Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 457: Chapter 285: Heart-Punishing_1

Time flies swiftly, a single flicker of the fingers, and a hundred years have passed.

A hundred years later, in the Heavenly Domain, Iron Heart Fortress.

A century ago, when Dao Wuya was cursed and on the brink of death and the Heavenly Scheme Alliance fell apart, the Heavenly Demon Guardian Chen Tianjie had led the charge against all objections, promptly relocating Iron Heart Fortress into the Heavenly Demon Second Realm within the Heavenly Domain. He then joined forces with the left and right envoys of the Demon Sect, consolidating the forces of the Evil Path and willingly gave up the Thirteen Realms, fully fortifying the stronghold of the Heavenly Demon Second Realm.

Today in the Heavenly Domain, with Iron Heart Fortress at the helm, administering six major factions of the Evil Path and covertly including eighteen Divine Intent Venerables, Heavenly Demon Guardian Chen Tianjie stood as the Divine Intention Ultimate Peak, a towering pillar supporting the situation and quelling people’s hearts.

But…

Inside the study of Iron Heart Fortress.

Chen Tianjie, dressed in plain clothes, gaunt in appearance and looking no different from an ordinary old man, gazed at the mass of correspondence piled on the table. His eyes, although cloudy, flickered with a piercing sharpness, revealing an air of desolation.

“It’s the way of the world!”

“Regret not doing otherwise!”

A sigh, full of helplessness.

It was at this moment that a knock sounded at the door.

“Venerable Ancestor?”

“Enter!”

The door opened, and a person walked in—none other than the former master of Iron Heart Fortress, Seven Massacre Chen Baihu!

Observing his aura, he had evidently entered the Divine Intent Realm.

In the span of a hundred years, although Iron Heart Fortress had been uprooted from its original land and relocated to the Heavenly Domain, through integration, it had absorbed resources from the Demon Sect, thus growing in strength rather than diminishing. The successive Seven Massacre Stars, Chen Bubai and Chen Baihu, each stepped into the Divine Intent Realm, propelling Iron Heart Fortress to an unprecedented peak of power, surpassing even the likes of the ancestral SLP trio.

Despite this, neither Venerable Ancestor Chen Tianjie, nor Chen Bubai or Chen Baihu, felt much joy.

Because…

“Venerable Ancestor!”

Chen Baihu stepped forward, reporting, “Iron Heart Fortress is fully prepared, ready to move at any time. As for the six sects of the Evil Path, they bear grudges, unwilling to cooperate, even declaring that they would rather die defending the Heavenly Domain.”

“Fools!”

Chen Tianjie was not surprised by this outcome, but still, a flash of anger appeared in his eyes: “These shortsighted fools, don’t they see the situation at hand? Defending to death—if it could be defended, why would I go to such lengths?”

Chen Baihu could only lower his head in silence, facing the fury of Chen Tianjie.

A hundred years had passed, like the swift flight of an arrow, altering the power dynamics of the world once more.

The Wandao School opened its gates widely, adopting an education-for-all philosophy, attracting hearts through the Sky-reaching Tower and the Wind and Cloud Stele, and disseminating the Taoist Martial Two Scriptures. They established legal systems and held the Grand Wandao Competition to recruit talents from across the world, laying the foundation for governing the realm.

The speed of its development was so rapid, it was almost unbelievable, leaving other factions with no choice but to accept.

Ever since the Millennial Tribulation and the great changes in heaven and earth, this world had transcended mundane boundaries. With great Divine Martial Heritages above and countless Martial Path cultivators below, it didn’t reach the point where martial knowledge was widespread with everyone as strong as dragons. But martial arts were nonetheless disseminated among the common people, who, if they had the means, would learn martial arts to strengthen themselves.

Martial Path transcending the ordinary, such mighty power was delegated, combined with the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit to enhance the physical constitution of all. Moreover, vast territories and rich resources arisen from the Millennial Tribulation and earth-shattering changes led to a predictable surge in population. Each of the Forty-eight Domains boasted billions of inhabitants, surpassing the population of former nations.

With such a population in the Forty-eight Domains, the total number, although not exceeding a hundred billion, was nearing the threshold of five hundred billion.

Five hundred billion people—how many among them were heroes, how many were exceptional prodigies?

Incalculable!

If one could gather these outstanding talents, harness the wisdom of all beings for one’s own purpose, allowing them to be commanded at will, the growth of one’s power would be inevitably swift, even with the potential to overturn the old calendar and usher in a brand new era, creating a more splendid age of martial prowess.

Among the great Divine Martial Heritages, there was no shortage of individuals with breathtaking strategic acumen who could see this opportunity.

But seeing was one thing, accomplishing it another.

Human hearts are unpredictable and difficult to control!

A man of great ambition exists between heaven and earth, how could he willingly linger beneath others for long?

If martial knowledge were to be spread far and wide, opening the path of convenience and allowing all Martial Artists to meditate on the War God’s Atlas and ascend to the Divine Intent Realm, what advantages would these Divine Martial Heritages retain?

Without a monopoly advantage, how could their rule be guaranteed?

Setting aside outsiders, even within their own family lines, there were divisions between direct descendants and collateral branches, with competition remarkably intense and fratricidal conflicts frequently occurring. If the channels for advancement were opened up, who could assure these new Divine Intent Venerables wouldn’t overthrow the rule of the existing Divine Martial Heritages?

Due to the unreliability of human hearts and the presence of sectarian prejudices and factional differences, all the Divine Martial Heritages tacitly chose to maintain a monopoly and declined the strength and wisdom of the masses, wasting the demographic and resource potential.

But where they did not act, he did!

The Wandao School, embracing education-for-all!

The teachings of the Taoist Scriptures and Martial Arts Scripture, spreading across the world!

With this, they won the hearts of the people everywhere, attracting talents from all directions.

Then, with the Sky-reaching Tower and Wind and Cloud Stele, they initiated the Grand Wandao Competition, spurring competition, enhancing the quality of participants, sifting through like the waves separating sand from gold, selecting the best of talents. Not only did the strong grow stronger, but even the weak strove mightily, thronging like carps crossing the river, each striving to leap through the Dragon Gate.

Martial Artists from all over, motivated by fame, fortune, the chance for promotion, and the future of their descendants, flocked to the Wandao School, serving at its behest, even to the point of death.

With this, within just thirty years and merely ten iterations of the Grand Wandao Competition, the Wandao School had assembled a large cohort of talents, who served as ministers of governance and martial generals, thrust into the chaotic world to sweep away the dust in all directions.

Finally, in year 33 of the Wandao Era, at the time of the eleventh Grand Wandao Competition, they secured control over all Forty-five Domains abandoned by the various powers of both light and dark, becoming the de facto supreme ruler of the world!

In thirty-three years, ruling over Forty-five Domains, they pacified the world’s chaos.