[{"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-551":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},2347566,4587,"Chapter 551: Demon-Slaying Bureau, the Dragon Palace of Ze Lake!","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-551",551,"\u003Cp>Xie Yuan sighed softly, filled with emotion: “In this world, the demons and monsters the Demon-Slaying Bureau has been trying to suppress have only grown more numerous with each passing year.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon-Slaying Bureau is a special office established by the Great Qi, tasked solely with slaying demons and monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In addition to the Demon-Slaying Bureau, the imperial court also appoints Divine Concealers, whose duty is to manage demon-infested lands—even employing demon-blooded beings in their service.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The plague of demons and monsters does not merely ravage Jiannan Province; it is rampant across all thirteen provinces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Jingcheng Province, the presence of the Academy keeps demons and monsters from running rampant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the nine great clans’ noble scions, besides entering officialdom through the imperial examinations or taking up arms,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>there is yet another path, immensely alluring—the position of Captain in the Demon-Slaying Bureau of the Three Provinces, where one can accumulate merit and even earn a precious slot to study at the Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this path carries considerable danger, for demons and monsters do not recognize your noble lineage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuzhi’s father’s younger brother served as a Demon-Slaying Bureau Captain until a bird demon pecked out his heart and devoured it right before his eyes—he died instantly, and from that day on, he vowed to exterminate every demon on earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miss Zhang, you’re too kind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You looked at Zhang Yunzhi, whose face was serious, and said: “I, Xie Guan, am neither clever nor qualified to teach. If Miss Zhang truly finds herself in trouble, helping you would be my honor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You have always remembered how Miss Zhang helped you at Daguan Garden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One who receives kindness naturally keeps it in heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Master Xie.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You smiled slightly: “Miss Zhang, if you don’t mind, just call me Xie Guan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Zhang Yunzhi’s cheeks flushed faintly, and she nodded slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan stood tall and confident as he told Zhang Yunzhi: “Fourth cousin, perhaps I can lend you a hand too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan’s gaze locked tightly onto the map, especially the black dot at the very center of Ze Lake—unmistakably symbolizing a palace, shrouded in mystery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the location of the Dragon Palace of Ze Lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ze Lake is vast, spanning nearly ten thousand mu; originally, it was merely a boundless, shimmering natural marsh, its history stretching back to the Warring States period, three thousand years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In ancient times, it was known as Yunmeng or Ze Lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the lake lies a palace of supernatural craftsmanship, naturally sculpted from stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Folk tales claim it is the dwelling of immortals, hence Ze Lake has earned the reputation of “Heavenly Palace Lake” and “Abode of Immortals,” passed down through generations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the shores of Ze Lake, fish and aquatic produce abound, the soil is fertile, and the people have lived here for generations, toiling diligently. Their harvests are so bountiful they can feed the entire population of Jiannan Province.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the Tang Dynasty, before the Great Qi, there was a legend of a dragon princess sending letters: a scholar on his way to the imperial examination met a dragon princess by Dongting Lake and helped her deliver a family letter, receiving treasure in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now it has become a den of demons; few civilians remain near its shores.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How many great demons who have slaughtered countless lives have hidden themselves within these thousand li of Ze Lake?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Qi has the Demon-Slaying Bureau; the Great Sui has Daoist sects that purge demons—nowhere in the world will demons be tolerated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan recalled his childhood, when elders would scare children: “The demons of Ze Lake are coming to snatch disobedient kids!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the origin of these demon-blooded beings, it remains a mystery to this day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the great calamity one thousand five hundred years ago, demon-blooded seeds began to sprout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historical records recount the atrocities of the last emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the Fiery Emperor, who boiled his own crown prince into meat broth to please his favored concubine, the fox demoness, giving birth to an ill-omened offspring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This act enraged heaven and earth, triggering the celestial phenomenon of the heavenly dog devouring the sun, plunging the realm into chaos. At that time, demons and monsters ran rampant across all provinces; wild beasts in the mountains transformed into spirits and devoured humans, leaving the land bathed in blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan rubbed his chin and said: “The Great Qi has had opportunities to eradicate Ze Lake, but various reasons allowed it to grow too powerful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ze Lake was no different from any other demon-infested land in the world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the eighth century after the founding of the Great Qi, shortly after the death of the Academy’s first Master, a half-human, half-demon abomination rose to power, gathering countless demons to build the Dragon Palace in Ze Lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over centuries, the Dragon Palace’s power grew steadily, becoming a giant capable of shaking the balance of the entire realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond the Great Qi’s dominance in the east, the four corners of the world are fractured by rivalries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the south, the Buddha established his teachings: on the night a Buddha-child was born, lotus flowers bloomed, and the eastern wall of the temple collapsed on its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the north, the Tartars worship the Eternal Heaven; a mighty lord of the Nur clan emerged, and ancient texts of the Secret Sect prophesied the descent of the Red Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the west, the Great Sui rose to power over four centuries; now, the current Sui Emperor, as a child, wandered into a fairyland and vowed to claim dominion over the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Qi stands supreme; the Great Sui ranks second. Though the Eternal Heaven in the north and the Buddhist kingdom in the south stir with ambition, neither can rival the two great powers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ze Lake lies precisely in the gap between the Great Qi and the Great Sui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan sighed: “If the Master had only had the heart to act decisively back then, there would be no Dragon Palace of Ze Lake—every last demon spawn would have been slaughtered.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, a half-blooded demon general in Ze Lake reached the pinnacle of martial cultivation—the Xuan Dan Realm—and led a rebellion, transforming into a true dragon, commanding tens of thousands of demon troops to ravage Jiannan Province, slaughtering lives, feasting on flesh and drinking blood, leaving hundreds of thousands dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Master, upon hearing this, flew out of the Academy, holding a single warning ruler. Purple qi surged from the east, stretching a thousand li; wherever it passed, demons and monsters exploded into dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Xuan Dan Realm demon general never even saw the Master’s face—he was crushed beneath the Master’s aura, kneeling at the bottom of Ze Lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, the demon general of Ze Lake took his own life to atone; otherwise, the demon-blooded races of Ze Lake would have faced total annihilation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ancient history!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan clapped his hands, his face filled with admiration, and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When the Second Master traveled the world and passed through Ze Lake, he witnessed the horrific sight of villagers sacrificing young women to the lake’s demons. He accompanied a woman who had already given up on life into Ze Lake.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Suddenly, a serpent as massive as a mountain rose from the water. But the Second Master struck only once—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan marveled, continuing: “Just one strike, and he split the ten-thousand-mu lake in two. The demons’ blood dyed the waters ten thousand zhang red; the stench lingered for three days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too bad, the First Master believed the Second Master had accumulated too much bloodshed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So the Second Master did not exterminate all the demons of Ze Lake. Fearing retaliation against the people after he left, he built a hut by the lake and lived there for five years. He hung a sharp sword above the lake’s surface and decreed: whoever surfaces dies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tens of thousands of demons, trapped beneath the lake for five years, saw not a single ray of sunlight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yuan chuckled: “If I were the Second Master, I’d drain the entire lake. Then the demons would come out of the water—still not breaking the rule.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All scholars across the land look up to the four Masters of the Academy. Aside from the Master’s direct disciples, all four Masters are revered figures, geniuses of their age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, you couldn’t help but recall the “Demon-Slaying Sword” in your mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was passed down from the Second Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Second Master possessed nine swords, each embodying a distinct spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You stared at the map of Ze Lake, noting the five waterways leading out of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the demons are strong, and Ze Lake remains their ancient stronghold,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>how do we break them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today’s update was shorter—I was delayed by an urgent family matter. My apologies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1483,"2026-06-21T01:33:01.587Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","339a820ecb104dbfe4a4efe9301d6d7f811b270c41f5e441b5adb765992adef9","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-552","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-550",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-cover.jpg"]