Chapter Five: The Allure and Temptations of the Mortal World
Three days passed in a flash, the time slipping away as swiftly as a fleeting steed. In these three days, the entire structure of the world changed drastically. Countless grand halls of cultivation and mystical inheritance appeared across the globe. People entered these halls and obtained legacies of cultivation, fantasy, and even arcane arts.
Nations dispatched their militaries to seize these inheritances for themselves. In Z City alone, many acquired legacies from these great halls, and some had already begun opening their Sea of Suffering, stepping onto the path of cultivation.
Cultivators multiplied rapidly, individual strength soared, and the world order shifted. In just three days, mutation was already underway. Many, relying on their newfound power, set themselves above others as cultivators and began sowing chaos throughout the city. Those who reached the Sea of Suffering realm had strength and speed many times greater than ordinary people, making them unstoppable in their misdeeds.
Robberies became frequent in the city, and the police were powerless to intervene. If a cultivator decided to flee after a crime, they could outrun a bus with ease, making it nearly impossible for any officer not at the Sea of Suffering level to give chase.
For now, law and order in Z City had plunged into turmoil, with chaos intensifying in the city center. Yet, in the outskirts where Wang Fan resided, he felt none of this disorder.
During these three days, no one disturbed him. Wang Fan survived on instant noodles, and aside from eating, drinking, and the other necessities of life, he devoted every waking moment to cultivation, ceaselessly training.
After three days and nights without rest, he finally achieved perfection in the Sea of Suffering realm. The waters of the Sea of Suffering in his body had completely merged with his inner energy, now fully under his control—a true and thorough mastery of this realm.
At this moment, in his spiritual vision, Wang Fan wielded an enormous sword of essence energy, shining sacredly above the azure Sea of Suffering. Over these three days, it was with this sword that he infused the entire sea with his own power, making it entirely his to command.
With the Sea of Suffering realm perfected, Wang Fan did not continue his cultivation, for by now, all the vital energy from the plants and trees around his home had been completely absorbed—there wasn’t a trace left.
To break through to the next stage, the Fountain of Life, he needed more essence, and thus a better place for cultivation. The environment is crucial on the path of cultivation, and for Wang Fan, who practiced the Ruthless Emperor’s Wheel Sea Codex, it was all the more vital. He understood this well; in the stories within his memory, countless protagonists had their own sacred grounds for training.
He stopped cultivating, opened the door that had been closed for three days, and squinted up at the sky. He instantly noticed that the once omnipresent mysterious yellow hue had vanished.
Glancing down at the plants and trees around his house, he saw that the once lush green foliage was now all withered and yellow.
No, not just withered—dead. Not a single one remained alive. Normally, such an eerie event around his rented home would have attracted attention, with countless reporters and news agencies rushing in.
But these were not normal times. The whole world had gone mad; nothing was as it should be. No one cared about a house in the suburbs.
...
After leaving and locking his door, Wang Fan walked to the bus stop, but after waiting for half an hour, no buses came. He frowned deeply, wondering if the bus company had ceased operations. To satisfy his curiosity, he took out his phone and went online to check the bus company's status.
The moment he connected to Z City’s network, a flood of information appeared on his smartphone screen.
“Shocking: Countless superhuman robbers appear in Z City!”
“Unbelievable: A pickpocket caught on a bus breaks the door open with his bare hands and jumps out to escape!”
“Strange occurrence: A construction worker carries ten bags of cement at once!”
...
Countless sensational headlines reflected in Wang Fan’s eyes. He intended to simply scroll past these trivial stories, but caught sight of one that made him pause.
“Stunning: At the Z City Route 5 bus terminal, a middle-aged man clashed with staff and smashed the front ends of five buses with his fists!”
He opened the article and saw photos—a middle-aged man had indeed wrecked several buses at the terminal. After reading, Wang Fan finally understood why he had waited so long for a bus: all the Route 5 buses had been destroyed by a cultivator who had reached the Sea of Suffering, and were now sent away for repairs.
Wang Fan’s mouth twitched, and his brows knitted. He went back and read through all the other news stories he had intended to ignore. They all came with photographic evidence—Z City, and indeed the whole world, was in chaos.
Countless people had become cultivators and were wreaking havoc with their newfound power. Governments worldwide sent their militaries to try to restore order.
Wang Fan could only sneer at these troublemakers. To him, these people did not appreciate the preciousness of cultivation methods. Having only just set foot on the path, they were already squandering their time on crime, unable to resist the temptations of wealth and lust. Their future achievements would inevitably be limited.
Within his mind, the memories of countless novels reminded Wang Fan of one thing: to truly walk the path of cultivation, one must devote oneself entirely. Without diligence and effort, one would become a failed prodigy—never achieving immortality, never reaching the ultimate road, never gaining the Dao or attaining the level of an Emperor.
It was this understanding that kept Wang Fan from stirring up trouble after entering the Sea of Suffering. Instead, he endured the loneliness of the mundane world, quietly training for three days, cultivating the Sea of Suffering realm to true perfection, to the fullest extent possible.