After the shock came a long silence.
“H-Hello, please fill out this form with some basic information. Scan the code at the bottom of the form to download the ‘Lingjing’ App, then log in and bind it with your ID card.”
The officer in black hurriedly took a registration form from his colleague and placed it neatly in front of Nan Zhi. “Bring a chair over here, hurry up!” He then turned back to Nan Zhi with a warm smile. “Oh, right, this is the official cultivation app. We implement a one-account-per-person policy, and everyone has to go through real-name verification. Of course, registration isn't mandatory, but there are already over five hundred thousand registered practitioners across Huaxia. The official accounts also regularly release the latest policy updates and cultivation information on there, so it's quite convenient for us.”
“Thank you.”
Nan Zhi took the chair, carefully filled out the registration form, and then handed it back. “It does seem very convenient. I'll download and register one right now.”
Five hundred thousand registered users... That meant in just half a year, at least fifty thousand practitioners had stepped onto the path of cultivation and were preparing to join the ranks.
Five hundred thousand practitioners sounded like a lot.
But when compared to Blue Star's population of seven billion, this force was exceptionally tiny.
To Ao Mingzhu, dealing with them was just a matter of spewing dragon flame for the duration of a cup of tea.
If they hoped to use this force to defend against the secret realms of the Four Provinces that were about to manifest, they might as well go back to sleep and keep dreaming.
The officer in black carefully picked up the registration form, turning it around as slowly as if he were holding a bundle of explosives. The moment his eyes swept over her basic information, he froze on the spot:
【Name: Nan Zhi】
【Age: 25】
【Origin: Mulian Village, Xixiang, Southwest Region, Huaxia】
【Ethnicity: Han】
【Cultivation Realm (Based on spiritual energy detector results, optional): Qi Refinement Level 5】
【Master/Sect/Social Organization/Religious Group: Mu Changsheng of the Southwest Circuit Demon Suppression Division】
【Cultivation Technique (Optional): 《Small Huanzhen Manual》】
【Specialty/Preference/Research Direction (Optional): Gu arts, alchemy, and spirit herb gathering and planting】
She really is a Qi Refinement Level 5 powerhouse?!
But the most valuable part of the entire form was those three words:
“Demon Suppression Division.”
The name of the Demon Suppression Division was all too familiar to everyone in the Special Investigation Bureau. In particular, their superiors had repeatedly emphasized and drummed it into their ears that they must pay close attention to this name.
The officer in black desperately suppressed his inner excitement, digging his nails into his thigh to keep from crying out. Gritting his teeth, he winked at his colleague beside him:
“The Demon Suppression Division... The Demon Suppression Division is great!”
The colleague didn't react at first, responding with a dazed expression:
“Demon Suppression Division? Which Demon Suppression Division—holy crap! That Demon Suppression Division?!!!”
The legendary cultivation organization that was notoriously elusive and had been secretly hidden in history for over one thousand five hundred years?!
The mysterious entity that even the human-form great demons of the Southwest region reportedly feared and avoided direct conflict with?
The actual, existing cultivation organization where the legendary fish-riding True Immortal who caused the Yellow River to change course and the Northwest to rejuvenate belonged, and to which Director Qin of the Qianli Special Investigation Bureau was affiliated?!
Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!
They got a live one!!
A third-class merit was waving at them!!
Looking at Nan Zhi, who was obediently registering and logging in, the eyes of the two officers in black lit up.
The original purpose of screening practitioners across Qianli City was twofold. First, it was to prevent the emergence of people like Li Dapeng, who used their power to break laws, violate discipline, and harm the lives and property of the citizens.
Second, it was to better coordinate conflicts between practitioners and nip any extreme cases that might arise in the future in the bud.
Some had questioned this decision, feeling that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack and that the effort would far outweigh the rewards.
But who could have imagined?!
They had actually caught a big fish—no, a whale!
Thus, of the two officers in black, one ran out like mad to report the news, while the other used the gentlest voice of his life, sounding like the Big Bad Wolf coaxing Little Red Riding Hood:
“Yes, yes, you're doing great! Once you're registered, you can upload your identity information. After passing verification, you'll receive your own unique ID.
“After logging in, you can communicate and discuss with other fellow practitioners in the community. You can also choose to private message others or take on forum missions to level up your account.
“The higher your account level, the higher your permissions, and the more information you'll be able to view.
“The ‘Lingjing’ App is a cultivation-related software independently developed by the authorities. Taoist scriptures, ancient texts, and even all the books in the National Library have been included in it.
“As long as your permissions are high enough, you can query them at any time through the AI—oh, AI stands for artificial intelligence...”
Nan Zhi: “...”
She had only cultivated, not replaced her brain. There was no way she didn't even remember what AI was.
...
In terms of efficiency, the authorities were indeed fast.
Only half a year had passed since the Mountain Lord of the Southwest subdued the demons, yet a cultivation-related app had already been released.
The app icon was a pattern of Blue Star, with a newly sprouted two-leaf seedling breaking through the soil at the very top. It was clean and straightforward.
The main interface of the software was incredibly simple, with only three pages and completely clean, without any embedded advertisements:
“Forum”
“Library”
“Private Message”
At the very bottom of the main interface was a large plus sign for “Publish.” Only those with fifty points were eligible to post on the forum.
There were three ways to obtain points:
First, by posting about cultivation on the forum. If a post was featured by an administrator, other practitioners could only browse half of it and would need to pay a certain number of points to read the full text.
Second, by answering cultivation-related questions posted by other practitioners under bounty threads. If the original poster accepted the answer, they would pay a certain number of points.
Third, through private transactions between practitioners, which were then paid for online with points. Of course, offline trading yielded higher returns, but it also came with much higher risks.
Nan Zhi even saw someone posting to exchange points for ten thousand RMB, and the authorities didn't seem to have any intention of stepping in to stop it.
The forum, however, was much more interesting.
【Brothers, you won't believe this. Last year when I went to offer incense with my girlfriend, a monk stopped me and said I had a spiritual root. Today, I finally broke through to become an innate martial artist and stepped into the Qi Refinement realm!】
【I heard there's a big shot in the government who is at Qi Refinement Level 3, which is considered officially starting cultivation. Is that true?】
【Ever since I started cultivating, I always feel like the air is too thin, and I can't enter a meditative trance at all. Does anyone have any reliable recommendations for a secluded place to live?】
【You're dreaming. All the famous mountains and spiritual pulses already have owners. The government does have a lottery system to go cultivate at a spiritual pulse, but the waitlist is probably going to take forever.】
【I heard the higher-ups intend to open up the Yellow River Secret Realm to allow people to enter and gather resources, but only big shots at the Qi Refinement stage are allowed in.】
【Qi Refinement? I've only just managed to find a bit of qi sense. Could the big shots please give me some guidance!】
【Yellow River Course Change Video.AVI】
【I'd like to ask my fellow Daoists, how can one break through that faint, intangible barrier at the peak of martial arts?】
【Seeking medicine that can treat burns! Urgent! Urgent! Urgent!! Offering a massive reward!! Name your price!】
【I remember one was circulated on the market in the Southwest region. At the time, the price was hyped up to eighty million.】
【By the way, are there any big shots who can talk about alchemy? My ancestors passed down books on refining pills, but I have absolutely no clue!】
【What's Qi Refinement? Once This Venerable cultivates to the Golden Core stage, my physical body will withstand nuclear bombs, and I'll shatter planets with a single punch!】
【Southwest Strange Fish Incident.AVI】
【Nanyun Airport Heavy Fog Incident.RPG】
【Wow! Thank you for sharing, big shot!! My points weren't enough to view it, but I finally got to see this video!】
【How do I share this video to my family group chat? My parents don't believe I'm cultivating at all. They think I'm being scammed.】
【Share? You're dreaming. You can't even copy it. Watch out or you'll get banned.】
【This post has been blocked by the administrator for violating public order, good morals, and community guidelines.】
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