13: Chapter 13 has finally been broken through.

Half an hour later, Chief Escort Master Zheng Nanhai was supporting the Third Prince, Zheng Xinyue was dragging Xue Mingcai along, and Su Jiuchuan followed behind.

The group had finally made it out of the sphere of influence of Qingyun Temple.

Only then did they find an open space, and the Third Prince, disregarding his dignity, collapsed onto the ground.

This whole ordeal was the most arduous experience of his life.

As for Xue Mingcai, she possessed no martial arts skills.

Throughout this rapid journey, although she had Zheng Xinyue's assistance, the branches and gravel along the way had worn her feet raw, yet she did not utter a single sound.

Su Jiuchuan found a large rock to sit on, pretending to rest.

He still felt a sense of unease, so he opened the simulator.

"Do you wish to use the Life Simulator? Using it once consumes 500 in currency."

"Yes."

"[ At eighteen, you become a 6th Grade Martial Artist. At Qingyun Temple, you rescue the Third Prince and the others. ]"

"[ The next day, Lan Guping leads men to pursue you. A great battle ensues; you kill several pursuers, but ultimately die at the hands of Lan Guping at the age of eighteen. ]"

So they will catch up tomorrow; that is too fast.

"[ Simulation ended. You may choose to retain one of the following items. ]"

"[ 1. Martial Arts Realm at eighteen. ]"

"[ 2. Martial Arts experience at eighteen. ]"

"[ 3. Life wisdom at eighteen. ]"

In Su Jiuchuan's simulations, he had been killed by Lan Guping too many times and had become numb to it, so he chose option two.

An intense, brutal battle flooded into his mind.

In this instance, he had used the anesthetic and lime powder he had scavenged from Qingxu, but it was still to no avail.

The suppression of Realm could not be countered by such petty tricks.

Continue simulation.

"[ At eighteen, you become a 6th Grade Martial Artist. At Qingyun Temple, you rescue the Third Prince and the others. ]"

"[ The next day, Lan Guping leads men to pursue you. You decisively abandon the others and flee into the mountains and forests. ]"

"[ Half a month later, you find Su Yuanjiang and Su Yunxia in Xuzhou. The three siblings live the life of ordinary people in Xuzhou. You work as a guard for a wealthy family. ]"

"[ At thirty-eight, after twenty years of bitter cultivation, you are still unable to achieve a Breakthrough. ]"

"[ At thirty-nine, rogue soldiers attack Xuzhou. You are conscripted into the army and die on the battlefield at the age of thirty-nine. ]"

Su Jiuchuan felt rather depressed.

After practicing for another twenty-plus years, it was still not enough.

He had been stuck at the 6th Grade Martial Artist Realm for nearly a hundred years in total, hadn't he?

"[ Simulation ended. You may choose to retain one of the following items. ]"

"[ 1. Martial Arts Realm at thirty-nine. ]"

"[ 2. Martial Arts experience at thirty-nine. ]"

"[ 3. Life wisdom at thirty-nine. ]"

Su Jiuchuan did not hesitate and chose option one.

The True Qi within his body churned, but this time, the increase in True Qi was not significant.

Su Jiuchuan knew he had encountered a real problem.

His Aptitude was not high, and upon reaching a certain Realm, he would hit a ceiling.

He just hadn't expected this day to arrive so quickly, and his ceiling was rather low.

The 5th Grade is the watershed between intermediate and low-level Martial Artists; many Martial Artists cannot advance throughout their entire lives.

For instance, even at Chief Escort Master Zheng Nanhai's age, he was only a 6th Grade Martial Artist.

This also showed how astonishing the Lan Family brothers' Aptitude was.

He had to think of other methods; continue simulation.

"[ At eighteen, you become a 6th Grade Martial Artist. At Qingyun Temple, you rescue the Third Prince and the others. ]"

"[ The next day, Lan Guping leads men to pursue you. You decisively abandon the others and flee into the mountains and forests. ]"

"[ Half a month later, you find Su Yuanjiang and Su Yunxia in Xuzhou. After settling them both down, you begin inquiring about famous Martial Arts experts. ]"

"[ At nineteen, you find the local Xuzhou expert, Cai Xuan, and wish to become his disciple. ]"

"[ Half a year later, your sincerity moves him, but he says your Aptitude is too poor to be his disciple. He tells you a path to a Breakthrough: fighting on the edge of life and death. ]"

"[ At twenty, you begin traveling the world, seeking out those 6th Grade experts for duels. ]"

"[ At twenty-three, you have dueled dozens of renowned experts and feel a slight loosening in your Realm. You finally see hope for a Breakthrough. ]"

"[ Just as you are preparing to continue seeking experts to hone your martial arts, Xue Mingcai appears one day. She is already a 3rd Grade expert. She hates you for not keeping your promise back then and fleeing alone, so she attacks you. You are killed in three moves, dying at the age of twenty-three. ]"

"This... Xue Mingcai had actually reached the 3rd Grade!"

One must know that she currently possesses no martial arts skills at all.

It seems her Aptitude is also very strong.

Moreover, she still wanted to kill him after all these years; this woman was too vengeful.

Su Jiuchuan felt rather depressed.

In this day and age, was the Aptitude of just anyone going to crush his own?

"[ Simulation ended. You may choose to retain one of the following items. ]"

"[ 1. Martial Arts Realm at twenty-three. ]"

"[ 2. Martial Arts experience at twenty-three. ]"

"[ 3. Life wisdom at twenty-three. ]"

This time, without hesitation, he directly chose option two.

Experience from countless life-and-death battles flooded into his mind, as if all of this had been personally experienced.

Su Jiuchuan immediately gained a new understanding of this Martial Arts path.

Again.

...

"[ ... You challenge the Jiangzuo 6th Grade expert Shi Ming, fail, and are killed, dying at the age of thirty-three. ]"

...

"[ ... You prepare to go to Xishui City..., but are poisoned halfway there, dying at the age of forty-two. ]"

...

Su Jiuchuan's expression became increasingly ugly.

Now his internal energy was no longer increasing; he had truly come to a standstill.

This meant that he had reached the Peak of the 6th Grade and could no longer improve.

And while his seeking out challenges everywhere was indeed useful, he always felt something was slightly lacking.

After so many simulations, Su Jiuchuan also understood that his slow cultivation progress was partly due to the poor quality of the Cultivation Technique he practiced.

Lan Guping was only young but had already reached the 5th Grade.

While this was due to his good Aptitude, it was also because the Lan Family possessed better Cultivation Techniques, which they had provided to him since childhood.

Better Cultivation Techniques could utilize True Qi more efficiently, and they were far from comparable to the "Blood Fiend Art" he currently possessed, which he had obtained from the military.

Another reason was the lack of guidance from a famous master; relying entirely on his own exploration meant his path had gone somewhat astray.

Su Jiuchuan checked the System balance; 1066 points remained.

This money was enough for two more simulations.

He took a deep breath and began the simulation.

"[ At eighteen, you become a 6th Grade Martial Artist. At Qingyun Temple, you rescue the Third Prince and the others. ]"

"[ The next day, Lan Guping leads men to pursue you. You decisively abandon the others and flee into the mountains and forests. ]"

"[ At nineteen, you head to Tianqi Mountain and sell yourself into servitude, becoming a servant in the household of the Innate expert Dong Hu. ]"

"[ At twenty-three, Dong Hu's grandson, Dong Qiao, goes out and encounters assassins. You step forward, blocking the assassins and buying time for Dong Qiao to escape, though you sustain heavy injuries. ]"

"[ Half a year later, your body finally recovers. Seeing your great loyalty and courage, Dong Hu gives you some pointers. ]"

"[ Another half a year later, you finally achieve a Breakthrough, becoming a 5th Grade expert. ]"

"[ At thirty-six, you go down the mountain to purchase supplies and encounter Hu bandits raiding. You engage in battle with them but are killed by the rogue soldiers, dying at the age of thirty-six. ]"