The flying boat stopped in an open space. The moment Liu Yi stepped off, a strong sense of suffocation immediately washed over him.
It was like being instantly placed on the oxygen-deprived Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; even breathing became difficult.
Only after a moment did he gradually adapt.
Feeling the concentration of Spiritual Qi outside, which was only 1% of that in the Tianqi Sect, he sighed helplessly. Achieving Foundation Establishment in such an environment would be incredibly difficult.
Watching the flying boat quickly ascend and fly away, he ignored the more than one hundred Outer Sect Disciples beside him and walked straight toward the nearest city.
Jin State, Yunping City.
Liu Yi walked along the city streets.
The streets were bustling and prosperous, with vendors' cries echoing continuously and pedestrians coming and going endlessly.
In the crowd, the vast majority of people had sallow faces, numb expressions, and wore tattered clothes, while only a very few were dressed lavishly.
He even saw more than a dozen people selling themselves into servitude—something he had only seen in films and television before, but now witnessed in reality.
There were many beggars on the roadside reaching out, their clothes ragged and their faces gaunt.
He walked into a steamed bun shop, spent most of the money he had, and bought some steaming hot buns to distribute to the beggars.
This was all he could do; he didn't have much money left and couldn't help more people.
In this world, there were simply too many impoverished people.
Along the way, he also encountered several groups of human traffickers.
He not only secretly ruined their schemes but also secretly marked these people.
He planned to pay them a visit that night—not only to eliminate a scourge for the people but also to take the opportunity to refill his own meager money pouch.
Walking along, the contrast between the city's grand red-doored mansions and the dilapidated thatched huts was stark.
The wealthy ate delicacies from mountains and seas, while the poor could only pray not to starve, sometimes even resorting to eating grass and dirt. The immense gap between rich and poor was shocking.
Even though Liu Yi knew about the vast disparity between rich and poor in this world from his predecessor's memories.
Witnessing it firsthand, he was still deeply shaken by this unimaginable gap.
Although there was a gap between rich and poor in his previous life, compared to this world, it was insignificant. Even ancient China was far less terrifying than this world.
In this world where transcendent power existed, ordinary people had almost no chance of ever rising up.
Kings, Nobles, Generals, and Ministers truly have superior lineage here.
Just then, a burst of crying and pleading for mercy suddenly sounded: "Spare me! Butler, spare me! I really wasn't slacking off! I've guarded the manor gate for three consecutive years, sleeping only two hours a day. I just couldn't hold on anymore and dozed off for a moment!"
Liu Yi turned his head to look. In front of the Zhao Manor gate, a man dressed as a servant was desperately pleading, his forehead bleeding from where he had kowtowed.
The Butler's expression was cold, and he shouted sternly, "You dare doze off while on duty at the manor gate? Drag him away and give him twenty heavy strikes! Let's see who else dares to slack off!"
"Human life is as cheap as grass." This thought flashed through Liu Yi's mind as he watched the servant being dragged away.
The servant was thin and already extremely weak; whether he could survive twenty heavy strikes was truly uncertain.
This world is sick!
This world is insane!
The Mortal Realm is crazier and more oppressive than the Cultivation World.
Leaving aside his previous life, even in the Tianqi Sect, he was used as manual labor, having to operate Formations for six *shichen* daily, but at least within the Sect, he could eat his fill and stay warm.
Although his life was like that of livestock, at least he had food to fill his stomach. Compared to the common people struggling on the edge of life and death, he was actually quite fortunate.
"How could I have such a thought?"
Liu Yi sharply shook his head, forcibly driving that absurd notion out of his mind.
In the world before him, Cultivators did not act like Cultivators, powerful and noble Families controlled resources for generations, while ordinary people struggled to find even a place to settle down.
In this world filled with transcendent power, the word "fairness" had become the ultimate luxury.
Liu Yi clenched his fists, his nails almost digging into his palm.
His heart was filled with the urge to overturn everything, but rationality quickly pulled him back to reality.
With his current strength, he couldn't shake the rules of this world in the slightest.
Even if his cultivation succeeded one day, this world was so vast—what could one person change alone?
Unless he became powerful enough to rewrite the rules of the world, it would ultimately be futile.
He thought of the popularization of education and the internet from his previous life, but then shook his head self-mockingly.
No, it was impossible to achieve here. The cost alone would be astronomical.
Moreover, all resources were firmly held by the vested interests. How could change possibly happen?
Even if it appeared, it would become a tool for the predators.
Unless something appeared that was beyond the control of the nobles and Cultivators.
"That's right, the System!"
Liu Yi's eyes suddenly lit up. He didn't need those flashy Systems with powerful abilities like slaughter or sign-in functions.
As long as he could create something similar to the computer operating Systems of his previous life, running directly in the minds of the common people, coupled with a series of other methods, perhaps he really could overturn the entire world!
He could pull down all those high-and-mighty Cultivators and predators.
If he succeeded, he would also gain great benefits from it.
Thinking of this daring plan, Liu Yi was so excited his body felt hot, and he wished he could start immediately.
But soon, he calmed down again.
Currently, creating a System was too unrealistic; with his present ability, it was mere fantasy.
The urgent matter at hand was still achieving a Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm, otherwise, in a few years, he would only find peace in the grave.
Thinking of this, Liu Yi decided to go settle the score with those human traffickers.
It would be a good way to vent his anger.
Let them taste the Iron Fist of Justice.
That night, he found a secluded courtyard, covered his face, kicked open the main gate, and rushed in, brimming with Killing Intent.
Fist shadows flew everywhere; he killed everyone he saw without mercy.
In just a moment, only three of the more than twenty people in the courtyard were left, weakly collapsing on the ground.
Liu Yi looked at the corpses littering the ground, feeling slightly uncomfortable. After taking a few deep breaths to recover,
He didn't rush to question them. He simply raised his hand and performed the Great Memory Restoration Technique on the three men.
The intense pain made the three men scream incessantly. Only after they recovered slightly did Liu Yi coldly press them:
"Who is your mastermind? Confess honestly, and I'll give you a quick death. Otherwise, I'll make you taste what you just felt a dozen more times!"
The leader looked terrifiedly at the Killing God before him, his voice trembling:
"Great Hero, spare us! There really is no mastermind! We just kidnap children and sell them to wealthy households, the Brothel, or turn them into beggars to make money."
Liu Yi frowned and looked at the other two. One of them, scared pale, quickly nodded:
"He's telling the truth! We are willing to give you money, please, Great Hero, spare our lives!"
Liu Yi's eyes narrowed, and he continued to press: "Where are the kidnapped children being held? Where is your stolen money hidden?"
The three men anxiously answered in unison: "In the room next door! The money is all in the cellar of the west wing!"
Liu Yi quickly acted, striking the three men's pressure points to immobilize them, then hurried toward the next room.
As soon as he pushed the door open, a smell mixing putrefaction and blood immediately assailed him.
Inside the dim room, thirteen children were locked in rusty iron cages. The limbs of three of the children had already been broken—clearly meant to be turned into disabled beggars.
This horrible sight caused Liu Yi's eyes to instantly widen in fury, his Killing Intent almost condensing into substance.
"I was still too kind; I let them die too easily."
He clenched his fists tightly, his nails almost digging into his palms, barely managing to suppress the rage in his heart.
Seeing the terrified eyes of the children, he offered a gentle smile and said softly, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to rescue you."
Saying this, he stepped forward and opened the iron cages one by one, gently carrying the children out.
"Thank you, Big Brother!"
"Thank you, Benefactor!"
The children's tearful thanks rose and fell, their small hands clutching tightly to Liu Yi's sleeves, as if grasping their only hope.
Liu Yi squatted down and carefully examined the injuries of the three children with broken limbs.
Finding that the wounds were still fresh and the bones had not yet healed, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief: Thankfully, they were discovered in time; there was still hope for treatment.
Immediately, he performed the Bone-Setting Technique he had learned from medical books in the Tianqi Sect Scripture Pavilion, correcting and resetting the dislocated bones one by one.
After treating the injuries, he rummaged through the human traffickers' cellar, found gold, silver, and valuables, and distributed them to the rescued children: "Take this money. I will take you home to find your families."
After Liu Yi sent the children home one by one, the sky was already faintly brightening.
Liu Yi returned to the courtyard and looked at the three human traffickers whose pressure points had been struck, their limbs disabled, lying paralyzed on the ground. A meaningful cold smile appeared on his face.