[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten":3,"chapter-simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-206":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Simulated to Reality: I Once Looked Down Upon Ten Thousand Ages?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2347221,4587,"Chapter 206: The Capital","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-206",206,"\u003Cp>【Prompt: Congratulations! You have obtained four strands of Woxuanmuqi . Collect them after the ten-year simulation ends.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great cauldron’s screen slowly froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Ke’s eyes widened—he had acquired four strands of mother qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is beyond expectations!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The journey to Jingcheng was truly a windfall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He already has ten strands of Woxuanmuqi , far exceeding previous gains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Ke eagerly anticipates the rewards after this simulation ends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, can he finally succeed in Foundation Establishment?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Circulate a great heavenly cycle, strike at the Shentian acupoint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He must act with extreme caution!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cannot risk like his predecessor—without nine-tenths certainty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s the difference between this and walking into death?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then again!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, he obtained Woxuanmuqi  after Emperor Zhou Zhen’s death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combined with the earlier experience of Emperor Zhongnan’s demise, he also gained mother qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seems!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are two possible triggers for this mother qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One: The death of a Grand Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two: The death of an emperor, or a person of great power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is also a prerequisite: “Lu Chen” must be nearby to obtain it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Ke pondered briefly, then let it go, smiling broadly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked forward to the rewards after tonight’s simulation ends, tomorrow’s gains!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After just one day, one must look anew!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the simulation continued!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You watched calmly as Zhou Zhen died.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【On the steps, the Emperor of Daqing was dead.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【He died on the steps of Fengtian Hall, before the ancestral tablets.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Those who play with power will surely perish by it.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【In the ranks of the Jinwu Guard, the warriors, now without their anchor, trembled, staring at the corpses of Dong Jie and Zhou Bing, their faith collapsing. Some chose death to prove their loyalty; others looked to the sky, tears mingling with resentment and despair, weeping uncontrollably.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You watched coldly.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Struggles for power have always stained history with blood, piled with bones—who escapes?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【With the Emperor’s death, only two factions remain.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Grand Empress Dowager stared at you, her eyes filled with bitter hatred and defiance—she blamed you alone for all her suffering.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【An old woman burying her son, burying her grandson—grief follows grief.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Lu Chen, why don’t you die?!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The old woman gripped the armrest of her phoenix palanquin, knuckles whitening with rage; her hollow voice echoed through palace halls for a long time.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“My son perished on Mount Zhongnan; Daqing is crumbling; now you’ve cut off my grandson’s path—do you truly intend to seize all ten thousand li of our land for yourself?!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Lu Chen, you are the greatest thief of the realm.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Lu Lu, though outwardly composed, felt his heart churn—especially recalling the might of the Lu Army, which had never lost despite being outnumbered, deepening his unease.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【His gaze shifted; inwardly, he understood: never gamble everything—always keep an escape route.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Lu Lu’s allegiance to the Grand Empress Dowager was merely a temporary expedient, born of a weak emperor—now the winds have turned.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【As the saying goes: the wise avoid crumbling walls; the noble bird chooses its tree.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【After a moment of Shikong , the Grand Empress Dowager regained her imperial bearing, her frantic cries hardening into cold resolve.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Finally!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The old woman, her eyes holding centuries of sorrow, looked at you and said: “Lu Chen, what do you truly seek? Speak plainly—I will grant it.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Only one thing: the throne must remain within the Zhou bloodline. This is an unbreakable bottom line. Titles, honors, supreme power—you may rule a region.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Her words rang like the final move on a chessboard.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Jinyu stood silently behind the Grand Empress Dowager, her face a mix of tension and hope.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“You—where will you stand now?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【This was not only Zhou Jinyu’s quiet question—it was the heavy stone weighing on every heart present.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【All eyes fixed on you alone.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Will you become the master of Daqing—or do you have other designs?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Grand Empress Dowager has lost!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【How will you settle accounts with the imperial nobility? These questions hung like swords above them, making even breaths cautious.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Jinyu felt no fear—she had long since placed life and death beyond her concern.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【When she was sent to Daqing in marriage with Beifeng!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【She had seen herself as a drifting duckweed, life and death left to fate.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【From that moment, she had no right to choose her destiny—only to be chosen.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【She imagined: if you, like history’s traitorous ministers, claimed the emperor’s harem as your own, what fate awaited her—the Empress of Daqing?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【A ripple stirred in her heart!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Beside her, Lu Lu, hearing this exchange, exhaled softly—he knew that as long as both sides sat down to negotiate, a solution remained possible.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【A true bloodbath? He might not even get a chance to surrender!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Lu Army generals, though already suspecting, still held a faint, unspoken hope—all eyes sharp and fixed.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You stood atop your horse.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【All waited for your decision.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Lu Yu seemed to have already read your thoughts—his face held a serene smile.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【He recalled his days of Daoist cultivation on Mount Zhongnan, watching persimmons turn crimson, forests ablaze with color—back then, his elder brother had smiled more often than when he set out northward.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Cheng’s expression was utterly still—he accepted any outcome.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【And he knew: this Young Protector’s heart was not here.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The screen above the great cauldron flowed, then slowly paused!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Faced with this situation… you decided.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>1. Ascend the throne as Emperor. (Prompt: Not a wise choice—the timing is premature; future probability of internal dissent among subordinates leading to foreign alliances.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>2. Choose Zhou Cheng to ascend the throne. (Prompt: Will still cause some rebellions; partial probability of foreign alliances.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>3. Choose the Grand Empress Dowager to rule. (Prompt: May trigger even greater unrest.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>4. Support the son of Zhou Jinyu to inherit the throne. (Prompt: If chosen, you will likely gain Zhou Jinyu’s devotion, stabilize the situation quickly, partial probability of foreign alliances.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>5. Take direct action. (1\u002F3)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Ke looked at the five options that suddenly appeared, nodded slightly, and rubbed his chin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Should I become emperor?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been pondering this question since the simulation reached the palace gates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every choice meant altering Lu Chen’s life path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like life itself, different choices forge different destinies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every choice matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially this one: “Ascend the throne”—to become master of Daqing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is unquestionably the pivotal moment in Lu Chen’s life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, now that “A Ding” has evolved, each option carries a “Prompt.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Ke would still be unable to grasp the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier simulations revealed that Empress Yuan of Qianyuan and Zhou Xuan of Hexi had joined forces and were advancing on Jingcheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beifeng also watched with hungry eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han and Chu remained ambiguous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What if all four nations struck at once, pushing Daqing off the board?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crisis would follow in swift succession.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To repel outsiders, first secure the interior!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Ke had a clear main thread: Lu Chen, as Young Protector, had cultivated on Mount Zhongnan for fifteen years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the north, his reputation was immense—twenty years of war had won the people’s loyalty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the prosperous south, Lu Chen still lacked true prestige.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daqing had nurtured scholars for four hundred years—the literati and gentry controlled public narrative.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Lu Chen forcibly seized the throne, he would inevitably “sharpen his knives”—blood would flow; the south might erupt into chaos again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most importantly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Chen has now taken over this “rotten mess of Daqing,” and the energy he invests will be enormous, severely affecting his cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daqing has enjoyed peace for too long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let the people of Jiangnan govern Jiangnan; placing your own trusted allies is the best choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the five options, Yu Ke discarded the first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third option—the Empress Dowager—was also eliminated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both the second and fourth options could potentially lead to a coalition of foreign states.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The state Zhou Jinyu might ally with could be Beifeng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The state Zhou Cheng might ally with later is unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Jing Wang controls Jiangbei; if he forms an alliance, the danger is greater than Zhou Jinyu’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compare the two!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Choosing Zhou Jinyu’s son to succeed seems slightly better—the hint adds “stabilize the situation in the short term.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is also “Zhou Jinyu’s affection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Ke was a little confused—what kind of complicated relationship did the emperor and his wife really have?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final option: participate personally!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if you participate personally,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he did not believe he possessed forty years more military strategy experience than Lu Chen and the others!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also eliminated!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After organizing his thoughts, Yu Ke made a resolute choice!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>4. Choose to support Zhou Jinyu’s son’s succession. (Hint: If chosen, you will likely gain Zhou Jinyu’s affection, stabilize the situation in the short term, and have a chance of triggering a foreign coalition.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the choice made,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the simulation continues!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You gaze at the varied expressions around you, your eyes weaving a net, complex and unfathomable.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Empress Dowager, that weathered elder, her eyes blazed with unusual clarity; the armrest she gripped tightly was her only support and anchor.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【She could not believe anyone could refuse a throne within reach—her own son and grandson, turning against each other over this divine artifact, forgetting brotherly bonds.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Her subordinates also stared intently.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Lu Lu and others looked tense—your single word could decide the lives of too many.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Being at the mercy of others’ decisions was not a pleasant feeling.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You said nothing!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【In this late autumn, the air was cold, yet beads of sweat formed on every soldier’s forehead.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【It was not merely from tension—they knew your word could determine their very lives.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【This was the tyranny of imperial power—it hung like a sword above all heads, both desired and feared.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【At this moment!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The entire palace was stained with blood, reeking of decay, tens of thousands dead, eyes wide open and unblinking.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Countless hands clambered atop the piled corpses, crowding toward a single throne.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【It seemed you were the final victor!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Yet!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Your face revealed not a trace of joy—calm as still water, unruffled.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You spoke slowly, voice low but clear, calm and resolute:】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“I am but a commoner from Huainan—what does the world add to me?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Lu Yu heard this and smiled.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1702,"2026-06-21T01:33:00.595Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","ff40955027d8a43cf4bfd1d33a2bce2f5af531a0e3e329dfbe0a2d05e7a1a010","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-207","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-205",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-cover.jpg"]