I Have a God Simulator

Yan Jiu had always believed his greatest skill was his good luck.

He not only survived a shipwreck that should have claimed his life, but he also gained the favor of the White God.

Later, in his arrogance and ignorance, he made a series of mistakes, only to be embraced and forgiven by the merciful Yao God.

He had faced death numerous times and escaped, surviving by sheer luck on each occasion.

His contemporaries died off one by one, many of them exceptionally talented, all eventually swallowed by the Sea of Time. Yet he, the one with no particular talent, had somehow become an Extraordinary Being and seen the vast world that lay beyond the surface.

Before the age of thirty-seven, Yan Jiu was in his spring. The winds were gentle, the sun was bright, and everything went smoothly. He thought he could continue to grow tenaciously forever, that nothing could ever strike him down.

At fifty-one, Yan Jiu lost his left eye and entered his summer.

He witnessed the unpredictable ups and downs of life and learned that only steadfast Faith could keep him from losing his way. He came to understand that Yao God didn't just represent power; He also brought confidence and hope to all the weak.

At one hundred and one, Yan Jiu fought the Black Water Mite. His right arm was destroyed, and he arrived in his autumn.

He could clearly feel his body's unstoppable decay, yet his power had reached its peak—a reward for his Faith and perseverance. Yan Jiu displayed the fruits of his long cultivation for all to see, encouraging them not to be deterred by hardship and to continue pushing the limits of humanity.

Today, at one hundred and forty-two, Yan Jiu found himself in deep winter.

An unprecedented Weakness enveloped his old, broken body. Not even the most perfect craftsmanship of the Dwarf artisans could halt the decay and stiffening of his flesh.

He calmly awaited death.

Because Yan Jiu knew he had already given his all.

His consciousness grew increasingly blurry. Suddenly, Yan Jiu felt himself flying. When he came to his senses, he found himself in a desert.

Vast layers of clouds drifted over the sand dunes, as if this were some secret realm on the Skyline.

A voice sounded in his ear.

"The Lord God is giving you a chance. If you are willing, you can ascend the [Cloud-Running Platform] to become a Cloud Monk, or take the [Desert Entrance Road] to become a Sand Walker."

"These two wonders can grant you a new body and a fresh start, but they require a corresponding price."

Yan Jiu squinted hard.

Standing before him was Miss Isabelle, the Apostle.

A century had passed, yet she hadn't changed one bit, retaining her youthful, beautiful appearance.

The God had once again bestowed a Blessing.

Yan Jiu was filled with awe and apprehension.

"Thank... thank you so much, Lord Yao God... COUGH, COUGH... COUGH, COUGH..."

"Choose."

Isabel said softly, "Your body won't last much longer. Whether a Ghost, a Cloud Monk, or a Sand Walker, you can choose..."

"However, the Cloud Monk and the Sand Walker are forms no one from the Yao Race has ever taken. You must be mentally prepared; you may encounter unprecedented difficulties."

Yan Jiu swayed, and finally stepped onto the Desert Entrance Road.

He didn't choose the Cloud-Running Platform, because Yan Jiu wanted to go back. Back to the world where he was born and raised. Once he became a Cloud Monk, he would never be able to leave this desolate Land of Sand.

The Desert Entrance Road was a spiraling staircase. It looked as fragile as a castle in the air, yet it stood quietly and stably amidst the Storm.

With each step, Yan Jiu felt his body reacting, growing dry, hard, coarse, and sand-like all over.

His flesh and blood gradually crumbled, his bones turned to sand, and his thoughts separated from his body to linger on the steps.

Yan Jiu could see clearly that he was being deconstructed and reformed.

A moment later, it was as if he had risen from the suffocating depths of the water to the surface. He instinctively gasped for air, inhaling yellow sand along with it.

Yan Jiu saw that his body hadn't changed at all; it was still old and withered.

And yet, it was different.

Because with a light touch, his hand could pass right through his chest.

A Sand Walker. His entire body had turned to sand, existing on a foundation of the Sand Element.

Yan Jiu no longer felt cold or weak.

In its place was a kind of relaxed stability. His whole body could separate at will, and just as easily merge back into one.

This wondrous sensation was a novelty for Yan Jiu.

He leaped lightly onto the sandy ground and, like a ball of water hitting a lake, instantly became one with the desert, only to coalesce into a human form elsewhere.

Overcome with excitement, Yan Jiu quickly knelt, pressing his head piously into the sand. "Lord Yao God, you have once again generously given guidance and grace to your humble follower. I cannot describe my gratitude or my praise for you."

"I will surely continue on the path of cultivation, spreading word of your blessings and benevolence, until the day this body is destroyed and scatters."

Isabel gave him a slight nod. "You are the first Sand Walker of the Yao Race, and a pathfinder for the Yao Race World. Cherish this hard-won opportunity."

"Another Apostle, the Guest Monk, will give you guidance."

With that, she vanished without a trace.

Yan Jiu committed her words to memory.

Next, he began to acclimatize to his new body and abilities.

After becoming a Sand Walker, besides retaining [Fire Robe] and [Evasion], Yan Jiu gained two new abilities.

...

[Sand]

You are a part of the sand itself.

[Rule Walker]

A stalker within the Rule Power. Has a certain probability of a successful Stealth.

...

Unlike in the Yao Race World, in this sea of desert known as Yunzhong Temple, Yan Jiu could perceive the power of sand.

This power was different from Divine Power. It was more rigid, chaotic, and crude, existing in the world as strange, invisible trajectories.

As Yan Jiu observed the trajectories of Rule Power across the desert, a booming voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"Ah, guest from afar, Yunzhong Temple welcomes you. This humble monk is the Guest Monk here."

He immediately whipped his head around to see a gigantic fish head. Its widely spaced eyes stared at him, long whiskers extended to the sides. With every opening and closing of its mouth, it kicked up gusts of dry wind.

The fish head, shaped like a sand dune, was quite friendly, however.

"It's been a long time since I've seen a living Sand Walker here. It really brings back memories... Are you perhaps feeling very confused?"

The Guest Monk displayed a kind of enthusiasm Yan Jiu had never seen before.

It told Yan Jiu about this world's past and present, explaining how the Cloud Monks drifted unpredictably, walking alone within the rules. It described how one Sand Walker after another would infiltrate the Rule Power and achieve Ascension to other worlds to collect the Fire of Faith for the God.

Only the sound of a wooden fish finally quieted the endlessly chattering Guest Monk.

Yan Jiu waited for the sound to end before asking the Guest Monk, "Excuse me, Lord Apostle, if I want to return to the Yao Race World, what should I do?"

The catfish head's long whiskers lifted gently. "That's not difficult. A Sand Walker's Ascension can cross the boundary."

And so, the Guest Monk taught Yan Jiu how Sand Walkers of the past had crossed the boundary, following the Rule Power to achieve Ascension and reach another world.

"But you only have one chance."

The Guest Monk warned, "If you fail, you will be locked and bound by the rules, and you will never be able to achieve Ascension again."

"However, this is also the best opportunity. You've only just completed your transformation, so the Rule Power's influence on you is still small... Many of the Sand Walkers who failed did so because they wanted to wait until they were fully prepared, only to delay so long they became stuck by the rules."

Yan Jiu, who had been hesitant, immediately made up his mind.

'Today it is!'

'Even if I fail, at least I will have tried my best.'

'Lord Yao God gave me this precious opportunity. Surely it's so that I can continue to move forward.'

'How can I stand still out of fear of failure?'

'As long as I return to the Yao Race World, I should have completed the God's initial trial.'

Following the Guest Monk's instructions, Yan Jiu waited until the next sound of the wooden fish, when the Cloud Monks all appeared. He then turned into yellow sand and slipped into the boundary.

The Guest Monk waited for a long time, but Yan Jiu did not return.

The huge catfish couldn't help but mutter to itself, "Did he succeed?"

"It's been many years since a Sand Walker has achieved Ascension. As expected of someone chosen by a God."

A moment later, it felt that perhaps this wasn't such a happy occasion after all.

It had finally found someone to talk to, they had only just met, and then the other party went and achieved Ascension.

The whole world had become lonely again.

Just as the Guest Monk was swimming through the sand, Isabel appeared.

"Where is Yan Jiu?"

"Unfortunately, he has achieved Ascension."

"..."

...

After what felt like an impossibly long drift, Yan Jiu's body re-formed, and his scattered, drifting consciousness contracted back into a single whole.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a strange world.

The sky here was dim. Within the dark clouds, numerous thin bolts of lightning crawled like silver snakes.

Strange houses stood upon the ground. They had wide, thick walls, yet were shaped like towers, their surfaces wreathed in a layer of faint green phosphorescence.

They didn't look like dwellings for the living, but more like tombs for the dead.

After successfully completing his Ascension, Yan Jiu felt he had become much stronger.

Unfortunately, he hadn't returned to his homeland. Instead, he had drifted under the influence of Rule Power to an unknown Otherworld.

Just as Yan Jiu was looking around, a monster crawled out from under a stone house. It had a humanoid shape but moved on all fours, letting out a bestial roar.

Facing the enemy, Yan Jiu turned to sand and merged into the earth, vanishing without a trace.

「Two years later.」

Yan Jiu finally had a basic understanding of this world.

This place was called the [Ghost Realm], a World of the Dead. Living on this continent was a group of humans called the [Funeral Race]. They could craft [Black Tombstones]—the clusters of tombs Yan Jiu had seen.

The Black Tombstones could contain numerous Ghosts. They lived inside the tombstones and could control them to spew green [Nether Fire].

Multi-layered Black Tombstones could also spawn Ghouls—the same type of humanoid monster that had first attacked him.

The God ruling this place was called the [Ghost God], and his Divine Power was unfathomable.

Yan Jiu turned into sand and earth, secretly observing the Ghost Realm.

He knew that the Ghost God had likely already discovered him.

'With my abilities, there's no way I can hide from a God.'

'Instead of continuing to hide, I might as well show myself openly. I have to find a way to gain a foothold in this world, to make a name for myself. That's the only way I might survive. Otherwise, no one will care about anything I have to say.'

Yan Jiu's body coalesced in front of a three-story-high Black Tombstone.

Outside the tombstone, three Ghouls were gnawing on a pile of dead fish on the ground.

Discovering the intruder, the image of half a giant skull emerged on the Black Tombstone. Ghost Fire flickered in its dark, empty eye sockets, and the Ghouls roared as they charged toward him.

This time, Yan Jiu did not retreat.

The old man simply raised his right hand, palm up, and said softly in the Yao Language, "Yan Jiu of Yan City. I ask for your guidance."