[Douluo Calendar, December 27, 2029: Prime Minister Ji Xiang of the Heaven Dou Empire was assassinated and perished.]
[Douluo Calendar, December 31, 2029: The Spirit Hall announced its return.]
[Douluo Calendar, October 14, 2033: Du Bubai, claiming to be a disciple of Zhou Sheng'an, emerged and successively killed the Grand Worship of the Spirit Hall, massacred the Spirit Hall, and then stormed the imperial palace, killing Qian Renxue.]
[The world was in an uproar, and the Heaven Dou Empire was divided.]
[Douluo Calendar, December 23, 2033: Du Bubai battled a deity for ten days. Divine blood spilled, and a rain of blood fell from the heavens. Wails resounded throughout the world for three days without end.]
[Douluo Calendar, February 17, 2034: Du Bubai entered the City of Slaughter and emerged the next day, having destroyed it.]
[Douluo Calendar, February 23, 2034: Du Bubai set out to sea, arrived at Seagod Island, killed the High Priest Bo Saixi, and battled the Seagod, who descended upon Douluo. He ultimately beheaded the deity.]
[This simulation ends here.]
Bibi Dong was stunned. Staring at the series of entries before her, the sheer amount of information nearly made her jaw drop.
Was Zhou Sheng'an truly dead, or had he hidden somewhere?
If he wasn't dead, why would he sit idly by while Ji Xiang was assassinated?
And then there was Zhou Sheng'an's fifth disciple, Du Bubai… there were only three words to describe him—an absolute madman!
Yes, Du Bubai had gone on a killing spree, wiping out the inheritances left by the deities of Douluo Continent. Even though he wasn't killing their actual bodies, the fact that he could exterminate their legacies with the power of a newly ascended god was shocking.
He was, without a doubt, a true demon!
Bibi Dong sucked in a cold breath and muttered, "This person… I must subdue him first! But why has the cooldown for the next simulation increased…? It actually takes a whole month now?"
She was shocked, but soon, another thought came to her.
"Who are the other players? The ones I suspect are Empress Zhu of the Star Luo Empire and Tang Yuehua of the Clear Sky Sect. As for the others, I don't have enough evidence yet…"
…
Heaven Dou Empire, Imperial Palace
The two Qian Renxues stared at each other in silence.
They were the most bewildered of all.
Their grandfather's sudden decision to kill Zhou Sheng'an was understandable—after all, the disciples Zhou Sheng'an had trained had directly destroyed the Spirit Hall, even toppling its divine statues.
But why was Zhou Sheng'an dead… or missing?
Qian Renxue remembered very clearly—at that time, Zhou Sheng'an was beyond words.
He seemed more… transcendent.
Although Zhou Sheng'an had never revealed his true strength, one thing couldn't be ignored—in this simulation, Zhou Sheng'an had the longest learning period!
In previous, shorter simulations, he had already reached the level of a Titled Douluo. In this one, he should have been even stronger! How could he have been killed by her grandfather?
She had asked her grandfather, but all he said was that he had forgotten what happened. His words were vague, his tone evasive.
"I feel like something's wrong with that Sheng'an…"
Qian Renxue frowned in thought.
Suddenly, Dark Qian Renxue spoke up. "Look at the entry."
[For unknown reasons, you can no longer receive this memory.]
"???" Qian Renxue was stunned. This was the first time something like this had happened.
Dark Qian Renxue suddenly burst into laughter. "Hahaha… I understand now! As expected of Sheng'an! Even in the simulation, he refuses to be controlled. He must have already left that simulated world!"
Qian Renxue stared at her in shock, deep in thought.
Would the transcendent Zhou Sheng'an from the simulation affect the real Zhou Sheng'an?
Qian Renxue bit her lip, troubled. This was a very complex issue.
"With a one-month cooldown, let's focus on subduing the Spirit Hall's high-ranking members within the Heaven Dou Empire first." Qian Renxue shook her head, putting aside her thoughts.
In truth, she understood that the best way to prevent unexpected changes was to stop the simulated Zhou Sheng'an from growing too powerful.
But killing the simulated Zhou Sheng'an?
She couldn't even bring herself to think about it.
…
In an inn
"How could our teacher be missing?"
Lying in the same bed as Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu asked in confusion.
Zhu Zhuqing remained silent for a moment before changing the subject. "Tomorrow, we'll be heading back… Hmm?"
She suddenly sat up, her figure flickering as she moved to the window. Her ears morphed into cat ears, long and pointed, pressed against the wall as if listening to something.
This technique was one she had learned from Zhou Sheng'an during the simulation.
It greatly enhanced her hearing, allowing her to pick up even the faintest sounds.
Xiao Wu tiptoed closer and whispered, "Zhuqing, what is it?"
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head slightly, continuing to listen. A solemn expression appeared on her face.
After a few dozen seconds, she finally spoke.
"Someone is planning to harm us. They want to offer us to some 'Blood God Sect'…"
Xiao Wu blinked. She had never heard of such a sect before.
"What should we do?"
"No action for now. From what I heard, they plan to ambush us on the way. Right now, they're just scouting." Zhu Zhuqing shook her head and then lay back down to sleep.
Xiao Wu, still surprised, glanced at Zhu Zhuqing's figure as she bent down.
'How is she that big?!'
…
In the next room
The end-of-simulation notification woke Zhou Sheng'an.
As soon as he woke up, he reached out—only to find that his blanket was gone!
Turning his head, he saw that Liu Erlong had wrapped herself in the entire blanket like a giant silkworm, leaving nothing for him!
Zhou Sheng'an almost laughed in exasperation. This woman had absolutely no sleeping posture!
Giving up on sleep, he opened the simulation page.
[An unknown issue has occurred in this simulation. Your experience gain is limited to the following…]
Zhou Sheng'an frowned in confusion. When he checked his character log, which should have recorded everything in detail, he found it completely blank—erased.
"Could it be… like last time?" Zhou Sheng'an frowned in thought.
During his third simulation—when he became the Grand Sage Master—he had triggered a divine phenomenon at Hangu Pass and caught the attention of a deity. That time, the deity had granted him a divine inheritance, which even manifested in reality.
To this day, he could sense the hidden, unreadable energy cluster in his spiritual sea.
And now, a similar situation had arisen.
'Could it be that the simulated me has broken free? If he can affect the simulator, doesn't that mean he's reached a divine level? What will he do to me?'
Zhou Sheng'an furrowed his brows, deep in thought. After a while, he decided to absorb the experience first.
The experience he could retain was solely about methods for soul beasts to cultivate. All other insights were gone!
Even though his comprehension as a Grand Sage Master was enough for him to reach Level 100 and become a god, he still felt regretful about missing out on such a powerful experience.
As he mulled over it, he caught a glimpse of Liu Erlong out of the corner of his eye. She had rolled over a few times, finally freeing up some of the blanket.
Without hesitation, Zhou Sheng'an dove in and quickly fell asleep.
What he didn't know was that while he slept, a faint shadow appeared before him.
"I was born because of you, but this world does not belong to me. I shall depart… but before I go, I will use my abilities to protect you."
The shadow sighed softly.
(This Zhou Sheng'an will have no further role—he's just leaving behind a god-level protection to enhance the protagonist's sense of security.)