[Zhang Yunxi]: You're telling me you went silent yesterday because you entered a ghost site?!
(ﾟДﾟ≡ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ
[Yu Lichuan]: Are you alright? No wonder your priority for buying dangerous spiritual tools was so high! (;☉_☉)
[Yu Lichuan]:I heard those old battlefields still have tons of foreign ghosts lingering around, with overwhelming resentment. I can't believe you just charged in! (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
[Xie Wushuang]:So that explains why all the ghost sites around Ling City suddenly went quiet. You're from Ling City, right? That must've been your doing!(☉д⊙)ﾉ
[Wu Qingfeng]: Wait... so Master Song also didn't register all her spiritual tools like the rest of us?
(・_・?)"
[Yu Lichuan]: Not "us," just "you." I registered and sold every tool I've nurtured. (￣ω￣)ゞ
[Gong Anyan]: Not all spiritual tools are suitable for sale. (ー_ー )"
[Le Pengkun]:Did you see that? Master Song said my Spirit-Breaking Tang Saber could cut through ghost resentment!(ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ・‥…━━━★
[Le Pengkun]: We've got a ghost site here in Ming City too, and the contribution points for resolving it are massive. What if I bring my saber there tomorrow? (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
[Yuan Liben]: I wouldn't recommend it. Sure, the saber can break resentment, but how many swings can your spiritual energy support? (´-ι_-｀)
[Yuan Liben]: Ghost sites have thousands of ghosts. You'd be lucky to last thirty minutes against the yin aura before burning out. (︶︹︺)ゞ
[Yin Chunan]: I think most of us are around the same cultivation level. I'm curious—what's Master Song's current level, anyway? (￢‿￢ )
Song Miaozhu stared at the group chat.
So it wasn't just her hiding things. Other elite masters hadn't publicly registered all their tools either.
That was a relief.
Feeling reassured, she casually joined the banter in the chat, responding to everyone's messages. For the next month and more, Song Miaozhu traveled nonstop across the country. She was either fighting ghosts and gathering cursing materials in various ghost sites, or on the road to the next one.
By the time she returned to Lingcheng, it was already Qingming Festival.
While on the plane, a flight attendant suddenly asked passengers to turn on their seatback screens, saying there was an important announcement from the authorities.
Once the screens lit up, a government-produced video titled "Introduction to Spiritual Energy Awakening" began to play, issued by the SEIU.
After landing, she saw the same video playing on every TV screen and heard it over the radio. Even the nearly forgotten car radio during her taxi ride back to Yuanshan Ancient Town was broadcasting it.
Her phone exploded with texts and push notifications. Every social media platform was swamped. From initial secrecy to a slow trickle of information, the SEIU had finally gone public with full-force propaganda.
Along the way, the announcement didn't seem to cause much disruption in the real world.
But online? A completely different story.
Each educational video included links to the SEIU's official accounts across all major platforms.
Suddenly, the SEIU's once-ignored social accounts were flooded.
[Comment 1: So is it April Fool's or Qingming today?]
[Comment 2: I thought the airline lost its mind. Turns out it's the country!]
[Comment 3: No wonder there've been so many weird videos lately. They used to get taken down immediately, but now they're trending.]
[Comment 4: Now I get why my phone keeps recommending cultivation novels. All the big fantasy dramas are airing on TV, and theaters are packed with supernatural films!]
[Comment 5: Is it too late to enroll in a special skills class?]
[Comment 6: Damn, I shouldn't have slacked off when university made us take skill-based electives. Can I still retake them now?]
[Comment 10: Am I the only one who's curious what spiritual energy actually looks like? The video didn't show it!]
[Comment 11: My cousin's deskmate's brother's mother-in-law's elderly father is an old craftsman. He opened his heavenly eye recently, and apparently he's livelier than his daughter-in-law now. He says spiritual energy looks like tiny glowing dots.]
[Comment 18: Looking for a beautiful female master to teach me cultivation. I'm 6 feet tall, got abs, will send photos in DMs!]
[Comment 19: Seriously looking for a teacher. Price negotiable!]
[Comment 21: Suspected cultivator spotted! [link]]
[Comment 32: I work in a local SEIU branch. Honestly, cultivators don't look much different from regular people.]
[Comment 35: The video said you only need to trigger spiritual energy through a craft to begin cultivation. But how do I know if I've triggered it?]
[Comment 36: Record a video and send it here. I've opened my heavenly eye. I can check for you.]
[Comment 40: Who's actually running legitimate cultivation skill-training classes? Didn't they say everyone gets one free course? I haven't found a single one!]
After scrolling for a while, Song Miaozhu got bored.
The SEIU video mostly explained the benefits of spiritual energy, showcased a few magical spiritual tools, and encouraged everyone to take up crafts and begin cultivating.
Since the SEIU had been laying the groundwork for a while now, most people accepted the news without much resistance. Instead of fear about the future, most felt excitement and curiosity—especially at the idea that anyone could begin cultivating by learning a craft.
She closed the social platforms and opened the SEIU app.
The app was still only available to verified cultivators. You had to be initiated before you could even access the download link.
But today, the app was buzzing.
The SEIU announced that all recognized Craft Masters across the country could officially begin accepting students. Everyone was entitled to one free skill-based initiation course, fully covered by the state.
Suddenly, people everywhere were scrambling to find legitimate training programs. But on the SEIU app, many Craft Masters were in panic. The demand was overwhelming. Anyone who posted publicly was immediately swarmed. Those who revealed their real-world locations? Surrounded.
Even a few masters who had previously uploaded craft videos online were being tracked down and doxxed by internet users.
One top-rated comment on the app summed it up best:
["SEIU speaks, ordinary folks go wild, cultivators get doxxed and harassed."]
Just as Song Miaozhu was chuckling at the chaos, the taxi driver said, "Miss, I can't drive any farther. There are too many people up ahead. You might want to get out here."
Song Miaozhu looked out the window.
"…."
She had just been laughing at everyone else, and now karma had caught up with her. From the base of Xiaozhu Mountain to halfway up the mountain, the road was packed with people and cars. It had always been a narrow one-way road. Now it was so congested, not even a scooter could squeeze through.