45 Live-Action "World of Cultivation" [End of the True Spirit Continent Arc!]

The War of Demon Control on the True Spirit Continent ended abruptly and hastily. This grand, stirring battle of civilizations, worthy of song and legend, was nothing more than ants squabbling, fledglings pecking at each other, before a higher tier of power. In Lu Chen’s memory, the Empire’s Seal-class destroyers were equipped with planet-destroying cannons; a single shot could wipe out the True Spirit Continent. History, civilization, heroes, unity, resilience... In the end, all would turn to ash. Such is the cruelty of this universe.

Lu Chen was merely an adventurer; he could not change much. Reaching this point was already his utmost limit. The arrival of the Imperial fleet shattered the worldview of the continent’s cultivators. The fleet even announced the true history of the continent, posthumously awarding peace medals to the saintly crew of the Angel. Privately though, the masters and disciples of the five sects berated their ancestors to no end.

As the recipient of the Empire’s Hero Medal, Lu Chen was summoned by Major Matsue Ito at Imperial headquarters. The Empire had three civilian medals: Science Medal, Peace Medal, and Hero Medal. The Science Medal was relatively valuable; the Peace and Hero Medals were more like consolation prizes, increasingly issued without restraint. Still... better to have one than not.

Lu Chen boarded the Empire’s Seal-class destroyer, met Major Ito in person, and received the Hero Medal, a hero’s banner, and a reward of five hundred spirit stones. This would surely make the news! The award ceremony was recorded and photographed. After the formalities, Lu Chen was called to the captain’s cabin.

“Please, sit,” said Major Ito—a bespectacled, lean, upright middle-aged man with a fondness for the tea ceremony. He prepared a cup for Lu Chen.

“In the interstellar age, it’s rare to see such a purely Eastern face as yours,” the major remarked.

Lu Chen raised the teacup, thinking, what age is this anyway... Humanity had left its home planet a hundred thousand years ago; nowadays, people were all of mixed blood—distinguishing between black, white, and yellow was nearly impossible. Not just skin color, even names were chosen at whim, unrelated to appearance or status. Someone called Ito might not be Japanese; someone called Gloria might not be white. Someone named Ellie could even be a werewolf...

But as a player, Lu Chen had fashioned himself with a standard yellow-skinned face and a Chinese name. The game had no borders, but every player had a homeland.

“Perhaps it’s some kind of atavism,” Lu Chen suggested.

“Yes, atavism is becoming more common lately,” the major replied, not elaborating.

Lu Chen guessed that the major, being level sixty in cultivation, might have discerned Ellie’s ancestral traits. Yet he wasn’t sure. After all, he’d stashed the sword key in his storage pouch, placed heaps of antique electronics in his armor, and the major hadn’t mentioned any of it. Perhaps he was simply unaware.

After all, such a high-ranking major, commanding such a formidable fleet, could still get lost in the Black Mist Layer...

Major Ito, holding a thumb-sized teacup, sipped with great poise. “To become captain of a ship, outmatching two teammates with higher cultivation levels, despite being only level fifteen yourself—you must have something extraordinary.”

Lu Chen smiled. “Just lucky, really.”

Major Ito dropped the pleasantries and cut to the chase: “I don’t care about anything else. I just want to know—how did you get out of the Black Mist Layer?”

Lu Chen pondered, carefully choosing his words. “I wandered in the Black Mist Layer for days, marked many wrecked ships, tracked their relative movements, and used a multi-point tracing method to eliminate wrong routes step by step...”

Major Ito waved him off, unable to listen further. “Enough, enough. Drink your tea. If you don’t want to say, I won’t force you.”

Lu Chen drained his cup. “The tea is excellent.”

Major Ito handed him a card the size of a playing card. “This is my electronic business card. Keep it. If you ever tire of adventure or find yourself in danger needing urgent rescue, call me. Don’t underestimate the Empire’s Hero Medal—it’s great for job hunting. With this medal, I even have the authority to make you captain of one of the fleet’s ships.”

Lu Chen put the card away, replying earnestly, “Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind.”

...

After leaving the Imperial warship, Lu Chen did not immediately pilot his vessel out of the Blue-Eye Star System. He planned to rest for a day on the True Spirit Continent. He also wanted to see if, as its hero, he could gain any more benefits.

In the cockpit of the Leonine, Gloria’s face turned green when she saw the spoils Lu Chen brought back.

“What? A ship that big, and all you got was a lousy medal, a tiny flag, and five hundred spirit stones? The Empire really doesn’t respect its heroes! Didn’t you say you were the Chosen One? Should’ve asked the Empire for more money!”

Lu Chen retorted, “You don’t understand. The Hero Medal has its perks—like access to supply planets at the Imperial fleet’s bases.”

“It’s not free though... Still, five hundred spirit stones is way too little—not even enough for our trouble.”

“Shh, relax. I took the ship’s most valuable sword key, plus a pile of antique electronics. This haul is fat.”

Gloria hurried to check his armor, then had Lu Chen show her the Demon-Slaying Sword.

“This is a Demon-Slaying Sword... Your first move ashore—is it to cut me?”

“Idiot, if you could be cut so easily by a sword, what use would you be? This sword’s a treasure, worth a fortune!”

“Well, that’s alright then.”

...

Lu Chen disembarked alone and returned to Azure Mist Sect. He was received as a savior. The sect sent him a mountain of cultivation pills, enough to fill an entire intact storage pouch. They even invited him to stay on as sect leader. Lu Chen politely declined.

He then headed to Stone Peak.

Atop Stone Peak, the young acolyte sat cross-legged on a boulder, sobbing as he carved the Hero Monument. Lu Chen saw his own name etched there and frowned.

“I’m not dead yet—isn’t it too early to carve my monument?”

The acolyte wiped his tears. “I’ve heard that once adventurers leave, they never return. The outside world is too dangerous—if you don’t die, you’re close to it. Poor Ellie...”

“Whose Ellie?”

Lu Chen had noticed long ago how this kid kept staring at Ellie.

The acolyte looked around for Ellie, didn’t see her, and appeared disappointed, but replied earnestly, “Actually, this is Master’s monument. Before he passed, he told me to carve your names and that woman’s name here.”

Lu Chen’s heart skipped a beat. “What? Master Lantern has passed away?”

The acolyte’s eyes brimmed with tears again. “Demon invasion at the gates—Master held up the mountain’s protective array alone. Only after the demons left did Master pass away...”

“What do you mean, ‘only then did Master pass away’?”

“Master’s lifespan had run out. He lived till today because that woman once said, as long as Master lived, he would witness the true Chosen One’s arrival.”

Lu Chen’s face paled. That woman—could she be... a prophet? Had she foretold that he was the true Chosen One?

“Do you know her name?”

The acolyte shook his head. “No. Master only told me to carve a strange hat and a grey crow... Shame, Master wanted to see you one last time.”

Lu Chen shook his head with a sigh. “It’s fine. When I’ve lived enough, tens of thousands of years from now, I’ll go see him.”

The acolyte rolled his eyes. “Bragging—still, you’re impressive.”

...

The Imperial fleet soon departed, leaving only a patrol ship stationed on the True Spirit Continent. Then, the continent was renamed True Spirit Star, unusually designated as an Imperial fleet base.

Lu Chen was perplexed, but soon understood why. That very afternoon, the Empire’s planetary development fleet and reporters from the Imperial Entertainment Weekly arrived at True Spirit Star, planning to develop it into a cultivation-themed amusement park—much like the Western World series Lu Chen had seen years ago. The True Spirit Continent would become a live-action version of Cultivation World.