Chiyun Sword Sect, Lotus Mountain Buddhist Monastery, Laoshan Daoist Sect, Tiger Mountain Saber Gate, Tongshan Sect, Five Roads Sect, and many other martial arts sects in the Yunyue Kingdom all had individuals who had broken through their cultivation bottlenecks and entered the next realm tonight.
Chu Chen, unaware of the martial arts sects in the martial world, received news from the Dark Department.
Disturbed from his cultivation, Chu Chen opened his eyes and looked unhappily at the Dark Department member kneeling before him. "What is it?" he asked.
The Dark Department member respectfully replied, "Reporting to my Lord, the Dark Department has detected unusual spiritual energy tonight and has come to inform you."
"Unusual spiritual energy?" Chu Chen frowned, recalling his recent cultivation. It seemed the spiritual energy in the world had indeed become slightly denser and more concentrated. But such a minor change wouldn't warrant a report, would it?
Wait, could it be that because his realm is higher, the changes he perceives are not as obvious?
Thinking this, Chu Chen asked, "You are all in the Body Refining realm. Do you perceive a significant change in the world's spiritual energy?"
"Yes, my Lord. When we cultivate, we notice a vast difference in the quantity and concentration of spiritual energy compared to before."
"A vast difference? It seems that's indeed the case. For them, the quantity and concentration are significant, but for me, in the Qi Transformation realm, it's only a slight change."
Chu Chen nodded and said, "If that's the case, do the Embroidered Uniform Guard feel the same?"
"Reporting to my Lord, the Embroidered Uniform Guard all cultivate by moving their blood and qi, and have not perceived any spiritual energy changes. No one has reported anything."
"I understand," Chu Chen nodded and instructed, "Please order the Dark Department members outside to allocate seventy percent of their manpower to gather information on the various sects and factions in the martial world. I will supplement the missing seventy percent of your manpower."
"Yes!"
"You may go now."
As soon as Chu Chen finished speaking, the Dark Department member rose, pushed open the door, and closed it respectfully before disappearing.
"First, there were celestial phenomena, and now a great increase in spiritual energy. This is truly... could it be that the Qingzhou Continent is experiencing a spiritual energy revival!"
Chu Chen thought with a headache, "I must experience the change in spiritual energy myself. If it is indeed a spiritual energy revival, then these martial arts sects will be in trouble. I remember there's a Chiyun Sword Sect, and someone there is in the Foundation Establishment realm. In the Yunyue Kingdom, besides me, there are only five Foundation Establishment realm cultivators."
"Although I have already taken the step into the Qi Transformation realm, with such a change in spiritual energy, it's hard to guarantee that this person won't also enter the Qi Transformation realm. If the number of Qi Transformation realm cultivators increases, ordinary soldiers below the Body Refining realm will likely become obsolete."
When he was in the Qi Transformation realm, he didn't feel it. But the thought of others achieving the Qi Transformation realm, especially those not affiliated with the court, made him even more troubled.
The Qi Transformation realm is different from the Foundation Establishment stage. The latter can only contend with a hundred or so people and fears continuous arrow fire or a dozen crossbows. The former, however, can encompass an area within a hundred meters and possesses strange and miraculous abilities.
"Below Body Refining can be considered low-level martial arts. Below Qi Transformation can be considered mid-level martial arts. Above Qi Transformation, it gradually becomes non-human, high-level martial arts."
"There are still six more realms after this: Core Formation, Spiritual Platform, Fusion, Mahayana, Martial Immortal, and Divine Realm. I'm afraid each one is more outrageously powerful than the last. If spiritual energy continues to increase and revive, in time, when two armies confront each other, what's the point of fighting? If a few experts stand there, victory will be decided, and the war will end."
"No, if this is the case, won't my court's advantage disappear? Won't all my hard work so far be in vain?"
Chu Chen became displeased, not wanting to see martial arts sects run rampant and the government become a mere decoration.
"I need to find a way."
Chu Chen's mind raced as he pondered a solution.
"These martial arts sects have the advantage of inherited training, where everyone practices martial arts. Their numbers aren't large; some have only a few, others a dozen or so. At most, they might have three to five hundred people, but they can't be underestimated because everyone practices martial arts full-time."
"If I want to deal with or even suppress them, I must at least possess the equivalent of two first-rate martial arts sects in my hands, meaning a thousand-strong sect with roughly comparable cultivation levels."
"There are many martial arts practitioners in the imperial army, but ninety percent of them are below the Body Refining realm, making them useless. Some high-ranking officers and nobles are in the Body Refining realm, but it's impossible to ask them to abandon their important positions and power to become my subordinates."
After much thought, Chu Chen felt he had to cultivate a group of talents himself. After all, with the system providing so many elixirs, even a small portion of them would be enough to train a team with decent cultivation.
"I remember I still have the Divine Alchemist, Divine Herbalist, and Divine Agriculture talents. I'll find some good land when I have time and cultivate some spiritual herbs. In the early stages, I'll have people collect wild ones and then refine a batch of elixirs."
"For low-level cultivation, I can try to replicate the Body Cultivator's Three Realms Elixir provided by the system and refine a batch. For those beyond Body Refining, I can dilute them or directly use the elixirs obtained from the lottery."
Chu Chen quickly thought of a solution and suddenly remembered a certain department from his previous life. He chuckled, "I almost forgot about this. Although it's an organization used in TV shows to manage low-level martial arts, it can also be used in the Yunyue Kingdom."
The Six Doors! This was the organization Chu Chen thought of, specifically designed to monitor, manage, and suppress the various sects and factions in the martial world. Establishing this organization and then placing his elixir-enhanced subordinates within it would be enough to suppress those martial arts sects.
"Unless the disciples of these martial arts sects improve their cultivation faster than I can cheat my subordinates, they'll be suppressed for a lifetime!"
Chu Chen sneered, then reached out and clapped his hands. Immediately, a Dark Department member descended from above and knelt on one knee.
"Notify the Embroidered Uniform Guard to gather intelligence these few days and investigate where in the Yunyue Kingdom there are a hundred acres of fertile land, preferably surrounded by walls and fortifications."
"Understood!"
Soon, the Dark Department member disappeared again.
Only then did Chu Chen close his eyes and continue his cultivation with peace of mind.
After entering a state of meditation, Chu Chen indeed sensed a slight change in the surrounding spiritual energy. With a thought, he controlled the spiritual energy within his body to reduce its activity and suppress its Qi Transformation nature, forming a Foundation Establishment realm cultivation. Then, he cultivated with this Foundation Establishment realm cultivation.
This time, Chu Chen clearly perceived that the spiritual energy in the world had indeed changed significantly. This spiritual energy had a great impact on the Foundation Establishment realm, with more and denser spiritual energy being infused into his body.
After sensing it for a while, Chu Chen suppressed his cultivation again and practiced in the Body Refining realm. The difference he felt this time was even more enormous.
"Damn, in this kind of spiritual energy environment, one might reach Foundation Establishment within five years in the Body Refining realm? And Qi Transformation within twenty years?"
Chu Chen opened his eyes and did a quick calculation, realizing that this spiritual energy was five times stronger than before!
"In the Scripture Repository, although I have entered and cleaned the most important parts, I have not read the books within. However, among the books outside, the highest recorded realm is only Core Formation."
"Only in the True Essence Profound Art, which I copied from the system's prompts, are the realms from Core Formation to Mahayana recorded. It's possible they genuinely believe Core Formation is the end of cultivation in this world."