Yefutidaolu

Chapter 275 Man-Made Copy
Gao Jian reached back and felt his slashed flesh.

It hurts a lot, but it also proves that there might be something there in this place.

Through the conversation just now, Gao Jian has a complete understanding of this place and how these things work.

He took the iron sand from his hand and found that it was indeed quite good. If this iron sand were used as raw material, it might have already reached the level of the third realm. It was just too small, only a tiny grain.

If you accumulate several hundred thousand of them, you might be able to melt them down and use them to forge weapons of the third realm level.

Of course, as for armor, the required quantity would probably be about ten times more.

The quality is there, but the quantity is still too small.

So how do these gold prospectors accumulate "quantity"?

Without a doubt, just like Gao Jian, they used numbers and time to grind it down, just like the previous "gold diggers," relying on the cooperation of these hundreds of people to slowly accumulate these powerful weapons as a guaranteed income.

Next, they went to find natural 'dog's head gold,' which are those 'naturally formed divine weapons.'

The abundance of metal energy is not necessarily a bad thing. The excessively sharp metal energy makes this iron sand so destructive. This is a treasure. It is possible that some places in this dead land may even give birth to many rare and precious metal materials. Occasionally, divine weapons will spontaneously emerge from it. Therefore, Yang Ling commented on this kind of place: "It is a dead land, but it is also a blessed land."

Theoretically speaking, every so often, once the accumulated natural treasures have increased, many reckless cultivators will risk their lives to enter in search of treasures. A large number of them will die, and eventually a few lucky ones will obtain the treasures, sell them to merchants, and exchange them for divine dynasty treasure money, which they will then use for their own cultivation.

They thought they had struck gold, risking their lives for wealth and status.

However, Gao Jian's view is very clear.

This is also part of the ingenious system of the Divine Dynasty.

The big shots in the capital and the powerful families can sit at home and wait for a steady stream of rare and precious materials to be delivered to them. These things are all things that these people have risked their lives for.

The powerful figures only need to pay a small amount of "treasure money" to motivate countless people to risk their lives to fight and seize these rare and precious treasures for them.

So, what will these people do now that they have gained wealth and treasure?

Of course, they will soon spend the money. They will buy magical treasures and cultivation techniques. In the process, this precious money will return to the pockets of the big shots in just a little while.

Without having to pay any price, the system has already been established. This is how it should be for the lower-level cultivators. They risk their lives to gain wealth and status, only to receive something that is insignificant to the important figures.

Then the rare and precious materials they obtain will be squandered by the powerful figures, used to strengthen themselves, and ultimately make them stronger, firmly riding on their heads.

All of this was so logical that no one felt anything was amiss.

Oh no, smart people will see all this, but they are powerless to change it. No one can change this system because the powerful figures of the Divine Dynasty wield absolute power.

Moreover... this system also subtly manipulates the price system.

Obviously, you see, cultivators of the fourth realm might be in some danger here alone, but once they form a team and purchase some individual magic treasures, they can keep panning for gold here without any risk, just pure profit!
Why don't they come?
Because it's not profitable enough here; you can't earn the income you'd expect in a 'decent place'.

Who sets the income levels here?
It was those large merchant guilds and nobles of the Divine Dynasty who set the prices for these buybacks, as well as the prices for those cultivation techniques and finished magic weapons.

They could easily use this method to separate cultivators at each level, forcing them to 'risk their lives' in different places...

According to Takami's current thinking, this is like... a 'copy'.

That's right, this is a man-made copy.

This is a level 30 dungeon that drops level 30 equipment, so level 40 players won't run this dungeon; they'll run level 40 dungeons instead.

Why? Because the items dropped in level 30 dungeons are useless to level 40 players.

Is it really useless?
No, how could there be no useless things? It's just that the price system is controlled by the Divine Dynasty. The Divine Dynasty has created a 'useless' price system, forcing these cultivators to keep risking their lives.

Whether you are a cultivator in the first, second, third, fourth, or even sixth or seventh realm, you all have to risk your life!

Only those who become truly "superior people"—that is, those high-level cultivators with absolute power, or "promising newcomers" like Gao Jian, or those with vested interests such as "one's own offspring" or "one's own disciples"—can escape this state.

Furthermore, to ensure that they are not "unworthy of their positions," scions of noble families who lack talent, such as Ximen Gong, will be actively screened out to ensure that those at the top can remain in charge and prevent fools from taking control of power.

Every place has been calculated, and every little detail seems to be under meticulous control.

The more I learn, the more alarmed I become.

The smarter you are, the more fearful you are.

This system was designed over many years by the most brilliant minds in the Divine Dynasty. It is so ingenious that every single detail has been meticulously designed and shines with the brilliance of wisdom. Within the Divine Dynasty, it seems that everything is controlled by it. If we don't discuss the design purpose and brutality of this system, but only talk about the methods and level, then Gao Jian really wants to applaud the designer's ingenuity.

One level after another, from the emperor to the government to the aristocratic families and then to the immortal sects, each level was transmitting this kind of thing, just like a clock and a single-tooth carry machine. Commands, politics, power, authority, and money were transmitted from one level to the next through the transmission between these structures.

Impeccable, flawless, from any perspective, it is a logically self-consistent, seamlessly integrated, and ingenious architecture that can run for ten thousand years without stopping.

Watching such social institutions operate evokes a sense of order.

So complex, so ingenious, trillions of Chinese people served as components, collectively creating this system that they themselves created, yet which also bound them.

Yes, the driving force of this system comes from the bottom, and what the bottom creates then binds itself, ensuring that the bottom will never arise because of 'great power and large numbers', because what binds them is precisely themselves.

How awesome...

The complexity is so great that Gao Jian felt his brain twitching just by looking at it.

Gao Jian was a smart man; he discovered all of this, but as mentioned before, he was powerless to change it.

And now, he is even in dire straits, and it is very likely that someone is targeting him from behind.

However… he wasn’t worried at all. This was a good thing. The fact that someone would make a move against him at this time meant that the other party didn’t dare to escalate the situation. If they didn’t dare to escalate the situation, they wouldn’t dare to send high-level cultivators over, and he wouldn’t need to face opponents above the seventh realm.

With these random thoughts swirling in his mind, Gao Jian finally tossed the grain of iron sand away, the cut on his palm already healed on its own.

He let out a long sigh.

The more you understand, the more desperate you become.

However, the more desperate he became, the more intense his divine will burned.

No matter what, it couldn't possibly be more difficult than the divine charm from beyond the heavens, could it? No matter what, it couldn't possibly be able to withstand that Buddha's light, could it? At least that's what Gao Jian thinks.

Since one must be determined to overthrow everything on one's own and have the ambition to confront the divine dynasty, one certainly cannot be discouraged by such a thing.

This trip to Liangzhou will allow me to delve deeper into the system of the Divine Dynasty and gain a better understanding of its enemies.

As for the Taotie tribe outside of Yongning region of Liangzhou, and that damned Netherworld, to be honest... Gao Jian doesn't care at all.

Come and bite me if you dare!
After all that fuss, all they got was Blood Sea Lord, who was then killed by Takami with a single blow.

No one could have imagined that Gao Jian is now a Grandmaster of two realms. Although he is a fake version, with Gao Jian's current combat power, even he himself is not sure what level of master he can reach to match him.

Even Gao Jian himself wasn't sure, so Youming was even less certain. After Xuehaijun's loss here, they would probably have to spend time studying what exactly happened when they got back.

Who knows, there might be some top-notch protector behind Gao Jian, so we need to investigate him thoroughly?

Besides, they couldn't openly send experts to attack Gao Jian and blatantly kill students of the Imperial Academy. Many hostile forces would be willing to pin that label on them.

In conclusion, Gao Jian can deduce that the other party will likely enter a state of 'examination' for a short period of time, rather than immediately sending someone to deal with him.

Therefore, he still has plenty of time to complete his mission, and then he can return to Yangjing to continue his studies at the Imperial Academy.

Soon, two hours later, they arrived at Liangzhou City.

Liangzhou City was naturally incredibly prosperous, with towering buildings, magnificent gardens, cultivators flying through the sky, and flying boats crisscrossing the city.

But... how should I put it? After seeing the capital, I felt that places like Liangzhou and Cangzhou were really uncreative. They were just ordinary bustling cities. Although they did have many magnificent buildings, they were nothing compared to the capital.

Therefore, Gao Jian was not too surprised.

Soon, the large bird landed, and Gao Jian stepped down.

After landing, Gao Jian cupped his hands to his fellow prisoners, including Liu Xin and Wang Huanglong, and said, "Now that we are out of danger, I'll take my leave. Gentlemen, I'll be going now."

Liu Xin didn't speak, he just nodded, seemingly still conflicted.

But Wang Huanglong immediately replied, "Farewell! Until we meet again, Mr. Gao!"

The woman from the Hundred Flowers Sect behind him seemed to want to say something to Gao Jian, but after considering it for a moment, she chose to back down. She simply curtsied and said, "Young master, farewell."

She knew that Gao Jian was not someone she could mess with. Trying to gain benefits through seduction or her body would only lead to her death. She decided to suppress her thoughts and behave herself to ensure her safety.

The captain also saluted, but it was clear that although he was calm, his eyes were full of worry.

After all, the boat crashed, and he had to find a way to give his employer an explanation... Luckily, he had some clever ideas and was able to deflect some of the blame, otherwise he might have been forced to do hard labor by his employer.

Everyone has their own story, and everyone has their own difficulties. In this world of the Divine Dynasty, none of us here truly live an easy life.

Gao Jian didn't pay much attention, simply cupped his hands slightly, and bid them farewell.

He knew what these people were thinking, and that each of them had their own suffering. But at the same time, these people were also the source of suffering for others, and those whose cultivation was lower than his would be oppressed by them.

And they, in turn, are oppressed by those with higher cultivation levels, making life difficult for everyone.

Liu Xin, a dignified cultivator of the fifth realm, ultimately lost his entire family—wife, children, and elderly relatives—in a conspiracy orchestrated by the Netherworld against Gao Jian. He had nowhere to seek justice.

Injustice? Where is there any injustice?

Gao Jian shook his head and then looked at Yang Ling and his deputy, who were standing beside him with their heads down.

Looking at these things, he felt less attached to cinnabar.

We'll talk about cinnabar later; there are still many other things to deal with...

Walking on the streets of Liangzhou, you'll see some young masters who seem to come from well-off families, though the customs here are quite different from those in Cangzhou.

In the inner city of Cangzhou, the young masters on the streets prefer to wear ordinary clothes to appear modest, but they dress their servants and attendants very well to highlight their status. In addition, the mountainous and watery landscape of Cangzhou has fostered a rather unconventional character among the locals.

In Liangzhou, the young masters also wore robes, but they weren't too flashy; they were all rather heavy styles, just made of better materials. What was special about them was that they generally liked to carry weapons.

Swords were the most common, and knives were not uncommon, but other weapons such as iron whips and daggers were also very common. There were even some unusual weapons, such as daggers, axes, and rope darts.

“Yang Ling, Liangzhou is located in a desert with few mountains and rivers, but it has a lot of gold and silver. I have already seen that. It is not surprising that people carry weapons. It is also understandable that martial arts are prevalent here. However… is there any custom of self-harm here?” Gao Jian pointed to a place not far away.

Not far away, several people were standing on the street, performing life-slicing on themselves.

That's right, they were literally skinning themselves alive. These people were holding small knives and slicing off pieces of their own flesh, but they remained silent as they did so, attracting a crowd of onlookers who cheered and laughed.

Upon seeing this, Yang Ling immediately panicked and lunged forward, seemingly trying to grab the group of people.

The deputy beside him stepped forward, knelt down on one knee, and blocked Gao Jian's path: "Sir, these are a group of thieves. There's no need to look at them any longer. Lord Yang will handle them!"

(End of this chapter)