Military service? Do we still have that punishment?
These days, joining the army is incredibly difficult. The military today is very different from the army of hundreds of years ago; you have to meet certain physical requirements to be accepted.
"It wasn't originally there. It was added after this incident. Anyway, for the surrounding countries, and even the Eagle Country, conscription is really no different from going to jail."
This is due to differences in national circumstances. What we consider a minor punishment might be seen as quite severe by foreigners.
As for the stolen goods, they were naturally confiscated and no one can claim them back, since they belong to Divine Land and no one can force them. As for any proof of purchase, that's hopeless; anything brought in is fake.
What can you do if you're not convinced? Just keep it to yourself.
"Finally, there are common crimes such as robbery, theft, and other illegal acts. However, the number of people who break these laws is actually small. After all, once you start cultivating, many things become dispensable for cultivators. The concept of wealth in Divine Land is still being re-established, so crime is relatively rare."
"Another reason is that the previous criminals did not have the qualifications to cultivate, which in itself filtered out a large number of people with impure intentions, resulting in a lower crime rate among cultivators compared to ordinary people."
At the headquarters of the Inspection Department, the largest number of criminals one can see are these last few people. After all, this is where the Inspection Department works. At most, they detain some people for short periods of time. Most serious criminals are in prison.
The two walked into the Inspection Department building and saw many things that looked like wanted posters along the way, which were posted in a very conspicuous manner in the corridors of the Inspection Department.
" The Inspection Department is still severely understaffed. Although there seem to be more people in the Imperial Capital, in many cities and districts of other provinces, there's practically just an empty shell with only a handful of staff, which is far from sufficient. Therefore, for some criminals, we're still temporarily resorting to issuing arrest warrants and hoping for public cooperation in their capture."
Looking at the wanted posters on both walls, Tang Cheng explained.
The biggest problem right now is that cultivation requires a lot of time, and so does working. This leads to a situation where people who want to improve their cultivation choose to do nothing and quit their jobs to focus solely on cultivation, while those who want to work find that the time spent on work affects their cultivation, causing them to gradually fall behind others.
This is a rather serious problem at present, and because of this, although Divine Land has a large population, many jobs are actually facing a shortage of manpower.
"Do you have any plans regarding this? The manpower shortage problem needs to be addressed."
Since this problem has been around for so long, Divine Land should already have a solution.
"There is indeed a solution, but it will take some time before it can be widely adopted."
Tang Cheng nodded; the final solution still had to focus on cultivation.
" The Pill Cauldron Department of Divine Land has been established for nearly three years, and it is expected that the first version of pills that can accelerate cultivation will be launched this year. Subsequently, the ordinary version of the pills will circulate in the market, but the special-effect version of the pills will be used as salaries to support relevant staff."
For cultivators, not working is simply a way to spend more time cultivating. However, if labor can yield elixirs and increase cultivation efficiency per unit of time, then many people would still choose to work.
After all, not everyone is a cultivation fanatic. The reason they are cultivating so desperately at this moment is simply to have some self-protection in this era of cultivation. With the supply of these pills, many people will relax their cultivation.
Of ten people, eight cultivate themselves to enjoy a better life, while the remaining few pursue higher realms and greater power. Never doubt the number of casual practitioners; when there is no survival crisis, most people are willing to be a laid-back, leisurely person.
In the future, it's possible that the entire monetary system of Divine Land will be linked to these elixirs. As a result, Divine Land's internal monetary system will become severely decoupled from that of other overseas countries, since the greatest demand and products come from within the country, and all the resources that other countries can provide are unrelated to cultivation.
But so be it. Divine Land can't afford to worry about these things right now. Besides, it's hard to say whether other countries will still exist by the time China has the resources to focus on these matters.
They boarded an internal elevator belonging to the Inspection Department and moved downwards. After a few minutes, the elevator doors opened, and they appeared in the Earthly Capital.
The biggest change in the Earthly Capital is that an array has been set up in the sky above the entire Earthly Capital, transforming the originally uneven cave ceilings above the Earthly Capital into blue sky and white clouds, making people standing in the Earthly Capital feel as if they are on the ground.
In the Earthly Capital, many more buildings have been added, indicating that the number of experimental projects added in recent years has only increased.
Upon arriving in the Earthly Capital, a staff member led them to the Earthly Capital's usual lounge.
As soon as Li Xingkong stepped into the lounge, he saw an old acquaintance.
It was none other than Old Tang. He looked like a man in his thirties, without a trace of aging. Li Xingkong only recognized him by his appearance. If it were anyone else, he would not have recognized him at all.
"Oh my, Xingkong! It's been years since we last met."
He walks with a brisk pace now and looks like a young man.
" Uncle Tang, your cultivation is really effective! You're so awesome!"
The group quickly sat down and began chatting about the various changes that had occurred over the years.
Old Tang naturally wouldn't pry into what Li Xingkong did during his seclusion. After all, cultivation is a private matter for an individual, and asking directly about such things would be quite offensive unless the person is willing to talk about it.
Therefore, although Old Tang was very curious about Li Xingkong's current cultivation level, he could only suppress his curiosity and wait for Li Xingkong to demonstrate his abilities before making an analysis.
The group chatted about everything from the future arrangements of the space elevator to the current changes in people's lives, from the development of Divine Land to the current world order. The conversations between the men mainly revolved around these topics, regardless of who was present.
"By the way, Brother Li, do you remember someone Ji Nanzhi?"