Chapter 228: A Warning for Mingzhong

“In order to study what kind of energy can replace ‘human blood’ and achieve mechanized production of talismans, this application is submitted for comprehensive experimental consideration. We hope the President will approve the purchase of components for talisman-printing machines powered by petroleum, electricity, controlled nuclear fusion, ionic energy, etc., as well as the experimental site. The total quoted cost is… this much?!”

In the President’s office, Mingzhong looked at the application Elder Su of the Dao Sect had submitted and nearly popped his eyes out.

Mingzhong Civilization could only guarantee the most basic survival needs. If people wanted better lives, they still had to work hard to earn money—so currency hadn’t disappeared yet.

Talisman mechanization would benefit both the Nine Provinces and their own civilization. The investment seemed huge, but compared to the future returns, it was a negligible cost.

“Approved.”

“Application to establish a Cultivation Studies program in the university… Approved.”

“From a national security perspective, military exercises should treat the multiple Tribulation-Stage and one Mahayana-Stage cultivators of the Nine Provinces as hypothetical enemies, and efforts should be made to develop new weapons to guard against potential threats from the Nine Provinces upper echelons… Did a fierce beast eat this applicant’s brain?”

Mingzhong glanced at the applicant—it was indeed the head of national defense.

It had been several years since Jiang Li had pacified the wars and wiped out most of the fierce beasts. The people had been inspired, united, and achieved far more than expected with less sacrifice, finally eliminating the beasts.

The defense head had played a huge role in that and was undoubtedly a war hero.

But after gaining emotions, he began to crave war.

Now in peaceful times, with no enemies to fight, he turned his attention toward the Nine Provinces.

“Using Tribulation and Mahayana cultivators as hypothetical enemies? We can’t even beat a Fusion-Stage beast right now!”

In Mingzhong’s eyes, their civilization was even further behind Jiang Li than primitive humans were behind a modern army.

The humanities and social science experts couldn’t understand the order in the Nine Provinces. In the Mingzhong world, individual differences were minimal, while in the Nine Provinces, they were vast. Under such disparity, high-level cultivators should indulge their desires, do whatever they pleased, and plunge society into chaos.

But what the Nine Provinces displayed was the complete opposite.

A Dao Sect elder had brought a copy of A Brief History of the Nine Provinces. The humanities experts treated it like a treasure, researching it day and night, and finally came to a conclusion—because of the existence of the Human Sovereign.

When the Nine Provinces were connected to the Celestial Realm, demonic cultivation was rampant. Mortals were treated like weeds, unprotected by righteous forces and could be killed at will. People lived in fear. In order to grow stronger, anything was permissible—there was no right or wrong, and order was nonexistent.

But after the Celestial Realm vanished and the Outer World Demons invaded, the Human Sovereign emerged. He introduced the very concept of right and wrong: what benefited the masses was right, what harmed them was wrong.

And it was the Human Sovereign who judged what was beneficial.

Through generations of Human Sovereigns maintaining order, the Nine Provinces developed structure. Under the current Human Sovereign—Jiang Li—that order had reached a new height.

Unlike past Human Sovereigns, Jiang Li possessed absolute power.

Previously, some factions considered themselves above orders, disobeying the Human Sovereign’s commands. Past sovereigns could only grit their teeth in frustration. But now, none dared defy Jiang Li.

To the experts, Jiang Li was an anomaly. He was so powerful even the Outer World Demons posed no threat to him. Nothing in the Nine Provinces could constrain him.

By logic, as the strongest man, Jiang Li should enjoy the strongest privileges—beautiful women, supreme power, live in pleasure and care nothing for the world.

That would be human selfishness.

But Jiang Li thought only of the Nine Provinces and rarely for himself. This could only be explained by a deep-rooted morality.

Experts unanimously agreed: Jiang Li, the 72nd Human Sovereign of the Nine Provinces, was a sage.

Mingzhong had read the experts’ report on Jiang Li and, based on his own experiences with him, agreed completely.

After rejecting the application, he began thinking of an excuse to make the national defense head retire.

“Busy?”

Mingzhong looked up in surprise—Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu were standing in his office.

Was this the legendary “what you think of will appear”? The Human Sovereign really was extraordinary.

“If the Human Sovereign Jiang and Sect Master Bai have come, even the biggest matters must be set aside. Besides, I don’t have anything urgent going on,” Mingzhong said with a smile, warmly welcoming the two.

The two didn’t decline and sat down to tell him what they’d witnessed in the Gougle Civilization.

The news was so shocking that Mingzhong took a moment of silence before fully processing it.

“So there really are aliens.” Mingzhong remembered when he first met Jiang Li and had mistaken him for one.

“The Human Sovereign is implying that, from the Gougle Civilization’s perspective, we’re the outsiders?”

Mingzhong felt like a cuckoo taking over a magpie’s nest. The native Gougle Civilization had vanished, leaving only a server behind, while they—refugees from the Celestial Realm—had survived the crisis with Jiang Li’s help and were now thriving, becoming the masters of this universe.

“I mean this as a warning—don’t follow the Gougle Civilization’s old path. But I recall your civilization also has a similar holographic simulator. Since there haven’t been problems, maybe I’m overthinking.”

“No, what you said is very useful. It’s a wake-up call for our civilization,” Mingzhong said seriously.

“I’d like to document what you just said as a confidential file, passed only among Presidents. Would that be alright?”

“Up to you.”

After expressing his thanks, Mingzhong continued, “The reason there hasn’t been mass migration to the virtual world is because of the fierce beasts. Everyone was busy developing technology—no one had time to enjoy the virtual world.”

“But now that the beasts are gone and there’s no external pressure, people are starting to lean too far into freedom and leisure. A lot of people want to live in the virtual world permanently.”

“I didn’t pay much attention to this, thinking it was just a lifestyle choice. But now I realize this could severely impact the real world. People in virtual worlds don’t contribute to production—it will hinder our civilization’s progress. We need to hold expert forums to study how to counter this trend.”

“Take a look at this.” Mingzhong turned the light screen toward Jiang Li. On it was a proposal from the Academy of Sciences from a few days ago, discussing national strategy.

The proposal detailed the advantages of the virtual world from multiple angles, compared them to the shortcomings of reality, and argued that humanity’s evolutionary path would inevitably lead into the virtual realm. It ultimately recommended full migration into the virtual world.

It even claimed that this generation had sacrificed too much fighting the fierce beasts—suppressing their emotions, suffering endlessly—and deserved to enjoy themselves in the virtual world. The next generation could build the real world. This should become national policy.

At the bottom of the document was Mingzhong’s comment.

Rejected.

The next generation wouldn’t be fools either. Mingzhong believed they would just pass the burden on to the generation after them, an endless cycle. In the end, the civilization’s progress would collapse.

Making such a decision without knowing about the Gougle Civilization was one thing. But now that they had a clear example from the past, Mingzhong would never let that happen.

Suddenly, a vast and despairing aura swept across the continent.

“Outer World Demon?!” Jiang Li leapt to his feet.