Chapter 366: Chapter 61: Citizen Points System
「December 23, 2015. Northern Mariana Sea Area.」
Five submersibles surfaced one by one, returning to their respective research vessels.
The exploration of the Dragon King’s Remains was, without a doubt, a complete success. Everything from the underwater Flood Dragon and the Dragon King’s Remains themselves to the government’s behind-the-scenes push to publicize and explain the Mimic Dao had come to a perfect conclusion.
And as an unexpected bonus, the appearance of the Dragon King’s spirit was also a positive development.
The show, *Walking into the Ruins: Legacy of the Ancients*, also successfully broke various world records, becoming nearly one of the most popular shows in the world. It was only "nearly" because, after all, this was just a special episode, and there was no guarantee that future installments would be as explosive.
But the production team didn’t seem to care much about that—one episode was enough. It was enough to cement their names in the history of television and live broadcasting.
Although this exploration didn’t feature the kind of action-packed fights the public loves to see, Su Zhou’s power was clearly on a whole different level compared to other young agents of his generation. His existence proved one thing: most problems in this world don’t require a fight to be solved. As long as you train hard enough to become strong enough, even a short-tempered Flood Dragon will humbly give you a tour of its home.
Two hours after the show ended, the channel’s black screen was still flooded with scrolling comments and reviews. Many people even started new threads on major forums to discuss the various revelations from the program.
Even ordinary netizens—or rather, precisely because they were the armchair politicians of the internet—could see that even if the Dragon King’s spirit hadn’t appeared, the government would have found other ways to show the world what it wanted to show. The answers to many previously hidden questions had all been released.
However, compared to the ’Mimic Dao’ itself, which was the primary focus of governments worldwide, the vast majority of netizens were discussing other things.
"The Celestial Pool Dragon King’s Divine Technique of freely transforming into a human form is a violation of human rights!"
An anonymous comment righteously declared, "And before that, turning a sea cucumber into a Dragon, then into a person, proves it has no respect for life, manipulating it at will! At its core, it is one of the Demon Race, with no respect for life or humanity!"
There were supportive replies below: "Exactly, what gives them the right to decide who is worthy of being human? Are *they* worthy? Do *they* have the right to judge?"
Of course, there’s no shortage of trolls like this anywhere. It’s like when a book has a perfectly normal title, but people still come out of the woodwork to complain, leaving one feeling utterly wronged.
In response, other netizens naturally fired back: "Are the poster above and the OP idiots? He’s a Dragon King, one of the Immortal Gods! Of course He was worthy in His era! As for now, aren’t people who commit crimes against humanity stripped of their political and other rights for life? At most, we’ll just add a heavier penalty in the future: stripping them of their human rights altogether."
"Define the rules and regulations. The punishment fits the crime. If you’re anti-humanity and anti-social, you get your human rights revoked. What’s not to like?"
"Totally. Aren’t people talking about abolishing the death penalty now? I think this works. No death penalty for humans, but if you commit a serious crime, you lose your human rights and get turned into a pig. It’s a win-win."
"I’m shocked. So now *you’re* an expert on human rights? Do you even know what human rights are? Do you know their origin? You just pick up a term that sounds reasonable and misuse it, twisting the fucking concept. What the fuck are you even saying?"
With the arrival of the hot-tempered bros, the thread quickly devolved into personal attacks and a doxxing war, and was soon shut down by the show’s official moderators.
Soon, a topic related to the Mimic Dao appeared: "Isn’t the Mimic Dao just the Demon Race? Or rather, humans who cultivate into the Demon Race? Aren’t they just human traitors?"
This was clearly an attempt to start a fight, or perhaps someone with ulterior motives. The reply was succinct: "Would a human traitor care if you humans have eaten your fill?"
"Passive-aggressive trash with ulterior motives can just go die."
"You kill an enemy with their own sword, and then someone points at you and says, ’You used the enemy’s weapon, you’re a traitor!’ How ridiculous is that? To the people of that era, the physical body was just a tool. Actually, I think our own era is heading that way too."
There were also foreign netizens posting conspiracy theories on international forums: "Without a doubt, this is a government conspiracy! The government has long been taken over by a bunch of monsters, which is why they’re promoting the legitimacy of monsters!" This comment came from the American Federation.
For a time, the entire internet was a chaotic mess. The "rational and objective" types, the trolls, the passive-aggressive posters, the paid shills, the shitposters, those with ulterior motives, the lurkers, the hot-tempered bros, and all other manner of netizens and comments appeared one after another, stirring up a massive storm.
But even a storm of public opinion that swept the globe was nothing more than an imperceptible breeze compared to the joint official report from the three major global blocs—a truly epoch-making change.
[Citizen Points System]
Eight hours after the program ended, at 9 a.m. on December 23, 2015, on national news channels, Zhengguo, the European Union, and the American Federation—the three major global blocs—jointly issued a statement. They announced that after the New Year, they would begin trial implementation of the [Citizen Points System] in their respective territories.
These so-called Citizen Points were, in fact, a currency for the Extraordinary System. The points were non-transferable and could not be exchanged for money. Their only use was to trade for corresponding Spirit Techniques and inheritances at officially designated Exchange Points.
And according to the partial list of inheritances released by Zhengguo, legacies of the Immortal God level were shockingly included!
The complete points system was extremely complex in its details, but a simplified overview was not difficult to understand.
Every adult citizen who began Cultivation and had no criminal record would receive 1,000 Citizen Points per month. If a minor showed Cultivation Talent after the age of 14, their parents would receive a subsidy of 500 points per person, and the parents could redeem points on their child’s behalf.
The government did not recommend that minors under 14 attempt Cultivation. Cultivation was not a case of "the earlier, the better." It was a form of Cultivation that stemmed from both the soul and the body, requiring a mature soul and a fully developed body to begin training effectively. Of course, if a child had exceptional Talent and a mature mind, the physical aspect was less of an issue. They could go to an officially designated hospital for testing, and if they passed, they could obtain the qualification to cultivate early.
The channels for obtaining Citizen Points were very limited. Apart from the 1,000 points per month, they could basically only be earned through various forms of public service and designated tasks for certain special professions. For example, one could earn points by using their abilities for infrastructure construction, technological development, or medical work.
This was, in effect, encouraging Cultivators with special Divine Techniques to contribute their abilities by officially declaring them to the government. By doing so, they would have access to more specially designated tasks. Meanwhile, Cultivators without Divine Techniques could still work hard on a variety of general basic labor tasks.
For young people, the Holy Ascension Selection Test and internal assessments at the Academies were also ways to earn points. The Holy Ascension Selection Test would award five thousand to ten thousand points based on performance tiers. The top-ranking students, such as the top scorer of the Holy Ascension Selection Test, could earn as many as one hundred thousand points, which was the largest single award available through any officially announced channel.
Generally speaking, the jobs that awarded points were few and often unstable. However, for those dedicated to Cultivation and who desired better inheritances and Magic Techniques, they would naturally pursue them. Meanwhile, those who preferred stability could still receive 1,000 free points each month. This system would naturally filter out a group of "restless elements" (used here in a non-pejorative sense) and integrate them into the corresponding framework.
A common, ordinary Spirit Technique, like the ’Purification Technique’ which could easily clean stains, only required 350 points. Whether it was grease in the kitchen or some rather filthy corners in the bathroom, using this technique made cleaning effortless. It was very practical and not expensive.
Daily life Magic like the ’Lighting Technique,’ ’Cool Wind Technique,’ and ’Hot Wind Skill’ were mostly in this price range. The slightly more expensive ’Purification Technique’ and ’Purifying Heart Spell’ were 500 and 750 points respectively, as they possessed a certain degree of lethality. After all, if you pushed someone to their limit, even a Purifying Heart Spell could kill a ghost, to say nothing of the Purification Technique.
Basically, Magic priced under 1,000 points was all for civilian use. The most expensive among them were those on the verge of becoming true Magic Techniques, possessing minor offensive capabilities. Examples included the ’Ignition Technique,’ which could create a flame, and the ’Frost Spell,’ which could create ice. Although their effects were no different from a large lighter or flash-freezing the water in a small cup, the Cultivation path they led to could form the foundation for Fire and Water System Magic Techniques.
As for Magic with real killing power, the starting price was 3,000 points. A proper inheritance, a fundamental Cultivation Method for cultivating Spiritual Power, started at 12,000 points or more. This was exactly the amount an ordinary person could save up in one year.
There was no stopping those who wanted to learn Spirit Techniques. Rather than banning them publicly, it was better to make them openly available and then register every practitioner for each specific Magic. If someone were to commit a crime, they could be tracked down quickly using the available clues.
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