novelraw Chapter 555: About Collective Sanity
Chapter 555: About Collective Sanity
"What?"
"You're joking! Is there a connection between heirs and Collective Sanity?"
Li Wei was greatly startled. Additionally, was the efficiency really this high?
In the few months since Hathaway woke up, it had only been a dozen times or so, and moreover, this shouldn't be happening!
He panicked a little.
Hathaway, however, looked at him with amusement. "I feel you still don't understand enough about the operational structure of the Alliance of Myriad Heavens Lords, or perhaps you haven't prepared yourself mentally at all? Since this is Lord Mode expansion and development, the issue of heirs cannot be bypassed. If you were a Mercenary, you could of course be free and unfettered, wandering the world. When one person eats their fill, the whole family is not hungry!"
"But since you chose to be a Lord—and a quite successful one at present—with over two hundred thousand people following you, not having heirs is a strict political issue."
"I even estimate you haven't thought about where this special attribute, Collective Sanity, actually comes from, or what its specific definition is."
"In the world of ordinary people, everyone knows about huddling together for warmth and that having many children brings many blessings. In such a transcendent and unstable world, without heirs and without a successor, it's even easier for people's hearts to become unstable, especially when your family and enterprise are large."
Hearing Hathaway say this, Li Wei suddenly felt as if he had just awakened from a dream. Yes, indeed. These past few months, he had felt that things were going too smoothly; everything felt unreal.Why was that?
The territory was developing too well, and its Comprehensive Strength was constantly climbing, but he just felt it was very ethereal, like a rootless existence, as if everything would leave him in the future.
It was as if immense family wealth was ultimately nothing more than a passing cloud.
But what if he had heirs? What if all this had his own bloodline to inherit it?
Good heavens, it would be completely different.
The entire mental outlook would be different.
So this was Collective Sanity. For the sake of heirs, for the sake of sons and daughters, one's will could indeed become several times firmer and stronger.
No matter what difficulties were encountered, just thinking about having heirs would make the dark clouds in the sky seem to radiate brilliance.
Otherwise, how could it be said that a mother becomes strong for her children, and a father becomes strong for his children?
That's right, it was precisely like this. Lord Mode could never avoid the issue of heirs.
"Hathaway, you seem to know much more than I do. Can you tell me specifically about Collective Sanity? I need a class representative," Li Wei asked solemnly.
He had indeed overlooked the special attribute of Collective Sanity. Of course, this might also be because he had been frightened by the All-Heavens Temple once before, feeling that all knowledge must carry a curse.
"As a Spellcaster, the first requirement is to have a sufficient reserve of knowledge. Isn't it normal that I know a lot?"
Hathaway smiled and bantered before continuing, "However, the more knowledge one has, the easier it is to become paranoid. If there isn't a correct research path and without sufficient Collective Sanity to protect you, it's very easy to go to extremes. You will feel very lonely, and you will easily develop self-denial toward this world, toward yourself, and toward life."
"So Collective Sanity can also be understood as a kind of responsibility, a kind of ideal, a kind of collective sense of security."
"When you study for the rise of your nation, your Collective Sanity will increase. When you do scholarship to establish peace for all generations, your Collective Sanity will likewise increase."
"Of course, it doesn't necessarily have to be acquiring knowledge or doing scholarship; any profession is the same. When you kill all the enemies to defend your homeland, even if you make a scenic display out of their heads, you won't lose Collective Sanity. Conversely, becoming addicted to killing will definitely cause you to lose Collective Sanity."
"When you work hard and farm diligently to feed your whole family, fatigue like a tide and exhaustion like a mountain, but when you see a house full of children and grandchildren, you will feel gratified in your heart. This is also Collective Sanity. Conversely, if you live freely and recklessly when young, and are lonely and bitter in old age, if you say you have enough Collective Sanity, not even a dog would believe you."
"When you govern a region, if there is political harmony, the people are prosperous, no one picks up lost items on the road, and the people's hearts are pure and honest, you can naturally obtain Collective Sanity."
"Therefore, previously when you and I let that unlucky fellow go, allowing him to return 'dust to dust, earth to earth', as a good deed, it naturally also obtained Collective Sanity."
"Of course, there is no problem with the source of acquiring Collective Sanity, it's just that the criteria for acquisition are difficult to determine. Currently, I am also exploring it."
"But there is one thing I can be certain of: if you can have a son and a daughter this time, your Collective Sanity will soar. If they are both sons, that's not bad either, but if they are two daughters, there is a high probability that Collective Sanity won't increase too much."
"Also, if your sons and daughters are worthless, Collective Sanity will also drop. It's not that the more children and grandchildren, the better, but having enough children and grandchildren who distinguish themselves and can unite as one is the best."
"And besides this, when you have enough loyal subordinates, your Collective Sanity will also increase. This is why Karl looks at you as if you were his own son."
"Similarly, establishing a Kingdom will also yield a considerable amount of Collective Sanity."
"Including establishing an Empire, and making this Empire brilliant and powerful—that applies even more."
"Now, do you understand?"
"I understand, I get it! But you also said this is Lord Mode. What if I don't become a Lord and just become a Mercenary? Would I not need Collective Sanity then?"
Li Wei raised another new question.
"How could it not be needed? As long as you are a normal human, you will need it. Not everyone can be a Lord. Even if one becomes a Mercenary, they cannot detach from the surrounding social structure. A Mercenary doesn't pop out from a crack in a stone; the civilizational form in their background of growth will also add to their Collective Sanity. The text they have learned, the stories they have read, the poems they have recited, including the habits of their ethnic group, their country, their beliefs—if they have none of these, at least they can still have a 'family'!"
"Even if they have no 'family', they can still have sworn brothers, like-minded teammates, or even if they are a lone wolf, they will occasionally interact with people. What they firmly believe in, including the knowledge and memories they have acquired, will all become sources of their Collective Sanity."
"It's just that for the vast majority of people, it's very difficult to awaken Collective Sanity in their entire lives, and there is no clear numerical value to be seen, but that doesn't mean it isn't there."
"However, if Collective Sanity becomes very low, or even negative, then it's terrifying. That basically means either their worldview has been shattered, or they are bearing the erosion of an extraordinary power. But I'm actually not too clear about this either. But if I had to summarize it, your Collective Sanity determines your joys, sorrows, and whether you live like a human being."
"Well, what I said might be somewhat one-sided, but that's about it."
"Not bad, I truly understand this time."
Li Wei nodded, grinning, and then explained it to Adai, asking it to cooperate well with Hathaway. As a result, Adai's eyeballs looked at him expressionlessly, making him very worried that it would suddenly spit out the word 'scumbag'!
Fortunately, nothing happened.
That day, the news that Li Wei was about to have heirs spread throughout all of Liwei Fort. From the middle and high-ranking officials of the territory to the legion soldiers, from the second-line troops to the commoners, everyone seemed to be celebrating the New Year. Amidst the lively discussions, it was as if an invisible giant stone had landed on the ground, and their futures were finally settled.
That invisible atmosphere of joy drifted above the territory like angels, rather than ghosts.
Happiness really was contagious.
This emotion continuously brewed, and ultimately triggered many changes.
First was Zhao Qingshan and his group; their Loyalty Level toward Li Wei actually broke through to 85 in one breath. They belonged to the type of people who had read a bit too many books and did things very seriously, possessing their own unique understanding and insight. It was usually too difficult to raise their Loyalty Level.
Whether it was granting favors, bestowing rewards, or being approachable, it didn't do much good.
But this time, it was actually effective. Perhaps their Loyalty Level didn't increase just because Li Wei had heirs, but rather was elevated by the expectations and atmosphere of the territory's populace.
In fact, their own Collective Sanity was also increasing; everyone's Collective Sanity was increasing.
Similarly, the Loyalty of the legion soldiers was also rising. The Loyalty of A Su and Tucker also broke through to 96 for the first time.
Just like this, transmitted level by level, by the time it reached Li Wei, it was already early the next morning. His Collective Sanity increased by 2 points, reaching 20 points.
This time, it felt comfortable and clear.
Li Wei himself felt refreshed, a tide of inspiration flowing, in excellent condition.
It was truly a good time!
For the first time, he felt the buff brought by Collective Sanity, and it was truly extraordinary.
He felt that in this state, no matter what he did, his efficiency could be greatly improved.
Then he would go into seclusion and grind Destiny Grids.
Casting aside all disturbances, ignoring the scheming outside, he devoted himself entirely to farming and training.
Just like that, in the blink of an eye, a full eight years passed.
The Great Frost had enveloped this Dimension-Ascending Continent for a full nine years. Now, it finally began to lose its power and dissipate.
And at the same time, Tyrant William frequently issued orders, gathering his army, ready to launch a great battle against the Nean at any time.
On this day, Falcon Karl was officially appointed by Tyrant William as the Commander of the Locke Legion, and was simultaneously ordered to gather a grand army of fifty thousand within six months to await deployment.
And this old brother turned around and apportioned a quota of ten thousand soldiers to Li Wei.
Furthermore, he gave him the position of Deputy Commander of the Locke Legion, Provisional Imperial Myriarch.
The reason it was Provisional Imperial Myriarch was because the Orson Empire had not yet been rebuilt, so the title was not legitimate, but at the same time, they couldn't use the establishment of the Locke Kingdom, so this was the only way.
Li Wei originally wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he gave up; he couldn't refuse.
Who told the evaluation score of his territory's Comprehensive Strength to have already surpassed Falcon Karl's? But this was really unfair.
Because over the past nine years, Falcon Karl's Comprehensive Strength had also greatly increased. It had currently surged to a high of 10,923 points, an increase of nearly two thousand points in the comprehensive index compared to eight years ago, which was very strong.
But Li Wei's Comprehensive Strength index happened to be exactly one point higher than Falcon Karl's.
This... was so frustrating.
But what could he do? He had to gather the entire army and all departments for a meeting.