The sudden disappearance and annihilation of cultivators, while causing some shock among the various dynasties, did not lead to significant unrest as they still possessed some foundations. Furthermore, other aristocratic families suffered comparable losses.
For instance, internal strife and division within certain countries were averted.
The entire world remained largely peaceful and stable.
However, the burden on the common people remained unchanged compared to the past. The various taxes that were previously levied to appease immortal sects were not removed after the disappearance of these sects and cultivators.
Everyone seemed to have tacitly forgotten about it.
Those with a semblance of decency might have rebranded the taxes, changing their names while continuing to collect them. The shameless ones simply continued to use the old immortal tax names.
After all, if the common people hadn't rebelled before, it meant they could afford it. Why then would these taxes be abolished? It was far more profitable to collect them and keep the proceeds.
Moreover, with the disappearance of cultivators, a new source of power was urgently needed for self-protection. Martial arts, which did not require spiritual energy to cultivate, undoubtedly became the best choice. However, nurturing martial artists also required financial contributions. Coupled with the fact that assets previously protected by a single cultivator might now require the protection of numerous martial artists, the increase in numbers naturally led to an increase in the cost of nurturing them.
Therefore, when summarized,
It was perfectly reasonable not to reduce taxes, and even to increase them.
Yet, most common people were unaware of this. Their demands were simple: they just wanted to survive, to not starve. Not having their taxes increased was already cause for immense gratitude.
Thus, from the era of cultivation to the era of martial arts,
The transition was relatively peaceful.
For the common people, there was no change. For the rulers, it simply meant losing their patrons. Although they would have to train their own enforcers and protect their assets, they were no longer subservient to immortal ancestors. Their actual power was even consolidated to some extent.
The martial artist community was the most affected.
From their previous mediocre status, they suddenly became honored guests of many families and even dynasties.
While they were still far from the nobility of cultivators, at least they were no longer arbitrarily ordered around. They gained a certain status, and those with higher cultivation levels even obtained official positions.
The entire martial arts world flourished, and practitioners became increasingly enthusiastic and numerous.
It could be said that practicing martial arts now
Meant standing at the forefront of the era.
This was also inevitable, as the spiritual energy was depleted too quickly. It took less than two years for this to happen. Most people remaining in the world were born during the period of abundant spiritual energy.
This meant their physical quality was still quite good. In the martial arts world of the late Dharma Age, with depleted spiritual energy, they would generally be considered prodigies. They might not be suited for cultivation, but they were definitely suited for martial arts, as the threshold for martial arts was much lower than for cultivation. Their aptitude was more than sufficient.
Therefore, the current martial arts boom
Was a perfectly normal phenomenon.
Normally speaking, the depletion of spiritual energy was a slow and gradual process. It would take a thousand years for spiritual energy to decrease by one level, subsequently lowering the aptitude of newborn children and the highest attainable cultivation realm.
This process would continue for thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years.
The late Dharma Age would naturally descend, and the world would gradually transition from a cultivation era to a martial arts era. Then, as spiritual energy continued to decline, the aptitude of new generations would also decrease.
This would continue until they were no longer adapted to spiritual energy and could not cultivate at all, at which point the martial arts era would also end.
This was the normal progression.
The logic was simple: people living in an environment rich in spiritual energy would naturally adapt to it, giving birth to children with good aptitude. However, as spiritual energy gradually disappeared, and even became imperceptible, newborns would slowly evolve to adapt to the new environment, resulting in increasingly poorer aptitude.
It was normal for them to become unsuited for spiritual energy and unable to cultivate.
This was survival of the fittest, the natural selection of those who could adapt to their environment. This applied not only to humans but also to animals and plants.
However, the current situation was that spiritual energy had suddenly depleted. The speed of human evolution and adaptation to the environment could not keep pace with the rate of depletion. Therefore, most people today possessed excellent martial arts aptitude.
The quality of flora and fauna was also very good.
This meant that although the spiritual energy in this world had completely vanished in a very short period, the remaining people and things were still products of an era of abundant spiritual energy. While this was not significant for cultivation, it became valuable when directly entering the martial arts era.
Not only were people martial arts prodigies,
But even the grass by the roadside and the grains grown at home had a certain effect on promoting martial arts cultivation.
Therefore, the past few years were an opportune time for practicing martial arts. However, after a few more years, once the remnants of the cultivation era were depleted, the situation might change. It was estimated that only then would the world truly enter the late Dharma Age.
Unlike now, where there were still some lingering effects.
These effects could allow martial arts to flourish for some years.
Ding Yun did not have any particular thoughts about the flourishing of martial arts, nor did she intend to suppress it again. After all, she understood that martial arts were like grasshoppers in autumn, with only a few years left to hop. There was no need to specifically target them.
She continued to advance her original plan.
With five years for enlightenment and six years for advanced training, Ding Yun not only successfully cultivated a large group of highly professional and useful high school students but also, under the guise of doing business, promoted and established a light industrial system worldwide. This not only built a massive commercial empire but also, using various light industrial machinery as a core, connected and formed numerous chambers of commerce.
These chambers of commerce spanned all industries.
Through these chambers of commerce as intermediaries, Ding Yun had established connections and gained a certain status in the business circles of various countries worldwide. While it did not reach the level of monopoly, her influence was considerable.
Mobilizing forces to easily cripple the entire economic system of several countries was a simple matter.
And all of this was merely preliminary preparation.
As the first batch of disciples officially graduated, with a portion of those with sufficient talent for further in-depth study and research being kept by Ding Yun, the remaining disciples were all sent out. Ding Yun instructed them to enter various industries according to their own ideas and to apply their respective strengths.
They were to await her orders when necessary.
To contribute their value and offer assistance.
Ding Yun then formally mobilized the power of all her chambers of commerce, initiating the prelude to modernization.
This was the great transformation of agriculture.
The foundation of modernization was industrialization. The foundation of industrialization was having a sufficient labor force with a certain level of knowledge. To have a sufficient and high-quality labor force, everyone must first be able to eat their fill, have some surplus money, and be able to send their children to school.
At the very least, they could send their children to learn a trade.
The cornerstone of all this lay in agriculture. If agriculture did not develop and food reserves were insufficient, everything else would be like a castle in the air. Sacrificing agriculture for industry could achieve the goal, but it was not necessary.
Ding Yun had time to proceed step by step.
There was no need for a forced rapid advancement.