Chapter 17: Simulated Reward Settlement

“Elder Brother, I can finally make up for my mistakes.”

The heavens trembled.

The boundary seas surged.

Countless years passed, a killing intent pierced through past and present, and a cold figure with eyes that suppressed all realms emerged from the Immortal Realm, holding a blood-stained wooden sword.

She stepped forward, treading upon the River of Time.

Under her terrifying pressure, the waters symbolizing the past, present, and future boiled, splashing with towering waves, each droplet carrying the weight of a small world.

“Hum—”

Xu Moli gently raised her hand, reversing time, rewriting the years.

How much time had passed since her elder brother’s death?

Xu Moli couldn’t quite remember.

All she knew was that from that day on, she had lost all hope and support, leaving only the obsession to revive her brother, driving her to cultivate endlessly.

Finally.

She broke through to a level beyond the Immortal Emperor, achieving an unprecedented supremacy, capable of ignoring cause and effect, reversing time. With this power beyond the Immortal Emperor, she could surely save her brother from the past!

Thinking of this, her eternally youthful and beautiful face couldn’t help but show a faint smile.

“Boom! Boom!”

The River of Time was blocked.

Her jade-like hand moved upstream, plucking a small world with a familiar aura from the endless droplets of worlds, the very world Xu Moli had ascended from.

The past was extracted, manifesting as real images.

After a long time.

Xu Moli once again saw that familiar face, watching as her elder brother, with gentle care, raised her from childhood.

And then, at seventeen, her brother sacrificed his life to save the young girl.

“Elder Brother.”

A whisper filled with countless emotions.

Time trembled, supreme power applied to her fingertips, gently reaching for Xu Xi in the past, trying to pull him to her side.

But—

With the crisp sound of a bubble bursting, the cold woman’s fingers passed through Xu Xi, unable to affect him in the slightest, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t touch him.

“No, this can’t be.”

Xu Moli panicked.

She tried to retrieve other things from the past.

Everything went smoothly, her power surpassing all realms, the constraints of time unable to hinder her in the slightest, yet she couldn’t touch her elder brother.

Again and again!

Again and again!!

Again and again!!!

No matter how many times she tried, she could only see Xu Xi living in the past, but couldn’t truly touch him.

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

Visible, yet infinitely distant, with no possibility of touch.

“Why… why has it come to this…”

“It shouldn’t be like this…”

“Why won’t you give me a chance to make up for my mistakes…”

Finally, Xu Moli gave up the countless attempts, deeply realizing she could never save her beloved elder brother.

Watching the memories of the two in the River of Time.

She cried for the first time in a long while.

It was a silent cry.

Very quiet, very sad.

No sound was made, only tears continuously fell, mixing into the River of Time, but the sorrowful tears, even washed by time, didn’t diminish in the slightest.

“…Elder Brother, I’m sorry.”

In the end, the girl who surpassed countless beings, reaching an impossible shore.

Curled her body into a small ball.

Letting her consciousness sink into endless darkness, escaping the unchangeable despair.

——————

Opening her eyes, the darkness was pierced by warm sunlight.

Unlike before, when she woke in the Cultivation World, this time Xu Xi woke in a room in the real world.

“It feels like I had a very long dream.”

The sunlight was strong, still daytime.

Shining through the window.

Illuminating everything in the room.

This wasn’t because Xu Xi slept too little, but because he had slept for over ten hours, reaching the early morning of the next day.

After all, what he did before the simulation ended completely surpassed human limits, placing too much burden on his spirit.

“I wonder how Mo Li is doing after my death.”

“With her talent, I shouldn’t worry, but thinking I’ll never see her again, I feel a bit sad.”

Xu Xi sat up on the bed, catching the sunlight in his palm, warm and comfortable, he sighed.

He was actually a bit of a homebody.

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

This simulation experience, he enjoyed seventeen years of normal life, honestly, Xu Xi felt very satisfied.

But.

Thinking of the girl’s crying, despairing face at the end of the simulation.

Xu Xi couldn’t help but sigh, feeling uneasy.

“Simulated life…”

“Indeed, as the simulator said, it was like a second life, just not as beautiful as initially described.”

Xu Xi clicked his tongue.

Then he began to check the system prompts he hadn’t had time to see due to exhaustion after the simulation ended.

[Ding~~~]

[First simulation statistics completed]

[Congratulations to the host for activating the following achievements: Hero of One, Reformer of the Four Arts, Died Young, The Man Behind “Her”]

[Hero of One]: You are her only hero, the light in her heart.

[Reformer of the Four Arts]: Your mastery of the Four Arts of Cultivation has achieved a school-founding accomplishment, you completed a revolution unnoticed.

[Died Young]: Your future could have been brighter, but you died too soon.

[The Man Behind “Her”]: Your existence was insignificant to the world, but you indirectly facilitated the birth of “Her,” some call you the man behind the unspeakable taboo.

Xu Xi: ?

The first three achievements are quite normal, why does the last one suddenly change tone.

“From the description, ‘Her’ must be Mo Li,” Xu Xi pondered, “It seems after my death, Mo Li became someone extraordinary.”

His worry for the girl lessened a bit.

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, undoubtedly, this is a waste]

[But correspondingly, at the cost of your life, you indirectly completed another great feat, henceforth known as that man by all realms, your existence remembered by the world]

[Simulation 01 Final Evaluation: S-]

[Rewards generating… beep… beep…]

[Host, please choose three out of the following five rewards, chosen rewards will be issued immediately]

[1, Peak Cultivation Level from the Simulation]

[2, All Daoist Techniques from the Simulation]

[3, Wood-Attributed Heavenly Spiritual Root]

[4, Storage Ring Filled with Cultivation Resources]

[5, A Jar of Never-Expiring Candy]