Thousand Years Cultivator

10 Advances in Humanity

Kevin smiled faintly. 'In every era, gold always speaks a language everyone understands.'

Inside his storage ring lay tens of thousands of gold bars that he had mined over a hundred years from the depths of the earth beneath his cave. Gold that ordinary mining could never reach because it lay dozens of kilometers below the surface. Only someone with Kevin's abilities could enter there, mine, and bring the results up.

Giving one bar of gold to Wiro, twenty to Indah, and one bar to this officer did not diminish his wealth in any meaningful way. He still possessed riches that could buy this entire city.

After the enrollment process, which went very smoothly thanks to the gold bar, Kevin officially became a new student. He received his class schedule, student ID card, and directions to the campus dormitory.

But Kevin chose to live in a rented room off campus.

The first day of classes began the next morning. Kevin sat in the very front row of a large lecture hall filled with dozens of other new students. His eyes sparkled with an enthusiasm he had not felt in a long time.

The last time he had sat as a student was three thousand years ago, when he studied ancient literature at an academy whose building was made of marble and illuminated by large candles. Before that, in an even more distant past, he had studied martial arts at a sect located on the highest peak of a continent whose name history had forgotten.

And now, after seven thousand years, he was a student again. In a room with concrete walls, fluorescent lights, and a whiteboard. His lecturer was not a long-bearded elder who spoke in riddles, but a man in a shirt who explained theories with the help of a projector.

But for Kevin, the essence was the same. Learning is learning, in any era.

He listened to every word of the lecturer with full attention. He noted every important point, not on paper, but in his mind, which had been trained for thousands of years. Other students around him were dozing off, playing with their handphones, or whispering to friends beside them. But Kevin sat upright with complete concentration, absorbing every piece of information like a sponge thirsty for water.

'How interesting,' he thought as the lecturer explained concepts that were new to him. 'The modern world has a very different perspective from what I learned thousands of years ago. But that is precisely what makes it fascinating.'

During the break, Kevin walked out of the lecture hall and stood in the campus corridor. Students milled about around him, and some of them, especially the female students, glanced his way with unconcealed gazes. His extraordinary handsomeness made him the center of attention without him even realizing it.

Kevin ignored those glances. He took out his handphone and opened the AI again, asking about the next course and reading the material to be taught. His mind worked at remarkable speed, swallowing and comprehending information far faster than any other student on this campus.

He smiled faintly while looking at his handphone screen. For the first time in a very long time, he felt excited. Not the excitement of a warrior facing an enemy. Not the excitement of a hermit seeking enlightenment. But the excitement of a student hungry for knowledge.

And his new journey had just begun.

---

That night, the city air felt cool. Kevin walked along the sidewalk filled with the light of streetlamps and colorful, blinking advertising boards. His eyes looked in every direction with a sense of awe that he kept tightly concealed behind his calm expression.

A hundred years ago, the cities he had seen were still lit by oil lamps and candles. Their roads were still cobblestone and horses still trotted about pulling carriages. But now, buildings towered dozens of stories high with glass windows reflecting the moonlight.

Motorized vehicles filled the streets, moving swiftly without being pulled by any animal. And everywhere, people walked with the same rectangular object in their hands, their faces illuminated by the screen's glow.

'A hundred years,' Kevin thought as he paused briefly at an intersection and watched the traffic light change from red to green. 'In a hundred years, humans have achieved all this. They are truly remarkable creatures when it comes to creating things.'

Kevin continued walking without a fixed destination. He simply wanted to see, observe, and understand this new world step by step.

Shops still open emitted bright light from their display windows. Restaurants released appetizing aromas of food. A group of young people sat in front of a coffee shop laughing together.

Kevin's steps halted as his eyes caught a large signboard mounted above a two-story shop-house. The signboard was a glowing gold color with very striking lettering.

"Healer Awi. Number One Traditional Medicine Expert. Can Cure All Diseases. One Examination, Immediate Diagnosis. Guaranteed Recovery."

Kevin raised an eyebrow.

'Can cure all diseases?' he thought. 'A very bold claim. Even I, who have lived seven thousand years and concocted thousands of types of medicine, would not dare say such a thing.'

What drew Kevin's attention even more was the long line snaking from the shop-house door out onto the sidewalk. Dozens of people stood waiting their turn even though it was already night. Some leaned on canes, some were carried by their families, some sat in wheelchairs. Their faces radiated great hope, like people who had run out of options and placed all their final bets on this place.

Kevin decided to enter. He bypassed the line and stood in the fairly spacious waiting area inside the shop-house. The room was arranged with a luxurious impression. Its walls were decorated with certificates of appreciation—whether genuine or not—photos of the healer with various figures, and testimonials from patients claiming to have recovered.