After his excitement, He Yu initially planned to inherit all his gains directly.

But he noticed something seemed off about the rewards.

"Why is my cultivation at peak Essence Refining? Where's my Ultimate Path Essence Refining... Oh, the Earth Source is separately settled as a fusion-ready state, never mind then."

He Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait!" He Yu suddenly jolted in realization. "The Earth Source is separately accounted for?!"

His face immediately flushed with excitement: "Does that mean I can bring back more than one Earth Source to inherit?!"

As this thought emerged, He Yu felt chills run down his spine!

After all, Li Anlong could barely be considered to have fused two Earth Sources, yet he was already dominating everything in his path!

If he could gather dozens, even hundreds of Earth Sources to fuse, wouldn't he ascend to godhood on the spot?!

He Yu literally quacked with excitement: "Great! Let's do this - first inherit and fuse this Earth Source!"

When He Yu looked at the Earth Source entry among his rewards, his brows furrowed: "Hmm? Qian Metal Nature? What does this mean?"

He asked mentally: "Simulator bro, what does 'Qian Metal Nature' marked on the Earth Source mean?"

The Simulator gave no response.

But He Yu's mind was suddenly flooded with massive amounts of information about Earth Sources.

The slight discomfort made He Yu frown momentarily before his expression relaxed.

After organizing the information, He Yu looked enlightened: "So Earth Sources have compatibility types!"

He learned that Earth Sources were divided into eleven compatibility types: Qian Metal, Dui Metal, Zhen Wood, Xun Wood, Kan Water, Li Fire, Kun Earth, Gen Earth, Wind-Thunder, Pure Yin, and Pure Yang.

He also learned from the Simulator's information that martial artists could actually fuse multiple Earth Sources from the start!

But fused Earth Sources must share the same compatibility type, otherwise subsequent fusions would dissipate due to incompatibility.

Moreover, since only a few hundred Earth Sources had appeared in Great Qian so far, fusion experience was severely lacking, with far too few reference cases.

These Ultimate Grandmasters only knew of a few unlucky predecessors who failed at fusing a second Earth Source.

Thus they naturally assumed an Ultimate Grandmaster could only fuse one Earth Source.

What they didn't know was that fusion failures simply occurred when accidentally fusing incompatible Earth Sources.

If thousands or even tens of thousands of Earth Sources appeared, more Ultimate Grandmasters would successively attempt multi-source fusions.

Eventually, someone would discover the secret of fusing multiple Earth Sources of the same compatibility type.

However, Earth Sources couldn't be fused infinitely - each martial artist could fuse at most nine Earth Sources.

Fusing a tenth Earth Source would elevate the practitioner to another realm entirely, making further fusions impossible.

The stronger the fused Earth Sources, the more powerful the martial artist would become.

Coincidentally, He Yu also obtained information about all specific Earth Sources, including their rankings.

He immediately located his own Earth Source - Falling Immortal Sword, ranked ninth among Qian Metal Nature Earth Sources.

He also learned about Li Anlong's Earth Source - Soaring Golden Dragon, of Dui Metal compatibility, ranked fourth among its type!

Quite coincidentally, Hu Zhongxuan's Earth Source Flint Tiger also belonged to Dui Metal compatibility, ranked twenty-first.

This was precisely why Li Anlong could successfully fuse with Hu Zhongxuan and gain tremendous combat power.

Had Li Anlong attempted fusion with an Ultimate Grandmaster of another compatibility type, even with the Spirit Fusion Mother-and-Child Pills, the fusion would have failed.

"Ah, such is fate!" He Yu couldn't help but sigh.

But after this moment of reflection, excitement surged again!

Because now only He Yu knew all the secrets about Earth Sources.

In his next simulation, he could use this superior knowledge to carefully select the nine highest-ranked Qian Metal Nature Earth Sources for fusion!

At that point, He Yu would become the most powerful Qian Metal compatibility martial artist, possibly even the strongest among all warriors!

Since other martial artists didn't know Earth Source rankings, they'd fuse blindly rather than specifically targeting the top nine!

"Wonderful! Cheating is just wonderful!!" He Yu trembled with excitement.

As his excitement grew, He Yu gradually comprehended everything.

Then he immediately inherited all cultivation, experience, and items!

BOOM—

Peak Essence Refining cultivation achieved!

Falling Immortal Sword Earth Source transformation complete!

Approaching eighth-grade pill refining skills restored!

Forty-seven years of combat experience loaded!

Top-tier martial talent obtained!

Divine Micro-Vision talent maximized!

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible!!"

He Yu directly leaped from an ordinary fifteen-year-old at Marrow Washing peak to a fifteen-year-old Ultimate Path Essence Refiner and (almost) eighth-grade pill refiner!

Sitting cross-legged on his inn bed, He Yu's thoughts raced wildly.

Now he no longer needed to hide from Duan Qian, but to eliminate Li Anlong, his current cultivation was still slightly inadequate.

After all, Li Anlong's Soaring Golden Dragon Earth Source was highly ranked, his combat power formidable, and the Li imperial clan had dozens of Ultimate Grandmasters.

Without much deliberation, He Yu decided to maintain his position and conduct another simulation first.

At minimum, he needed to fuse two Earth Sources before settling accounts with Li Anlong.

"Let Li Anlong live one second longer then."

Additionally, in the next simulation, He Yu could directly give the Reviving Yang Pill to Xie Huide.

"That old man would be overjoyed, wouldn't die so early, and might even acknowledge me as his master!"

"After calling you master for so many years, it's your turn to call me master now."

Moreover, if Deng Wanshu woke up, Hu Zhongxuan wouldn't agree to fuse with Li Anlong, allowing the three of them to live happily together.

"If Auntie wakes up, the sect leader wouldn't have so many regrets before dying!"

He Yu chuckled: "Perfect!"

"Also, in the last simulation, Little Wan seemed to have died with me in the end - truly a tsundere woman!"

"What a great best friend indeed!"

Having sorted through everything, He Yu's eyes gleamed: "Now then... Sixth simulation, let's begin!"

[You enter the simulation]

[...]