Following the rollout of Qi Ping's series of policies for the Qingyuan Academy, a massive sensation was instantly ignited across the Qingtian Domain and the entire Star-Sea Continent!
"Is this for real? In this day and age, every clan and sect clutches their techniques and resources like misers. Who would actually teach techniques for free?"
"Exactly! Just recently, I spent fifty spirit stones on a copy of the most basic Gathering Essence Manual. And that was only for half of it! I have to pay even more once I reach the fifth level of Qi Refinement!"
"Indeed, who would be so generous? It's probably a trap to lure people in to be used as furnace-meat for refinement!"
"Does such a place even exist in the cultivation world? I wouldn't even dare to dream of this!"
"And they're offering exchange rights for Rank 4 spiritual veins and Rank 4 techniques? This is beyond absurd—it's pure lunacy!"
Faced with these seemingly outrageous policies, the instinctive reaction of the vast majority was one of pure disbelief. Especially for those who had experienced much of the world and understood the grim reality of the cultivation landscape, such "pie-in-the-sky" promises were viewed with extreme suspicion.
In their experience, such apparent windfalls were almost always followed by a massive pitfall. For example, a supposed ancient ruin often turned out to be a trap laid by a demonic cultivator. A discovered manual was frequently a "Parasitic Technique" that either turned the practitioner into a slave or a living medicinal pill for someone else. Such examples were too numerous to count.
The initial skepticism toward the Qingtian Domain's new laws was a natural defense mechanism born of too many betrayals. Furthermore, on a logical level, it made no sense. What did the Bee Daoist stand to gain?
However, as time passed and news fermented, the countless rogue cultivators of the Star-Sea Continent gradually realized that this was actually the truth!
Within the Qingtian Domain, because so many cultivators were involved in the construction, the speed at which buildings and bases were erected was astonishing. Within a few short days, the preliminary structures of the various branch academies were already standing.
Under the management of Lin Yue, the Vice Dean of the Qingyuan Academy, a specialized corps of instructors was organized to provide free lessons on techniques and cultivation insights. These courses ran in cycles, covering everything from the first to the ninth level of Qi Refinement.
Furthermore, the techniques chosen for instruction were the most common and standard manuals in the cultivation world. Rogue cultivators were free to choose their own path. Anyone with even a modicum of insight knew that such ubiquitous manuals contained no hidden traps or "backdoors."
With the endorsement of the Qingyuan Sect and the Bee Daoist, and after the first group of "risk-takers" tasted the benefits, more and more people flooded into the massive teaching plazas of the Qingyuan Academy. News of the successes spread like wildfire.
Aside from the free education, another matter garnered significant attention: the maintenance of public security and the handling of criminals. Under the leadership of Wang He, who wielded the Universal Justice Sword, the extremist factions led by the late Gu Yunxiao were swiftly dismantled!
No matter how deep their connections to the old Qingyuan Sect were, and even if they were backed by Golden Core elders, they were dealt with mercilessly. Several local interest groups that had previously colluded to exploit the populace were utterly purged. Local guards who had once ruled their districts with an iron fist found themselves separated from their heads and their souls extinguished under Wang He's blade. Only a small fraction of those who had been coerced or were deemed redeemable were allowed to stay and atone through service.
However, these iron-blooded methods inevitably infuriated the entrenched local interest groups. These alliances even attempted to coordinate with disgruntled remnants of the Qingyuan Sect to sabotage the Academy's plans.
Yet, in the face of Qi Ping's overwhelming combat power and Lin Yue's intelligence network, their actions were nothing more than the posturing of jumping clowns. Before they could even make a move, they were slaughtered to the last man.
When the Qingyuan Academy gathered these bodies in one place, everyone looked upon a mountain of corpses that seemed to touch the sky. Beside it was a list detailing every name and the crimes committed. The entirety of the Qingtian Domain and the Star-Sea Continent was shaken to the core!
Especially as images of this terrifying mountain of corpses and the list of crimes circulated, many were awestruck by the Academy's uncompromising stance. To truly uproot all corrupt forces in one go—it seemed the Qingtian Domain was the only entity in the last hundred thousand years of the Star-Sea Continent's history to achieve such a feat.
Generally, clearing out such entrenched interests was incredibly difficult; one mistake could trigger a massive backlash or plunge a region into chaos. Yet, the transition in the Qingtian Domain was orderly. A new administrative system and law enforcement teams were established with lightning speed.
This success was due not only to Qi Ping's world-suppressing strength but also to Lin Yue's extraordinary management skills. Almost every potential reaction or problem was predicted and solved by Lin Yue before it could manifest. In Lin Yue's own words, he had been waiting for this day for a long time, and the results were more perfect than he had imagined.
Beyond free teaching and the purge of corruption, the Merit Point exchange system also began its pilot run. When rogue cultivators began to successfully exchange points for rare spells and cultivation resources, the continent went mad once again!
"It's actually true!"
"The people of the Qingtian Domain and even outsiders have actually learned free techniques and gained cultivation experience at the Academy!"
"Look at these recordings of the teaching plazas! Look at the catalogs for pills and manuals! Even that mountain of corpses is real!"
Once the evidence became undeniable, the people of the Star-Sea Continent began a frantic migration toward the Qingtian Domain. They no longer worried about the legitimacy of the claims; their only concern now was whether the Academy's supply of manuals was deep enough and if they could still get a piece of the cake!
With this massive influx of people, the Qingtian Domain began to develop at high speed. However, the first industry to boom was not farming or beast-rearing, but economic trade. Because the population had surged so rapidly, various demands naturally arose, making commerce incredibly vibrant.
Furthermore, the safety of the domain's trade environment was proven. Many large merchant guilds voluntarily relocated their primary trading hubs to the Qingtian Domain. This rapid economic prosperity brought with it a massive tax revenue.
The primary beneficiary of this tax windfall was, of course, the Dean of the Qingyuan Academy, Qi Ping.
'I didn't expect to rake in such a vast amount of spirit stones before I even exchanged much of my resources!'
Qi Ping was stunned by this sudden spike in tax wealth. It allowed him to see the sheer scale of revenue a major domain's positive economic development could generate. More importantly, this was just the beginning. At regular intervals, the tax revenue collected by the Academy would experience another surge.
While the domain developed steadily, Qi Ping spent a great deal of effort adjusting the spiritual veins of the entire land. First, he moved the largest spiritual vein to the center of the Rank 4 leyline.
With the aid of the powerful Rank 4 leyline and the work of the Earth-Vein Ants, the growth speed of this Rank 3 spiritual vein became terrifying. Every day that passed, the intensity of the vein jumped to a new tier. This was the true horror of a Rank 4 leyline—the very reason why so many Nascent Soul experts, and even a Deity Transformation master, had been drawn to the Qingtian Domain when the leyline first ascended.
In addition to the central vein, Qi Ping used his Earth Immortal Druid abilities to adjust all other spiritual veins with minimal damage, placing them at the nodes where the leyline power was strongest.
In the current Qingtian Domain, it could be said that the spiritual energy grew richer with every passing hour. The terrifying potential of a super-leyline that spanned the entire domain was fully realized.
Many had initially worried that the influx of so many cultivators would drain the spiritual energy. Instead, the air grew increasingly saturated with spiritual mist! This directly stunned those who had been waiting for the domain's resources to wither. This thickening spiritual energy was a resounding slap to their faces.
Through his control as an Earth Immortal Druid, Qi Ping could clearly sense that this phenomenon was not just due to the leylines and the ants. Another factor was the sheer number of breakthroughs. For the world itself, the "Power of Creation" birthed during a cultivator's breakthrough was one of the best tonics.
While a few breakthroughs might not be noticeable, there were simply too many people advancing in the Qingtian Domain! Many who had been bottlenecked by a lack of techniques or experience broke through immediately after the Academy's free courses began.
Furthermore, because the domain was safe and the Bee Daoist had personally promised to slay anyone who hindered another's path, countless rogue cultivators and even sect disciples with enemies rushed to the Qingtian Domain to advance. Once it was confirmed that the domain was truly a sanctuary, their numbers reached a staggering level.
It was these breakthroughs that generated a sea of creation power, nurturing the heaven and earth of the Qingtian Domain like never before. The rapid growth of the spiritual veins was merely one aspect of this growth. Everything combined to set the domain on a path of unprecedented strength.
And everyone knew this was just the start.
Naturally, Qi Ping was the greatest beneficiary. As the Earth Immortal Druid, as the domain's strength soared, his own power increased in tandem. Secondly, such a positive impact on the cultivation world caused his Heaven-Earth Favor and Power of Qi Fortune to skyrocket. This provided a massive boost to his own cultivation and comprehension.
Currently, Qi Ping practiced directly above the central node of the Rank 4 leyline. His cultivation level was rising at an incredible pace, and his understanding of the laws of the world advanced by leaps and bounds daily.
In this state, Qi Ping's main body focused entirely on cultivation. Only his Treant clone, Lin Ya, acted in the outside world as the direct manifestation of the Bee Daoist's will, collaborating with Lin Yue and Wang He to manage the Academy's affairs.
Qi Ping was finally experiencing the terrifying power of being blessed by massive providence!
During the intervals of his practice, another shocking event occurred in the Qingtian Domain. On a single day, five separate Golden Core Tribulations descended simultaneously!
For a domain that had lost most of its Golden Core cultivators, this was an incredibly exhilarating event. Moreover, the breakthroughs were personally guarded by the legendary figure of the Star-Sea Continent, the Bee Daoist!
The fact that these five terrifying Golden Core Tribulations were met without a single bolt of Heavenly Punishment proved that the foundations of the practitioners were exceptionally solid. Even Lin Yue and Wang He were shocked; the momentum of these breakthroughs was even stronger than their own had been. One of the tribulations, in particular, was only a hair's breadth away from the intensity of Qi Ping's own past breakthrough.
The only regret for the onlookers was that the Bee Daoist had sealed all information and visuals regarding the event. No one knew which five individuals had advanced, but there was no doubt: they were a secret force belonging to the Bee Daoist! They were likely just like that Golden Flame Crow with the Golden Crow bloodline.
Their guesses were correct. The owners of those five tribulations were none other than the Little Immortal Tiger, the Little Flower Fey, the Little Spirit Fox, the Little Green Snake, and the Four-Colored Deer. Their years of accumulation had finally erupted, condensing extraordinary Golden Core Phenomena.
The Little Immortal Tiger manifested a phantom of the divine beast Baize, its luck-power nearly saturating the sky. The Little Flower Fey manifested a deep, terrifying Super-Vision Pupil that seemed to originate from the Netherworld. The Little Spirit Fox naturally revealed a Nine-Tailed Divine Fox that could charm the world. The Four-Colored Deer revealed the bloodline of the Nine-Colored Divine Deer, the Child of the Forest.
However, the most shocking was the Illumination Mysterious Green Snake. It was the owner of the strongest tribulation, and its Golden Core Phenomenon was a mysterious phantom that even Qi Ping could not clearly discern. The only certainty was that in the presence of this phantom, even the auras of the divine beasts seemed slightly diminished.
'Once these animal companions break through to the Deity Transformation stage, that is when they will truly reign supreme over the world!'
In the future, when he stepped out of the Qingtian Domain to compete for rare resources, these companions would be his most vital strength. At this stage, however, Qi Ping's priority was still to quickly raise his Earth Immortal Druid power and ensure this foothold was completely secure.
But as the domain flourished, the massive influx of rogue cultivators began to strain the supply of spiritual herbs and medicinal pills. This scarcity made many new arrivals worry if they could obtain enough resources to sustain their growth, given how many competitors were now present.
Faced with this, even the capable Lin Yue and Wang He were pacing in anxiety. "What do we do? What do we do?"
The Qingtian Domain was at a critical stage of explosive growth; they could not allow this bottleneck to stall their progress. But the production speed of herbs was limited, and importing them from other domains was prohibitively expensive.
Just as countless outsiders were clutching their resources and waiting to watch the Qingtian Domain fail, three hundred thousand Bixia Earth Loongs suddenly manifested in the world...