Wu Fen and a bunch of her associates stood in a room looking at an apparatus that generated electricity using magnets. One of the Primordial Spirit Elders sighed deeply:
“I cannot believe that mortals can master the power of Heavenly Punishment without any cultivation.”
The others nodded in agreement. As powerful cultivators, they always looked down on mortals, thinking they were weak, ignorant, and stupid. But now, they understood they might be the reason mortals never developed on their own.
One of them said: “This is nothing compared to Heavenly Tribulation.”
But no one argued with him. Some people have a hard time accepting that ordinary people instead of cultivators will lead the new era of this world.
Wu Fen ignored these people’s arguments before heading to another experimental facility.
“How are things going?” she asked the head developer, which was an ordinary-looking woman.
“We have been trying to recreate the internal-combustion engine with no success. Not to mention, there is still no material that can be used as petroleum yet.”
Wu Fen became lost in thought momentarily.
“Your highness, would it not be easier to start with the steam engine, then develop electricity before starting with the internal-combustion engine?” asked one of her followers.
“I already made a decision.”
“But according to our spies, the people of Region 6 might be very close to developing the first steam engine.”
“I already explained to you all. The Immortal does not want to watch the world develop from the Steam Age to the Information Age. He wants us to reach the Information Age as soon as possible.
“So, there is no need to develop the steam engines since we know they will be abandoned by time.”
She paused for a moment. “In fact, we could probably skip the Internal Combustion Engine altogether and focus on developing Electricity and other forms of energy like Solar and Wind Energy.
“Then, we can delve into Nuclear Power.”
Based on the information in her mind, Wu Fen classified the history of Technology into different ages: the Steam Age, the Electrical Age, the Oil Age, the Nuclear Age, and the Information Age.
And each age had different technological advancements that defined them. However, thinking about the entire situation again, Wu Fen realized that the Oil Age should have been temporary until other forms of energy developed to replace petroleum or other forms of oil.
However, that was not the case. Although she did not know the exact reason, she could guess. The elites or powerful ensured that petroleum remained the primary energy source since it was such a profitable industry.
Wu Fen concluded all of these things because of a theory she has about the Immortal. She theorized that the Immortal once saw a world of Science and Technology but could not access it for some reason. So, he decided to recreate it.
“Your highness, this is very risky.”
“I know, but if we want an advantage over the others, we have to take risks.”
Just as Wu Fen said these words, all the cultivators felt something change in the sky, so they rushed outside. Then, they saw an enormous scroll that covered the sky with the words:
“Congratulations to Region 6 for creating the Steam Engine.”
Auspicious clouds and immortal sounds reverberated through Heaven and Earth for at least half an hour. Then, the scroll divided itself into two parts. One contained a list of all the people who contributed to this invention and a number next to their names.
The second scroll had the title [Exchange Lists] with many options, including pills, cultivation techniques, increase in life span, etc. Each item had a price on them.
‘So, the Immortal wants to use this method to motivate the different regions. And, with this method, the cultivators can’t take credit for the mortals’ work,’ thought Wu Fen, and she was not the only one.
“Your highness.”
“We continue with the plan,” said Wu Fen with determination and calmness. Despite her outer appearance, she was under a lot of pressure. It has been only a year, and Region 6 has already made such a groundbreaking accomplishment.
Logically speaking, she knew the reason for their success. All the Primordial Spirit Ancestors of the royal had to choose sides, thus dividing their powers. However, the sects in Region 6 grouped together, giving them an advantage.
Moreover, Wu Fen discovered that many of her people had not changed their mindset and realized that a new era had come, and its rise would be in the ashes of the old one.
‘It may be that the people of Region 6 are adapting better than us,’ thought Wu Fen as she sighed. She headed to her palace to plan some things. The first thing she focused on was education.
When the Immortal enlightened all the people of this world, he also included the children. However, the amount of information sent to their mind was based on their age.
So, Wu Fen planned to create schools to teach these students so that they could become scientists and engineers in the future. Furthermore, she planned to make a place for all their knowledge and discovery; it would be a place where the most outstanding scholars of her region could gather and discuss theories and findings.
The second aspect she needed to focus on was the Mechanical Engineering Field; she believed it to be the cornerstone of the rapid development of technology.
So she will focus on developing it with all her strength; she will even force these cultivators to use their power to accelerate the growth of this industry.
Wang Wei watched Wu Fen’s actions from a cottage he placed in this world’s River of Fate. He discovered that changing the fate of this world quickened his understanding of the Laws of Fate, so he settled here.
Then, his eyes focused on Region 1, where Wu Mingye was the leader. He saw a room protected by the power of Law.
‘It seems that I slightly underestimate the royal family’s heritage. However, did these guys think a mere Heaven Tier Artifact could stop me?’
His sight easily penetrated the room as he watched their conversation.
“So, it failed?” asked Wu Mingye, who sat in a golden chair in the middle of the room.
“Yes, your majesty. Our formations stopped working, so we could not contact the Upper Realm.”
The Martial Divine Dynasty has cultivated a few Void Shattering Realm cultivators throughout its history. They have ascended to a Greater Thousand World and even created another foundation in the Upper Realm.
So, Wu Mingye wanted to contact them to see if they could help in the situation.
“So, what do we do now?” asked one of the officials.
“Keep trying, but in the meanwhile, we’ll have to do what this Immortal one,” replied Wu Mingye.
Wang Wei then removed his gaze as he ignored these people. He could tell that this world was suddenly invisible and inaccessible from the outside. So, even if these people could contact the Upper Realm, they would not be able to reach here.
Furthermore, even if they could contact them, Wang Wei could suppress anyone who came as long it was not an Immortal Tier Powerhouse.
He then subsequently checked the progress of the other regions, and most of them were subpar–except for Region 3, controlled by prince Wu Long.
Wu Long was a man that was the definition of a tiger’s back and a bear’s waist. He stood inside a building with his arm crossed, displaying all his muscles. Standing there, he released an aura that made the workers afraid.
Then, one of his associates came to hand him a piece of paper. After looking at it, he nodded his head.
“Soon, we should have enough guns to start a war.”
“Focusing on developing gun powder was a great idea, your highness. Soon, we can conquer the other regions and take their discoveries and inventions.”
Wu Long nodded his head. He had this idea after discovering that cultivators could not attack mortals or chains would appear on their bodies to seal them.
In some severe cases, thunder would fall from the sky and instantly kill those cultivators. So, Wu Long realized that he had to fight wars in the most primitive ways while relying on mortals.
Then, he remembered the weapons used by the mortals in his memories: guns. He quickly had the idea of developing gun powder to make guns to conquer the other regions and steal their technology or talented individuals.
‘Should I stop him?’ thought Wang Wei as he watched Wu Long’s plan. However, he quickly denied that idea. War is an important aspect that leads to the rapid development of technology.
So, it is in his interest to let things develop independently.
A year later, Wu Long began his invasion. In a relatively short time, he conquered regions 2 and 4. The mortals under him could only make guns at the level of the 1800s, but the cultivators under him could use their Divine Sense to make modern guns.
So, Wu Long’s army only needed some small training before overwhelming the other two regions that never thought of developing guns or modern warfare equipment.
Using the Transmission Array that Wang Wei left, Wu Long used a tactic similar to blitzkrieg; he achieved an overwhelming victory. Then, he focused on Wu Mingye’s region 1, Wu Fen’s region 5, and the sect’s region 6.
These regions reacted in time by also building guns. However, Wu Long had both the technological and population advantage, so his war of conquest continued.
With more scientists and engineering in his hand, he created better and better guns, which fastened his conquest. Finally, Wu Fen negotiated an alliance between all three regions to combine their military and technological strength.
Under this alliance, this world gave birth to the first mechanical factory that could mass-produce guns. With this discovery, the Alliance recaptured most of their lost territory.
And when they were about to counter-attack against Wu Long, his side also made their first factory to mass-produce guns, creating an equilibrium in this war.
At this time, Wang Wei intervened and limited the Transmission Array’s use. As such, the region leaders discovered a significant issue: the world was too vast, so transportation became a problem–especially when they needed to transport materials for the war.
As such, a brief peace enveloped the world as these factions focused on developing their transportation systems.
Engineers created things like cars, trains, planes, and helicopters in just a few years. Even tanks appeared on the battlefield. The world entered the Oil Age, according to Wu Fen’s descriptions.
Inside the River of Fate, Wang Wei looked at everything that occurred.
‘In just over 20 years, they have reached the technology level of World War II.’
As he gazed at the different factions, he could see that both sides were not trying to develop the atomic bomb before the other and enter the Nuclear Age.