Heavenly Simulation: Tales of Demons and Gods

Chapter no.18 Free Style Combat

Entering the Dream Simulation was an odd experience, to say the least.
Nie Li could confidently say it felt nothing like anything he'd known before.

One moment he closed his eyes in the familiar surroundings of his room, and the next, he was opening them to an entirely different reality.

Looking around, Nie Li found himself perched beside a crystal-clear lake, its serene waters stretching out before him. "What's this?" he wondered aloud, his curiosity piqued as he stood up to explore his new environment.

That's when he noticed it—a six-armed wooden puppet, standing a short distance away.

"Am I supposed to train with this?" Nie Li pondered, a hint of intrigue in his thoughts. Venturing closer, he reached out to poke the puppet, only to recoil in shock as he realized his finger was missing, cleanly sliced by the sword the puppet was wielding.

"Did it just cut me?" Nie Li exclaimed, stepping back just in time to dodge another swing from the puppet.

Glancing at his hand, he saw his finger was perfectly fine.

"Didn't I just... Oh, right, this is a dream," he remembered, the realization dawning on him that the usual rules didn't apply here.

"So, am I supposed to think of a sword for it...?" Nie Li's thought process was abruptly interrupted as, almost as if on cue, a sword shot out from the water, landing neatly in his grasp.

"Convenient."

[ Simulating Combat Style ]

[ Please Select the Following ]

[ ▶ Attack ]

[ ▷ Defend ]

[ ▷ Run Away ]

[ You have selected ▶ Attack ]

[ How do you want to simulate an attack? ]

[ ▶ Martial Arts ]

[ ▷ Item ]

[ ▷ Spell ]

[ Player Nie Li has selected Martial art - The Orchid Garden Weapon Art ]

With the sword in hand, Nie Li charged forward, soul force swirling around his dao, creating a spectacle of energy that seemed to dance along the blade's edge.

But then, something even more unexpected happened.

Time itself seemed to halt, freezing everything around him in place. The water of the lake stopped rippling, and the wooden puppet stood motionless, its six arms suspended in mid-air.

"Huh?"

[ Alert: Enemy positioned for potential harm to Player Nie Li. Directive: Choose from the following options. ]

[ ▶ Counterttack ]

[ ▷ Defend ]

[ ▷ Run Away ]

Nie Li's eyes were drawn upward.

There, he noticed one of the puppet’s numerous arms, previously frozen mid-swing, now inching downward toward his head. In that moment of stillness, a realization dawned on him—this attack had triggered the system.

[ Player Nie Li has selected ▶ Defend ]

The moment time resumed its normal pace, Nie Li instinctively raised his arms in defense.

However, he was swiftly cut from the waist down by the puppet's precise strike.

The experience was surreal— one moment, his instincts screamed that he was fatally wounded, and the next, he found himself standing unharmed at the spot where he had first begun, as if nothing had happened.