"The Great Yi Dynasty is not a dynasty that enforces strict laws like the previous one, and only the dynasty has the right to enforce laws. It is not your place as martial arts experts to enforce them on their behalf."
Fang Ming heard this and understood the ruling philosophy of this martial artist world.
Only the government and its soldiers had the right to enforce laws, and martial artists themselves could not.
This was how the Great Yi Dynasty differed from other martial arts worlds, with the government controlling martial arts experts.
So-called acts of chivalry in this world had to be performed under the premise of obeying the laws of the Great Yi Dynasty.
This was equivalent to placing the government's institutions above the entire martial arts world.
Martial artists who broke the law were forbidden, and the Great Yi Dynasty used its strict laws to prevent such possibilities.
Knowing this, Fang Ming's eyes seemed to see the various conflicts between martial artists and the dynasty in this world.
Martial artists naturally did not want to be so constrained by the Great Yi Dynasty, while the dynasty wanted to suppress the various rights of martial artists.
If not for the existence of Immortal-Demon level martial artists in the major sects, something like a martial arts ban might have been issued.
Of course, even if a martial arts ban were truly enacted, it would only restrict martial arts sects and independent martial artists. The government soldiers and the true ruling class, like the county magistrate before him, would naturally still have the right to cultivate martial arts.
In the end, the Great Yi Dynasty desired centralized power, where only the royal family possessed strength, not a prohibition of martial arts for the entire civilization.
Those who would restrict themselves would essentially not exist.
Fang Ming knew that the other party regarded him as a martial arts expert, which was determined by the structure of their civilization. In this world, there were no true cultivators.
So-called cultivators were merely described in storybooks and did not truly exist.
In the eyes of the martial artists of this world, "immortals" referred to martial artists at the Immortal-Demon level.
Reaching the pinnacle of martial arts cultivation could lead to becoming an immortal or a god; this was their viewpoint.
The county magistrate's arrival was actually opportune.
Fang Ming had just wanted to practically test the martial prowess of the martial artists in this world, and the county magistrate before him, who was qualified to compete for a spot on the Earthly Ranking, though not yet at the bottom of it, possessed a status and strength sufficient for Fang Ming to gauge his abilities against a cultivation system.
"All preaching ultimately boils down to violence."
Fang Ming did not engage in further discourse with the county magistrate, directly identifying the fundamental essence.
"The Great Yi Dynasty can suppress martial artists and use laws to control them, quelling much of their resistance, not for any moral reasons, but because the Great Yi Dynasty controls the most fundamental form of violence."
"Violence more powerful than that of martial artists."
"Therefore, the Great Yi Dynasty can restrain martial artists in this manner."
"If the situation were reversed, it would be because when the Great Yi Dynasty was founded, its founding emperor forcefully extinguished numerous resisters with absolute violence."
Fang Ming's words were clear.
If judged by the current laws of the Great Yi Dynasty, the founding emperor of the Great Yi Dynasty, with his Immortal-Demon level martial strength, had personally annihilated a million-strong army, slaughtered millions, assassinated three emperors in succession, and then purged the Imperial Hall, killing all civil and military officials.
Was this not the most typical example of martial artists defying laws?
But the founding emperor of the Great Yi Dynasty had won. Having ascended to the position of ruler, he naturally could not be judged by the laws he himself had created. In official accounts, those he killed were all sinners and villains, and his actions were just.
The laws could not judge the founding emperor of the Great Yi Dynasty.
Simply because he had established absolute power.
And why could the martial artists of various sects and independent cultivators not defy the law now?
It was because their power was inferior to the collective power of the Great Yi Dynasty, and thus they could only submit to the dynasty's laws.
Ultimately, it all came down to whose power was greater. It was power that determined right and wrong, not morality.
As Fang Ming had predicted, the county magistrate, upon hearing these words, laughed in anger.
"How dare you compare yourself to the founding emperor! Do you think you are an Immortal-Demon level martial arts master?"
"Originally, if you had surrendered obediently, you could have sought leniency. Now it's too late. Everyone, apprehend him on the spot!"
Clearly, although the county magistrate had arrived, he had only placed himself in the position of issuing orders and had no intention of personally apprehending Fang Ming.
As the lord of a county, responsible for the lives of hundreds of thousands, he felt he was not so cheap. Even if the opponent was a young master, he was too young to warrant his direct intervention.
He still needed to maintain his dignity.
If he were to personally attack a child, would he still have any face?
He was, after all, a "quasi-master" qualified to compete for a spot, even if it was at the bottom, on the Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings.
He felt he was not so cheap, and thus directly ordered his subordinates to act.
A constable, receiving the order, unleashed a palm strike towards Fang Ming.
The martial arts cultivation in this world, perfected into the current martial arts system, had a key focus: "Spiritual Apertures."
Spiritual Apertures were crucial points that could automatically purify true qi, imprint it with various characteristics, transform it into different properties, and refine out countless impurities, leaving only the essence.
Each Spiritual Aperture played a vital role and was a significant aid for martial artists in enhancing their strength.
Without opening various Spiritual Apertures to assist in cultivation and increase combat power, it was like the martial artists of ancient times. Even if they cultivated to their limit, they would find it difficult to reach the strength of an Earthly Ranking master, let alone glimpse the Immortal-Demon realm of the Heavenly Ranking.
The reason for this was that relying solely on the circulation of the Greater and Lesser Heavenly Circuits, it was difficult to accumulate internal energy. Accumulating a sixty-year cultivation often required sixty years.
The cultivation methods of ancient times were almost unimaginably inefficient in the present era.
If a human martial artist from ancient times were to come to the present era, they would find martial artists in their teens possessing six to seven cycles of sixty-year internal energy, or four to five hundred years of internal energy, to be commonplace.
This was because the circulation of the Greater and Lesser Heavenly Circuits in ancient times required martial artists to actively practice martial arts, and the time available was limited.
Ordinary martial artists lacked the perseverance to spend much time practicing internal energy daily. Often, after cultivating internal energy for two hours a day, they would not want to continue.
Even martial artists with strong perseverance needed to eat, sleep, and attend to other matters. The time spent on cultivation each day was limited, and they could not be practicing martial arts at all times.
Spiritual Apertures, however, were different.
Unlike the Greater and Lesser Heavenly Circuits, which required the martial artist to actively circulate internal energy, Spiritual Apertures, as long as the martial artist was alive, would autonomously and actively cultivate.