The Urban Cultivation Grandmaster

Chapter 18: The Glow of the Starry Sea

If Mu Tian’s first class of the semester had made the world sit up and take notice, then his first Daowen class today left everyone utterly awestruck. In a single class, Mu Tian proved the authenticity of the Dao Language, showing everyone that Daowen could be studied in this way—that they were so magnificent, grand, and truly miraculous. The earlier voices of skepticism vanished without a trace in an instant, replaced by a chorus of praise and reverent adoration from the entire audience. Some netizens even tracked down Chu Guangnan, a high-ranking cultivator from Southwest China who had previously spoken out to question Mu Tian. “Master Chu, with your limited knowledge, do you now understand what Daowen are?” “Master Chu, watch carefully, study diligently, take out your notebook and take good notes—don’t come out here and make a fool of yourself again next time.” “You good-for-nothing—how dare you question me, Master Mu?” Cyberbullying is everywhere. The Weibo feed of Chu Guangnan, the great cultivator from the Southwest, has been flooded with comments from netizens. For several days in a row, his heart has been heavy with anger—he was so enraged he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Amid the online frenzy, many high-level cultivators spoke out, expressing their astonishment. The official Weibo account of the Huaxia Daowen Research Association responded to the entire incident with four concise, bold characters: “Master Daowen!” Previously, it was just ordinary netizens calling Mu Tian “Master Daowen,” which didn’t carry much weight. But this time was different—the official body had directly bestowed upon him the title of “Master.” From this day forward, who would dare to question him? Even some high-ranking officials of the Huaxia government publicly affirmed and praised Mu Tian, stating that he had accelerated the progress of the Xuan Realm civilization in Huaxia and even globally, and that he was a remarkable figure. It wasn’t just within the country—the international community was also abuzz. Kim Da-il, a scholar of Daowen literature from the Great Cosmos Nation, wrote on Facebook: “Truly breathtaking! From this day forward, Master Mu Tian’s status is unshakable!” *Time Weekly* in the United States declared: “In the previous era, English became the world’s dominant language, but from now on, Daowen and Huaxia script will become the mainstream. To master Daowen, let’s all learn Huaxia script together.” Overnight, a global craze for learning Huaxia script swept the world. It was inevitable—even though Master Mu Tian had always mixed Huaxia script and Daowen script in his lectures, how could anyone understand his lessons without knowing Huaxia script? Of course, as the popularity of Mu Tian and Daowen grew by the day, the cross-dressing sensation Yang Chun also skyrocketed to fame. After all, he was the first to livestream Mu Tian’s Daowen classes—an event that was already an incredibly captivating hot topic. Not to mention that Yang Chun’s decision to dress in women’s clothing as a cross-dressing sensation made him even more talked-about, and for a time, it felt as though he was almost overshadowing Mu Tian. “So beautiful… I’m turned on… I’m wet…” “After seeing the streamer in women’s clothing, I immediately broke up with my girlfriend. With such breathtaking beauty right here, what use is a girlfriend?” “Even though I know the streamer is a cute guy, I’m still head over heels for him.” “She’s this beautiful—how could she possibly be just a cute guy!” “These days, it’s so hard to be a woman. With a guy this alluring, how are we women supposed to get by? You’ve even stolen our boyfriends!!!” In the blink of an eye, the term “male streamer in women’s clothing” took over the internet, dominating the top of the trending list and remaining unshakable. Tianjiang Cultivator Academy, Mu Tian’s quarters. Mu Tian leaned against the railing of the Sanjang Pavilion, gazing blankly out at the Three Lakes Region. In truth, Mu Tian wasn’t looking at the mountains or the water; in his eyes lay another world—a dazzling starry sky. As Mu Tian’s fame spread, there was no one in the world who didn’t know him. High popularity meant explosive growth, especially after Mu Tian’s title as a Daowen Master gained worldwide recognition. Countless people began following him to study Daowen. Originally, he had taught only the 4,000-odd students at Tianjiang Cultivator Academy, but now it seemed that number would increase ten thousandfold. Mu Tian was thrilled—not because of the title of “Daowen Master.” In his view, the title itself was nothing special; in a world changing by the day, who knew what the future might hold? Only true strength was truly reliable. What truly excited him was deciphering the vast sea of starlight in the Star Sea. Mu Tian had never imagined he could possess so much Starlight—he hadn’t even dared to dream of it. Even now, he still felt as if he were in a dream. Mu Tian gazed intently at the Three Lakes Region, watching the mirror-like surface of the water. Suddenly, he noticed something unusual—it was as if the Three Lakes Region before him had changed. The gentle flow of water vanished, replaced by countless minute entities. The spiritual energy swirled through the water, along with the minute particles it contained. As a fish swam by, it collided with the spiritual energy; a few faint strands were accidentally absorbed by the fish. The spiritual energy circulated once within the fish’s body, and small amounts were continuously absorbed by its flesh of its own accord. The flowing spiritual energy grew increasingly scarce, until finally, all of it was completely depleted. The fish seemed to have grown stronger and was swimming faster. All of this suddenly gave Mu Tian an extraordinary sensation, as if, should he so choose, he could comprehend the very essence of everything before him. It was as if a fog had been parted, leaving the mysteries within with nowhere to hide. If anyone had been standing nearby at that moment, they would surely have noticed that Mu Tian’s eyes—as brilliant as stars—were radiant, with Xinghe twinkling within them, reflecting profound wisdom. After a long while, Mu Tian finally snapped out of that wondrous state. He looked back into his Sea of Consciousness and discovered that the radiance within the Star Sea had diminished considerably; instantly, everything became clear to him. “I never expected the Star Sea to possess such extraordinary power—a single glance can analyze everything. Truly a great power and a tremendous blessing. The only drawback is the high energy consumption. It seems I can’t keep the ‘Star Sea Gaze’ activated indefinitely, or else the radiance of the Star Sea won’t last.” Currently, at least hundreds of millions of people were studying Daowen texts under Mu Tian. With such a massive number of students, one might imagine the amount of Stellar Sea Radiance Mu Tian was receiving would be unimaginable. However, the reality was quite different. Although the quantity of radiance was staggering—far exceeding Mu Tian’s expectations—it had not produced the anticipated results. For example, Mu Tian teaches over 4,000 students at Tianhai Academy. Suppose they all master the material and pass their exams; Mu Tian would receive 4,000 units of Star Sea Radiance. If other students were learning online, logically speaking, even if all 10,000 of them mastered the material, they would provide Mu Tian with 10,000 units of Star Sea Radiance. However, in reality, this reasoning does not hold true. The Star Sea Radiance earned from students Mu Tian does not teach in person is significantly reduced; for those foreign students ten thousand li away, the Star Sea Radiance they bring him amounts to less than one-hundredth of what it should be. Even so, the amount of Star Sea Radiance Mu Tian has gathered remains an immense sum. Now, not only has he unlocked the “Star Sea Gaze” ability, but he also harbors even greater ambitions regarding the seven Heritage Steles within his own Star Sea. Mu Tian had never dared to imagine just how terrifying the Star Sea’s full-power analysis capability could be. Now, as he watched the ceaseless flow of radiance emanating from the various heritage steles within his Star Sea, he felt a profound sense of satisfaction. Even more profound cultivation techniques, artifact forging, alchemy, formations and restrictions, and the cultivation of beasts... A grander civilization of the Xuan Realm beckoned to Mu Tian!