The game is only half finished, and the entire internet is begging for an update!

The comments section immediately erupted with suggestions and advice:

[Call it a grand court! A grand court that lasts day and night!]

[Call for the big roll! Roll it during work hours, and roll it again after get off work while cultivating immortality!]

[Call her Da Dai! Zhao Zhao's exclusive title for the Empress!]

[Call me "Lie Down"! The main theme is an ordinary person lying down, not caring what anyone thinks!]

Shen Zhaozhao shook her head as she looked at the screen full of outrageous suggestions.

"Since it's about national infrastructure, the scope has to be grand."

Her slender fingers tapped a few times on the keyboard, deftly typing out two words:

【Da Zhao】

"The character '昭' in '昭昭' means 'bright,' referring to the sun and moon."

"From this day forward, I am the Mandate of Heaven. Who agrees, who disagrees?"

[Long live the Empress of the Great Zhao Dynasty! Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress!]

【sure!】

Surprisingly, this name is quite normal.

Oh no, she truly has the bearing of an empress.

[Congratulations, Your Majesty, on your formal ascension to the throne.]

The naming was successful very quickly.

Another image popped up on the screen.

Amidst the ancient chimes, a new line of text appeared.

[Now that the nation's name has been chosen, Your Majesty, please determine the difficulty of this nationwide ascension.]

There are four options listed below.

【Defying Heaven and Slaying Immortals - Ten Deaths Without Survival】: The Heavenly Dao is cruel; hidden immortal sects readily slaughter cities to refine treasures; demons launch a world-destroying beast tide every three years; and armies from other realms are eyeing the battlefield with predatory intent. The national treasury is depleted at the start! (Difficulty description: Suitable for veteran management players.)

【A Time of Great Strife - Turbulent Times】: Powerful sects dominate, droughts, floods, and locust plagues are frequent. The spiritual veins are depleted at the start, neighboring countries constantly invade, and mortal lives are as worthless as weeds. (Difficulty Description: A standard, hardcore dynasty cultivation experience.)

【Ordinary Mortal World, Moderate Heavenly Order】: Natural disasters and man-made calamities are moderate; immortals and mortals each follow their own paths, with occasional opportunities appearing in the world. (Difficulty description: A moderately standard management and exploration mode.)

[Divine Blessing - Beginner Experience]: The incidence of calamities is greatly reduced, initial national fortune resistance is increased, offensive events are significantly weakened, and welfare events are upgraded. (Difficulty Description: Suitable for benevolent emperors who are newly in power and possess a compassionate heart.)

The moment these four options appeared, the chat in the live stream instantly started stirring things up:

[Choose the first one! Sister Zhao, choose the one with no chance of survival!]

[A real man chooses to defy the heavens and slay immortals! We want to see immortal cultivation sects massacre a city every three days!]

[Who just shouted "I am the Mandate of Heaven"? That's pushing the difficulty to the maximum, giving the immortals a little shock from mortals!]

[How can the founding empress of the Great Zhao Dynasty choose the lowest difficulty level? Go for the first one!]

Shen Zhaozhao stared at the screen full of angry comments without even lifting her eyelids.

With her right hand gripping the mouse, she decisively selected the beginner experience with lightning speed, almost like muscle memory.

"Clatter!"

The left mouse button clicked crisply.

The fourth option, which shimmered with a warm, pinkish-white glow, was locked in the very center of the screen!

[You have selected: Blessed by Heaven - Introductory Experience!]

The live stream chat was instantly flooded with question marks:

【？？？？？？？？】

[Holy crap?! Instantly selected the beginner level?!]

[Slide straight to the bottom and select BabyBus?!]

[One second ago: I am the mandate of heaven! The next second: The Destiny Baby Bus, starting!]

[Sister Zhao, where is your backbone? Where is your queenly aura?!]

[Refund! We need to see the difficulty level! How could you choose beginner?!]

Shen Zhaozhao explained slowly and methodically.

"No, everyone... I'm new here! Please understand! Show some consideration for working people, okay?!"

"This is my first time playing! I have very little experience in game management! Shouldn't we start with something easy? Otherwise, if the game goes awry from the beginning, there won't be much entertainment!"

Shen Zhaozhao sighed, and then, in a fit of madness reminiscent of Lin Daiyu, she blurted out:

"I knew it! You're all heartless onlookers, eager to see my kingdom fall and my entire family executed in three days. But I'm a coward who clings to life. Seeing the words 'entrance' feels like a gentle spring breeze, so incredibly welcoming. 'No pain, no gain!' I've finally become an empress in this game; shouldn't I enjoy the blessings of divine favor?"

"Gentlemen, I must emphasize again, I am a newcomer. When a newcomer is selected for entry-level positions, it's called being pragmatic and realistic. Don't you understand the Scientific Outlook on Development?!"

"No pain, no gain!" I was convinced by Zhao Zhao's twisted logic!

[Sister Zhao: You want to see me suffer? No way! I'm going to develop steadily in BabyBus!]

Okay, okay, I'll start with the basics, but hurry up and start playing!

"That's right. The most important thing in life is to know your place."

Soon, the game officially began.

"Buzz..."

Accompanied by a light, long chime of bells, the complete game interface unfolds on the screen.

At the top of the screen is a complete set of government labels:

People's livelihood, military affairs, finance, governance, territory, academies, ancestral temples...

The right side shows an overview of the entire dynasty at present.

Population, food, taxes, military, public security, number of officials, and national treasury reserves were all clearly listed.

In the very center is a zoomable national map.

The prefectures, counties, roads, and rivers are all clearly visible.

Shen Zhaozhao subconsciously scrolled the mouse wheel, and the entire dynasty instantly zoomed out from the imperial city to the whole country.

The top right corner contains a time flow controller.

[Pause], [1x speed], [2x speed], [5x speed], [8x speed].

Shen Zhaozhao looked at it for a long time,

"Wow, this game seems a bit complicated!"

"Thank goodness it's on a computer. If I had to wear a virtual reality headset and go to each county to review memorials, I'd probably want to abdicate after only three days on the throne."

"Luckily, I chose the beginner level!"

The comments section burst into laughter.

[Your Majesty, this is only the first day!]

[Who just said they were born to be emperor?]

It's not too late to step down; there's a button below.

"If you can't speed up the process of running a game, what's the difference between that and going to work?"

Looking at the game interface, Shen Zhaozhao was tempted, but she held back.

After all, he just ascended the throne; he shouldn't have stepped on the gas and blown the country away.

She turned her attention back to the "People's Livelihood" option and then clicked on "Household Registration".

[The Great Zhao Dynasty, First Year of Jianchu, Ministry of Revenue Records]

National population: 14,250,000

[Number of people tested for spiritual roots: 0]

[Qi Refining Cultivators: 0]

[Foundation Building Masters: 0]

[Golden Core Ancestor: 0 people]

[Royal Sacred Land: 0 acres]

[State-owned spiritual mines: 0]

[National Treasury Reserves: 560,000 taels of silver]

The entire live stream room fell into complete silence for a moment, and then the chat started flooding with comments.

Hahahaha!

This country is quite clean; there's not a single person cultivating immortality.

[Nationwide population: over ten million; cultivators: 0.]

Even immortals would praise its pristine natural environment.

[The place where the poor have disappeared is now confirmed!]

[Hahahaha! It's all zeros!]

[A completely bare-bones start! Utterly penniless! Is even the beginner level this difficult?]

[This is too tragic, Zhaozhao! Listen to me, abdicate! If one day you are in dire straits, with no one to help you, they won't care about you, but I will!]

Shen Zhaozhao leaned back in her gaming chair, ignoring the teasing comments in the chat. She rubbed her throbbing temples and sighed deeply.

"President Jiang is truly ruthless."

She pointed to the screen full of zeros and complained irritably:

"She's the founding empress, after all. I thought I'd be given two thousand Foundation Establishment Imperial Guards to satisfy my cravings!"

Despite the complaints, Shen Zhaozhao's operational thinking began to operate at lightning speed at this moment.

"Wait, unexpected disasters are often accompanied by unexpected windfalls."

Shen Zhaozhao immediately switched to the [Internal Affairs] interface.

Sure enough, a striking dark red exclamation mark was flashing at the edge of the palace map in the [Internal Affairs] interface.

[Special Event: The Strange Phenomenon of the Fall in the Imperial Garden]

Shen Zhaozhao swiped the mouse and clicked in, thinking she might trigger a side quest involving saving an immortal and taking him as an offering, but the system briefing that popped up made her laugh.

Name: Unknown

[Target vital signs: Completely extinguished.]

[Cause of death: Rapid fall from a height of 10,000 meters, accompanied by the backlash of a penetrating bone nail in the chest, resulting in ruptured internal organs; the victim was already lifeless upon impact.]

[Current Status: The body has been wrapped in yellow silk by the inner court guards and handed over to the Imperial Medical Academy and the Imperial Observatory for joint sealing.]

The viewers in the live stream were originally craning their necks to watch the fairy fall to the ground, but when they saw this judgment, the chat burst out laughing.

[Hahahaha! He's dead!]

[Freefall from 10,000 meters altitude exacerbates poisoning; if someone survives this, Newton and Lao Tzu would have to fight.]

[Provincial Travel: A fairy died in a plane crash.]

Even gods can't withstand a fall on flat ground!

However, the game did not stop there.

The next second, an urgent report popped up in the upper right corner of the screen.

[Urgent report: The matter of the person falling from the sky last night has been resolved.]

Shen Zhaozhao's eyes lit up immediately.

"They're here!"

Although the national cultivation pool is full of zeros, isn't there one lying right there in my own palace?

If I understand correctly, this is the starting resource pack!

Shen Zhaozhao opened the report with great anticipation, and the image of the Golden Palace immediately appeared in the center of the screen.

[A joint secret memorial from the Director of the Imperial Medical Academy and the Vice Minister of Works: Preliminary Physical Examination Report on the Remains of Extraterrestrial Beings]

With a crisp click of the scroll wheel, a detailed inspection record appeared before our eyes:

[After three days and nights of intensive autopsy and examination by imperial physicians, coroners, and astronomers, a shocking turn of events was discovered!]

[Firstly: This strange being's bones are as white as jade, with a density ten times greater than that of ordinary people, making them impervious to knives and axes. His flesh and blood contain an unknown, faint, free-floating energy.]

Secondly, upon dissecting his body, it was discovered that there were thirty-six hidden energy channels between his internal organs, which are absolutely not found in ordinary people.

Thirdly: From his tattered clothing and personal belongings, half a scroll of the basic Qi-guiding diagram was pieced together. After being tested by a death row inmate, it was found that if ordinary people could draw in the free Qi of heaven and earth, they could also strengthen their blood and Qi, prolong their lives, and even ride the wind and soar through the air!

[Final conclusion: Celestial beings are not born gods or demons; their essence is that of mortals! Mortals, with the right methods, can also cultivate immortality!]

Soon, the minister ordered several more items to be presented.

A tattered white undershirt.

A jade pendant that is already broken in half.

There was also an ordinary-looking cloth bag.

Shen Zhaozhao knew very well that this was a storage bag!

Soon, the storage bag was opened, and the first thing she saw inside were several books about cultivating immortality.

The most eye-catching thing is...

"Guiding Qi into the Body: From Beginner to Expert"

[Preface]

The first step in cultivating immortality is called "guiding qi into the body".

To put it simply, it's about letting you feel the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, and then finding a way to absorb it into your own body.

Just like when you stand under the shade of a tree in summer, you feel cool.

In winter, putting your hands near a brazier will make you feel warm.

Spiritual energy is the same thing, except that it is invisible and intangible. You may not feel it at first, but it is always around you.

……

Chapter 1: The Spiritual Energy Around You

What is spiritual energy?

"Where is the spiritual energy?"

"How do we perceive it?"

How can we verify whether our perception is real?

Chapter Two: How to Achieve Qi Induction

If you practice according to the method and happen to feel a warm current, tingling sensation, or a cool sensation in your mind... congratulations, this is not an illusion, you have successfully guided your Qi!

Shen Zhaozhao looked at the book, her head buzzing. Good heavens, is this textbook really that easy to understand?

This cultivation world is so modern!

……