Chapter 130 Drinking at the Cold Pool at Night, Setting the Anchor at the Start

October in late autumn, the cold pool was chilly at night.

On the outskirts of Longnan City, by the cliffside deep pool that Li Ang had meticulously renovated.

The night wind carried the characteristic bleakness of late autumn, making the surrounding sea of trees rustle.

However, in this atmosphere that should have been grim and cold...

...there was a highly discordant scene.

Li Ang was wearing a set of loose and comfortable loungewear.

He was slumped extremely comfortably on an Advanced ergonomic recliner.

Beside him was a professional windproof and warm outdoor tent.

He even had a massive tactical sunshade propped up overhead.

He held a bag of potato chips in his left hand.

In his right hand, he held a glass of chilled happy water still bubbling with fizz.

"Gulp, gulp, gulp..."

After a mouthful of ice water, Li Ang exhaled a refreshing breath of cold air.

Looking up at the brilliant and boundless starry sky, his posture was relaxed to the extreme.

This was only because he had now reached the Soaring Realm.

Immune to heat and cold, and impervious to all poisons.

If he were an ordinary person, he probably wouldn't be able to handle this setup.

With a thought, he summoned the System panel on his retina.

That familiar countdown, representing the gears of fate turning once again...

...was ticking rhythmically:

[Next Simulation Cooldown: 00:00:03]

[00:00:02]

[00:00:01]

[Cooldown complete.]

Li Ang put down the glass in his hand and gave a long, deep stretch.

A series of dull popping sounds erupted from the bones throughout his body.

His originally lazy gaze instantly became as sharp as a blade at this moment.

[Do you wish to start the fifth life simulation?]

"Start!"

[Please select the Thousand Autumns of Regrets to carry (Current Thousand Autumns of Regret Slots: 4/4):]

[Hardworking and Enduring (Green)] (Equipped)

[Blade Path Genius (Blue)] (Equipped)

[Thousand Autumns of Regret (Golden)] (Equipped)

[Tireless Teacher (Green)] (Equipped)

"The four fixed slots are already full."

"Let's see what new tricks can be rolled in the random pool this time."

Li Ang looked forward to it in his heart.

After all, the System had just been upgraded, and the maximum drop rate had increased to the "Purple (Epic)" level.

If he got lucky...

...and managed to snag a purple combat Thousand Autumns of Regret or a special support Thousand Autumns of Regret for free...

...then this simulation would truly be like adding wings to a tiger.

"Refresh!"

Following his mental command, rows of brand-new entries cascaded down the light screen like a waterfall.

Li Ang looked over with great interest.

However, after only three seconds...

Li Ang's expression changed.

The smile on his face froze completely.

The corners of his mouth even began to twitch uncontrollably.

[The random Thousand Autumns of Regret list for this time is as follows:]

[Unlucky Bastard (Grey)]: You get water stuck in your teeth even when drinking it cold, and you sprain your ankle even on flat roads. Not only are you unlucky, but you occasionally drag your teammates down too.

[Balding Crisis (Grey)]: Your hairline is receding at a speed visible to the naked eye. Going bald won't make you stronger; it will only make you look older.

[Mosquito Repellent (White)]: Your body odor is like a biochemical weapon to all blood-sucking insects. In the wild, you are a walking mosquito coil.

[Advanced OCD (Grey)]: You cannot tolerate a single stain on your clothes. If you are splashed with mud during battle, all your attributes will briefly drop by 10%.

[Living Compass (White)]: You have an intuition for directions. Even in a maze with no reference points, you can accurately point out true north.

[Social Butterfly-Anxiety Mix (Grey)]: You tend to say the wrong thing in crowded places. There is a certain probability of suddenly killing the mood or offending key NPCs during serious negotiations.

[Precise Wake-up (White)]: No matter how late you sleep, you don't need an alarm clock. You can wake up naturally at the time you set, precise to the second, and without any drowsiness.

[Keyboard Warrior (Grey)]: You strike hard on the internet, but once a physical conflict occurs in reality, your courage and fighting will decrease by thirty percent first.

[Gifted Pen (Green)]: You possess extremely high literary Thousand Autumns of Regret and vocabulary. Your writing is highly infectious. If you didn't practice martial arts, you might have become a literary giant.

[I am a Little Chef God (Green)]: The food you cook is extremely delicious, and the moment a dish is finished, it must be accompanied by a blinding "golden light effect"! After eating your food, diners have a chance of their clothes bursting (visual effect only).

...

Looking at this sea of "grey and white with a single speck of green"...

Li Ang almost crushed the happy water in his hand.

"What kind of useless Thousand Autumns of Regrets are these?!"

"Where's the purple? Where's the blue? Even if we take ten thousand steps back, a more decent green one would be fine!"

"[Gifted Pen]? I'm already a Soaring Realm Martial Artist."

"Are you telling me to go be a failing web novel author?"

"Am I supposed to out-grind the cults by updating my chapters?!"

"And this [I am a Little Chef God]..."

Li Ang felt that the simulator was not very friendly.

"And even a golden light effect? Clothes bursting?"

"Do you think this is 'Cooking Master Boy'?!"

"I'm going into the simulation to practice martial arts, not to become a Chef God!"

Li Ang looked up at the sky, speechless.

It seemed his luck tonight was indeed black to the extreme.

This also served as side evidence of the System's usual nature.

It seemed all his good luck had been completely overdrawn when he pulled that "Golden Talent" last time.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter."

Li Ang sighed. In the face of his current hard strength and those four reliable permanent Thousand Autumns of Regrets...

...these random Thousand Autumns of Regrets could only be considered icing on the cake, or lack thereof.

He directly ignored those bizarre options.

"Confirm carrying the four bound Thousand Autumns of Regrets."

[Thousand Autumns of Regrets loaded.]

[Fifth simulation, begin—]

[As the simulation officially starts, you clearly feel a certain extremely mysterious change occurring in the depths of your Sea of Consciousness.]

[The Conceptual Artifact transformed from 'Thousand Autumns of Regret (Gold)' is manifesting in your Sea of Consciousness.]

[It has turned into a pure gold card emitting an aura of eternal immortality.]

[Floating quietly in the center of your Sea of Consciousness.]

[This gold card seems to possess the weight of changing destiny.]

[As you gently flick it with your consciousness, the golden card begins to flip rapidly.]

[Different card illustrations keep switching on it, like a revolving lantern.]

[Those are the past imprints representing the effect of 'Shadows of Time: Thousand Faces of Myriad Selves'.]

[There is the green youth of the Fourth Stage of Qi and Blood who died tragically on the operating table, and the cold hunter wielding a blade in the ruins.]

[There is the Genius wrapped in Crimson Gauze, and the God-Favored Archbishop clad in deep blue divine robes, ruling over the grotto-heaven...]

[Every illustration is a period of life that Li Ang had truly lived.]

[And now, the card presents a pure blank without any pattern.]

[It is waiting for you to exercise that special right called "Infinite Trial and Error"!]

["Whew..."]

[You take a deep breath without the slightest hesitation.]

[At the very moment the simulation begins and the timeline cuts into the first semester of your second year of high school!]

["System!"]

["Pin down a Time Anchor for me right here!"]

[Ding! Temporary Time Anchor has been successfully set!]

[If the host encounters an irreversible dead end in this simulation, you will unconditionally return to this moment!]

[Looking at the blank gold card, a golden hourglass mark representing the "current time" slowly emerges.]

[A smile curls at the corner of your mouth.]

[It's in the bag!]

[With this "life-saving trump card" and "save-loader"...]

[...you can completely let yourself go in this fifth simulation.]

[You no longer need to be as cautious as before, walking on thin ice.]

["Since the margin for error has increased, I can take much bigger strides!"]