Even those with the most stubborn physiques, when placed inside the Divine Realm for ten days to half a month and thoroughly bathed in Subspace’s blessing from head to toe, would suddenly become sensitive to Spiritual Energy. Upon returning and coordinating with the system to undergo a training for a specific type of soldier, they were certain to become Spiritual Energy users.
Of course, there was no need to go to such extremes. Gu Hang wasn’t aiming to create a society of all Spiritual Energy users. The Rage Owl Star, due to the presence of the Storm God Kingdom, naturally had a thinner veil to Subspace compared to other planets, which was why resources such as the Spiritualized Gas Field existed. Even more so, Gu Hang suspected that this Cult, that Cult, along with the Iron Men Rebellion, had much to do with the planet’s thinner veil of reality.
In such an environment, the likelihood of Rage Owl Star People manifesting as Spiritual Energy users was inherently higher. Not to mention, now that Gu Hang had seized control of the Storm God Kingdom, it had an extensive yet benign influence over the entire planet, subtly resulting in a considerable number of individuals with innate Spiritual Energy talent.
In fact, the Primordial Wrath Owl Sect was a case in point: while it was rare in other places to find high-grade Spiritual Energy users, there were a plethora of evil sorcerers among them.
Of course, there were differences between the two. After all, Spiritual Energy users belonged to the category of “scholars,” “mages,” and were people with innate talent who became such through training. Whereas the so-called evil sorcerers received their powers directly from the Evil God, somewhat akin to Gu Hang’s previous idea of “stuffing a person into the Divine Realm for a baptism,” which greatly reduced the requirement for talent.
Setting that matter aside for the moment, the benefits Gu Hang could reap from almost whimsically cultivating Spiritual Energy users were obvious.
Firstly, the number and quality of Spiritual Energy users collectively determined the status of the Rage Owl Sect’s Psychic Cultivator’s Association within the entire system of such associations—it was the grade of the “high-level power field entry ticket” Gu Hang had previously contemplated.
Moreover, the Psychic Cultivator’s Association could request funding from the Empire, with the allocated amount directly depending on the size of the association.
Furthermore, having a multitude of trained Spiritual Energy users was inherently of great value.
The combat effectiveness of Spiritual Energy users was formidable. At lower grades, they might not be as reliable as a laser gun, but who said that Spiritual Energy users couldn’t also carry guns? Moreover, they had a higher potential for development. When they reached C grade—the level of ability Gu Hang himself held at two or three—, they could influence the outcome of a company-level battle.
They also had strong functional capabilities in scouting, interrogation, infiltration, special operations… all of which were excellent supplements to regular elite forces.
Furthermore, one shouldn’t fixate on mere combat. Once Star Speakers were trained, they could construct the Star Language Tower, which was a potent export product; Star Navigators were indispensable for interstellar travel.
After training these individuals, it was beneficial whether Rage Owl Star employed them itself or sent them out to work for others and earn wages.
Especially in terms of sending them out to earn wages—this wasn’t Gu Hang being ruthless, but rather, it was standard procedure under the Psychic Cultivator’s Association system.
The Navy, different planets, the Empire Commerce Guild, the Sect of Mechanics, the national religion… even the Starfighter Battle Group; as long as there were interstellar travel and communication needs, they had to go to the Psychic Cultivator’s Association for personnel. When these people were sent out, they had to be paid, and a portion of that money would go to the association that trained them.
Whether it was a regular cut or a lump-sum buyout fee for their training, fostering one was hugely profitable.
And the best part was, even though Spiritual Energy users were working for others, they were still under the jurisdiction of their respective associations, which could recall them if necessary, compensating some money; if the contract ended, they could choose not to renew it.
Being a top-tier organization with the potential to enter the Imperial Supreme Council, the Psychic Cultivator’s Association didn’t have the massive scale of the Sect of Mechanics or the national religion but still had its own confidence.
Gu Hang had quite the motivation to cultivate Spiritual Energy users.
Construction of the Mage Academy had already begun site selection. The Minister of Education had even inquired about the name of the academy. “Hogwarts” almost slipped off Gu Hang’s tongue, but in the end, he restrained himself.
He decided to stick to being more straightforward.
“Let’s call it the Storm Mage Academy, and the future Mage Corps will bear the same name.”
…
In terms of construction, Gu Hang spent a total of 11,500 points of grace.
He still had over forty thousand.
The second major expenditure was on talent.
In the Alliance, Gu Hang had activated people like Osenia, Yan Fangxu, Perbov, Tadeusz, Wu Jiarong, and others using the “Hero” system.
He had already appreciated the benefits of activating heroes. No matter what their initial aptitude was, after becoming heroes, not only did their abilities greatly improve on the spot, but they also gained a high potential for growth.
Not only could levels be raised through experience in handling affairs, enhancing abilities, but also that so-called rarity could grow—though it was much harder and seemed to require certain key opportunities.
No matter how you looked at it, these early-activated ‘heroes’ had now grown to become pivotal figures in various fields within the Alliance.
Therefore, he had to continue without letup.
In the past, when the Alliance had only a few thousand or at most several million people, there were already several candidates who could be activated. Now, with a total population of 45 million in the Alliance, even the number of non-military government staff had reached nearly 130,000. Naturally, the number of activatable “heroes” had increased significantly.
So far, Gu Hang could now see more than five hundred people who could be activated as “heroes” in his talent interface.
This was a significant number.
Gu Hang himself was internally mocking, “What kind of ‘heroes’ are these? Is it wholesale or what?”
However, from another concept, it could be understood as people with the potential to become “heroes.”
Most of them were of the most common N grade. Those who reached the higher R grade were fewer than twenty; there was only one SR grade.
Gu Hang planned to activate all of them, which would cost just over six thousand in blessings.
Among them, some already held important positions; others were still unknown.
For the former, there was nothing to say, and Gu Hang wouldn’t give them any special treatment. They would stand out in their lives and work within the Alliance system after their “hero” attributes were activated and their abilities significantly enhanced.
As for the latter, Gu Hang planned to elevate them to higher positions.
There were corresponding positions within the Alliance system to arrange for talents in government and business. They wouldn’t be too high, but at least they would be a position where they could utilize their abilities to a certain extent, like a deputy director of an office, an assistant to a project, a deputy manager of a factory…
In the military, those with command talent would be given positions around deputy company level or company leader level; single-combat types would be transferred to the 10th Brigade.
In these positions, Gu Hang believed that the vast majority of them would excel.
Of course, before that, they would have to undergo special training.
Gu Hang made a list of these five hundred and some people and handed it over to the Alliance Government. Officials from the Ministry of Education would then review their records according to the list, mainly checking for any learning experience at Loyal Heir Academy.
As for the twenty at R grade and the one at SR grade, Gu Hang also specially noted them.
They would not be rushed; their treatment would be the same as everyone else’s. However, in the higher echelons of the Alliance, the names of these few individuals were specially marked, and they would receive more attention.
Regarding the cultivation of such a large group of people, Gu Hang coined a name, called the ‘Cradle Project.’
He hoped that from this cradle would emerge a batch of true heroes.