Simulated immortality allows me to calculate talent stats.

Put away your teasing and irreverent demeanor.

[He asked solemnly,] "Master, what price must you pay to sever this body from my destiny?"

The old Taoist priest still has his back to you.

[Looking up at the sky.]

"Hmph! As I said, it's just a little hardship."

【"well……"】

You sighed softly, genuinely grateful: "Even the harshest weather can be deadly."

The old Taoist priest lowered his head, turned around, and his gaze fell on you.

[Especially seeing your empty right sleeve, and feeling the pain you bear.]

[His brows were furrowed, his heart filled with reluctance.]

"Yu Jing, what are you planning here? You may tell your master."

"Why did you have to ruin yourself like this?"

"I don't want the world to laugh at me, Zhang Bingcheng, for constantly proclaiming that I am the only one worthy of respect in heaven and on earth."

"Yet he couldn't even protect his own disciple..."

You sensed the heaviness in the old Taoist's tone.

[Thinking of my withered and decaying eldest brother, my second brother's golden statue, and my third brother who has vanished without a trace.]

The old Taoist priest's concern for you, and his willingness to go to great lengths to cut off your destiny that defies fate.

[Perhaps it also contained feelings of guilt and self-blame towards the three people.]

If he had disciplined them more strictly and intervened earlier, things wouldn't be like this now.

[In a daze.]

You seem to have witnessed the path your three senior brothers took.

Because, it seems, you are also on your journey right now.

[The eldest disciple, Yu Shou, only cultivates tranquility; he does not cultivate a golden body or thunder magic.]

[It is their choice based on their moral compass.]

[Second Senior Brother Yuxu only cultivates the Golden Body, not the Meditation Technique or Thunder Magic.]

[It's due to their inherent nature and temperament.]

As for the third senior brother...

The old Taoist priest didn't elaborate on his specific circumstances.

[The only gift I received from you when I first entered the sect was this one, entrusted to me by the old Taoist priest.]

However, based on the circumstances of the two senior brothers...

[Third Senior Brother Yu Zhi probably only cultivates thunder magic, not meditation or the golden body.]

The current situation of the three of them.

It was entirely my own choice; I steadfastly moved forward on my own path.

You are the same now.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but sigh. Perhaps, in some mysterious way, this generation of the Celestial Master's Mansion was all endowed with the same destiny.

If that's the case, what's your choice now?

Is it fate, or a choice we made ourselves?

You didn't investigate further.

Because it's not important.

The important thing is...

You will gain intelligence and talent attributes from this.

And then... let's do it again!

[These are the old Taoist's heartfelt words, intended to sway you and persuade him to intervene.]

"Yu Jing, didn't you always say you inherited half of the Celestial Master's Mansion?"

"Once you sever this life's destiny, I will pass the throne to you."

The old Taoist priest smiled gently.

[Continuing with the conditions: "Also, I will pass on the authority of the Heavenly Punishment Thunder Technique to you."]

【"how?"】

You spoke earnestly and even pleaded with the old Taoist priest.

[Emotions surged within me; I was moved but unable to bear it.]

Finally, she looked up at him.

No words were spoken, but that familiar look in his eyes...

The old Taoist priest already knows the answer.

In an instant, the old Taoist's imposing figure, supported by his tall and strong frame, seemed to slump slightly.

[His ancient face exudes a sense of desolation and decay.]

He managed a weak smile.

"Fine, whatever. You're just like your senior brothers, do whatever you want."

The old Taoist priest waved his sleeves forlornly.

[Mysterious and intricate talismans were inscribed in the void.]

[He thrust the Celestial Master's Sword into the air.]

"I can't control you guys anymore."

You smiled helplessly, then looked at the Celestial Master's Sword that was gradually disappearing into nothingness.

"Stop looking."

The old Taoist priest has returned to his former appearance.

He sneered, "This is the Celestial Master's Sword; only those who inherit the Celestial Master's rank can wield it."

Upon seeing this, suppress your thoughts.

[She smiled ingratiatingly, "Master, you possess your own unique eighth realm in the mortal world; you don't need to rely on the Celestial Master's rank to remain in the mortal realm."]

"Why don't you hand over the title of Celestial Master to me?"

The top powers in the mortal realm invariably have one or two celestial beings in charge.

[Perhaps there are beings even higher than celestial beings.]

Each faction possesses the means to ensure that celestial beings remain on Earth.

[Like the Sword Palace of Yongzhou, each generation can preserve one celestial being in the mortal realm.]

[And there's another method hidden within.]

[This involves thoroughly comprehending the sword essence – Celestial Immortal Ascension – and thereby forming a sword essence destiny.]

Qi Xuan was like that.

The inheritance of the Celestial Master's Mansion is the rank of Celestial Master.

Each generation of Celestial Masters is able to preserve their status in the mortal world through this position.

[The old Taoist priest, however, had already broken free from the reliance on his status as a Celestial Master.]

[Stepping out of one's own unique eighth realm, becoming a terrestrial immortal.]

The old Taoist priest snorted coldly again.

His gaze swept over you, then turned to the ancestral tablets.

[Hands crossed, chin held high: "With that wretched look on your face, if I dared to bestow upon you the title of Celestial Master, you'd better ask if your ancestors would approve."]

【Boom! 】

[Zhang Xunzhi, the patriarch, was the first to jump out.]

[The memorial tablet emits a faint, ethereal light.]

[You've already taken his magic sword to clean the latrine, you brat.]

[Are we going to throw the Celestial Master title into the pit too?]

[Could this be the golden light, meditation, and thunder magic of the Celestial Master's Mansion in the future?]

They all have to become dirty and filthy.

[A new lineage of Yin Thunder inheritance has indeed emerged.]

【"Tsk!"】

Seeing that Elder Zhang Xunzhi had such strong objections, you didn't press the matter further.

After all, I did manage to dirty their magic sword.

The Celestial Master's sword vanished into nothingness, and the engraved mystical talismans disappeared.

The old Taoist priest lowered his hand and looked at you.

"What are you coming back for this time? How long are you staying?"

[You're feigning a pitiful state.]

"No, Master, I just got back, why do you act like you want to kick me out?"

[The old Taoist priest snorted coldly.]

"I find it an eyesore!"

You don't know whether to laugh or cry.

[Ever since refusing to sever the defiance of his destiny, the old Taoist has adopted a certain stance.]

Before opening his mouth, he would always let out a cold snort.

You turn and gaze into the distance, sensing the vast territory shrouded in black rain.

[The words were profound: "It depends on the situation in Jingzhou."]

The most chaotic place in the world today is Nancang.

Xiang Che and Chen Chao launched a rebellion.

The dynamics of the game between the two sides are different from the three-way power struggle simulated in the previous simulation.

[A more tit-for-tat confrontation, a fight to the death.]

After Pang Hai, Xiang Che, and Chen Chao consolidated their power through rebellion, they tacitly chose their own directions for expansion.

[The final division of Nancang.]

[Establishing a Three Kingdoms framework.]

Now, Xiang Che and Chen Chao have respectively occupied Bingzhou and Yangzhou.

[With Jingzhou as the battlefield, the fighting has entered a fierce, life-or-death struggle.]

There was absolutely no room for negotiation or compromise between the two sides.

Both sides are thinking of taking advantage of the other's emerging talent to completely crush them.

[Do not give them the opportunity to grow and expand.]

The subsequent situation in Jingzhou confirmed your analysis.

You returned to the Celestial Master's Mansion and stayed for three years.