Chapter 405 : I Am An Immortal Cultivator
“Ok? So what are the differences?”
Wang Xiaoyun asked anxiously before Chen Fan’s words had faded.
Chen Fan’s words had also caught Chen Huaian and Chen Gexin’s attention. They locked their eyes on Chen Fan expectantly.
They knew what Chen Fan was going to say was a secret that no one knew. Chen Huaian even felt a sense of danger in the truth that was going to be revealed.
Chen Fan paused a second and without saying a word, he spread out his Divine Will and scanned the surroundings. After confirming that no one was eavesdropping, he started an art and covered the entire office under a dome made out of light. Then and only then, he spoke: “I have made sure the room was not rigged. I have also cast a Sound Isolation Seal so that no one would hear our conversation.”
Seeing the earnestness on Chen Fan’s taut face, Wang Xiaoyun and An Ya registered the weight of what Chen Fan was going to reveal.
Everyone sat firmly in their seats and looked to Chen Fan and waited impatiently.
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes, and let the suspense hang in the air for a while. Then he started speaking again: “The difficulties in cultivation in our present world have greatly limited the number of powerful warriors. That was the case for all sects and schools on earth such as the Martial Artists in China, Onmyoji, and Samurai in Japan, the Yogi in India, and the Extraordinary Ones in the Dark World, just to name a few.”
“The Cang Dragon Unit, for example, consisted of elite soldiers that were winnowed out among hundreds of thousands of soldiers, yet, without me, there would be no more than five competent Martial Artists among them. Even the most powerful special unit in China, the Dragon’s Fang, under the directives of Ye Nantian had produced less than a hundred competent warriors.”
Chen Fan said slowly while the other listened attentively.
“The Lu family of Lin Zhou City had over three hundred years of history, yet in those three hundred years, they had only less than forty Internal Force users.”
“The Susano Shrine of Kyushu Island had thousands of worshippers, yet there were only a hundred or so swordsmen guarding the shrine”
“As for the Hong Sect, they dominated the underground world for centuries and were considered the most powerful underground group in the world; they only have seven Grandmasters and less than two hundred warriors.”
“All of that proves how difficult Martial Artist cultivation is.”
Chen Fan listed a few examples to prove his point.
“In order to gain Internal Force, cultivation needs to start early, and training was often gruesomely intense. With the careful guidance of an experienced teacher, the student might be able to enter the Introductory Level in ten years. After that, the martial artist would be mired in endless training only to meet a bottleneck when they reached the Phenomenal success of Internal Force Cultivation. However, only one in ten thousand cultivators could have pulled that off. Of all the citizens in Chu Zhou City, only Guo Wei from the Wei Shen martial arts school and Old Man Wei count as Internal Force users.”
“Only the cream of the crop could have advanced further to the peak of the Internal Force cultivation and started aiming for the Transcendent State.”
“All Transcendent State Grandmasters are not only extremely talented but also possess incredible perseverance. I know only five people who achieved Transcendent State before they were forty. The rest of Grandmasters I know didn’t reach Transcendent State until they were in their fifties or sixties.”
No one spoke a word as Chen Fan went on.
They were shaken to the cores after hearing the secrets of the Martial arts world that not even many Martial arts knew of.
The beleaguered path of Martial arts was so tremulous that it made the National University Entrance Exam a breeze. No wonder there were fewer Grandmasters than there were rich tycoons. To reach their level of attainment required not only blood and sweat but also luck.
“It doesn’t stop there. There is also the Immortal State beyond the Transcendent State. rumor is that there hasn’t been a single Immortal State cultivator for fifty years. Even if there still are some Immortal State cultivators hanging around, they must be extremely old.”
Chen Fan said as he shook his head: “Compared to Spellcasters and Extraordinary Ones, the Martial arts cultivators might even be considered easy. It is even harder to become an Onmyoji, or Spellcaster, therefore there are even fewer of them in the world. I have an in-name disciple called Wu Shanhe who is a spell caster. He used to be a member of the Yin Ghost Sect who was one of the biggest Spell caster sects in Zhong Zhou. However, they have only five members.”
“Meanwhile, the so-called Extraordinary Ones were often seen in the western world. They have a much easier time when it came down to cultivation, but it was extremely rare to become an Extraordinary One in the first place. It required external stimulations or self-awakening arts to ‘awaken’ their dormant inner power. External stimulations such as the Heavenly Water of Life were extremely hard to come by so they were only used on a selected few.”
“Therefore, although all nations wanted to produce more Martial Artists or Extraordinary Ones, the minuscule return and the huge investment eventually deterred them. They figured that they might as well use the same amount of money on military technologies. After all, even a powerful Grandmaster couldn’t survive the raid of a modern army.”
Chen Fan finally said conclusively.
Wang Xiaoyun and the others looked at each other with troubled looks. They felt disheartened after hearing how difficult it was to be good at Martial Artist. It requires talent, hard work, luck, and a great teacher, not one less. It was even more difficult to become a Spellcaster or Extraordinary Ones. No wonder none of Chen Fan’s listeners had ever heard of them before.
Although the practice of martial arts seemed prevalent, the real martial artists were few and far between.
“Xiao Fan, if what you said is all true, how come you were able to reach Grandmaster before you are twenty and even reached Immortal State? Plus, you just said how difficult it was to cultivate, but what makes you think I and your parents in our ages can pull it off? Are we really that talented?”
Chen Huaian thought for a while and then pointed out the elephant in the room.
Wang Xiaoyun and the others nodded.
Wang Xiaoyun had already been dreaming of becoming a heroine that saves the world, but Chen Fan’s description of the beleaguered path of cultivation had pulled her right back to reality. She would be in her eighties when she finally reached the phenomenal success level of Internal Force cultivation.
“Grandpa, I have just told you why. What I talked about earlier is an ordinary kind of Martial arts, not my kind.”
Chen Fan folded his arms across his chest and cracked a knowing smile.
“Oh? What are the differences?”
Everyone perked up their ears and listened carefully.
“They could be called Martial Artist, Spellcaster, Onmyoji or Extraordinary Ones, they are but the same thing. However, I am an Immortal Cultivator, perhaps the last one on earth.” Chen Fan answered firmly.
He had been reborn for one and a half years, and by now, he was strong enough to counter the military and was feared by even the superpower of the world. His strength had finally lent him enough confidence to reveal others his real identity.
“Immortal Cultivator?”
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
What did that mean?
“Do you mean you are one of those people who attempted to achieve godhood through cultivation?” Chen Huaian furrowed his brows and asked slowly.
“Sort of, but not exactly. Immortal Cultivation, in a nutshell, is a kind of forced evolution. Through Immortal Cultivation, a cultivator could elevate his existence to a much higher level. Those who had become a Perfected Immortal could move mountains, empty seas, snatch a shooting star and swallow down the moon and the sun.” Chen Fan said lightly.
“This is... Impossible!”
Wang Xiaoyun and the others thought they were listening to Chinese myth.
To them, even Chen Fan’s ability to destroy armored vehicles and fighter jets were already inconceivable, much less snatching a shooting star or swallowing down the moon and the sun. It reminded them of the description of Gautama Buddha in the fantasy novel “Journey To The West.”
“Why of course. But that required tens if not hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation. It’s impossible to pull it off on earth. We can reach the Connate Spirit Level here at the most.”
Chen Fan shook his head.
Chen Gexin and Wang Xiaoyun heaved a sigh of relief.
They were afraid that Chen Fan was going to announce the existence of such great power on earth, fearing that such inconceivable reality would fray the edges of their minds. The power of these cultivators were far beyond their wildest imaginations.
“So what are the difference between the Immortal Cultivators and the Martial Artists?” An Ya asked in a soft voice.
“Yea.”
“You made it sound like the Immortal Cultivators are so much more powerful than Martial Artists, but what difference would it make if it was equally as difficult as martial arts?”
Chen Huaian rounded his eyes and looked at Chen Fan in confusion.
“The difference is that you have me. Martial Arts cultivation required rare talent and time, but if you follow my cultivation technique, you can be a successful Immortal Cultivator as well.” Chen Fan said calmly.
“What?”
Everyone was shocked.
The old man Chen Huaian was so shocked that he dropped the teacup on the ground and didn’t even notice it. Instead, he nearly jumped out of his chair and gave Chen Fan an incredulous stare.
“You mean anyone can do it, including me?” Chen Huaian asked in a trembling voice. His eyes locked onto Chen Fan’s face.
“The key to the Immortal Cultivation was the Immortal Dao. With it, any creature, young or old, big or small could advance their levels of attainment quickly. It’s much faster and more effective than Martial arts cultivation.” Chen Fan said lightly.
Due to the low requirement for Immortal Cultivation, the human race could have swept across the universe and pinned all the other races under its thumb. The number of human Perfected Immortals were so great that they formed a formidable force that dominated the universe. The Human Celestial Lords were the most powerful beings in the universe and were practically invincible.
Astonishment and disbelief were written all over Chen Gexin and the others’ faces. Deep down, powerful currents of strong emotions roiled inside of them.
They all knew what Chen Fan’s words meant to the world.
If anyone could be a cultivator and could be more powerful than a Martial Artist, how many cultivators would there be on earth?
Seven billion?
The thought sent a chill down Chen Huaian’s spine. Such a dramatic change would alter the course of human history and completely uproot the current power dynamic. Even a seasoned veteran of the tumultuous world such as Chen Huaian couldn’t help but tremble uncontrollably.
They were just ordinary people and couldn’t handle the weight of such a secret.
“Well, Immortal Cultivation requires Spirit Qi, and Earth is deprived of it. It is impossible to support so many cultivators at once. I will only teach you guys some rudimentary arts for now. I don’t think the Chen family is ready for anything beyond that yet.”
Chen Fan finally said heavily.