Especially after the popularization of cultivation a hundred years ago, the once lofty sword immortals were no longer just myth and legend, but became within reach.

"Whoosh!"

William Carter sped through the streets on his bike.

On both sides of the street were rows of shops, with countless kinds of goods on display.

Above the shops rose towering buildings, most of them over ten stories high, with many reaching thirty, forty, or even fifty or sixty stories.

Some of the tall buildings even had huge LCD screens displaying all kinds of advertisements.

When William Carter looked up slightly, he could see a skyscraper in the distance, like a divine sword piercing the clouds, standing tall several kilometers away.

That was the Bai Shuang Tower, the commercial center of Minghua City, standing 603 meters tall.

It belonged to the Shuangze Group.

Shuangze Group was the leading enterprise in Minghua City, ranked among the top hundred large groups in Xiyu Nation, with business all over the country. It was said that a Yuanshen True Person stood behind it.

William Carter glanced at it with some envy, wondering what the view of Minghua City would be like from up there.

After a moment, his thoughts returned to the materials he had browsed yesterday.

The Quantum Immortality Method mainly discussed the concepts of life and death. In any environment, under any concept, life always has two states: existence and non-existence, reality and illusion.

Even if an ordinary person lived on a planet about to explode, people could never completely rule out the probability that a True Immortal might suddenly pass by and save all life on the planet, allowing the mortals to continue living.

However...

He felt he had fallen into a misconception.

This cultivation method was completely made up, come on...

He had even gone to ask Olivia Carter about cultivation methods—what was he thinking?

Instead of studying the illusory Quantum Immortality Method, he might as well practice those incredibly powerful but extremely difficult techniques.

"I'll go to the library right away and look for... doing what others can't, breaking the iron rules... mastering some universally acknowledged impossible cultivation methods should count as this too. Plus, if I succeed, I might even get a skill point... I could just keep repeating this process endlessly!"

Chapter 4: Demonic Creatures

"Yezi."

As William Carter was distracted, a shout came from ahead.

He saw Henry Cooper, also riding a bike, stop.

"It's getting late, and you're still so relaxed."

"What’s there to worry about? Today is just the final sprint in separate classes. Cultivation is a very personal matter."

"Did you apply to a cultivation academy?"

William Carter smiled and said, "Since I applied, I have to work hard. I'm counting on you to take me flying on your sword after you become a sword immortal, soaring through the Sky Void."

"I don't think I'm cut out for it, but my parents still want me to try and see if I can get into a cultivation academy."

Henry Cooper said with some frustration.

"Being a cultivator is great. As soon as you get a cultivator certificate, you’ll be on the fast track—tax exemption, free tickets, no visas, travel discounts, all kinds of privileges at your fingertips."

"Cultivator certificate? Never mind whether you can get into a cultivation academy; even if you do, you might not get the certificate after graduation. Without the certificate, all the effort over the years is wasted."

"You're just showing off now."

"I'm just stating the facts. Every year, there are tens of millions of candidates in the country, hundreds of thousands apply to cultivation academies, but less than ten thousand are admitted. And after six years of study, less than a quarter of those admitted actually get the cultivator certificate."

William Carter didn’t argue.

Once you get the cultivator certificate, you enjoy all sorts of privileges, your status rises immediately, and even if you do nothing but hold a position in a private company, you can help reduce taxes—just like the scholars of ancient times.

But getting the cultivator certificate is not easy either.

Even the prodigy Charles Foster, who was a year older than him, was still one step away from becoming a true "cultivator."

"Woo! Woo!"

Just as William Carter was thinking, a piercing air raid siren split the sky.

"Air raid!?"

William Carter looked up sharply, just in time to see several sword lights shooting up simultaneously from the direction of the Guardian Tower, Bai Shuang Tower, and others, accompanied by sonic booms as they broke the sound barrier.

"Sword flight breaking the sound barrier—that’s a grand cultivator who has mastered Gang Qi!"

Henry Cooper exclaimed in shock.

As a city with a population of over ten million, Minghua City had no shortage of powerful figures. Maybe not a Yuanshen True Person, but definitely more than ten grand cultivators.

But now was not the time to think about that. With the air raid siren blaring, everyone immediately left the wide, open streets and rushed to find shelter.

Not just him and Henry Cooper; more than half the people on the street did the same.

"Whoosh!"

William Carter had just run into a shop when he saw four sword lights streak dazzlingly across the sky, leaving trails in the heavens.

Along with the sword energy came a terrifying bird, as big as a giant eagle, over twenty meters long, plummeting down.

The bird was like a meteor, crashing hard into the twentieth floor or so of a building, instantly shattering the walls and glass. The terrifying momentum was so great that even the reinforced concrete inside the walls couldn’t fully absorb it, and the bird’s massive body burst through, still carrying enough force to slam into another building less than a hundred meters from William Carter, before sliding down the wall and smashing into the ground.