Chapter 259: The world has changed a lot, and the perfect system of cultivating immortals for all people Li Baole was none other than the first experimental subject when Jiajing "completed the life transplant" for the first time in the Ming Dynasty in the 60th year of Jiajing's reign. He was the son of Li Ming from the Nanjing Li family. And thanks to Jiajing's help in changing Li Ming's destiny, the former good-for-nothing of the family has now become a strong man at the eighth level of Qi training. He even became the number one person under Li Tianming, the patriarch of the Li family, because Li Tianming, the patriarch, was only at the ninth level of Qi training. The Li family was one of the top families among those families that were not allowed to see the light outside Nanjing. In today's Nanjing, it is definitely a first-class family of immortal cultivation. Of course, this excludes the 10,000 families of immortal seedlings that were originally registered by the imperial court. After all, it was precisely because of those 10,000 immortal seedlings who shared their resources with each other, formed families, established clans, and developed the hundreds of arts of immortal cultivation that Nanjing City was developed into the first major city of immortal cultivation. Today, those families have already become the top immortal cultivation families in Nanjing. In front of these families, the Li family and other families that were once hidden from the public are, after all, country people. Today's Nanjing city has undergone tremendous changes inside and out. Not only has the city undergone tremendous changes, but even the internal business development has also changed drastically. Some of the immortal cultivation families that were once hidden from the public in Yingtian Prefecture have now transformed, some have gone into seclusion, some have developed into sects, and are now on the right track. After nearly thirty years of development, coupled with the expansion of trade with overseas countries, the affairs of cultivating immortals in the Ming Dynasty seemed to these families and sects to mean that the court had completely lost control.
Therefore, in just thirty years, the development of Taoism in the Ming Dynasty can be said to have experienced another period of wild growth. In addition, during these thirty years, with the development of the "Spiritual Industry Era", the establishment of spiritual energy factories in overseas countries and the continuous introduction of spiritual energy industrial products, the Ming Dynasty's demand for "spiritual warehouses" and the laying of spiritual energy pipelines has increased. Seeing that the spiritual energy originally drawn from Southern Zhili was no longer enough, in addition to the 27 spiritual veins laid in the southern and northern Zhili, Jiajing waved his hand and directly laid spiritual veins in the rest of the provincial governments in the Ming Dynasty. At least, the two capitals and thirteen provinces, now divided into large areas, have all completed the laying of spiritual veins. Of course, the focus of spiritual veins is also to be laid in the borders of some rapidly developing prefectures, states, and counties. Some of them are postponed because their "total tax" is not very good. In this way, as the spiritual veins of the entire Ming Dynasty were covered, the immortal cultivators in the Ming Dynasty began to move out of the North and South Zhili and into other provincial governments or prefectures, states and counties. At this point, the immortal cultivation world of the Ming Dynasty was completely established, and was named in writing by the Tongzhengsi and Lingwangsi many times. This meant that the imperial court had completely recognized the immortal cultivation world. This also means that the previously shady world of immortal cultivation has completely bid farewell to the past, and those cautious immortal cultivation families have begun to come to the surface and cut ties with their past. Some sectarian families that had long been unable to tolerate the two factories and one guard were no longer threatened. After paying a huge price, they were completely reborn, and their families and sects were thriving. However, as long as there is light in this world, there are naturally places and people who cannot be seen in the light. Not all immortal cultivation sects and families are willing to leave the protection of the two factories and one guard and lose the opportunity to make huge profits. Especially now, with the emergence of the spirit stone trade, many shady sects and families have begun to have crooked ideas. The spiritual stones that were supposed to be exported from the Ming Dynasty to overseas countries were transported back to the Ming Dynasty from overseas countries by some greedy people. Moreover, as the world of immortal cultivation was able to see the light of day, and the immortal path business in the Ming Dynasty was developing rapidly, this situation became more and more serious. The ultimate goal of the imperial court is to allow more than 70% of the people in the Ming Dynasty to begin the journey of cultivating immortals. Only necessary mortal subjects will be kept. With the footprints of immortal cultivators throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, the seeds of immortal cultivation are constantly being sown. One day, 70% of mortal people will be transformed into immortals under the intentional guidance of the court. And this requires the so-called "Great Ming Immortal Cultivation World" that was once visible to the public to fan the flames, grow wildly, and develop the immortal way. As a result, Huang Jin, the governor of the East Factory, and Chen Hong, the governor of the West Factory, who were originally portrayed as the biggest dark and treacherous figures in the court, as well as the two imperial masters Qingfeng and Chanshuang behind them, have also been constantly impeached by officials from all over the country over the years. Everything that happened afterwards was a natural progression.
First of all, the two imperial masters Qingfeng and Chanshuang were punished. Of course, the specific punishment was not made clear within the court, but the governors of the East and West factories were indeed dismissed. According to rumors circulating in the court, the two admirals are no longer in the Imperial Household Department, and no one knows where they have gone. The heads of the two factories and one guard were dismissed, the national master behind them was punished, and a major reshuffle took place within the two factories and one guard. Nowadays, the East and West Factories are managed by Chen Ju, the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department. As for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Northern and Southern Pacification Envoys were dismissed and investigated, and then disappeared. At this point, the two factories and one bathroom have completely withdrawn from the stage. If we say that the existence of the two factories and one guard was just a show for the cabinet leaders and other insiders, its purpose was to make the Ming Dynasty's immortal cultivation world the disseminator of the seeds of immortality. Now that the original purpose has been achieved and an explanation has been given to the people, the court will naturally withdraw. But now, in these thirty years, the world has changed dramatically, people's minds have changed, and the factory guards active in the Ming Dynasty are no longer putting on an act, they are really deceiving their superiors and subordinates and enriching themselves. Of course, there were also some officials who were blinded by greed and who emerged during these thirty years for the sake of profit. In the 85th year of Jiajing, Lingshi was officially designated by the Ministry of Industry as a "new energy" for industrial use. Therefore, starting with the withdrawal from the two factories and one guardhouse, and the establishment of spiritual energy factories in overseas countries, the export of spiritual stones has become a national policy that can be made public by the court. Of course, the cabinet and other high-ranking officials of the court knew the hidden reason. After all, as a superior country, the Ming Dynasty would not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Spirit stones are extremely harmful. In the past, the scale of development of the immortal way was relatively small, and the people did not care much about these things. But now it is different, especially with the laying of the spiritual network. People can understand what is happening in the world just by sitting at home, and it is not easy to fool them. Therefore, the cabinet decided to list Lingshi as an industrial product, which made it reasonable to export Lingshi. Lingshi is an essential energy source used in the spiritual energy industry era of the Ming Dynasty. However, high-ranking officials of other countries still use it for people's cultivation even though they are well aware of its side effects. Over the past few decades, the Ming Dynasty has issued many warnings, but to no avail. In order to ensure the normal trade between Ming Dynasty and other countries, Ming Dynasty could only provide some persuasion through the Ministry of Rites. Unfortunately, some countries have explicitly stated in their laws that using spirits for cultivation is legal. Of course, there are also many countries that take a cautious attitude towards spirit stones and have set up special "stone ban teams" to crack down on spirit stone cultivation. Unfortunately, the effect of doing so is minimal! There is no way, because many officials in their country take the initiative to use spirit stones for cultivation. Thirty years is too long a time for some low-level officials in the Ming Dynasty. However, as the cultivation of immortals deepened and life expectancy increased, many officials became increasingly secure in their positions. In addition, the little immortal salary given by the court was not enough to maintain their practice, so natural desires began to grow. This gives those families and sects who want to go all the way to the end an opportunity to start wandering in the dark. It is precisely because of the existence of this group of people that another world is created on the other side of the light. Of course, these are inevitable. The more powerful and established a dynasty becomes, the more it is likely to breed darkness and filth. What's more, this is a dynasty of cultivating immortals. In the past, for the sake of money, many people were willing to risk being beheaded to do anything, not to mention now it's for the resources of cultivating immortals. The resources for cultivating immortality can not only bring wealth, but also make oneself and one's family prosperous and immortal. Naturally, there will be people willing to take risks.
Even now when performance appraisals are becoming increasingly stringent, there are still many officials who are willing to contact shady family factions and become their umbrellas. The most important thing is that behind these family sects is the "total tax increase" in an area. Some officials even achieved remarkable political achievements by relying on these shady immortal cultivation families or sects. A unique, reasonable, yet dark side of the world that cannot be seen in the light was formed naturally. In recent years, with the establishment of spiritual energy factories in overseas countries, more and more spiritual energy industrial products have been imported into Ming Dynasty. Therefore, other immortal cultivation families and sects in the southeast region and even in the Ming Dynasty began to enter overseas countries. Most of these families were the families and sects that were "whitewashed" at the beginning, and they were running various industries of "cultivating the hundred arts of immortality". One commercial building after another will appear and become their surface. These families also began to enter overseas countries and engage in cross-border trade, and spiritual stones gradually flowed back. The imperial court naturally noticed this, and although they were surprised about the return of the spirit stones, they were not surprised at all, because this was bound to happen. Fortunately, the use of spiritual stones as resources for cultivating immortals is absolutely prohibited within the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Only some desperate criminals and forces behind the scenes would transport and sell stones to make a profit. Once someone is found using spirit stones to practice, they will be immediately arrested by the government's detectives. The Ministry of Justice even issued a law that clearly stated that when hunting down monks who use spirit stones for cultivation, if they encounter resistance, they can be killed directly without the approval of higher-level officials! As for those cultivators who were caught and used spirit stones to practice, their cultivation would be abolished at the very least, and at the worst, they would be beheaded directly, and even their families would be implicated. The Li family, as a whitewashed old-fashioned immortal cultivation family, is now the absolute overlord in the entire Jiangning County and Daoxiang District. Well, Daoxiang District is the original Daoxiang Village. The number of family members skyrocketed to hundreds. Naturally, there are many factions within the family. As for Li Baole, although he is the son of Li Ming, the first person under Li Tianming in the Li family, he is still a branch of the family. That’s right, it’s a collateral branch, and its status has not changed! In the 60th year of Jiajing's reign, Li Ming was valued by Jiajing and underwent a natal transplant. After changing his fate, his status in the family did not become as he had imagined, and he did not receive everyone's blessings. At first, when his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, he did gain favor from the clan leader and others, and also received some resources. Well, actually, Li Ming didn’t care about these things. He just wanted his parents to be happy for him and to hold his head up high in the family. After all, Master Yunyin had given him a storage bag, and the resources in it were enough for him to practice to the stage of foundation building. But the situation changed as he rose to prominence and overshadowed Li Tianming, who brought magic to the family. He began to be suppressed, and the resources that should have been allocated to his family, parents, brothers and sisters were cut off. Even for a rising genius like him, the resources allocated to him were deliberately reduced or even delayed. Fortunately, he has the resources given by his ancestors, so he will not be completely ruined when the family resources are cut off. Because the resources were distributed to his parents and brothers and sisters, the resources that should have allowed Li Ming to break through to the foundation-building stage were constantly decreasing. Otherwise, Li Ming’s cultivation would have broken through the foundation-building stage long ago, and he would not have been suppressed by Li Tianming until now. It was not until the Li family came to the fore and the imperial court fully developed the cultivation of immortals that Li Ming's side family was allocated some of the family business, but Li Ming's family was still targeted.
It was only because even when he was suppressed, his cultivation level was still only one level lower than Li Tianming, which made Li Tianming even more afraid. Therefore, Li Baole's family did not live a good life. In Nanjing Xianfu Academy, they were just an ordinary family. "It's just an ordinary iron hammer. My life force is totally different from my father's 'Innate Wisteria'..." "Boom boom boom." The Xiangui carriage drove into the tunnel. Inside the tunnel, the firefly clam stone emitted an orange-yellow light. With the occasional gaps between the mountains, the interior of the Xiangui carriage appeared bright and dark. Li Baole, a sophomore at Nanjing Xianfu Academy, is eighteen years old and was born in the first month of the eighty-first year of the Jiajing reign. In the Ming Dynasty of today, as early as the 50th year of Jiajing, academies and schools had already spread to villages. Starting from the 80th year of the Jiajing reign, the Imperial College restructured the academies across the country, and the academies were thus divided into different levels. It can be roughly divided into "primary education", "beginner's education", "middle school" and the last one, "advanced education". Among them, "Mengxue", as the name suggests, is used for enlightenment and only accepts children aged three to six. In the "Mengxue" school, there will be special teachers to give lectures, of course most of these teachers are women. After all, the children in "primary schools" are too young, and women are ultimately better than men in raising children. These female teachers are required to teach children to read and write. At the age of six, according to their household registration, they would enter the local "primary" school, where they would begin to learn relevant knowledge such as the various schools of thought, classics, history, calligraphy, painting, the five elements and the eight works. Well, it’s just the basics of the basics, limited to understanding! Of course, there is one more necessary item, which is to learn the "Qi Guidance Technique" to start guiding Qi into the body and open up the acupoints. If a student opens up his acupoints during his elementary school years, he will be admitted to the Ming Immortal Palace as an exception by the imperial court. The so-called "beginners" are those who start to learn in the early stages of their studies, and mainly recruit children aged six to twelve. There are six levels in total, with one level up every year. The first season of each year is five and a half months, and the second season is also five and a half months, with a one-month long vacation in between. In the "beginner" stage, students still need to persist in opening up the acupoints. If all the acupoints are opened, they can be specially recruited by the provincial immortal palace and start practicing immortality. After reaching the sixth level of "beginner's level", which students often call the sixth grade, you will be upgraded to "middle school". At this time, under normal circumstances, these children would be twelve years old. When it comes to "middle school", things are not so simple as it enrolls students aged twelve to twenty-one. The total study time is nine years, and in the "first year of middle school", the classes will be divided. You can only choose one subject among the Hundred Schools of Thought, the Five Elements and the Eight Works to major in, and spend the rest of your time practicing. And "middle school" is divided into three stages. They are elementary, intermediate and advanced levels, and each stage takes three years to study, which is what students call "first grade of middle school" to "ninth grade of middle school". When it comes to the last year, which is the senior year of high school, you have to take the college entrance examination.
It is worth mentioning that if you want to take the "college entrance examination", you must break through to the third level of Qi training, otherwise you can only go out into "society" and contribute to all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty. As the name suggests, the "college entrance examination" means that all qualified students will pass the imperial examination and be promoted to the "higher immortal palaces" in various places. Well, in addition to testing the students’ own learning of the theories of various schools of thought, or courses such as the Five Elements and Eight Works, the imperial examinations also require students to complete some tests for cultivators, namely written tests and training. By then, the Ming Dynasty will have an illusion array specifically used for assessments, constructing illusions, and then grading based on performance. There are nine grades in total, with grade nine being the lowest and grade one being the highest. If you don’t get in, it’s considered a failure. If your comprehensive score cannot reach the four levels of A, B, C, and D, with D being the only level, it’s equivalent to failing the “college entrance exam” and you no longer have a chance. However, these students with cultivation will naturally be hired by the major immortal chambers of commerce after entering "society". Although it is not as good as entering the "Higher Immortal Palace" with more resources for cultivation and a brighter future, it is not bad either. The so-called "high-level immortal palace" refers to an academy that specializes in training immortal cultivators, which sounds the same as the Daming Immortal Palace. Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, there are only twenty "high-level immortal palaces", and there is one in each of the thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. As for the two capitals, because of their special status, Beijing has four and Nanjing has three. All of these "high-level immortal palaces" are directly under the Imperial College. The original Imperial College was no longer a place for learning, but a palace for training officials for the imperial court. Entering the Imperial Academy means embarking on a career in officialdom. Of course, in addition to the Imperial College, there is also the "Daming Immortal Palace", which is also the only immortal palace named "Daming". In fact, it is also a channel for a career in officialdom. However, compared to the Imperial College, the "Daming Immortal Palace" is more free. Once you leave here, you can go to any of the major immortal chambers of commerce, or start your own family business. Of course, in addition to the normal path of cultivation and advancement, there is another way, which is to complete the "beginner's guide", that is, at the age of twelve, and directly enter the "military office" in various places. Entering the "Military Government" is equivalent to joining the army. At that time, all students who entered the military office had only two things to do. The first was to practice, and the second was to complete the daily training and become a qualified Ming soldier. Of course, this also means that you will be labeled as a military household. Although the conditions for the children of "military households" today are not as strict as before, for example, one child must serve in the army, there are still requirements unique to military households. There is only one rule, that is, any son of a military household must be ready to join the army at any time as long as the court needs him. From "primary education", "primary studies", to "middle school" and finally to "advanced immortal palace", it is actually a path of "immortality for all people" that the Ming Dynasty has gradually improved. Even though spiritual veins are now laid throughout the land and the development of immortality is in full swing, it is still growing wildly under the deliberate indulgence of the court. During this period, the court needs stability. To put it bluntly, the wild growth of immortality now is only to enrich the Ming Dynasty, and it will eventually return to normal. "I am eighteen years old this year, and my cultivation is only at the second level of Qi training. Even if I can break through to the third level of Qi training within three years, with my fate, there is no way I can be admitted to a good immortal palace..." Li Baole thought about it, his fat, fair face full of sorrow. "Also, I overheard the conversation between my father and mother that day, and it seems that my family is involved in the 'spiritual stone business'. If my family is investigated by the court, will this affect my future..."
"..." (End of this chapter)