Chapter 8: Simulator Upgrade 2.0
Jiang Dafu listened to Jiang Yifeng's words and frowned slightly, wondering if the guards' uniforms hadn't just been replaced.
Nevertheless, he nodded and replied, "Alright, Young Master, do you have any other instructions?"
Since the Young Master said to change them, then change them. The guards' uniforms weren't worth much anyway.
After pondering for a moment, Jiang Yifeng continued, "Also, purchase a large amount of gold, silver, jewels, and other precious items. The more, the better.
Once you've acquired them, deliver them to me immediately!"
Since he had already sought out the steward Jiang Dafu, he decided to entrust him with the task of collecting energy as well.
"Yes, Young Master!"
Jiang Dafu didn't ask any further questions. As long as Jiang Yifeng gave the order, he would carry it out. Asking was pointless; everyone knew that in the Jiang Family, as long as Jiang Yifeng spoke, even the most outrageous things had to be done.
The head of the family, Jiang Fushan, was known throughout Green Hills City for his doting on Jiang Yifeng.
After giving all the instructions, Jiang Yifeng dismissed the steward and the maid.***
He then began to summarize the experiences from his three simulations.
Having first encountered the simulator, Jiang Yifeng felt that he hadn't used it effectively.
In three consecutive simulations, he had done many pointless things.
For instance, he had gone back and forth, only to end up practicing martial arts.
Would it have been better if he had started practicing martial arts from the beginning?
But on second thought, he realized that wasn't the case.
The unnamed manual from Wu Youdao was obtained because, in the last simulation, he had demonstrated impressive Martial Dao cultivation and talent.
Even if he had spent money to learn martial arts from Wu Youdao earlier, he wouldn't have taken it out.
In the end, Jiang Yifeng shook his head, no longer pondering whether he had used the simulator effectively.
Everything was the best arrangement.
He wasn't afraid of taking the wrong path; with the simulator, if he took the wrong path, he could just walk it a few more times and eventually choose the right one.
The simulation attempts were now used up, and the next simulation would be available in seven days.
Jiang Yifeng planned to use this time to go to the Wu Family Martial Arts School and obtain the unnamed manual.
***
In the following days, Jiang Yifeng visited the Wu Family Martial Arts School and met Wu Youdao.
At first, Jiang Yifeng pretended to have heard that the Wu Family Martial Arts School had a powerful manual and expressed his desire to buy it.
But Wu Youdao kept playing dumb, pretending not to understand what he was talking about.
Jiang Yifeng, helpless, had to show a bit of his Martial Dao prowess.
With one punch, he shattered their training post.
Wu Youdao was shocked and exclaimed, "Young Master Jiang is truly a martial arts prodigy."
He then solemnly presented the unnamed manual to Jiang Yifeng.
Wu Youdao stated that he hoped Jiang Yifeng could master this manual and restore the glory of Martial Dao.
Jiang Yifeng had somewhat anticipated this situation.
After all, in the simulator, Wu Youdao had also taken out the unnamed manual because he saw Jiang Yifeng's impressive Martial Dao talent and didn't charge him initially.
No one would have guessed that beneath Wu Youdao's greedy exterior lay a heart dedicated to reviving Martial Dao.
But regardless, Jiang Yifeng had achieved his goal.
However, revealing his strength made him feel uneasy, so he repeatedly instructed Wu Youdao not to spread the word about his abilities.
Wu Youdao didn't understand but still nodded in agreement.
After obtaining the unnamed manual, Jiang Yifeng studied it.
He understood the difference between Martial Dao and martial arts.
The martial arts practiced by ordinary people were essentially just flashy moves.
Martial Dao, however, was different; it emphasized entering the Dao through martial arts, ultimately reaching heights comparable to the Immortal Dao.
But compared to the Immortal Dao, Martial Dao was harder to practice.
All Martial Dao cultivation aimed to push one's physical limits.
By constantly breaking one's limits, one could achieve the power to overcome all techniques.
The special body-strengthening movements were a unique method summarized by predecessors.
However, practicing it wasn't easy; one had to reach the physical limits of an ordinary person through effort before mastering the movements.
In the previous simulation, Wu Youdao said he couldn't master it, clearly indicating that his physical strength didn't reach the ordinary person's limit.
Jiang Yifeng, on the other hand, had forcibly met this requirement due to his talent as a fitness expert, allowing him to practice the special movements.
Additionally, there were other extreme training methods, each more brutal than the last.
For example, some involved using thunder to temper the body or ground fire to refine it, burning away impurities.
In essence, they utilized various dangerous places in the world to break and rebuild the body.
But these methods were only for those who had reached a certain level in Martial Dao; he couldn't practice them now even if he wanted to.
With his current frail body, using these extreme methods would be a death sentence.
Jiang Yifeng hadn't planned to train rigorously in reality anyway, so it didn't matter.
In the days that followed, he continued as before, spending his time listening to music at the Pleasure House.
Outsiders couldn't see any change in Jiang Yifeng.
This was, of course, intentional.
He wasn't sure if the appearance of the shadowy figure thirteen years later was a coincidence or a premeditated plan.
With the simulator, he didn't lack the time to train in reality.
So maintaining his playboy image was safer.
***
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Jiang Yifeng received a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels from the steward Jiang Dafu.
Jiang Yifeng placed his hand on the boxes and silently said, "Convert to energy."
[Detected a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels, gained 7.5 million energy value.]
[Detected a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels, gained 6 million energy value.]
[Detected a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels, gained 8.2 million energy value.]
***
After converting all the boxes of gold, silver, and jewels, Jiang Yifeng's energy value reached an astonishing nearly 200 million.
And this was just from the gold, silver, and jewels collected in Green Hills City. Jiang Dafu said there were still large amounts being transported from other cities.
"Heh, being rich is great!" Jiang Yifeng sighed.
He thought of those simulator novels from his previous life, where the protagonists had to risk their lives for a bit of simulation energy.
How could they compare to his ease? He just had to give an order and wait for the energy value to pour in.
So, whether for his family or his future simulations, he had to protect his family in reality.
Just then, Jiang Yifeng heard an electronic voice.
[Ding, detected that the host's energy value exceeds 100 million, meeting the upgrade conditions for the simulator. Do you wish to spend 100 million energy value to upgrade?]
"Huh? Upgrade the simulator?" Jiang Yifeng was stunned.
So sudden?
Spending 100 million energy value was a bit expensive.
But it didn't matter; there was plenty of energy value on its way to Green Hills City.
"Upgrade!"
Without much hesitation, Jiang Yifeng made his choice.
[Ding, simulator upgraded to version 2.0, deducting 100 million energy value from the host, remaining energy value.]
[Settings modified: White talent extraction canceled, blue talent extraction enabled, reward selection after each simulation increased to two items.]
Seeing the upgrade details, Jiang Yifeng was very satisfied.
Not only could he extract blue talents now, but the reward selection after each simulation had also increased to two items.
Jiang Yifeng now regretted not knowing that the upgrade was based on energy value; he should have stored more energy value sooner.
But it wasn't too late now. From now on, he would pay attention and convert all acquired gold, silver, and jewels to energy value immediately.
He aimed to upgrade the simulator as soon as possible, hoping for more features.