[{"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-709":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},2347724,4587,"Chapter 709: The Third Master","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-709",709,"\u003Cp>“It’s your senior brother’s sword intent—you’ve known all along, haven’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, you and your senior brother are close friends; he never hides anything from you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the fifth floor of the academy’s Cultivation Hall, sandalwood incense curled gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fifth floor was the academy’s most sacred place; ordinary disciples were not permitted to ascend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, there had been a low white bed and a desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The latticed windows filtered the twilight into tiny golden specks, scattering them between the robes of the two men seated opposite each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Between them stood a small tea table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the men was a middle-aged figure of tall stature, wearing a slightly faded Confucian scholar’s robe that somehow radiated an indescribable nobility and elegance, as if the garment owed its splendor to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His smooth black hair fell loosely over his shoulders; his features were ordinary, yet somehow combined on his face into an unexpectedly striking beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other was Xie Hong, his eyes shadowed with melancholy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Third Master, are you truly unaware?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Confucian-robed man across from him was the revered Third Master of the academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master smiled and shook his head. “Chongshan, you rarely come to the Cultivation Hall—this isn’t the right topic to bring up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the academy’s four Masters, each had their own character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second Master spoke the least and was the coldest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First Master was gentle and warm, the peacemaker among them, always courteous to everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master was born a true scion of a great clan, raised in silk and jade; when he roamed the martial world, everything seemed new to him, and thus he developed a habit of endless chatter—he spoke the most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these past years, as he managed the academy, those he could truly converse with grew fewer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last time he met Su Jing, it was clear they had long since taken different paths, so there was nothing left to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong and Second Master got along well—like a lonely pine reflected in a cold pool, both quiet and taciturn by nature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master spoke: “You’ve come for Xie Guan? After all, he’s still a member of your Xie family, the bloodline of your brother Xie Ling.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s caused a great disaster today—do you expect my academy to protect him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yet this is strange. You clearly knew what would happen today—why didn’t you stop him? Even if you wouldn’t stop him, you could have prevented it from occurring.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tea’s surface mirrored Third Master’s half-smile: “Chongshan, after all these years, I still don’t understand you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it you truly seek?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Bianjing, rumors spread that Xie Hong was the candidate Second Master wished to adopt as a disciple, to make him the academy’s Fifth Master—but later, the “Strife of Three and Four” arose, and the matter was abandoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Xie Hong himself refused it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of the academy’s four Masters, Su Jing had the worst relationship with Xie Hong, followed by First Master; outside of Second Master, Third Master knew Xie Hong best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Third Master, haven’t you asked Xie Hong this question many times before?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master gently set down his teacup. “Asking and knowing are two different things.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gazed out the window at the twilight. “In Bianjing, I can guess Su Jing’s intentions, but not his methods; I can foresee the direction of Second Brother’s sword intent, yet I cannot tell from where his blade will strike.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned back, his gaze piercing: “Even the Masters’ thoughts, I can fathom somewhat. But you—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For these past twenty years, I’ve never been able to see what you truly want.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Xie family? Power? Reputation? You seem to care for none of it. You don’t even care for your wife, nor do you acknowledge your offspring.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All these years, the only thing I’ve ever seen you truly care about is Second Master’s ascension.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master leaned forward slightly. “Now, there’s a second thing—Xie Guan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong’s fingers twitched imperceptibly on the table, yet he remained silent as stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master continued: “At the Gathering of the Hundred Flowers, you let that dragon fight Xie Guan—you must have already sealed its cultivation, otherwise a great demon from Ze Lake, nearly approaching the rank of a supreme master, even with Xie Guan’s Seven Swords United, could never pierce its scales—how could he possibly kill it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, wind swept through the bamboo grove, rustling softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That dragon’s corpse was used by Sima Ting to forge a sword.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master’s voice flowed like a cold spring: “Among today’s sword users, aside from Second Master, the others are not in Bianjing. Is this sword meant for Xie Guan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong finally lifted his eyes—his gaze like a bottomless cold pool, yet he said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master studied Xie Hong’s calm expression, then lifted his teacup and blew gently; the tea’s fragrance curled upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though I cannot fathom why you act this way, I sense something…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master paused, then changed the subject:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I once heard a tale: in the mountains, there was a small pond, its waters clear, fish playing within. One day, a fish unlike the others appeared, always gazing beyond the pond’s edge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The other fish, noticing its strangeness, asked why. That fish replied…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, Third Master paused, his gaze deep, as if waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong finally spoke, his voice tinged with melancholy: “Rather than a fish, it’s more like a frog in a well—a frog that never belonged to that well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master smiled faintly. “A summer cicada cannot comprehend ice? Or has the frog in the well glimpsed the vastness beyond?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong said nothing, only remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master asked: “Chongshan, what is your true essence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The world assumes that when you trained at Qingliang Temple, you were secretly accumulating cultivation, aiming for the Yangshen Realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yet in truth, when you left Bianjing twelve years ago for Qingliang Temple, you had already forged your true essence, correct?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong gave a slight nod—his tacit confirmation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a secret even the Nine Great Clans did not know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world believed Xie Hong had entered the Yangshen Realm, unaware that during the palace coup twelve years ago, he had already forged his true essence and embarked on a different path of cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master had risen and stood by the window. “Xie Guan’s actions today will not be pursued—though I mean today only.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But Wu Xin cannot bear for Xie Guan to die, yet he must let him die.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In less than half a year, if Xie Guan cannot prove himself, no one can save him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Jing’s courtesy name is Wu Xin!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master changed the subject again: “Chongshan, do you think Wu Xin fears? The Master has left Bianjing and gone to the Red-Eyed Army.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will the Red-Eyed Heavenly King become the Master—or will the Master become the Red-Eyed Heavenly King?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong spoke rarely: “The current Su Xiang may not fear the Master, but he certainly fears him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master chuckled softly. “Chongshan, do you know what I seek?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong shook his head. “I do not know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I know you will not block my path.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master’s smile deepened. “What if we are already on the same path?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong’s gaze was calm: “We are not on the same path—we are—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused. “The world has only one path left to walk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master gazed into the distance; the night wind lifted his sleeves. “All beings strive to cross… strive to cross.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence fell within the fifth floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong asked: “Third Master, what is your true essence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master looked out at the scenery—the sun setting behind the mountain—and smiled. “Wu Xin asked me. Your senior brother asked me. Even the Master asked me. Yet I never answered.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Today, I will tell you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke slowly: “The lamp-lit dream of yellow millet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong’s brow flickered with hesitation, then relaxed; he regarded the academy’s Third Master anew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master turned to face him. “Chongshan, won’t you go home today? Such a great event has happened in your household.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the academy claimed to confine Xie Hong,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>in truth, he came and went as he pleased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong shook his head, voice low: “He died because of Xie Guan—but not by Xie Guan’s hand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every cause bears its fruit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master asked: “How long until Bianjing falls?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed. “It seems it will come sooner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Great Sui is crumbling; the Celestial Mandate of Changsheng Tian is shaken; the Golden Bodies of the Buddhist realm are cracking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His finger traced the patterns on the window lattice. “As for those three foreign princes—who still cares?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The world’s calamity has only just begun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong also gazed out the window, his dull eyes growing more desolate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So many must die for this path.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dreams cross the sea to ancient mulberry trees; I’ve witnessed the Milky Way’s storms.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Master asked: “Is it worth it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Hong murmured: “In dreams, one forgets one is but a guest… ten years of traces, ten years of heart.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>～\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1513,"2026-06-21T01:33:03.787Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","017ac2a09e675b30d8aa0ec13fd1d462a8ddd2ac93fe52001247de5c16284ead","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-710","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-708",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-cover.jpg"]