Shadows of the Underground

Ling Tian sat cross-legged in his dimly lit chamber. His thoughts raced as he examined the options before him. After a brief moment, he chose "Quick Reflexes". The other talent may not provide significant help in his current situation.

[Ding, the Talent 'Quick Reflexes (Green)' was selected. Simulation Starting …]

[Year 1: At 16, you are at the Integration Stage of the Innate Realm and an Advanced Refiner. You are dedicating your life to weapon refining, cultivation, and honing your combat and sword skills.]

[Year 2: At 17, you are noticing many pursuers after exiting the underground ring each time. You hesitate for a while and think about quitting the underground ring after remembering the information in the last simulation and consider venturing into the wide Azure Continent, but after some thought, you suppress this idea since your current cultivation level at the Innate Realm is still insufficient and you reduce the number of times you visit the ring.]

[Year 3: At 18, you are progressing steadily in your cultivation.]

[Year 4: At 19, your talent 'Intermediate Martial Arts Prodigy' activates, and you break through to the Kindling Stage of the Blood Ignition Realm.]

[Year 5: At 20, your cultivation increases steadily with the help of 'Iron Stomach' allowing you to consume low-grade pills and herbs regularly with fewer side effects. You refine weapons regularly for your clan, which becomes more prosperous. You are still at the Advanced Refiner Level.]

[You stop going to the underground ring and are secretly investigating the individuals related to the strange people you encountered in the previous battle. Through careful inquiry, you discover an underground organization that secretly controls much of the surrounding city's darker dealings, including the underground ring.]

[Year 6: At 21, your younger brother reaches the Awakening Stage of the Innate Realm. You are refining weapons and consuming pills steadily with the help of the 'Iron Stomach' Talent to accelerate your cultivation.]

[Year 7: At 22, your clan opens a store, providing a legitimate front for your activities and you advance to the Blaze Stage of the Blood Ignition Realm, improving the flow of Blood Qi through the meridians. Recognizing the value of intelligence, you choose orphans and start training them in order to create your own network that collects information.]

[Year 8: At 23, you start sensing an increase in suspicious eyes and activity within the city, so you send people from the newly formed network you created to join the underground organization as spies to find out the reason behind the persistent interest of the people desiring to find you along with information about the strange individuals you faced before.]

[Year 9: At 24, your Dantian is filled with purified spiritual energy, and you reach the peak of the Innate Realm. You start studying the [Thunderstorm Divine Art] in preparation of breaking through to the Spiritual Realm. Meanwhile, you are sending more spies into the underground organization and collecting information.]

[Year 10: At 25, while dining at a restaurant in the city, your senses start to alert you about an impending danger. Your talent 'Quick Reflexes' activates and allows you to narrowly dodge an attack, a gleaming knife coated with dark green poison that is aimed directly at your heart. The assassin, dressed in tight black clothes, moves swiftly, but your quick reflexes enable you to react in time. You strike back with all your strength, severely injuring the assassin, but you realize that staying to finish the fight would be too risky. Fearing the presence of other assassins, you flee the restaurant, deciding to leave the city and lay low at a secret base outside the city.]

[Upon leaving the city, you encounter a man at the Spiritual Realm waiting for you. His emotionless face and dull eyes are identical to those of the strange individuals you encountered before. Panic grips you as the man's powerful aura immobilizes you. Despite the 'Quick Reflexes' talent warning you of the imminent danger, you find yourself unable to move as a large black palm materializes and rushes toward you. You watch helplessly as the man seizes you, his grip tightening around your body. Desperate, you attempt to self-detonate, but the man quickly recognizes your intent and knocks you unconscious.]

[When you awaken, you find yourself chained, your hands and feet bound by cold, unyielding metal. A strange soul fluctuation emanates from somewhere in front of you. Before you can react, a searing pain explodes from deep within your soul. Your screams echo in the dark chamber as the mysterious soul strand devours and erodes your very essence. You are dead.]

[Simulation Complete.]

[Evaluation: You were progressing steadily in your cultivation and combat skills, but you attracted the attention of a powerful individual connected to a dark underground organization. Despite your efforts to avoid detection, you were ultimately captured and assassinated, leading to your soul being devoured and your body stolen.]

[Ding, Simulation ended. Generating rewards…. Please select one reward from the following options:]

- [Quick Reflexes (Green).]

- [Cultivation at the Peak of the Innate Realm.]

Ling Tian reviewed the simulation records with a frown. It was now clear that the strange men he had encountered were part of a massive underground organization with a network spanning across the city and neighboring ones. This organization had been actively searching for him, likely due to the prowess he had displayed in the underground ring. Meanwhile, creating a secret group to collect information was a good move that could help him in the future.

Ling Tian carefully considered his options. The 'Quick Reflexes' talent had saved his life in the simulation, but the cultivation breakthrough was much more valuable in the current situation. After a moment of deliberation, he chose the reward [Cultivation at the Peak of the Innate Realm].

As soon as he made his selection, Ling Tian assumed a meditative posture and adjusted himself. After a few breaths, he accepted the reward A surge of energy engulfed him, drilling into his body as he started to break through to the peak of the Innate Realm.