6: Chapter 6 simulation complete, half-step Qi Induction.

[After Chu Wang left, that thorn in Chu Sheng's heart was never pulled out.]

[He turned his attention to his new home.]

[Lady Liu was indeed sturdier than Xiao Huan, and over the next dozen years, she bore Chu Sheng two more sons and a daughter.]

[The third son was Chu Jiang, the fourth was Chu Tian, and there was also a daughter, Chu Xiu.]

[Including his second son, Chu He, Chu Sheng now had five children.]

[The elders in the village clicked their tongues in wonder when they saw this.]

["That old fellow Chu Sheng, he's over fifty and still so fertile; he truly lives up to being a martial artist!"]

[Chu Sheng knew clearly in his heart, how could this be the credit of martial arts?]

[It was clearly "Many Children, Many Blessings" quietly at work.]

[Relying on "Strong and Robust" and "Many Children, Many Blessings", Chu Sheng slowly accumulated family wealth.]

[He expanded his house, replacing the adobe house with a blue-brick tiled one; through the connections of the old steward, he also leased twenty mu of land on the edge of the village to plant fruit trees and medicinal herbs.]

["I never expected that I, Chu Sheng, would one day become a small landlord."]

["Many Children, Many Blessings" effect continues to trigger...]

[His physique strengthened day by day, and his understanding of the Turtle Breath Retention Art grew deeper.]

[His martial strength rose with the tide, and unknowingly, he reached the late stage of Breath Refining, equivalent to the peak of the Ninth Grade martial artist.]

[His stamina was long, and ordinary three or five strong men could not get near him.]

["Many Children, Many Blessings" provided feedback in the form of an "Iron Shirt" cultivation technique, which he practiced in combination with the Turtle Breath Retention Art, making his skin and flesh as tough as old ox hide.]

[His offspring all had miscellaneous spiritual roots. His second son, Chu He, had the best aptitude, with dual Water and Wood attributes; his third son, Chu Jiang, was second, with dual Fire and Earth attributes.]

[But problems soon arose.]

[Chu He, who had the best aptitude, was spoiled rotten.]

[The kid was smart and learned everything quickly, but he was arrogant and couldn't endure hardship.]

["Dad! You've practiced for half your life, aren't you still just a village head? The son of the wealthy Wang family isn't even a martial artist, yet relying on his family's fields and shops, isn't he living the high life?"]

[He pointed at Chu Sheng's nose: "Cultivating immortality? That's all lies told by storytellers! If there really were immortals, why haven't they come to our backwater village?"]

[Chu Sheng was so angry his whole body trembled; he raised his hand to strike, but finally let it drop dejectedly.]

[What could he say? Tell them he had a system? Tell them they all had spiritual roots? Tell them he was hoping one of them would become a cultivator and bring the whole family to ascend to heaven?]

[He was afraid his son would think he had gone mad.]

[His daughter, Chu Xiu, rubbed Chu Sheng's shoulders: "Dad, don't be angry with Second Brother, that's just his temper."]

[Chu Sheng stroked his daughter's head, feeling bitter inside.]

[Chu Sheng was 56 years old.]

[On a calm afternoon, Chu Sheng was chopping wood in the yard.]

[Suddenly, his whole body jolted.]

[A faint sensation of Qi sprouted from his lower abdomen.]

["This... is this?!" Chu Sheng was both shocked and delighted, old tears almost gushing out.]

[He tried to guide that trace of Qi sensation, but it rampaged through his meridians, completely uncontrollable.]

[He could not perform Qi Induction into his body.]

[This state was similar to Half-Step Qi Induction; stronger than a martial artist, yet not a true cultivator.]

["Chu Wang! It's Chu Wang! He broke through!"]

[Only the feedback from his offspring through "Many Children, Many Blessings"—especially the special feedback brought by the first offspring to succeed in Qi Induction.]

[Could allow his "Trash" body to exhibit such an anomaly!]

[Sure enough, not long after, a traveling merchant returning from the south brought news: that Chu family boy who left Qingshi Town years ago seemed to have made a name for himself in the south.]

[Chu Sheng stood in the yard, looking towards the south, silent for a long time.]

[Chu Wang had succeeded, stepping onto the path he had dreamed of.]

[This long-delayed "blessing" left Chu Sheng with mixed feelings.]

[Lady Liu's health had been good after giving birth to Chu Xiu, but years of toil had depleted her constitution.]

[When Chu Sheng was 68, a cold triggered an old ailment, and Lady Liu did not survive it.]

[Before she passed, she held Chu Sheng's hand, her eyes complex.]

["Dear... I haven't lost out by following you all my life."]

[She caught her breath and looked out the window. "It's just... He and the others... please bear with them..."]

[Chu Sheng nodded, old tears streaming down his face.]

[He sent off his second wife, leaving only his youngest son, Chu Tian, and his daughter, Chu Xiu, who had long since married and often returned to visit.]

[His second son, Chu He, had long since left home and was hanging around town.]

[It was said he owed gambling debts and would occasionally return to ask for money; whenever the father and son met, they argued.]

[His third son, Chu Jiang, went to a neighboring town to learn a trade, settled down, and returned once or twice a year.]

[Chu Sheng grew older and older, often sitting alone in the yard, looking at the place where the children played when they were young, sitting for half a day at a time.]

[Those sounds of laughter and joy seemed to still be in his ears, yet also seemed as far away as a lifetime ago.]

[Decades passed, and Chu Sheng was 83 years old.]

[Chu Sheng felt his time was running out.]

[The chill of fading life became increasingly clear.]

[He looked in the mirror, and inside was an old man with white hair and beard—only his eyes still flickered with a faint light.]

[He was not reconciled!]

[Half-Step Qi Induction; he had touched the door to that world, but was always kept outside.]

[Just like a starving person looking at a feast through glass, he could see it, smell it, but couldn't eat it.]

["I still have one last bit of Qi sensation from the feedback..."]

[Chu Sheng stared at his withered hands, and a crazy thought arose in his heart.]

["Rather than waiting for death, I might as well fight for it!"]

[He wanted to forcibly break through to the Qi Induction Realm!]

[Even if there was only a one in a billion chance, even if it meant being smashed to pieces!]

[That morning, Chu Sheng called Chu Tian and Chu Xiu to him.]

["Dad is going into seclusion today."]

[His voice was calm, "Don't disturb me."]

[Chu Tian was anxious: "Dad, your body..."]

["Listen to me."]

[Chu Sheng waved his hand, turned into the room, and locked the door.]

[Chu Sheng sat cross-legged on the bed, assuming the final posture of practicing the Turtle Breath Retention Art for his whole life.]

[He formed seals with his hands, his breathing gradually slowing.]

[He concentrated his mind and looked inward.]

[That trace of Qi sensation was still circling in his dantian, like a candle in the wind.]

[Pass the Qi Sea, pierce the Zhongzhong, rush to the Baihui!]

["Boom—"]

[A loud noise came from the depths of his consciousness.]

[That solid barrier appeared, transparent, thick, like an invisible wall.]

[Chu Sheng gritted his teeth, turning eighty years of unwillingness into a torrent, and slammed into it hard!]

[Once, twice, three times...]

[The barrier remained motionless.]

[Instead, Chu Sheng himself began to bleed from his seven orifices.]

[But he didn't stop.]

[He didn't know how long it had been, when anxious knocking and crying came from outside the door.]

["Dad! Dad, open the door!"]

[Chu Sheng couldn't hear it anymore.]

[His consciousness began to blur.]

[The young servant chopping wood in the woodshed, the night he kowtowed with Xiao Huan under the moonlight, the first time Chu Wang called him Dad, Lady Liu's soaked clothes, the five children lined up to practice martial arts...]

[Finally settling on the back of Chu Wang turning away.]

["Chu Wang..."]

[Chu Sheng seemed to want to laugh, yet also seemed to want to cry.]

[Then, everything returned to darkness.]

[When the door was kicked open, what Chu Tian and Chu Xiu saw was their father sitting cross-legged on the bed.]

[His expression was peaceful, a smile on his lips, as if he had been liberated.]

[This old man who had lived for eighty-three years had ultimately failed to cross that threshold.]

[He died from his final attempt to reach the transcendent, and also from the end of a mortal's lifespan.]

[Outside the window, the spring sunshine was just right.]

[...]

[First simulation ended]

[Character: Chu Sheng, died at 83]

[Cause of death: Lifespan exhausted, forced breakthrough to Qi Induction Realm led to life force depletion.]

[Final state: Half-Step Qi Induction]

[Offspring status:]

[Eldest son Chu Wang (Qi Induction Realm cultivator, whereabouts unknown)]

[Second son Chu He (Mortal, destitute)]

[Third son Chu Jiang (Mortal, craftsman)]

[Fourth son Chu Tian (Mortal, served father until death)]

[Eldest daughter Chu Xiu (Married)]

[Please wait...]

[Calculating this simulation's score and rewards...]

Chu Sheng looked at the text on the light screen, silent for a long time.

It was like watching a long movie.

Eighty-three years, five children, one obsession, a lifetime of struggle.

In the end, he still hadn't touched the edge of the immortal gate.

Would he regret it? Would he live differently?

Chu Sheng didn't know.

It seemed that for the next simulation, he would need to change his approach.

Relying solely on having children, it seemed... not enough.

Chu Sheng stretched his muscles and bones, looking at his young hands.

No wrinkles, no calluses.

"Again."