The Path to Empress, Begins

[In the Central Plains, on the boundless vast plains, you and Li Lingyue ride the same horse, weaving through the crisscrossing paths.]

["To the Southern Frontier? There's an opportunity for martial arts?"]

["I can only tell you this much. Whether we go or not is up to you."]

[The current Li Lingyue is not a martial artist. She appears frail, but between her brows, she already possesses a bit of the temperament of the future Empress.]

["I ruined the political marriage, which the imperial court will not tolerate. Even if I beg for mercy and return, at best, I will be forced to continue the marriage, and at worst, I will be condemned. Since that is the case, if the Southern Frontier truly has an opportunity for me to step into the martial path, I will seize it even if it costs my life! Benefactor, you are right. Only by becoming strong can I control my own destiny. Otherwise, I will only be reduced to a pawn for those in power and the strong!"]

["The martial path is difficult to walk. You must be mentally prepared to taste all kinds of hardships. Everything from now on will be worlds apart from your luxurious life in the imperial palace."]

[Li Lingyue didn't speak for a long while, then suddenly pulled a dagger from her sleeve.]

["My misfortune today all stems from this appearance. I am willing to cut my face to show my resolve!"]

[You hurriedly stopped her.]

["No, no, no! There's no need to go that far. I believe your willpower is very firm!"]

[Year Sixteen, Thirty-four years old.]

[You and Li Lingyue traveled without stopping, rushing toward the Southern Frontier.]

[After all, she is still a mortal now. Her Holy Body has not yet awakened, and she has no cultivation base at all.]

[Making her stay on horseback for a whole day just like you is unbearable for her.]

[However, she never once complained of discomfort.]

[Every time you rested, it wouldn't be for long before she would take the initiative to ask to continue the journey.]

[After a year of getting along, you have become familiar with each other.]

[On bright spring days, you watched the blooming mountain flowers together.]

[On scorching summer days, you went catching fish in the river together.]

[On crisp autumn days, you counted the falling leaves together.]

[On snowy winter days, you gazed at the snow-clad mountains and rivers together.]

[You also studied the Sword Master's notes together.]

[You: "Amazing! Is this the Way of the Sword? I feel as if I have opened a new door!"]

[Li Lingyue: "Amazing! Is this a secret beauty technique? I feel as if I have discovered a new world!"]

[Feelings grew over time, but neither of you had yet crossed the final line.]

[Until one freezing night, the snow outside blocked the mountain path.]

[You and Li Lingyue were warming yourselves by a fire in a dilapidated, drafty mountain god temple.]

[Amidst casual conversation, your eyes met. The originally cold air unexpectedly became scorching hot, making your breathing quicken.]

[Everything... just happened so naturally.]

Outside the simulation, Chen Yi frowned.

"Simulator, if you don't know how to write, give me the pen. Who told you to skip the crucial parts? Hmm? Answer me!"

[Afterwards, it continued to happen just as naturally for a full twenty days.]

"'Husband Material', 'Wandering Dragon Teasing the Phoenix', 'Ageless Male God', these are simply the Three Phantom Gods!"

[By the way, when you were busy with serious matters, you would order the Myriad Soul Banner, Da Chun, and other artifact spirits to shut off their sensing abilities.]

[Artifact spirits are not living creatures and have no eyes. Their perception of the outside world is similar to the divine sense possessed by martial artists after reaching the Soul Condensation Realm.]

[What if they peeked or eavesdropped?]

[Then they couldn't blame you, this Materialist Warrior, for striking a heavy blow.]

[Year Seventeen, Thirty-five years old.]

[After passing through a vast expanse of swamps, mudflats, and miasma forests, you finally entered the territory of the Southern Frontier.]

[You knew that the day of your separation was approaching.]

[However, your heart was not melancholy because of this.]

[You and Li Lingyue both had your own life paths to walk. This brief intersection was already a sweetness sufficient to reminisce upon for a lifetime.]

[It was your first time in the Southern Frontier, and you were not familiar with its topography, state regimes, or anything else.]

[You only knew that at the end of the last simulation, you learned of the Empress's experiences from her letter.]

[The cliff where Li Lingyue was forced to jump off after escaping the political marriage procession for the second time, Soul-Severing Cliff, was located in a place called Phoenix Mountain.]

[You asked the local commoners along the way, getting closer bit by bit, and finally arrived at the destination.]

["I... have to jump down from here?"]

["Theoretically, you will be caught by a crooked tree, then fall onto a large rock, and then discover a cave. Inside there is a flower. Once you eat it, you will be able to cultivate the martial path."]

["..."]

["Forget it, I'll take you down."]

[You felt that this "theoretically" might not be perfectly replicated every time she jumped.]

[Mainly, you were a bit worried that interfering too much would affect the Empress's path of growth. But thinking about it carefully, it seemed you had already interfered a lot, so you might as well see it through to the end.]

[You hugged Li Lingyue and jumped off the cliff, borrowing some momentum from the crooked tree to land steadily on a protruding rock on the cliff face.]

[In the cave to the side grew the strange flower that could stimulate the awakening of Li Lingyue's Holy Body.]

["Lingyue, go in."]

[Li Lingyue nodded. She looked back at you, wanting to say something.]

[You knew that she had guessed you were preparing to leave.]

[She knew that you knew she had guessed it.]

[She didn't speak, and you remained silent as you watched her walk into the cave.]

["The legendary path of a generation's Empress is about to begin..."]

[Just as you were about to leap up and leave this place, Li Lingyue trotted out from the cave.]

["Chen Yi, there are no flowers in the cave. Did we find the wrong place?"]

[You were stunned for a moment.]

["None? That can't be, right?"]

[Even the crooked tree matched up, so how could the flower in the cave disappear?]

[You went in to check, and sure enough, there was nothing.]

["Wait for me in this cave for a while. I'll go look nearby. Maybe it's not in the cave, but growing somewhere on the cliff face..."]

[Li Lingyue grabbed your arm.]

[With her head lowered, she asked softly.]

["Will you come back?"]

[You smiled and said.]

["I will bring you the flower as soon as I find it. Of course I will come back."]

[Li Lingyue let go of her hand.]

[She trusted you very much.]

[You often acted as if you could predict the future, and she never asked why, simply choosing to believe what you said.]

[You left the cave and searched the nearby cliffs and precipices.]

["Strange, it's bare everywhere. It doesn't look like any strange flower would grow here..."]

[You returned to the top of the cliff, at your wits' end.]

["It must be because my interference caused the direction of things to change. Otherwise, next time I'll just wait for Lingyue to get poisoned by eating the Love Flower Grass, and then I'll cure her..."]

[Just then, you saw an old grandmother wearing the traditional clothing of the Southern Frontier mountain folk, leaning on a walking stick. Carrying a woven bamboo basket, she walked by nearby.]

[You quickly walked up to her.]

["Old madam, have you seen a very strange-looking flower nearby?"]