Sweeping both worlds: Starting from idealistic martial arts

Chapter 460 The Divine Perspective on Firmness!
In the following days, the entire Xinghai was flooded with stories of public intellectuals from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

With Da Zhou's frantic buying of trending topics, the entire interstellar network was immediately swept up in a wave of Da Zhou fever.

Whether within or outside the Big Dipper Starfield, almost everyone has heard of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and everyone is talking about Fang Can.

Meanwhile, in the capital of the Great Zhou Empire, Fang Can observed the prevailing public opinion across the internet.

Due to the initial trending topic strategy, the online impression of Da Zhou and himself is mostly positive.

However, if the pace isn't controlled properly, those media outlets that profit from negative traffic will start to emerge.

A similar rhythm can be summarized as: first praise, second strip, third kill, fourth pull.

Firstly, recommending it to people who haven't seen it yet will bring in huge traffic;
Secondary digging: The earliest exposure of behind-the-scenes details and gossip will bring huge traffic;
The three-pronged approach—going against the tide to point out ulterior motives, malicious intent, and deception—gives the public a wake-up call and generates huge traffic.
Si La: Looking back at the online discourse these past few days, I am struck by how terrible cyberbullying is. I plead with everyone to leave him alone from God's perspective, which has garnered me another wave of traffic.

However, Fang Can wasn't too interested in this, because he had already spent a lot of money to get in touch with the trending topics platform, and he would control the comments on all related topics from now on.

Simply put: I will delete bad comments.

In the interstellar AI era, as the source of all traffic, the annals of history will not interfere with internet public opinion at all, allowing it to grow freely.

However, while historical records do not interfere, internet companies will censor and review sensitive videos and opinions.

Similar tactics include: comment selection, video throttling, and Avalon comment blocking...

Of these methods, directly deleting comments is the worst and most likely to provoke resistance from interstellar citizens.

The sophisticated method involves the commentator feeling that they have successfully posted a comment, and several accounts replying to them, making everything seem normal.

However, in reality, your past comments are directly flagged as sensitive accounts, and once posted, they become transparent, making them invisible to others.

Those so-called replies are all AI-generated alt accounts, just fooling you for their own amusement.

In a world entirely controlled by large corporations, individuals have no freedom of speech whatsoever. Internet users are trapped in meticulously crafted information cocoons, where there is no truth to speak of.

Of course, under normal circumstances, since companies are in competition with each other, the control over speech is not so strict and is still within an acceptable range.

But Fang Can simply threw money at them.

In the past few days, they directly used a massive amount of resources from the Great Zhou Dynasty to bribe those internet companies.

With money paving the way regardless of cost, a Truman-esque cyber world was concocted for all players.

'However, this is exactly what I expected.' Fang Can looked at the comments on the internet and gave a meaningful smile.

It is through the information walls built between internet companies that the entire interstellar era can draw attention.

At this moment, in terms of sheer popularity, Fang Can is undoubtedly the most widely known deity.

During this short period of time, Fang Can could feel that hundreds of billions of people throughout the entire Heart Sea were projecting their faith onto him.

Of course, compared to the resources spent, it was actually a losing proposition, which is why other divine kingdoms didn't intervene—they just wanted to see what this guy was up to.

Just as Fang Can was pondering this, the office door was suddenly opened, and Marshall, the Minister of Foreign Propaganda, walked in and reported:
"Reporting to the gods, after consuming resources from thousands of resource planets, the first phase of the plan has been completed."

"Well done," Fang Can praised, expressing satisfaction with the propaganda department's methods.

During this period, he was deeply impressed by the various legends of gods and deities compiled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the various short stories written in the style of public intellectuals.

Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is well aware of the characteristics of AI, and the news it fabricates is a mix of truth and falsehood.

The true parts can be easily verified, while the false parts cannot be easily exposed even by AI.

"You flatter me, God." The Minister of Foreign Propaganda looked encouraged. "God, the second phase of the game is still under development. With the efforts of trillions of people across the country, it is expected to be released in ten days."

“Very good. Remember to distribute this game for free when the time comes, and then stitch the contents of this book into the game.” Fang Can said, taking out a thin book.

"This is..." The Minister of Foreign Affairs showed a hint of curiosity on his face.

"You can take it back and read it first. Remember to set the game to single-player mode. After defeating the final boss, the contents of the book will be displayed." Fang Can smiled.

After the Minister of Foreign Affairs left, Fang Can looked at the girl in the corner and asked, "How are you feeling now?"

There was no immediate response. After circulating her inner energy for one full cycle, Li Longyun opened her eyes, her gaze sharpening, and then a hint of emotion flashed in them as she said:

"I feel better than ever before. After a night of cultivation, I have successfully completed the second stage of enlightenment."

"Just as I expected, he didn't need my cultivation techniques to achieve the second stage of cultivation; he achieved it purely through his talent for cultivation, without even the slightest bottleneck," Fang Can commented.

He reached the second stage of cultivation in just one night. Even with his modified version of the "Everyone Has Skill" training method, it was still astonishing. No one in the martial arts world believed it when he returned.

The reason they could advance to the second level so easily was naturally because all of these guys were already at the seventh level of cultivation.

Although it's a Pinduoduo version of the Seventh Reincarnation, in other worlds they would all be half-innate Dao bodies, reincarnations of powerful beings.

The reason why they were reduced to ordinary people in the past was simply because these people voluntarily dedicated their faith to the gods, directly giving up self-improvement and choosing to sacrifice everything they had to the gods in exchange for the greatness of others.

After this period of research, Fang Can discovered that these ordinary people had lost the possibility of practicing martial arts.

Because one of the most important elements of idealistic martial arts, emotion, has been completely lost by them.

Humans of this era, at the cost of becoming ordinary people for their entire lives, dedicate their faith and emotions entirely to the gods.

Under the control of the annals of history, these people can easily alter even their own selves and their nation, leaving them with no sense of self whatsoever, not even comparable to objects.

Without any prior knowledge, these people directly severed their own connection with the heavens and the earth, and from then on, no individual achieved immortality through martial arts, only the nation's faith became godhood.

During this time, Fang Can conducted research on Li Longyun, deeply analyzing the underlying principles and arriving at a method for these people to cultivate.

We just need to give these people back their emotions.

If we return the emotions these people have given and make up for their shortcomings, then these people can be considered as having emotions and desires.

Fang Can conducted research on Li Longyun and discovered that as long as the personal emotions on the power of faith were completely removed and then returned to the individual, he could resume his martial arts training.

Moreover, it not only allows one to cultivate, but also retains some of the characteristics of the seventh-level fragment, making cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.

Before exhausting all the special qualities, one can at least advance to the first stage.

After that, once you've used up all your special abilities, you can only proceed step by step like an ordinary person.

Thinking of this, Li Longyun said somewhat unsatisfiedly, "Lord Fang Can, after entering the second stage, according to you, my seventh-stage traits have been completely exhausted."

"From now on, I can only be like ordinary people, struggling to break through for decades or even centuries." "Is there any way to increase my cultivation speed again? To be honest, I've become somewhat addicted to the feeling of breaking through at a rapid pace."

Li Longyun savored the feeling of her life level being elevated during the breakthrough, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

"Yes, I have two methods at hand right now." Fang Can smiled mysteriously.

“Two kinds!” Li Longyun blinked, and thinking of the legend in unofficial history that Fang Can ascended to heaven after having slept with three thousand women, a blush inexplicably rose on her face.

"I won't go into the first one; those who understand will understand, and those who don't need to be told."

"As for the second option... that requires your individual efforts." Fang Can said with a mysterious smile.

Many days later, when facing the people of Xinghai, Fang Can would recall that distant morning countless years ago in this world when he bestowed the Heart-Image Network upon serving the Empire.

Meanwhile, as the Minister of Publicity walked out of Fang Can's office, he looked at the pamphlet in his hand with an inquisitive expression.

Back home, after dealing with his wife's nagging, he silently turned the pages of a book, and the words on it moved him deeply.

God's Book to Believers:

Thank you for becoming my believer. This is an important and solemn decision, representing your acceptance of God Himself.

Next, an oath will be taken.

You will use this to express your faith in God on any occasion. The following is the oath you will recite:

I, XXX (name), solemnly swear to the deity Fang Can that I absolutely and completely renounce my previous loyalty and allegiance to any deity as a believer.

I will support and protect the faith of the deity Fang Can and fight against all enemies who are hostile to the deity.

I will sincerely pledge allegiance to God.

When the gods command, I am willing to take up arms and wage holy war to defend them;

I hereby solemnly swear that I have no mental obstacles, excuses or reservations whatsoever.

We earnestly pray that the gods will bless your devout followers.

……

The Minister of Foreign Propaganda of the Great Zhou Dynasty looked at the contents of the pamphlet and was somewhat surprised by them.

But as a follower of Fang Can, he felt no psychological burden whatsoever when he recited the matters mentioned.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stood in the living room with a devout expression, pounded his chest with both hands, and read the contents of this page aloud with great emotion.

And at the very moment he uttered, “I, XXX (name), swear to the god Fang Can.”

Fang Can, who was far away in his office, had a slight change in expression and a smile appeared on his face. The image of the propaganda minister taking the oath appeared in his mind's eye.

As the other party completed their oath, Fang Can completely projected his consciousness into the ball of faith within his consciousness, searching through trillions of beliefs.

Because the beliefs had already been categorized by age, gender, and name, Fang Can easily found the corresponding ball of faith.

Grasp the brilliance of faith, reach out and strip away the emotional power within it, then instantly refine the power of faith.

Having done all this, with the ability of absolute contact, Fang Can directly connected his consciousness with the other party's consciousness remotely.

For the Minister of Foreign Propaganda, it was as if he had just read the contents of the bounty notice when his consciousness was suddenly illuminated by a burst of light, and he was transported to a cosmic starry sky.

In this space, Fang Can's enormous statue, occupying the entire world, appeared in an image of utmost compassion.

'This is... a miracle!' The Minister of Foreign Propaganda looked up at Fang Can's head with a look of shock on his face.

Under his gaze, Fang Can did not reply, but instead unleashed a divine light with a wave of his hand.

The cultivation technique memories carrying the mind image directly entered the Minister of Foreign Affairs' mind like divine light. By the time the Minister came to his senses, he had already left that starry sky.

As he vaguely withdrew from his consciousness space, the Minister of Foreign Affairs felt a slight swelling in his brain, which had somehow acquired a new technique called "Divine Firmness View".

By visualizing the image of a deity in one's mind, one can engage in spiritual practice and achieve breakthroughs.

'This technique…'

As the descriptions in the cultivation manual, which mention moving mountains and filling seas and traversing the universe when cultivated to a high level, filled the propaganda department with a sense of dread.

Because this effect would be a huge upheaval of the existing system.

The official propaganda has always portrayed everyone as an equal lamb to the gods, but even the lowest god is stronger than the strongest human.

This method of meditation directly tells them that as long as they cultivate, they can cross the gap between humans and gods and become the new god of this era. This is simply a desecration of the underlying rules of this interstellar generation.

The propaganda minister did not consider the veracity of this matter.

Because upon acquiring this technique, the Seven Transformations of one's internal nature directly absorbed its knowledge, instantly drawing Qi into the body.

At the moment of taking the oath, his physical strength increased more than tenfold.

This real increase in strength, and the unprecedented clarity of mind after practicing boxing, cannot be faked.

Moreover, this leap in his level of life subconsciously made him want to immediately begin cultivating according to the [Divine Firmness View].

Suppressing his fear, he thanked the gods for their compassion and immediately sat cross-legged on the ground to begin practicing according to the visualization method.

With complete immersion, ignoring all the noise around them, even incoming phone calls from outside were completely ignored.

When he opened his eyes again, eight or nine hours had passed, and he had officially entered the peak of the first stage.

But what awaited him was not satisfaction, but a sense of unfulfilled desire, because he was now in the same situation as Li Longyun.

With his seventh-level trait exhausted, his cultivation speed returned to normal.

Compared to the day and night of cultivation, this so-called normal pace is nothing compared to the snail's pace.

This is similar to Japan during its bubble economy boom suddenly entering a lost three decades, and falling overnight, making the outcome even harder to accept.

'I need to be faster! I want to get back to that rapid growth rate of cultivation!' The propaganda minister suddenly opened his eyes!

(End of this chapter)