Yefutidaolu

Chapter 282 Yang Ling's Divine Intent

Gao Jian's expression darkened slightly upon hearing Yang Ling's words.

Why would Youming appear here? Could it be... not to cause him trouble, but to take action against Liangzhou?
That makes perfect sense. If you think about it carefully, the reason why Youming summoned Xuehaijun might be to oversee the self-sale industries under the massive taxation of the entire Liangzhou, since Xuehaijun has no reason to kill Gaojian.

He might just want Gao Jian to 'hold Liangzhou City', so that Gao Jian could simply wait for the mission to be completed.

By seizing this opportunity in Liangzhou, Youming might be able to earn enough spiritual materials to feed hundreds of millions of people. Even if each person only sells for five thousand coins, which is half a gold, he could still make a profit of one or two hundred million gold.

With a mere four million gold, one can leverage a market worth one or two hundred million gold, ensuring that Youming Land won't have to worry about supplies for the next ten years or so. Perhaps they can even start using it to raise Gu, nurturing some kind of seventh or eighth-realm ghost king or something, which would be a huge profit.

This is by no means impossible, no... it is very possible. By taking advantage of the exorbitant taxes and levies of powerful families, more than a billion people could be displaced. The treatment of these displaced people would be an extremely rich fortune!

Did the local prominent families really not participate?
It seems that both the Jin family and the Taotie tribe are eager to get involved.

After being reminded of this by Yang Ling, Gao Jian took a deep breath and then turned to look at the dark clouds on the horizon.

You can see that there is still a faint light in the sky. It is the moon's faint light that is barely breaking through the dark clouds and shining down on the messy windows on the surrounding walls, on the pot on the windowsill, and on the garlic sprouts, scallions and other vegetables planted in the yard.

There was a rope strung up in the yard, with tattered underwear drying on it. Sunlight shone on the road, and there were several piles of cow dung in the middle of the road.

As you can see, the doors and windows here are mostly open, which shows that the neighbors have a good relationship. After all, there's a saying that "a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative," and this saying holds true very seriously in this place.

In places like this, neighbors are of great importance.

If you live in a place like Shen Du, you'll be very crowded, with your neighbors only a foot apart. Your doors are right across from each other, but you might never exchange a single word with your neighbor in your entire life.

But here, your nearest neighbor may be several hundred meters away, yet he will inevitably become a part of your life; and you are also a part of his life, so it is essential to maintain good relationships with your neighbors.

It's boring and dull, but it seems to have some fun and a bit of human touch. You can't get enough to eat... but you won't starve either.

Life here is not good. Just as Takashi saw during the day, there is almost no fun to be had. The children's greatest pleasure is to steal a bowl of medicine to drink or to play fighting with sticks in the ditch.

As for the adults, even asking a child whether the baby in their belly is a boy or a girl is a novel thing, but no one thinks it's anything special because they are used to staying in their own small world. Even if it's just such a boring life, they live it day after day and they feel it's good.

Sometimes, a mundane life is like an anesthetic, permeating the atmosphere. The invisible routine can smooth out pain, but it can also keep joy out, making it hard to distinguish between pain and happiness. But in the end, everything returns to the mundane, neither painful nor happy, living each day in a semi-conscious but unconscious state. This kind of drowsiness is almost comfortable.

If things just continue like this, wouldn't that be nice?
However, such days will not last forever.

Suddenly, something will happen, inexplicably falling from the sky, pulling them out of their semi-asleep state, pulling them out of the mundane days.

It's still a blur, like a mild toothache just starting, but no one knows where it's coming from. These people don't feel anything. Perhaps some of the more perceptive villagers only sense a subtle tension, a sense of unease.

But soon, once the Liangzhou aristocratic families begin to act, suffering will swiftly descend, dragging a billion people into the abyss and turning them into 'spiritual materials' in an instant.

A precious material!

The divine dynasty was built upon countless spiritual resources.

Spiritual materials are needed for cultivation, formations, alchemy, and weapon crafting. All kinds of buildings and spells require spiritual materials for support.

That's why there's a need for so many farmers, miners, and the like.

Because they don't need to consume spiritual materials, they are not cultivators.
If cultivators are used to do these things, then spiritual materials need to be fed to them, which is unnecessary. It would be better to use mortals directly, because... mortals not only do not require consumption, but they are multi-productive.

The farmers pay taxes based on the spiritual materials they cultivate themselves, or the spiritual materials they obtain through hunting and catching snakes.

And they themselves are spiritual materials.

That's how the Divine Dynasty's system works.

A farmer works hard, grows spiritual materials, pays taxes, and raises himself. As the spiritual materials in the fields grow, they themselves also grow. Wave after wave of spiritual materials ripen, and they also give birth to one child after another.

They felt their lives were very stable...

But in reality, what's the difference between them and the crops in the fields?

Oh, there are still differences.

That is, they will grow on their own, work on their own, and reproduce on their own, without needing to worry about them or manage them much. They can even help manage other spiritual materials.

In this way, the Netherworld only needs to be harvested, and no longer needs to be cultivated.

Or rather... the cultivation process has already been completed. After the current operating system of the Divine Dynasty was established, cultivation was already complete. From now on, they can cultivate themselves, reproduce themselves, and manage themselves.

The farmers of the Divine Dynasty generally possess strong self-management abilities, which is safer, faster, and cheaper than using cultivators.

Gao Jian withdrew his gaze and then looked at Yang Ling: "Since you know about the Netherworld and the plans of the Jin family and the Taotie tribe, what are you going to do? Do you want me to confront them head-on?"

"How could it be a head-on collision? Your Excellency still carries the banner of the Divine Dynasty. If you don't relinquish power, they won't dare to make a move. In the end... this banner rests on your shoulders."

Gao Jian smiled and said, "Yes, the banner is on my shoulders, but the problem is, if I don't delegate authority, they won't work for me. If no one works for me, do you expect me to collect from each household by myself? Do you expect me to build the border wall brick by brick and find soldiers to fill the border wall by myself?"

Yes, that's the problem.

Gao Jian was well aware that if he didn't delegate authority, the matter wouldn't be resolved.

In reality, it was quite natural for students from the Imperial Academy to be sent down to the local areas and to form alliances with the local powerful families and immortal sects. While the students were powerful and influential in the capital, that was only because of their status. Once they arrived in the local areas, they had no real power to speak of.

Transferring people from other places? How will they get things done when they're unfamiliar with the area?

He needed to accomplish his tasks, and the powerful families needed to raise their banners. Everyone got what they wanted. This was both to help the students of the Imperial Academy integrate into the power system of the Divine Dynasty and to test their loyalty, obedience to orders, and character.

Gao Jian had learned from previous materials that the issuance of tasks by the Imperial Academy was very particular.

He will choose the thing you hate most to make you do.

For Gao Jian, the Imperial Academy would assign him this kind of task.

For other villains, they'll make you do things that require 'self-sacrifice,' things that demand noble sentiments, such as disaster relief or resisting a catastrophe. Basically, they'll make you do things you don't like.

It's like someone at a dinner table is desperately trying to get you to drink, wishing you would drink yourself to death.

This is an obedience test, testing your 'loyalty'.

Of course, you can do whatever you want, and the Divine Dynasty won't interfere, as long as the mission is completed. But in that case, you'll have to overcome numerous difficulties and complete these missions on your own.

Loyalty and ability—you'd better demonstrate either one, or you'll be eliminated. The highest institution of learning in the Divine Dynasty, the future high-ranking figures of the Divine Dynasty, isn't so easy to come by.

Just like Ximen Gong, if you can't keep up, you'll leave. Getting into the Imperial Academy is just the beginning.

A glint of insight flashed in his eyes.

He is thinking.

Originally, he planned to feign compliance with the Jin family and the Taotie tribe, just as he had done before. After feigning compliance, he would slowly plot against these matters. In the meantime, he intended to leave these matters to the Jin family and the Taotie tribe to handle, so as to lull them into a false sense of security and make them take things lightly, thus giving him a chance to act.

That's how it was.

In Gao Jian's original plan, handing it over to them would indeed require sacrificing some people before it would be Gao Jian's turn to act. Sacrificing some people would create an opportunity for Gao Jian, thus protecting the remaining people and keeping the Jin family and Taotie tribe in check. He could use the invasion of the Hu people to put pressure on them and force them to continue working for Gao Jian.

That was the original plan...

As long as Gao Jian acts according to the original plan, he will definitely be able to accomplish many things smoothly, just like he did with the Zuo family.

However... Yang Ling's sudden question made Gao Jian hesitate at this moment.

Yang Ling looked up at the insightful expression on this person's face.

Ok.

He was already certain.

So Yang Ling cupped his hands, stood up, and said to Gao Jian, "If you don't mind, sir, you can... entrust these matters to me."

"Give it to you?" Gao Jian's eyes, which had been somewhat clouded with thought, suddenly flashed with a sharp light.

I don't just say this casually.

“Although I had expected this, since you’ve already brought it up, I still have to ask, who’s behind you?” Gao Jian asked.

The fact that someone can say such things is enough to prove that they have a huge force behind them, and that their purpose may not be as noble and pure as they claim.

This is why Gao Jian remained calm and composed.

With the banner on his shoulders, no matter what attitudes or thoughts these people have, they can't get around him. They all have to pass through Gao Jian's place. As long as he sits firmly on his position, a whole bunch of fish will jump around below, and all he has to do is complete the tasks assigned by the Imperial Academy.

Faced with Gao Jian's question, Yang Ling chuckled and straightened up completely: "I have no one behind me. If I had to say... behind me are the people who can't survive."

He said so.

In that instant, Gao Jian suddenly felt a divine intent bursting forth from Yang Ling in front of him!

It is not the divine will of martial arts, which is something exclusive to martial artists, but rather the divine will generated by other cultivators after they open their divine gates.

This is actually very rare.

For cultivators on other paths, a strong divine will is not necessarily a good thing. Therefore, after they open the divine barrier, they usually use the power of the divine barrier to begin cultivating 'supernatural powers'.

With various supernatural abilities, they can unleash power that is in no way inferior to the divine will of martial arts.

Martial artists focus on divine will because their internal energy is almost impossible to control supernatural powers, so divine will is the only thing they can rely on.

However, for other cultivators, once the divine will is formed, it will severely restrict the speed at which they cultivate supernatural powers in the future.

It's important to understand that the difference between supernatural powers and magical arts is that supernatural powers consume the power of the divine gate, and normal cultivators cannot learn many kinds of supernatural powers.

Ordinary cultivators can only possess one supernatural power. A genius with exceptional talent might be able to cultivate two supernatural powers, but those with multiple supernatural powers are extremely rare.

Rumors say that some practitioners can master the thirty-six supernatural powers of the Heavenly Gang and the seventy-two supernatural powers of the Earthly Fiends, but that's just bragging and basically only exists in legends and stories.

Once you open the divine gate, the power inside is limited. If you use it all to form divine will, it will be very difficult to continue cultivating supernatural powers. You will either fail in your cultivation or you will be exceptionally gifted with an incredibly resilient and powerful divine soul, which will allow you to support many supernatural powers.

Moreover, having divine will does not necessarily make one equal to supernatural power. The strength of divine will is highly related to the will itself. The divine will you painstakingly condense may not be able to match supernatural power if your own spirit is not strong enough. Wouldn't that be a loss?

Therefore, apart from martial artists, very few cultivators choose to pursue divine will.

Why is the martial arts spirit of martial artists so powerful? Because martial artists generally have to endure hardship and have a strong will, so their spirit is naturally stronger.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that there are some exceptionally gifted cultivators who possess both divine will and supernatural abilities, but such individuals are extremely rare.

Even a brilliant insight wouldn't suffice. A brilliant insight's divine barrier, or even the divine will that can support him, is already very difficult to overcome, after all... his divine will is somewhat special.

But Yang Ling, standing before them, actually displayed divine intent.

Gao Jian sensed the message conveyed by that divine will.

Divine will is the culmination of a person's thoughts throughout their life.

What form did Yang Ling conjure?

Takami had initially imagined it would be filled with heart-wrenching tears and overwhelming resentment, but what actually appeared before him was—

free?

(End of this chapter)