( Author's Note : Hello guys I hope you all are doing well .
Before continuing with the chapter , I wanted to inform you all that in this chapter there will be some hard facts about the old ancient engagement promises and rules and how they affect people .
So I hope you will understand that and this is just a frictional work made for enjoyment so no need to take it seriously .
And if you have any ideas on the matter do tell me in the comments section .
But once again I would like to remind you that while I am open to constructive criticism please refrain from using too much negative comments which are not good for us as a community .
So that's all I had to say today .
Hence without any further ado let's start with our magical journey .
Thank you for reading . )
Chapter : 34 : Xiao Ming's Decision :
Location : Xiao Ming's House :
" That was the most intense life simulation I ever had . "
Xiao Ming wasn't lying about it after all this the first time he survived so long in a life simulation .
88 days of surviving in the life simulation was indeed a monumental task for him .
But just as he was basking in the happiness of his new achievement he felt a bad mood immediately come over .
" Why did my journey permanently ended again while searching for a medicinal flower and at the hands of a magical beast . " - he said in frustration .
At this point he had already started to accept that this was going to be the new normal of his life simulations with his journeys permanently ending at the hands of a magical beast while trying to find a medicinal flower or plant .
But at least this time he understood more details about the situation .
In previous life simulations he didn't know what kind of special medicinal plants he was looking for so much that he would leave the safety of the clan to go to the forest .
But now he understood it was the Purple Flaming Flower .
To be honest now all of it made sense .
The Purple flaming flower was a treasure of nature whose value was enormous .
The Purple flaming flower was known for increasing the power of a fire affinity user just like the Blue Water fruit does for a water affinity user .
Then you might have a question .
Why would Xiao Ming who doesn't have a fire affinity be interested in that flower to the point that he would risk his safety by going out in the mountains to search for it ?
The answer was that the purple flaming flower not only increased the strength of a fire affinity user .
But it can also increase the power of one's Alchemist flame as well .
This is why the Purple flaming flower is considered such a great treasure of the nature .
The purple flaming flower is a rare treasure of nature that you can't find easily in the market or even in the auction halls no matter how much money you are willing to pay for it.
Perhaps the Xiao clan treasury or The Alchemist hall might have few of these in stock but that too was not certain .
It is because it takes a long time for a single purple flaming flower to grow .
One thing that one must understand is that the treasures of nature like this purple flaming flower have their own Dou Qi and soul power and it takes a long time for them to appear .
As such they are considered super rare .
For example the Purple flaming flower takes at least an entire decade to grow .
But even if it had grown you cannot use it because at that time it is still in the formation stage and it would take it at least 50 more years to totally bloom .
And according to many researchers a century old purple flaming flower can be considered to be the best version of that flower .
And from the memories of his life simulation he could tell that the flower in the mountains was most likely the same century old purple flaming flower .
And one of the greatest characteristics of this century old purple flaming flower is that along side increasing the power of the fire affinity and Alchemist flame it can also give you the chance of awakening the fire affinity .
So it means that if Xiao Ming eats that flower then not only would it be helpful in increasing the power of his Alchemist flame but also at the same time he might have a chance of awakening a third type of affinity that he didn't have before .
" But a tiger beast of Dou Disciple strength ... that's a problem . " - Xiao said to himself as he took out a book listing various kinds of magical beasts .
There he quickly found the information related to the lion magical beast that he had faced in the life simulation .
" Lion magical beast is a special kind of magical beast that can reach up to the strength of a Dou king . "
"They are known for their strong sense of smell and aggression and with powerful claws that can crush stones in an instant "
" They have strong and thick mane that can completely stop blue grade techniques . "
" Moreover the lion beast lives and hunts in a pack so if you encounter one then there are most likely others around . "
" However there is an exception to this rule . "
" Sometimes young lion beast challenges the older ruling lion beast in a battle to take control of the pride. "
" However if the young lion loses the battle he is forced out of the family and must leave the area . "
" After they are expelled , the lion beast often try to form a new group or train harder alone to return and challenge his previous leader again . "
After Xiao Ming finished reading the details of the lion beast he felt a headache coming .
If the lion beast can reach the level of a Dou king then it means that the one he encountered in the forest was very weak compared to that .
Also there was the possibility that perhaps the beast he faced in the forest was just a member of the lion beast pride and not their leader .
" However from what I remember the lion beast was certainly alone in the jungle . "
That means there was a great possibility that perhaps this lion beast with the power of a Dou Disciple had previously challenged the older lion beast of it's group and then lost the fight .
So intern he was pushed out of the group and was now roaming alone .
" Will at least if that the case I don't have to worry about being surrounded by the entire lion pride . " - he said to himself a little assured .
" But even if it's alone right now my strength is no where near it . " - however the happiness didn't last long as he understood clearly that the power difference between them was great .
But in a manner this was a good thing for him as well .
The good thing was that since the lion beast was so strong it would mean that at least no random person can take away the Purple flaming flower without a fight .
So at least he now had some time to prepare himself to get strong and then try to take the Purple flaming flower .
Obviously there was the chance of someone strong coming and defeating the lion King before him but there was nothing he can do about it then .
' Sigh ! It would be great if the Purple flaming flower was among the three of the reward options . ' - Xiao Ming silently thought to himself .
But he quickly removed those thoughts away from his mind .
Right now there were many other things he needed to focus on before finally choosing a reward for himself .
To be honest this life simulation had been a roller coaster of various surprises for him and the Purple flaming flower was just the tip of the iceberg .
" So what I thought was indeed true and the reason why the first elder left the clan to go to the much smaller Zhau clan was due to a engagement promise cancellation . " - he said bitterly .
To be honest at this point he wasn't even surprised .
After all how can he get reincarnated in a cultivation world without being part of such a story .
Either he has to be the member of the clan of the main character or perhaps even the main character who had his engagement cancelled because he lost his cultivation strength .
Or the other option was that he has to be the part of the villain Clan who cancelled the engagement promise and now would become direct enemy of the chosen hero .
" Well I guess there is nothing I can do about it right now . "
This time however Xiao Ming did not feel the same dread he felt before .
Because now his mind was already determined to face anyone and anything that comes in his way .
Even if it's the main character , the child loved by heavens .
" And to be honest I don't think the clan is doing anything wrong . " - at this point he was telling his genuine feelings .
In the life simulation he answered Xiao Wuya's question about how he felt in this matter by saying that he supported the clan's decision .
And it was the truth .
Because his perspective had changed since he came to this world a lot .
In various novels from his previous life you will find that the villain of the story is the clan of the girl who had just broken off the engagement with the main character .
These mostly focusses on the main character's side of the story not the other way around .
Yes ! he won't not deny that there are many such big clans who uses this kind of dirty tactics of engagement promises to bring the talents of the smaller clans under their influence .
And when they find that the target they had been waiting for had lost his or her cultivation talents they would quickly call off the engagement leaving the other side in public humiliation .
But it was not the case for the Xiao clan .
From what he understood from the life simulation and the other information he knew it was clearly the Zhau clan who had broken the condition for the engagement promise .
It was clearly mentioned in the engagement promise accepted by both of their ansestors that in order for the engagement promise to go forward both Xiao Yun and Zhau Xuan must show great talents in cultivation .
And now that Zhau Xuan had lost his cultivation talents there is no meaning in this engagement promise anymore .
But Xiao Ming had a even greater reason .
" Was Xiao Yun ever consulted or asked about her willingness to this engagement promise ? "
The answer was obvious simple and infuriating .
No she wasn't even asked for her opinion .
At this thought a surge of anger could be seen in Xiao Ming's eyes because in a manner due to his past life memories he could somewhat relate to this situation .
How can such an important part of her life be decided by a promise made by her grandfather without her knowledge .
And to Xiao Ming it didn't matter if she was a genius member of the clan or an ordinary member of the clan .
What mattered was that she was a member of the Xiao clan and she was an independent person with her own decision making capabilities .
Just because some old people made a promise that doesn't give anyone the right to decide her future .
Think about it , even if the engagement is not cancelled will they be able to stay happily in such arrangement where there is no love but a cold promise made by others between them .
Xiao Yun was a talented cultivator with a bright future ahead of herself and if she doesn't want any engagement in the future then that should be her decision to make .
Why should she sacrifice her own cultivation journey like this and get engaged to a person she doesn't even know .
And the irony of the situation is that most people will not try to see her side of the story here .
They will only see that the main character who was chosen by the plot had been wronged .
" But the fact is that here in this case Xiao Yun is one of the most affected person and had been wronged . "
Obviously Xiao Ming also felt bad for Zhau Xuan who was facing the same situation .
After all he was also not consulted about this engagement promise before it was made .
But that means he should understand Xiao Yun's feelings here more than others .
And while Xiao Ming understood why Zhau Xuan was angry in the life simulation after all this marriage engagement cancellation was a public humiliation for him .
But if he was just worried about his own reputation rather than seeing the injustice that was being done here with two lives then he doesn't deserve any respect from Xiao Ming .
Because a person like that will take the whole world down with him if it means to satisfy his broken ego .
While some may say Xiao Ming's thinking was too foolish , especially in this harsh cultivation world .
But he would say otherwise .
While he did get reincarnated in this cultivation world that does not mean he threw away all the morals of his previous life .
On the contrary he uses those values that he learned from his previous life and the teachings he remember from his parents of this life to go forward .
As such no matter what he couldn't accept the idea of this engagement promise being anything good .
And even if he is asked the same question by the main character himself in the future his answer will remain the same as the one he gave to Xiao Wuya in the life simulation .
As for the possibility that it will bring him directly to the opposition of the main character .
Well he was already beyond that and facing this mean character was already is certainity for him.
And as such he will not sacrifice on his believes , not even against the main character .
" Because this is my choice and my decision . "
To Be Continued .