24: Chapter 24 Fourth Life, All-in Failure? Watch Me Turn the Tide (Part 1)

After pondering for a moment, Chen Shi finally made a decision.

"No holding back, continue going all-in!"

After all, in the current situation, how else could he break the deadlock without going all-in?

The problem now was how to allocate the points; should he distribute them evenly, or continue with an extreme allocation?

His fingertips slowly glided across the simulator interface as he fell into deep thought.

"Even allocation?"

He dismissed this idea immediately.

The experience of his previous two lives had long since proven that the simulator's rule was winner-takes-all. Not using an extreme allocation meant being mediocre in every aspect, which would ultimately lead to a life of futility and a death full of regrets.

900 points seemed like a lot, but when spread across three attributes, each would only get 300 points, which was barely enough to reach the threshold of a genius in the prefecture city.

It was a dead end, destined never to break new records.

"Then go all-in on Root Bone?"

Chen Shi's fingertip paused; that didn't seem to work either.

After all, a green evaluation corresponded to the prefecture level. If he went all-in on Root Bone, he probably wouldn't reach the level of a genius at the prefecture level, meaning he wouldn't reach the Silver Marrow Realm.

Moreover, being a genius required multiple aspects; he needed both Root Bone and Comprehension.

After all, breaking through the Iron Skin Realm was fine, but reaching the Copper Bone Realm required some artistic conception to break through, and breaking through to the Silver Marrow Realm required comprehending a complete True Intent. This was also a dead end.

"Then go all-in on Comprehension?"

That wouldn't work either. For the same reason, focusing on a single qualification generally didn't work and would likely lead to being restricted right from the start.

Unless he could be strong to the extreme, but unfortunately, his current points couldn't achieve that effect.

After much thought, Chen Shi's gaze finally settled on the word "Background."

In his previous two lives, he had relied on going all-in on Background, stepping up from a common martial arts hall manager to become the second legitimate son of the Chen family, and eventually the head of the Chen family, famous across several prefectures in Huangyan Prefecture.

Even though his entire family met a tragic end, he had to admit that the platform and resources provided by a good background were the fastest way to break the deadlock.

The collapse in his previous life wasn't because going all-in on Background was wrong; it was because he had pinned all his hopes on the halo of Chen Xuan, becoming a flower in a greenhouse with no ability to handle risks.

In this life, he would go all-in on Background again.

However, he wanted to bet on a higher platform, a major platform that would allow him to start off within the provincial capital of Huangyan Prefecture.

It would give him greater development prospects, allow him to rightfully unearth all his enemies, and, more importantly, let him have a platform that didn't require relying on anyone else.

There was also another benefit: it was less likely for him to die young. After all, no matter how high one's talent was, if one couldn't grow, it was useless.

A high Background was different; it would allow him to be born in "Rome" directly, basically ensuring a minimum baseline.

If he could be born into a noble family in the provincial capital, even just as a branch member, he could influence the entire prefecture from the top down, making everything easier to accomplish.

Seeking revenge on that old bastard Fang Xiaoru would also be much more convenient. After all, no matter what, he would never expect a young master from a noble family in the provincial capital to be watching him in secret.

"Hehehe!" Following a hearty laugh, Chen Shi felt much more at ease.

He took a deep breath, his fingertips sliding rapidly across the panel, and finally finalized his point allocation plan:

[True Spirit Myriad Ages Simulator Background: 800 (+) Root Bone: 50 (+) Comprehension: 50 (+) Will: 66]

800 points all-in on Background, with the remaining 100 points split between Root Bone and Comprehension, 50 each, to avoid having such poor aptitude that he couldn't enter the martial arts path and be abandoned immediately.

As the allocation was confirmed, the panel instantly flashed with a dazzling white light, and the simulator's cold prompt tone rang in his mind:

"Allocation confirmed. Fourth life reincarnation initiated. Wishing you prosperity in the martial arts."]

When he opened his eyes again, there were no expected silk quilts or soft beds, no gentle greetings from a wet nurse, and he didn't even have the strength to open his eyes.

Bone-chilling cold water was splashed over his head, the icy sensation instantly soaking through his thin, coarse cloth clothes, making him shiver violently.

Immediately after, a sharp pain shot through his waist and abdomen, and his whole body was kicked to the ground, slamming against the cold earthen wall.

"You lazy dog! It's not even dawn and you dare to hide in the woodshed, slacking off? Have you swept the floor in the Third Prince's courtyard? Have you emptied the chamber pot? Are you tired of living? Do you want to be sold to the mines!"

The shrill, scathing curse exploded in his ears. A steward with a face full of flab was holding a whip, glaring at him viciously, spraying spit all over his face.

The intense pain in his abdomen, the bone-chilling cold from the water, and the cowardly instinct remaining in this body from being accustomed to beatings made Chen Shi subconsciously curl up.

At that very moment, the memories of his many lives rushed into his mind like a bursting dam.

He was Chen Shi, and this was his fourth life.

Thinking back to the high-dimensional space, where he held 900 points and boldly declared he would go all-in on Background, betting on a top-tier origin in Huangyan Prefecture...

Chen Shi was completely stunned.

Where did this land him? Was this still Huangyan Prefecture?

What about his 800 points in Background?

What about the top-tier provincial-level origin he bet on?

How did it end up like this? Even if he didn't become a young master of a great noble family, 800 points shouldn't have resulted in this, right!

Did the simulator swallow his points? But that shouldn't be possible!

The simulator was a golden finger derived from his own high-level True Spirit combined with his memories; it couldn't possibly scam him.

Chen Shi froze in place, his whole body cold, his gaze dull.

He looked at the dilapidated woodshed before him, looked at his own frostbitten, skeletal hands, and then looked at the faded, coarse cloth clothes on his body. A chill shot up his spine to the top of his head, and even his breathing became strained.

"What are you looking at? Get to work, now!"

Seeing him stunned and motionless, the steward lashed out with the whip again. The tip of the whip grazed his arm, leaving a stinging, bloody welt.

The sharp pain snapped Chen Shi back to reality. He suppressed the surging emotions in his mind, along with the killing intent that was almost about to burst out.

He lowered his head and, using the cowardly tone instinctive to this body, replied repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, Steward, please spare me. I'm going right now, I'm going!"

He scrambled up from the ground, grabbed the broom in the corner, and ran out of the woodshed with his head down, not daring to look at the steward again.

Only after running to the entrance of a secluded, overgrown courtyard and confirming no one was around did Chen Shi lean against the cold courtyard wall, gasping for air, his whole body trembling slightly.

It wasn't from pain, and certainly not from fear; it was from being infuriated by the simulator.

Chen Shi was truly feeling some despair at this moment; he was completely at his wit's end.

He had gone all-in with a full 900 points, betting all his hopes, only for it to backfire at the very start. It was a complete disaster; he had almost lost everything.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began to sort through the memories of this body and his current situation.