While Wang Ping was complaining, the simulation continued.
"You, who had been secretly observing, felt that the timing was right. Therefore, you didn't hide anymore and chose to reveal yourself. Your appearance astonished everyone present, and they quickly greeted you."
"The Tenth Princess of the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty, on the other hand, looked at you with admiration and a charming smile. Seeing this, Zhuge Huowang believed that his previous suspicion was correct and resented you even more."
"However, your next action shocked everyone present. You directly asked Zhuge Huowang if he was willing to become your disciple, and you offered to help him seek justice."
"Zhuge Huowang was stunned. He hadn't expected someone as noble as you to be willing to accept him as a disciple. Naturally, he didn't think you were playing a prank on him because there was no need for that. You were a dragon among men, one of the most dazzling figures on the entire Immortal Continent. There was no reason for you to humiliate a small fry like him in such a way."
"As a result, Zhuge Huowang felt ashamed of his previous misjudgment. On the other hand, the Tenth Princess of the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty, after recovering from her initial surprise, became anxious. She expressed her hope that you would seriously consider her as your disciple. In terms of talent, she believed she surpassed Zhuge Huowang and was more suitable to be your disciple."
"You looked at the Tenth Princess coldly, suppressing her with just a glance. You coldly stated that even the Grand Saint Patriarch of the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty wasn't qualified to speak to you, yet she dared to instruct you here. With your words, the Tenth Princess of the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty regained her senses, showing a terrified expression. Her guardian also turned pale, hurriedly kowtowing to you in a frenzy."
"As the Third Prince of the Taiyi Emperor Palace, your status was noble. If the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty provoked you, even if you didn't personally take action against them, you only needed to utter a word. There would be plenty of experts willing to serve as your instruments, readily annihilating the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty."
"As for whether the Taiyi Emperor Palace would intervene if the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty were destroyed, it was a joke. Anyone with common sense knew that offending the Taiyi Emperor Palace's imperial children would be asking for destruction."
"Seeing that the Tenth Princess and her followers were trembling like mice, Zhuge Huowang was deeply moved and became even more eager for power."
"He didn't hesitate and knelt before you, pleading for you to accept him as your disciple. Naturally, you chose to accept Zhuge Huowang as your disciple."
"Upon taking Zhuge Huowang as your disciple, the Zhuge family rejoiced, while the Tenth Princess of the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty's face turned ashen. As for you, you received a notification that your cultivation had silently advanced to the level of a Half-Step Great Saint."
"This made you very satisfied. Indeed, Zhuge Huowang was the true template for a waste-turned-main character. He was on par with figures like Ye Chen, Lin Qinghe, and Wanyu, who far surpassed ordinary individuals, and he was someone who could help you break through bottlenecks."
"Next, all you needed to do was find another individual like him, and you could break through to the level of a Great Saint. However, you believed that achieving the Great Saint level would still be difficult without extraordinary talents like Lin Qinghe and Wanyu. Among them, Lin Qinghe had the highest potential."
"As various thoughts flashed through your mind, you coldly dismissed the Tenth Princess of the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty and her followers. They left in disgrace."
"Following this, you suggested to Zhuge Huowang that he should focus on cultivation and that once he reached the level of Virtual Deity, you would take him to the Taiyi Emperor Palace."
"Hearing your words, Zhuge Huowang earnestly nodded, pledging to reach the level of Virtual Deity within a hundred years."
"You shook your head with a smile, saying that a hundred years was too long. You only gave him fifty years. In your opinion, the current era was a golden age, and cultivation was extremely easy. You felt that even fifty years was generous."
"After all, if you used Emperor's children as a benchmark, they could reach the Virtual Deity level within less than twenty years. Some exceptional Emperor's children could even ascend from ordinary people to Deity level in less than ten years."
"Of course, Emperor's children had strong bloodlines, physiques, and access to powerful mentors and abundant resources. Zhuge Huowang couldn't compare in those aspects. So, you set the limit at fifty years."
"While Zhuge Huowang felt immense pressure as he was now fifteen years old and had only reached the First Rank of the Mortal Realm, he was determined to meet your expectations."
"You were very satisfied with his response. Afterward, you declined the Zhuge family's invitation to the Immortal Feast and quietly left. However, you didn't truly leave; instead, you left an incarnation behind to secretly monitor Zhuge Huowang's every move."
"Due to your overwhelming strength and the fact that the Zhuge family's most powerful member was a self-proclaimed Patriarch of the Saint Realm, no one could detect your actions."
"While you were carrying out all of this, the Sovereign of the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty also learned of what the Tenth Princess had done. He was furious and directly stripped her of her cultivation, imprisoning her in the Heavenly Prison."
"At the same time, the Sovereign of the Golden Yuan Holy
Dynasty was terrified and didn't know how to apologize to you. After some contemplation, he personally came to the Zhuge family to offer his apologies. He sought to make amends with both the Zhuge family and Zhuge Huowang, hoping that Zhuge Huowang would speak well of him in your presence."
"Zhuge Huowang, looking at the humbled Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty Sovereign, felt a myriad of emotions. He understood that all of this was because of his changed status. Now that he was your disciple, the Sovereign of the Golden Yuan Holy Dynasty was apologizing to him. Otherwise, the normally haughty Sovereign wouldn't have apologized to a talentless young man like him."
Chapter 211: Innate Imperial Artifact! News about Immortal Artifacts
As a result, Zhuge Huowang felt even more grateful to you, his master, and became even more eager for power. It was this exponentially increasing desire for power that marked the appearance of his astonishing opportunity.
Zhuge Huowang's astonishing opportunity lay in a black pearl he had worn since childhood. This pearl had the ability to absorb essence and strengthen its host's physical body, making it incredibly domineering.
Recognizing the exceptional nature of this pearl through Zhuge Huowang's usage, you searched various records in the Taiyi Emperor Palace's scripture library to understand what it was. Finally, you identified this black pearl.
Rumors had it that worldly weapons fell into two categories: naturally born and cultivated by cultivators. Whether they were supreme, quasi-emperor, or emperor-class artifacts, they all fell into these categories.
This black pearl was one of the naturally born imperial artifacts, known as the Devouring Essence Pearl. It was said to have the ability to absorb the essence of heaven and earth and store it within the pearl. If a cultivator obtained the Devouring Essence Pearl and gained its recognition, they could utilize the absorbed essence for cultivation.
Ancient texts recorded that anyone who obtained the Devouring Essence Pearl invariably became a terrifying physique cultivator, specializing in body refinement. The strongest among them could rely solely on the power of their physical body to challenge even the supremes. Some outstanding individuals, if they cultivated the Heavenly Gang Overlord Body, could even contend with quasi-emperors.
Apart from that, the Devouring Essence Pearl also became the nemesis of other physique cultivators. In battles against the owner of the Devouring Essence Pearl, their essence would be continuously devoured, causing rapid weakening. Even non-physique cultivators would find it troublesome to face it, as they also depended on their life force, which would be affected if it got devoured.
Furthermore, there were two other similar rare objects in the world, the Devouring Spirit Pearl and the Devouring Dao Pearl. Their functions were respectively to devour spiritual souls and devour mana.
Rumors had it that if a cultivator obtained all three pearls simultaneously, the Devouring Essence Pearl, Devouring Spirit Pearl, and Devouring Dao Pearl, and gained their recognition, merging the three naturally born imperial artifacts was possible, transcending their imperial artifact status and transforming into legendary immortal artifacts.
Upon learning about the origin of the Devouring Essence Pearl, you were deeply impressed. You hadn't expected Zhuge Huowang to possess such an extraordinary opportunity, acquiring such a mysterious and powerful naturally born imperial artifact and gaining its recognition.
With the Devouring Essence Pearl, Zhuge Huowang could rapidly grow in strength, making it seem effortless. As long as he didn't meet an untimely demise, his future was guaranteed to be an immensely powerful existence, capable of easily surpassing the supremes.
In light of this, your view of Zhuge Huowang's potential had changed. You believed that he might achieve achievements in the future on par with figures like Lin Qinghe and Wanyu.
As for Ye Chen, you couldn't predict his future with certainty. Currently, Ye Chen lacked any astonishing opportunities and had faced difficulties since arriving in the Upper Realm. Therefore, his position in your expectations remained the lowest.
"The Devouring Essence Pearl, a naturally born imperial artifact," Wang Ping remarked as he read the simulated text, feeling a tinge of envy for Zhuge Huowang's incredible luck.
"However, he's fortunate to live in such a remote place where no one can recognize the yet-awakened Devouring Essence Pearl. Otherwise, countless individuals would go crazy, and even supremes and quasi-emperors might fight to seize it."
"If he ever exposes the existence of the Devouring Essence Pearl in the future, it would invite disaster. The Devouring Essence Pearl is too important. As long as someone gains its recognition and doesn't fall midway, they can easily become a formidable presence in the future, capable of defeating even the supremes."
With these thoughts in mind, Wang Ping contemplated the situation. He couldn't help but feel drawn to the idea of acquiring the Devouring Essence Pearl, realizing the immense benefits it would bring. If he could collect the other two imperial pearls in the future, even great emperors might not hesitate to seize them. Those lurking in the shadows would also make their move.
"After the next simulation, I'll give it a try and see if I can gain the Devouring Essence Pearl's recognition. If it works, I'll obtain it. If not, I'll let it go."
Wang Ping decided to suppress his desire, knowing that seizing an item belonging to his newly acquired disciple would go against his principles. If he could obtain the Devouring Essence Pearl in a future simulation through the rewards system, it would be even better, although he considered the probability of such an occurrence to be extremely low. After all, the Life Simulation Device had not undergone further optimization, and the chances of refreshing an item of the imperial artifact's caliber were questionable.
Next, instead of continuing to keep an eye on Zhuge Huowang through his avatar, Wang Ping retracted the avatar and began challenging the Second Imperial Prince.
Facing your challenge, the Second Imperial Prince felt immense pressure. Although he had reached the level of Supreme King, slightly stronger than the Third Imperial Prince, with a comprehension of seven-tenths of the laws, your current performance clearly surpassed his.
You had defeated the Supreme King of the Evil Sect, demonstrated mastery over seven-tenths of the spatial laws, and exhibited other formidable techniques. Your ranking on the Supreme King List had reached the thirty-fifth position, while the Second Imperial Prince barely ranked ninetieth.
However, the Second Imperial Prince didn't back down and chose to face you in battle. In the end, the outcome left everyone, including the other imperial princes, speechless. The Second Imperial Prince was completely overwhelmed.
This outcome deeply shook the Second Imperial Prince. He had never expected you to have already broken through to the level of a Half-Step Great Saint, achieving this breakthrough at a rapid pace. It was surprising since, in terms of innate talent, you didn't seem to surpass him.
As for the other ancient beings watching the battle, they had already deduced your Half-Step Great Saint level before the decisive battle. They were amazed at your achievement, considering that you had shown no signs of a breakthrough before leaving for the outside world.
To be honest, I'm not sure what you mean by "saying I'm updating less." If you're referring to the frequency of my responses, I strive to provide responses to your queries promptly, even if there may be variations in response times due to various factors.
Regardless, Wang Ping continued to read the content of the simulated text, his thoughts filled with amazement.