"Lin Manqing is truly ruthless. Once you're of no use, she'll turn on you without hesitation."

  After reading the simution's outcome, Chen Shi couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.

  In the simution, no matter how extraordinary Song Fan was, it was impossible for him to kill someone right under Li Ping's nose.

  After all, Li Ping was a True Lake Stage expert.

  So, there was only one answer—Li Ping did it on purpose.

  Or rather, it was under Lin Manqing's instruction.

  Once he lost his value, his fate was sealed. Lin Manqing kept him in the Alpha Battalion, probably to have Song Fan kill him out of spite.

  The reason was not hard to understand.

  In just one year, Song Fan had gone from an ordinary person to someone who could kill a te Organ Refining Stage practitioner with a single strike. His dispyed talent was not inferior to Chen Shi's own back then, and perhaps even surpassed it. In such a situation, Lin Manqing wanting to recruit him was not surprising, no matter what she did.

  After all, geniuses are always in high demand.

  With so many prodigies in the Divine General's Manor, many people were eyeing the position of the true dragon of the Song family.

  [Ding! Generating simution rewards. The host can choose one to retain.]

  [, Late Organ Refining Stage cultivation.]

  [②, White Talent · Extraordinary Endurance.]

  [③, Yellow Grade - Low Quality Martial Technique "Eightfold Colpse," proficiency: Beginner level.]

  "System, I choose ."

  Looking at the simution rewards, Chen Shi made his choice without hesitation.

  A beginner-level martial technique sounded unimpressive.

  Better to choose cultivation.

  This was something built up with countless resources.

  Martial techniques could wait until he survived longer next time, making it more cost-effective to choose them.

  As Chen Shi made his choice, he felt a familiar warmth flowing through his body, his physical strength rising steadily, and his vital qi and blood becoming more vigorous.

  This tingling sensation.

  It was more comfortable than a massage.

  When the process ended, Chen Shi felt terrifyingly strong.

  He had a feeling that if he faced the mid-Tendon Refining Stage Song family prodigy from the simution again, he could take him down with a single punch. With such a huge gap in cultivation, he didn't believe he would be defeated across stages again!

  "I still need to find a way to extend my survival time in the simution..."

  Coming back to his senses, Chen Shi thought of the key point.

  In the simution, Lin Manqing wanted to kill him for two possible reasons.

  1. His talent was fake, deceiving her.

  2. She intended to use his life to curry favor with Song Fan. The Martial Practice Field prohibited lethal actions, and since Song Fan did it, there might be a scene where Lin Manqing saves Song Fan ter. Of course, if Song Fan knew he wasn't being teased, he might explode on the spot, settling accounts with Lin Manqing as well.

  In short, his death ultimately boiled down to losing his value and offending Song Fan, leading to his abandonment as a pawn.

  "Next simution, I must try to get along with Song Fan. This kid doesn't seem simple either. Orphaned, a failure, and if there's a broken engagement, he's got the perfect protagonist tempte."

  Having made up his mind, Chen Shi reopened the simutor.

  [Talent · Life Simutor.]

  [Bance: 850.24 taels.]

  [Destiny Points: 140.]

  [Would you like to spend 200 taels to start the simution?]

  Chen Shi clicked "Yes."

  And invested 10 Destiny Points.

  [Ding, refreshing talents...]

  [Ding, congratutions on successfully refreshing the White Talent · Emotional Master. White Talent · Longevity. Please choose your talent within one minute.]

  [Emotional Master: As a representative of high emotional intelligence, you understand human nature and can easily win women's hearts.]

  [Longevity: You can live to a hundred years without illness or pain.]

  "System, I choose Emotional Master."

  Chen Shi immediately made his choice.

  As someone whose longest survival time in the simutor was less than four years, the Longevity talent was utterly useless.

  [Ding, talent selection successful, life simution begins.]

  [The next day, you found Li Ping and successfully persuaded him to agree to your request to become a sparring partner in the Elementary Css.]

  [You had a pleasant conversation with the Steward.]

  [You got promoted.]

  [The Steward found you to be of good character and eloquent, specifically assigning you to teach Martial Master in Elementary Css 5, responsible for teaching the Rocksteady Breathing Technique and imparting some life lessons to the students...]

  [On the second day, you didn't choose to mingle with the students but instead taught them patiently...]

  [On the third day, you chose to be zy...]

  [On the fourth day, Song Fan appeared on time, which made you somewhat relieved. The inertia of history was strong and hadn't changed because of you.]

  [As a teacher, you approached Song Fan to chat...]

  [During the conversation, you learned that after consuming more than a dozen ungraded precious herbs, Song Fan still couldn't feel the vital qi and blood in his body. Because of this, Song Fan felt very inferior, as he was the only student in the Elementary Css who couldn't enter the Martial Path after consuming so many herbs.]

  [Noticing Song Fan's disappointment, you comforted him and told him a story called Battle Through the Heavens.]

  [Song Fan was greatly encouraged and developed a good impression of you.]

  [On the fifth day, through Li Ping's connections, you got a Yellow Grade - Low Quality precious herb for Song Fan. He was overwhelmed and didn't expect you to go to such lengths to help him. He declined repeatedly, but after your persuasion, he finally accepted the herb.]

  [On the sixth day, Song Fan found you in low spirits, stating that even after consuming a ninth-grade precious herb, he still couldn't feel the vital qi and blood in his body. You comforted him again and gave him another Yellow Grade - Low Quality precious herb. Song Fan was deeply moved...]

  [At the same time, you noticed a change in history.]

  [According to the original trajectory, Lin Qiushui would bring a bruised and battered Song Fan to trouble you on this day. Since you didn't choose to retaliate, this incident didn't occur...]

  [On the seventh day, Song Fan found you in despair, expressing his intention to quit the Elementary Css and give up cultivation because even after consuming two ninth-grade precious herbs, he still couldn't feel the vital qi and blood, indicating he had no talent for cultivation. You comforted him again and offered two more Yellow Grade - Low Quality precious herbs. Song Fan was shocked by your wealth but firmly refused, and your repeated persuasion was to no avail.]

  [In the end, you knocked him out with a hand chop, took him home, and fed him the two ninth-grade precious herbs in a broth...]

  [You sat quietly in the living room, waiting.]

  [In the afternoon, Lin Qiushui arrived te. Upon entering, she immediately thanked you for taking care of Song Fan these past days.]

  [You exchanged pleasantries and then expined Song Fan's situation to Lin Qiushui.]

  [After learning that you had given Song Fan two more ninth-grade precious herbs, Lin Qiushui remained silent for a long time and confessed about Elder Wang's plot against you. Finally, she expressed her willingness to offer all her family assets, hoping you would take Song Fan as a disciple and provide him shelter.]

  [You were somewhat surprised by this and asked Lin Qiushui about her future pns. She sorrowfully stated that fourteen years ago, her father was a high-ranking official with extensive connections, and even when the family was exiled, the military officers along the way dared not disrespect them...]

  [But fourteen years ter.]

  [The situation had changed.]

  [If her identity as the daughter of a criminal official were exposed, she would face imprisonment, exile to the border, or be sent to the Entertainment Bureau, where she would inevitably suffer humiliation and become a pything for various people, something she couldn't accept.]

  [Through Lin Qiushui's sorrowful eyes.]

  [You understood.]

  [She had a death wish.]

  [This gave you a headache. In your pn, if Lin Qiushui tried to frame you, you would use pre-prepared means to wake Song Fan and clear your name. No matter how things developed afterward, it wouldn't affect your retionship with Song Fan, and all hatred would be directed at Elder Wang.]

  [But now, if Lin Qiushui died because of you, there would be an irreparable rift between you and Song Fan in the future.]

  Seeing this, Chen Shi's eyes flickered.

  As the daughter of a criminal official, personally sentenced by the current emperor, if her identity were exposed, the Song family was unlikely to shelter her, and they might even hand her over to the authorities.

  However...

  In the previous simution, after Elder Wang went on a killing spree and fled, Lin Qiushui still came to apologize to him, not appearing to have lost her freedom.

  Perhaps someone powerful intervened to protect her, someone either wealthy or influential.

  Of course, she might have been imprisoned ter, as the simutor didn't mention her afterward.

  As Chen Shi's thoughts churned, the simution text continued to scroll.