“This is quite interesting…”
Zhang Dong observed with a mixture of fascination and pride as his creation evolved. The beings on his planet began to form tribes and communities, discovering agriculture, forging tools, and building civilizations. Unlike the history he knew, their progress was marked more by collaboration and unity than by wars and conquests.
Time inside of his cosmos worked in mysterious ways. While a minute could pass in the outside world, a billion years could inside of his. He could halt it and even produce an avatar of himself to fly through the vast and mostly empty cosmos. Yet, there was a limitation; he could not turn back the hands of time. It was possible to hasten or slow something down but never to return to a previous point when this world was created. It was clear that if he made mistakes, then he would need to start anew.
They faced their share of hardships as they were not the only living beings on this world. There were many beasts akin to the ones that could be found in the cultivation world. They posed a great threat to these new humans that could barely contend with them thanks to simple tools. At one point, the whole population had almost been wiped out, and he had to actually intervene by saving a pocket of the population.
To help them out, he brought forth massive earthquakes that shattered the one massive continent that resembled Pangea from Earth. He shifted the humans onto lands that were more suited for living and separated them from some of the more violent creatures that sought to devour them.
After this intervention, he also realized something: the more he used his power to shift the worlds, the more troublesome it became. The more his civilization developed and the more creatures appeared on the planet, the harder it became to exert his power within. It was as if there was some type of rule that couldn’t be broken, even by the god that created it all.
‘It’s as if there is a limit on miracles… and the more advanced they become the less I can affect them on a larger scale…’
Previously, he could move whole tribes and large population pockets with his mind. They would somehow know what he desired and would push in that direction. That’s how he got them onto the new, more peaceful continent. However, after they started thriving again, he was unable to affect them on such a grand scale. It seemed that he would need to either let everything play out or adopt some other approach—perhaps a more direct, hands-on method.
‘It also seems that I gain less power the more I interfere with the evolutionary process. It’s like I’m draining the lake that I’m trying to fill up.’
Besides his problems with guidance, there was another glaring fault that he discovered. After shifting the population to one area of the globe, they were getting somewhat complacent. Previously, they had to work together to go against horrendous monsters, but now they were resting on their laurels. Something like this complicated things as he needed these people of his to get stronger and produce more spiritual energy to fill out this inner world of his.
The creatures that he separated them from were quite violent, and they were continuously evolving due to the rule of the fittest. They were growing in power while the civilization of humans was stagnating when it came to fighting prowess. These monstrous beings produced spiritual energy, but it somewhat conflicted with his own being. He needed the people that resembled his Dao to be the ones producing the spiritual energy; otherwise, his power wouldn’t grow.
Zhang Dong pondered the situation, realizing that the balance between intervention and allowing natural progress was delicate. Too much interference hindered the development of the beings he created, while too little left them vulnerable to the dangers of their world. As he observed the struggles and triumphs of his humanoid creatures, he understood that they needed challenges to grow stronger. With them, he would also gain more power and perhaps ascend further.
‘Eventually, those beasts will gain enough power to traverse the oceans, if they meet up with my people, it’s going to be a massacre…’
He started to weigh his options of what to do. While he could just take care of all the problems for these people, his hold on them was getting weaker and weaker. Moreover, he realized that solving all their issues wouldn't allow them to reach their full potential. They needed to face challenges, adapt, and grow on their own. After all, the essence of cultivation was about overcoming adversity and reaching new heights.
‘How should I tackle this issue… If it was the being that created the world I came from, it would probably do that…’
There was a thing that kept all the worlds together, and that was the system. It was a handy tool that allowed people to see their life represented by numbers or symbols. The more they lived their life, the more this number would rise as a reward. It turned a person's life into a game that made them strive for new levels or achievements. This was a good motivating factor but also a crutch.
‘The more the person relies on a system to guide them, the less they understand about the world around them…’
He had firsthand experience with this as that was how he started out his own adventure. His first days were spent blindly spending the rewards on power-ups that he didn’t really understand. Instead of using the system as an aid to progress, he was becoming a slave to it. His mind was filled with ways of getting points and not how he could achieve things in his own way. It was possible for him to understand every cultivation technique, but using the system to cut that process short was intoxicating. Wang Long was a good example of a person consumed by his system. His use of cultivation techniques was shallow and untrained, and it eventually led to his demise.
‘I understand why the system is used, it’s an easy way of guiding the residents to do what you want them to.’
As he was creating the world, he tested a few things, even the implementation of a simplified system. He didn’t need to spend many resources to give people quests or customize which things gave the most rewards to push everyone in a specific direction. He could already imagine that his people would become quite the monster hunters if those creatures gave them experience points.
‘They won’t be able to go beyond what I already know if I go with that approach. The system can only know what its creator knows. That’s probably why it wasn’t able to identify my current cultivation as it differs from whoever made everything.’
Zhang Dong decided to take a different approach. Instead of relying on a system to guide his creations, he would empower them with knowledge, wisdom, and the freedom to shape their own destinies. He understood that true growth and understanding came from experience and overcoming challenges, not from a set of predetermined quests and rewards.
To foster the development of his people, Zhang Dong decided to reveal himself to some of the more exceptional individuals among them. He appeared to them in dreams, offering guidance, insights, and encouragement. He shared the secrets of cultivation and the basics to open up their dantians and transform their bodies.
It was not an easy task as there was a communication barrier between him and his people. Religious beliefs were forming on his world, and when he appeared in their dreams, he was getting mixed responses. Some considered him a godly being, others some type of monstrous devil trying to lead them astray. Most of them ignored the prophetic dreams, with only a handful even trying the cultivation methods that he presented them.
Among those who dared to follow the guidance from their dreams, a diverse group of individuals emerged. They came from different tribes and backgrounds, united by their shared pursuit of self-improvement and understanding. These pioneers started to experiment with the cultivation techniques Zhang Dong shared, unlocking latent potentials within themselves.
As these individuals advanced in their cultivation, word spread among the different tribes about the mysterious dreams and the extraordinary abilities they could attain. Slowly, the idea of personal cultivation and spiritual development gained traction among the population. Zhang Dong observed with some satisfaction but something was missing. Even though the people from these tribes were practicing the techniques, it was contained to sparring sessions between each other.
It was seen as more of a sport than an actual way of defending themselves against potential future threats. A more drastic intervention needed to take place. It became clear that without proper stakes, these people would not see the worth in gaining strength. They were not like the cultivators that he encountered; they didn’t care as much about gaining power in a never-ending cycle of cultivation.
He needed to make a hard decision that would put these peaceful beings in harm's way. Without something to focus their minds on, they would continue their mostly peaceful life. They needed something to focus their minds on—a foe that they couldn’t ignore and easily defeat. The monsters that were slumbering on other continents needed to reach this place, but at a somewhat diminishing rate. Even though he felt bad for what he was about to do, without some type of friction, there would be no progress, at least not in the direction that he wanted.
Zhang Dong took a deep breath and made a decision that would change the course of his created world. He decided to open temporary portal gates to the other continents where the more formidable creatures dwelled. However, he made it so that the portal would only allow a limited number of these creatures to enter at a time. This way, the people of his world would face periodic challenges that would push them to grow stronger without overwhelming them completely.
As the first wave of monstrous beings entered the land, chaos ensued. The once peaceful tribes now faced a real threat, and the pioneers who had been practicing the cultivation techniques became the first line of defense. Zhang Dong watched closely, hoping that the hardships they faced would ignite the spark of resilience and determination within them…
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