July 20, Year 59 of the Qin Era
Time flew like an arrow, the sun and moon shuttling past like a weaver's shuttle.
Five years had passed since Zhang Han opened his Ren and Du Meridians and became the Human Race's first immortal cultivator.
Over those five years, the entire Human Race once again underwent earth-shaking changes.
The greatest change was in the schools. After all, they had to start with the children.
Starting in elementary school, every student had to open up their meridians and begin practicing martial arts.
They started at seven, when children were highly malleable and their muscles and bones were supple.
During physical education classes, they practiced backbends, splits, and horse stances, stretching their meridians.
Their academic classes also covered the eight extraordinary meridians, the twelve meridians, the human body's acupoints, and related knowledge.
They also had to learn about the myriad races, various kinds of magic, and energy systems.
When they entered secondary school at twelve, their parents could decide whether they should pursue martial arts based on their individual circumstances.
Those who wanted to pursue martial arts were assigned to the Martial Arts School to follow that path.
They could also choose a normal education and take up clerical work later. It was a personal choice; the Qin Kingdom imposed no requirement.
However, as time passed, Martial Arts School students would inevitably replace workers across every profession.
The differences in stamina and ability were simply too great. Practicing martial arts and cultivating acupoints provided bonuses. For example, martial artists could illuminate acupoints in their brains to improve their intelligence, reaction speed, memory...
They lived in worlds on entirely different planes, so eventually, the Martial Arts School's approach would be the only form of education left.
Leaving everything else aside, the most basic benefit was a strong physique: a healthy body free of illness, a longer life, and a youthful, beautiful appearance!
The Qin Kingdom's military had already adopted cultivation across the board, making it the most basic requirement for enlistment. Every warrior had begun cultivating, and as time passed, those who had not illuminated their Shenque Acupoint would gradually retire.
As before, anyone who failed to illuminate their Shenque Acupoint and begin cultivating would be unable to adapt to the military's future training methods.
Over those five years, two rounds of personnel replacements had taken place nationwide. Even the lowest-ranked warriors in the entire military had illuminated several acupoints.
The official term for successfully cultivating an acupoint was "illumination." Illuminating an acupoint meant successfully cultivating it.
Military officers and government officials at every level of the Qin Kingdom had also completed the transition.
After all, in an age when everyone cultivated and ordinary citizens were martial artists, someone without the ability to keep them in check would be unfit for the position.
The authorities distributed the [Great Qin Body-Tempering Art] throughout the nation. Anyone who wanted to cultivate could do so.
Over five years, the [Great Qin Body-Tempering Art] underwent seven revisions before the final version was distributed across the land.
It included annotations on the various acupoints and certain precautions.
The age of martial arts for all, of immortal cultivation for all, had truly arrived.
After opening the Ren and Du Meridians, there were two paths to choose from: immortal cultivation or magic.
Besides immortal cultivators, another profession had emerged: mages.
For now, they could choose to cultivate the three magical elements of water, wood, and wind. The other major energy systems might be added later.
That would depend on which Elf Planet had the misfortune to be chosen.
The Elf Race: "Do you have any manners??"
And so, the entire Human Race underwent another tremendous transformation, officially entering the age of cultivation for all.
Plants had already reached the threshold of evolution. They lacked just a tiny opportunity, just that final little nudge.
The animals on Blue Star were the same. They were not merely growing stronger in physique; they were gradually becoming more intelligent as well.
The change was most obvious among the dinosaurs. Their eyes brimmed with intelligence, and they were curious about everything.
Perhaps all they lacked was a tiny opportunity, someone to guide them.
Just like the Human Race, they needed someone to teach them.
Soon. They were only that little bit away.
The Qin Kingdom. The imperial palace.
Ying Zheng sat cultivating in his cultivation chamber. As the king of the Human Race, he naturally used the finest cultivation resources.
The bed he slept in, the palace decorations, and the ornaments found everywhere were all made from Spirit Stones.
As the Military Academy's former top graduate, he naturally possessed considerable talent.
He, too, followed the immortal cultivation system. Seventy percent of the nation had chosen that system.
Most mages were women, because magic was flashier!
The Qin Kingdom established a unified ranking system based on the cultivation systems.
An immortal cultivator's initial cultivation was a process of refining qi and continually purifying it. This was called the qi refining realm.
(Ahem, I won't make anything up for this part. I'm afraid I might expose the author's true identity!)
The qi refining realm consisted of nine grades. After the ninth grade, one could break through to the foundation establishment realm.
The foundation establishment realm was also divided into nine grades. Upon reaching perfection, cultivators gathered all their power into a tangible golden core, entering what was known as the golden core realm.
After five years of cultivation, Ying Zheng had reached the fourth grade of the qi refining realm.
Even with an endless supply of Spirit Stones to aid his cultivation, he had not managed to advance one grade per year.
Zhang Han might have been a martial arts prodigy seen only once in a thousand years. His cultivation speed far surpassed ordinary people's, and he had now reached the seventh grade realm.
That already made him the Human Race's strongest expert.
He now served as an imperial Attendant, guiding the cultivation of the Qin Kingdom's prominent noble families.
He was also Ying Zheng's immortal cultivation mentor, guiding his cultivation.
Ying Zheng, Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Shang Yang, Li Mu, and the others had countless Spirit Stones to aid their cultivation. Bai Qi had reached the highest level among them: the fifth grade of the qi refining realm.
Continued research showed that differences in constitution really did affect cultivation speed.
In other words, martial arts prodigies truly existed.
Ying Zheng and the others suspected that they cultivated slowly because they were too old.
Although they had been granted additional lifespan, transformed by spiritual energy, and consumed the Water of Life, they still could not compare to Zhang Han, who was in his twenties. Besides, that fellow might genuinely have been a martial arts prodigy.
Zhang Yang had spent those five years watching the entire Human Race develop, and he genuinely admired the cultivation system they had developed on their own.
Seeing the Human Race's cultivation speed, Zhang Yang began to believe the claim from his previous life that the human form was the best suited to cultivation among all the myriad races.
That was why so many beasts, plants, demons, and ghosts wanted to take human form to cultivate.
After long ages, the Immortal Race had only produced three foundation establishment cultivators. The Human Race had reached the seventh grade of the qi refining realm in just five years, and they still thought that was slow??
Monsters! The entire Human Race was full of freaks!
In truth, this was directly tied to Zhang Yang crushing an entire small spirit vein into dust to increase the spiritual energy throughout Blue Star.
Meanwhile, the Immortal Race's resources had been nurtured over long ages, using Energy Points to foster spirit veins one at a time.
They had taken the path of sustainable development...
Zhang Yang believed that as they waged war against the myriad races and continually introduced different cultivation systems, the Human Race would also develop all sorts of professions.
Even the strange professions from novels in his previous life-artifact refiners, pill refiners, Formation Masters, mages of every element, even summoners-could emerge, branching into limitless professions.
Would a conflict between blades and swords arise later?
Sword Immortal VS Sword Emperor VS Fist Emperor??
What the Human Race needed most now was time to build a foundation, an opportunity to develop.
To turn spiritual energy into combat power!
He believed that within a century, Blue Star's combat power could meet the standard for advancing to a level three civilization.
But actually advancing? Absolutely not!
Blue Star was so ferocious as a second-level civilization precisely because it had held back its advancement during its time as a first-level civilization.
He believed other civilizations did the same. Few Star Lords would choose to advance the moment they met the requirements. They all had to suppress their level; after all, no one knew how much would change upon reaching a level three civilization.
Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.
Conquering Cross Planet alone had brought so many benefits and Energy Points. It would be foolish not to pose as a tiger to devour pigs and stockpile more of Blue Star's reserves.
Watching Zhang Han, who had cultivated to the seventh grade, Zhang Yang suddenly remembered a treasure he had yet to place on Blue Star.
The Immortal Stele of Enlightenment.
It was a supreme treasure where members of the Immortal Race could comprehend skills upon breaking through to the foundation establishment realm.
A thousand people had a thousand faces; each person comprehended a different skill, which could also be recorded for others to cultivate.
Every time they advanced a major realm, they could come to comprehend a skill once.
What effect would the Immortal Stele of Enlightenment have on the Human Race?
[Another bonus chapter for all readers! You're so enthusiastic and supportive. Those of you who can leave a five-star review, please include a written comment! Today's updates have already exceeded ten thousand words...]
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