[Simulation starts]
[Age 0: You're born. You are one of the Ten Lords' descendants and destined to inherit a Ten Lord seat.]
Seth's heart jolted. That birth status was no joke.
Across the Xianzhou Alliance, everyone knows the Marshal governs the living, the Ten Lords rule the dead.
Every Xianzhou person's end is the Mara-Struck; the Ten-Lords Commission guides those who fall into Mara.
They also handle major cases across the Xianzhou—under special circumstances, they can even arrest a Xianzhou General.
This institution predating even the Aeon Lan is not only ancient, but immensely powerful.
Being born a Ten Lords descendant was practically top-tier second-generation within the Xianzhou Alliance.
As expected of a gold trait.
What he didn't expect was yet to come.
[Age 1: Your family begins training your body with ancient methods so you can quickly adapt to the arts of the commision division.]
[Age 2: While other toddlers are just learning to talk, you begin basic education.]
[Age 3: While other children still play without a care, you begin basic training.]
[Age 5: You hear tales of a female swordsman named Jingliu—her sword has felled countless of the Abundant.]
[A faint inner conflict arises within you…]
[1. You want to take Jingliu as your master.]
[2. You don't.]
Any veteran gamer knows you have to pick "1" here; otherwise the plot stalls.
But Seth decisively chose "2," just to be contrary.
Kidding—he wanted to test for multiple endings and how they affect evaluation.
After his choice, the simulation continued.
[You grow up, enduring harsh family training all along.]
[You hear bits and pieces about Jingliu. She racks up victory after victory, even capturing the Borisin Warhead Hoolay, cementing the Foxians as the Xianzhou's staunchest allies.]
[The last news you hear: thanks to her past exploits, she becomes Sword Master of the Luofu, the undefeated emblem of the Cloud Knights… You're 18 that year.]
[You join the Ten-Lords Commission as a Judge.]
[During an arrest of a Mara-struck felon, your strength proves insufficient; the felon pierces your heart and skull.]
[You die.]
[Simulation ends. Evaluation too low. No rewards.]
Seth's mouth twitched.
That was a pretty cursory death.
Not only cursory, but fishy.
A dignified Ten Lords descendant—top-tier scion of the Xianzhou Alliance—dies to some criminal? Ninety-nine percent chance of a setup.
The Ten Lords' seat is lofty and powerful; obviously some wouldn't want him to take it.
So that "Ten Lords descendant" title is a double-edged sword: it gives a higher starting point while inviting greater danger.
He also quickly spotted a way to break the impasse.
The simulator spelled it out: because he was "not strong enough," he got reverse-killed by the felon.
So if he had sufficient strength before the incident, he could clear this hurdle.
A white "Slow and Steady" clearly wasn't enough to let him turn the tables.
If he had a purple or even gold "Slow and Steady," maybe he could accumulate enough power.
But that's exactly the problem: if he already had purple or gold traits, why would he keep grinding this all-white basic script?
Obviously not happening.
Having figured that out, Seth started a new run.
[Age 0: You're born. You are one of the Ten Lords' descendants and destined to inherit a Ten Lord seat.]
…
Soon it was time for the key choice again.
This time he decisively chose "1," wanting to take Jingliu as his master.
The simulation branched.
[You express your wish to study under Jingliu. Your family is displeased. With your family's influence, they could, at some cost, even have the Xianzhou Marshal take you as a pupil—why place you under some "nobody"?]
[You persist. Jingliu, gifted and ever-victorious, grows in renown. Your family grudgingly allows you to become her disciple.]
[Jingliu, merely a Cloud Knights elite at the time, couldn't refuse a Ten Lords family's "request." She accepts you—you become her first disciple.]
Seth rubbed his chin. At this time, Jingliu hasn't yet succumbed to Mara—she's a swordswoman with grand ideals, a forthright heroine.
If she were already Mara-struck—cold, mad, and cruel—being threatened like this might have earned him a sword to the face on the spot.
[Because she was forced to take a disciple, Jingliu didn't think much of you at first. It was her first time as a teacher, and her own master died before properly teaching her, so she was very strict with you.]
[She often held you to adult standards in training, perhaps hoping you'd give up.]
[Faced with drills that strain even adults, you grit your teeth and never slack.]
[Age 6: A year passes. Your perseverance moves Jingliu. She begins earnest instruction.]
[Age 16: Ten years pass. You realize you have limited talent in swordsmanship. Though you train daily and improve through long practice, compared to prodigies your progress is limited.]
Seth sighed. A white "Slow and Steady" works, but not by much. To advance rapidly in swordsmanship he'd likely need a "Sword Genius" type trait.
Fortunately, survival on the Xianzhou rests more on connections than on brute force.
The simulation continued.
[Jingliu's record grows ever more dazzling: each campaign brings trophies. Wingweaver' Feather Guards, Borisin, Beast Ship—none withstand a single blow.]
[You glance at your sword, then at your master. Her radiance shines ever brighter, drifting ever farther from you. A nameless emotion sprouts in your heart…]
Seth sucked in a breath. That filial respect curdled fast. As expected of a Villain Simulator—no mercy at all.
A vision of the icy, peerless swordswoman flashed across his mind.
If it's Jingliu… that's… not impossible?
[Age 18: Jingliu captures the Borisin Warhead Hoolay alive, cementing the Foxians' alliance with the Xianzhou.]
[You gaze at your master's ever-brighter figure. Desire flares like fire in your chest—an intense urge to possess.]
["She's mine! She can only be mine alone!"]
[You swear silently.]
[As a swordswoman, especially one seasoned by war, Jingliu is keenly attuned to malice. Living in close quarters, she faintly senses your little thoughts.]
Crap! Don't tell me I'm about to die?
Seth stared wide-eyed at the screen.
Countless Abundance-spawn had died by Jingliu's hand—by the tens of thousands.
He pictured Jingliu with blood-red eyes, chilling madness and killing intent surging, a razor-edged greatsword of ice in her hands—corpses around her impaled by ice spikes…
He frowned in vexation.
You could have just trained in peace—why be a treacherous disciple? And getting caught on top of it.
He could already foresee his body being chopped into several pieces by Jingliu.
So how to resolve this?