Opening a Martial Arts School for Retirement, Accidentally Meeting Dachun

[In the days that followed, you existed in a muddled haze.]

[ sometimes lucid, sometimes comatose.]

[You knew someone was taking care of you, but you could never quite see who it was.]

[The evil spirits within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had drained a massive amount of your life vitality, leaving you on the brink of death.]

[I wanted to tally up your results and end the simulation several times, but thanks to someone's care, you managed to pull through.]

[The twenty-fourth year, age forty-one.]

[You replaced "No Pain, No Gain" with "Spider Sense".]

[You finally recovered your vitality and were able to wake up properly.]

[You discovered that you were now living in a wooden cabin within a forest, surrounded by picturesque scenery and fresh, refreshing air.]

["You're awake!"]

[You heard a woman's voice.]

[It must have been her who had been taking care of you, dragging you back from the gates of hell multiple times.]

[It is said that even a dutiful son doesn't last long at a bedside, so for someone to care for you for so long, she was absolutely a benefactor.]

["Benefactor, please accept my... Xu Linglong?!"]

[You were dumbfounded.]

[Turning your head, you saw that it was actually the bandit Xu Linglong from back then!]

[She had slimmed down a little, but her sheer tonnage was still very much in evidence.]

["Hahaha! This is great! My benefactor is awake! You're finally awake!!"]

[Xu Linglong jumped up and down in joy, causing the entire wooden cabin to tremble.]

[Worried that the house might collapse, you hurriedly asked her to stop jumping.]

["Wait, h-how is it you? And why are you calling me benefactor? Isn't that backward?"]

[Xu Linglong told you about her experiences over the years.]

[Back when she was a bandit in Baiyun County, she met you by chance.]

[For some reason, you knew her name and even warned her to be wary of the Second-in-Command of the Flying Tiger Stronghold.]

[Xu Linglong took these words to heart and remained vigilant.]

[Sure enough, she discovered there was a problem with the Second-in-Command; he was colluding with the government.]

[Unfortunately, her father, Xu Hu, was too thick-headed. Xu Linglong wore her lips thin trying to convince him, but Xu Hu refused to believe that the Second-in-Command would betray the stronghold.]

[With no other choice, when the soldiers came to besiege the mountain, the prepared Xu Linglong had to escape on her own.]

[Later, she wandered to the Sanjiang Commandery, where a local sect discovered she had a medium-grade Root Bone and took her in as a disciple.]

[Finally, a year ago, while accompanying her sect elders to deal with a demonic cultivator, she ran into you.]

["If not for Benefactor's warning back then to watch out for the Second-in-Command, I would have died in that military siege. It's a pity... my stubborn old dad didn't believe me."]

["Uh... everyone has their own fate, everyone has their own fate..."]

["Benefactor, actually, in all these years, I haven't married anyone..."]

[It was incredibly awkward.]

[You could see Xu Linglong looking at you with eyes dripping with affection.]

[If you were too cold to her, wouldn't that be unfair to your savior?]

[Suddenly, you had a brainwave.]

["Cough, cough... Linglong, you don't know this, but I was conscripted into the army in my early years. I took too many alchemical pills in the camp, and the pill poison... cough, cough... accumulated too much in my body... Plus, my vitality was damaged by the spirits in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner this time, cough, cough... So, I... I lack Yang energy."]

["What does that mean?"]

["I can't get it up."]

[You saw Xu Linglong's gaze instantly clear up.]

[She was still herself.]

[As someone who could marry six husbands while being a bandit, she certainly couldn't accept a seventh husband who couldn't perform.]

["Since Benefactor has recovered now, I can consider this debt of gratitude repaid. I wonder what plans Benefactor has for the future?"]

[Regarding what you just said, aside from the "I can't get it up" part which was a bluff, you weren't actually lying about your body being weak.]

[Where should you go from here?]

[1. Find a small town, open a martial arts school, and fulfill the dying wishes of your former comrades.]

[2. Continue traveling around to see if there are any fortuitous opportunities.]

[3. Go find Old Liu and snatch the Ten Thousand Soul Banner! That big treasure is mine, hehehe!!!]

Outside the simulation, Chen Yi sighed with emotion.

"What a sin..."

To think he would run into Xu Linglong even here; Chen Yi was truly speechless.

It was fine in the simulation, but in reality, Chen Yi didn't want to have too much entanglement with Xu Linglong.

Looking at the progress options, Chen Yi chose 1.

The simulation version of himself had already mentioned wanting to fulfill his comrades' dying wishes.

Furthermore, between the pill poison and the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, the simulated Chen Yi's body was indeed in poor shape after all that torment.

Continuing to travel would just be suffering. It was better to retire early; perhaps he could live a few more years and draw a few more traits.

[You chose 1.]

["Is my luggage still here?"]

["Of course, I didn't touch a single thing of yours, Benefactor."]

["There are a few spirit tools inside. If you like them, I can give you some."]

["No need, I'm in the Qingtang Sect now, I don't lack those things."]

["Since my luggage is still here, I want to find a small town to settle down in, recuperate, open a martial arts school, accept some disciples, and earn some money to support myself."]

["Okay! Benefactor, I'll help you! Using my title as a disciple of the Qingtang Sect will make things very convenient!"]

["Many thanks, then."]

[You weren't picky about the location and settled down in the nearest town, Makou Town.]

[You had money, so the venue and equipment were settled very quickly.]

[As for recruitment.]

[Xu Linglong used her sect's prestige to bluff, claiming you were a training master from the Qingtang Sect who had a long-term cooperation with them and that your teaching was very professional.]

[She successfully hoodwinked a large group of young men into signing up.]

[You named your martial arts school "Cheng'en Martial Arts School".]

[After all, the teaching materials you planned to use came from Sun Cheng'en's personal guards, so the name was very fitting.]

[The twenty-seventh year, age forty-four.]

[Makou Town was a very small place, and yours was the only martial arts school, so there was absolutely no competitive pressure.]

[Regardless of whether they had the Root Bone aptitude or not, as long as they were willing to pay the tuition, you accepted them all.]

[For those without aptitude, you taught martial arts for physical fitness. For those with aptitude, you taught them cultivation techniques and guided them into the martial path.]

[They couldn't achieve great heights with you, but once they mastered the basics, you recommended them to try out for the Qingtang Sect to see if they would be accepted.]

[Over time, you actually became a high-quality partner for the Qingtang Sect, sending them quite a few good seedlings.]

[After three years, the martial arts school's business was booming, with numerous apprentices.]

[You were now content being the boss, occasionally offering pointers on martial arts, while handing over the ordinary teaching duties to hired martial artist instructors.]

[Most of the time, you focused on preserving your health, hoping to condition your body to live a few more days.]

["Another useless white trait this year? The probability increased, but my luck didn't... huh?"]

[On this day, you saw two filthy beggars on the street. Looking closely, one of them was chubby with eyes looking in two different directions—it was clearly Da Chun!]

[You rushed over in three steps taking two at a time, arriving in front of Da Chun.]

["Da Chun!"]