82: Chapter 82: The Settlement Explodes! Sword Bone Awakens with Killing Intent!

The secret room was deathly silent.

Shen Ji sat cross-legged on the futon, motionless, his body cold.

There was no light screen before his eyes, but the scene of Shen Tian falling in the simulation burned repeatedly in his mind.

That "Daddy" call, that smile saying "I held him down for you," cut through his soul like a dull knife.

Just then, a glimmer of golden light pierced the darkness without warning.

The light screen flickered three times, like a lamp running out of oil.

Then, new text exploded.

[ — Settlement Reward (I) — ]

[ Cultivation Inheritance: Qi Refining Stage 5 Peak → Foundation Building Stage 4. ]

[ Detected simulation subject cultivation path completeness 98.7%, meridian remodeling data synchronizing... ]

[ Synchronization complete. ]

A torrent of power, far more violent and scalding than any previous time, detonated in his dantian without warning!

Shen Ji's body jerked backward, and he let out a muffled groan.

That power was not a gentle remodeling, but a brutal scouring and tearing!

His meridians were forcibly widened, emitting groans of unbearable strain.

The barrier of Qi Refining Stage 6 was instantly crushed!

The passes for the seventh, eighth, and ninth stages collapsed one by one, as if made of paper!

The chasm of Foundation Building that stood before all cultivators was pierced through with a roar in the face of this barbaric power, blocked for only an instant!

Foundation Building Stage 1!

Stage 2!

Stage 3!

Spiritual power surged like a breached flood, savagely filling and hardening his Dao foundation.

Not until his Foundation Building Stage 4 early-stage realm was completely stabilized did that power, which had nearly burst his body, slowly subside.

Shen Ji braced himself against the ground, breathing heavily, and looked down at his own hands.

These were the very hands that, in the simulation, could barely shake Valley Master Mo Jiuyou's protective spiritual light.

And now, beneath his palms, an unprecedented power was roaring and flowing.

From Qi Refining Stage 5 to Foundation Building Stage 4.

Twenty-three years!

Twenty-three full years of bitter cultivation from the simulation had been poured into his body in one breath!

Before he could even savor it, the text on the light screen jumped again.

[ — Settlement Reward (II) — ]

[ Detected special event: Using Foundation Building Stage 4 to counterattack Foundation Building Stage 8 (Valley Master Mo Jiuyou), killing six enemies of equal or higher rank. ]

[ Trait "Supreme Sword Bone" was forcibly activated during extreme combat, producing an unknown transformation. ]

[ Transformation complete. ]

[ Supreme Sword Bone new hidden attribute — ]

[ Killing Intent. ]

Two blood-red characters, as if congealed from the blood flowing from Shen Tian's chest, carried a bone-chilling coldness.

[ Attribute Description: The stronger the Killing Intent, the higher the probability of winning against stronger opponents. When the cultivator faces an enemy higher than their own realm, Killing Intent will automatically activate, providing varying degrees of breakthrough amplification to Sword Qi and Sword Intent based on the level. ]

[ Initial Killing Intent Level: Level 1. ]

[ Subsequent improvement method: As cultivation and Sword Intent improve together, the Killing Intent level will naturally increase. ]

Killing Intent...

In Shen Ji's mind, the image of himself standing beside Shen Tian's corpse and laughing wildly at Valley Master Mo Jiuyou flashed by.

At that time, he felt no fear, no despair, only one thought —

Kill you all.

That pure, life-or-death-defying brutality had actually been absorbed by the Supreme Sword Bone, turning into a power that could grow and be quantified.

My sword shall carry my rage.

He suppressed the surging thoughts and continued reading.

[ — Settlement Reward (III) — ]

[ Detected that trait replacement operations were performed 47 times in the simulation, proficiency requirement met. ]

[ Trait replacement cooldown reduced: One day → One hour. ]

Shen Ji's breathing paused for an instant.

One hour.

With his current limited attack skills, if he had sufficient attack skills in the future, wouldn't he be able to swap traits a full round in a single battle and double his combat power?

Scenes of battle flashed through his mind instantly.

Facing a strong enemy, first use Phantom Raid to get close, trigger the first attack with Lingxi Finger, then switch Lingxi Finger to "Lingxi Two Fingers."

Do it again, with several such trait switches in one battle, wouldn't the enemy not even know how they died?

In a prolonged battle, he could unleash tactical combinations that others couldn't piece together in several lifetimes.

This isn't flexibility.

This is perverted!

[ — Settlement Reward (IV) — ]

[ Detected that the host was left wanting more after the simulation ended, additional reward granted. ]

[ Reward: Next simulation, guide mission waived, directly start free simulation. ]

As the final reward settled, the light screen returned to its normal white color.

[ — Trait Inheritance — ]

[ 22 new traits obtained in this simulation have been synchronized to the repository: ]

[ Supreme Sword Bone (Gold) — Automatically equipped. ]

...

[ Domestic Peace (Green) — Automatically stored. ]

...

[ Blessed with Many Children (Purple) — Automatically merged. ]

...

[ Teaching and Educating (Green) — Automatically stored. ]

...

[ A total of 22 traits were obtained this time, 3 were duplicates, 19 inherited in total. ]

[ Currently equipped traits 6 / 6: Wealth Returns After Being Spent (Gold), Supreme Sword Bone (Gold), Phantom Raid (Purple), Lingxi Finger (Blue), Sword Mastery (Blue), Greased Soles (White) ]

[ Settlement complete. ]

The light screen dissipated.

Shen Ji stood up and walked to the center of the secret room.

The spiritual power of Foundation Building Stage 4 flowed steadily through his meridians; he could clearly feel the sword bone in his spine emitting a faint hum, like a dormant beast that had smelled blood.

Tianxuan Sect.

These three words surfaced in his heart.

True Person Chiyang once said that inner sect disciples are capped at twenty years old; he was overage.

But he also said another sentence.

If one reaches the peak of their peers in alchemy, artifact refining, formations, sword dao... any one of them, they can also be admitted as an exception.

Peak of their peers?

Shen Ji spread his palm. With [ Supreme Sword Bone ] that can condense Sword Intent at the Foundation Building stage and has no upper limit on flying sword resonance... is this just merely "peak"?

This is invincible!

That seemingly closed door had long since opened a crack for him.

Huo Quji...

That old friend from the simulation who died at forty-nine, at this moment, should still be the pride of Fire Cloud Hall of the Tianxuan Sect.

Shen Ji slowly closed his five fingers.

This time, I will not let anyone die before me again.

He raised his hand, pointing like a sword, and pointed at the stone wall in front of him out of thin air.

Chi!

Without brilliance, without sound, a Sword Qi condensed to the extreme shot out from his finger.

On the opposite stone wall, a finger-sized round hole appeared silently, bottomless, the edges of the hole as smooth as a mirror, as if it were tofu pierced by a red-hot branding iron.

This is the power of Foundation Building Stage 4 combined with [ Supreme Sword Bone ].

Shen Ji walked to the light screen, and that line of text had lit up again.

[ Current available simulations: 1 ]

[ Privileges unlocked for this simulation: Guide mission waived, can directly start free simulation. ]

[ Start simulation? ]

His gaze fell on those two words without the slightest hesitation.

"Start."

White light erupted, swallowing his figure.

[ Simulation, start. ]

This time, I will not let this sky cover my sword ever again!