Chapter 644 - 138: Saving This Red Dust

Qin Shizhong paused for a moment before adding, "But in the past, the focus was on Talent. A slightly better Spirit Root meant slightly more potential, a greater chance for advancement. The Sect and the smaller sects under its banner fought over recruits every time.

Since the Sect needed disciples with talented Spirit Roots, the administration was given some importance and would occasionally make its presence felt.

Now, however... because of the matter with the Spirit Nurturing Holy Land, it’s all become a scramble for resources. The Sect doesn’t really care about minuscule differences in Spirit Roots anymore.

As for disciples with truly exceptional Talent, the Sect doesn’t need to fight for them; they either come on their own or are sent by others. As a result, the disciples in charge of administration now focus more on managing the Cultivation Families under the Sect’s jurisdiction.

Some disciples rarely even interact with the mortal administrators. In some areas, even the mortal officials have come to believe that Immortals are just the stuff of legends.

A few years ago, because my own assignment was approaching, I looked into a lot of this grassroots-level information. So, I suppose I have a decent understanding of it!"

Zhang Deming mused, "In that case, if I were to change the political system of the mortal world, would the Sect interfere?"

Qin Shizhong paused for a moment. "A small-scale change should be fine. But a large-scale one... as long as it doesn’t interfere with the Sect’s ’Stallion’ distribution affairs, I imagine it won’t be a problem given your status, Martial Uncle.

After all, these days, forget the Sect itself—even the disciples assigned to administrative duties rarely have anything to do with managing mortals. This is especially true in the outlying regions, where they might only have minimal contact during the disciple recruitment process that happens once every few decades.

It’s not that the disciples are unwilling. It’s just that during a fifty or sixty-year post, they might interact with several generations of people.

They might interact with the City Lord when they first arrive, but after they find a mountain peak for secluded Cultivation, that City Lord dies. If the position isn’t passed on in a timely manner, the line of contact is simply broken.

Then, when one of our junior martial brothers tries to re-establish contact, the new City Lord might mistake him for some kind of con artist.

When things like this happen too often, some junior martial brothers just let the connection drop for good. As long as no major issues arise, they can’t be bothered to oversee the transitions of power in the mortal world.

After all, the power struggles of mortals are disheartening and tedious to watch. When a family descends into internal strife, some of our martial brothers, having little experience with the Red Dust, are left completely clueless. They don’t know how to handle the situation or who they should even support.

It’s not a matter that can be sorted out just by having a high enough Cultivation level. They’re completely baffled when trying to deal with it, and it interferes with their peaceful Cultivation."

Zhang Deming heard this and said, "If that’s the case, and the Sect is so unconcerned, then let’s move forward with this."

’Republics, equality... I’ve never even considered such things. I’m not the type of person to risk my own life for others. Nor do I have what it takes to start a revolution in the Cultivation Realm and bring about some grand ideal where ’everyone is equal’ and ’every man a dragon’.

But transitioning from a system of city-states to a unified dynasty should be achievable. This would not only promote stability in the mortal world but also facilitate the expansion of the Sect’s ’Stallion’ plan. If I go about it this way, the Sect might even end up supporting me.

After all, while the Holy Land rules over Hongmeng and things like culture have been unified, the political system of separate city-states... that’s still a massive difference.

For example, currency from East City can’t be used in West City. Even the gold and silver coins that are usable have different denominations and shapes.

This political division into city-states, despite a unified culture, places far too many restrictions on mortals. They have absolutely no chance of ever influencing Cultivators.’

Qin Shizhong glanced at the pensive Zhang Deming but said nothing more. As he had implied, he hadn’t come along out of concern for the mortals; he was simply following Zhang Deming.

Zhang Deming contemplated for a moment before flying down toward one of the cities below. At that moment, the city was engulfed in smoke and fire, the scenes of slaughter and plunder truly widespread.

······

As Zhang Deming and Qin Shizhong drifted down, they both froze in surprise before their feet even touched the ground.

Qin Shizhong frowned. "Martial Uncle, do you feel that? It seems to be the aura of an Array."

Zhang Deming nodded. "It’s a large-scale Mind Guidance and physical stimulation Array. No, at best, it would be considered an extremely wide-range Restriction.

At this intensity, an ordinary person wouldn’t be heavily affected unless they completely lost their wits. At most, they’d become more irritable. But this current situation..."

"Sigh..." Qin Shizhong lamented, "It seems the Sect has truly grown negligent in its management of the mortal world over the years."

Zhang Deming nodded. "Indeed. This single instance reveals the whole picture. If all the cities in turmoil have a similar setup, then this is an incredibly massive undertaking.

For the Sect, as the ruling power in this territory, to have been completely unaware... this goes beyond mere negligence. This is a severe dereliction of duty."

Qin Shizhong glanced at Zhang Deming but didn’t comment on that.

After a brief pause, they looked down. They had already arrived at the city’s edge. Zhang Deming led Qin Shizhong and drifted toward an area of smoke and turmoil.

·········

「Panzhou, Jing City.」

Due to a unified culture but a politically divided system of city-states, the Upper Sect has ruled the mortal realm for tens of thousands of years under the management of the Holy Land. Although control changed hands a few times along the way, it had little effect on the world of mortals.

Thanks to the long lifespans of Cultivators and their general disregard for mortals, many of the disciples assigned to administrative roles came to prefer stability above all else.

Under these Innate conditions, the entire mortal world was artificially guided and frozen in a specific era, its progress having been halted for many years.

As a result, the class structure within every city became exceptionally rigid. It was difficult for new classes to rise, but by the same token, oppression did not gradually accumulate, instead remaining stagnant at a particular level.

Under this artificial control, the mortal society of Hongmeng could be said to have undergone a rather warped form of development.