**Year 23, Age 40.**

A demonic martial artist invaded Baiyun County, wielding a flag shrouded in black mist, killing everyone he encountered.

The county's martial artists and officials were no match for him and were all slain, their souls absorbed into the flag.

The Demon Slayer Envoy from the Demon Slaying Division was alerted and fought him for several days, ultimately wounding him severely at the cost of their own life.

As the demonic martial artist fled, he killed your daughter and took all her vital blood.

The innkeeper's wife was overwhelmed with grief, fell ill, and passed away with resentment.

You first buried your daughter, then your wife.

Thinking of your daughter, who was only seven, calling "Father" with her chubby face just days ago, and then recalling her tragic death...

Your heart felt like it was being cut with a knife, waking up in terror every night.

But you still had a son, and you knew you couldn't collapse.

**Year 33, Age 50.**

A brilliant Empress emerged in the Southern Borderlands, uniting the scattered Hundred Nations of the Southern Frontier into a single force to counterattack the Central Plains.

The battle lines advanced from south to north, and Baiyun County was on the verge of becoming the front line.

Your son decided to go to the battlefield to defend the country.

"Son, can't you not go? The battlefield is too dangerous..."

"Father, if the country doesn't exist, what is the point of a home? You've always told others, 'My son, Chen Dong, will achieve great things in the future.' Now it's time for me to make my mark!"

You escorted your son out of the city, watching him leave.

At that moment, you seemed to age significantly.

**Year 35, Age 52.**

You received your son's ashes and a farewell letter.

After two years of anxiety, this was the outcome you awaited.

You buried him beside his mother and sister.

You sat in front of the graves for three months, your hair turning completely white.

**Year 37, Age 54.**

The Great Qian Dynasty suffered consecutive defeats, and Baiyun County was captured by the Empress, becoming part of the Southern Frontier Alliance's territory.

The saying goes, "Bandits pass like a comb, soldiers pass like a rake."

When the Southern Borderlands army passed through Baiyun County Town, they demanded money and food from every household.

They called it borrowing, but everyone knew it was a loan never to be repaid.

Your inn was not spared, and almost all visible wealth was taken.

Fortunately, the innkeeper's wife had told you she hid some silver under the old tree at home.

You used it carefully to get by.

After this calamity, everyone in Baiyun County Town became destitute, and the inn's business became increasingly difficult.

Year 40, Age 57.

A tiger demon emerged from the wilderness, wreaking havoc in Baiyun County.

The Demon Slaying Division mobilized fully, engaging in a life-and-death battle with it in the county town.

Whether the tiger demon was killed or not, you didn't know, but during its fight with the Demon Slaying Division, your three-story inn was utterly destroyed.

This was your most important fixed asset, and with it destroyed, you sought compensation from the Demon Slaying Division, only to be thrown out.

You looked at the ruins of the inn and laughed at yourself.

You weren't sure if you were laughing at your own naivety or at the world.

With little money left, rebuilding the inn was impossible.

You dismissed the chef, the waiter, and the odd jobs staff.

Over the years, you treated them like family, and when they left, they only took their due wages, refusing any severance pay.

You chose to leave Baiyun County Town, building a thatched hut beside your family's graves outside the city, and settled there.

**Year 42, Age 59.**

Drawing entries...

This year's entries were still useless.

But Chen Yi replaced "Luckier with Age."

"Almost sixty, 'I' have had such a hard life, hang in there, don't collapse! The dawn of victory might be just tomorrow!"

The difficulty of survival for ordinary people in this world was evident.

This only strengthened Chen Yi's resolve to pursue martial arts.

**Beside the thatched hut outside the city.**

You worked at sunrise, farming and growing vegetables.

After sunset, you talked to your family and then slept soundly under the moonlight.

Though lonely, you found a brief peace.

**Year 43, Age 60.**

Starting to draw entries...

Triggered the "Luckier with Age" guarantee!

Successfully drawn!

"Low-grade Aptitude" (Green): With this entry, young one, you can turn your life around despite being a nobody!

Adjust entries?

Yes/No

Chen Yi brushed his hands over his head, like Sun Wukong finally tricking Tang Monk in "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons."

"Finally..."

Perhaps the simulation's hardships were too much for him, and the system couldn't bear it, finally granting him the entry he desired most!

You replaced "Luckier with Age" with "Low-grade Aptitude."

This novel is available on "p𝑎wread.com".

(Seeing many readers didn't understand, thinking the replaced entries disappeared, they don't! Pay attention to the previous panel, one is called equipped entries, and the other is the entry library. Equipped entries have a quantity limit, so they often need to be changed according to the situation. Later, the realm slots will increase.)

(In reality, the protagonist can freely replace entries, but in the simulation, there's only one chance per year, during the entry draw.)

Your heart, long silent from the loss of family, finally began to beat again.

You hadn't forgotten the mission of this simulation.

You took all your savings and went to the Benlei Martial Arts School in the county town.

The martial arts instructor Niu Dadan, wearing training clothes, looked at you with amusement.

"Old man, don't joke around, what martial arts can you learn at sixty?"

"Sixty! It's the prime age for striving!"

You dumped a pile of silver ingots at the martial arts school's entrance.

"I'll pay, you just teach, whether I learn or not is my own business!"

Taking on a disciple old enough to be his father was a huge challenge for Niu Dadan.

But you offered too much.

"Martial arts is about cultivating the three energies!

Vital energy! Spiritual energy! Essence energy!

As they say, eat one bite at a time, and practice the three energies one by one!

First, master external skills, which can enhance vital energy. The stronger your vital energy, the more your strength, speed, and body will improve!

When you sense a warm current in your dantian, it means your vital energy has surpassed the mortal limit and can be stored in the dantian.

Laymen like to call this warm current internal energy, but we martial artists must know it's vital energy strong enough to control!

This is the first realm of martial arts, the Body Refining Stage!

The Body Refining Stage has nine levels, and each level requires doubling your vital energy to break through..."

Watching his simulated self learn about martial arts from the martial arts school master, Chen Yi's eyes also showed a thirst for knowledge.

No worries.

Once the simulation ends, he will inherit these memories.

"Starting martial arts at sixty, I probably won't advance much in realms, but no matter what, I've got the aptitude entry, making the next simulation easier!"

**Year 43, Age 61.**

After a year of training, no progress.

Niu Dadan advised you.

"Old Chen, give it up. An old body loses vital energy severely, how can you practice martial arts?"

The brothers in the martial arts school, and those who knew you in the county, all gossiped behind your back.

They said you were unrealistic, restless even in old age.

You never paid attention to the gossip, focusing solely on research and experimentation.

"Don't underestimate the old and poor! I, Chen Dong, will definitely step into the martial path!"