"In other words, once the world upgrades and the upper limit reaches the fourth tier, this blessed land will definitely upgrade along with it, reaching the level of a grotto-heaven? This is truly something to celebrate!" Lin Yang cupped his hands in congratulations.
In the main world, only first-rate families possess grotto-heavens! Even among top-tier families, a grotto-heaven is an extraordinary treasure. In some ways, it is in no way inferior to a sixth-tier spiritual treasure.
You should know that not everyone is as rich as Lin Yang, who carries hundreds of spiritual treasures in his pocket, including double digits of sixth-grade high-quality spiritual treasures!
For ordinary people, a single grotto-heaven is enough to create a first-class family! How many first-class families at the state level are there in the entire Han Dynasty?
...
There was a pavilion nestled among the mountains, far from any village or shop. The nearest town was a full thirty miles away, and the mountain scenery made it incredibly peaceful.
Meanwhile, inside the pavilion, two richly dressed officials were playing chess.
"Speaking of which, it's been six years already. I still don't know if what that immortal said about taking us all to ascend to heaven was true or false."
A man in purple robes spoke calmly. With that, a black stone was placed on the board with a soft click.
"Hehe, you, Stone Evil King, are also worried about this issue? Ascension is of course possible. Not long ago, didn't Medicine King Sun Zhenren, Celestial Master Xi Zhenren of the Celestial Masters Sect, and Qi Hui, the leader of the Louguan Sect, all ascend to heaven?"
As he spoke, with a snap, the man in the red robe opposite him also placed a piece.
"Yes, the theory of ascension seems to be true. Since Emperor Daojun unified the world five years ago, the spiritual energy of the entire world has been rising! Now it has reached three times that of before!" Shi Xiewang said calmly.
"With the increased concentration of spiritual energy, the speed of cultivation naturally increases. Back then, in order to break through to the Grandmaster level, I left the Song family, carried a treasured sword, and challenged skilled swordsmen from all over the country. In the end, I made a breakthrough in the face of life and death!"
“But now, there are plenty of young people who break through to the Grandmaster level at the age of seventeen or eighteen,” Song Que said with a shake of his head.
"That's not all. Nowadays, after a child is born, a Taoist priest will come to examine him. When he is four years old, he will undergo his first examination to check his qualifications."
"If you have good aptitude, you can cultivate immortality, learn the legendary immortal techniques, control your qi to fly into the sky, ride the clouds and mist. You can fly into the sky at such a young age. I really envy you."
"Moreover, even if someone has poor aptitude, they can still turn to martial arts. As long as they are not too stupid and are very diligent, they will inevitably become a Xiantian (innate) by the time they are in their sixties or seventies," Shi Zhixuan said calmly.
Compared to these young children, their lives back then were truly unbearably difficult. And the world has changed so much in just five short years!
Under Zhang Lu's rule, each county had a Taoist temple, each covering several acres, and the abbot was a cultivator with innate spiritual power. Meanwhile, the deputy abbot was invariably a cultivator of immortality.
There were about twenty or thirty Taoist priests in the temple. Those who were good at their studies were directly assigned to the local towns and villages to open a small local temple, while the more outstanding ones were recommended for promotion, thus creating a flow of people.
In every prefecture, there must be a large Taoist temple, covering an area of tens of acres. The abbot is a Grandmaster, and the deputy abbot is a Yin God level cultivator.
As for each state, it is a super Taoist temple covering hundreds of acres, with the abbot being a Grandmaster and the deputy abbot being a Yang God cultivator.
In this way, through these Taoist temples, Zhang Lu kept a close watch on the entire empire! Any slight disturbance, even the slightest hint, would be detected by the court and directly suppressed.
More importantly, Zhang Lu was always very generous to capable people. Whether it was money, power, or fiefdoms, he offered them everything!
Talented individuals like Shi Zhixuan and Song Que were directly granted the title of Marquis. They also received a fiefdom, a real fiefdom the size of a county.
However, Song Que's fiefdom is south of Lingnan, while Shi Zhixuan's fiefdom is north of Mobei. Although both are remote, they are indeed hereditary fiefdoms!
Therefore, both of them led their families to join them, and sent their direct descendants to the Taoist temple to study Taoist doctrines and begin cultivating immortality, as a sign of their sincerity.
Furthermore, the Yin Kui Sect was granted a fiefdom directly on an island in Dongting Lake. Therefore, the Yin Kui Sect ceased its disturbances.
"His Majesty is quite adept at using both the stick and the sweet treat. Those who surrender are given sweet treats—teaching them cultivation techniques and granting them fiefdoms. Those who don't surrender, those who rebel directly, are exterminated along with their entire clan, leaving no one alive..." As he spoke, Song Que thought of Fan Qinghui, Cihang Jingzhai, the Li clan, and the Turks...
------------
Chapter Four: Making grand promises and printing "The Story of Ambition"
"Young Master, this is how the world has changed in the past six years," Shi Long said respectfully.
Over the past six years, thanks to Lin Yang's connections, Shi Long has received considerable preferential treatment. Moreover, because he was the first to surrender, he was ranked first when it came time to reward those who had rendered meritorious service!
Therefore, at this time, he was already a Duke. Moreover, his fiefdom was the size of a prefecture, but it was not in the Central Plains, but on the grasslands.
Now, his fiefdom has tens of thousands of warhorses and hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep. Every year, he earns hundreds of thousands of taels of silver just from transporting them to the Central Plains for sale. His life is truly very comfortable.
However, in Shi Long's heart, what mattered most was always longevity and martial arts. Especially after learning that his aptitude for cultivation was not great, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating the Longevity Technique.
Now, his cultivation has reached the level of a so-called Supreme Grandmaster, which is the third-order perfection of the main world.
Lin Yang was quite satisfied with this. The stone dragon was honest, obedient, and loyal, and its strength was decent enough. After all, once they reached the main world, with just a few resources, the stone dragon could easily break through to the fourth tier!
Moreover, by winning over Shi Long, the two dragons, namely Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, will naturally be loyal, and then they will be two more fourth-level experts.
In addition, there are also Evil King Shi Zhixuan, Heavenly Blade Song Que, Yin Empress, Wanwan, Lu Miaozi, Amorous Young Master Hou Xibai, and so on. Once these people arrive in the main world, given some resources, they will definitely be able to break through with their talents!
At that time, the number of fourth-tier experts in the entire Wu Kingdom will instantly increase from single digits to double digits. In a few more years, it will be triple digits!
"Very good, Shi Long, you have done very well and are very outstanding these past few years. Now, I will tell you my specific identity in the Immortal Realm," Lin Yang said calmly.
After saying that, he glanced out the window and through the door. "Since you're so eager to know, come in and listen."
"Young Master, you're amazing! You even know that," Kou Zhong said with a grin.
"The banished immortal truly lives up to his name," Wanwan murmured.
"Um, I'm really sorry." This was Xu Ziling.
"In the Immortal Realm, there is also a court, called the Great Han. The emperor's surname is Liu, and the strongest person in the court is a sixth-order Celestial Immortal. The strength is divided into first-order, second-order, third-order..."
"Furthermore, in the main world, there are four great paths to cultivation. These are the path of body refinement, the path of immortal cultivation and qi refining, the path of literary qi followed by pure scholars, and the path of pure martial artists like you."
“Each of these four paths allows you to cultivate from the first level all the way to the sixth level. Moreover, there is a wealth of experience accumulated by those who came before. Therefore, don’t worry, your future is still very bright,” Lin Yang said kindly.
Actually, what Lin Yang said was true. If they cultivated battle qi, magic, cosmos, or chakra, they would be in real trouble once they arrived in the main world!