645: rule

No one expected that the Great Qian Empire would actually take action against a local powerhouse like the He Family.

On that day.

On the execution platform, He Liwu kept muttering to himself.

"My father is the head of the He Family, my father is the head of the He Family, you can't kill me..."

However, he didn't notice that the head of the He Family was right beside him.

That already aged face was almost bloodless; the man looked destitute and dazed. Below the platform, countless commoners threw things at them, though they didn't use eggs or rotten vegetable leaves.

That would have been too extravagant.

They directly used cow dung, horse manure, and other filth.

Some people even brought wooden buckets filled to the brim from the latrines and ran onto the platform to pour them over the head of the He Family patriarch.

"What are you doing? Who told you to go up on the platform?"

Someone from the Ministry of Justice immediately shouted, "Disturbing public order! Drag them down, give them a warning, and make them write a three-hundred-word self-reflection!"

"What? You don't know how to write?"

"Then recite 'I will never disturb public order again' a hundred times. Do it right here, and say it loudly."

The offender looked embarrassed and could only bite the bullet and recite, but it caused a burst of laughter from below.

Many people truly realized that the officials of the Great Qian Empire seemed to be different.

This kind of thing wasn't just happening in Yunliu City. Due to the change in powers, many people hadn't had time to adapt, and there were still many who committed crimes.

Every day, rivers of blood flowed from the execution platforms.

However, after a period of time, everyone realized the Great Qian Empire was truly different, and such incidents gradually began to decrease.

The expansion of the Great Qian Empire continued, soon reaching ten cities. If Li Shishan hadn't been concerned that expanding too quickly would lead to instability, the pace would certainly have been even faster.

Five years passed.

The territory of the Great Qian Empire had doubled again, and Li Shishan had become a Dao-Entry Realm expert, the strongest Cultivator beneath a Saint.

Over these years, the Ministry of Justice had been continuously refining the Laws. Facing an Empire where everyone lived and worked in peace, there was no decline in the number of Cultivators or their strength compared to those who had been tempered by blood, as one might expect from a lack of crisis awareness.

On the contrary.

In this environment, the overall strength of the Empire did not fall but rose, growing more prosperous by the day. Prodigies were constantly discovered within the Empire, and the originally frantic competition for resources between Sects became extremely peculiar.

Because according to Great Qian Law, injuring or killing someone without cause would lead to imprisonment. Previously, several Sect Elders had been caught and imprisoned for inciting such acts, and even a Sect Master had been arrested.

However, arena matches were not within this jurisdiction.

Later, when Heaven And Earth Treasures were encountered in the wild, people would directly set up an arena and start a match; whoever stood last was the winner.

Of course, it was impossible for the rules to reach every corner, and there were many who slipped through the cracks. For example, members of the Demonic Cults, though heavily targeted, still existed within the Great Qian Empire and continued to kill.

But the common people at least gained a chance at survival.

No Cultivator dared to move against them at will, especially in the cities directly governed by the Great Qian Empire; cases of commoners being killed were relatively rare.

The Ministry of Revenue later set tax rates; every industry had taxes, and there were penalties for tax evasion, even for brothels.

The various rules of the Great Qian Empire directly weakened the original dark and evil forces by eighty percent.

But darkness always exists; it is impossible to eliminate it completely. The Great Qian Imperial Family could only act as a lamp, continuously illuminating the Empire's borders.

Inspired by the Great Qian Empire, several powerful Righteous Path Sects followed suit, beginning to research how to better nurture their Disciples.

Previously, they had been in a state of semi-neglect.

Now they began to study how to improve their Disciples' combat capabilities and other aspects, much like the nine-year compulsory education Su Chen once knew, and the results were excellent.

This allowed many dark horse Disciples to emerge within their Sects.

The strength of the entire Great Qian Empire was growing at an astonishing speed.

Su Chen watched all this calmly from the Nine Star Empire's palace. The Li family seemed to have returned to the right track. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before they could completely unify the entire Xuanhuang Realm.

Su Chen thought for a moment, then pointed his finger.

Li Shishan, who was in seclusion, suddenly sensed a disturbance in heaven and earth. The Imperial Jade Seal of the State, which had been placed by his side as a decoration, suddenly began to tremble incessantly, as if something was about to emerge from within.

What is this!

Dense power of the Heavenly Dao condensed within the Imperial Jade Seal, eventually outlining unformed Laws one by one.

Li Shishan's face immediately showed shock. He hurriedly stood up and knelt toward the sky:

"Thank you, Old Ancestor!"

He recognized this familiar aura; he knew it was the Old Ancestor taking action.

From the Imperial Jade Seal, he sensed a dense Power of Law. This Power of Law was bound to their Great Qian Empire; if the Empire was strong, the Law would be strong; if the Empire was weak, the Law would be weak.

At the same time.

These Laws resonated with the Great Qian Empire's statutes. That is to say, as time passed, those unformed Laws within the Imperial Jade Seal would gradually become the statutes of their Great Qian Empire.

Later on, as long as you were within the borders of the Great Qian Empire, if you violated the Law, the Laws would descend to administer punishment.

It would directly slay those final few who slipped through the cracks.

Actually, Su Chen hadn't planned to do this initially. But when he saw the Great Qian Empire living in peace and contentment without any weakening of strength, he discovered that in both the Cultivation World and the mortal world, it seemed that only when the country was prosperous and the people were at peace was it easier to become powerful.

The Law of the Jungle was merely a last resort, a forced adaptation to this world.

But one couldn't say that it was inherently good.

For example, in the current Great Qian Empire, a class of people had emerged who specialized in researching combat experience, the differences between each Realm, and how to maximize strength.

Previously, no one researched these things because their lives were in a state of insecurity at every moment.

Everyone was focused on trying to increase their cultivation; who had the spare time for such things?

But now that there was no danger, many schools of thought naturally emerged.

Compared to before, the Geniuses became even stronger, and the mediocre followed suit.

Of course.

Social classes and gaps still existed. For instance, the resources and Cultivation Techniques of large Sects still far exceeded those of ordinary forces.

This was unavoidable.

Wherever there are people, there will be high and low, noble and base.

After finishing all this, Su Chen felt completely at ease regarding the Great Qian Empire. With the restrictions of the Laws, no matter how chaotic the future Great Qian Empire became, it wouldn't descend into total disorder.

"However... things have been a bit unusual lately."

Su Chen looked into the distance. Recently, he had sensed Immortal Venerable level auras frequently erupting from the Demon Territory, as if they were stirring restlessly.

Could they be planning to attack the Central Continent?

...