Cultivation Method

"Unlike what we imagined, extraterrestrial life actually looks remarkably similar to humans, and these physical features are strikingly similar to those of the Dragon Kingdom people. As the only civilization on Blue Star with over five thousand years of history, I suspect that the early Dragon Kingdom people were extraterrestrial humans who descended onto Blue Star; otherwise, the civilization of the Dragon Kingdom would not be so unique."

"Moreover, its civilization is completely different from any other in the world. Although countries today do not openly admit it, in the eyes of the elite classes of various nations, the Dragon Kingdom's civilization is far more advanced than any other on Blue Star, and the Dragon Kingdom's script is the most elegant and concrete in the world."

"In fact, while every country on Blue Star has its own myths and legends, only those of the Dragon Kingdom are truly unique. The people of the Dragon Kingdom believe that man can conquer nature, and within the Taoism they practice, there has always been a tradition of methods by which humans can cultivate to become immortals, though these cultivation techniques were long ago lost."

"Now, the Dragon Kingdom has discovered the remains of an extraterrestrial cultivator on Mars and has even brought back the cultivation methods. This is why the Dragon Kingdom government made such a grand, public announcement of the Big Dipper Long Fist a few months ago and called upon the entire population to practice it."

"The Dragon Kingdom is trying to cultivate a few immortals! If the Dragon Kingdom truly possesses immortals who can summon wind and rain, how can our Island Country compete with them? Our Island Country already harbors deep-seated hatred for the Dragon Kingdom, and in recent years, their national strength has developed rapidly and continuously. We have only been able to keep them at bay by relying on the nuclear deterrence of the Beautiful Country. If the Dragon Kingdom really succeeds in cultivating immortals and gains a way to be completely immune to nuclear deterrence, our Island Country will sooner or later be settled with a final reckoning, and the entire Blue Star will belong to the Dragon Kingdom."

"Therefore, I risked my life to infiltrate the secret base of the 749 Bureau and photographed the Small Heavenly Cycle Art. Yamamoto, you must arrange for experts proficient in Dragon Kingdom ancient characters to secretly research and translate it, and then have the youth of our Island Country study and practice it. As long as our Island Country also has immortals, we will no longer have to fear the Dragon Kingdom!"

"As I prepare this USB drive, the Bureau is currently reviewing surveillance footage for a comprehensive search; I may be discovered soon. But even if I must sacrifice my life, for the future of our Island Country, I will do everything in my power to get these files into your hands. Sincerely, Rika Keiko!"

Zhang Shuai stared blankly for a long time after finishing the contents of the USB drive.

The education he received from childhood told him to believe in science and not to be superstitious, but what was going on now? Even cultivators had appeared, and cultivation techniques existed?

At this moment, a flash of realization rose in Zhang Shuai's heart. The ship that looked like a dragon boat that he and Wang Qiang had seen as children was perhaps merely a magical artifact of a cultivator, not some UFO. And the reason he had lost his memory was perhaps because those two cultivators had used a technique similar to the soul-searching methods in cultivation novels, completely imprinting his memories away.

What left Zhang Shuai most speechless was that this woman actually claimed the ancestors of the Dragon Kingdom people came from an extraterrestrial civilization. If the Dragon Kingdom people call themselves descendants of the dragon, are all these descendants of the dragon actually descendants of aliens? Is the civilization of the Dragon Kingdom actually an extraterrestrial civilization that drifted onto Blue Star?

Zhang Shuai could not understand. Had the Dragon Kingdom not just completed the South Heaven Gate Project? How had they already landed on Mars? This matter hadn't been reported in the news, had it?

And this woman said the Dragon Kingdom government announced the Big Dipper Long Fist to select people with cultivation aptitude to train them into immortals—wasn't that a bit absurd?

The information revealed in this USB drive was simply too much, posing a severe challenge to Zhang Shuai's worldview. It took him a long time to digest the news.

So, the woman who hit him with her car was an Island Country spy. After stealing the secrets of the 749 Bureau, she wanted to escape. Zhang Shuai guessed that the reason she hit him with the car was likely to create a traffic accident to stall those pursuing her.

As for why she threw these things out of the car window, perhaps she knew she couldn't escape back to the Island Country. Seeing him dressed in rags, she knew he was a poor kid and assumed he would be greedy for money and help her pass this USB drive back to the Island Country?

Unfortunately, the Island Country woman misjudged Zhang Shuai. Zhang Shuai was poor, but he wasn't stupid. Ten million was such a huge number—how could it not make one vigilant? Moreover, this Island Country spy had seriously underestimated human curiosity. Anyone who picked up a USB drive would be curious to check its contents, right?

Zhang Shuai felt a surge of excitement in his heart. He had just become a martial arts master, and now a cultivation technique had appeared?

If this Small Heavenly Cycle Art was truly a method to cultivate into an immortal, could he also cultivate to become one?

Zhang Shuai had read his fair share of cultivation novels and deeply envied the cultivators in those worlds who could settle grudges with a sword. He never expected to discover that cultivators truly existed in the world, and that he had already obtained an authentic cultivation technique!

The pity was that this Small Heavenly Cycle Art was written entirely in ancient Dragon Kingdom characters. Zhang Shuai couldn't understand it at all. Unless he could find an expert who studied ancient Dragon Kingdom characters to crack and translate it, but if he did that, the contents of the Small Heavenly Cycle Art would likely be leaked. If the government traced it back to him, he wouldn't be able to explain it, which would be quite troublesome.

However, seeing this mysterious Small Heavenly Cycle Art in his hands, Zhang Shuai would be very unwilling to let such an opportunity slip by. Who in this world does not crave immortality?

After much thought, Zhang Shuai decided to spend the effort to study the ancient characters of the Dragon Kingdom himself. As long as he spent the time to delve into them, he believed he could certainly figure out the cultivation method of the Small Heavenly Cycle Art.

Seeing that it was still early before the dinner gathering scheduled for the evening, Zhang Shuai found Evolution Process of Dragon Kingdom Ancient Characters, Origin of Dragon Kingdom Characters, Introduction to Paleography, Introduction to Epigraphy, Shuowen Jiezi, Introduction to Dragon Kingdom Paleography... and over a dozen professional books online. Zhang Shuai downloaded all these courses onto his phone, preparing to spend time studying them thoroughly.

After downloading them, Zhang Shuai began reading from the professional work Origin of Dragon Kingdom Characters, learning bit by bit about the origins of the Dragon Kingdom's pictographic script.

Zhang Shuai had always been a person of perseverance and determination. Back when he was twelve and lost his memory, he stopped going to school; all his knowledge had been self-taught bit by bit. He had studied some knowledge from elementary, middle, and high school, and even some university-level subjects.

And now, although this knowledge regarding the evolution of ancient characters was dry and tedious, for the sake of his dream of immortality, Zhang Shuai could only patiently study it.

Of course, to be able to decipher the Small Heavenly Cycle Art completely and correctly, one must reach a considerably high level of attainment in ancient characters, and this was not something that could be done overnight; it might take months or even years.

However, no matter how long it took, Zhang Shuai would not give up easily.

Since he knew that it was possible to cultivate into an immortal and he had the cultivation technique in his hands, how could he let such an opportunity pass him by?