[Over the past ten years, Mo Chen constantly urged you to break through to Foundation Establishment. However, you were never able to achieve the breakthrough, and gradually he began to feel disappointed in you.]
[In the following years, Mo Chen stopped providing you with spiritual herbs and rarely came to see you again.]
[In the twenty-first year, ever since the moment you sensed that mysterious feeling once before, you had never been able to find it again. At this point, you realized that your spiritual root was simply too poor.]
[In the twenty-second year, you frantically gathered spiritual herbs that could restore Soul Power, attempting to trigger a qualitative change through sheer quantity.]
[In the twenty-third year, you made thorough preparations and took out the Foundation Establishment Pill, preparing for one final attempt.]
[The moment the Foundation Establishment Pill entered your stomach, a surge of heat quickly spread throughout your entire body.]
[Because of your many years of accumulation, you soon broke through to Foundation Establishment. However, the moment the breakthrough succeeded, you did not dare relax in the slightest and focused entirely on sensing any abnormal changes in your body.]
[Very quickly, you felt a strange stream of Spiritual Energy rush from your abdomen into your sea of consciousness, lunging directly toward your soul.]
[Having already made full preparations, you immediately swallowed the spiritual herbs you had prepared and used your Soul Power to resist the bizarre insect's devouring.]
[However, the strength of that bizarre insect was completely unreasonable. You had no ability to resist and were devoured completely.]
[You fell unconscious...]
[Just before losing consciousness, you heard a familiar voice.]
["Trash! I told you long ago to break through to Foundation Establishment. Was resisting all these years really meaningful? Do you know why I gave you those spiritual herbs? It was simply to prevent you from achieving Awakening!"]
[You died...]
[Talent Activated: Soul Return. On the first day after your death, your soul returned to the Qingyun Sect.]
[You saw your own familiar face, along with someone you never expected—Ye Chuxue!]
[Ye Chuxue had been captured and crippled. She looked at you and shouted angrily.]
["I knew it! How could someone possibly achieve Awakening during the Qi Refining stage? There has never been such an example in history. I regret telling you all of this. I should have killed you with a single palm strike back then. At least I would not have ended up like this!"]
[Your Soul Return time ended, and you left the Qingyun Sect.]
[Ding! Simulation complete. Please choose one of the following rewards.]
[1: Cultivation of the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining Great Perfection]
[2: Second-Grade Alchemist Great Perfection]
[3: All remaining Spirit Stones from this simulation]
[4: All real insights gained during this simulation]
[5: Talent from this simulation — Soul Return]
Su Ming chose the reward of Second-Grade Alchemist Great Perfection without hesitation.
"It seems that old fox Mo Chen had ill intentions all along."
From the final moments of the simulation, he had obtained several extremely valuable pieces of information.
First, when he broke through to Foundation Establishment in the simulation, the bizarre insect he faced was abnormally powerful. There was a very high chance that Mo Chen had tampered with something. The spiritual herbs Mo Chen had given him were almost certainly problematic.
Second, after his breakthrough failed and the bizarre insect took control of his body, it was clear that the insect possessed the ability to read memories.
After discovering Ye Chuxue's identity through those memories, it immediately had someone capture her.
The final and most important point was that, for him right now, the only way to safely break through to Foundation Establishment was to reach the Ultimate Realm of Qi Refining.
His previous failure was not because that path was impossible, but because his spiritual root was too poor and he had not drawn any strong talents.
While examining the simulator's reward screen earlier, he noticed a subtle change.
Previously, the settlement reward always listed his cultivation as Qi Refining Great Perfection.
But this time, it was specifically listed as the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining Great Perfection.
"Interesting."
Thinking this, a faint smile appeared on Su Ming's lips.
For now, he did not plan to begin another simulation immediately. Instead, he intended to stabilize his cultivation and familiarize himself with the Soul Power of a Second-Grade Alchemist.
...
The next day, when you awoke from your secluded cultivation, you heard someone shouting outside your Cave Dwelling.
"Su Ming! Su Ming, you trash! Get out here right now!"
Hearing this, Su Ming frowned and walked outside. When he saw that the person was Wang Hao, he immediately understood what was happening.
"So you really are here. You trash, why did you not go to work today?"
As soon as Wang Hao saw Su Ming come out, he stepped forward and attempted to slap him.
SLAP!
However, the current Su Ming was no longer the same person as before. Without hesitation, he struck Wang Hao with a single slap and knocked him to the ground.
Su Ming walked forward and crouched halfway beside Wang Hao, looking at his bloodied mouth before shaking his head.
Wang Hao lay on the ground completely stunned. After sensing the powerful pressure of the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining emanating from Su Ming, he immediately began begging for mercy.
"S-Su Ming... I was wrong... I am sorry... P-please let me go!"
"Oh? You were wrong? What exactly were you wrong about?"
Su Ming revealed a sinister smile as he looked at Wang Hao.
However, in Wang Hao's eyes, that smile looked like the grin of a demon.
"I understand! I understand!"
Very quickly, Wang Hao handed a ring to Su Ming.
"This contains all the Spirit Stones I have taken from you over the years. I am returning everything today."
"Please let me go. It was my fault for failing to recognize your greatness!"
Su Ming snatched the ring and said coldly,
"Not enough."
"W-What? Not enough?"
Wang Hao stared at Su Ming with wide eyes. After seeing the icy expression in Su Ming's gaze, he gritted his teeth.
"This... this is my Storage Ring. All the Spirit Stones I own are inside. I will give them all to you. Please let me go!"
At this moment, Wang Hao deeply regretted coming to find Su Ming today. At the same time, he silently swore revenge in his heart.
Once he returned and found his older brother, they would certainly be able to kill Su Ming and take the Spirit Stones back.
"Now that is more like it."
Su Ming accepted the ring and slowly stood up.
Seeing this, Wang Hao secretly sighed in relief.
Good... good! At least my life is saved. Su Ming, just wait!
Although resentment filled his heart, he still forced a flattering smile onto his face.
"Junior Brother Su, I have given you all my Spirit Stones. May I leave now?"
Looking at Wang Hao's ingratiating expression, Su Ming slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
"You may go."
"Thank you, Junior Brother Su! I will never cause you trouble again."
After saying that, Wang Hao immediately fled from Su Ming's Cave Dwelling without looking back.
However, the moment he reached the entrance of the Cave Dwelling, a flash of cold light appeared.
Wang Hao suddenly felt a chill on his neck, and the world began spinning upside down.
"Huh? That looks like my body... What is happening to me?"
His head separated from his body.
Su Ming walked to Wang Hao's corpse and looked down at it.
"I said you could leave. I never said I would spare you."
After disposing of Wang Hao's corpse, Su Ming knew that Wang Hao had an older brother. However, that man was only a cultivator at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining and posed no threat to him.
Right now, the most important matter was finding a way to break through to Foundation Establishment.
After finishing everything, Su Ming opened the simulator again.
[Simulation Start!]
[Drawing Random Talent!]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Red Talent: Young Supreme!]
[Young Supreme: You become a peerless prodigy rarely seen throughout the ages. Even if you begin as a mortal, you will eventually rise to become a Great Emperor. However, once you reach middle age, you will begin encountering various disasters...]
...