritual energy?'

Zhou Qing mused inwardly.

Simply put, the denser the spiritual energy in his surroundings, the shorter the countdown.

'I still have to make a trip to Wushan Market.'

Zhou Qing had already made his decision.

Wushan Market was built atop a Tier Two spirit vein; the spiritual energy concentration inside the market far exceeded the outside world.

Of course, other cultivator gathering places were also built on spirit veins. However, Zhou Qing was most familiar with Wushan Market. He knew every major event that would occur there over the next sixty-odd years.

To Zhou Qing, Wushan Market was even safer than the Zhou Estate.

"Dachun!"

Zhou Qing immediately stood up and called out.

"Young Master."

Dachun rushed back inside and scratched his head in an honest, simple manner.

"Young Master, I feel like you're different from before."

Dachun blinked as he spoke.

"You're imagining things..." Zhou Qing shot Dachun a glance.

After inheriting his full cultivation from the simulation, he had immediately circulated the Qi-Concealing Art to hide all traces of his aura.

He didn't expect Dachun to notice something was off anyway.

"Dachun, I'm taking you with me to travel the world."

Zhou Qing made up an excuse on the spot.

Since he planned to head to Wushan Market, he obviously couldn't just up and leave without a word.

Traveling the world was a rather decent excuse.

The only reason he was taking Dachun along was to set his parents' minds at ease.

As the Third Young Master of the Zhou Family, if he left the Zhou Estate alone to travel the world, his mother would definitely lose sleep over it.

"Huh? Travel the world?" Dachun's eyes widened.

"My mind is made up."

Zhou Qing immediately wrote a letter and left it in his room. The letter stated that he was leaving the Zhou Estate with Dachun to travel the world.

Then, he walked out the door.

"Young Master, wait for me..."

Dachun quickly hurried after him.

...

The next day.

"Madam..."

A pale-faced maidservant brought a letter to Madam Zhou.

"Ah Qing, he..." After reading the letter, a trace of panic surfaced on Madam Zhou's face.

Her youngest son actually had the audacity to just up and leave to travel the world?

This matter caused quite a stir in the Zhou Estate. The family head, Zhou Shizhong, immediately took notice.

"With Dachun around, Ah Qing shouldn't encounter any danger, right?"

Zhou Shizhong furrowed his brows tightly before his expression eventually relaxed.

He knew his own people well; he was clear on Dachun's strength and understood the boy's sharp perception.

If Zhou Qing had left the Zhou Estate alone, he definitely would have spared no means to search the entire Gan Kingdom to find his son.

But with Dachun following him... Zhou Shizhong didn't think Zhou Qing would run into any real danger.

At most, he'd suffer a little hardship.

"Alright. Ah Qing is sixteen now; it's good for him to go out and see the world."

Zhou Shizhong looked at his wife.

...

Half a month later.

Zhou Qing had arrived at Wushan Market.

As for Dachun, he was naturally arranged to stay at the foot of the mountain.

This time, Zhou Qing wouldn't abandon Dachun at the foot of the mountain for decades like he did in the simulation. Instead, he planned to bring Dachun up once he established a steady foothold in the market.

After entering the market, Zhou Qing headed straight for the Alchemy Alliance outpost.

Inside Wushan Market, the places with the most concentrated spiritual energy were naturally the cave dwellings and the inns.

However, whether it was a cave dwelling or an inn, one needed spirit stones to move in.

But Zhou Qing didn't have any spirit stones on him. Not only did he lack spirit stones, he didn't even have a Pill Furnace—a strict necessity for an alchemist.

Still, with his experience from the simulation, Zhou Qing naturally knew how to move into a cave dwelling in the market and stabilize himself as quickly as possible.

And that was to join the Alchemy Alliance.

In the simulation, Zhou Qing had also joined the Alchemy Alliance under Alchemist Yun's recommendation, and thus he knew a great deal about this faction.

Strictly speaking, the Alchemy Alliance wasn't exactly a unified faction, and it had very little binding power over its members.

However, its benefits and treatment were quite generous. As long as one joined the alliance, they could live in an alliance cave dwelling for free.

Of course, the threshold for joining the Alchemy Alliance was extremely high. Even Low-Grade Alchemists had to pass layers of tests to join. In the simulation, Zhou Qing only managed to become an alliance member in a short time because he had Alchemist Yun's recommendation.

In reality, Zhou Qing didn't have Alchemist Yun's recommendation now. However, with the skill level of a Mid-Grade Alchemist, he no longer needed one.

Even though there was only a one-tier difference between a Low-Grade Alchemist and a Mid-Grade Alchemist, their status was entirely different.

The Alchemy Alliance lacked no Low-Grade Alchemists, but they thirsted for Mid-Grade Alchemists and those of even higher tiers to join.

Before long.

Zhou Qing arrived at the Alchemy Alliance's outpost in the market.

A Qi Refining Middle Stage female cultivator looked at Zhou Qing and asked softly, "Fellow Daoist, are you here to join the Alchemy Alliance?"

"Mhm."

Zhou Qing nodded.

"May I ask what tier of alchemist you are, Fellow Daoist?"

The Qi Refining Middle Stage female cultivator asked.

"Mid-Grade."

Zhou Qing replied.

"A Mid-Grade Alchemist?"

The Qi Refining Middle Stage female cultivator was secretly shocked. She had assumed Zhou Qing was merely a Low-Grade Alchemist; after all, there were only so many Mid-Grade Alchemists in Wushan Market.

"Fellow Daoist, if you are joining the Alchemy Alliance as a Mid-Grade Alchemist, you must pass an alchemy test. During the test, you can only use the alliance's Pill Furnaces and earth fire. Is that acceptable?"

The Qi Refining Middle Stage female cultivator asked cautiously.

"No problem."

Zhou Qing nodded.

"Please follow me, Fellow Daoist."

The Qi Refining Middle Stage female cultivator immediately led Zhou Qing toward the examination room.

Soon after.

Zhou Qing arrived in front of a stone door.

The Qi Refining Middle Stage female cultivator formed a hand seal, and the stone door slowly opened.

"Alchemist Yun, this Mid-Grade Alchemist requires your evaluation."

The Qi Refining Middle Stage female cultivator called out toward the space behind the stone door.

"Oh?"

"A Mid-Grade Alchemist?"

A gaunt-faced man walked out.

"Alchemist Yun?"

Zhou Qing also looked toward the man, gazing at this "acquaintance" who had been so closely connected to him in the simulation.

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