Cultivation Chaos: Superheroes In The Realm Of Immorals

Spark's eyes lit up in interest. "Martial artists and essence weavers? What are those?"

Guo was quite surprised at this question. "Hm? It seems you've truly lost your memories. I was just probing, and it seems you weren't faking."

Spark just smiled and joked, "I really don't know anything. It's just as if I arrived in this world—it's really frustrating."

"Hmm, I'll inform Master then. You wouldn't be able to take on Slader in your current straits," Guo said. Disappointment could be seen in his eyes.

"Wait, who is Slader? And again, what are martial artists and essence weavers?"

Guo ignored the question of Slader and started to explain about the other. "Since you know nothing, I'll need to explain everything from the beginning—the legendary story of a broken crown, a blind scholar, and a broken spear."

As it turned out, martial arts and essence weaving were paths created by mortals during ancient times.

More precisely, a prince, a scholar, and a great general—and their story of creation sounded exaggerated, but seeing Guo's solemn demeanor as he narrated, Spark figured there might be some truth to the stories.

The prince and the scholar, who were the founders of essence weaving, were said to be geniuses from birth.

The prince, whose birth was accompanied by a natural phenomenon, was born to the ancient Zhang Empire. It was said that at three months he could walk, at five months he could talk, and at seven months he could read.

He was naturally gifted with all weapons—even wild beasts were easily tamed by him. He became crowned prince at the tender age of 8, which was astonishing because he had tens of older brothers, and the youngest of them was older than him by at least nine years.

All in all, everything was going well for him until his coming-of-age ceremony when he turned sixteen, and it turned out that this genius couldn't cultivate—which at that time was a big deal, as all kings had to be at least of the Foundation Building level.

And as you can imagine, his life quickly deteriorated from there—his once envious brothers using this chance to get back at him, making his life a living hell.

But despite all this, he never gave up. He put up with all their abuse and continuously researched another path to power. According to him, if he couldn't cultivate Qi and spirit, it just meant there was something else out there for him.

Another greater power for him to harness—and it turned out to be true!

One day, he met a young scholar with faded pupils, who had more or less the same story as the prince. So as brothers of kindred spirits, they quickly got along, becoming best of friends.

And one day, led by the scholar, they both went to an excavation site where they discovered an ancient relic called the Nightmare Paradise.

It was a gate that still existed and was still used to this day. It was unknown what both the scholar and the prince faced when they entered the Nightmare Paradise, but the moment they walked out, they became enlightened and became the first essence weavers of the mortal lands.

And just like that, the prince and the scholar became legendary figures, wielding powers beyond that of mortals. They opened up a path for those who weren't resigned to their lack of talent—for those who never chose to give up, even when the heavens abandoned them.

It was widely speculated that they both found a legendary inheritance of some great figure after entering Nightmare Paradise. So many always went and braved Nightmare Paradise in hopes of being lucky, but till today, nobody has found a thing.

The only function Nightmare Paradise was known for was for awakening Wills—a force which was vital to have if one wanted to become an essence weaver or a martial artist.

There were two ways of gaining Will: one by self-awakening and two by braving the Nightmare Paradise.

"Can you guess why it's called Nightmare Paradise?" Guo suddenly asked.

Thinking for a bit, Spark shook his head. "Isn't it because that's what was written on the gates?"

Guo chuckled. "No, if we are to go by your way of reasoning, it would be called Nether Gates.

The reason it's called Nightmare Paradise is because of two reasons: everyone who passes the gates is either faced with his or her worst nightmare or they encounter a blissful paradise too good to be true.

It is unknown why different people have different experiences. All that is known is that no matter what you face in those gates, it's a test—and only by passing can you awaken a Will and come back alive."

By the time Guo finished speaking, his eyes were filled with longing. It seemed even he hoped to brave the gates one day.

Spark finally understood, but then he remembered, "Wait, you've spoken about the broken crown and the scholar—what about the broken spear?"

"It is as you must have guessed—he is the founder of martial arts," Guo stated.

…

Meanwhile, at another location, to the east of the Yang Empire, a luxurious mansion could be seen…

"Have you found out what caused such a ruckus in Old Wei's place two days ago?" a grotesque-looking fatty spoke. In his hands was an abnormally large fried chicken, his mouth stained with grease, and his attire stained from sauce—but he didn't seem to care.

"Master, it is said that Merchant Wei brought an injured stranger on his way back three days ago.

And the commotion in his villa was caused by this same stranger while they were trying to treat him when he was unconscious. It is assumed he is a powerful martial artist who faced an immortal," a servant quickly narrated.

The fatty raised a brow. "Huh? Is the old man senile? Someone who offended an immortal is no less than a ticking time bomb—why would he intervene?"

"Unknown…" the servant indicated.

The fatty frowned. "Keep an eye on the old man and this mysterious martial artist… I refuse to believe that cunning old fart would act without a reason."

"Yes, Master… and also, Young Miss Cai'er is back. Our men saw her carriage entering Merchant Wei's villa," the servant added.

The fatty's eyes lit up as he laughed viciously. "Hehehe! It seems the heavens are helping me. Next time the old coot comes to ask for the Vermilion Fruit, tell him he can only have it if he offers his daughter up for marriage."

"Yes, Master."

"No matter how you try to escape, in the end you can only be my plaything, my darling Cai'er," the fatty chuckled, his eyes glinting insidiously.