Hua Taishan and the others soon received news that the Martial Edict had become incredibly popular online.
"I really didn't expect this." Li Legang, having just finished his practice, wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled, taking a sip of tea after hearing the rumors from his subordinates.
Their concept of modern novels was still stuck twenty or thirty years in the past, back when martial arts novels were all the rage.
"There are actually novels like this online?"
"I used to think that cleaving mountains and shattering the void was the peak of power description, but it turns out that any novel you pick up online has characters casually plucking stars and moons, destroying worlds at the drop of a hat." Hua Taishan picked up the tablet handed to him by his attendant and showed his discovery to the others.
It was only after this incident with Bai Mo that they learned about web novels.
"Times have certainly changed."
During the era when martial arts novels were popular, this group of martial arts enthusiasts, just like the general public, were captivated by that romantic "martial world."
Although, as insiders, they were well aware that such dramatic things didn't exist at all, these novels still left a deep impression on them.
"The martial arts settings are more exaggerated than the last, but the characters and plot are unbearable." After casually skimming a few chapters of the novel Hua Taishan had opened, Li Legang gave his assessment.
"It's a story for kids; don't take it too seriously," Hua Taishan chuckled.
"These books constantly feature four or five wives, and characters chop people down if they don't agree after three sentences. Is that appropriate for children? I'll call Old Cui at the Ministry of Culture and have him deal with this."
"Old Li, let's not bother ourselves with such minor matters. Young people have their own world," Hua Taishan said, coaxing Li Legang back to his seat.
He happened to be engrossed in a novel and didn't want it to be banned with a single phone call. Given the Li family's influence in cultural circles, stirring up a banning storm wouldn't be too difficult.
"Old Hua, Old Li, hello. We are..." A middle-aged man in uniform, accompanied by several subordinates, arrived at the Martial Arts Association.
"I know. You're from 'that side'."
The individuals who came knocking were from the national security department. The public release of the Martial Edict had touched certain red lines. Following the phone number Bai Mo had left when uploading the novel, they found Hua Taishan.
"I had it done."
"I understand."
The middle-aged man asked nothing further; the matter ended there.
Because Hua Taishan and the others had sufficiently strong backgrounds, there were naturally no further investigations.
But if Bai Mo's name had been involved, he would undoubtedly have been subjected to various investigations. How could a twenty-year-old possess the accumulated knowledge to participate in creating a cultivation method? That would be a major issue.
After all, Bai Mo was currently a lone wolf, lacking the support of a major power.
Even with all the implications, he would still inevitably expose certain things, as the power of the Huaxia official government was known worldwide.
Thus, his decision to be a bystander this time also saved him a lot of trouble. The old men, who had already coordinated their statements, tacitly concealed Bai Mo's name, insisting that the Martial Edict was solely the result of their four-person collaboration.
Each of them had profound backgrounds and were close relatives of influential figures; such a minor matter could be easily dismissed.
After browsing the internet and finding nothing new, Bai Mo once again scanned his body with his divine sense.
He discovered that the parts of his brain related to visual perception had largely completed their spirit energy transformation, while the emotional control region had undergone some unknown changes under the guidance of spirit energy, producing a small amount of unidentified tissue.
The only thing he could perceive was a significant improvement in his computational and memory abilities after the appearance of these tissues. He initially speculated that the unknown tissues functioned similarly to bio-chips, though their capabilities didn't seem as formidable as the black technology described in novels, such as instant photographic memory.
With his energy-absorbing skin combined with the Martial Edict's spirit-guiding body-refining method, Bai Mo's entire musculature was rapidly undergoing spirit energy transformation. Even his bones and tendons, which had only been superficially strengthened before, began the process of spirit energy transformation.
"Different cultivation methods focus on cultivating different body parts, but the fundamental principle still lies in the amount of spirit qi absorbed. For someone like me, sacrificing a large amount of combat power in exchange for significantly accelerating the evolution of spirit qi absorption is a necessary sacrifice in this race against time."
"My energy-absorbing skin hasn't evolved into something like Old Hua's charging armor. Its sole function is to absorb spirit qi and accelerate spirit energy transformation. Compared to my current physical qualities, it's actually as fragile as an ordinary person's skin, with little practical combat utility."
"And my primary ability, divine sense, isn't a direct combat ability either; it's also a highly efficient auxiliary cultivation ability. If I hadn't undergone a second evolution to develop psionic power as an offensive capability, I suppose combat would truly rely only on my physical attributes."
"However, it's fortunate that peace is still the mainstream now, and we're far from an era of war where the strong reign supreme. My choice to sacrifice combat power for cultivation speed is quite cost-effective. After all, the higher the degree of physical spirit energy transformation, the stronger one's foundational combat power becomes, and the more likely one is to take that next step sooner."
"However, an era of chaos isn't far off. The emergence of extraordinary powers will lead to a redistribution of power, and those at the bottom who gain strength won't be content with the status quo."
Having been immersed in countless novels, Bai Mo made a bold prediction about the future based on his own insights.
"If I hold a high position, I can avoid numerous meaningless frontline battles and gain precious time for development. I should also release some more things to advance my status. Unfortunately, I still have no concept of the path after my entire body undergoes spirit energy transformation, so I can only take one step at a time."
"Based on the current rate of evolution, at most ten years from now, the first ability user capable of withstanding a nuclear bomb might appear, and the individual will reigning supreme over the national will will no longer be a joke."
"Within two years, I should be able to reach the culmination of spirit energy transformation, with every part of my body fully transformed. However, I feel that even at the peak of spirit energy transformation, taking a nuclear bomb hit would still be unrealistic. The hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius at the epicenter of a nuclear blast are simply not something a mortal body can endure."
Having no better ideas, he could only continue cultivating the Martial Edict he possessed, diligently following its spirit-guiding body-refining methods.
At least he had the complete introductory volume of the Martial Edict. Pity those waiting for "Sister Mo Li"'s updates on Qidian. Just as they tasted a little sweetness, they'd find another divine cliffhanger, always getting stuck right when they were about to make a bit of progress, with no clear path forward.
Through his recent contemplation of the general trend, Bai Mo felt that by controlling the release speed of the Martial Edict, he might be able to regulate the average cultivation speed of the entire society to some extent.
Although he knew it wouldn't be long before other similar cultivation methods would emerge, it was unlikely anyone else would dare to publicly serialize them as novels on Qidian like he and the others had. Hoarding knowledge was the mainstream, and it would probably be very difficult for ordinary people to obtain relevant cultivation methods.
Therefore, to accelerate their cultivation speed within a relatively controllable range, Bai Mo decided to update once every two days from now on, with each update ranging from one hundred to two hundred characters.
The number one divine book on Qidian, the Martial Edict, averaged just over a hundred characters per chapter, updated only once every two days, yet its recommendations and clicks reached eight-figure levels in an extremely short time.
Currently, Bai Mo still hoped for a relatively stable transition for society. Born in a peaceful and prosperous era, he harbored no fondness for war and chaos.
It was another Martial Arts Association gathering day, and Bai Mo, familiar with the route, arrived at the reception room on the second floor of the association.
The old men were engaged in a heated debate. Ever since they began the project of compiling the Martial Edict, they couldn't help but discuss topics related to the Martial Path whenever they gathered.
After the initial method of spirit-guiding body-refining was created, the old men primarily focused on how to re-adapt combat moves to suit bodies that were many times stronger. After all, attacking with the ability to leap five meters in a single bound is definitely completely different from only being able to jump two meters.
As for Bai Mo, who didn't understand martial arts, his research direction naturally revolved around the previously mentioned nourishing methods, such as optimizing the efficiency of spirit-guiding body-refining. These were his daily subjects.
After all, his current offensive capabilities largely relied on his monstrous physical attributes. His psionic power was kept hidden as a trump card, only to be used when no one else was aware.
However, he estimated that he would still have to throw some punches at the upcoming World Ability User Exchange Conference, so he had no choice but to focus his energy on improving his visible abilities.
"They probably guessed that my so-called research ability was actually some kind of fortuitous encounter, which is why they confidently let me go abroad to compete..." Bai Mo suddenly realized the true reason he had been recommended to go overseas.