Nowadays, in the Magic City, Lu Zhong could be said to be one of his greatest "life-saving talismans."

Some things, of course, could not be hidden from the other party, and their assistance was definitely required.

Therefore, a certain level of "honesty" was also necessary.

As for why he didn’t contact the Lu family directly and dispatch higher-level combat forces—

Lu Shou knew very well in his heart that this time, his "simulated self," who was playing the villain for the third time, was likely planning to keep a low profile.

In such a situation, if they contacted the family recklessly and sent out more forces, it might attract the attention of the "mastermind behind the scenes."

The Lu family, a celestial family of great renown, was simply too conspicuous.

Every move they made would be under watch.

Especially those above the sixth level of transcendence—if even one of them was dispatched, it would draw the attention of interested parties.

It could even alarm the "mastermind behind the scenes."

At present, what could be confirmed was that the Gu family, another celestial family, had certain ties to the "mastermind."

If provoked, the Gu family might go all out and dispatch someone from the "Heavenly Realm" to hunt him down—something he absolutely wanted to avoid.

Currently, he had only a single "Life-saving Blood Escape Talisman" that could unleash extraordinary power.

And even then, it was uncertain whether it would be enough to escape from a god-level pursuer.

His primary objective this time was to eliminate all potential threats within the Demon City and root them out completely.

After all, the "self" in the villain simulator could do whatever he pleased, but in the real world, he only had one life.

"If I'm not mistaken, this time, my simulated self intends to escape and hide behind the scenes," he thought.

"To disappear from everyone’s sight in one move, and with his 'death,' trigger the wrath of the Lu family to cleanse the entire Demon City."

Lu Shou knew himself far too well.

He was definitely not as selfless as his simulator version.

There must have been some hidden calculation behind it.

And he had already more or less figured it out.

Soon after, the villain simulator confirmed his suspicions:

[After convincing Lu Zhong to work for you completely, you became serious and asked him if the Lu family had any assassins with a similar build to you stationed in the Demon City.]

[You knew that a noble family like the Lu family would have secret intelligence channels and assassins placed throughout the empire.]

[Lu Zhong didn’t hesitate and provided information about a Lu family assassin in the Magic City. You nodded discreetly and told Lu Zhong to bring the person over in secret.]

[You understood well that the mastermind behind the plot to kill you would not give up easily, so you were planning an escape.]

[Soon, Lu Zhong brought over a young assassin. Using your “Shadow Mimicry” ability, you altered the assassin’s appearance to match yours. You instructed him to imitate your every move for the next few days and become your "stand-in."]

[This time, you intended to create a situation where the stand-in would die in your place, allowing you to disappear and operate from the shadows—transitioning from a chess piece to a player.]

[You informed the young assassin of the likely “death mission,” but he accepted without hesitation, only asking that the Lu family take care of his sister.]

[You agreed, promising his sister a life of wealth and status. You learned his name was Su Meng, and his sister's name was Su Mei.]

[After preparations were complete, you had Lu Zhong request a large number of training materials from the Lu family in the name of his own cultivation—materials that were actually for you.]

[You were cautious and didn’t want to expose your rapid cultivation ability.]

[At the same time, you sent a message through bloodline techniques to your elder brother Lu Shou.]

[This time, unlike in the second simulation where you asked him to help you take revenge on the Gu family and cause chaos in Daxia’s capital, you didn’t ask for any such help.]

[After all, you had avoided the killing attempt before it even began, so revenge was not a valid excuse.]

[Instead, you came up with a new reason.]

["Brother, I’ve been feeling uneasy these past few days. I heard you have a [Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talisman]. Can you lend it to me for a while? I’ll return it once I come back."]

[You were afraid of death and wanted to take the talisman from your brother as a second life-saving measure.]

[After arranging everything, you retreated to the secret chamber, took out the resources from Ye Chen's storage bag, and began cultivating.]

[Overnight, your cultivation progressed rapidly—from the early to the mid-stage of the Supernatural Power Realm. Your abilities “Shadow” and “Dragon Elephant Tyrant Body” also became more powerful.]

[The next morning, your training was interrupted by Lu Zhong at the chamber’s door—he had brought good news.]

[The [Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talisman] you requested, along with the training resources and martial/Taoist techniques, had all arrived.]

["Master Lu, the eldest master is very concerned about your situation. He nearly sent the items overnight, including the resources I requested,” said Lu Zhong.]

[Holding the still-warm [Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talisman], a warm feeling spread through your chest.]

[When it comes to matters concerning you, your elder brother always acts without hesitation.]

[Now, you had two “Life-Replacing Blood Escape Talismans” on hand. Even if a celestial-level ancestor ambushed you, you were confident in your escape.]

[For the first time in a while, your anxious heart felt a bit more at ease.]

[Taking the new storage bag from Lu Zhong, you swept through it with your spiritual sense and found vast cultivation resources and several jade slips inscribed with martial and Taoist techniques.]

[You estimated that once fully digested, the cultivation resources would significantly boost your strength. But your attention was focused on the jade slips.]

[Having cultivation without matching combat techniques would be futile.]

[You knew clearly—without a systematic combat method and proper killing moves, you weren’t a true cultivator yet.]

[Now, you were determined to make up for this weakness.]