Chapter 16

One month later.

Zhao Si, as usual, cooked a bowl of noodles, while adding some cat food to the fat cat, and also took out his phone, waiting for the update to finish after a moment.

Looking back on the past month's life, Zhao Si still felt as if he were living in a dream.

The saint's dao fruit continuously generates innate spiritual energy; although he still hasn't figured out a cultivation method, under the passive influence of the spiritual energy environment, not only does his strength keep growing, but his physique also keeps improving.

Before, his weak physique would make him pant after just a few steps, but now he can do several hundred push-ups in a row without feeling tired; the improvement is obvious.

Even more surprising to him is that he unknowingly stopped eating grains; just the innate spiritual energy spontaneously replenishing his body is enough for him to go without food or drink without issue.

Now eating instant noodles is just occasionally tasting the flavor, form over substance.

And in his multiple tests, Zhao Si also verified the truth of what the system said; the innate spiritual energy produced by the saint's dao fruit essentially exists only relative to himself; other beings cannot feel it unless he allows it.

Likewise, the fat cat that he mistakenly thought was a demon and brought home also doesn't need to eat, but its greedy nature can't change; even when not hungry it still wants to eat something, so it's no wonder that as a stray cat it has grown a layer of fat.

【Theoretically possible, the specific reward depends on your completion degree; please strive to make the primordial storyline deviate from set history.】

As for the demon script, aside from letting Zhao Si give commands to various animals other than humans, its use is not apparent; mutual communication is impossible because small animals don't know demon script, only Zhao Si can use it…

【You wrote to your cheap father king, asking him to send your 250th older brother to help you; the father king highly values it, always seeing you as the family's hope, upon hearing your request he directly dispatched all your over a thousand older brothers and sisters, indicating that family members naturally should support each other, and asks you to assign each a fat post.】

【Facing the saint's implied question, you choose: (?) 】

【Just thinking about this, you're very puzzled, because in your previous life at this time, the Heavenly Court had already issued a slaughter edict against humanity, but this time there's not even a hint of movement…】

【You choose option B, solemnly answering: 'There cannot be two suns in heaven; my heart has only the Heavenly Emperor as one sun!'】

Initially choosing A almost scared him to death by the saint's dao fruit; Zhao Si this time doesn't hesitate, directly chooses B.

This lets Zhao Si relax; finally he doesn't have to worry about disasters caused by spiritual energy revival; as long as he doesn't mess around, no matter how much spiritual energy there is in heaven and earth, it won't affect others.

【Ding! System update complete!】

【This update has raised the host's permissions, indicating you have left the novice period; subsequent new functions will take effect after this round of simulation ends, please look forward to it, players.】

Yes!

For example, the fat cat; when Zhao Si doesn't allow it to feel spiritual energy, it feels nothing; but if he allows it, it can immediately detect the wandering innate spiritual energy around and easily control the spiritual energy to transform into various forms.

Zhao Si was surprised; actually he just asked casually, with no hope, because the saint's dao fruit is the genuine saint Nüwa, who personally split her own dao fruit origin to produce this product.

Okay! Then I'll strive for a perfect ending! Let's see what reward I can get!

Zhao Si suddenly understood, but then couldn't help becoming curious:

As for merit and demon script, Zhao Si has also studied them; merit is obtained whenever he helps any being, whether small animal or human, he gains some merit; but currently merit is too low, and since he doesn't cultivate, he hasn't seen its effect yet.

Really can be that high?!

Could it be another saint's dao fruit? Or… the primordial purple qi?

And beneath a saint, all are ants; according to common sense, how could anything be on par with a saint's dao fruit?

Even innate supreme treasures won't do; no matter what supreme treasure, it's just a tool; whereas a saint is the executor of the Heavenly Dao, nothing can be compared with it!

【The rise of cities also brought rapid progress in economy, culture, and politics; at this point humanity can no longer be considered barbarians, you think with relief, now the Heavenly Court surely can't use that as a reason to attack humanity, right?】

After a period of hesitation, Zhao Si finally chose to retain the fat cat's spiritual perception; aside from wanting to use it for a spiritual experiment, the biggest reason is that he can't afford its cat food…

【You: …】

【Facing over a thousand brothers and sisters staring at you eagerly, you really want to whip your cheap father king a few times; humanity totals only a few thousand, yet over a thousand dragons come to split merit, splitting a ghost!】

【Under the leadership of the tribal chief personally appointed by the Heavenly Emperor, humanity begins to formally stride forward toward prosperity.】

Zhao Si asked, puzzled:

What does 'take effect after the simulation ends' mean?

Can the reward level reach that of a saint's dao fruit?

Time passes minute by minute, second by second.

【Fortunately humanity's reproduction speed is fast; under your pro-natal policy, in just one yun time, population exceeded 100,000, finally having some scale; thus you, as chief, appointed brothers and sisters each to lead a portion of humanity away from Shouyang Mountain to develop broader lands.】

【You don't know whether Nüwa knows that humanity is the heaven-mandated protagonist, nor can you know her attitude toward the Heavenly Court; but since humanity is now under your management, you naturally cannot miss this opportunity!】

【Amid humanity's reluctance, Nüwa left Shouyang Mountain; she will follow the Dao Ancestor's command to go to Chaos to open her own heaven-earth dojo.】

Boosted morale, high-spirited Zhao Si began to continue the game:

【Whether to reverse time, return to the previous life choice?】

Even when not hungry I have to eat; if I'm really hungry I'll eat me into poverty!

【You can understand this as a clearance reward; the final outcome caused by your this-round simulation will determine the level height of your clearance reward this time; the more the outcome deviates from the set primordial storyline, the better the reward.】

Zhao Si couldn't help speculating, because he also couldn't think of anything in the primordial setting that could match a saint's origin…

But this is also good news!

I now possess the highest-grade 'origin-level' gifted saint's dao fruit; although temporarily unable to command or manage it, I can only passively absorb a bit of the innate spiritual energy it creates.

Zhao Si glanced at the fat cat enjoying its food, feeling somewhat speechless about this guy, but since he picked it up, he'll keep it, at least as a companion.

Clearance reward? That's roughly right.

【"You are whose little dragon?" Nüwa asked with interest.】

【Time has already reversed…】

What does that mean?

【A: Anyway you can't hide it from the saint, better to directly self-detonate and reveal rebirth, maybe there's unexpected gain. B: Solemnly answer: 'There cannot be two suns in heaven; my heart has only the Heavenly Emperor as one sun!'】

【But after all they are blood-related relatives; if you don't help them you fear gossip, so in the end you have to assign each of the over a thousand flood dragons to oversee three to five people, highlighting redundant officials…】

【Following demon race custom, you led humanity to build a homeland beneath Shouyang Mountain, days passing prosperously.】

But even so, the direct benefit the saint's dao fruit brings me far surpasses other gifts!

Such a good thing, knowing it won't cause direct harm to reality, who would complain it's too little?

【Village after village sprang up; the speed of population explosion grew ever faster, from a few thousand to 100,000 took a full yun 360 years, but from 100,000 surging to 10 million took less than a yun; as population grew, villages gradually couldn't bear it, thus towns appeared.】

【Your firm stance made Nüwa a bit doubtful, but she didn't ask further, only encouraged you a few words, then fell silent.】

While you were earning merit for yourself, you also hadn't forgotten your idiot brother; every time you recalled how, in his past life, for your sake he had spoken defiantly to the Heavenly Justice God, and finally the two brothers, the Two Dragons, went up together onto the Slay-Demon Platform, you were unwilling to abandon him—earning merit is a good opportunity, of course he cannot be left out.

Just as you were feeling puzzled and confused about this matter, the slaughter edict from the Heavenly Court did not arrive; instead, a group of people you never expected quietly found you, saying they wanted to discuss a deal with you that offered huge benefits…

……

(End of chapter)