Seized by the System

Fang Ning’s intuition was right. Half a month later, it would be the third year and ninth month of Shenyuan, and all the cultivators in China were informed about it.

“The emergence of the vitality nodes means that the cultivators have to pass the test and obtain the permit, only then can they start cultivating the vitality nodes. The permit is issued in four grades, namely grade A, grade B, grade C and grade D. They get to cultivate on different vitality nodes depending on the grade obtained.”

After the vitality era had begun, with the help of the Nets Above Snares Below, the vast majority of the extraordinary were registered under the Special Affairs Department.

Now, they just added an extra test for the permit, so it was still pretty reasonable and understandable.

However, there were a large number of complaints as well.

“We used to be able to freely absorb and breathe out vitality, but now we are being restricted. What’s next? Are they planning to charge a fee as well?” a few cultivators who were sensitive about this topic were all venting during the forum.

“Just bear with it for now. Your power isn’t even pond-level yet, how are you going to oppose anything with your ability? On top of that, even the more powerful beings didn’t utter a word about this,” someone said in a consoling manner.

“All of them have their own mansions in the most strategic locations, they don’t even have to worry about the vanishing of vitality. It can even be said that more of the vitality is being drawn to them…,” another person pointed out the facts bluntly.

“Calm down, guys. The mighty beings have heavenly sense, we could bring disaster upon ourselves by talking behind their backs.”

The forum fell into silence at the thought of the powers of the mighty beings.

Things were different from how they were two years ago, the ignorant ones were no longer fearless.

Many events had proved that in the era of vitality, the dominance of a group of strong people was long gone, and replaced by the authoritarianism of any powerful individual.

No amount of people could ever be a threat to the mighty beings.

Many chose to endure and stay, but some chose to rebel in the dark.

Just as Fang Ning predicted, the changes in vitality had something to do with the Heavenly Axiom.

It was not easy to go against authority.

As strong as the System was, it could only manage to seize the Arcane Realm of the Heavenly Axiom. Its powers were not strong enough to contend with the Heavenly Axiom of Earth.

Otherwise, Fang Ning and it would not turn a blind eye to the distortion that was happening to the Heavenly Axiom of Earth.

It was not that they did not want to interfere, but that they were powerless to do so.

After all, the power level of the Heavenly Axiom of Earth was much higher than the System’s.

Even Vigilante A could not rebel against authority, let alone these people?

Therefore, their secret plans were doomed to failure from the start.

There was only one way to face this upheaval, which was to take the path of patience and acceptance.

…

The nodes of vitality were emerging rapidly, at a speed quick enough to resolve the dissatisfaction of the upper class from powerful countries such as the United States of America, Europe, and India regarding the fading of vitality.

They were pleased, just like what the people in China had predicted. The presence of the nodes meant that they could manage the use of vitality uniformly.

In the past, vitality was basically evenly distributed, and any location could easily produce an uncontrollable powerful being, monsters, and demons…

Now, the odds of this happening would be really low as long as those nodes are managed.

After all, for any cultivator, the basic method to enhance one’s strength was to absorb and breathe out vitality. Without vitality, it was impossible for one’s strength to advance quickly.

This also indicated the control on most of the cultivators in the country. It had a strategic significance, whether for public security or the strength of national defense.

Therefore, they would not continue to target China. They also did not want to return to their former state; when the vitality concentration was constantly rising everywhere.

Chief Hook’s plan of shackles was a failure even before execution.

The politicians commanded him to stop attacking China, because they wanted to work together with the people in China, and learn from their leading experience in management to unify the cultivators in their own country.

After receiving the order, Chief Hook, who became non-human, really wanted to use his existing powers to be a dictator to control the United States of America. It was impossible, but a part of him knew that long ago.

First of all, there were other powerful countries surrounding the United States of America. They would not allow a dictator to use supernatural powers in controlling ordinary human beings, especially China.

Secondly, there were a lot of neutral powerhouses in the United States of America who would stand on their ground and prevent anyone from using extraordinary means to become a dictator.

Lastly, the Eastern Pharos would also interfere in such affairs. In its earliest days, it would uncover the demons from the upper-class of smaller countries, and eliminate them just like a woodpecker.

“That’s despicable. Once again, we were forced to follow the footsteps of the Chinese people, they have already planned this out thoroughly!” In the bureau, anger was brewing among the crowd during the meeting.

Their plans of retaliation for the past month made them seem like a bunch of brain-dead clowns, who could only follow behind and play some silly tricks.

As soon as the vitality nodes appeared, the upper-class politicians were drawn to the other side due to the unity of fundamental interests, so they could not fight back.

“That’s actually advantageous to us. It’s just that the people in China aren’t that generous, I’m pretty sure that they’re up to something else,” an adviser calmly analyzed.

“Of course there’s something more to that. The amount of vitality nodes in China alone is the sum of the vitality nodes of the other countries!” Chief Hook delivered a piece of news that startled everyone.

“How’s that possible? That’s supposed to be a top-secret, how did you find out so quickly?” someone exclaimed.

“I have an informant, you don’t have to worry about the details,” Chief Hook said coldly.

“If there’s any evidence, I believe those politicians would not let China off the hook lightly,” another person said.

“There’s no evidence,” Chief Hook shook his head.

Of course he couldn’t have turned over the evidence, because if he had, he wouldn’t have been able to prove himself otherwise in the future.

“It seems that the people in China have gotten the upper hand again. Our country is falling behind, they are always one step ahead of us whenever something happens. Miss one step, and we kept trailing behind them after that,” someone sighed.

“Don’t lose hope, we still have a chance. As long as the United States of America is still in existence, and as long as 300 million citizens are still in existence, there’s still hope in regaining our position.”

“How do we do that? Whether it’s the Arcane Realm, the number of powerhouses, the emergence of the vitality nodes, or the amount of vitality reserve, we fall behind China in almost everything,” someone sighed.

They are, after all, official members of institutions and not demons. They would take the side of the interests of the United States of America rather than seeking revenge.

“One way is to pool our resources and build a powerhouse that belongs to us,” said Hu Ke suddenly.

These setbacks gave him a chance to come up with his own plan.

“I agree with the commissioner. We should’ve done that long ago, but the politicians were worried that it was hard to control the people working underneath if their forces grow. That’s why they didn’t approve it,” someone agreed wholeheartedly.

“Well, if they don’t approve it, we’ll do it ourselves. At least there are enough resources in the investigation bureau.”

After being defeated by China several times, these people have accumulated a fair amount of resentment. More importantly, they realized that only a real powerhouse could help them to take down their opponent.