Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Li Yao was silent for a moment. He quickly calculated what kind of consequences such a game setting would bring.

Mortal, immortal… One hour as an Immortal Cultivator meant two hours as a mortal?

Observing his expression, Ling Xiaole smiled, with intense confidence beaming out of her eyes. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering why we created the DLC ‘Legend of the Mortal Immortals’, and you’re concerned that some people will be too addicted to the slaughter, destruction, and slavery in the game and eventually become lost in the evil path of the Immortal Cultivators, really turning into Immortal Cultivators in the end, right?”

“Should I not be concerned?”

“I don’t know if you should.” Ling Xiaole shook her head. Her voice was crisp and powerful as she said, “But I know that Vulture Li Yao created the game ‘Civilization’ for the purpose of collecting the big data that existed for real in the entire world so that we could deduce the thousands of different possibilities of our future with the wisdom of all mankind.

“Of course, we can say with a light heart that the true path of immortality is bad, but we cannot bury our heads in the sand like ostriches and pretend that we cannot see the true path of immortality and the worlds of the Immortal Cultivators.

“In fact, however we criticize the path of the Immortal Cultivators, the Imperium of True Human Beings governed by the Immortal Cultivators has already stood for a thousand years at the center of the cosmos and is not likely to perish in the next few centuries from what we can see.

“It is undeniable that the true path of immortality is an option for the future of mankind, although it is an evil and inefficient one in our eyes. But since it exists at the center of the cosmos in reality, we will have to learn about it, study it, and figure out its birth, development, peak, and decline. We must understand why it is evil and inefficient so that we can find out a way to defeat it, reform it, and renovate it in the end!

“This was the purpose of ‘Legend of the Mortal Immortals’ when we created it.

“I believe that Vulture Li Yao released the Immortal Cultivator Su Changfa with his personal influence and allowed the guy to freely disseminate the theory of the Immortal Cultivators for the exact same reason a hundred years ago, didn’t he? We were only taking a step forward on Li Yao’s shoulders.”

“Don’t be humble. You have essentially kicked on Li Yao’s forehead hard and make a giant leap forward!” Taking a deep breath, Li Yao mumbled, “Do excuse me. I find it a bit difficult to contain myself. After all, we’ve wandered in the sea of stars for a thousand years, and I only just woke up from a prolonged hibernation. I’m truly dazzled and lost for words after seeing your amazing new world!”

With a sweet smile, Ling Xiaole replied, “It’s totally understandable, but I assure you that you, as well as everybody on Firefly, will soon grow fond of the new world that is full of wonders!”

Li Yao thought for a moment and said, “However, is there really nobody who grows fond of the feeling of being an Immortal Cultivator and really becomes an Immortal Cultivator in the end because of a game like…’Legend of the Mortal Immortals’?”

Batting her big eyes, Ling Xiaole asked back, “Special Representative Lin, let me ask you a question. What kinds of entertainment do you have on Firefly? Novels, movies, and video games in the Grand Illusionary Land, I believe that you must have all of them, right?”

Li Yao was slightly dazed. He nodded. “Of course. In the narrow starships with insufficient resources, virtual games are the cheapest and most convenient kind of entertainment.”

Ling Xiaole went on. “I assume that, if you also have novels, movies, and video games, the most popular ones are probably not about casual, carefree daily life but full of killing, blood, violence, and other mature content. Even the works orientated for the females are brimming with conflict and struggle, instead of them helping one another friendlily, right?”

“Well…”

He seemed to get what Ling Xiaole was trying to say.

“Do you feel that a normal person will turn amok after they read a detective novel because they admire the murder’s methods in the book?” Ling Xiaole said with a smile. “Do you feel that an avid play will go on a killing spree in reality after they play a shooting game because they think that the game is not exciting enough?

“On the other hand, since there is a population of more than a hundred million on Firefly, naturally, a lot of crimes must’ve happened. But exactly how many of the brutal and ruthless crimes are purely caused by certain particularly bloody and violent novels, movies, or games?

“Furthermore, do you agree with censoring all content that involves blood and violence in every kind of entertainment just for the purpose of crime prevention? Do you believe that there will be no more crimes after such things are censored?”

Li Yao thought for a long time and had to admit that Ling Xiaole was right.

“Essentially speaking, a virtual world of Immortal Cultivators is no different from a regular shooting game, a novel that depicts gangsters and criminals, and a movie where blood flows into rivers and broken limbs fly everywhere.

“For someone who has a happy life in reality and who has a lot of things to protect and fight for, it is impossible to become an Immortal Cultivator just after playing ‘Legend of the Mortal Immortals’ for a while.

“On the other hand, if someone becomes a murderer after reading a horror novel or an Immortal Cultivator after playing ‘Legend of the Mortal Immortals’, the problem lies not with the novel or the game but in every aspect of their real life.

“If the deep-rooted problems in real life are not resolved, such persons will degenerate all the same even if they do not read any novels or play any games.

“Therefore, what matters is to resolve the problems in real life, not trouble the virtual worlds. After all, the virtual worlds are just a mirror of reality, and you cannot expect to fix the ugliness of reality by smashing the mirror.

“Of course, if somebody really shows signs of being transformed, it will be easier to observe and control them when they are transformed in ‘Legend of the Mortal Immortals’, which is certainly much better than them being transformed into Immortal Cultivators in a certain dark corner of our society without anybody else knowing, right?”

What else could Li Yao do except nod his head?

“There’s no need to worry.” Ling Xiaole smiled. “Of course, we are well aware of the severity of the issue. After ‘Legend of the Mortal Immortals’ was released, the authorities traced and observed the players for decades. Their conclusion was that there is no major difference between the crime rate of the players of the DLC and the crime rate of non-players. In large search engines, the players’ searches on the relevant theories of ‘true path of immortality’ rose in the first three years after the DLC was released and reached a peak in the fifth year. Then, they began dropping until they were even 5.7% lower than before the release.

“In other words, for the players of ‘Legend of the Mortal Immortals’, the attraction of the ‘true path of immortality’ has been declining every year. The more one plays as an Immortal Cultivator in the virtual world, the less likely they will become an Immortal Cultivator in reality!”

Li Yao and Heiye Lan were deep in thought. “Why is that?”

“The psychologists and sociologists have run profound analyses on the issue. The papers on the topic are as high as a mountain, but there has never been a conclusive theory.

“Perhaps, other than the real perverts, most normal people still prefer sunnier, more beautiful, and kinder things, don’t they? Maybe, the ‘double pain’ during the time as mortals calmed their feverish brains down and made them realize that, although they could play as almighty Immortal Cultivators and the heroes of ‘Legend of the Mortal Immortals’ in the virtual world, they would probably become human-shaped props that could barely be called a ‘supporting role’ when the expedition army of the Imperium conquers the federation. Their only outcome would be to be stomped on, savaged, and destroyed.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Every player remembers the motto clearly after playing the DLC.”

While the three of them were talking, the ‘Storm Assault Team’ who dressed up like soldiers of the Imperium had already gone deep into the excited crowd, interacting with the audience and warming up the atmosphere.

The super band from the core worlds was indeed extraordinary. Enhanced by the sound and visual effects, they fully demonstrated the arrogance and invincibility of the army of the Imperium.

But if one observed them more carefully, one would realize that they were not as confident as they appeared to be. While Li Yao could perceive the magnificence of the Imperium from them, he could also perceive their fear and agitation. In the end, a normal spectator would both hate the Imperium and think that the federation could win!

Leaving their expertise in the game aside, their acting skills and their professionalism were enough to amaze Li Yao. No wonder the other entertainment businesses had all declined while gaming live stream industry was still thriving!

Right at the climax of the interaction of the two parties, when the local game experts of the federation should show up to accept the challenge according to the itinerary, an unexpected incident took place. A few uncles and old men, who were gray haired and wearing artificial limbs, implying that they could be disabled veterans, somehow squeezed through the crowd and lunged at the ‘Storm Assault Team’. They fought the performers as if the latter were a real army of the Imperium.

The scene immediately fell into chaos.

Although the security guards came as soon as possible to control the few disabled veterans, two game experts were still punched multiple times. Because of the heavy fists of the veterans, their faces were blue and swollen. They were stunned on the spot, both amused and embarrassed.

Li Yao held back his smile and said, “It seems that the disabled veterans of the old generation in the federation cannot appreciate the fashion of the younger generation yet!”

Covering Li Yao and Heiye Lan, Ling Xiaole quickly left the chaotic spot under the protection of a few Secret Sword Agents.

She pressed her ears to receive the instructions from her superior. A moment later, she grinned and said, “Special Representative Lin, I’m afraid that you’re mistaken. They are indeed disabled veterans who were too excited and rash to tell performance from reality because the scene was so convincing. However, they are not from the federation; they are authentic soldiers from the Imperium.”

Li Yao’s smile froze. “What do you mean? Four authentic soldiers of the Imperium berated a bunch of young men of the federation in indignation who dressed up like soldiers of the Imperium’s army and told the young men that they should know better than pretending to be the wretched soldiers of the Imperium?”

Ling Xiaole nodded. “Yes.”