In the ninth month of the twelfth year of Hongjing, Qingming welcomed another annual Dao Foundation Assembly. The template Dao foundations forged during this assembly exceeded fifty thousand—an unprecedented scale, yet something the realm had long grown accustomed to.
Within Qingming, the vast majority of template Dao foundations worked in industries such as manufacturing, energy, and mining. Outside Qingming, template Dao foundation cultivators were either concubine-born or branch descendants sent to fill low-level official posts. If they happened to be direct lineage, they were used solely to prolong life; they never stood a chance on the grand stage.
Thus, even now, most prominent aristocratic clans viewed template Dao foundations as embroidered pillows—pretty to look at, but utterly useless. Bound by their limited cultivation, these cultivators could never climb to high positions. As the Dao Foundation Grand Ceremonies took place year after year, even clans like the Ji, the Zhao, the Cui, and the Zhao-Li came to treat them as routine occurrences, no longer paying them any mind.
Only in Qingming, due to the Dao Base Loans, did the Dao Foundation Grand Ceremony remain a spectacle watched by all. Countless mortals waited with bated breath, longing for the day of the ceremony to leap through the dragon gate and transform their destinies in a single stroke.
Once the ceremony concluded, Wei Yuan reaped a surging tide of karmic luck, just as he always did. This karmic luck stemmed not only from the more than fifty thousand newly forged templates, but also from the over ten million currently undergoing Body Casting, as well as their families, friends, and even enemies. Watching so many template Dao foundations emerge, all of them saw hope. Mortals were simple to satisfy: if they were fed and clothed, and if they could see hope, karmic luck would arise.
Karmic luck came rolling in, but Wei Yuan was already used to it and kept his head buried in internal governance.
The allocation of the new template Dao foundations was a major affair. Yu Zhizhuo's industry and mining, Chuhe's earthworking and floriculture, Sun Yu's healthcare, and Xu Henshui's alchemy were all enormous industries, and every one of them required immense manpower.
The template Dao foundations had their own favored destinations as well. Because of the vast numbers involved, this two-way selection became an exceedingly complex business. Fortunately, the Splendor of the Many Realms possessed immense processing power. It swiftly generated personalized career guidance proposals for each cultivator based on individual circumstances and future prospects.
By now, the advice provided by the Splendor of the Many Realms—effectively Qingming's official administration—carried great authority. Countless past examples had already proven that following its recommendations meant smooth sailing in the vast majority of cases: one would steadily reach the bottleneck of one's natural talent, apply for a Dharma Idol Loan, and seek ways to break past one's limits to see if another step forward was possible.
Naturally, where there were those who accepted the advice, there would always be those who refused under any circumstances.
Though such people accounted for a small percentage, they always existed. Most chose a path strewn with thorns and briars based purely on personal preference, actively seeking hardship where none was needed, calling it 'defying the heavens.' A certain portion of them had the virtue of recognizing their errors after repeatedly hitting walls, paired with the glaring flaw of resolutely refusing to change.
At present, Wei Yuan's focus was on the minority at the very bottom who struggled to survive due to various misfortunes; he paid no heed to those 'defying the heavens.'
Nor did he pay much attention to the middle stratum—the so-called middle class.
Most in this group had already become template Dao foundations, possessed stable jobs, and were bound by entire families. Their standard of living had risen, but their expenses had skyrocketed in tandem. Weighed down by loans of every description, a few months without work would leave their entire household starving. Most critically, without a job, their dignity and status would vanish completely. The tall tales they had once boasted about would not only fail to materialize, but would also become laughingstocks discussed behind their backs or even mocked to their faces.
Therefore, these individuals required neither Wei Yuan's attention nor his whip; they drove themselves hard. Even if their Dao hearts occasionally shattered, they could numb the pain and patch themselves up.
Only when they fell completely to the bottom did they re-enter Wei Yuan's line of sight, receiving various subsidies and relief to maintain basic food and shelter.
Food and shelter was the bottom line Wei Yuan had established for all commoners in Qingming. Regardless of the reason, every single commoner deserved basic sustenance.
As for whether those in the middle class could make an upward leap, according to the statistics of the Splendor of the Many Realms, the probability was virtually zero. Yet because their numbers were so vast, isolated successes always cropped up. Wei Yuan would single out these rare cases and publicize them relentlessly, and the public loved reading about them.
Overall, the middle class ranked quite low in Wei Yuan's current order of priorities. Their innate talent had already determined their finish line, and only an infinitesimal few could advance further. Their familial ties and debts gave them immense motivation to work diligently, so leaving them as they were sufficed.
Just three days after the Dao Foundation Grand Ceremony concluded, while Wei Yuan was still battling a mountain of official documents, his heart suddenly stirred. He promptly opened the Qi-gazing technique he had recently comprehended, observing the karmic luck of the entire Qingming.
In Wei Yuan's current vision, Qingming resembled a boundless sea of clouds—its karmic luck rich, soaring, and stable. Just then, the sea of clouds parted abruptly, and a red sun leaped from the mist, casting ten thousand fathoms of molten golden radiance that set the limitless sea of clouds ablaze.
Wei Yuan was taken aback. This was immense karmic luck!
His figure vanished from where he stood, reappearing an instant later in the sky above a manor outside Ding'an City.
The manor was quite substantial, clearly belonging to a well-to-do family. At this moment, everyone inside held their breath, not daring to make a sound as they walked. The tribulation clouds in the sky were gradually dispersing; the heavenly tribulation had barely formed, sending down a single token strike of thunder whose power had been significantly dulled by the lightning rods built into the roofs.
Just then, a wild, surging aura erupted from the rear courtyard, accompanied by specks of faint luminescence. The light throughout the entire estate dimmed, as though dusk had fallen.
This was the sign of a dharma idol forming!
Yet the phenomenon was exceedingly faint, almost imperceptible. When Wei Yuan had formed his Dao foundation, the commotion had been far greater than this. How could such a feeble dharma idol affect the karmic luck of all Qingming?
Wei Yuan focused his gaze and saw a gleaming pellet hovering above the cultivator below, spinning on its own and shedding a cool, clear moonlight. This was the Ten Thousand Splendors Golden Pellet, and the very first Golden Pellet dharma idol in all of Qingming!
Wei Yuan fell into thought. Was a Golden Pellet dharma idol truly so significant that it disturbed the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and stirred the karmic luck of Qingming itself?
Wei Yuan did not reveal himself. Instead, he casually bestowed a blessing of karmic luck upon the newly ascended dharma idol to help stabilize the realm, then quietly departed. Qingming already possessed established protocols for both Dao foundations and dharma idols; reaching the requisite cultivation automatically brought corresponding benefits and treatment, requiring no intervention from him.
With the birth of the first Golden Pellet dharma idol, it was as if a thin paper partition had been pierced. More Golden Pellet dharma idols began to emerge one after another—Ten Thousand Splendors Golden Pellets and All Things Grow appearing in alternating turns. By the end of the year, over fifty Golden Pellet dharma idols had actually emerged.
The eruption of numerous Golden Pellet dharma idols brought noticeable changes across Qingming. First, Ji Liuli collaborated with Yu Zhizhuo to urgently design and construct dharma-idol-grade energy stations to assist newly ascended Golden Pellet dharma idols in stabilizing their idols.
Next, the Qingming military placed the development of new equipment tailored specifically for Golden Pellet dharma idols onto its agenda.
A Golden Pellet dharma idol was still a dharma idol, incomparable to ordinary Dao foundations. In the near future, Golden Pellet dharma idols were bound to emerge in large numbers, making it necessary to develop dedicated gear and tactics for them just as they had for template Dao foundations.
However, voices of discontent also arose among the populace, mostly from established, veteran dharma idols. They maintained that benefits and status should be determined by grade, and that all dharma idols could not simply be treated as equals. The subtext was that Golden Pellet dharma idols were unworthy of being mentioned in the same breath as them.
A similar situation had occurred when template Dao foundations first emerged in large numbers, so Wei Yuan already had a solution in mind: restructuring the meritorious service and welfare ranking system.
The Splendor of the Many Realms handled such matters with effortless ease, swiftly producing a new framework. After reviewing and deeming it feasible, Wei Yuan sought the opinions of the cultivators and began implementing it across Qingming.
Under the new system, the two tiers of guilty commoners and military slaves were kept intact. Neither tier was considered official Qingming citizenry; both remained in the phase of redeeming guilt through meritorious service. Convicts and prisoners of war belonged to these categories.
Above the rank of commoner, however, the system was entirely overhauled, unified into broad tiers divided according to cultivation realm. Dao foundations and dharma idols each had corresponding baseline welfare and benefits, and a new tier—Scenery Command—was added, currently held by Old Daoist Chuhe alone.
Within Dao Foundation and Dharma Idol, nine sub-ranks were established. Accumulating a certain amount of meritorious service allowed one to advance, and each promotion brought a corresponding increase in benefits. In terms of accumulating meritorious service, an immortal foundation was naturally countless times faster than a Mortal Foundation, which was in turn much faster than a template.
Thus, if a celestial idol worked hard, they would soon leave the templates far behind in rank, securing both social standing and tangible gain.
Ranks were not set in stone either. Each rank had a minimum maintenance requirement assessed every three years. Only by meeting this baseline of meritorious service could one retain their current rank; otherwise, they would be demoted.
Once the new system was launched, an upgrade craze instantly swept through Qingming! Everyone strove to earn meritorious service, vying to advance as quickly as possible to win face and fortune alike.
Beginning in the first month of the thirteenth year of Hongjing, when Qingming cultivators crossed paths on the road, their greetings changed accordingly, each including their rank—such as, 'This senior is Dao Rank Four Ancestor Han Yichen,' or, 'This humble one is Dharma Rank Seven Dong Wuming, I seek your guidance.'
In that same month, Cangwu finally caught sight of Wei Yuan strolling outside.
Yet Cangwu took one look at the karmic luck swirling around Wei Yuan and quietly pretended he wasn't there.
Wei Yuan took a turn around the perimeter and felt rather disappointed not to see Cangwu. After burying himself in internal administration for an entire year and overflowing with karmic luck, he couldn't even find someone to intimidate or show off to, cutting his joy in half.
With the implementation of the new system, Qingming's enthusiasm for cultivation surged continuously. Dao foundations who had previously lain flat, ready to passively live out their old age, middle age, or youth, all returned to the fray, striving hard to climb higher.
There were thousands of reasons to struggle, but finding out one's enemy was Dao Rank Four while oneself was merely Dao Rank Three was utterly intolerable—one had to strive.
Young and beautiful female cultivators in Qingming also competed secretly, seeing whose suitors included young talents of Dao Rank Five or higher under the age of thirty-five. From time to time, there were tragic tales of childhood sweethearts who had reached Dao Rank One together, only for the girl to run off with someone of Dao Rank Five or Six the moment they advanced.
Wei Yuan's eyes were not fixed solely on cultivators; his greater attention remained on the mortals who could not cultivate, for they constituted the true majority. For people destined to remain ordinary their whole lives, clothing, food, shelter, and transport were lifelong pursuits—and housing was paramount among them.
At present, the pace of housing construction across Qingming and Yizhou fell far short of demand. To put minds at ease, Wei Yuan weighed the matter repeatedly and, on the heels of mortgages, introduced another major measure: selling homes before they were built—presale housing.
Chapter 1091