From the short-haired man, Xu Yi had learned all this much, but he vaguely felt that the problem wasn't so simple.
Every effect had a cause.
As he strolled through the market, he hadn't even gone fifty zhang before he sensed three places where large crowds had gathered, each with over a thousand people.
From the shouts within and the occasional speeches by individuals, Xu Yi understood what was happening: the holders of the "Reward the Strong, Punish the Weak Decree" were rallying people and gathering strength.
Xu Yi pushed open the door of a bustling establishment and strode in without hesitation. The noisy crowd surrounded a raised platform. On it, a middle-aged man in crimson robes was giving an impassioned speech. Behind him, a young man in yellow robes sat steadily in a tiger-skin-covered chair. A golden token on his chest gleamed, its Taiji symbol of interwoven good and evil strikingly eye-catching. Behind him stood a row of twelve guards in apricot-yellow uniforms.
Xu Yi's arrival didn't stir the slightest ripple. He found a quiet spot and sat down without a sound.
After half an incense stick's time, he had more or less figured out the meaning and purpose of the Reward the Strong, Punish the Weak Decree.
It turned out that the Venerate of Light, overlord of the Chaotic Star Sea, believed that the population of the Chaotic Star Sea was growing steadily, while its resources were relatively limited.
Using limited resources to sustain an endless number of cultivators simply didn't fit the Chaotic Star Sea's long-term plans. Thus, the decree had been issued, to make the strong fight and kill one another.
First, it would artificially cull excess cultivators and balance the resources.
Second, it would concentrate resources through this method, fostering genuine powerhouses as much as