Xuan Ji ends his first simulation

"I've battled countless beasts along the way, though their cultivation were lacking, as the powerful among them was merely at the halfway mark of Body Tempering Level 1."

"As a cultivator at Body Tempering Level 1, I possess greater strength and stamina than those wild beasts, so they don't pose a real challenge to me. However, the frequent encounters with them have started to have an impact on both my body and mind."

"Initially, the relentless pursuit confused me. But now, I realize that one of my attributes has reduced to zero, increasing my chances of death."

"I've also used up those two healing herbs, leaving me completely broke," Xuan Ji mused to himself, feeling dejected. The harsh reality of his situation weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Lost in his thoughts, a flickering light caught his attention. Curiosity piqued, he approached it cautiously, revealing an orchid of mesmerizing beauty. Its delicate blooms and swirling patterns resemble the flow of Qi, making it a sight to behold.

"It's a Low-grade Earth-level herb!" Seeing intensity of Qi coming from the orchid, Xuan Ji couldn't contain his excitement and exclaimed, momentarily forgetting all the difficulties he had faced.

A glimmer of hope ignited within him, a sudden stroke of luck in the midst of his hardships. He eagerly moved forward to seize the herb, but an instinctual unease washed over him, prompting him to dodge at the last moment.

Despite his quick reflexes, he couldn't completely evade the attack. The strike grazed his arm, leaving behind deep scratches and tearing his already tattered clothes from the arm.

"Damn it! I let my guard down," Xuan Ji muttered, regretting his decision. In that moment, he realized that despite his combat experience, he lacked the survival skills necessary to survive this dog-eat-dog world.

The thing responsible for the attack was a 6 - feet tall venomous snake, its serpentine body moving with grace, its shimmering green scales possessing a deadly allure. Its forked tongue flickered in the air, sensing its surroundings.

"Body Tempering Level 2! How is this possible? Why is there a beast of this strength when I haven't even encountered a Body Tempering Level 1 in this forest?" Xuan Ji questioned, taken aback by the serpent's power.

Suddenly, Xuan Ji's vision blurred, but he pushed himself to stay conscious. Assessing his injuries, he realized he had been poisoned.

Knowing that he stood no chance against the serpent, which surpassed him at Body Refinement Realm level 2, not when he is poisoned. So, he made the decision to flee. However, the venom coursing through his veins weakened his chances of survival, turning his escape into a desperate struggle.

He dashed through the forest with incredible speed, shattering roots and leaves beneath his feet, and snapping any stems that brushed against his body. The whooshing sound behind him reminded him of the relentless pursuit by the snake, keeping him fully aware of the danger at his back.

Though his vision faded sometimes, he refused to give up. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, he found himself at the edge of a cliff. Glancing back, he saw the snake pausing a few feet away, its yellow eyes filled with contempt, as if it were toying with its prey.

Just as Xuan Ji tried to prepare himself for the snake's attack, the venomous creature struck, leaving him no time to catch his breath. Instinctively, Xuan Ji stepped back, but lost his footing and plummeted off the cliff. His eyes grew heavy, the last image imprinted in his mind—a serpent staring at him from the cliff's edge, and a line of words floating in the air.

[Age 6: After the unfortunate fall from the cliff, your life came to a tragic end.]

...

"So, this is what happens when you're not the protagonist. If it were a protagonist, he wouldn't die and would surely stumble upon a treasure that's been around for trillions of years. Surely Ridiculous." Xu Han sighed, speaking to himself. However, his envy quickly dissipated as he thought the rewards he would receive.

Just as he had those thoughts, a message from the Celestial Simulator appeared, displaying lines of text in front of Xu Han.

[The candidate you invited, Xuan Ji, has spent 6 years, 2 months, and 1 day in the Celestial Simulator. You need to wait 24 hours before you can invite again.]

[You have received the following rewards --]

[Reward 1: Low-grade Human Level Cultivation Technique (the technique that Xuan Ji obtained from the deceased cultivator).]

[Reward 2: Body Tempering Level 1 cultivation (Pure Spiritual Energy).]

[Please choose one of the rewards!]

Upon seeing the rewards, Xu Han's initial excitement slightly diminished.

"Well, the rewards are not as impressive as I had hoped. I was expecting more, but considering Xuan Ji's accomplishments, they are reasonable. Haha! It seems that greed truly knows no bounds," Xu Han mockingly remarked about himself and looked at the rewards carefully.

After sensibly considering, Xu Han excluded reward 1.

"The cultivation technique offered by the 'Frostbite Sect' is much better. It's a high-grade Human Level cultivation technique that can easily help one reach the Qi Gathering realm. It is also much more profound, so I will exclude this reward."

"As for reward 2, although it doesn't compare to my Body Tempering Level 4 cultivation, it's still better than reward 1."

"I choose reward 2," Xu Han declared with a calm tone.

As Xu Han chose the second reward, he felt a surge of energy flowing through his entire body, giving him a pleasant sensation. However, his eyes widened in surprise.

"While I was cultivating to Body Tempering level 1, there were some parts of my body that hadn't been fully tempered, leaving some areas untempered. But after receiving this reward, those patches have been tempered, and my foundation has also been strengthened."

Xu Han then clenched his hand and exclaimed, "My strength has increased by 1 point! It may not be a significant improvement, but progress is progress."

The Body Tempering realm was divided into five levels. The first level focused on tempering the outer body, the second level on the flesh, the third level on the organs, the fourth level on the muscles, and the fifth level on the bones.

On the other hand, the Qi Gathering realm was a significant advancement, allowing cultivators to store and utilize spiritual qi. The Qi Gathering realm was divided into nine levels. While Body Tempering Realm cultivators couldn't store spiritual qi, they could temporarily gather it from their surroundings to fuel their fights.