Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Wolves, sheep, grass!” Li Yao chewed on Han Yuantai’s words.

The relationship between Cultivators, ordinary people, and resources implied in his words, despite the simplicity and crudeness, was already much more advanced than the traditional Cultivators’ attitude of regarding ordinary people as pure ants.

“Master!” Han Yuantai suddenly grew excited. He waved his hands and exclaimed, “Do you think that I risked my life visiting the Southland of Sorcerers for the simple purpose of overturning the Great Qian Dynasty and replacing it with Cloud Qin?

“If so, you’ve underestimated the Cloud Qin people’s ambitions again!

“My brother Han Baling often says that, if this was just a regular change of dynasties, we might as well save ourselves the trouble!

“That’s because such changes of dynasties have happened in the Ancient Sages Dynasty hundreds of times in the past hundred thousand years, but none of the new dynasties ever lasted more than three thousand years. Even the most vigorous dynasty, after a thousand years of ups and downs, would eventually decay and corrupt until it fell to dust one day!

“Every dynasty thrived under a different name in a different era, but the process of their rise and decline has almost always been the same!

“First of all, the world was in chaos, and the sects grew independent. The strong preyed on the weak, leading to ruthless slaughters. The population of ordinary people and Cultivators plummeted!

“When the population of Cultivators dropped to a certain point where their demand on the resources could be satisfied, the conflict among them was mitigated. They understood the importance of compromising and cooperation again. Eventually, a unified and stable dynasty was established!

“However, in the unified and stable dynasty, the Cultivators, having no external threats, began to reproduce exponentially. Also, because of their longevity, their population became larger and larger, and their demand on the sources rocketed higher and higher until it was too heavy a burden for the burden, just like present day. Therefore, the world fell into chaos again, marking the start of another cycle!

“So, my brother Han Baling wants much more than overthrowing Great Qian!

“What he wants, and what everyone in Cloud Qin wants, is to completely destroy the sect system and establish a powerful country where there are no sects or internal strife, where all Cultivators are united and train themselves under the planning of a national government, and where the world will be at peace for another hundred thousand years and even longer!

“Master, this is an unprecedented cause in the history of the Ancient Sages Sector! If an extraordinary man like yourself does not devote himself to such a glorious enterprise, what has he practiced his techniques for?”

Li Yao’s eyelids were bouncing. He rolled his eyes for a long time before he said coldly, “So to speak, the Cultivators of Cloud Qin are a super army with strict military rules. Even a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator will be restrained by the rules and cannot live a free life, right?”

“Exactly,” Han Yuantai said resolutely. “In Cloud Qin, military rules top everything else. The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators will be punished on equal terms as ordinary folk when they commit crimes!”

“Hehe. Ridiculous!” Li Yao sneered. “I’m a barbarian who’s lived a carefree life for too long, and I hate restraints more than anything else. Why would I go to Cloud Qian and be bridled by your ‘military rules’ when I can live an enjoyable life in the Southland of Sorcerers and even in the Great Qian Dynasty?”

Han Yuantai looked Li Yao in the eye, with aggressiveness beaming out of his eyes. “As a high-level Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, of course you are free to choose to do whatever you want and live an enjoyable life! But as a result, you will certainly be no match for the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators who are bound by military rules and have maximized their combat ability and fighting will because of their firm belief!

“You can seize the day right now, but later, our iron legion of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators will crush all the other Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators who are enjoying their life, including you!

“This is the power of organization! This is the power of discipline. This is the power of a country! This is the trend of the universe that is now in our hands! We are the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators of a highly-united country that is as tough as iron, whereas you are loose sand, acting purely on your own! No matter how formidable you look right now, you are destined to be killed one day if you don’t join us!”

“How dare you!” Gnashing his teeth, Li Yao opened his hand and snatched the air.

Invisible ripples immediately ripped apart the air and formed what appeared to be a skinny ghost hand that grabbed Han Yuantai’s head.

Crack, crack. Crack, crack, crack, crack!

Han Yuantai’s skull and facial bones were emitting appalling sounds. His face was bleeding and could not have appeared more twisted!

“It is unknown yet if I will die for sure, but the high and mighty Lord of Behemothic Eagle will kick the bucket shortly!” Li Yao grinned hideously.

“Haha. Hahahaha!” Han Yuantai was shuddering in pain because of Li Yao’s suppression. His face was pale, but he burst into laughter. “I have raged on the Dark Cloud Prairies for more than a hundred years. When I was young, I rode my horse for four thousand kilometers and executed the hundred and forty-five infamous Quick Wind Bandits on the prairies in thirty-three days!

“I also went to the north end of the continent, which was covered in eternal night but illuminated by the brilliant auroras, and jumped into the icy ocean, fighting against the giant whales hundreds of meters long!

“Last year, together with my brother Han Baling and countless other men from the prairies, I marched south unstoppably into the central plateaus, crushing the three hundred thousand heavy cavalry of the Great Qian Dynasty!

“Our army trampled the headquarters of countless Cultivation sects of the Great Qian Dynasty. Our vanguard even approached the capital city. I saw the top of the royal palace with my own eyes!

“In my life, I have waved the sharpest sabers, I have ridden the fastest swords, I have made friends with the most trustworthy brothers, and I have executed the toughest enemies. I have enjoyed enough of the beauties of the world. Even if I die right now, what’s there to feel regretful about?

“What about you, Master?”

“After all the trouble you’ve been through, after decades of seclusion in the wilderness, you have finally grasped unparalleled techniques and announced your return. Yet, you will only be crushed by the iron army of Cloud Qin when you defy the heaven’s will before accomplishing anything and before tasting the feeling of being admired, worshipped, and hated by others!

“I truly feel sorry for you! I truly do!”

“You—you—you—!” Li Yao burst into fury. The ghost hand was even more brutal and hideous. It pierced into Han Yuantai’s head so deeply that green smoke was popping up.

Han Yuantai’s eyes were bloodshot because of the agony. His tears were rolling inside his eyes, but he kept them back and simply laughed.

Angrily, Li Yao bluffed for a long time, only to discover that the guy was unwilling to give in at all. He was finally frustrated.

He stopped his technique and gritted his teeth gloomily.

Han Yuantai collapsed to the ground. Finally, he could not help but grunt. He said, “Thank—thank you for not killing me, Master!”

“Save it.” Li Yao waved his hands lethargically. “I’ll have your subordinates freed later. Take Huo Wujiu with you and get back to the Dark Cloud Prairies as fast as possible!”

Han Yuantai blinked and immediately understood what Li Yao was thinking. He agreed quickly. “Alright. I know that a few words of mine are certainly not enough to convince you, Master. You have only just broken out of seclusion and do not know much about the latest situation of the world. It is only reasonable that you choose to be prudent! I’ll leave a channel to convey secret messages later. The gate of Cloud Qin will always be open to you, Master. My brother Han Baling and I look forward to meeting you on the Dark Cloud Prairies and working on the great cause together!

“I believe that the day won’t be far after you have witnessed the grubbiness of the Great Qian Dynasty!”

“Get lost.” Li Yao sniffed. “Before I change my mind.”

Han Yuantai crossed his hands and bowed deeply to Li Yao before he left the room.

It was not a courtesy of the barbarians but the military courtesy of the Cloud Qin Empire a hundred thousand years ago!

After the guy finally disappeared out of the garden, the brutality and frustration on Li Yao’s face instantly disappeared, replaced by deep excitement and admiration.

He was so thrilled that he could not calm himself down for a long time.

He knew that he was witnessing the birth of a real ‘country of Cultivators’.

Han Yuantai was not wrong. In the early years of the age of ancient Cultivators, the sects and the experts had the loudest voice. Not just the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, even the insignificant Cultivators in the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage often disobeyed the law and disregarded the authority of the court.

At that time, although there were dynasties and empires on the surface, they were not real countries but ‘alliances of tribes’ disguised as countries.

The so-called dynasties that were brimming with Cultivation sects were often plagued with serious conflict. The efficiency of collecting and utilizing resources was extremely low. The ability to summon forces was extremely weak. Also, as the population of Cultivators boomed, the dynasties would inevitably come to their decline.

Li Yao had learned from the history books that, in the last years of the age of ancient Cultivators forty thousand years ago, the ancient Cultivators in the three thousand Sectors, after experiencing dozens if not hundreds of replacements of dynasties in their respective world, all came to the understanding that Cultivation sects were the cancer of a nation. They realized that only through rules and by being highly organized could they maximize resource utilization efficiency so that the changes of dynasties could be avoided forever.

From then on, almost all the worlds of ancient Cultivators merged the disorganized sects in different ways and embarked on the path of centralization.

After all the sects were combined, almost every world of Cultivators had one large, solid force left.

The name and form of the forces might have been different. Some were known as dynasties, and some called themselves empires. Some of them even inherited the old names of certain sects or guilds.

However, such regimes were completely different from the dynasties and sects in the past.

After all the Cultivators were united under law and their control extended from the pivot of power to the bottom-level towns, the authority of the country and the power of organization had overwhelmed the personal combat ability of the top experts. The control and mobility in such regimes was a hundred times higher than in the era of conflicting sects!

They were the prototypes of the modern countries of Cultivators!