It was no wonder Sun Qian couldn't contain his shock— the effects of the Supreme Imperial Bone in the Villain Simulator were simply too mind-blowing.
For ordinary cultivators, mastering a technique would take years, decades, or even centuries.
Even peerless geniuses with unparalleled comprehension could only shorten that time to a few years or months at best.
But with the Supreme Imperial Bone boosting him, he in the simulator had mastered the basics in mere breaths, then rocketed through the ranks, breaking through to the fourth layer in just a few days and condensing the Mimic Shadow Divine Ability.
「Condensing a divine ability is one of the core secrets of any cultivation technique. To succeed, you need immense perseverance and extraordinary talent.」
「The Thousand Shadow Devil Art is an ancient, evil technique with an extremely high difficulty threshold—it even requires a special physique to practice. According to Sun Zhong, the mastermind who tried to kill you had only managed to reach the fourth layer after who knows how many years of cultivation.」
「Earlier, Sun Zhong even warned me to just dabble in it a little, not to get too obsessed and drive myself crazy. If he knew how fast I'd progressed, his jaw would probably drop to the floor.」
「Cultivators who can condense a divine ability before officially breaking through to the Fourth-Rank Divine Ability Realm are few and far between—it's a privilege reserved only for the top prodigies of the human race.」
「Right now, the number one prodigy of the Qianyuan Empire is Chen Tai, the Sixth Prince of the Qianyuan Royal Family. Rumor has it that even he took ten full days to condense his divine ability when he broke through to the Divine Ability Realm. And even that feat shook the entire empire, drawing the attention of countless powerhouses.」
「That Sixth Prince is so formidable that even the mysterious alien races see him as a future arch-enemy, wanting to eliminate him before he grows too strong.」
A glint of darkness flashed in Sun Qian's eyes. If his talent were ever exposed, it would undoubtedly stir up a storm, attracting covetous gazes from all over the world.
Luckily, though, his choice in this simulation had been the right one.
The Mimic Shadow Divine Ability—this was clearly the special power the dead mastermind had possessed.
The ability to mimic someone's appearance and aura, to change his face at will—this was undoubtedly a god-tier skill for him right now.
In a pinch, it could definitely save his life.
Until his cultivation base was invincible under heaven, his top priorities were to lie low and stay alive.
「Sigh… I'm still way too weak right now. If I had the combat power of an Earth Immortal—no, even a Heavenly Human—I could break this deadlock and go head-to-head with the mastermind directly.」
「But with the Villain Simulator backing me up, that day won't be far away.」
Sun Qian's confidence soared.
Before he'd gotten his cheat ability, he might have panicked in the face of danger.
But now that he had a system on his side? He had nothing to fear.
No matter who the mastermind was, ever since the Villain Simulator arrived, there was only one possible ending.
Either he died, or I lived.
Day 5: You successfully reached the peak of the fourth layer of the Thousand Shadow Devil Art, and the power of your Mimic Shadow Divine Ability was enhanced even further…
...
You were jolted awake by an intense, gnawing hunger. When you came to your senses, you found that all the pills and spiritual materials in front of you had been devoured completely—you'd even chewed several bite marks into the storage pouch itself. Your body was emaciated, your blood energy depleted to an extreme degree…
Without pills or spiritual herbs to replenish your energy, your life force was being frantically siphoned away by the Supreme Imperial Bone. You were plunged into a state of extreme weakness, barely clinging to life. If this had gone on for a few more days, you would have surely died.
Driven by hunger and the will to survive, you quickly pulled the lever to activate the chamber's emergency mechanism, sending out a distress signal.
Sun Zhong, your protector, broke into the chamber with brute force. When he saw you lying on the ground, on the verge of death, he turned pale with shock. He immediately pulled out all the life-saving pills he had on him, channeled his own spiritual energy into your body to stabilize your vital signs, and ordered someone to prepare spirit-infused meals to replenish your blood energy…
You began to eat ravenously…
A few hours later, your aura stabilized, and your shrunken flesh and blood filled out again. You were finally out of danger.
「Damn… This time, I didn't die at the hands of the mastermind—I almost killed myself instead.」
Watching the simulation play out, Sun Qian's lips twitched involuntarily.
That Supreme Imperial Bone was way too domineering.
It was like a bottomless pit—first you "spend money" (pills and resources) to level up, then when you run out of resources, it starts "spending your life" instead.
Once you'd recovered, Sun Zhong—who'd been scared half to death—finally let out a long breath of relief. He quickly asked what had happened. You brushed it off with a casual lie, claiming you'd overexerted yourself during cultivation and suffered a minor Qi deviation, covering up the truth.
You didn't reveal that you'd successfully mastered the Thousand Shadow Devil Art and even condensed the Mimic Shadow Divine Ability. But Sun Zhong assumed it was the evil technique that had caused your condition, urging you not to practice it anymore.
You nodded absently, then asked about what had been happening in the outside world over the past few days.
In the first simulation, you'd only lived for a few hours. But this time, you'd survived for five whole days—and you'd laid the groundwork beforehand. There must have been some developments.
In response to your question, Sun Zhong reported everything truthfully.
Things had blown up big time.
Day 1: In the Qianyuan Imperial Capital, everything was calm and peaceful. It was as if your elder brother Sun Shou had never received your distress message at all.
Day 2: Silence. Still no movement from the capital.
Day 3: The Gu Clan's ancestor held a grand banquet to celebrate his 300th birthday. Sun Shou arrived with a contingent of Sun Clan powerhouses to offer his congratulations—but suddenly turned hostile, seizing Gu Ao, breaking both his legs, and attempting to perform a Soul Search on him. A fierce battle erupted between the two clans on the spot…
...The Patriarch of the Sun Clan blocked the Patriarch of the Gu Clan, declaring coldly: 「This is a matter between the younger generations. Let the young settle it. Besides, I've long wanted to test your skills.」
...Enraged by the sight of his junior being beaten and subjected to a Soul Search, the Gu Clan's ancestor erupted, unleashing the overwhelming pressure of a Heavenly Human Realm powerhouse. But then, the Sun Clan's ancestor—who had been in seclusion for years, never seen in public—suddenly appeared…
...The two Eighth-Rank Heavenly Human Realm powerhouses clashed in the heart of the Qianyuan Imperial Capital, fighting like bloodthirsty beasts. The spectacle left everyone in the empire stunned…
...With the support of numerous Sun Clan powerhouses, Sun Shou finally succeeded in performing the Soul Search on Gu Ao. It was confirmed that the assassination attempt in Magic City had been related to Gu Ao, the spoiled scion of the Gu Clan—but all memories of the actual assassins had been erased from his mind…
Gu Ao, after being subjected to the Soul Search, was reduced to a mindless idiot…
「How dare you touch a member of the Sun Clan—my own brother, no less! Do you think the Gu Clan wants to be wiped off the map?!」 Sun Shou roared in a fit of rage, slamming his palm down and crushing Gu Ao's skull into pulp.
...The Sun Clan's ancestor thundered: 「We'll raze the imperial capital to the ground if we have to! We will destroy your Gu Clan!」
Even though they knew they were in the wrong, the Gu Clan had been humiliated beyond measure. There was no way they were going to let this go. The two clans fought with the intent to kill, their hatred for each other burning hotter than ever…
...In the end, the mysterious and elusive Qianyuan Emperor was forced to intervene personally, mediating between the two sides. Eventually, the Sun Clan and Gu Clan reached a fragile, temporary "truce"…