Right now, in Magic City, Sun Zhong was one of your biggest life-saving trump cards.
There was no way to hide certain matters from him—you would definitely need his help in the days to come.
Thus, a certain degree of "honesty" was necessary.
As for why you didn't directly contact the Sun Clan to dispatch more high-level powerhouses?
Sun Qian knew exactly why his simulated self had chosen to lie low and keep a low profile this time.
In this situation, reaching out to the clan for reinforcements recklessly would only attract the mastermind's attention.
The Sun Clan, a prestigious Heavenly Human-tier clan, was far too eye-catching.
Every move it made was under constant surveillance by prying eyes.
Especially any powerhouse above the Sixth-Rank Transcendent Realm—sending even one of them to Magic City would immediately alert anyone with ill intentions.
It might even draw the attention of the mastermind themselves.
At present, it was roughly confirmed that the Gu Clan, another Heavenly Human-tier family, had some connection to the mastermind.
If this move provoked them into desperation, leading them to send the Gu Clan's own Heavenly Human Realm ancestor to hunt you down… things would get very ugly.
Right now, the only thing on your body that could unleash Heavenly Human-level power was that single Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talisman.
And you weren't even sure if it would be enough to escape a Heavenly Human's pursuit.
Your top priority this time was to weed out all potential threats in Magic City, rooting out every hidden enemy from the shadows.
After all, the "you" in the Villain Simulator could take risks and act recklessly as much as you wanted—but the real you in the physical world only had one life to spare.
「If I'm not mistaken, the me in the simulator is planning to pull off a 金蝉脱壳 (escape in disguise) this time, vanishing from everyone's sight.」
「By faking my own death, I'll stir up the Sun Clan's wrath and let them clean house in Magic City for me.」
Sun Qian knew himself far too well.
He was by no means the self-sacrificing hero his words to Sun Zhong had made him out to be.
There was definitely a devious scheme brewing beneath the surface.
And he already had a pretty good guess as to what that scheme was.
The next events unfolding in the Villain Simulator would soon confirm his suspicions.
Having convinced Sun Zhong and secured his unwavering loyalty, you grew serious, asking him a crucial question: whether the Sun Clan had any death squads in Magic City with a build similar to yours.
You knew full well that a Heavenly Human-tier clan like the Sun Clan maintained secret intelligence networks and loyal death squads in every corner of the empire.
Sun Zhong didn't hesitate, pulling out a hidden file with detailed information on the Sun Clan's death squads stationed in Magic City. You nodded in satisfaction, ordering him to secretly bring one of them to your villa immediately.
You were well aware that the mastermind's death trap wouldn't disappear just because you'd avoided it once. To counter this, you planned to pull off the ultimate bait-and-switch: a 金蝉脱壳 (escape in disguise).
Soon, Sun Zhong returned with a young death squad member in tow. You activated your Mimic Shadow Divine Ability, reshaping the young man's features until he looked exactly like you. Over the next few days, you personally trained him to mimic your every gesture, every habit, and every mannerism—turning him into your perfect double, a decoy to take your place.
This time, you were going to create an opportunity for your "double" to die in your stead. You would vanish from the public eye, stepping out of the mastermind's chessboard and transforming from a mere pawn into the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.
You explained to the young death squad member the "suicide mission" he would be undertaking. But instead of hesitation or fear, the young man nodded firmly, his only request being that the Sun Clan take good care of his younger sister.
You agreed without hesitation, promising to grant his sister a lifetime of wealth and comfort. You learned his name was Su Meng, and his sister's name was Su Mei.
With all the preparations in place, you instructed Sun Zhong to send a request to the Sun Clan headquarters, claiming that *he* needed a large stockpile of cultivation resources for his own practice—including martial arts manuals, cultivation techniques, and even curse-related secret arts. In reality, of course, all these resources were for you.
You were still being cautious, not wanting to reveal your ability to cultivate just yet.
At the same time, you used the Sun Clan's bloodline communication technique to send a message to your elder brother, Sun Shou.
Unlike the second simulation, where you'd sent a distress call begging him to avenge you and stir up chaos in the imperial capital, this time you avoided any mention of danger—after all, you'd already evaded the mastermind's trap, so there was no reason to call for help just yet.
Instead, you used a completely different excuse.
「Big Brother, I've been feeling restless and uneasy these past few days. I heard you have a Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talisman in your possession. Can you lend it to your little brother for a while? I'll return it as soon as I'm back in the capital.」
Self-preservation was your top priority. You planned to get your hands on the second Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talisman from your brother, turning it into your second life-saving trump card.
With all your arrangements made, you retreated to the cultivation chamber, taking out all the resources from Ye Fan's storage pouch and diving headfirst into cultivation.
By the time night turned to dawn, your cultivation speed had reached terrifying heights. You'd broken through from the Early Divine Ability Realm to the Mid Divine Ability Realm in a single night, and your Mimic Shadow and Dragon-Elephant Overlord Physique abilities had grown far more powerful than before.
Early the next morning, your cultivation was interrupted by Sun Zhong knocking on the chamber door—bringing you excellent news.
The Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talisman you'd asked your brother for, along with all the cultivation resources, martial arts manuals, and combat techniques Sun Zhong had requested, had arrived.
「Young Master Sun, the Eldest Young Master took your request very seriously. He had everything delivered overnight, along with the supplies I asked for.」
Listening to Sun Zhong's words, you held the Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talisman in your hand—it was still warm, as if carrying your brother's concern. A wave of warmth surged through your heart.
When it came to your safety, your elder brother would always move heaven and earth to make sure you were protected.
Now, with two Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talismans in your possession, you had the confidence to escape even an ambush by a Heavenly Human Realm ancestor.
At long last, the knot of anxiety in your chest loosened a little.
You took the new storage pouch from Sun Zhong's hands, sweeping your spiritual sense through it. Inside were mountains of cultivation resources, along with several jade slips inscribed with martial arts and cultivation techniques.
You estimated that once you'd fully absorbed these resources, your cultivation base would skyrocket to new heights—but your attention was immediately drawn to the jade slips.
Having high cultivation without any defensive or offensive techniques was ultimately meaningless.
Right now, you had no systematic combat skills or lethal moves to call your own. You weren't a true cultivator—not yet.
You were determined to fix that flaw once and for all.