"Furthermore, I also have a reward for you for helping us deal with the troublesome Emperor Shitian." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, and a large door suddenly opened in front of them.
In an instant, countless rays of light, exuding a captivating aura, burst forth from them, many of which resonated strongly with the aura emanating from them.
"These are all Heavenly Treasures. In the Primordial World, they would probably be considered Acquired Treasures."
"Although these may only be considered average for you, they can still serve some purpose."
The acquired treasures represent the limit of forging mortal objects. It is difficult to break through this level unless one encounters a product born of nature or has a powerful being infuse it with Daoist principles.
"I've taken a liking to that compass... but do you have a technological version?" Si Zang pointed to the one flying in the sky.
"Someone will bring it to you in half an hour." Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, being talkative and meddlesome.
"I want those gloves." Tang Hong pointed to the leather gloves shrouded in a halo of light. Although they looked ordinary, one could faintly sense a divine might emanating from them.
"Do I... have a very sturdy polearm?" Lin Feng thought for a moment and took out the Demon Blade: "A weapon that can be fed to it, it doesn't need to be too strong, just sturdy."
"Yes, I will have it sent back in half an hour." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and took away the demon blade.
As Yu picked up a stone tablet, the gate that had been open in front of him quickly closed, withdrawing its dazzling light.
At this moment, the commotion suddenly stopped. Lin Feng turned his gaze and found that only he and Zhu Yuanzhang were left around.
"There's something I want to ask you."
The sound slowly traveled through the light, and as Lin Feng turned to follow the sound, the area beneath their feet instantly transformed into a boundless, misty fairy city.
"Daming Xianjing"
"Five thousand years have passed since the Ming Dynasty was promoted. The capital has expanded a hundred times. Every year, we select the most talented young people from those who have reached the required age and send them to the armory for training."
"Cultivation, growth, absorption of spiritual energy, world advancement... what can you glean from this?"
As the inquiry streaked across the sky, Lin Feng also saw countless young people who had come to Kyoto, each one a talented individual, and their burning ambitions.
With Zhu Yuanzhang in charge of the entire world, no one dared to cause trouble. Moreover, there were the ironclad laws of heaven, so even if they had ideas, they dared not engage in corruption or bribery.
However, it is a good thing for the world to have a qualified emperor, but if it relies on only one person, it is both a blessing and the biggest flaw of this world.
Millions of years, even billions of years later, if we still rely on him alone, it seems that the world is missing many things that it truly needs.
Will we produce the same kind of people?
Should we cultivate qualified, nearly identical successors and let new people take over this heavy responsibility?
Lin Feng gazed at this world, many thoughts flashing through his mind: "You can't stop. You need to constantly absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and you need to constantly expand. Genius is equal to resources. Without resources, genius is useless."
The emergence of geniuses inevitably leads to more intense resource allocation, which in turn causes more conflicts between interest groups—these are the most intense issues in this world.
The fighting itself is not the problem; the biggest issue is that they need more unclaimed resources and need to plunder them constantly, never stopping.
With the increase in lifespan, this path is unlikely to decline, meaning that the future Ming Dynasty's appetite will completely devour the world.
"Given the current situation, we need to ensure a celestial advancement in 30 years. During this period, we also need to continuously annex some smaller worlds and bring their resources and lands into the territory of the Ming Dynasty."
"Our plan is to open up the universe and let these people out. The endless universe can alleviate their greed."
"But now it seems that the country built on this land has been able to exist steadily only because of its power and expansion. This is different from our original ideas and different from what we wanted."
Strength is an indispensable factor in a nation's power, but it should not be the sole standard of a nation's strength, nor should it be the only thing people want to pursue.
"What do you want?" Lin Feng asked curiously. In the world of extraordinary power, the pursuit of power is like the love for firearms in the real world. Who wouldn't want to launch a nuclear bomb and watch the fireworks?
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "We hope to see a truly vibrant world, not a world that is vibrant because of power."
Just as some people love everything, others love everything only because they have money, and stop loving it when they lose money.
"I think you must have many advisors who have enough time and energy to study this kind of problem." Lin Feng didn't feel he could offer any good advice.
“We’ve asked them, and they can’t escape the circle of power, and they don’t think it’s a bad thing.” Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: “We also think it’s not a bad thing, but you… perhaps you can have some different ideas.”
"I?"
Lin Feng started thinking. A different idea could only be a method that had been used in reality, and he couldn't escape this circle: "I... think your personal will is too strong, interfering with the will of ordinary people, or rather, you have made the benefits brought by martial artists completely exceed their original meaning, and even made the existence of martial artists exceed any possibility."
"However, in a transcendent world, this is something that is bound to happen."
"Aside from these necessary factors, I think what a country should focus on for truly becoming strong is... the centripetal force that arises spontaneously among its people in a free environment, which does not require excessive interference from individual will."
"If they only yearn for the land of the strong, then it doesn't matter whether this place is the Ming Dynasty or not. If they love this place, no matter what happens here, the flag of the Ming Dynasty will not fall."
"A group of self-reliant people is more persuasive than a person who relies solely on strength."
"Then how do you think we should change this?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked again.
"Change?" A thought flashed through Lin Feng's mind: "Perhaps there is no need to change, it's just that the times have changed. You already have enough people to support this world. Under this world, if your descendants cannot choose freely, then what is the use of supporting this world?"
"Times have changed?"
These four words evoked Zhu Yuanzhang's memories. Since the Ming Dynasty embarked on the path of immortality, they had been relentlessly pursuing a single goal for thousands of years.
Gradually, people only saw immortals, and lived only to enter the armory to learn super techniques, completely ignoring the world and treating everything around them as sacrifices to get to the armory.
He gave the world a choice, freeing them from the constraints of birth, yet the world then placed the armory of Kyoto on the throne.
They only saw the vastness of Kyoto, the power and money it brought, and they elevated those who stayed there to the status of celestial beings, thus ignoring the fact that everyone is just one of the masses.
Having seen other worlds, he realized that this was not what he wanted to see.
So, has the era changed once again, without us even realizing it?
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