Cultivation Online

'Hm? These footsteps sound too heavy for a human.' Yuan quickly noticed this after hearing the Lord's footsteps.

A few moments later, the footsteps stopped, but the Lord hadn't shown himself yet.

"Having second thoughts?" Yuan asked him with a calm smile.

"No, I am just giving you some time to prepare yourself. My appearance… It might shock you."

Yuan chuckled, "Let me guess, you're super ugly? This explains why you're holed up in that cave."

"Insolence!" The Manager suddenly shouted.

"I'm just joking. Anyways, there's no need to wait for me. I already know your true identity, after all."

"Oh? You do?" The Lord sounded quite surprised.

"Yes. Well, not exactly, but I know that you're not human. You're a Divine Beast, right? I don't know your species, but you're definitely a Divine Beast."

"..."

After a moment of silence, the footsteps continued, and a large figure appeared from the cave.

"How did you find out? And how long have you known?"

The Lord asked as he came out of the cave for the first time in a very long time, revealing his massive figure.

Yuan looked at the Lord's figure with his divine sense.

The Lord was around 10 meters tall. His body resembled that of a tiger, and it was covered in a beautiful coat of thick, red fur, almost like a Tibetan mastiff.

"What are you, a tiger?" Yuan asked him in a calm voice.

"I belong to the Ancient Mastiff's bloodline. Specifically, I am a Blood Mastiff." The Lord said.

"Mastiff, so you're a dog?"

"How dare you compare the bloodline of the Blood Mastiff to a mere dog!" The Manager shouted at him again.

The Lord laughed, "I thought you'd be more nervous or surprised. How unfortunate." 

Yuan shrugged, "I have met with plenty of Divine Beasts in Cultivation Online already. How do Blood Mastiffs compare to Phoenixes or Dragons?"

"Well, that depends on the grade of our bloodline and our race. Not all Phoenixes and Dragons are born equal. For example, there are over 10 different kinds of Phoenixes, and the Golden Phoenix ranks 4th amongst all Phoenixes. Meanwhile, Dragons have over 100 different bloodlines, and the Flood Dragon is ranked 94th."

"The Blood Mastiff, while they cannot compare to the most powerful Dragons and Phoenixes out there, we are stronger than most Phoenixes and Dragons."

"I see…" Yuan mumbled.

And he continued, "Anyway, I figured it out not long ago due to something Liya said."

"M-Me?!" The Manager exclaimed.

The Lord narrowed his eyes and spoke, "Let me guess… You figured it out when she said that she couldn't learn demon sealing techniques."

Yuan nodded, "That's right. All humans are capable of learning demon sealing techniques. The only beings that cannot learn them are magical beasts and Divine Beasts."

He turned to face Liya and asked her, "Are you also a Blood Mastiff?"

However, she refused to respond to him.

"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to. However, I am curious. If she can transform into a human and interact with other humans, why aren't you doing the same. Instead, you choose to stay up here." Yuan then asked.

The Lord sighed, "It's not that I don't want to transform into a human. I can't— at least not right now."

"Why not? What's preventing you from doing so?"

"I am currently maintaining a formation that requires immense spiritual energy. It's constantly absorbing my spiritual energy— so much so that I cannot even spare some to transform into a human. And before you ask, no, it's not the formation that conceals the peak of this mountain. In fact, this 'formation' is more of a 'seal' that's existing within my body."

"What does the formation do?"

"It keeps this world alive." The Lord said, dumbfounding him.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You see, there is a massive formation that surrounds this world. You cannot see it, but it's there. This formation is what's keeping this world from falling apart. If I deactivate the formation, this world will be destroyed. It is also my duty to keep this formation active at all times, and I have been doing this for millions of years."

Yuan was speechless. What the Lord told him was beyond even his wildest imaginations.

"You must be wondering why this world is on the verge of destruction." The Lord spoke after a moment of silence.

Yuan pondered and asked, "Does it have anything to do with Cultivation Online?"

"Yes, it does."

"Since you already know that Cultivation Online, which takes place in the Nine Heavens, exists out there, this will make explaining a lot easier."

"This world known as Earth used to be part of the Nine Heavens, but it was separated during a massive war that not only removed 'Earth' from the Nine Heavens, but also created the 'Nine Heavens' at the same time."

"I don't get it." Yuan tilted his head.

"Well, you see, the Nine Heavens wasn't always split into 9 different realms. The Nine Heavens used to be one place. This means the Lower Heaven and all of the other Heavens existed in the same plane, so you didn't need to ascend or descend. With that being said, since the world was so massive, the people made nine different continents, and each continent was called 'First Heaven', 'Second Heaven', 'Third Heaven', and so on…"

"In case you're wondering, the Nine Heavens used to be called the Divine Heaven."

"I see…" Yuan mumbled as he digested the information.

"Anyways, Earth couldn't be part of the new Nine Heavens because it was too small and had drifted too far away, and without the Nine Heavens' support, Earth could not support itself, hence why the formation is required to keep this world in one piece."

"I'm surprised you're able to support this world with that cultivation." Yuan said.

"My cultivation dropped to peak Spirit Emperor only because of the seal in my body. My real cultivation is actually far higher." The Lord sighed.

Yuan nodded, "I understand the situation of our world and the Nine Heavens, but what's the deal with Cultivation Online? What is its real purpose?"

"I'm getting there." The Lord said.