Ho Chi Minh City, 2035.
In the heart of the glamorous District 1, within the luxurious ambiance of the Tire Koong café, even the smooth jazz music could not alleviate the suffocating tension in a corner of the shop.
"Well done, you two!" Lam Minh's voice was hoarse, laced with both a tremor and utter fury. "I pursued you for six long years, and you used me the entire time. You always had me doing all sorts of things for you, only to tell me you just see me as a friend? And then you go and fall for a man old enough to be your father?"
Across from Lam Minh sat a graceful girl, around his age. She was languidly resting her head on the shoulder of a dignified, middle-aged man.
"So what?" The girl sneered, her tone as sharp as a blade. "Let's not beat around the bush; forgive me for being blunt. A pathetic simp like you thinks you're worthy of pursuing me? Take a good look at yourself. Besides that handsome face, what else do you have? All those years of striving in the ASEAN military, and you're still just a lowly grunt with no significant achievements. I wasted my time waiting for you. I'd rather be with another man and live a life of comfort."
Finishing her words, the woman named Lieu Nhu Yen turned and planted a loud "smack" of a kiss on the cheek of the man beside her—an act of pure provocation and humiliation.
Lieu Nhu Yen, Lam Minh's university classmate, had once been the campus belle, her beauty considered "top-tier" at the University of Industry. From the moment he first saw her, Lam Minh was utterly smitten. Nhu Yen's beauty and grace had captivated the young man, making him foolishly believe that she was the true love of his life.
Six years of pursuit, six years of persistence. Lam Minh had once engraved a sentence he read online into his heart and mind: "As long as you're shameless enough, the goddess will be yours."
That saying became his guiding principle, helping him persevere in his pursuit, despite being ordered around by her like a servant. For instance, at 23, fresh out of university with no job—or more accurately, still living off his family—he found himself in a difficult position. Meanwhile, Lieu Nhu Yen, the "goddess" who had just graduated, was flooded with offers to become a model.
Her life quickly became extravagant, her spending reckless. All-night parties at nightclubs with her friends led her to rack up a debt of 22 million VND (about $1000). In her desperation, she remembered Lam Minh.
A single, tear-filled message was all it took: "Minh ca, please save me! This amount is too much, I think I'm going to die."
The young man, with not a penny to his name, didn't hesitate. For the sake of his goddess's plea, he ran around borrowing from friends and relatives. Afterward, he had to grit his teeth and survive on instant noodles for an entire year to pay off the debt.
But what came of it? Not only did she show no remorse, but she fell even deeper into her habits. Designer clothes, wild parties in the most opulent venues in Sai Gon City. She spent without a thought for the consequences, because she knew she always had a "spare tire" named Lam Minh ready to clean up her messes.
And his journey as that "spare tire" had lasted for six long years.
He decided to join the ASEAN military, hoping to achieve heroic feats, to shine on the battlefield, and then to properly ask for her hand in marriage. He threw himself into life-or-death battles, accumulating countless crisscrossing scars on his body, each one a brush with death.
But perhaps, his time had not yet come. No matter how bravely he fought, the credit was always given to his squad leader, Ly Mac. For two whole years, he had followed Ly Mac's every order unconditionally, only for that man to use the squad's merits to get promoted to platoon leader. As for him, after countless brushes with death, he remained a lowly grunt with nothing to his name.
Deeply disappointed by the results of the latest promotion review, he requested a three-day leave to visit home, hoping a reunion with his beloved could heal the wounds in his heart.
And so, filled with eager anticipation to see his love again, he was instead met with the sight of her embracing that old man right here.
Pain? Self-pity? Helplessness?
Lam Minh himself couldn't describe the chaotic storm of emotions raging within him. His youth, the six most beautiful years of his life, had suddenly turned into a bowl of murky water, dim and without a future.
The blood in Lam Minh's veins seemed to freeze. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood without him even noticing.
"Fine, just fine…" His voice trailed off, filled with despair. "Even if I become a ghost, I will never forgive you!"
With that, he turned and walked away, a decisive stride that left behind the contemptuous gazes and soft giggles of the "perfect couple."
…
....
1998: In the South China Sea, a strange spatial gate abruptly appeared, shaking the entire world. Countless scientists from major powers were dispatched to study it. But after three years, aside from confirming that humanity could not enter, they had made no further progress. The United Nations decided to station troops from member nations to guard the gate. Some blog theories suggested it was a gateway to the legendary grotto-heavens and blessed lands, only to be met with ridicule: "You guys have been reading too many cultivation novels!"
2001: Just as the world was growing accustomed to the gate's existence, an urgent communiqué from the United Nations was sent globally. Strange creatures had emerged from it. They were humanoid, had three eyes, spoke a bizarre language, and possessed terrifying power. A fierce war raged in the South China Sea for months. Casualty reports streamed in, warning humanity of a global-level catastrophe. In the end, Earth was victorious. Cheers erupted everywhere.
But the joy was short-lived. Scientists discovered an astonishing change: humans could now enter the gate. Immediately, elite military units from around the world began venturing into the mysterious spatial gate.
Inside was a world of breathtaking beauty, like a picturesque immortal realm, so vast it seemed endless. But ironically, all modern weaponry was rendered useless there. It seemed some mystical energy had completely altered Earth's laws of physics and chemistry. Conversely, humans discovered that just taking a breath of the air there made their bodies much stronger. Many scientists in their 50s and 60s returned with rosy complexions, their joint pains gone, as if they had reverted to their 40s.
This event caused a global internet explosion, with the hottest search term being: "The Cultivation World is real!"
2005: After several years of research, humanity concluded that this was, with ninety percent certainty, a Cultivation World, and the three-eyed beings were cultivators who had accidentally strayed through the gate. At the same time, the other world discovered Earth's existence. Countless clashes erupted between humanity and the cultivators. It was a true slaughter; humanity was pushed back to Earth, forced to defend the spatial gateway. The two sides fell into a stalemate; the cultivators dared not recklessly invade Earth, and humanity dared not make a move into the Cultivation World.
2006: The spatial gate began to emit a miraculous energy, later named "spiritual energy." It quickly enveloped the entire globe, launching an unprecedented campaign: every household cultivates, every person cultivates.
But the biggest problem was: cultivation methods. Humanity had no methods, no clear path to practice. A few people, after months of breathing in spiritual energy, felt their mental states expand and confidently charged through the gate to "uphold justice and righteousness." Their result could be summed up in two words: instant annihilation.
2010: A series of similar spatial gates appeared all over Earth. Defense became increasingly difficult. Each country had at least three, and some as many as a dozen such gates.
Time flew by.
2012: Humanity finally seized the first cultivation methods from the enemy.
A new era, the Age of Cultivation, had officially begun…