Martial Arts Technology Is the Primary Productive Force (Continued)

Upon arriving at the pier, the messy Zilu I remembered had been smoothed out. Although the dust made the road appear whitish, it was now passable by all kinds of vehicles. For example, there were many taxis parked at the pier exit, something I hadn't seen two years ago.

Si Ming declined the enthusiastic taxi driver's offer and chose to walk, enjoying the scenery along the way. After crossing a vast forest, a river and expansive rice paddies suddenly opened up before him. The green and yellow rice flowers were another beautiful sight, and the rice rippled in the breeze. Rice paddies were dotted with rice paddy fish and large white geese playing leisurely, adding a touch of dynamic vitality to the boundless rice fields.

Undoubtedly, Mystic Earth Country is still a rural area, but it is not the kind of backward rural area that is rugged, rustic, and unchanging day after day. Instead, it is a scenic countryside that is changing rapidly and is suitable for leisure tourism, somewhat similar to the Nordic landscape on Earth.

In the past, Si Ming called this place a mountain town, but now the prefix can be removed, because the towering mountains in his memory have all disappeared and been replaced by giant stone sculptures over a hundred feet high.

These giant stone sculptures are naturally not comparable in size to the original hills, but are about the same size as the Statue of America. However, they are numerous, with one every few kilometers. They are carved into various shapes, some are ancient castles and cities, some are birds and beasts, and some are ancient celebrities. They are not lifelike, and are even a bit rough. After all, they are so big that some flaws that would not be noticeable when shrunk are magnified thousands of times. But they definitely deserve the praise of being a masterpiece of nature.

The simplest design is a huge stone tablet inscribed with the Mohist School classics, the characters as large as oxen, clearly visible even from thousands of meters away. The most dramatic design is a giant stone staff, with a thick, long cylindrical base supporting a large stone ball at the top. Whenever a strong wind blows, the stone ball sways back and forth, looking as if it might fall at any moment.

Si Ming felt that even without the beautiful rural scenery, the giant stone sculptures alone would attract countless tourists. In fact, he did see many tourists along the way taking pictures here and there, marveling at the sight.

Turning a small mountain into a stone statue is something even a Nascent Soul Grandmaster could do, but no one would do it because it's too time-consuming. Moreover, the specific time required varies from person to person. For example, it would take Si Ming's master, Yan Jinghong, two months, and his uncle, Ling Huanxi, three months. But for the Prison Suppressing Stone Wall, it might only take a month.

The time of Spirit Transformation Grandmaster is extremely precious. Even if it takes a month to carve a giant stone statue, it would be an incredibly wasteful act. No mayor of any city would have the influence to ask Spirit Transformation Grandmaster to do such a thing.

However, Si Ming knew that if his senior brother Xiao Xuan were to do it, it would probably only take three days. Considering that these stone statues were very rough and had not been polished in detail, it would take even less time.

"The person who came up with the idea of turning a mountain into a stone sculpture is a genius."

This would have been impossible in Si Ming's previous life. It wasn't that the technology couldn't do it, but the effort and the reward were far apart. This was a kind of idea that could only come up in a world of extraordinary martial arts.

Si Ming continued onward. After passing the rice paddies, he came to a vast expanse of alfalfa, with purple flowers blooming in the alfalfa fields. At intervals, there were neatly planted maple trees that provided good shade. Moreover, there were large groves of trees planted at the junctions of the irrigation ditches. However, no one dared to go near them because warning signs were erected around the groves, informing tourists that beehives were placed inside and that they could easily be stung.

"If the land is small, developing the tertiary industry is indeed a good choice. It seems that Martial Uncle Xiao has found his niche."

Of course, the tertiary industry cannot be developed at will. First, you need to have something to offer that can attract tourists. If it were the Mystic Earth Country two or three years ago, you could only develop Agricultural School. Fortunately, this world has martial arts masters, and martial arts is the primary productive force. If there are no unique attractions, then create them yourself.

Si Ming traveled all the way to Dyed Azure Town, the core area of Mystic Earth Country. It was completely different from what he remembered. The roads were neat and orderly, with no winding highways, all straight ahead. If you looked down from above, you would see squares of the same size, just like a gamer with obsessive-compulsive disorder playing SimCity.

The houses in the city have all been renovated and transformed into small wooden villas. Moreover, every household has climbing vines such as ivy growing on the roof, hanging down from the walls, giving people the feeling of entering a natural kingdom.

In just over two years, the place has undergone earth-shattering changes. Si Ming couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "No wonder he was once Grandmaster. Martial Uncle Xiao doesn't just know how to bombard with nuclear bombs; he also knows how to create new things."

Although everything in my memory has changed, the government office building, which is the core of politics, remains unchanged. From the outside, it still looks the same as before. In the past, this building could be described as a crane standing among chickens, but now it has been lost among the buildings and even looks somewhat inferior.

Compared to the local governments in his memory that were willing to divert public funds to build impressive and dignified office buildings, Si Ming felt that this old and undignified building left a deeper impression on him.

Given Xiao Xuan's status as a king, it was not something one could simply meet at will; even his whereabouts were classified as confidential information. Fortunately, Si Ming had helped the local government two years prior, and many people still recognized him, so they immediately made the announcement.

Before long, a charming woman emerged, attracting the attention of many male creatures. She was none other than Heart Moon Fox, who had decisively surrendered after being captured. Now, she had become Xiao Xuan's capable assistant, doing work similar to a secretary or assistant. She had even given herself the name Hu Xinyue. In the Mystic Earth Country, even if she wasn't the second-in-command, she could still rank in the top ten.

"Young Master Si, what a rare guest! What brings you here?"

Hu Xinyue spoke with a grin. Although she wasn't deliberately provoking anyone and was wearing a very proper work uniform, her innate charm and every gesture she made exuded endless allure, making the unremarkable work uniform seem like a seductive uniform.

Si Ming frowned and said, "Why do you sound like a brothel madam?"

Hu Xinyue was speechless, her smile fading as she said irritably, "It seems Young Master Si is a regular at brothels, otherwise how could you be so familiar with them?"

"That's how it's portrayed on TV. Of course, it's mainly because you have this lewd air about you when you talk. Okay, enough of this small talk. Where is my senior apprentice?"

Hu Xinyue rolled her eyes. Who on earth is this, chatting idly?

She was dissatisfied and wanted to make things difficult for him, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she felt a strong sense of vigilance, as if she would become miserable if she did so. So she used her spiritual sense to investigate and found that Si Ming's aura was unfathomable, completely different from two years ago. She immediately abandoned her playful intentions and put on a serious and businesslike expression.

"According to today's schedule, Chairman Xiao should be tidying up the roads in Mount Beimang right now. Let me take you there."

Si Ming did not refuse, but he thought traveling by car was too slow, so he used his True Qi to wrap Hu Xinyue in the air and fly.

"Put me down! I'm wearing a skirt right now!" Hu Xinyue struggled desperately.

"Don't move around, you might fall. It's fine if you're wearing a skirt, I won't peek."

"Who cares about you? I'm worried about passersby peeking. If they look up, I'll be completely exposed."

"Don't worry, we fly so fast that ordinary people don't have such good dynamic vision. If you're worried, just use your Demon Power to cast a holy light under your skirt, or cover it with black mist."

Unable to break free, Hu Xinyue had no choice but to cast a holy light on herself. Although black mist would also work, she considered that if others looked up and saw the dark patch under her skirt, it would easily lead to bad speculation, so she naturally wouldn't do that.

The Mystic Earth Country was not large, Si Ming quickly arrived at Mount Beimang. Then he saw his senior brother Xiao Xuan floating in mid-air, using his palm power to build a road on the mountainside.

Like kneading dough, Xiao Xuan's powerful palm force transformed into an invisible giant hand, forcefully pushing a six-lane highway across Mount Beimang. All the rock fragments were flattened without a single gap, and the flowers, grass, and trees along the road were pushed to the sides by the palm force.

In less than half an hour, Xiao Xuan created a road that was easy to pass through in the rugged mountains, reducing the journey that would have taken half a day to just twenty minutes.

Seeing this, Si Ming finally understood why the Mystic Earth Country could undergo such tremendous changes in less than three years. The productivity unleashed by a proactive martial arts expert was unparalleled; one person was enough to take charge of the entire country's infrastructure construction.

Xiao Xuan had already spotted Si Ming. After finishing building the road, he floated over and asked, "Nephew, what brings you here?"

Si Ming recounted in detail how he became a member of the Heaven's Will Palace and chose the zodiac sign of the dragon, adding, "I heard from my master that the Dragon Scale Sword, a symbol of status, is still in the hands of my senior uncle."

"Indeed, it's in my hands," Xiao Xuan nodded, then patted Si Ming on the shoulder with satisfaction, "Although I've long felt that you should inherit my position, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. In my estimation, it should have taken another three years. It seems I underestimated you."

"Thanks to Master's kindness."

"Your master is not one to show favoritism. Besides, even if he intended to favor someone, others wouldn't give him face in such matters. The fact that you became a member of the Heaven's Will Palace only proves that you truly possess the qualifications."

Xiao Xuan stopped Si Ming's modesty and said, "The Dragon Scale Sword is just for show here; it's useless to me. I'll send someone to get it for you later. Right now, I have a small favor that I need your help with, Junior Nephew."

"Please speak freely, Master."

Having learned from his previous experience, Si Ming was prepared to be forced into hard labor before he even arrived, since serving the people wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Xiao Xuan led Si Ming to a wasteland and said, "I plan to open a farm here, but unfortunately we don't have enough manpower. All the citizens are currently on duty and there is no spare labor. I was originally planning to cultivate the land myself, but since you've come, the task of cultivating the land will be entrusted to you."

Si Ming glanced at it; although it wasn't boundless, the wasteland was still quite large. He then asked, "How much farmland does Master Uncle intend to cultivate?"