"I'll take the first, second, and third rewards."
Seeing the six rewards laid out before him, Sun Qian didn't hesitate for a second—he picked the top three without a second thought and discarded the rest.
With a Purple Talent like the Talisman Dao Seed in hand, he'd definitely be able to re-master techniques like Nine Dragons Incinerate the Heavens sooner or later.
The Yin-Yang Boundless Pill could help him break through to the Fifth Realm of Mountains and Rivers, but given his natural talent, it was only a matter of time anyway.
If all else failed, he could just storm that mysterious secret realm and take down Elder Li of the Li Clan—then he'd get his hands on it no problem.
Mastery of the Vast Tyrant Dragon Fist was easily the lowest-value option; he crossed it off without a moment's hesitation.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three Dao Fruits hovering above the elderly man's body plummeted downward instantly—one pale gold, one deep purple, one light purple.
They represented the Heaven-Stepping Nine Steps, the Talisman Dao Seed, and the Heavenly Being's Legacy, respectively, drifting straight toward Sun Qian.
Boom!
As the three Dao Fruits merged into his body, Sun Qian felt a surge of overwhelming power roar through his mind.
Countless talisman inscriptions burned themselves into his soul.
In the blink of an eye, he'd fully mastered the first seven steps of the Heaven-Stepping Nine Steps, along with the power of the Talisman Dao Seed.
A boundless, soul-deep force instantly elevated him to an entirely new level.
The seven Heaven-Stepping Talismans floating deep within his soul could be activated at any time, burning his lifespan to temporarily boost him to the Seventh Realm of Saint Ascension.
Even the rudiments of the mutated talisman technique, Nine Dragons Incinerate the Heavens, began to slowly take shape in his mind.
"No wonder my counterpart in the Villain Simulator was so arrogant!"
"With all these aces up my sleeve, going all out lets me leap three whole major realms in a pinch—enough to go toe-to-toe with a Heavenly Being head-on."
"Anyone with that kind of power would strut like they own the world."
Feeling the earth-shaking changes coursing through his body, Sun Qian's confidence swelled exponentially.
Having a sword and choosing not to use it was a completely different story from not having a sword at all.
The former meant you had the power to turn the tables.
The latter meant you were just waiting to be crushed.
He was determined to be the former—not the latter.
Crack!
As the simulation reward selection came to an end, the River of Time began to crumble away bit by bit.
The elderly man before him dissolved into sand, merging into the flowing currents of the River of Time until he was gone.
Sun Qian felt the restraints binding his body fade away, and he watched the old man's fading form with eager anticipation.
He'd been hoping the old man would repeat the "miracle" from last time—tossing him an extra Dao Fruit as a bonus.
To his bitter disappointment, though, the elderly figure only stirred slightly, rippling the surface of the River of Time once, before vanishing without a trace.
Sun Qian frowned, watching silently as the River of Time dissipated and his body regained full mobility. He mused to himself, "Was it because his lingering resentment wasn't strong enough?"
During his third Villain Simulator run, the dried-up corpse's resentment had been so thick it was practically tangible—he'd ranted about revenge right up until his last breath.
In the end, he'd even forced a Dao Fruit out of his fading existence and hurled it straight at him.
By comparison, this simulation run had been completely free of lingering grudges.
On the contrary, he'd taken down the Ghost Doctor the Venerable and slapped the mastermind behind the scenes hard—it had been nothing but unadulterated satisfaction, no loose ends left to tie up.
"Time to see just how much loot a Third-Order Heavenly Being like the Ghost Doctor had stashed away."
Sun Qian held out his hand, and a spatial ring materialized in his palm—forged from the light purple Dao Fruit he'd just claimed.
It was the spoils of war he'd earned by killing the Ghost Doctor the Venerable during this simulation run.
Back then, though, the ring had still been laced with the Ghost Doctor's residual divine consciousness, and he'd been too weak to break through it.
Now, though, things were different.
"Break!"
Sun Qian unleashed a burst of mental power, and a flash of golden light coated his eyes as he shattered the faint divine imprint lingering on the spatial ring.
In an instant, the ring's inner space unfolded before him, crammed full of treasures so dazzling they nearly blinded him.
Rows upon rows of medicine bottles glinting with spiritual light.
Piles of rare herbs exuding rich, medicinal aromas.
Mountains of medical scrolls and elixir-refining manuals stacked higher than his head.
A flaming red crane-shaped alchemy furnace, wreathed in dancing flames.
A Heavenly Being's corpse, shrouded in an eerie, black miasma.
And standing out among them all, the object that had nearly cost him his life during the simulation run—the Profound Yin Mirror.
"Hm?"
Liu Yue poked her head out from under the covers, her brow furrowing in confusion. She'd sensed something unusual.
Then her eyes widened as she took in the sight before her.
Sun Qian was holding a top-tier spatial ring in his hand, his consciousness clearly probing its contents.
Then, in the blink of an eye and to her absolute shock, a mirror blazing with brilliant blue light materialized in his palm—the Profound Yin Mirror.
The mirror exuded a crushing aura unique to Heavenly Beings—the pressure of a domain.
"A Heavenly Being's Treasure!"
Liu Yue couldn't help but gasp, her eyes locked onto the mirror like a magnet.
This was the kind of overpowered artifact that only a Heavenly Being could wield to its full potential, capable of unleashing world-shaking power.
Treasures of this caliber were few and far between even in the entire Qianyuan Empire.
Some Heavenly Beings from humbler backgrounds didn't even have a Heavenly Being's Treasure to call their own—they made do with Saint Ascension-grade artifacts instead.
Yet Sun Qian, whose current aura only matched that of a Fourth-Rank Divine Power cultivator, had somehow gotten his hands on a Heavenly Being's Treasure?
It was like a child holding a piece of gold in a crowded marketplace—utterly reckless, and enough to make anyone covetous.
Liu Yue felt her heart skip a beat, greed sparking in her eyes.
Sun Qian, however, acted as if he didn't even notice her burning gaze. He was too busy examining the Profound Yin Mirror in his hand.
"So this is the thing that almost killed me in the simulation."
「 Profound Yin Mirror (Heavenly Being's Treasure) — Forged from ten-thousand-year-old Profound Yin Ice as its core material, supplemented by Extreme Yin Essence Iron. Tempered in the heart of a volcano for a full century before reaching completion. Contains boundless extreme yin energy within. Can unleash Profound Yin Cold Qi and Mirror Divine Light, capable of freezing all things and immobilizing any target in place. 」
Reading the description provided by the Villain Simulator, Sun Qian instantly grasped just how formidable this Heavenly Being's Treasure truly was.
If the Ghost Doctor the Venerable hadn't had this mirror to shield himself at the critical moment, he could've beaten the old man senseless right then and there.
It was this artifact that had neutralized all his techniques during their fight, nearly making him bite the dust.
If a certain destiny-blessed protagonist hadn't stumbled into the fray, the Ghost Doctor would've definitely turned the tables on him and killed him.
"This thing is priceless. Right now, it's probably the most valuable item I own—second only to the Supreme Imperial Bone."
"The Life-Substituting Blood Escape Talisman is valuable, sure, but it's a one-use item. It can't hold a candle to a permanent Heavenly Being's Treasure like this."
"Once I fully unleash its power, anyone caught in the Mirror Divine Light—even a Heavenly Being—will be frozen solid and immobilized. This thing is perfect for ambushes and seizing treasures at critical moments."