"Brother Xu, you've been out hunting demons again, haven't you?"
"Yeah, Niu, how have you been lately?"
"Hehe, same as always, going wherever there's work to be done."
Returning to Qingniu Town.
A piercing cry tore through the crimson twilight.
This sunset was far from beautiful.
The sky was gloomy, as if a ghostly realm was spreading, and the lingering heat of the sunlight couldn't penetrate the layers of darkness, leaving only a faint, indistinct red glow.
On his way home, Xu Xi received warm greetings from many people.
Even some elderly women used him as a topic of conversation.
"That Xu Xi kid is good at everything, making money and skilled in martial arts. The only problem is he's too honest, easily taken advantage of. He needs to find a diligent wife."
"Hey, isn't there a daughter in the Wang Butcher's family in the neighboring town? Maybe we could match her with Xu Xi?"
"Are you senile? That neighboring town has been gone for a while now!"
"Ah, right, how could I forget? The neighboring town was devoured by demons last year."
A martial artist's physical prowess manifests in many ways.
Including hearing.
Xu Xi walked further away, but his ears caught every word of the conversation behind him.
Was he troubled? Not really.
Embarrassed? Even less so.
Listening to the old folks' chatter, Xu Xi felt more pity than anything else.
His steps paused as he looked up at the sky.
Xu Xi's calm eyes watched as the last traces of red disappeared from the dome above, replaced entirely by an oppressive darkness, like ink spreading across a canvas.
It was a suffocating pressure, a struggle that felt both numb and helpless.
[Since the first year of crossing over, Qingniu Town began rebuilding.]
[But you realized that the reconstruction of Qingniu Town never seemed to end; it was always ongoing.]
[Because every year, during spring and winter, large-scale demon hordes would emerge from the Hundred Thousand Mountains, relentlessly attacking human settlements like Qingniu Town on the fringes.]
[The Heavenly Dog devoured the sun, the Fox Demon feasted on essence, the Corpse Demon spread decay, and the Evil Tiger enslaved the dead.]
[Facing such powerful and terrifying demons, even martial artists with robust vitality found it hard to resist. Only those at the Innate level or above could stand a chance.]
[Naturally, small towns like Qingniu Town had neither Innate Martial Artists to protect them nor the aid of the Great Qian army.]
[Thus, every year, you witnessed Qingniu Town caught in a cycle of destruction and reconstruction.]
[Through your own experiences, you debunked the historical records in books. They were false, a whitewashed lie. The establishment of the Great Qian did not bring safety to everyone.]
[The people of Qingniu Town, and all the towns bordering the Hundred Thousand Mountains, lived in constant fear.]
"Such a heavy tone..."
"It seems this is no longer a little girl raising simulator."
"Though it still has nothing to do with a happy life."
[The dangers of the martial world far exceeded your imagination. While remaining vigilant, you persisted in training your body and cultivating your vitality.]
[Your progress in cultivation slowed, but you persevered, improving bit by bit every day.]
[Your martial skills were still unpolished, but you persisted, becoming slightly more proficient each day.]
[You practiced your punches day and night.]
[You stood in stance through winter and summer alike.]
[Your sweat bore witness to your efforts, your muscular frame a testament to your will. Both your body and your cultivation level steadily improved through relentless effort.]
[In the fifth year of the simulation, at age 20, you survived another demon horde attack on Qingniu Town.]
[In the sixth year of the simulation, at age 21, you noticed that some familiar faces in Qingniu Town had disappeared, but you were still alive.]
[In the seventh year of the simulation, at age 22, you became a renowned martial artist in the area. Even without actively seeking it, people would offer you gold, silver, and medicinal herbs. Yet, you remained stuck at the Marrow Cleansing stage, as if something was missing.]
Spring passed, autumn came; flowers bloomed and withered.
Xu Xi's simulation had lasted over six years.
It was now the seventh year.
His progress in martial cultivation hadn't been smooth. Xu Xi had been stuck at the Marrow Cleansing stage for three years, but he remained calm, sensing that the Blood Exchange stage was within reach.
If he could break through this bottleneck, he was confident he could advance to the Innate Martial Artist level in a shorter time.
"This simulation has no lifespan limit, and the cultivation of vitality and martial arts is known to extend life. No rush, no rush. I have plenty of time to persist."
Returning from another battle, Xu Xi walked down the street, sensing the flow of vitality within his body while pondering his next steps in cultivation.
"A martial artist must be bold and relentless."
"Perhaps this time, I should truly embrace the path of the brute, fighting heaven, earth, and everything in between?"
Xu Xi pondered, quickening his pace home.
He planned to train some more, both to trigger the "persistence" trait and to examine himself, searching for the reason he couldn't break through to the Blood Exchange stage.
"Creak—"
Pushing open the heavy reddish-brown wooden door, Xu Xi entered his home in Qingniu Town.
The path beneath his feet was paved with square stone bricks, flanked by walls made of blue bricks, with willow trees draping over them, casting dappled shadows swaying in the breeze.
There were no paintings, antiques, or intricate carvings.
Xu Xi's residence was as simple as it could be.
Everything was designed for cultivation, maximizing the space so that Xu Xi could train his martial arts and refine his vitality even at home.
Walking past a two-person-tall training stone made of blue steel, Xu Xi headed straight for the inner room, intending to clear his mind and cultivate his vitality and martial arts.
Yes.
That was how it should have been.
"Hmm?"
Something strange caught his eye.
A look of confusion briefly crossed Xu Xi's face, followed by silence.
He quietly closed the door, took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and opened the inner room door again.
It wasn't an illusion.
It hadn't disappeared.
A girl, drenched in blood and seemingly gravely injured, lay quietly unconscious in Xu Xi's room.
"Did she fall from the sky?" Xu Xi glanced up and saw a massive hole in the roof, shattered tiles swaying in the wind, broken beams shedding wood chips, offering an unobstructed view of the sky outside.
Xu Xi's judgment wasn't wrong. This was no longer a little girl raising simulator.
Because the girl who had fallen into his room was already a grown teenager.
Around sixteen or seventeen years old.
"Is she a martial artist from a nearby town?"
"No, her clothing doesn't look like something an ordinary person would wear. It seems more like something from the inner regions of the Great Qian, indicating wealth or nobility."
"Was she attacked by demons and severely injured?"
"Or was she ambushed by someone?"
Her outfit was a mix of red and white, with a finely crafted yet sturdy light armor over it.
Beautiful, but not fragile.
Exquisite, yet resilient.
Her fiery red appearance wasn't just due to the blood staining her clothes; her attire itself exuded a bold, heroic aura.
The long spear lying beside her further emphasized her identity.
Its blade was sharp and gilded, while the handle gleamed with a dark, metallic sheen.
"Interesting. She's even at the Blood Exchange stage. Things are starting to get intriguing."