Chapter 17: Simulation Reward Settlement

"Brother, I can finally make up for my mistake."

The heavens trembled.

The Boundary Sea surged.

Countless years passed. A cold figure, whose killing intent pierced through time and whose gaze suppressed ten thousand worlds, walked out of the Immortal Realm carrying a blood-stained wooden sword.

Stepping forward, she set foot on the River of Time.

Under her terrifying pressure, the waters representing the past, present, and future boiled completely, splashing up massive waves. Every single droplet carried the weight of a Small World.

"Buzz—"

Xu Moli lightly raised her pale hand; time reversed in her palm, and the years were rewritten because of her.

How much time had passed since her brother's death?

Xu Moli couldn't quite remember.

She only knew that from that day on, she had lost all hope and reliance, leaving only the obsession to resurrect her brother driving her body to constantly Cultivate.

Finally.

She had broken through beyond the Immortal Emperor stage, achieving an unprecedented supremacy. She could ignore Karma and reverse time. With this power beyond an Immortal Emperor, she would surely be able to save her brother from the past!

At this thought, that ageless, devastatingly beautiful face couldn't help but show a hint of a smile.

"Rumble! Rumble!"

The River of Time was blocked.

A hand as white as jade reached upstream, precisely plucking a Small World with a familiar aura from the infinite droplets—the very Small World Xu Moli had lived in before her Ascension.

The past years were extracted, manifesting as real, visible scenes.

After such a long time.

Xu Moli saw that familiar face once again, watching her brother raise her younger self with a gentle and caring attitude in the past time and space.

She also saw the year she was seventeen, when her brother sacrificed his own life to forcibly save the young girl she once was.

"Brother."

A soft whisper was filled with ten thousand thoughts.

Time shook as Supreme power was applied to her fingertips, reaching out gently toward the Xu Xi of the past, attempting to forcibly pull him to her side.

But—

With the crisp sound of a bubble bursting, the cold woman's fingers passed directly through Xu Xi. She couldn't affect him in the slightest; even with all her strength, she couldn't touch him at all.

"No, this is impossible."

Xu Moli started to panic.

She tried to grab other things from the past time and space.

Everything went smoothly; before her power that transcended the heavens and ten thousand worlds, the restrictions of time could not stop her at all. Yet, she simply could not reach her brother.

Again and again!

Again and again!!

Again and again!!!

No matter how many times she tried, she could only see the Xu Xi living in the past, but could never truly touch him.

Like the moon in the water or a flower in the mirror.

Though visible, they were actually separated by an infinitely vast distance; there was simply no possibility of contact.

"Why… why did it turn out like this…"

"It shouldn't be like this…"

"Why won't you give me a chance to make up for my mistake…"

Finally, Xu Moli gave up on the action she had attempted countless times. She realized deeply that she would never be able to save her beloved brother.

Looking at the memories between the two of them in the River of Time.

She began to cry after a long time.

It was a silent cry.

Very quiet, very sad.

She made no sound, only tears fell continuously, merging into the River of Time. But those teardrops, condensed from grief, did not diminish in the slightest even as they were washed by time.

"…Brother, I'm sorry."

In the end, the girl who had surpassed countless living beings and reached the shore of the impossible…

…curled her body into a small ball.

She allowed her consciousness to fall silent, plunging into infinite darkness to escape the unchangeable, desperate truth.

——————

Opening his eyes, the darkness was shattered by warm sunlight.

Unlike before, when he woke up in the Cultivation World, this time Xu Xi woke up in his room in the real world.

"I feel like I've had a very long dream."

The sun was bright; it was still daytime.

Shining in through the window.

Illuminating everything in the room.

It wasn't that Xu Xi had slept too little; rather, he had slept for over ten consecutive hours, reaching the early morning of the next day.

After all, what he had done before the simulation ended completely surpassed the limits of human endurance; the mental burden was simply too great.

"I wonder how that child, Mo Li, is doing after my death."

"With her talent, I shouldn't need to worry. But thinking about how I won't see her again, I feel a strange sense of melancholy."

Xu Xi sat up from the bed, catching the sunlight in his palm. It felt warm and comfortable as he spoke with emotion.

He was actually a bit of a shut-in.

Especially after his legs were crippled, he rarely interacted with outsiders.

During this simulation experience, he had enjoyed seventeen years of a normal person's life. To be honest, Xu Xi felt truly satisfied.

Just…

…thinking of the girl's tearful and desperate face when the simulation ended.

Xu Xi couldn't help but sigh, feeling uneasy in his heart.

"A simulated life…"

"It really is as the simulator said, an experience like a second life. It's just that it has nothing to do with the 'wonderful life' mentioned at the beginning."

Xu Xi clicked his tongue.

Then he began to check the System notifications that he hadn't had time to look at after the simulation ended because he was too tired.

[Ding-dong~~~]

[First simulation statistics complete]

[Congratulations to the host for activating the following achievements: A Hero for One, Reformer of the Four Arts, Gone Too Soon, The Man Behind Her]

[A Hero for One]: You are a hero to her alone, and the light in her heart.

[Reformer of the Four Arts]: Your attainments in the Four Arts of Cultivation have reached the level of founding a new school. You have completed a transformation without anyone knowing.

[Gone Too Soon]: Your future could have been even more brilliant, but you died a bit too quickly.

[The Man Behind Her]: Your existence is insignificant to the world, but you indirectly facilitated Her birth. Some call you the man behind the unspeakable taboo.

Xu Xi: ?

The first three achievements were quite normal, but the style of the last one suddenly changed.

"From the description, the so-called 'Her' must refer to Mo Li," Xu Xi thought. "It seems that after my death, Mo Li became someone extraordinary."

The worry in his heart for the girl lessened slightly.

Xu Xi continued to check the simulator panel.

[Simulation Summary: You completely wasted your talent. Although you possessed a top-grade Heavenly Spiritual Root, your cultivation ultimately stopped at the Golden Core Stage. Without a doubt, this was a waste]

[However, in return, you indirectly accomplished another great feat at the cost of your life. Since then, you have been known across the heavens and ten thousand worlds as 'That Man,' and your existence is remembered by the world]

[Final Evaluation for Simulation No. 01: S-]

[Generating rewards… Beep… Beep…]

[Host, please choose three of the following five rewards. They will be issued immediately after selection]

[1. Peak cultivation within the simulated life]

[2. All Daoist techniques within the simulated life]

[3. Wood-attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root]

[4. A Storage Ring filled with cultivation resources]

[5. A jar of candies that will never expire]