In the year 8022 of the Blue Star Xia calendar, Lingjing Star
In a room in Modern City, Fa Kong sat upright on a chair. In front of him was a video projection using VR technology that made him feel like he was there.
The projection was a documentary about the changes at Lingjing Star over the decades.
The documentary started with a traditional society in Lingjing Star, filled with Buddhist cultivators, temples, and people in front of the camera, most of whom wore ragged clothes, were very thin, and had blank expressions on their faces.
Then, the cultivators from Blue Star appeared. They killed the Buddhist cultivators, destroyed the temples, seized all the farmland, and distributed it to the people. Amid the people’s anxiety, teams of workers also appeared one after another.
These workers operated strange machines to build roads and bridges for the people in the area, to create water systems, and to forcefully promote their so-called fertilizers.
Then the harvest was abundant, a real bounty. Fa Kong saw the surprise on the faces of the people. Even more surprising was that the Blue Star people collected very low taxes, leaving most of the food for the people. Many of them finally ate until they were full for the first time, and they knelt to worship the Blue Star people with more sincerity than when they knelt before any statue.
Next came a great change in society. The Blue Star people opened schools and stores, set strict laws, and told the people what they should do and what they could do.
The knowledge in the schools was very unique, the goods in the stores were plentiful and very cheap, making them affordable even for the poor. The numbness on the faces of the people slowly faded, and smiles became more common.
After that, the documentary showed more and more amazing things: the streets had electric lights, there were cars, and the town got factories. More and more people gave up farming and started working in factories, earning more money than what they made from farming.
The students in the school also graduated. Some went on to higher education, some entered factories, and some became technicians in the fields. Everything was thriving.
After watching the sixteen-hour documentary, Fa Kong’s face turned confused again because he knew that nothing in the documentary was fake.
This is because some things he saw with his own eyes. In the past two years, he followed a cultivator named Zhang Qing and traveled through sixteen cities and hundreds of villages in Lingjing Star, seeing and hearing things that were even more shocking than the documentary.
"Master Fa Kong, have a drink of water."
Zhang Qing turned off the projector, turned on the lights, and brought Fa Kong a glass of water.
"Thank you, Zhang."
"How did the documentary turn out? I have more than twenty other documentaries. They all aim to capture the social changes on Lingjing Star, but from different perspectives. Some are from the viewpoint of former Buddhist cultivators, some from the lives of poor common folks, and others focus on agriculture, handicrafts, and cultural industries. Would you like to watch them?"
"Let’s watch them another time."
"Master Fa Kong, would you like to discuss Buddhist teachings with me?"
"You?"
"Yes, it’s me. Don’t underestimate me. Even though I am only in the late Nascent Soul stage, I am one of the most skilled in Buddhist teachings on Lingjing Star and Blue Star, and I have a deep understanding of your Buddhist theories."
Zhang Qing said this with confidence because he had truly defeated powerful Buddhist cultivators from Lingjing Star during debates.
"I know what you want to say."
"Yes, I understand that the master is a true monk, but there are some things I must say. Compared to the way you Buddhists practice in Lingjing Star, we might be the real Buddhist cultivators."
"I cannot agree."
"Master, why can’t I agree? Although we do not practice Buddhist teachings, we are doing great good. These poor people do not have to be poor; it’s not because they didn’t do good deeds in their past lives that they must suffer in this one. With our actions, we prove your theory about Buddhist cultivators wrong. Happiness can be created with our own hands."
We have been in control of Lingjing Star for decades. We have not used any tricks; we have not deceived the people of Lingjing Star, nor have we treated them harshly. Their standard of living is hundreds of times better in our hands than it has been under your Buddhist cultivators.
"Or do you firmly believe they were meant to suffer, that only you can be the superior ones?"
"The master probably came from a poor background as well."
"Yes."
"I thought so too; otherwise, the master wouldn’t be so compassionate towards these people. They should be met with weapons first, not listened to."
Zhang Qing said, "I’m afraid only by experiencing something ourselves can we feel sympathy. If they are born into a wealthy family, it is hard for them to understand these feelings."
"Master, sometimes we really need to think about what we are pursuing. Whether it is following the path of Buddhism or seeking immortality, becoming an immortal and living forever is certainly our ultimate goal. However, we cannot seek to live forever just for the sake of living forever. In this world, people will always have many ties. If one has nothing at all, what is the difference from a stone?"
"The stone at the door, according to our tests, should have formed millions of years ago. Its existence has been long enough, right? But what does it mean? Does the master really want to be that stone...?"
Zhang Qing continued to express his own theory. He was not afraid of having logical errors in his theories; they were all traps hidden in his words. As long as Fa Kong dared to keep up, he could argue in a way that made it impossible for Fa Kong to respond.
"Zhang Qing is quite capable; the high monks from the Bodhisattva Realm are all confused by him."
"Shiyi, is Zhang Qing really just tricking them?"
Shiyi said this in front of Liang Long, who turned around to ask.
"Isn’t he?"
"Shiyi, you made a mistake."
"Liang Long, what do you mean? Please explain clearly."
"It’s simple. With Fa Kong’s skill, if you play even a little bit fake, Fa Kong will notice it. The key is to be sincere, do you understand sincerity?"
Liang Long said that Zhang Qing was not playing fake; everything he did was real. That is the most frightening part. If it were a conspiracy, it would have been discovered long ago.
"That’s nonsense. When I was on Blue Star, I spent time with ordinary people. They suffered greatly. Many of them said they didn’t want to have children because they didn’t want their kids to come into this world and suffer."
"Each situation is different. Society develops at different levels and has different needs. Before Lingjing Star, as long as they had enough to eat and wear warmly, that was the greatest happiness for them. They had no higher material desires. Blue Star represents a higher social level."
"Oh, I see! It’s a gap in information. Just that gap made the Bodhisattva Realm Buddhist cultivator confused. I can only say I admire it."
Shiyi smiled and said this question is not hard to explain; Liang Long is right.
"You could say it’s a gap in information, but what we’re doing isn’t wrong either. Zhang Qing is right; compared to the Buddhist world, we are the true benefactors."
"Haha, the great person who has killed countless people."
"You’ve killed many too, and you’ll kill even more in the future. Fa Kong is very strong, possibly stronger than the previous Kong Yan. They might be from the great world of Buddhist cultivators. Their movements are very quick; we must make sure Zhang Qing holds him back."
"How is it going at the factory? Can the Space Battleship be built?"
"It’s ready, but it will take some time to be battle-ready. We have too few people, and we don’t have enough skilled workers. It would be best to quickly open the cross-border teleportation array to Blue Star. Otherwise, we won’t have any chance of winning."
Liang Long said that Lingjing Star’s foundation is too weak, their time is too short, and the Buddhist cultivators are moving too fast. They thought it would take hundreds of years to appear, but it came in just a few decades.
If the cross-border teleportation array cannot be built, Liang Long will really have to take people to become interstellar pirates. After all, he will not follow Lingjing Star to their end, but he doesn’t want to be an interstellar pirate right now.

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