Chapter Fifty-Six: Torment Breeds Strength (Happy New Year to everyone!)

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In the simulated battle scenarios, he challenged over a hundred opponents in a row, and each time, he was defeated in a single move.

Of course, the one being instantly defeated was always Wang Li.

It got to the point where he began to doubt whether he truly had become a useless man, someone incapable of defeating anyone.

"Don’t lose heart. You’ll get used to it after a while. Every one of those people has cultivated for dozens of years. If you add up all your cultivation time, it’s not even been two months yet. It’s perfectly normal you can’t beat them."

Old Sheng, afraid the blow would be too much and Wang Li would lose all confidence, for once offered him a few rare words of comfort.

Wang Li replied, "How rare, how rare indeed. For once, you’re actually speaking like a normal person."

Old Sheng retorted, "You brat, you never know what’s good for you. What’s wrong with Sheng talking like a normal person? Who says saints can’t talk like people? Are you discriminating against saints?"

"I wouldn’t dare!"

Wang Li was speechless.

But then he realized there was something odd about Old Sheng’s words.

"Old Sheng, aren’t you human at your core?"

"Pah! You’re the one who’s not human. Sheng is a proper member of the human race, the very first of them under heaven and earth, the legitimate ancestor of the human race! In terms of seniority, even those fellows in the Cave of Fiery Clouds would have to call me ‘ancestor’!"

"The human race was created by Mother Nuwa, so does that mean you were the first one she made?"

"Nuwa’s creation of humans was indeed a deed of boundless merit; she can rightfully be called the ancestor of humanity. But Sheng was not made by Nuwa. Sheng existed countless eons before Nuwa was even born."

"Wait a second, didn’t you just say you’re the ancestor of the human race? But Mother Nuwa is the ancestor too?"

"That’s another story. You wouldn’t understand it even if I told you now. Instead of just suffering in battle, spend some time reading. The answer is in the books."

Wang Li was so battered and dazed, he nearly forgot about the books Old Sheng had given him.

Old Sheng’s claim of being the ancestor of humanity piqued Wang Li’s curiosity. So amid the constant thrashing, he would occasionally read those books, which provided a welcome change of pace.

Of course, Wang Li’s greatest consolation was occasionally beating up the simulated image of Jiang Yue, regaining a bit of confidence.

However, as Jiang Yue herself continued to cultivate in the outside world, her simulated image also grew stronger accordingly.

Wang Li found this rather puzzling.

Old Sheng provided the answer: "If the original body of the simulated image is nearby, the battle scenario simulation will automatically update the data for the simulated image. As Jiang Yue grows stronger, her simulated image naturally grows stronger as well."

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"So that’s how it is. That means the battle scenario simulation is pretty powerful."

"Nonsense. Out of all the similar abilities I’ve seen, this is the strongest. Real-time data updates for simulated images are just a basic function—what’s there to be so surprised about?"

"Heh, I just didn’t know, that’s all."

"If you don’t know, just ask. Haven’t you noticed anything after being beaten for half a month?"

Wang Li was struck by a sudden realization. "Damn, no wonder I couldn’t beat them! It’s because they’re getting stronger out there!"

"Wait, doesn’t that mean I’ll never be able to beat them?"

"Of course not. The reason you can’t beat them is because you started off in the wrong direction."

"In the wrong direction? What do you mean?"

"You chose the wrong path from the start. Tell me, what’s your purpose in enduring all this punishment?"

"To accumulate real combat experience and to draw out the full potential of my current cultivation stage."

"But what have you been doing for the past half month? Getting instantly defeated by others—what did you learn? How to die gracefully?"

"So what you mean is..."

"Lower the cultivation stage of the simulated images. Practice each move and technique. If you get finished off instantly, how are you supposed to learn anything?"

Wang Li protested, "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

Old Sheng replied, "I did it on purpose. What are you going to do about it?"

Wang Li finally understood—Old Sheng was deliberately pushing him, annoyed at his disobedience.

Calming himself, Wang Li restarted the simulated battle scenarios following Old Sheng’s guidance.

This time, he was more cautious, adjusting all simulated opponents down to the first level of the Qi Refining stage. This way, he could clearly see how they executed their moves. Once he was familiar with their techniques and how they responded to attacks, he would gradually increase their cultivation stage, adapting step by step to the different combat styles and speeds of each stage.

Another seven days passed, yielding remarkable results.

After gradually adapting to the various combat speeds and styles of different cultivation stages, he was finally able to fight to a draw with simulated images at his own level.

Three days later, he was already able to defeat all simulated images at his level except for Ling Xiao, whose techniques were exceedingly strange. His progress was nothing short of astonishing.

By this point, he felt confident he’d shed his novice status and that he would no longer embarrass himself in future battles.

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However, Old Sheng did not appreciate his self-satisfaction and forced him to take on opponents at higher levels.

Of course, Old Sheng still knew his limits, only having Wang Li challenge opponents one minor stage above his own, and not sending him against top-tier experts like the Lin brothers or Luo Heng, who were a whole major stage ahead.

Wang Li once again found himself trapped in an endless cycle of thrashing and being thrashed, a mix of pain and joy.

Whenever others beat him, he would in turn beat up Jiang Yue’s simulated image, without the slightest sense of guilt for bullying the underdog.

After all, it was Jiang Yue’s own fault for progressing too slowly.

...

While Wang Li was enjoying the thrill of his own improvement, everyone else was far from idle. The City of Vengeance had become a vast training ground, with over ten thousand people cultivating day and night, eagerly awaiting the next refresh of the Chosen List’s missions.

But people can’t train endlessly; exhaustion always sets in. At such times, they would turn to other activities—like discussing the ever-neglected rankings of the Chosen List.

Currently, the Chosen List featured a full five thousand people, a staggeringly high proportion, which was why the rankings hadn’t attracted much attention.

On average, one in every two people was ranked. What was the point of such a list? Even if you made it onto the list, no one would think more highly of you.

However, the top hundred were a different story. After the Chosen event ended, the Chosen List would descend upon the Profound Heaven World, transforming into the Heaven’s Pride List—a record of the top hundred under a hundred years old in the entire Profound Heaven World. The top hundred would be immortalized on the list for three years.

To enter the Heaven’s Pride List in the Profound Heaven World was something else entirely—those individuals would inevitably become celebrities in the world of cultivation.

And with fame came great benefits.

Currently, the Lin brothers shared the top spot, and no one disputed this. After all, they were the only two Nascent Soul cultivators among the candidates.

Second place was a tie between Luo Heng and Wu Qing; no one objected to this ranking either, as both had demonstrated their strength by slaying the level-five Earth Howl leader.

The third place, however, was more controversial. It was not Jindan-stage Tong Cheng, but rather an unfamiliar name: Xing Kai of the Five Elements Pavilion, at the peak of the third stage of the Foundation Establishment.

The controversy arose because none of the disciples of the Five Elements Pavilion even knew this person, nor had anyone ever seen Xing Kai’s true face—they only knew that he had singlehandedly completed a level-four mission, slaying fifty level-four Earth Howls.

Such an achievement was simply out of proportion with Xing Kai’s supposed strength.