Chapter 4: Still Useful, He Is Innocent

Restarting the simulation, this time Lin Zhao didn’t hesitate; he immediately got up and rushed to the old shaman’s house.

A moment later.

“You say that seven days from now, during the shamanic ritual, the sun will darken, and a grotesque giant demonic face will appear in the tribe’s sky, siphoning away the souls of the people, and that a golden crow flew from your body to resist it?” The old shaman stared intently at the youth. “And then, you were burned to death?”

Lin Zhao nodded vigorously. “Yes, Grandpa Shaman, do you know what kind of monster that is?”

He had just crossed over—did it have to start off so hellishly?

The old shaman fell silent for a few moments, then spoke slowly, “My totem is not a golden crow. The Sun Golden Crow is a divine beast controlled only by the Time Shaman. I am merely a wild shaman from a rural tribe, unable to climb the totem poles of the Shaman Kingdom or borrow the spirits of the ancestral shamans for cultivation. What you had must have been a restless dream before the ritual.”

Lin Zhao was taken aback. Well, this old man didn’t believe him.

But he looked skeptically at the old man—wasn’t he using the golden crow totem in the simulator?

Thinking of this, he cautiously asked, “Grandpa Shaman, is there any way for me to experience the power of a shaman ahead of time?”

After all, this was inside the simulator. If the old shaman didn’t believe him, he needed more proof, which meant surviving until the confrontation with that giant face, and thus staying away from the battlefield.

But this cursed place was far too dangerous; only shamans or totem warriors were even allowed to leave the village.

The old shaman’s voice was faint: “During the shamanic ritual, the tribe’s ancestral totem spirits suppress the ferocity of the beast souls, greatly increasing the chance of becoming a shaman. Without the ritual, how can you subdue a beast soul?”

“Then can the ritual be performed early?” Lin Zhao asked immediately.

The old shaman was deeply offended: “The day of the ancestral ritual is set by the Time Shaman; it cannot be altered! Out!”

“Grandpa Shaman, please help me.” Lin Zhao refused to leave just like that. In the simulator, morals were meaningless to him. He decisively knelt down and clung to the old man’s leg. “Please help me!”

The old shaman had never encountered such a persistent youth; his face flushed red. “Let go of me!”

“No!” Lin Zhao pleaded bitterly. “I truly want to become a shaman. My heart is breaking with fear. If I don’t try early, I’m afraid I won’t be able to subdue the beast soul seven days from now. Didn’t you say it depends on the strength of the spirit? The more steadfast the spirit, the better. The more time that passes, the harder it gets for me...”

Anyway, he definitely didn’t want to be burned to death again! It was excruciating.

The old shaman’s face darkened but he found some logic in the boy’s words. If he failed now, there would be a next time. Becoming a shaman was never easy; those who succeeded on their first try were one in a hundred. It wouldn’t hurt for him to know how formidable it was.

So he said coldly, “Which beast soul do you want?”

Without hesitation, Lin Zhao said, “The Bo! I want the Bo!”

That white horse-like demon soul looked fast and fierce. If he could survive longer this time and earn a higher evaluation, it would be thanks to it!

The old shaman glanced at him coldly. “Fine.”

Lin Zhao was overjoyed, quickly letting go of the shaman’s leg and obediently kneeling aside. He loosened the coarse linen garment covering his body, revealing the youth’s fine flesh.

The old shaman lightly tapped his staff, and a jar of liquid in the corner instantly dispersed into a mist. Then, from it emerged a white horse demon beast made of delicate needles. Accompanied by the sound of hooves pounding into the soul, it charged straight toward Lin Zhao’s heart.

In that moment, his chest felt as if seared by a branding iron, then as if pierced by a knife. Lin Zhao’s face contorted in agony, but it wasn’t over. The beast’s furious roar thundered in his mind. In a daze, he felt as if a two or three-story tall white giant horse was trampling him, its shark-like teeth snapping at his head.

At such a life-or-death moment, a first encounter would surely cause panic. But counting his crossovers, Lin Zhao had died four times already; the third time, he was burnt alive. Facing such a fierce beast, his own ferocity was instantly awakened.

This trial wouldn’t be wasted! Even if he died, he had to discover this beast’s weakness!

He didn’t dodge but charged straight into the beast’s gaping mouth, plunging half his body inside, grabbing the forked tongue, and tearing it hard.

At the same time, the sharp teeth bit off half his body!

Lin Zhao didn’t care. He wouldn’t die; worst case, he would restart. He tore the tongue in two in an instant.

The beast opened its mouth in pain and spat him out immediately.

Lin Zhao didn’t waste time and gripped the tongue tightly, swinging it to strike the beast’s enormous eyeball. One arm plunged into the eye...

The next second, the world spun wildly, but the surroundings were no longer the familiar bare walls. Instead, the surprised old shaman and various beast horns hanging on the wooden walls appeared.

Lin Zhao instinctively touched his waist—lean, warm, with no sign of injury.

Was that all an illusion?

The old shaman looked at him deeply: “Taming a beast soul is a test of spirit and will. You are more ruthless than it, so it acknowledges you. If it overpowers you, it will not obey.”

Lin Zhao touched his waist again, feeling a faint phantom pain, and couldn’t help feeling proud: “I see, it doesn’t seem that hard after all.”

In a contest of recklessness, as a player, he really wasn’t afraid.

The old shaman snorted lightly. “Enough. Get up.”

Lin Zhao stood and looked at the vivid white horse totem stamped on his chest, then reached out to touch it. Suddenly—

“Ouch!”

The totem snapped open its mouth, extending a horse-head-sizedI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.