Cultivation Is Dead

Wu Wei was feeling a little windblown and disheveled.

Even after discovering Wang Zixuan's scheme, Wu Wei had remained calm. But now, he truly could not stay calm.

Something felt off.

"Wang Zixuan, your grandfather's surname is Wang. Does the guy next door happen to be surnamed Wang too?" Wu Wei asked curiously.

A few chuckles sounded from nearby.

Everyone was an adult, so naturally they understood the joke.

Wang Zixuan's gaze grew even gloomier.

Li Xiong finally spoke up. "Everyone, disperse. Those who should be in class, go to class. Also, the case hasn't been closed yet, so try not to post anything online. If you cause any undesirable consequences, I may have to invite you to Six Fan Gate for some ideological education."

The students who had been watching lost all interest after hearing that, and no one intended to spread it online.

This was neither a hot topic capable of stirring up social conflict nor something that would outrage the public, so they were not particularly interested in it. After all, Imperial Capital University was no diploma mill.

Of course, the most important thing was that they understood that even if they posted it online, it would not do any good.

"When I said dead, I meant spiritually dead. Wu Wei, if my family had not fallen on hard times, you would not even be qualified to speak to me."

Wu Wei could tell that Wang Zixuan genuinely believed that.

He was speechless.

At his age, why was he still so embarrassingly edgy?

Li Xiong could not stand it anymore either.

"Enough. Save whatever you have to say for Six Fan Gate. Student Wu Wei, come with us as well. We need your assistance with the investigation."

"No problem." Wu Wei agreed readily.

Putting aside anything else, he still had questions about Wang Zixuan and the whole matter. He needed answers.

"Heh, Wu Wei, do you really think I've lost?" Wang Zixuan looked at Wu Wei mockingly.

Wu Wei's gaze was equally mocking.

"You only awakened a bit of supernatural talent. Wang Zixuan, the world is huge. Don't be a frog at the bottom of a well."

Wang Zixuan's expression changed.

"I've been on the Dark Web. I'm no stranger to awakened ones. Your so-called Dream Builder ability is nothing more than a newly awakened Desolate Rank skill. Is that really such a big deal?

If it were really that impressive, why waste so much breath talking to me? And why did you have to knock Lan Meng out when you met him? Wang Zixuan, to me, you're no different from who you were before. You're still just as weak."

Wang Zixuan had yet to react, but Li Xiong was startled.

He immediately moved away from Wang Zixuan and took out his phone to make a call.

Only after he finished the call did he relax somewhat and move closer to Wu Wei.

"Student Wu Wei, was everything you just said true?"

"Of course it was. But should you really be afraid, Officer Li? Don't tell me this is your first time encountering something like this."

Li Xiong smiled. "Of course not, but I didn't expect you to be so calm as well."

"How is this possible? Why are you all so calm?" Wang Zixuan could not bear the gap between expectation and reality, nor could he understand it. "Officer Li, I'm willing to serve the country. I can explain this matter, and I deserve the necessary respect."

Li Xiong took out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, then blew out a smoke ring and chuckled. "Student Wang Zixuan, Student Wu Wei is actually right. Awakened ones are no big deal. You think far too highly of yourself.

If you could truly enter the realm of the upper four ranks, perhaps you could ignore certain laws and regulations. But as you are now, you are not qualified to make me compromise."

"That's impossible." Wang Zixuan lost his composure. "I'm a noble awakened one. Of course I'm qualified to transcend the ordinary. Li Xiong, are you jealous of me?"

Li Xiong: "...?"

He turned to Wu Wei and asked, "How did he get into Imperial Capital University?"

Wu Wei frowned. "Wang Zixuan's learning ability is actually quite good. It's just that I could clearly tell he never put much effort into studying, wasting his talent. But I never expected his temperament to be this poor. It's as if something shattered a belief he had held for a long time."

To Wu Wei, this was perfectly normal.

Li Xiong was becoming more and more interested in Wu Wei.

"Student Wu Wei, why are you so calm when faced with something like this? Do you still insist on atheism?"

"No. I believe the world contains all kinds of unknowns. But I've lived peacefully for over twenty years, so I also believe that even if so-called demons, monsters, ghosts, gods, immortals, and Buddhas truly exist, the state must have ways to counter them." Wu Wei answered without hesitation. "If an individual could truly become powerful enough to disregard everything, then the current political system would not be what it is, and society would not be so peaceful."

Li Xiong began to regret that his daughter was simply too young.

Comparing the two, Wang Zixuan made him feel that Imperial Capital University's top students were nothing special, while Wu Wei showed him what a truly elite student produced by proper education looked like.

"How could this be? How could this be?"

Wang Zixuan was utterly dejected, unable to accept this reality.

When someone had worked hard at something for a long time and finally succeeded, only to have someone tell them that it had all been meaningless, it was indeed enough to make a person collapse.

Those who could rise again after such a setback would ascend to another level.

And those who could not rise would never rise again.

The overwhelming majority were the latter. Wang Zixuan was no exception.

"Heavens, how did our Wang Family offend you? Why did you treat my grandfather that way, and now treat me this way?" Tears streamed down Wang Zixuan's face.

Wu Wei once again heard Wang Zixuan mention his grandfather.

He was quite curious.

"Wang Zixuan, what exactly happened to your grandfather?"

Wang Zixuan fell silent for a moment, then actually explained. "In the past, our Wang Family, like the Lan Family, was one of the cultivation families with a long inheritance."

"A cultivation family?" Wu Wei was startled.

"Yes, our ancestors produced immortals." At this point, Wang Zixuan perked up, clearly proud of the fact, but he quickly became despondent again. "Until my grandfather's generation, the inheritance was cut off, and we became retainers of the Lan Family."

Two equal cultivation families, only for one to suddenly become the other's subordinate—the humiliation involved was naturally something Wu Wei could imagine.

But he could not be bothered to.

Wu Wei only cared what had happened to Wang Zixuan's grandfather.

"When my grandfather was eight, he began trying to cultivate qi and establish his foundation. Then he was finished, and so was our family."

Wang Zixuan was in immense pain as he said this, while Wu Wei and Li Xiong were completely confused.

"Your grandfather didn't have the legendary spiritual roots?"

"It had nothing to do with spiritual roots. Something was wrong with the world." Wang Zixuan said faintly, "In the past, qi cultivators lived on wind and dew, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in pursuit of immortality. But in modern society, the air is polluted and smog runs rampant. How are qi cultivators supposed to absorb anything?"

"My grandfather's 'death' marked the end of an era. From then on, the Age of Dharma Decline arrived, along with the nightmare of cultivators."

Wu Wei's eyes began to shine. Wang Zixuan's words actually made a lot of sense.

On the Relationship Between Smog and the Age of Dharma Decline—didn't that seem like it could become a paper? Wu Wei began seriously considering the matter.