Chapter 10: An Acquaintance

After letting his mind wander for a moment, Zhou Qing pulled himself back to reality.

Golden Talents and Rainbow Talents were still far beyond his reach.

Right now, he had a much more urgent problem to think about.

In two years, the Fourth Prince would seize control of the emperor and launch a purge against the Zhou family.

The Zhou family was one of the Crown Prince’s most loyal supporters and held immense power. The family patriarch, Zhou Shizhong, even commanded the Imperial Guard.

To the Fourth Prince, who was secretly preparing to usurp the throne, people like that were an obstacle that had to be eliminated.

Unless Zhou Shizhong was willing to swear loyalty to him ahead of time.

But based on everything Zhou Qing knew about his father, that was impossible. Even if it cost him his life, even if he had to watch his wife and son be executed before his eyes, Zhou Shizhong would never betray his principles.

The Zhou family had served the empire faithfully for generations. Zhou Shizhong had grown up alongside the Crown Prince, and loyalty to the emperor was ingrained in him down to his bones. Nothing could change that.

That meant there were only two ways to change the Zhou family’s fate from the simulation.

The first was to confront the Fourth Prince head-on.

Zhou Qing dismissed that option immediately.

Even after going through one simulation and making tremendous progress, he was still only a fifth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator.

The Fourth Prince had spent years hiding his true intentions. He was suspected of having ties to the barbarian tribes, and he also had cultivators working under him.

Zhou Qing had no confidence whatsoever in defeating him in a direct confrontation.

The second option was to run.

There were still two years before everything happened. If he could take his entire family and flee the Qian Kingdom, they might be able to avoid the Fourth Prince’s purge.

They could escape first and preserve their lives. Then, after Zhou Qing went through a few more simulations and gained enough strength, it wouldn’t be too late to come back and take revenge.

There was just one thing he needed to confirm before deciding whether to use that plan.

Taking a steadying breath, Zhou Qing looked at the translucent text floating before him.

[Name: Zhou Qing]

[Race: Human]

[Cultivation Base: Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement]

[Profession: Mid-Grade Alchemist]

[Age: 16]

[Talent: Pill Toxin Nemesis]

[Simulations Remaining: 0]

Zhou Qing’s gaze settled on the Simulations Remaining section.

A translucent countdown timer emerged.

[02:06:13:16:52:21]

Zhou Qing frowned. Two and a half years of cooldown? he was thinking to himself.

Based on his previous experience, once the timer reached zero, it would “refresh” and grant him another simulation attempt.

“Hmm?”

The moment Zhou Qing locked his attention onto the countdown, a new string of information flashed in his mind.

So, I can speed up the cooldown by staying in places with denser spiritual qi? he realized.

In simple terms, the richer the spiritual energy in his surroundings, the faster the countdown would tick down.

“Looks like I still need to make a trip to Wushan Market.”

He had already made up his mind.

Wushan Market was built on top of a second-grade spirit vein, and the spiritual energy there was far denser than anywhere outside.

Of course, other cultivation settlements were built on spirit veins as well. The difference was that Zhou Qing knew Wushan Market better than anywhere else. He was familiar with every major event that would take place there over the next sixty-plus years.

To Zhou Qing, Wushan Market was even safer than the Zhou estate.

“Dachun!” Zhou Qing called out, getting to his feet.

“Young Master?” Dachun bolted back into the room, scratching his head with a sheepish grin. He blinked, studying Zhou Qing closely. “Young Master, you seem… different somehow.”

Zhou Qing shot him a glance. “You’re imagining things…” 

After inheriting all the cultivation he had gained in the simulation, the first thing he’d done was activate the Aura Concealment Technique and suppress every trace of his aura.

Yet somehow, Dachun had still sensed that something was off.

“Dachun, I’ve decided to travel the world, and I’m taking you with me,” Zhou Qing said, making up a quick excuse.

Since he planned to head to Wushan Market, he couldn’t exactly just pack up and leave without any explanation.

Traveling the world was a perfect excuse.

The only reason he was bringing Dachun along was to give his parents peace of mind

As the third young master of the Zhou family, if he left the estate to wander the world all by himself, his mother would be worried sick.

“Wait, what? Travel the world?” Da Chun’s eyes went wide.” Dachun’s eyes went wide.

“My mind is made up.”

Zhou Qing immediately penned a quick letter and left it on the table inside the room, explaining that he was taking Dachun with him to see the world. Then he turned and walked out the door.

“Young Master, wait for me!” Dachun called out, scrambling to keep up.

…

The next day.

“Madam…”

A maid, pale-faced and nervous, delivered a letter to Madam Zhou.

“Ah Qing…” After reading it, a look of alarm appeared on her face as well.

Her youngest son actually had the nerve to leave and travel the world just like that?

The news caused quite a stir throughout the Zhou estate, and Zhou Shizhong, the family patriarch, was informed immediately.

Zhou Shizhong frowned, then gradually relaxed. “With Dachun accompanying him, Ah Qing shouldn’t be in any real danger…”

No one knew their own people better than he did. He knew exactly how capable Dachun was, and he was well aware of the man’s extraordinary instincts.

If Zhou Qing had left the estate alone, Zhou Shizhong would have searched every corner of the Qian Kingdom to find him, no matter the cost.

But with Dachun by his side…

Zhou Shizhong simply didn’t believe Zhou Qing could run into any serious danger.

At worst, the boy would suffer a few hardships and learn some lessons.

He turned to his wife and tried to reassure her.

“Enough. Ah Qing is already sixteen. It’s good for him to get out and see more of the world.”

…

Half a month later.

Zhou Qing arrived at Wushan Market.

As for Da Chun, he had naturally been left behind to wait at the foot of the mountain.

This time, Zhou Qing wasn’t going to leave Dachun at the foot of the mountain for decades like he had in the simulation. Instead, his plan was to settle down permanently in the market town first and then bring Dachun up to live with him.

After entering the market town, Zhou Qing headed straight for the Alchemy Alliance branch.

In Wushan Market Town, the places with the richest spiritual energy were naturally the cave residences and the inns.

But whether it was a cave residence or an inn, staying there required spirit stones.

Unfortunately, Zhou Qing didn’t have any spirit stones. In fact, not only was he broke, he didn’t even own an alchemy furnace, an essential tool for any alchemist.

Still, thanks to everything he had experienced in the simulation, Zhou Qing already knew the fastest way to secure a cave residence in the market town and establish himself there.

The answer was simple: join the Alchemy Alliance.

Back in the simulation, Zhou Qing had joined the Alchemy Alliance through Alchemist Yun’s recommendation, which gave him a good understanding of the organization and how it operated.

Strictly speaking, the Alchemy Alliance wasn’t really a sect or faction. It placed very few restrictions on its members.

At the same time, the benefits were exceptionally generous. Anyone who joined was entitled to a free cave residence provided by the Alliance.

Of course, getting in wasn’t easy. Even a low-grade alchemist had to pass multiple rounds of evaluation. In the simulation, Zhou Qing had only managed to become a member so quickly because Alchemist Yun personally recommended him.

In reality, however, he no longer had Alchemist Yun’s backing.

That said, with the skills and qualifications of a mid-grade alchemist, he didn’t need a recommendation anymore.

Although low-grade and mid-grade alchemists were separated by only a single rank, the difference in status between them was enormous.

The Alchemy Alliance had no shortage of low-grade alchemists. What it truly wanted were mid-grade alchemists and those of even higher standing.

Before long, Zhou Qing arrived at the Alchemy Alliance’s branch in the market town.

A female cultivator in the middle stage of Qi Refinement looked at him and asked gently, “Are you here to join the Alchemy Alliance, Fellow Daoist?”

Zhou Qing nodded.

“May I ask what rank of alchemist you are?”

“Mid-grade,” replied Zhou Qing.

“A mid-grade alchemist?”

The female cultivator frowned. She was secretly shocked. She had assumed he was only a low-grade alchemist, considering there were only a handful of mid-grade alchemists in the entire Wushan Cultivator Market.

“Fellow Daoist, if you wish to join the Alchemist Alliance as a mid-grade alchemist, you must pass a refinement trial,” she explained carefully. “During the exam, you are required to use the alliance’s own cauldrons and earth-fire. Is that acceptable?”

“That’s fine,” Zhou Qing nodded.

“Right this way, then.” She immediately led Zhou Qing toward the examination room.

A short while later, they arrived before a stone door.

The woman formed a hand seal, and the massive stone door slowly swung open.

“Alchemist Yun,” she called into the room beyond, “this mid-grade alchemist is here for evaluation. Could you conduct the assessment?”

“Oh? A mid-grade alchemist?”

A thin-faced man stepped out.

Alchemist Yun?

Zhou Qing looked back at him, studying this “old friend” who had been so close to him in the simulation.