Chapter 330

You think exactly that!

Although you had a sudden realization under the prompting of your "other self" and decided to use class oppression to maintain the new dynasty's rule, you're not an idiot—you can't just go catch a sheep to shear, because that would be courting death!

Your specific idea is to have the gods take turns serving: every so often you promote this batch of laborers into your Eight Banners under your command, giving them "raising the banner"—that is, providing a path of advancement and allowing them to join the ruling class.

After one batch finishes its term and is promoted, you recruit the next batch from the populace to replace them; when that batch finishes its term, you promote them again, and let yet another batch take over…

Thus, through this cycle, the Heavenly Court's ruling bloc will grow ever stronger, while the laborers below can, while working, cultivate to become true gods using incense, thereby obtaining the long-awaited immortality.

This way, the upper Eight Banners are satisfied, the middle laborers are satisfied, and the common folk below are even more satisfied—everyone has a bright future!

You feel gratified by your own cleverness: although some people never finish repaying the General's favor, everyone also has a chance to repay it, and then enjoy others' favors together with the General…

The General's favor must be repaid!

Isn't this prosperous age already here?

Feeling satisfied and gratified, you increasingly feel the Blood God Son is useless—what need is there for a Blood God Son? A true great General, relying solely on favor, is enough to make the world shout loyalty!

Only those who fundamentally cannot make good use of favor would abuse the Blood God Son, this heretical treasure.

Controlling the mind? Brainwashing?

None of that is fit for the table!

Xue Xuan, out!

Blood God Son, out!

Thinking this way, the great, glorious, and correct you smile and wave to the whole populace, eliciting a fervent shout like mountains roaring and seas surging.

"The General's favor is not yet repaid!"

"Loyalty! Sincerity!"

Day by day, year by year.

In the blink of an eye, it's already been over sixty years.

For a bright future, those several thousand newly recruited laborer Heavenly Officials have been striving nonstop, just to become gods as soon as possible, so they can repay the General's favor.

After all, true gods can achieve immortality; for this privilege, countless people flock to it. Now, having finally received the General's favor and obtained this position serving the populace, everyone naturally works with all their might—their soaring spirit of struggle moves the common folk to tears.

"Are you guys tired like this?"

Some folks came specially to console them; although the high benefits are nice, seeing these young people fight at their posts day in and day out for sixty years, working until their hair and beards turn white, their bodies gaunt, even if they're eighty or ninety, they still toil without rest, and the folks are deeply moved…

"Tired? Not tired!"

The Heavenly Official old-timers are full of fervor!

"Being able to serve the populace is the General's grace bestowed upon us! Please rest assured, folks! Please rest assured, General!"

Ah, what a fine young man… what a fine old-timer!

Thus the folks sigh, the officials are loyal—it's a beautiful picture of an official-and-people-as-one-family prosperous age…

But after the visiting folks left, a bunch of old-timers who had been tense in public finally couldn't hold it in!

"Damn it! I'm worn out to death!"

"Hey you, come help this old man beat his back…"

Sore waist, sore waist; aching back, aching back; protruding lumbar disc, protruding lumbar disc… the laborers grit their teeth and complain to each other.

Only they themselves know how exhausted they are—"not tired"? That doesn't exist!

Farming needs them, repairing machinery needs them, emergency rescue needs them, even dream-sending for education needs them… the food, clothing, housing, transportation, and use of the myriad common folk all depend on them.

Moreover, the General and the Eight Banners officials keep adding burdens to everyone, treating people as beasts of burden—being able to endure this would be monstrous!

"Favor?"

"It's long been repaid! Even the compound interest has been repaid!"

Everyone harbors a feeling: once we become gods, we will definitely harshly train the next batch of laborers; the grievances we've suffered over these sixty-plus years must also be endured by the next batch! We can't suffer alone—we all must suffer together…

Although everyone constantly complains, they don't hold much grudge against the General and the Eight Banners, after all this is a truly profitable deal: devote decades of youth and hot blood, and in return gain immortality and carefree ease… It's a huge gain!

This job, you couldn't find it even with a lantern—don't look at the crowd sweating like rain as beasts of burden; in fact, ordinary folks and those cultivators who didn't pass the exam envy, resent, and hate them, drooling so much their eyes almost glow green.

No matter how hard or tiring, if it brings immortality, it's all worth it…

A laborer presses on his protruding lumbar disc, feeling deeply: "Although today's population is who knows how many times greater than in the Dashun era, the few thousand of us sharing the incense of the four continents' common folk is still not enough."

"We've toiled for over sixty years and just barely managed to gather enough incense for godhood—" the colleague beside them laughs, "Haha! No problem! Becoming a god doesn't require worrying about timing; as long as we cultivate within our lifetime, immortality and ease will be in our grasp!"

"Ah… you really shouldn't say that—I've heard many fellow old-timers didn't even make it past sixty, dying early, some of old age, some from overwork… it's only thanks to our hardy, long lives that we've managed to endure!"

"What's there to fear? These days are different—we have the Underworld handling affairs, so even if we die we can be reborn!"

"But… what if in every future life we fail to become a god?"

"Jinx!"

Everyone shouted at that old man in unison, making him resentful and daring not to speak nonsense anymore…

"Anyway, I'm almost done gathering enough; at most another month or two, and I'll be able to certify my godhood!"

【An old man said confidently: "Once I cultivate to become a true god, I can rise from the grassroots to the high departments of the Underworld, Thunder Department, Rain Department, etc. Although according to the general's orders I still need to work a few more hundred years before I have a chance to join the Eight Banners' retirement, but the work in those departments is much more leisurely than in the mortal world."】

【"If we become wealthy, do not forget each other!"】

【"Fine! I promise, once I become a god, if you have already died of old age, I will go to the Underworld to pull you out and secure you a wealthy and noble status!"】

【"Pah! You're the one who'll die of old age! Why not wait until I become a god and then pull you out?"】

【"Give it to Grandpa!"】

【……】

【In short, everyone was full of hope for the future.】

【Moreover, the future also seemed to have truly become reality just as everyone had expected, quietly……】

As day after day passed, one after another of the old oxen and horses that had been settled for sixty years finally reaped the rewards of their suffering, rising to prominence!

True Gods began to welcome the well eruptions!

A large number of aging Heavenly Officials entered seclusion while in office; a few days later they ascended to godhood, their primordial spirit manifestations leaving their mortal bodies and transforming into the immortal bodies of true gods.

Ten, a hundred, a thousand…

The thousands of oxen and horses recruited back then finally attained the immortality they had dreamed of, and a single wave of well eruptions spewed forth more true gods than the total number of the old Heavenly Court!

For a time, everywhere in the Four Continents was filled with jubilation; everyone rejoiced both for those who had attained godhood after enduring hardship and for the prosperous rise of the Great New Dynasty, believing the future would only improve.

Everyone was so happy that you naturally felt happy too: this proves that your efforts and plans were not in vain; as long as you do not stop, the road will keep extending…

However, amidst this universal celebration, one after another piece of bad news also began to spread…

The breakthroughs of the gods deeply stimulated many oxen and horses, so they redoubled their efforts, quickly accumulating enough incense offerings, and then began to seize the opportunity with eager anticipation to enter seclusion and attempt a breakthrough.

But a few days later they emerged from seclusion bewildered and at a loss: the breakthrough had failed…

Can a breakthrough even fail?

This bad news quickly drew your close attention: in theory, cultivators face no obstacles to becoming gods; as long as they accumulate enough incense offerings, they can ascend to godhood at any time, and this has always been the case throughout history, without exception.

But now…

This abnormal change gave rise to an ominous premonition in your heart…

Your premonition was correct.

Since the first batch of breakthrough failures appeared, more and more failures have continued to emerge!

To the point that not a single person managed to succeed in a breakthrough!

Once this bad news was verified, it spread wildly and frenetically, shaking the lands of the Four Continents as if the heavens had collapsed…

The path to godhood… has been cut off?!

An uproar spread across the world; the mortals and loose cultivators everywhere who had long hoped for immortality were collectively stunned, while those oxen and horses who had suffered breakthrough failures had their mindsets completely shattered!

Having toiled as oxen and horses for over sixty years, swallowing countless bitter fruits, all for the chance to attain godhood in a single morning and enjoy eternal freedom.

And now you actually tell me that the road to immortality has been cut off, and our toil as oxen and horses was all for nothing…

This is disastrous; the diligent oxen and horses of the past suddenly went berserk, some wailing loudly, others seeking to end their lives… while many more banded together to form an accountability team, petitioning en masse with uncontainable rage, demanding that the General give an explanation!

"Why on earth can we no longer break through?!"

"Our youth! Our sweat! How can we ever make up for it?!"

"General! Save us, please!"

The pressure from all under heaven bore down on you and the entire thriving Great New Dynasty, bringing forth problems and challenges never before imagined…

……

(End of chapter)