36: Bottom-level rules: The law of the jungle and explosive growth

“Hello, everyone!

“As we all know, the Xuanhuan World possesses a very unique worldview, unlike any previous game.

“So, I’ve discovered that among all these settings, there are two fundamental settings that run through the entire world, which can be said to be the underlying operating logic of the Xuanhuan World.

“What are these two?

“Allow me to explain in detail!”

The young man in the video was full of excitement and fervor, as if he had discovered the underlying Laws of the world.

Interestingly, this person was a new UP host, and at first, he only had a few hundred followers.

But after he released the Xuanhuan World video, not only did the views explode, but his follower count also began to skyrocket, now approaching one hundred thousand!

“The first rule of the Xuanhuan World: the strong prey on the weak!”

In traditional ancient style game worlds, or even in a broader sense, in our modern society.

Human civilization has a huge difference from the wild beasts in nature.

We emphasize order, we emphasize Law, barbarism begins to recede, and civilization begins to take the high ground.

However, there is a reason for this.

“I wonder if any of you have heard a saying?

“The true purpose of gunpowder is to make everyone taller.

“What does this saying mean?

“Simply put, even if you are currently at the bottom of society, easily bullied and seemingly helpless, as long as you hold a firearm, you can kill!

“Before a firearm, all beings are equal; no one can withstand it.

“But in the Xuanhuan World, this rule is invalid.”

In the Xuanhuan World, Cultivators possess formidable physical qualities; even a mere Qi Refining First Level Cultivator can be impervious to blades and spears, rendering Mortal weapons meaningless against them.

In such a situation, Mortals have absolutely no means of restraint against Cultivators, and are utterly helpless.

“It's evident that the disparity between Mortals and Cultivators will gradually lead them to form two societies, or even two races.

“Have you ever seen a lion sympathize with a rabbit? Have you seen a tiger let go of a deer?

“When Cultivators and Mortals gradually become two races, the Law of the strong preying on the weak will be amplified infinitely.

“Oh, someone here might ask: Cultivators are also people, don't they value civilization?

“Don't rush, I haven't mentioned the second rule yet: Cultivation Explosion.

“Here, I must emphasize that the strong preying on the weak and Cultivation Explosion are closely linked and inseparable; without one, the other would be very difficult to exist.”

What is Cultivation Explosion?

This is a relatively difficult concept to understand.

First, one needs to know the normal mode of Cultivation advancement: operating a Cultivation Technique, absorbing Spiritual Qi day after day, continuously refining, and accumulating over time.

Based on comments from many players online, Duan Kong Cave and most Cultivators actually follow this model; their Cultivation is almost directly tied to their age, becoming stronger with age.

But besides this, there is another situation: Opportunity.

As long as one obtains an Opportunity, a rapid Breakthrough in Cultivation is not impossible.

For example, the Medicinal Pill used by players at the start is a type of Opportunity, directly allowing a Mortal to instantly Breakthrough and become a Qi Refining Cultivator.

There are also many legends in Qinghe Town that someone once found a divine medicine in the Efeng Mountain Range, and after consuming it, directly achieved Foundation Establishment.

Some even entered a Secret Realm and emerged as powerful Core Formation Cultivators.

A story also circulates in Duan Kong Cave, saying that a Qi Refining Cultivator once ventured into the Efeng Mountain Range, and three years later, emerged as a Golden Core grand Cultivator.

All these extraordinary events indicate that Cultivation and time are not a corresponding relationship.

“Even if someone appears to be just an ordinary Mortal, as long as they obtain an Opportunity, they can step onto the path of Cultivation.

“A small Qi Refining Cultivator might become a Core Formation Cultivator overnight!

“A junior, chased to a dead end, might reappear as a Golden Core grand Cultivator!

“This is Cultivation Explosion: anyone can potentially improve their Cultivation and reverse the situation at any time, in any place.”

Cultivation Explosion led to a very serious consequence: your softheartedness had a very high chance of becoming the cause of your death.

Therefore, even if you possess heaven-defying Cultivation, capable of effortlessly crushing Mortals, and it seems Mortals cannot threaten you.

But as soon as a conflict arises, you absolutely cannot be softhearted; you must eliminate all threats.

Because they might catch up to your Cultivation at any time.

“In this situation, although Cultivators possess great power, when facing lower-level Cultivators and Mortals, they actually don't have the sense of security we imagine.

“Unease constantly influences their thoughts; they are eager to curb and even eliminate threats, and at the same time, they constantly plunder Opportunities to improve themselves, which makes the strong preying on the weak even more pronounced.

“At the same time, because they follow the principle of the strong preying on the weak, the lower-level Mortals and Cultivators become increasingly rebellious towards the upper-level Cultivators, and the threat brought by Cultivation Explosion becomes increasingly evident, which in turn forces them to further engage in the strong preying on the weak...”

The two underlying Laws intertwined, seemingly forming an unsolvable principle of social operation.

“Actually, besides these two Laws, there is another Law related to Opportunity, but the content in this area has not yet been revealed, so I cannot make a clear judgment. I'll update it later.”

What this new UP host really wanted to say was: limited Opportunities and precious Opportunities.

Because Opportunities are limited, Cultivators constantly prey on the weak, plundering precious Opportunities.

Because Opportunities are precious, Cultivators can achieve Cultivation Explosion, monopolizing the limited Opportunities.

The three Laws intertwined, forming the man-eating, dark undertone of the Xuanhuan World.

However, the Xuanhuan World has not yet fully revealed its worldview.

This new UP host also couldn't judge whether it was as he guessed, that Opportunities are precious and limited.

Therefore, no conclusion could be drawn yet.

And because of this, the two Laws he deduced based solely on Cultivation sparked a huge discussion online.

Many people felt it was wrong:

[Nonsense! Completely wrong! The reason humans are human is because of humanity!]

[The person upstairs, do you know? Humanity is not Innate; it's Acquired. Different environments lead to different human natures. I think the dark human nature in the Xuanhuan World is very reasonable!]

[Reasonable what? Aren't Cultivators also Mortals who Cultivate step by step? Assuming you Cultivate, would you turn around and exploit the people from your hometown?]

[Tsk, hard to say...]

[If you consider Cultivation Explosion, shouldn't it lead to even more civilization? After all, everyone is afraid of others' Cultivation rapidly advancing, so wouldn't it be better to be harmonious, and no one would kill anyone?]

[I haven't figured that out either, but I looked at the Realm descriptions, and I suddenly thought of a question: the higher the Realm, the longer one lives, so the more resources consumed must be greater. Conflict seems inevitable, right?]

“Tsk, it's quite well done.”

Illusion Dream Game Studio.

Jiang Feng watched the video and the discussions among netizens.

Such high popularity was a good thing for him.

He thought for a moment, typed on the keyboard, and also posted a comment:

“The video is well made; I've followed. However, the strong preying on the weak and Cultivation Explosion are merely superficial. If I had to summarize the underlying rules, I think it should be: limited Opportunities and infinite Cultivation.”

“Limited Opportunities and infinite Cultivation?”

Rong City.

The new UP host, This Time Bu Ge, his eyes lit up; he seemed to understand something, yet he didn't.

Because the content currently displayed in the Xuanhuan World is simply too little, many things are not clear to everyone.

Not only could he not understand, but netizens also found it somewhat confusing.

[What does that mean? I don't understand.]

[Is it saying that the Cultivation Realm is infinite? Without end?]

[So what? In reality, human pursuits are also infinite, and resources are also limited, so why hasn't such a conflict erupted?]

[Upstairs, if reality also had Cultivation, and Cultivation could increase lifespan, what do you think society would become?]

[What could it become?]

[Everyone, stop worrying about this, Jiangcheng Lao Wang has triggered a plot development!]

Jiangcheng Lao Wang, a streamer who surrendered to Duan Kong Cave.

For a long time, he had been bound, with no plot progression.

Now, finally, there's a plot development!