Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, Han Baling, Qi Changsheng, and some others were quite experienced generals. When they heard about Jin Xinyue’s military strategies, they found her theory made a lot of sense. However, when they heard Ding Lingdang’s opinions later, they did not think that she was wrong either.

They were all deep in thought, pondering over who was right and who was wrong.

“Anything else?” Long Yangjun asked.

“There’s still the most critical disagreement, which is about the acquirement of citizenship,” Screwhead said. “In the past hundred years, after eliciting the policies of the Imperium from the Immortal Cultivators, the federation adopted the approaches that the Imperium had in some fields, including the citizenship and the contribution point system, which marks the biggest difference between the New Federation and the Old Federation.

“In the New Federation, not everyone obtains citizenship the moment they become an adult. They have to pass many tests, make certain contributions to society, and prove that they are real citizens of the federation through special citizenship education and examinations!

“Only the citizens of the federation have the right to vote for the MPs in their local area and take part in the election for the Supreme Parliament. To quote the federal government, power must be given to those who know how to use it.

“Naturally, the citizenship education and examinations in the federation are much gentler and looser than their counterparts in the Imperium. Even the non-citizens do not have much of a difference to the citizens in most cases. The citizens are not allowed to discriminate, oppress, or enslave non-citizens.

“The greatest difference between the two parties is their qualification to vote for the MPs and the Speaker. Also, when it comes to the public affairs in the local area, the citizens have a larger say and can supervise the MPs while they enforce their power. That’s all.

“Although the obstacles are fewer, the citizenship of the federation is definitely not something that can be claimed without any trouble. It is especially so for the residents of the new worlds, who often find it almost impossible to accumulate enough contribution points and pass the many tests!

“Ding Lingdang and the Patriots Front have been campaigning to simplify the procedures of the citizenship tests. They believe that while the contribution point and citizenship system was established for a good purpose, it has deviated from its original course after decades of development and is now sliding toward the system of the Imperium. As time goes by, the ratio of the citizens to the non-citizens will be more and more shocking. In the end, a high and mighty ‘citizen class’ will be created. This uncontrollable class is bound to become a source of trouble in the federation.

“Jin Xinyue and Skyfire, on the other hand, believe that, since the people of different environments, cultures, and beliefs are joining the federation as the territory of the federation continues expanding, to ensure the ‘purity’ of the federation, the contribution point and citizenship system can only be highlighted instead of being simplified. Only those who pass the multiple tests and prove that they absolutely advocate the ideology of the federation will be the pillars of the federation that can guarantee that the federation moves forward at a high speed on the right path!

“Otherwise, the real spirit of the federation will be diluted time and time again with the participation of more and more Sectors until it entirely vanishes in the end! By then, even if the federation boasts a hundred Sectors, it will still be nothing more than an empty, vulnerable shell that will be blown apart at the first breeze!

“Hehe. Both parties have offered good points, but the truth is very simple. Simplifying the test procedures and lowering the standard of the citizenship means that it will be easier for the residents of the four new worlds to become ‘citizens’ with a right to vote. Since most of the residents of the four new worlds are in favor of Ding Lingdang and her Patriots Front, naturally, Ding Lingdang supports simplifying the procedures while Jin Xinyue holds the opposite opinion!”

After hearing that, Long Yangjun took a deep breath. “It sounds like quite a competition!”

“You don’t say. The interests and ideologies of the new worlds and the old worlds are very different. It remains to be seen who will be crowned in the end!” Screwhead paused for a moment. “I’m told that Ding Lingdang did not plan to campaign for the election in the beginning. Last year, when she was interviewed, she said that she was just a random warrior and it was impossible for her to lead the entire federation.”

“Oh?” Long Yangjun raised her eyebrow. “Then, why did she campaign for the election in the end anyway?”

“Because if any candidate other than her challenged Jin Xinyue, no matter whether they won or lost, the new worlds and the old worlds would likely be torn apart,” Screwhead replied.

“Ding Lingdang is the only exception. She has quite the prestige in both the old worlds and the new worlds. She is also the wife of Li Yao, the old dominator of the three Sectors. If she is elected, the new worlds will certainly be overjoyed, and the old worlds will find the result acceptable, too. They believe that Ding Lingdang will never betray the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Blood Demon Sector, and the Flying Star Sector.

“If her campaign fails and Jin Xinyue becomes the Supreme Speaker, Ding Lingdang will be the only one who is capable of soothing the people of the new worlds and stabilizing the situation there.

“After all, if we get to the bottom of it, there is still a special personal relationship between Ding Lingdang and Jin Xinyue. Even after the final outcome of the election is out, there will still be chances for them to negotiate and communicate. They are both powerful enough to keep their subordinates under control, which is something that none of the other candidates can achieve.”

Long Yangjun stared at Screwhead and casually observed, “For a tour guide, you do know quite a lot. Your head is quite clear, too!”

“Hehe. What do I know? Everything I said has actually been posted online!” Screwhead did not sense the killing intent in Long Yangjun’s words at all. He grimaced and said, “The news, inside information, comments, and articles are everywhere online. Even if I am not interested in them at all, some of them always pop up automatically whenever I activate my crystal processor. It’s very annoying!

“The ‘rightful government of the Star Ocean Republic’ has secluded the Spiritual Nexus on Firefly and forbidden you from reading the news from the federation, fearing that the crew members will escape. However, there are no such rules in the Dragon Snake Space Zone. It is impossible for anyone to disrupt the whole network! We are just lice who make our living in the gaps of the toes of the enormous dragon named the Star Glory Federation. Naturally, we have to pay special attention to the great events and change of policies in the federation. If the federation sneezes, we may catch a cold!”

Long Yangjun frowned. “The Spiritual Nexus?”

Screwhead, however, misunderstood her confusion. “What, you don’t want to leave any trace on the Spiritual Nexus? That’s easy. If you want to learn more about the information, I can take you to the biggest library of jade chips in Fish Dragon City. It will be completely safe and secure to browse any information there. No traces will be left behind at all!”

As the technology developed, almost all information could be retrieved online. The traditional books and jade chips, as mediums of information, were obsolete.

However, the development of network brought forth new problems. The Spiritual Nexus that covered the universe was highly dependent on the nodes, namely Spiritual Towers, to ensure normal functionality. It was prone to interference of all kinds of radiation and cosmic storms. Plus, one would always leave certain traces behind them after they browsed any information online!

As long as all the traces that a person left online were collected and analyzed, it would be very easy to outline a highly precise portrait of the target. All the information and weaknesses about the person would be controlled.

It was something that many people who loved freedom and hated boundaries, much less surveillance, especially the expert Cultivators, absolutely could not tolerate.

Although the problem could partly be resolved with ‘anonymous logins’, a lot of hackers and saboteurs online who had ill intentions could still crack the multiple camouflages of a person and find out their real identity. The hunters could even assault the victim’s brain and soul when the victim connected their brain to the Grand Illusionary Land!

The Spiritual Nexus was truly an invention that modern Cultivators both loved and hated.

Therefore, while the Spiritual Nexus was very popular, the traditional books and jade chips were not entirely outdated yet.

It was especially so in a lawless land like the Dragon Snake Space Zone. Despite the ostensible peace and prosperity, peril constantly lurked there. Most of the outcasts hated showing their real faces to anyone else as much as they hated leaving any trace online.

Therefore, Fish Dragon City boasted an enormous library of jade chips. It was not just a simple bookstore or a shop of jade chips but an absolutely safe place for information absorption and exchange that had been installed with multiple barriers and anti-tracing rune arrays.

Half an hour later, when they stood at the door of the library of jade chips, looking at the millions of jade chips placed right next to each other on the seemingly endless shelves, which were surrounded by the walls that had been piled up by decorative bamboo chips to the ceiling dozens of meters tall, all the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were utterly dumbfounded!

Information!

The greatest difference between the ancient Cultivators and the modern Cultivation civilization was information!

They could accept the visual blast caused by the jam-packed skyscrapers in the city. They might not even blink when faced with the fierce firepower of a starship. When they enjoyed the fancy facilities on the luxury shuttle that Screwhead had called for them, they had been able to hold back their curiosity and simply leave a remark such as ‘this is a rather finely-made gadget’.

However, under the crazy flare of the information boom, those ‘ancient people’ could not have felt more shocked, thrilled, and embarrassed about themselves!

So many jade chips; so many classics; and so many books on astrology, geography, medication, military, and all the other subjects. There was even an entire floor for Cultivation arts and techniques!

When they were in the Ancient Sages Sector, for the Cultivation arts and techniques in one jade chip, it was possible for two sects to have such a big fight that they died together in the end!

Also, this place was simply a library that a bunch of outlaws banished by the Star Glory Federation had founded!

Then, how many jade chips, classics, and techniques must the largest library of the Star Glory Federation have stored?

What about the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance that were even more powerful than the federation?

The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment. At that moment, they finally recognized the insignificance of the Ancient Sages Sector and themselves. From the bottom of their hearts, the fire to learn from the entire universe was ignited!