One Trait Draw Per Year Even Simulations Count

”Why was Luoding Village massacred...”

This question puzzled not only the Chen Yi in the simulation, but also the Chen Yi outside the simulation, who often pondered it.

”Speaking of which, I still need to get in touch with martial artists. Don’t I have new cultivation techniques now?”

Chen Yi knew his Third Brother-in-law was a martial artist, so every time he could choose to seek refuge with his Third Sister, he would pick that option.

Wandering aimlessly in the martial world on his own, he might never even enter the circle of martial artists. Constantly dealing with ordinary people just wouldn’t do.

In the simulation, Shen Qingshan introduced Chen Yi to some basic knowledge of martial cultivation.

For example, for commoners, martial cultivation had six realms:

Body Refining, Spirit Gathering, Soul Tempering, Golden Body, Spirit Sea, and Spirit Condensation.

Why add the qualifier ”for commoners”?

Shen Qingshan explained.”Because the realms above Spirit Condensation have nothing to do with commoners. Being able to cultivate to the Spirit Condensation Realm is already a one-in-ten-thousand, a dragon among men.”

There was also the quality of cultivation techniques:

Low-Grade, Mid-Grade, High-Grade, Earth-Grade, and Heaven-Grade.

Shen Qingshan stated.

”You can treat Earth-Grade and Heaven-Grade techniques as if they don’t exist. Each one can be considered a strategic-level resource, tightly controlled by the imperial family and top-tier martial artist factions. They aren’t even easily passed down to their own people.

For ordinary martial artists like us, just having one High-Grade technique would already be considered having deep, profound luck.”

The Shen family had once been glorious.

Now, with the family fortunes having declined to the point where only Shen Qingshan remained, the fact that he could still preserve four Mid-Grade techniques was already a testament to their ancestors pleading with every connection they had in the underworld.

When a faction weakens, its resources will inevitably be divided up by stronger factions, making it difficult to leave anything for descendants.

The four techniques Shen Qingshan gave Chen Yi were the External Technique ”Righteous Sun Formula,” the Internal Technique ”Fierce Heart Formula,” and the Martial Arts ”Shen Family Spear” and ”Cloud-Scorching Hand.”

Martial arts were for combat; one was a spear technique, the other was similar to a palm technique.

External techniques cultivated Vitality Energy, which Chen Yi already knew from his previous simulation.

Internal techniques, on the other hand, cultivated Spiritual Energy.

When a martial artist reached the ninth stage of Body Refining and pushed their Vitality Energy to its limit, they needed to cultivate an internal technique to condense Spiritual Energy, thereby breaking through to the next realm—the Spirit Gathering Realm!

Shen Qingshan was a Spirit Gathering Realm martial artist.

In a small county town, having Spirit Gathering Realm cultivation placed him among the upper echelons of martial artists in terms of strength.

Furthermore, Shen Qingshan’s position in the Demon Slaying Division was not ordinary either; he was a Small Banner Officer, commanding a team of over a dozen Demon Slayers.

[Year Two, Age Nineteen.]

[Beginning trait draw...]

[Draw successful!]

[”Long Live the Afternoon Nap” (White): You must take a nap after lunch, otherwise you’ll have no energy for the rest of the afternoon.]

[Adjust traits?]

[Yes/No]

[You chose No.]

[After staying at your Third Sister’s house for a year, you practiced martial arts following your Third Brother-in-law. Although your martial cultivation realm didn’t advance, your techniques all improved.]

[You switched your External Technique from the Low-Grade ”Fierce Bull Strength” to the Mid-Grade ”Righteous Sun Formula,” increasing the rate of your Vitality Energy growth.]

[Unfortunately, you only have Low-Grade Bone Structure, so it’s still not particularly fast.]

[You achieved initial mastery in both ”Shen Family Spear” and ”Cloud-Scorching Hand.”]

[With the support of these two martial arts, plus a year of sparring with your Third Brother-in-law, your practical combat ability had greatly improved.]

[Through your Third Brother-in-law’s introduction, you participated in the Demon Slayer assessment and selection for the Baiyun County Demon Slaying Division.]

[Among the group of martial artists being assessed, your martial cultivation realm was basically at the bottom.]

[But you had ”Serious Punch.” During the matches, your opponents were always caught off guard by your unexpected punch, leaving them dazed and disoriented.]

[You successfully entered the Demon Slaying Division, becoming a Demon Slayer, and gained a stable income.]

[However, Demon Slayers didn’t have official establishment positions; they were similar to contract workers.]

[You had to reach the level of a Demon Slayer like Shen Qingshan to be entered into the imperial court’s official registry, which meant having an established position.]

[You joined Shen Qingshan’s Demon Slaying squad. On normal days, you followed your Third Brother-in-law on duty. When you had free time, you sought guidance on martial arts. It was very convenient.]

[One day, Shen Qingshan received a mission from within the Division.]

[A bull demon was causing trouble in Huowang Village east of Baiyun County. The Chief Commissioner ordered Shen Qingshan to lead a team to eradicate it.]

[Your squad of Demon Slayers rode out of the city on horseback and arrived at Huowang Village.]

[Entering the village, you saw a scene of peace and harmony, with the elderly and children content and joyful. It didn’t seem like a place troubled by demons.]

[You split up to investigate.]

[Faintly, you heard a cry for help and followed the sound.]

[With a ”bang,” you pushed open the gate of a courtyard.]

[What met your eyes were villagers’ corpses lying haphazardly, and the fresh scent of blood in the air.]

[A black shadow suddenly lunged from a corner. You instinctively drew your sword to block.]

[The opponent had immense strength and an incredibly hard body. Before you could clearly see what this thing was, you had already been knocked to the ground by it.]

[And your long sword, whether by coincidence or not, ended up stuck in one of the corpses.]

[At the same time, loud footsteps erupted outside the courtyard.]

[Han Sheng, the County Yamen Constable Captain, rushed in with twenty constables swarming behind him.]

[The moment they entered, they happened to see you pulling your sword out of a corpse.]

[”How dare you, Shen... Chen Yi! Knowing the law yet breaking it! Massacring eighteen people from three households in Huowang Village! Seize him!”]

[You were stunned.]

Chen Yi: ”I understand.”

The Chen Yi in the simulation was caught in the situation, quite shocked, and hadn’t yet reacted.

But the Chen Yi outside the simulation, with a more rational and outsider perspective, had already seen the essence.

This was a setup.

This setup was originally prepared for Shen Qingshan—the ”Shen Qingshan Serial Killer Incident” mentioned in the previous simulation.

But in the second simulation, there was an extra Chen Yi.

The trap meant to ensnare Shen Qingshan had, through a twist of fate, fallen on him instead.

”The constables were clearly lying in wait here, prepared to arrest whoever entered this courtyard. Could it be that who gets framed isn’t important, the key is just having someone to take the fall?”

The only one who could mobilize the County Yamen constables and the Constable Captain was the County Magistrate.

”This Baiyun County Magistrate has problems...”

Fortunately, it was just a simulation. Being framed didn’t matter; consider it stepping on a landmine in advance.

[Unwilling to surrender without a fight, you engaged the constables while explaining that you hadn’t killed anyone.]

[”Still making excuses! We saw it with our own eyes, how could it be false!”]

[Han Sheng was also a martial artist, like Shen Qingshan, at the Spirit Gathering Realm.]

[Coupled with the twenty constables assisting from the sides with chains, you were no match for them. You were captured alive, bound by iron chains.]

[Shen Qingshan and the Demon Slaying squad arrived and, seeing the situation, blocked Han Sheng.]

[”Constable Captain Han! What is the meaning of this? Why are you arresting my man? If you don’t give me an explanation today, don’t even think about taking him away!”]

[Han Sheng looked at him coldly.]

[”Shen Qingshan, this Demon Slayer under your command slaughtered innocents, using martial arts to break the law! Of course I have to arrest him! If you obstruct law enforcement, I’ll arrest you too!”]

[Shen Qingshan snorted coldly.]

[”Nonsense! I know very well what kind of person Chen Yi is. Why would he suddenly kill people for no reason?”]

[Han Sheng sneered.]

[”We’ll know after we take him back for interrogation, won’t we?”]