I Have a God Simulator

Years later, Tie Sai would still remember that day.

He had thought it was just an ordinary mission for the Martial Cultivation Association, but he never expected to be stepping into an Asura Purgatory.

The Association had told him that in a strange region of the Northern New Continent, several Adventurers had died.

Death was a part of adventuring, but the ones who killed the Adventurers had impaled their bodies on pikes, leaving them to bake in the sun as a display of provocation and mockery.

The surviving Adventurers had escaped and returned, begging the Association to rescue their trapped companions and bring back the bodies of the three dead Adventurers so their souls could return to their homeland.

After a discussion, Yan City and Yao City decided on a rescue operation, entrusting its execution to the Martial Cultivation Association.

Never before had there been such a brutal and flagrant atrocity. This was not only a contemptuous desecration of human life but also a direct provocation against Yao City and Yan City.

The perpetrators were a rebel force equipped with armor and weapons. Their formations were orderly, their numbers large, and it was likely they were plotting something significant.

The mission was to rescue the three trapped Adventurers, retrieve the other three bodies if possible, and while they were at it, investigate the group’s objective and their base of operations.

Tie Sai arrived at a tavern in the Northern New Continent and met another person.

This person wore a suit of Armor, covered by a long linen robe. Tie Sai recognized the Ghost Armor at a glance. After a brief exchange, he learned that she was, as he’d suspected, a Ghost.

The Ghost was named Yaopu. She was a senior Physician who possessed the [Heal] ability. She hadn’t come just to bring back bodies; she also wanted to awaken the three Wandering Souls and guide them back to Yan City.

Through her Ghost Armor, Yaopu’s voice emerged with a static crackle. "What are you good at?"

Tie Sai answered honestly, "I specialize in sketching and cartography. I don’t have much combat experience."

"Don’t worry, you’ve got me. I may be a Physician, but I actually fight Sand Worms and Cannibal Crabs all the time. After they get injured, I heal them."

Yaopu tapped her chest with her Finger Armor, producing a loud CLANG-CLANG of striking metal.

"Well then, I’ll be counting on you to do the heavy lifting," Tie Sai said.

When you’re far from home, you rely on friends. It was always good to have someone lend a hand.

"There’s one more Martial Cultivator," Yaopu said. "Do you know who it is?"

Tie Sai said he didn’t know either.

This mission had been issued urgently because the captives were in constant danger and the bodies could be destroyed at any moment. The Association had immediately assigned the task directly to the Martial Cultivators remaining in Yan City, selecting the three of them.

"The instructions said to meet outside the tavern. Why don’t we go take a look?" Tie Sai suggested.

The two of them walked out of the tavern.

Yaopu’s eyes were immediately drawn to a Fighting Shovel Armor chewing on a potato by the door. She seemed very interested. "I’m surprised someone around here managed to tame one of these."

Tie Sai explained, "It’s not tamed. It’s our traveling companion."

"It’s your mount? I wouldn’t have guessed. You’ve got some skills."

Yaopu was filled with a newfound respect.

"Not a mount... a partner," Tie Sai stressed.

Many people saw the Fighting Shovel Armor as a high-level horse or an Extraordinary Fighting Beast, but that was wrong. They were a species of warriors who revered adventure.

This particular Fighting Shovel Armor had originally followed the Gourmet, Nong Chan. Later, when Nong Chan went to Saniluo to become a head chef, he entrusted the Fighting Shovel Armor to Tie Sai so it could continue its adventures with him.

Suddenly, Tie Sai noticed a person standing beside the tavern.

The man was wrapped in an old cotton coat and wore a felt hat. He looked very old, carried a bulging pack on his back, and his right arm was tightly bound in dense layers of bandages, as if he were injured.

Tie Sai had excellent eyesight. A thrill went through him, and he quickened his pace.

"Mr. Yan Jiu."

He tried to keep his voice down. "I can’t believe I’m seeing you in the North! Are you cultivating here?"

The old man gave him a smile that deepened the profound wrinkles on his face. "You’re here for the Association’s mission, aren’t you?"

"Yes."

Tie Sai paused. "Don’t tell me... you’re with us?"

Yaopu came closer and drew in a sharp breath. "Great Cultivator Yan Jiu! I... I’ve always admired you."

Yan Jiu said softly, "Follow me. We’ll talk as we walk."

He led the way, taking them into the snow-covered mountains.

"The Association told you very little about this mission because many details must be kept secret. Moreover, it can only be carried out by reliable and experienced Martial Cultivators."

White puffs of breath escaped Yan Jiu’s mouth as he spoke slowly. "We are indeed going to rescue three Adventurers. But before we enter, I need you to paint your entire bodies blue to temporarily disguise yourselves as one of the Corrupters. You are not to revert to your true appearance or reveal your identities without my permission."

"Because we are about to cross into another world."

Hearing this, both Tie Sai and Yaopu froze in their tracks.

"That world is called the Wuzi Kingdom. It’s a world where a Divine War is currently raging."

"Follow me. You’ll understand once we’re there."

The old man led them over mountains and across ridges, traversing one ice field after another. Suddenly, the view ahead opened up into a hilly region covered in sand and gravel. Ahead lay a boundless expanse of mountains with sparse vegetation, separated from the silver, snow-covered world behind them by a single, sharp line.

The three Martial Cultivators crossed the border to carry out their mission.

...

A month had passed since they arrived in the Wuzi Kingdom. Tie Sai’s feelings about this place had evolved from initial excitement to surprised admiration, then to regret, and now, to sympathy and anger.

This had once been an independent Kingdom whose people lived simple, peaceful lives. But now, that peace had been shattered by the invading Fearless Empire. The kingdom was being ruthlessly ravaged and its people slaughtered, constantly facing the threat of annihilation.

The Wuzi People could not speak. Their eyes were usually gold or silver, and because of their unique flesh and blood, they coated their bodies in Black Mud to avoid contact with water. If water touched them, they would burn and explode.

They looked strange and were mute, but they were not unintelligent. The Wuzi People could build Earth Traveling Boats and carve stone into all sorts of figurines, palaces, horses, and trees. They were born sculptors and stonemasons.

Some of the Wuzi People would leave an object in the Black Mud on their bodies to represent their name—a handprint, for example, or a branch, or various stone carvings. That was their name.

One Wuzi person had a few pinecones embedded in his body, so Tie Sai called him Wuguo. Wuguo gave Tie Sai a stone carving of his face. Every single strand of hair was carved with perfect clarity. In Yan City, such craftsmanship would undoubtedly be priceless.

As a gift in return, Tie Sai drew a portrait of him.

Wuguo was delighted. He pointed at the paper and gestured animatedly, waving his arms and then picking up a shield and pike left by an Imperial Soldier to brandish them.

Tie Sai understood.

He drew a battle scene for Wuguo. In the drawing, Wuguo was brandishing a pike, launching a counterattack alongside other Wuzi People, chasing down the Imperial Army.

Wuguo loved it beyond words and took the drawing everywhere to show it to others.

He pried out his own golden left eye and offered it to Tie Sai as a thank-you.

Tie Sai didn’t accept it.

He just felt sad.

As an artist, he had never felt such a heavy weight.

One day, the Fearless Empire seemed to suddenly lose all Patience and began a frenzied assault on the defensive lines. Giant Crossbows mounted on the backs of Sand Lizards fired volleys of pillar-like bolts. The front line erupted into Chaos, with explosions going off one after another.

The Imperial legions launched round after round of bombardment and arrow volleys. The Pike Soldiers and shield-bearers at the vanguard pushed relentlessly forward, engaging the Wuzi warriors in Close Combat.

Tie Sai watched with his own eyes as two Wuzi People were pierced through and their bodies burst into flames. In their final moments, they charged desperately from the lines toward the enemy, hoping to explode in their midst. But a moment later, they were cut down by the Empire’s javelins and flaming arrows, exploding into a shower of fragments.

Every time a Wuzi person was killed, Imperial Soldiers would swarm forward to collect the fragments from the corpse. To them, these were priceless spoils of war.

After that day, Tie Sai never saw Wuguo again.

Tie Sai painted one picture after another, recording everything he saw: the brave yet timid Wuzi People, the soldiers scrambling madly for corpses and laughing, the runners bent on Self-Destruction, the fawning surrenderers, and the many more unsung warriors who stood on the front lines and did not take a single step back.

These were all scenes he had never witnessed before.

In the world sheltered by the Yao God, such tragedies had never occurred.

Tie Sai used to think that a life-or-death battle with Extraordinary Creatures was the cruelest test, that poverty was the prologue to misfortune, and that unfulfilled desire was the greatest regret a person could face.

Now he realized that all of that was nothing.

True cruelty has no bottom limit. Even anger becomes meaningless, only serving to make one feel powerless and small.

Tie Sai began to paint frantically, without rest. He had to record the truest scenes of this place, to tell his fellow Yao Race what had happened here, to use paper and charcoal to remember the towering arches that were constantly collapsing, to preserve the memory of each and every Wuzi person who had died and was still dying...

He fell into a trance, forgetting himself and the world around him.

The sheets of paper joined together, and the drawings seemed to come to life.

The dead Wuzi warriors rose from the paper. Smiles appeared on their stiff, dark faces. The warriors waved to him, then charged onto the battlefield without a moment’s hesitation.

The hand Tie Sai used to grip his charcoal pencil was rubbed raw and bloody, and the blood seeped into the drawings.

In his daze, he saw Wuguo.

For the first time, Wuguo spoke, saying happily to him, "My friend, we were victorious! Our Kingdom has won this great war of defense! Please, draw another picture for us."

Tie Sai smiled and said, "Yes, yes, that’s wonderful. I’ll start drawing right away."

...

When he awoke again, Tie Sai felt as if his soul had left him.

The Physician Yaopu’s voice crackled with static. "You almost died. Can painting really kill a person? It’s a good thing I brought plenty of herbs, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to pull you back."

Beside them, Elder Yan Jiu looked at Tie Sai with an appreciative expression. "He has broken through his own limits and comprehended an ability unique to him here. Those paintings are incredible masterpieces."

"Do these paintings have a name?"

Tie Sai was silent for a moment. "They’re called *Dawn of the Kingdom*."

He hoped that the darkness would eventually fade.

"That’s a truly fine name."

Yan Jiu’s expression turned serious. "A God has sent down an Oracle. The great Blood Knight is currently assembling the Corruptor Corps. The real counterattack is about to begin, and the war will soon be over. Our own mission has now been officially authorized."

"Everyone, let’s go rescue our compatriots."

Tie Sai nodded forcefully.