I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 123: Chapter 92: Cosmic Starry Sky (Part 3)

"Qianjiao County is nothing more than a tiny place. Even the Central Continent of Wanxuan is only a few tens of thousands of miles across, yet it’s divided among dozens of countries. You should look up at the sky; this world is merely the starting point."

"The cosmos?"

Yang Wenqing asked.

The person opposite him broke into an even brighter smile upon hearing this. "That’s right. You must have read about the Outer Heaven People at the Police Academy. They’re very secretive on the topic, but if you join us, you’ll learn everything!"

’Outer Heaven People.’

Hearing those three words, Yang Wenqing immediately recalled his classes at the Police Academy and the discussions about threats from the Outer Realm. The Outer Heaven People were cultivators from the Outer Realm who occasionally descended upon this world from the cosmos.

His instructors had been vague at the time, only saying that this world was protected by powerful laws, making it difficult for ordinary cultivators from the Exotic Realm to pose any real threat.

As for the deeper details, his instructors would always fob them off with the excuse, "You’ll learn about it naturally when your cultivation is high enough."

Yang Wenqing had once asked an instructor that if cultivators from the Outer Realm could descend here, could they in turn travel to the Outer Realm? The instructor had only replied that the cosmos of the Outer Realm was simply too vast. When he pressed further, asking how the Outer Heaven People managed to come here, the instructor had simply shaken his head.

He was naturally quite curious about this topic, but sensing the undisguised contempt for mortals in the figure’s words, as well as the fanaticism for a so-called "higher dimension," he suddenly changed the subject and said:

"So, for the sake of your ’evolution’ and your ’new world,’ sacrificing the lives and souls of more innocent people is an acceptable price to pay, is that it?"

His gaze pierced through the illusory silhouette, seeking to perceive the true nature that lay behind it:

"You preach about how the old order is a cage and how you want to break its shackles, but all you’re proposing is to establish another, even crueler and more blatant order where the strong prey on the weak. Rather than evolution, this is a regression—a return to the logic of beasts, which have lost even the most basic empathy and compassion. You’ve simply cloaked it in the magnificent guise of pursuing truth."

"The sea of stars you promise... it sounds beautiful."

Yang Wenqing’s voice echoed through the illusion, possessing a clear, piercing quality. "But if the starting point of this path is to trample on the corpses of your own kind, if it is built on a foundation of stripping others of everything they have, then no matter where that path may lead, what meaning could there possibly be in the immortality and truth you might find at its end?"

The figure opposite him fell silent for a long time after hearing this. Then, in a soft voice, it asked, "So, is that a refusal?"

Yang Wenqing’s reply came without a hint of hesitation. "We walk different paths."

The mist around the silhouette seemed to freeze. The gentle, regretful demeanor peeled away like color from a faded canvas, revealing a more fundamental coldness and indifference beneath.

"’A refusal... I expected as much, yet it is still a pity.’"

The silhouette’s voice remained soft, as if stating an objective fact. "The convictions of youth are always filled with an unworldly purity and stubbornness. We have seen too many geniuses like you, passionate at first, adhering to their so-called principles and bottom lines."

The mist swirled slowly, reflecting blurry, distorted images. Within them, one could vaguely make out figures who had once been full of spirit. It seemed they had all once stood at a similar crossroads.

"But reality grinds everything down: the crushing weight of power, the scarcity of resources, bottlenecks in cultivation, being surpassed by your peers, and even the deaths of those you hold dear."

The silhouette’s voice was like a whisper, laced with a worldly-wise cruelty. "You will find that the order you fight so desperately to protect is not necessarily just. The system you rely on to survive is riddled with parasites. And faced with absolute power and a long life, the principles you pride yourself on will prove laughably fragile."

"When that time comes, you will remember tonight. You will remember the choice we offered you. There is more than one path to a higher level, but shortcuts are always tempting. Very few of those we set our sights on can resist this temptation forever."

The silhouette’s outline began to fade, its voice seeming to drift in from a great distance. "Remember, temptation is everywhere. How long can you hold out? I do look forward to that day."

As the voice faded, the surrounding mist receded as quickly as the tide. Yang Wenqing’s vision blurred, and his consciousness returned to the cold, damp air of the alley and the solid bluestone slabs beneath his feet.

The gray-clothed "man" still stood in the same spot, wearing that same stiff, standardized smile, as if nothing at all had just happened.

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