Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

Several days later.

Early winter in the capital.

A light snow fell silently, covering this ancient and bustling imperial city with a thin layer of pure white snow.

In the backyard of Qintian Pavilion, the underground heating was burning brightly. Several pots of vibrant black chrysanthemums were placed under the window, emitting a delicate fragrance.

Li Changqing was still wearing that faded blue cloth robe, lying on a recliner covered with thick fox fur.

[Ding! Today's attendance complete. Attribute point gained +1.]

"Add to physical constitution."

With a soft call from the bottom of my heart, a warm breath travels through my meridians.

He picked up a cup of warm wine from the table, took a small sip, and gazed at the boiling water bubbling on the small red clay stove beside him, his expression leisurely.

Grand Secretary Song Yin was sitting on a round stool to the side, his face flushed with barely concealed radiance, holding a newly delivered urgent military report.

"Grand Tutor! Good news!"

Song Yin's voice was filled with a triumphant and triumphant feeling.

"Admiral Zheng Yuan of the Fujian Navy reports that the Zhenhai has won its first battle. It blew up the Ancestral Hall on Yingzhou Island with a single shot. Qingyunzi was terrified and personally knelt on the beach to surrender, holding the treasured battle formation diagrams and land deeds for all the mineral veins on the island."

"Now, the procurement supervisors sent by the Ministry of Revenue have arrived on the island. The 'Spirit Contract Silver Notes' of the Spirit Bank have also been officially launched on the three fairy islands."

"From this day forward, every spirit stone unearthed and every immortal herb picked by cultivators will belong to the treasury of the Great Ming Dynasty!"

Li Changqing listened to this report without showing the slightest surprise.

He put down his wine glass, picked up a silver skewer, and slowly poked at the embers in the stove.

"That thunder and fire rune cannon has tremendous recoil. After the Zhenhai fired one shot, did the keel at the bow show any signs of cracking?"

Li Changqing casually asked a very practical question.

Song Yin was taken aback, then quickly flipped to the end of the military report, and immediately showed an expression of admiration.

"The Grand Tutor's predictions were indeed prophetic. Zheng Yuan mentioned in his report that after the cannons were fired, several fine cracks did appear on the steel keel at the bow of the ship."

"Master Lu, who was on board, has already made a note of it. He said that after returning to port, he would improve the arrangement of the magic array and add a few more energy-dissipating runes."

Li Changqing nodded and put the silver token down.

"The integration of cultivation methods with the various crafts of the mortal world is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Mistakes and omissions are nothing to fear; they can be corrected."

"The craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty are superior to those alchemists who only know how to work behind closed doors because they can admit their mistakes and correct them, and because they have practiced their craft countless times."

He turned his head and looked at the swirling snowflakes outside the window, a deep contemplation suddenly appearing in his profound eyes.

"Lord Song, these three immortal islands have completely bowed down. The Ming Dynasty's arsenal now possesses a powerful weapon to suppress the world."

"But do you think this is a long-term solution for stability and security?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yin's expression turned serious, and he humbly sought instruction.

"This old minister is foolish and humbly requests the Grand Tutor's clarification. Now that we hold their lives in our hands and possess runic firearms, what hidden dangers could there possibly be?"

Li Changqing shook his head and stood up. He walked to the window, pushed open half of the window, and let the cold wind mixed with snowflakes blow into the warm room.

"It is easier to prevent the people from speaking than to prevent a river from overflowing, and the same applies to preventing the cultivation of immortals. Right now, we are merely treating those few cultivators as slaves who mine for the imperial court."

"But those cultivation techniques and formation diagrams are still only in the hands of the Imperial Palace and a very small number of craftsmen and generals in the army."

Li Changqing turned around, looked directly at Song Yin, and his tone gradually became solemn and profound.

"As long as the threshold for cultivating immortality remains high, and as long as there is a distinction between mortals and immortals in this world, over time, those generals who have mastered rune-inscribed firearms, or those master craftsmen in the Imperial Observatory, may develop ambitions to be arrogant and above the imperial power and the people."

"The boy who slays the dragon will eventually grow the dragon's scales."

Song Yin's heart skipped a beat, and a layer of cold sweat instantly seeped out from his forehead.

The Grand Tutor's words were truly a scathing critique! Once power is combined with such extraordinary strength and monopolized by a few, that strength will sooner or later backfire on the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

"Then... what does the Grand Tutor intend to do to resolve this situation?"

Song Yin's voice trembled involuntarily.

Looking at the vast snowscape outside the window, Li Changqing slowly curled his lips into a stunningly beautiful smile.

"The best way to break a monopoly is to make it no longer a rarity."

Li Changqing waved his sleeve, his voice echoing in the warm pavilion, exuding a magnificent and earth-shattering spirit.

"Relay my message to the Emperor. Order all the cultivators and Confucian scholars in the Qintian Pavilion to discard all the profound techniques they have plundered from the immortal islands, and to discard all the abstruse and empty words."

"Taking the essence and discarding the dross, we compiled a set of the most basic and peaceful methods, which are not easy to go astray, titled 'The First Chapter of Body Strengthening and Breathing in the Great Ming Dynasty'."

"Distribute this skill throughout the world. There are no barriers or restrictions on background. Whether you are a farmer, blacksmith, or merchant, all citizens of the Ming Dynasty can learn it."

"I decree that this world will usher in a golden age of universal cultivation!"

"Clang!"

The teacup slipped from Song Yin's hand and shattered into pieces on the blue brick.

He was struck dumb, his eyes wide open, as if he had heard the most unbelievable ravings in the world.

A nationwide cultivation frenzy?!

Let those peasants who toil in the fields and peddlers who hawk their wares in the marketplace practice those lofty immortal arts.

This...this is utterly a subversion of the ethical and moral principles that have been in place for thousands of years!

"Grand...Grand Tutor! This is absolutely forbidden!"

Song Yin, disregarding the broken porcelain shards on the ground, knelt down with a thud and urgently offered his advice.

"There are so many ignorant people in the world. If they were to gain access to the power of cultivation, and if any of them harbored ill intentions, they could incite chaos among the masses."

"How can the local officials and their constables possibly control this? Wouldn't the empire descend into chaos? If His Majesty were to hear of this, he would surely be worried about the instability of the nation!"

Li Changqing looked at Song Yin, who was kneeling on the ground, pleading with him, and a kind smile flashed in his eyes.

He walked slowly forward and personally helped the prime minister up.

"Lord Song, you are overthinking it."

Li Changqing shook his folding fan, pulled Song Yin to sit down by the stove, and slowly explained to him the principles of governing the country.

"This 'First Chapter' is merely a method for strengthening the body and guiding qi into the body. For ordinary people, practicing it will at most make them stronger, sharper in their eyes and ears, and less prone to illness."

"To think you can cultivate some kind of overwhelming supernatural power is a pipe dream."

"Cultivation requires wealth, companions, techniques, and a suitable environment; none can be lacking. The most crucial spirit stone mines, advanced cultivation techniques, and even workshops for crafting magical artifacts and firearms are all firmly controlled by the imperial court's Spirit Money Bank and the Ministry of War."

"Even if ordinary people understand breathing techniques, without the aid of spirit stones, they will only ever be practitioners in their entire lives."

Li Changqing reached out, poured a cup of warm wine, and pushed it in front of Song Yin.

"Consider this, Lord Song. If a blacksmith were to practice this breathing technique, the force he uses to swing his hammer would be more even, resulting in more sturdy farm tools and iron pots."

"If a farmer knows how to gather a little bit of water essence to irrigate the fields, the autumn harvest can be doubled."

"The people benefited, their bodies grew stronger and healthier, and the wealth they created ultimately flowed into the Ming Dynasty's treasury through taxes."

Li Changqing's gaze became incredibly profound, as if piercing through hundreds of years of time.

I saw that bustling future, full of the vibrant energy of everyday life.

"When cultivating immortality is no longer about ascending to heaven in broad daylight and hiding in the deep mountains and forests like a clay idol, but about forging iron, farming, accounting, and building ships."

"This path of immortality was thus thoroughly tainted by the muddy stench of the mortal world, becoming the fuel for the Ming Dynasty's operation."

"If everyone understands breathing techniques, then cultivators will no longer be aloof and superior."

"This is true peace and tranquility under heaven."