Chunibyo in Cultivation World

Elder Ling’s soul trembled the moment he heard the word “Virtue” uttered from Li Tianchen’s mouth.

Though he was now nothing more than a remnant soul, what was unfolding before his eyes was utterly terrifying.

Having known Li Tianchen for quite some time, he understood well how rational and stubborn this fellow was.

Even after enduring countless inhuman trials within the Heaven-Burning Abyss, his will had never wavered in the slightest.

Yet now, under the mysterious sermon of Li Tianwei, he had been influenced—seemingly becoming one of Li Tianwei’s followers.

“It’s over... That Li Tianwei must be a Great Demon. Otherwise, how could he possess such strange and wicked methods?”

Such thoughts flashed through Elder Ling’s mind, his heart growing colder with dread.

At this moment, Elder Ling could only feel that his chance to rebuild a physical body no longer existed—and worse, he might very well be killed by Li Tianwei.

After all, he had witnessed firsthand how terrifying Li Tianwei’s methods were.

Even so, Elder Ling still held onto a sliver of hope—hoping that Li Tianchen could somehow regain his sanity under this influence.

“Li Tianchen, don’t listen! Li Tianwei is definitely a demon—a Great Demon! All the anomalies in the Sacred Land of Lingxu are his doing!”

Elder Ling shouted hoarsely, even burning his soul power to amplify his voice.

Just as his voice fell, Li Tianchen’s calm reply echoed softly:

“What is a demon... and what is not?”

“Elder Ling, what you perceive and understand isn’t necessarily the truth.”

His tone was tranquil, unnervingly calm—just as it had always been.

“You... you’re awake? You’re fine?”

Elder Ling asked in disbelief.

“Awake? Yes... I’ve never been more awake than I am now.”

Li Tianchen replied slowly.

“……”

Seeing such a response, Elder Ling became even more certain—Li Tianchen was no longer himself.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Li Tianchen said. “You believe my mind has been altered by my elder brother, that I’m being manipulated somehow.”

“But none of that is true. I merely learned one simple truth from his sermon.”

“To propose, to practice, and to conclude.”

Li Tianchen spoke as if he had already anticipated Elder Ling’s thoughts, expressing his newfound understanding of Li Tianwei’s sermon.

Elder Ling, however, looked utterly confused—he couldn’t comprehend what Li Tianchen had just gone through.

“You’re certain you’re fine? Li Tianwei’s demonic nature is terrifying beyond measure.”

Elder Ling persisted.

“Demon? You must not speak of my elder brother that way. The truths he teaches are the verified principles of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth—how dare you call him a demon?”

Li Tianchen’s face darkened instantly as he spoke.

Elder Ling, seeing this expression, was now completely sure—Li Tianchen had been influenced, even controlled.

“And you still claim you’re not under control? Only Evil Demons would twist one’s mind like this!”

Elder Ling, resigned to his fate, continued despairingly.

“Perhaps I do appear this way to you, but I feel utterly normal,” Li Tianchen said. “You think a demon is one who manipulates minds and influences others.”

“But how can you be sure your own thoughts and perceptions are correct? What if they, too, were imposed upon you?”

“For instance—what you pursue as ‘Immortality’... is it still true Immortality? You kill, plunder, and commit countless sins, all in the name of Becoming an Immortal. You trample upon all others—every cultivator beneath you.”

“And yet, where did you come from? After all these years of cultivation, have you even remembered the names of your parents, or your original, innocent self?”

“All my elder brother did was help me rebuild a new dimension of thought—no longer bound by the petty struggles of cultivation.”

Li Tianchen spoke his thoughts aloud.

To Elder Ling, his words were both confusing and disturbingly reasonable. Under Li Tianwei’s influence, Li Tianchen seemed to have found clarity—and yet, was that not a form of control in itself? Who among them was truly free?

“In this world, there is no true demon or saint—only right and wrong.”

“And I merely believe that the path my elder brother spreads is the correct one.”

“Tell me, is an Immortal one who contends—or one who does not?”

Raising his head, Li Tianchen gazed silently at Li Tianwei, who was still manifesting the Scripture of Supreme Virtue and Radiant Purity.

Under Li Tianwei’s influence, many disciples broke through bottlenecks, gained enlightenment, and shared in the communion of thought.

To Li Tianwei, this was the true Great Dao—what was one man’s Ascension compared to all ascending together?

As Li Tianwei’s sermon continued to envelop the disciples of the Sacred Land of Lingxu, in the Main Peak—

Bai Muxu was sitting stiffly, listening to the Sacred Lord of Lingxu speak—particularly as the Sacred Lord repeatedly mentioned the name Li Tianwei.

“Is this really the disciple I once knew?”

Having just returned in haste to Heaven’s Gate Peak after his breakthrough, Bai Muxu had yet to hear from the Sacred Lord and the others that Li Tianwei had not only reached the Golden Core Realm, but also comprehended a hundred Dao Intents, and slain several Spirit Transformation experts outside the Forbidden Land of Taixu.

Upon returning to the Sacred Land of Lingxu, he even forced the Evil Demons to reveal themselves—exterminating the one who had possessed the Out-of-Body Realm ancestor, and purging all Evil Demons within the sect, exposing countless spies from other factions.

Now, Bai Muxu was utterly dumbfounded. He couldn’t help but recall how Li Tianwei had behaved respectfully in front of him earlier.

You said you hadn’t grasped any Divine Abilities... but you didn’t mention you’d mastered a hundred Dao Intents!

And those methods you used to expose Evil Demons—where did you learn them? I certainly never taught you that!

He truly didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling anymore.

Most importantly—it seemed that he, the master, was the last to know about all of this.

Bai Muxu took a deep breath, maintaining an unnaturally calm expression.

He now understood why he had been the last to know. To others, it must have seemed that he had a profound understanding of his disciple—that he was simply too calm because he already knew everything.

Of course, Bai Muxu wasn’t about to reveal that he had been completely in the dark. Wouldn’t that make him look like an incompetent master?

“How in the heavens did he cultivate like this? I didn’t teach him anything—he comprehended it all himself?”

He thought helplessly.

Meanwhile, within the Grand Hall, the Peak Masters of the twelve peaks all looked toward Bai Muxu with envy. The ancestors, too, were thoroughly pleased—after all, it was always a blessing for a sect to produce such a prodigious disciple.

“Since there are no objections,” the Sacred Lord of Lingxu declared, “let us officially establish Li Tianwei’s position.”

“From this day forth, he shall be the Chief Disciple of the Sacred Land of Lingxu, possessing the highest authority, receiving the full support and resources of our sacred land.”

His voice resounded throughout the hall.

The ancestors and Peak Masters all nodded in agreement—none objected.

“Virtue…”

The Sacred Lord of Lingxu, seeing their unanimous approval, couldn’t help but echo the disciples’ earlier response.

Many in the hall exchanged puzzled glances—but in their hearts, they couldn’t deny that the word “Virtue” seemed strangely fitting.

And so, following the Sacred Lord’s lead, they all responded in unison—

“Virtue.”