"In the civil case, he was ordered to compensate the victim's family for all losses, totaling seven hundred thousand yuan. The family refused compensation and sought a heavier sentence, so the dispute remains unresolved. In the criminal case, given his cooperative attitude in confessing and his willingness to accept any punishment, he was sentenced at the court's discretion to two years and six months in prison, suspended for two and a half years."
A living, breathing person.
Was their life worth only seven hundred thousand yuan and a sentence of two years and six months?
Ji Chang'an gave a cold laugh.
"Reopen this case. Give priority to the wishes of the victim's family and deal severely with the killer!"
Li Tao immediately acknowledged the order.
Then everyone's attention returned once more to the matter of "immortal cultivation."
"Old Ji, now that we've confirmed immortal cultivation is real, our next step should be to follow what Comrade Lu said in his thoughts: select highly talented prodigies and use the cultivation methods and spirit stones to raise immortal cultivators of our own for Great Xia as quickly as possible!"
"Exactly. Comrade Lu stated very clearly in his letter that as long as our Great Xia citizens cultivate, the system bound to him will return equivalent gains to him. So we must act quickly to help Comrade Lu grow, allowing him to establish a firm foothold in the cultivation world as soon as possible."
"Once Comrade Lu becomes stronger, he'll have the chance to acquire more cultivation resources to send over. Perhaps even old fellows like us will have the chance to cultivate and attain immortality someday."
"Us? We don't even know whether we have spirit roots. Even if we do, wouldn't pouring resources into old fossils like us, already halfway into our graves, be a complete waste? We'd be better off putting our hopes in the young."
Ji Chang'an understood what some of them were thinking.
The allure of immortality to mortals, especially elderly people who had not yet had their fill of life.
It was greater than anyone could imagine.
Lu Chenxing had repeatedly emphasized in his letter that priority must be given to cultivating those with high-grade spirit roots.
It was not that he distrusted the country.
He distrusted human nature.
Fortunately, Ji Chang'an was someone worthy of that trust.
His sharp gaze swept over everyone around him.
He warned them.
"Ushering in an age of immortal cultivation concerns Great Xia's national destiny for countless billions of years to come."
"Everything must proceed according to Comrade Lu's requirements in his letter. Resources will go first to those who are young and possess outstanding cultivation aptitude. Those among us with spirit roots will naturally have the chance to ascend the immortal path together when the time comes."
"Until then, if I discover anyone daring to entertain crooked schemes..."
"Even if they rendered towering services in the past, I will show no leniency!"
Ji Chang'an stood at the pinnacle of power in Great Xia.
His words.
No one dared take them lightly.
And so, Great Xia's age of immortal cultivation began with its first step: testing spirit roots.
After discussion, everyone unanimously decided to begin testing with Great Xia's soldiers.
As it happened, ten thousand had already been transferred over.
Li Tao presided over the spirit root testing.
Ji Chang'an and the other senior national leaders remained in the safe house, watching remotely.
Inside the enormous warehouse.
Ten thousand Great Xia soldiers stood in perfectly ordered ranks.
Every one of them stood ramrod straight, their fierce bearing soaring into the highest heavens.
Li Tao arrived in his general's uniform.
The soldiers saluted in unison and shouted.
"Greetings, sir!"
Li Tao knew everyone in the safe house was waiting for the results, so instead of going through the usual routine of greeting the soldiers, he took out the Spirit Testing Stone and placed it on a tray he had ordered prepared beforehand.
He gave the order.
"Come forward one at a time, from left to right, and hold this stone for three seconds!"
A soldier's bounden duty was to obey orders.
An order from their superior was to be carried out without question.
The first man stepped up and reached out to grasp the Spirit-Sensing Stone. No colors appeared, which meant he had no spirit roots.
Disappointment flashed through Li Tao's eyes.
The other leaders in the safe house also felt sorry for this Great Xia soldier.
It was a pity he had no affinity with the immortal path.
Next came the second man. No reaction.
The third, the fourth, the fifth...
The Spirit-Sensing Stone remained unresponsive, and doubts could not help arising.
Were these spirit roots and immortal cultivation really real?
Just as the sixtieth man grasped the Spirit-Sensing Stone, a dazzling light suddenly burst from it, giving him quite a fright.
But with an order to follow, he still held on for the full three seconds.
Li Tao stepped forward excitedly, counting the colors.
"Yellow, azure, blue. Three colors! Three spirit roots! It's three spirit roots!"
As he spoke, he involuntarily seized the soldier's shoulders with both hands, making the already bewildered man feel even more uneasy.
Below, the other Great Xia soldiers also could not help showing all manner of shocked and astonished expressions the instant they saw light erupt from the Spirit-Sensing Stone.
That stone.
It had actually lit up.
How amazing!
"What's your name?"
"Reporting, sir! My name is Li Qi!"
Li Tao's brows lifted slightly, and his smile widened. "Hahahaha! You even share my surname."
"Good, very good. Go wait behind me for now."
Following his order, Li Qi marched behind Li Tao and stood at attention. On the surface, he betrayed nothing, but waves were already surging in his heart.
He realized there might be something unusual about him that the mysterious stone had uncovered, drawing his superior's attention.
But what exactly it was.
He remained lost in the clouds, unable to make sense of it.
Inside the safe house, cheers erupted among Great Xia's senior leaders.
"Wonderful! We've finally detected spirit roots."
"Three spirit roots, and three spirit roots at that!"
"Someone with the aptitude for immortal cultivation appeared among just sixty people. Those odds aren't so low."
A relaxed smile also appeared on Ji Chang'an's face.
But it did not last long.
Because not a single person with spirit roots appeared among the next thousand.
Suddenly, light flashed again.
Everyone hurriedly focused their eyes on it, their gazes filled with anticipation.
In the end, it turned to disappointment once more.
"Five colors. Only the lowest-grade five spirit roots."
Still, at least he possessed spirit roots and had a chance to cultivate and attain immortality.
When that chance would come remained unknown, because resources had to go first to citizens with outstanding talent and aptitude.
The spirit root testing continued.
Every flash of light tugged at the hearts of Great Xia's senior leaders.
Soon, the testing approached its end. Thus far, among the ten thousand Great Xia soldiers, one had shown three-spirit-root aptitude, one had shown four-spirit-root aptitude, and two had shown five-spirit-root aptitude.
The probability of possessing spirit roots was roughly four in ten thousand.
Their grades varied, with the best being only three spirit roots.
Just as Great Xia's senior leaders thought these would be the final results for this group of soldiers.
Something suddenly changed.
Azure light burst forth, dazzling to the utmost, filling the entire warehouse.