Chapter 8: Simulation Ends, Abundant Rewards
Although the great war had ended, Dugu Bo's simulation was still ongoing.
Lines of text continued to scroll across the crystal panel:
[At age 90, after the war, you return to the Sunset Forest.]
[At age 91, you and your granddaughter Dugu Yan cultivate in the forest.]
[At age 92, you continue cultivating with your granddaughter.]
…
[At age 95, the poison stored within your soul bones reaches its limit. Years of enduring the jade phosphor Serpent Emperor's poison push your mind to the brink of collapse.]
[To survive, you are forced to search for more soul bones. However, they are incredibly rare—you travel far and wide for months, only managing to find a barely ten-thousand-year soul bone. Fortunately, it is an arm bone and does not conflict with your existing ones.]
[This soul bone is granted to you by the new emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Beng.]
In his spiritual sea, Dugu Bo frowned deeply.
Soul bones weren't actually that few—but once obtained, they were almost always immediately absorbed.
There was no such thing as "stock."
To obtain one, you'd have to hunt a soul master who possessed it.
But…
He, Dugu Bo, might not be a good man—yet he would never stoop that low.
And according to the simulation, his mind was already near collapse.
Even if he found more soul bones, it still wouldn't fundamentally solve his poison problem.
Death would only be delayed—not avoided.
[At age 95, you absorb the ten-thousand-year soul bone, temporarily easing the outbreak of your poison. Your strength rises to Rank 94.]
[However, you soon discover that as your strength increases, so does the potency of your poison.]
[At age 96, realizing this cannot continue, you attempt to find Tang San and ask him to completely cure your poison.]
[You believe that with his god-level strength, he can do it—but Tang San has already ascended to the Divine Realm. You search in vain and eventually return to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.]
[Unbeknownst to you, Tang San watches from the Divine Realm. When Xiao Wu asks why he doesn't help you, he calmly replies: "The Divine Realm must not interfere with Douluo Continent affairs."]
Seeing this, Dugu Bo laughed—
But the expression on his face was cold and twisted.
"Tang San… what a Tang San… hahaha!"
[At age 97, you continue searching for soul bones while suppressing the poison within you.]
[At age 98, you continue your search…]
[At age 99, you wander the continent in search of soul bones…]
[At age 100, the poison within your body erupts once more—but you have no soul bones left to contain it.]
[In the end, you die from the Biphosphor Serpent Emperor's poison.]
[Simulation complete. The system will randomly select items that appeared during the simulation for you to choose from.]
[Because this simulation lasted a long time, you may select two rewards from the following:]
Xuantian Technique
Xuantian Treasure Record
Mysterious Jade Hands
Hundred Solutions to Hidden Weapons
Medusa's Soul Bone
Medusa's Soul Ring
100,000-Year Titan Giant Ape Soul Ring
100,000-Year Azure Bull Python Soul Ring
Martial Soul: Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum
Martial Soul: Ghost Shadow
Dugu Bo stared at the list, his heart surging.
Even 100,000-year soul rings… and even martial souls can be rewarded directly?
But—
He could only choose two.
He quickly skimmed past the earlier items, barely pausing.
When his gaze landed on the Medusa soul ring and soul bone, he hesitated briefly.
They were highly compatible with his martial soul—and obtaining both from the same beast was incredibly rare.
But still… he moved on.
The 100,000-year Titan Giant Ape soul ring—powerful, but not suitable for him.
Then—
The Azure Bull Python soul ring.
At that moment, he had already made his first choice.
Even if the attribute wasn't perfectly compatible, a 100,000-year soul ring was a treasure beyond measure.
It didn't just grant two soul skills—it broke limits.
Some even said:
A 100,000-year soul ring is the stepping stone to Rank 98.
Without one, even the most talented soul master would eventually hit a ceiling.
With one—you could surpass it.
Finally, his gaze fell on the last two options:
Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum
Ghost Shadow
Both were top-tier martial souls—only slightly inferior to legendary ones like the Clear Sky Hammer or Seven Kill Sword.
But Dugu Bo didn't choose them.
He knew that twin martial souls were already the human body's limit.
Eighteen soul rings.
Beyond that—collapse.
Just like metal can only endure so much forging before it breaks.
Too much power… destroys.
So instead—
He chose something else.
Something that belonged to Tang San.
"I choose the Azure Bull Python soul ring… and the Hundred Solutions to Hidden Weapons."
As for why he chose the hidden weapons manual—
That had everything to do with his plans moving forward.