Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Master Niu…”

Li Yao was disappointed. He sat on the ground, holding his head, and said in frustration, “You still don’t believe me after all this time!”

“Nonsense.”

Zhang Daniu said, “Although it’s true that I love to fantasize, and my mental fortitude is especially good, and I can accept things that are abnormal and beyond common sense, your story is too exaggerated and illogical. Not just me, any normal person would find it hard to believe!”

“What do you want me to believe in exactly? Do you want me to believe that I am a f*cking ‘God of Creation’? That as long as I write a novel, the world in the novel will appear in a certain place in the vast sea of stars? That the characters in my novel will even transmigrate to Earth, appear in front of me, kick open the door of my house, and show me his strong muscles? I f*cking—I f*cking am Ma Liang!”

“But—”

Li Yao struggled to ask, “How do you explain the hole in the wall and the words you wrote while you were sleepwalking last night?”

“I don’t know, but no matter how I explain it, it sounds much more reliable than your transmigration from the ‘Four Universities of Cultivation’.

Zhang Daniu opened his hands and said, “Maybe, you like to exercise and your strength is very high, and the quality of your old house is very average, so you smashed a hole in it. Then, I was a little nervous, and I was also a little sleepwalking. This is not a big deal, right? Even if writing in a dream is a little weird, you don’t need me to believe in the real existence of the ‘Four Universities of Cultivation’!

“Let’s take a step back. Aiya, I feel ashamed when I say what I’m about to say. Let’s take a step back and say that superpowers do exist in this world. You are truly a superhuman with boundless strength. So, can this prove that you are from the four cultivation universes?”

Li Yao was not willing to give up yet. He scratched his hair and said, “Master Niu, it is a great improvement that you are willing to acknowledge the existence of superpowers. Of course, I don’t have any proof to prove my speculation. Therefore, why don’t we explore and prove the ultimate answer of this world with the ‘superpowers’ as the starting point?”

“F*ck you!”

Zhang Daniu was so anxious that his eyes turned red. He didn’t know whether he should shout or cry. He pressed his palms together and begged Li Yao, “Student Li Yao, please take it as I’m begging you. We don’t have any grudges in the past. Don’t bother me. Don’t get me into trouble! If you want to go crazy, then go crazy yourself. But really, don’t get involved in the so-called ‘Four Universities of Cultivation’. You will get me killed if you do this!”

“It’s true. When it comes to online writing, it’s a profession that is particularly painful. No, no, no, no. This thing is not a profession at all. According to the crosstalk, this is the old society’s underpass where the artists sell their art. They throw down the land, do their hard work, sell their gimmicks, and go down to the ninth class! Don’t be fooled by their glamorous appearance. You call yourself a teacher, but in fact, it’s just bullsh*t. There are many people watching the show, but there are few who have the support of real money. Even if you write your fingers off, you can barely make a living… Even so, you can still sell it every day. When it rains, it rains, or the emperor dies, they won’t let you sell it!”

Updates by

“If I may be frank with you, your actions right now mean that you want to exterminate me and force the book ‘Forty Thousand Years of Cultivation’ to death! Think about it yourself. Think about it carefully. With your current mental state, if you go out on the street and do anything illegal, the reporters will interview you and report that you are addicted to NovelFires and can’t free yourself from reading them. Then, you will post the title of ‘Forty Thousand Years of Cultivation’ and label it as a ‘spiritual opium’. I will be finished. I will be completely ruined. I might even implicate countless colleagues… Do you understand?”

Li Yao lowered his head and did not say anything for a long time.

“Do you understand my earnest words, or do you not?”

Zhang Daniu said in distress, “It’s true. It’s really just a random story that I made up to exchange for two dollars. There’s absolutely not the slightest bit of educational significance or philosophical thinking in it, nor is there the slightest bit of malicious metaphor for the real world… If you can’t tell what’s true from what’s false when you read the book, and you still let your imagination run wild and your body and mind undergo drastic changes, then it’s really not my problem, but your own problem!”

“I—I understand.”

Li Yao finally raised his head. Two sharp eyes beamed out of his messy hair. “Thank you, Master Niu. I’ve figured everything out!”

“Is that so?”

Zhang Daniu was overjoyed. “You’ve really thought it through?”

“Yes, I have!”

Li Yao slapped his thigh and said, “That’s right. Of course, you are not ‘Marvelous Mark’ or ‘God of Creation’. You did not create the ‘Four Universities of Cultivation’!

“Yes, yes, yes, that’s all false. It’s better to believe that there are ghosts in the world than to believe the mouth of the storyteller. A writer can make up any kind of nonsense just to make some money!”

Zhang Daniu heaved a long sigh of relief and said with a smile, “I’m relieved that you’ve figured it out on your own. Oh, I’m so happy to see a young man who has lost his footing come to a halt!”

“Do you have ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’?”

Li Yao suddenly asked without rhyme or reason, “I think I saw it on the bookshelf just now.”

Without waiting for Zhang Daniu’s reply, he groped for a while in the pile of books and found a simplified version of the second volume of ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. He looked at the name of the author on the spine of the book and fell into deep thought.

“You must’ve read the book many times. I believe that many plots and characters have left a deep impression on you.

While pondering, Li Yao said, “That’s true. How many people haven’t read ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’? Even if they haven’t read Luo Guanzhong’s original work, they’ve read his books, comic books, and TV series. They’ve played games about him and mentioned many famous people, including Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang… The famous scenes, the three heroes fighting against Lu Bu, the three visits to the thatched cottage, the burning of Red Cliff… Most people’s first reaction was to think of Luo Guanzhong’s version.

“So, answer me a question, Master Niu. Do you think the Three Kingdoms were created by Luo Guanzhong?”

“Huh?”

Zhang Daniu was confused. “What do you mean?”

“Do you think that Luo Guanzhong is the ‘God of Creation’?”

Li Yao asked, “Was he the one who created the end of the Han Dynasty out of thin air, the struggle between heroes, and the soul-stirring battles?”

Zhang Daniu opened his mouth. It was obvious that he wanted to sneer, but he soon came back to himself and fell into deep thought.

“It seems that you’ve got it.

Li Yao said, “Of course, Luo Guanzhong is not ‘God of Creation’ or ‘Magical Mark Ma Liang’. Even though his ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ is marvelous and classic, he did not create a real world out of thin air.

“On the contrary, a real chaotic world at the end of the Han Dynasty exists. The heroes and the world are real. The information of the history has been passed on from generation to generation with history books, folklore, and storytellers as the carriers. In the end, it was absorbed by Luo Guanzhong’s brain. After his integration, refinement, and refinement, the whole story was dissected and told to more people.

“Therefore, the real three kingdoms were in chaos before, followed by Luo Guanzhong’s ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. The former is the cause, and the latter is the effect. Whether Luo Guanzhong writes ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ or not, the three kingdoms are there, right?

“If someone who doesn’t know the first thing about history reads ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ and leaves a deep impression, they will look back at the history books and discover the real three kingdoms. They will be shocked and think that Luo Guanzhong is a prophet or even a creator. Isn’t that absurd?”

Zhang Daniu thought for a long time and asked, “What are you trying to say?”

“What I’m trying to say is that maybe the logic of ‘Forty Thousand Years of Cultivators’ is the same. It’s not that you created the ‘Four Universes of Cultivators’, but that a brilliant, real ‘Four Universes of Cultivators’ does exist on the other side of the universe that we don’t know about.

Li Yao continued. “For some reason, the information about the ‘Four Universities of Cultivation’ broke through the barrier of Earth and flooded into your brain through a method that we can’t explain. You ‘observed’ it, or rather, ‘sensed’ it, and then you were able to depict what it looked like! Of course, the content of the picture is very similar to that of a painter who is drawing a model!

“Hehe. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. It must be the case. If so, all the suspicious points will make sense!

“Why is it that the style of your novel before and after 500 chapters is vastly different, and the ideas and aesthetics contained in them are also vastly different? The reason is very simple. The first 500 chapters are about upgrading the face-slapping training methodology, which is the embodiment of your true level! And after the 500 chapters, it involves the discussion of the universe, the starry sky, the future, and society. Those very wonderful and imaginative things were not written by you at all, but written by the force that surged into your brain. With your true level, it is simply impossible to write such things. You are just its puppet! What do you think of my speculation?”

“I think…”

Zhang Daniu took a deep breath and pointed at the door. “Get out! Get out!”

“Don’t be like this, Teacher Niu. Didn’t you promise me that I would calm down and chat rationally? I feel that we have already grasped the edge of the truth!”

Li Yao hurried to say, “Besides, don’t you find the post of ‘Dream Traveler’ both weird and reasonable?”

“Bullsh*t.”

Zhang Daniu said, “I would rather believe that the ‘Four Universities of Cultivation’ is real than any post on ‘Do You Know It’? This ‘Dream Traveler’ is either a fellow writer or an out-and-out lunatic.

“Please don’t jump to conclusions. I think he is a thoughtful, confused, and frustrated man, just like me.

Li Yao took out his phone and dialed the number that he had just dialed. “Give me one last chance. Let me contact him. If I can’t reach him this time, I will—”

Beep! Beep! The number was dialed.

“It’s through!”

Li Yao’s eyes were wide open. He was so excited that his nose was sweating. He turned on the speaker and asked in a trembling voice, “Hello, is this ‘Dream Traveler’? I saw your answer on ‘Do You Know’ and felt that it was very interesting. I have a lot of similar feelings, too. I would very much like to have a deep conversation with you. Is it convenient for you?”

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Zhang Daniu’s attention was also attracted. He stared at Li Yao’s phone curiously.

After more than ten seconds, a coarse female voice came over. “I’m not ‘Dream Traveler’. He doesn’t use this number anymore. Don’t call randomly in the future.”

“Well—”

Li Yao blinked. “So, you know ‘Traveler Dream’? Can you give me his latest contact information? I really need to talk to him about something important. Sorry to trouble you!”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while. Rustling noises came over, as if a girl was sobbing.

“I am his sister.”

The coarse female voice said, “Don’t call me again. My brother posted some crazy stuff online. He—he has schizophrenia and is being hospitalized. Don’t agitate him.”