61: Chapter 61 A Glimmer of Hope

Seeing Cai Rujin working hard to Cultivate, Su Jiuchuan gazed out at the vast, dim night, feeling troubled once again; he still had no lead on a Xiantian Technique.

Huh!

His hand accidentally brushed against a stone at his waist, and he suddenly remembered—wasn't this the pale yellow crystal from the Ape Monster? He had forgotten to ask Master Cai Jing about it earlier, nor had he asked what that short sword in his robe was exactly.

Sigh, I'll just have to deal with it later.

With nothing else to do and so much money on him now, this was the perfect time to work on increasing his strength.

He opened the System and selected the simulator.

[At eighteen, you are already a First-grade Martial Artist. Master Cai Jing entrusted his daughter to you before heading to the Secret Realm.]

[You were Cultivating in Tianshui City when, one night, a man in black broke in. You resisted with all your might but were killed. You died at eighteen.]

Su Jiuchuan was stunned. What was going on?

The three months weren't even up yet. Young Master Lin Yanyi hadn't come, so why was someone else here?

Why hadn't this man in black appeared in the previous simulations?

He thought about it. In the previous times, he had hidden in remote places—either the desert or out at sea. If that person had gone to Tianshui City to find him first, it was indeed possible they had missed each other.

[Simulation ended. You may retain one of the following options.]

[1. Martial Realm at eighteen.]

[2. Martial experience at eighteen.]

[3. Life wisdom at eighteen.]

Su Jiuchuan hesitated for a moment before choosing option two. He was already a First-grade Martial Artist, and according to Master Cai Jing, Xiantian Martial Artists hadn't been going out much lately. How could there be someone so strong?

A memory of the fight surfaced in his mind. Su Jiuchuan's perspective was no longer ordinary, and he immediately recognized it: this was a Half-Step Innate.

Sigh, let's go again!

[At eighteen, you become a First-grade Martial Artist. You plan to head to the capital.]

[On the road, you are intercepted by a man in black. You fight with all your might but are ultimately killed. You die at eighteen.]

This time was too short; choosing anything was useless.

But he had even gone to the capital this time—how had he still not escaped? Su Jiuchuan thought about it; he figured it was because he had followed Master Cai Jing here yesterday, which had delayed his escape.

In the end, he chose one.

Although a few days of cultivation progress were useless, it was still better than repeating the memory of being killed over and over again.

[At eighteen, you become a First-grade Martial Artist. You and Cai Rujin are on a boat. You turn the bow and head downriver. Half a month later, a man in black descends from the sky, and you are killed.]

[A month later, you are killed by the man in black in a certain sea area...]

[Two months later, you are caught by the man in black in the desert and killed on the spot...]

Su Jiuchuan's expression grew increasingly ugly. This world was truly full of malice; it wouldn't even give him a chance to lay low.

[At eighteen, you become a First-grade Martial Artist.]

[You take out the map Master Cai Jing gave you, intending to go there and Cultivate. Two months later, you are caught by the man in black in a desolate mountain, resist with all your might, and are killed on the spot. You die at eighteen.]

Su Jiuchuan nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. It wouldn't even give him the chance to escape to the Secret Realm Master Cai Jing mentioned. If he had known this, he should have stubbornly insisted on following Master Cai Jing earlier.

Now, he probably couldn't catch up.

Sigh, Su Jiuchuan was truly disheartened this time. It was as if there was no path to heaven and no door into the earth.

These few simulations, ranging from one to two months, were simply too short.

He did the math. He still had 660,008 points of money, meaning he had at most 120 months—ten years. Given his Aptitude, advancing to Half-Step Innate would be difficult.

Su Jiuchuan still wasn't willing to give up. He stood up, picked up the black blade, and wanted to try that Xiantian Martial Skill—White Tiger Roar.

Following the True Qi circulation route Master Cai Jing had suggested, he infused his hands with it. Just as he was about to swing, he discovered that the Protective Aura on the blade suddenly dissipated again. It still didn't work!

This was hopeless. He paced back and forth on the deck. If he could find a large amount of silver in a short time, stacking the Cultivation time from each simulation might be a solution.

But where could he find so much silver?

Su Jiuchuan made a rough calculation. With his Aptitude, he would need at least several million, or even ten million taels of silver. He wondered if robbing the Great Wei treasury was feasible?

He then helplessly scratched his head. Looking up, he saw Cai Rujin finishing her cultivation and asked casually, "Rujin, do... do you have any money?"

Cai Rujin looked up at him strangely and said, "I should have some. How much do you need? My father still has over a dozen shops and dozens of acres of land in Tianmu City. I don't know the exact amount, but I'll ask Aunt Li later."

"Oh, it's nothing, I was just asking." Su Jiuchuan knew he had overthought it; the Cai family probably had at most a few hundred thousand taels of silver, which wouldn't solve his problem at all.

Furthermore, they had just entrusted their daughter to his protection; for him to turn around and swallow up their family fortune would be too excessive.

"I saw you betting silver when you competed with Young Master Lin Yanyi. I really don't know why a Martial Artist needs so much money," she asked, looking a bit puzzled.

Su Jiuchuan felt annoyed and couldn't be bothered to answer her. He sat alone at the bow of the boat, gazing into the distance, lost in thought. His hand accidentally brushed against something in his robe that felt sharp. He took it out and saw that it was the short sword he had obtained from Shen Xiuru.

"Huh, how do you have a talisman weapon?" Cai Rujin had sat down beside him at some point and was looking at the short sword in his hand with curiosity.

Su Jiuchuan was taken aback and said, "You know what this is? What is a talisman weapon?"

"A talisman weapon is an object embedded with runes. Because an Innate expert's True Qi can be released externally, one can usually inject True Qi into the runes. When using it, one only needs to activate the runes inside to release the corresponding skill. It's very magical."

So there was such a thing. Su Jiuchuan's eyes lit up. He remembered the white light Shen Xiuru had activated; it was swift and exceptionally fierce, definitely a powerful weapon. If he could use it too, perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope.

"My father once said that talisman weapons are very precious. Not only are the Materials hard to come by, but Great Masters who can craft them are also hard to find in the world. Therefore, they are priceless and rarely available."

That was understandable; if something like this could be bought with money, it would be a bit excessive.

As she spoke, she took a necklace from her neck with a jade pendant hanging in the middle and said, "This is also a talisman weapon; my father gave it to me for self-defense."

"Then how should I activate this short sword?" he asked hurriedly.

Cai Rujin took the short sword, examined it carefully, sighed, and said, "Your talisman weapon isn't filled with True Qi at all; it can't be used."

"If my father were here, maybe it would work, but let's not. Last time, it took over a month just to fill this talisman weapon of mine with True Qi. It was too exhausting!"