In the year 30,364, the political landscape of the Kingdom of Veloria had finally settled, with Leonard Veloria being crowned as the new Emperor after a prolonged power struggle.
The competition for the throne had been fierce, with both the Crown Prince and the 3rd Prince vying for power.
However, it was revealed that the 3rd Prince had ties to the demonic cult Ashura, which ultimately led to his execution.
This revelation cleared the way for Leonard to ascend to the throne without further opposition.
Throughout this period of intense political upheaval, Lucas Veloria remained a background figure.
His mother, Olivia, who had previously supported him, could no longer provide any backing now that the former Emperor was imprisoned in the Dark Prison.
Lucas' life within the palace was largely uneventful, and most of the court assumed he was satisfied with his modest position, having shown no desire for the throne or any higher rank.
Due to his apparent lack of ambition and perceived weak cultivation, he was ignored by both factions.
Leonard, now the Emperor, allowed Lucas to retain his position as a royal historian.
Lucas' knowledge of royal customs, etiquette, and history made him an ideal guide for Leonard's offspring, and he was entrusted with their education in the ways of the royalty.
Although Lucas kept up the facade of being unremarkable, his true cultivation was progressing rapidly.
While he allowed others to believe he was merely at the 5th layer of Core Building, Lucas had secretly reached the 2nd layer of the Spiritual Condensation Realm.
He had spent the years honing his skills in secret, using the Heaven's Secrets Technique to conceal his breakthroughs from his siblings and the rest of the royal family.
As time passed, Veloria thrived under the leadership of Emperor Leonard.
By the year 30,400, the kingdom was moving in the right direction, gaining strength both politically and economically.
Meanwhile, Lucas, at the age of 86, had silently advanced to the 9th layer of the Spiritual Condensation Realm, and he was preparing to make the critical breakthrough into the Soul Embryo Realm.
This was a significant milestone in his cultivation journey, as it would bring him one step closer to the power levels of the royal family's elite.
However, as was his habit, Lucas performed a divination before attempting his breakthrough.
The results were troubling: the divination warned that making the breakthrough within the royal castle would bring bad luck, while attempting it outside the castle would be even worse.
Faced with this ominous reading, Lucas decided to take the risk and proceeded with his breakthrough in secret, hoping that the divination was wrong or could be avoided with enough caution.
After successfully breaking through to the Soul Embryo Realm, something unexpected happened.
An old man, appearing out of thin air, confronted Lucas. This man, whose presence felt like a phantom, revealed himself to be the ancestor of the Veloria Kingdom, a cultivator of immense power in the Spirit Fusion Realm.
His arrival was triggered by the subtle fluctuations in Lucas' breakthrough, fluctuations so faint that only someone of his caliber could detect them.
The ancestor's presence was both terrifying and commanding, and Lucas quickly realized that his carefully hidden cultivation had been exposed.
The ancestor demanded to know why Lucas had been concealing his true strength and whether he harbored rebellious intentions. Nervously, Lucas denied any such plans, claiming that he was merely focused on his own cultivation and had no desire to compete for the throne.
However, the ancestor was unconvinced. Without warning, he attempted to forcefully read Lucas' memories, hoping to uncover the truth.
At that moment, the Nine Simulation System activated its protection mechanism. The ancestor's probing triggered a defense that resulted in Lucas' death.
As Lucas' consciousness faded, the system began to extract his cultivation and insights from the simulation.
Although his body had perished, the system preserved his hard-earned progress.
He had reached the 1st layer of the Soul Embryo Realm in the simulation and gained 66 years of cultivation insights, which the system promised to transfer back to reality.
With a final ding, Lucas' journey within the simulation ended, his death within the simulation realm a grim reminder of the dangers that lurked even with the Nine Simulation System by his side.
But this death was not permanent; the system would allow him to retain his progress and start again in reality, armed with the knowledge he had gained and the power he had cultivated.
The ancestor's appearance and the sudden end to his simulation were a stark reminder to Lucas that even with his incredible power, he was still vulnerable in the real world.
His path forward would be more treacherous than ever, but with his system and cultivation insights intact, Lucas knew that his rise to power was only beginning.