From Jiang Yuan's experience, a great act of merit would startle Heaven and Earth the instant it began, giving rise to all sorts of extraordinary phenomena.
Like the creation of writing: the moment the brush touched paper, Heaven and Earth trembled, and ghosts and gods were alarmed.
But a small act of merit made no stir at the beginning. It might not even be clear whether it counted as an act of merit at all. Only when it was completed, and merit descended, could one know for certain.
Jiang Yuan had written the History of the Human Race without so much as a ripple when his brush touched paper. That alone made the situation clear. Compiling a history for the Human Race might earn merit, but it was only a small amount.
Put simply, the Human Race's history was too short and had little weight. Had he written a history of the Dragon Race, the Demon Clan, or the Wu Clan, merit would probably have descended the instant his brush touched paper.
Disappointed though he was, Jiang Yuan's enthusiasm did not wane. He still devoted a great deal of effort to the task of compiling history.
After that, Jiang Yuan settled into a routine of spending some time writing history, then taking some time to rest.
Time flew by. Before he knew it, a hundred years had passed.
A hundred years was plenty of time for many things to happen. First of all, after a century of effort, Jiang Yuan had finally completed the History of the Human Race.
Just as Jiang Yuan had expected, the moment the History Book was finished, Profound Yellow Merit descended from the heavens. Much like the creation of paper, it could allow an ordinary person to ascend in a single bound and become a Heavenly Immortal.
By the standards of later ages, this was a considerable amount of merit. But in the present day, it was only enough to catch the eye.
Fortunately, the merit was not a one-time reward. As the Human Race developed and the History Book grew more complete, the merit it brought would increase as well.
Of course, if Jiang Yuan were capable of compiling histories for other races, he could earn even more merit.
Jiang Yuan wasn't surprised that merit descended when he completed the History Book.
What truly surprised him was that, as the History Book was completed, the most mysterious river in the Primordial World—the River of Time and Space—had rippled faintly. A current of the power of time spilled out and merged with the History of the Human Race.
It was this power of time that granted the History of the Human Race the ability to alter the flow of time, speeding it up or slowing it down to a certain extent.
This discovery also made Jiang Yuan realize that a History Book could be called a Book of Time: it was a manifestation of the River of Time and Space.
If he could compile a complete history of the Primordial World, perhaps he could use it to master the Dao of Time and Space. Unfortunately, that was nothing more than wishful thinking. It was beyond what Jiang Yuan could accomplish at present.
The completion of the History Book was a recent event, but even before that, the Human Race had already undergone great changes. The biggest was the arrival of many unfamiliar faces in the Human Race's territory.
They came from different races and different places. Some were even bitter enemies who wanted to fight to the death the moment they met.
Yet in the Human Race's territory, they managed to live together in harmony. No matter how much they hated one another, they would only glare fiercely a few times before turning away. They didn't dare actually fight.
That was the deterrent power of a Sage. Apart from Fierce Beasts without intelligence, no one dared run wild on a Sage's land. To do so would be a grave offense.
Why had outsiders come to the Human Race? Naturally, it was the result of the Third Ancestors' painstaking efforts.
They were working hard to turn Jiang Yuan's idea of making the Human Race the Primordial World's greatest trading hub into reality, bit by bit. Then they could live off the taxes, with more resources than they could ever use.
A hundred years was a short time, but thanks to the reputation of Spirit Paper and the convenience of the Human Script, quite a few races had been drawn to trade with the Human Race.
Unexpectedly, the simple, easy-to-learn Human Script was even more popular among the Ten Thousand Races than Spirit Paper.
The Human Race needed writing, and so did the other races. But they had neither Jiang Yuan's wisdom nor the strength of the powerful races.
So they could neither create Acquired Script the way the Human Race had, nor create Acquired Divine Script the way the powerful races could.
Caught in between, they had no choice but to spend enormous sums learning the Acquired Divine Script created by the powerful races, just to meet their people's needs.
Before creating Acquired Script, the Human Race had been in the same position. They could only learn the Demon Script passed down by Lady Nuwa.
But the appearance of Human Script changed all that.
Compared to Acquired Divine Script, Human Script had no power of its own, but it was simple to learn and convenient to use.
Most importantly, it cost little to learn—almost nothing at all. What could it cost to learn something after a single glance?
With such a fine thing right in front of them, and available for free, how could the Ten Thousand Races resist learning it? So what if it had no power? It was enough to make communication easier.
Besides, no one said they could learn only one kind of writing. If they needed power, they could always learn divine script later.
Why was Human Script so easy to learn? Its simplicity was only part of the reason. More importantly, the Human Race had not kept its Acquired Script secret. On the contrary, they encouraged outsiders to learn it.
Why keep it secret? This was cultural infiltration. It could raise the Human Race's influence and strengthen its Destiny.
The Third Ancestors couldn't have been happier if every race learned Human Script. Why would they keep it secret and stop others from learning?
The free things are the most expensive of all. The Third Ancestors didn't know that saying, but they were already putting it into practice.
Through the spread of their writing and the use of Spirit Paper, the Human Race gradually made a name for itself.
And fame spread. As Acquired Script and Spirit Paper came into wider use, more and more races came to know of the Human Race.
As a result, more and more races came to trade with them.
As the number of races grew, opportunities for business naturally emerged. Their trade was no longer limited to the Human Race; they began trying to trade with other races as well.
Once their trade reached a certain scale, the Human Race's tax policy was announced.
At first, many races refused to accept it. But after the Human Race drove them out and they tried trading outside a few times, they finally accepted reality and obediently came back.
People outside really dared to rob them. Compared with those losses, the Human Race's taxes were nothing—just a drop in the bucket.
It was well worth paying such a small price to ensure their trades were safe.
The flourishing trade was only the biggest change in the Human Race. Many exquisite, ornate buildings had also been built within its borders, and the people who came and went no longer wore animal hides and leaves. They now wore more refined clothes.
These buildings and clothes caught the outsiders' eyes as well. Everyone loved beauty, cultivators included.
What's more, clothes weren't just pretty to look at. They could protect the wearer, making them genuine defensive treasures.
Buildings worked the same way. Their shapes and decorations aligned with formations, allowing them to draw on the power of Heaven and Earth to form a defense and protect those inside.
Both could offer protection, but their uses were clearly different. Clothes could protect only one person, while buildings could shelter many.
These protective buildings were also Jiang Yuan's idea, and Youchao had built them. Like silk and Spirit Paper, they were among the Human Race's flagship bestsellers.