[{"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-549":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},2347564,4587,"Chapter 549: The Brush Holds Spirit—Young Master Guan, Please Teach Me!","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-549",549,"\u003Cp>It was already afternoon, and the sun had not yet set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wutong went to find Luya to help the Fourth Young Lady tidy her chambers—perhaps next spring, the Fourth Young Lady will marry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An ancient saying goes: “On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month, sweep the dust and clean the house.” Though the deep winter had not yet arrived, many mansions had already begun preparing for the annual dust-sweeping in anticipation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wutong was considerate to the point of detail, preparing for you a bowl of plain porridge and two bowls of braised pork, fully aware of your martial needs—every meal at home now included meat dishes to strengthen your sinews and bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You finished your meal in a flash, then stepped into the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Winter was drawing near, yet the days had been bright and sunny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the method of the “Taizu Sacred Monkey Stance,” you practiced leaning against the post and standing firm, each movement designed to cleanse the body, stretch the tendons, and strengthen the bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh! Hss! Ha!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After only an hour, though the air was chilly, steam rose from your forehead and hair, your entire body drenched in sweat, soaking your clothes—your training for today was enough; no further exertion was advisable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After bathing and changing, you sat quietly in the courtyard, focusing your mind, beginning to visualize the “Demon-Slaying Sword.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You had only visualized it once—yesterday’s spiritual soul cultivation had already reached its limit; further practice was impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You swallowed one of the pills left by Lu Hua, and instantly felt a renewed clarity and vigor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You picked up brush and ink once more, sketching the essence upon paper—perhaps because you had ascended to the Third Realm of the Spiritual Soul yesterday, your brushwork had grown increasingly uncanny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You possessed the talent: “The brush holds spirit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You painted the Tengshe, and it seemed as if ink flowed and curled upon the paper—merely by infusing it with your Primordial Spirit, it could become alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You tried to channel your Primordial Spirit through the brush to complete the final stroke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ink painting transformed into a crude but recognizable Tengshe that flew out—but it was uncontrollable, like a child lifting a heavy object too large and unsteady for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You could only tap it with a finger, sending it tumbling into the courtyard’s large water vat—with a loud “thud,” it splashed water everywhere, then vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only a pool of scattered water remained across the courtyard, streaked and glistening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You stepped closer to examine it, and saw that the water’s surface had been stained with a patch of ink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You scooped up the ink stain with a dipper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You shook your head gently. “Looks like I’m still not quite there yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling the moment your brush had touched the paper, you felt immense strain—your accumulated Primordial Spirit had nearly been exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To truly bring life to the painted object, your cultivation of the Primordial Spirit must advance several more realms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You couldn’t help but imagine: if you painted a dragon or tiger, could you summon a beast? If you painted a celestial maiden, could she appear in the mortal world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How exciting that would be!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You gazed at the spilled water in the courtyard and suddenly recalled the “Tengshe Playing in Mist Talisman” from the “Yinfu Seven Arts”—you had fully comprehended and mastered it, needing no talisman paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True, drawing the talisman enhances its power and serves as a means of preservation, but the uncanny state it produces cannot last long—it must be sustained by Primordial Spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You willed it, and a glimmer shone in your eyes; the pooled water slowly rose, transforming into a thick, white mist that enveloped the small courtyard, drifting slowly away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You paid it no further attention, letting the mist spread freely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, footsteps sounded at the courtyard gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that you had entered the Third Realm of the Spiritual Soul, your senses had grown sharper—“ears keen, eyes bright.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The person at the gate merely tapped the courtyard door in token form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven or eight people entered one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Guan Di, are you in?” Xie Yuan’s voice rang out in the courtyard—he was followed by entertainers and servants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not morning—where did this mist come from?” Xie Yuan stepped in, waving his hand to disperse the mist, muttering in confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he entered, the mist in the courtyard gradually dissipated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servants stared in astonishment, and among those behind Xie Yuan was the Fourth Young Lady, Zhang Yuzhi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had entered the cultivation of the Primordial Spirit and now stood at the Fourth Realm—seeing this, she felt something deeply unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was afternoon, not morning—how could mist have formed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A white expanse, as if standing among the clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet within moments, the mist vanished entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan saw you beside the stone table and called out: “Wutong, Young Master Yun has arrived—quick, brew tea!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sixth Brother, why are you free today? Didn’t you arrange to meet the Li family’s daughter?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wutong went off on an errand today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Lady Zhang!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuzhi smiled and greeted: “Young Master Guan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan chuckled: “Precisely because I’m meeting the Li girl today, I came here to your courtyard to avoid the fuss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Honestly, I like your courtyard more and more—reading books, writing characters, so peaceful, no outsiders to disturb you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You shook your head helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The sixth daughter of the Li family is beautiful and renowned as a talent—don’t you think you’re doing her a disservice?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan gestured naturally for Zhang Yuzhi to sit—he had known this courtyard well for over a year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuzhi laughed: “I think it’s a toad trying to eat swan meat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go on, go on—fine, if you’re teasing me, Fourth Cousin, how come you’re teasing me too, Guan Di?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan half-joked: “Why don’t you marry the Li girl instead? I’ll ask Mother to speak for you—gentlemen help others achieve their desires.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuzhi’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You smiled in reply: “Sixth Brother, stop joking—I’m no match for the Li family’s daughter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan waved his hand dismissively: “Let’s not talk about these troubling matters today—I’m being driven mad by Mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He added with interest: “Guan Di, do you remember the western front campaign last time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slapped his thigh in mock surprise: “You were right again!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of this!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuzhi had been deeply shaken today—early this morning, she received a letter from her father, whose account matched precisely what Xie Guan had predicted six days prior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ze Lake and Bianjing were far apart, separated by two provinces—even with swift horses, the journey took three full days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, when Zhang Yuzhi received her father’s reply from Jiannan, it was already the sixth day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had casually passed on Xie Guan’s words to her father, never expecting them to come true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her letter, she did not reveal Xie Guan’s true identity, merely describing him as an elderly, drunken guest of the Xie household who had spoken in his cups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She found his words insightful, so she recorded them in the letter, hoping to catch her father’s attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She herself was uncertain whether Xie Guan’s predictions could truly come to pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if true, her father could prepare early in Ze Lake; if false, no harm done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, her father’s letter arrived early at the mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, her father always inquired after her well-being—whether she’d met a man she liked, what books she’d been reading, urging her to spend more time with her mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This letter was unlike any before—it mentioned none of those household matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the very first stroke, her father’s tone was solemn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wrote of the outcome of the western campaign, which matched exactly the “Mr.’s” prediction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He analyzed: “This old gentleman may be a great recluse hidden within the Xie household.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The letter also included a map of the Ze Lake battlefield, urging her to consult this gentleman on Ze Lake’s situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet to confirm the gentleman truly possessed sound strategy, her father set two questions as a test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If both were answered correctly, he would then inquire further; otherwise, the matter would end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuzhi laughed and sighed—she knew her father’s nature better than anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his youth, her father had studied at a academy taught by a destitute Licentiate living in a back alley. At first, he disliked the man, but later marveled at his vast learning—only to discover the old Licentiate was none other than a great Confucian scholar who had once driven his teacher’s carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Great recluses hide in court, middling ones in the marketplace, small ones in the wild.” Her father had always warned her: never judge by appearances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This tale of the Xie household’s elderly guest revealing wisdom in drunkenness suited her father’s taste perfectly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, she had come today with Xie Yuan—and the two questions? Long forgotten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because there was no old gentleman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuzhi looked at the young man before her—barely of age—and burst into laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan rubbed his head in confusion: “Fourth Cousin, what’s wrong with you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing, nothing—carry on with your talk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan said: “Guan Di, let’s play chess while we talk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hou’er had already set up the board—Xie Yuan loved chess and carried it everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How about we wager three games again, Guan Di?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wager again? Didn’t you lose badly last time?” Zhang Yuzhi teased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan chuckled sheepishly: “Then let me have half the pieces—if I still lose, I’ll admit defeat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You smiled faintly, gently nudged a piece with your finger, and said: “.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since entering the Third Realm of the Spiritual Soul, your mind had grown calmer, your mental strength and calculation ability greatly enhanced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first game reached the middle stage!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan had felt certain of victory—yet a moment of carelessness cost him the game he had been poised to win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the second game, he couldn’t even survive the middle stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan stared motionless at the half-board still dominated by the black stones, letting out a sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had recently memorized countless go manuals and played several games with masters of the art, convinced his skill had improved—yet even with a half-board handicap, he still lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entertainers and Xie Hou’er and the others were used to it; after all, their young master lost far too often.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother Guan, you’ve never studied go manuals or faced a master—so how can your play be so impenetrable, every move calculated, leaving not the slightest opening?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You looked at the board, where the position had already turned into a whirlwind sweeping away all resistance, captured a river-crossed pawn with your chariot, turned it over in your hand, and lifted your eyes at Xie Yuan’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once a pawn crosses the river, there’s no turning back—I am the same. I don’t have an uncle, a mother, or the Xie Mansion shielding me from wind and rain like Sixth Brother does.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have only this small courtyard behind me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thus I examine myself thrice daily, daring not to take a single misstep.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy spoke these words calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yunzhi felt an unexpected pang of pity; this youth in the Xie Mansion had no one, utterly alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You placed a stone and smiled faintly: “Sixth Brother, you’ve lost.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan helplessly scratched his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I, Xie Yuan, am truly humbled—I’ll never touch go again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You made no reply; he said this nearly every time he lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But you noticed something curious: Xie Yuan had never cultivated martial arts or primordial spirit methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet his dantian and entire body were faintly wreathed in auspicious qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You noticed it only because you had perfected the “Five Dragon Auspicious Talisman” from the Seven Arts of the Yin Fu Spell—a method to preserve essence, qi, and spirit, and to stabilize one’s personal fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You had gained acute perception of the five-element energies around you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then could you detect this anomaly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This must be what Sima Ting meant: the Nine Surnames of noble families, since childhood, have martial cultivators secretly massaging their sinews and blood each night, unblocking circulation, bathing their bodies in medicinal decoctions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’ve long laid a solid foundation—later martial cultivation becomes merely a matter of accumulated strength bursting forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhang Yuzhi was different; she had clearly begun cultivation early—her spirit’s luminous inner stillness was a sign of a stabilized primordial spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s return to the matter at hand—Brother Guan, how did you predict the war on the western border of Da Qi? Even if you could divine the future, that’s impossible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You never leave this courtyard—how could you possibly know all that’s happening in the world?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You smiled calmly: “I merely use the grand picture as a mirror, understanding that pulling one hair moves the whole body.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuzhi smoothly withdrew a map rolled in her sleeve and laid it gently upon the go board.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fourth Cousin, what is this?” Xie Yuan asked, intrigued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The map depicted a vast circular wetland, surrounded on all sides by towering mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Striking were five winding paths threading through it, linking inside and out like five fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around it rose majestic peaks, mighty rivers surged, and waterways crisscrossed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is the terrain map of Dezehu,” Zhang Yuzhi explained. “The black dots mark the Dragon Palace’s troop deployments.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this was the Dragon Palace’s garrison location, Xie Yuan’s curiosity flared—he leaned forward to examine it closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fourth Cousin, where did you get such a precious thing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could this troop deployment even be real?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dezehu was a den of demons and monsters, its ruler the foremost among them—a forbidden land for humans, and the most coveted mysterious place among the decadent youth of Bianjing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhang Yuzhi ignored Xie Yuan’s question and turned to you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord Guan, this map shows the demon lairs of Dezehu’s Dragon Palace. There are five routes in and out—ideal for both offense and defense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She picked up a brush and, following her father’s letter, marked several small crosses along three of the paths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If these are the positions of Da Qi’s forces, and you now had one hundred thousand demons emerging from all five routes—how would you respond?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan counted the crosses—clearly far fewer than the number of demons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To win with fewer?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone knew demons were inherently powerful—this wasn’t just egg against stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman rose and bowed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I beg you, Lord Guan—teach me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recommendation: Avoid Misfortune, I’m Not the Chosen One of Fortune!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2415,"2026-06-21T01:33:01.587Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","dc946cc7ee0ae714dff1d2b6a4a93276ea88ed5457da65301852fbfce5a6d753","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-550","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-548",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-cover.jpg"]