Ryan spent a whole year studying world geography and the laws of the empire with the school principal.
The geography only described a few nearby towns and their city management.
The remaining classes focus on the Law of the empire, which became extremely complicated and absurd due to the numerous changes made by the ruling emperors to suit their preferences.
Even if they changed a few laws so they might favor themselves, the emperors didn't dare touch the core laws.
For example, the taxation rate for the entire empire will always be 40 percent of the profit earned from selling their products or 40 percent of their yield.
While the farmers' taxes remained constant throughout the years, the emperor had the exclusive right to adjust the price of grain in the market.
Since the yield of the fields near the purple forest is extremely high, the cost of food is cheap and affordable for the working-class people in the empire.
Next, cultivators are prohibited from interfering in mortal lives by making things difficult through intimidation or using spells to curse them.
If any cultivator kills mortals for selfish gains or uses evil techniques to enhance their cultivation, they will be hunted down and executed in the capital once caught.
No slaves are permitted in the mortal kingdom, and every citizen has the right to appeal to the court if they are persecuted by officials illegally.
This is why Old John chose to sell his entire property and remained poor, rather than consider becoming a slave to survive by selling himself until his son returned.
Empires consistently advocate for the freedom of their citizens and actively encourage constant innovation to make life easier.
They'll be handsomely rewarded if the invention becomes widely used by mortals.
Ryan discovered that there are mortal martial artists in the empire, as the exercises are widely spread and sought after by travelers seeking to protect themselves.
Although the mortal martial arts are easily available and there are many places in the cities where they can progress in their practice, the cultivators never took them seriously as the strongest martial artist is only equal to the peak of the qi realm early stage.
After learning all these things in school, Ryan was both perplexed and fascinated by the outside world. He decided to travel and explore it once he had improved his survival skills.
As today is the last day of school, after studying for the past two years, Ryan thanked the principal for allowing him to study here for free until now.
He then handed out a few gifts to the teacher and other staff at the school before heading home.
Due to sparse rains in the empire this year, the crops that grew in the fields required less water and maintenance. This gave Old John some free time, and Ryan also had some breathing space to rest during his leisure time instead of working.
Today marks the second anniversary of his arrival in this world, and tonight, he will attempt to detect spirit qi, infuse it into his body, and see if the spirit roots have manifested.
After getting home, Ryan freshened up with a bath, changed into clean clothes, and ate some food that his grandfather John had cooked.
He then went back to his room, closed the door, and sat cross-legged, trying to enter a meditative state. Until today, he couldn't detect spirit qi, which was a sign of no manifestation of a spirit root. From that day onward, he would allocate most of his time to meditation, hoping to detect spirit qi particles in his surroundings.
Whether it was Ryan's determination or concentration, he quickly entered meditation mode and gradually began to sense a few spirit qi elements around him.
Initially, he sensed the fundamental elements that most people become aware of and discovered he could perceive them clearly while meditating. He then attempted to absorb them into his body, allowing them to enter like water and begin circulating according to the exercise he practiced. The exercise was provided by the young lady from Medicine Valley, and it was the most basic five-elemental qi cultivation method known in the cultivation world.
After completing a cycle of circulating spirit qi in his body, Ryan's consciousness suddenly went dark, and he found himself in a very dark place.
Ryan's body remained in a meditative position, but he became tense due to the sudden change in environment.
Ryan took in his surroundings and realized that this place was his soul place. The entire area was made of a dark gray, murky surface, which he recognized after reflecting on the classics that had been passed down to him by the cultivator of Medicine Valley and stored in his memory palace.
As Ryan was in deep thought, he heard a call from the depth of his soul, and Ryan involuntarily started walking down towards it in a trance.
As he walked and reached his center of soul, Ryan found a three-legged bronze Cauldron Shining with various lights sitting there.
Ryan immediately recognized it as it was the culprit for his transmigration to this world.
Upon closer look, he found that the cauldron was calling to him.
Initially hesitant, Ryan slowly approached it, then gathered his courage and placed his hand on the cauldron. It shone brightly for a moment, blinding his eyes briefly, before returning to its normal appearance.
Ryan, who had closed his eyes due to the blinding lights, slowly sat in a meditative position, furrowing his brows in deep thought without opening his eyes.
In a few minutes, he opened his eyes and saw the bronze cauldron was returned to its regular appearance, but there was no sadness in his face, but full happiness filled his face, and he started laughing uncontrollably without stopping and he neared the cauldron and kissed it dearly.
While he was performing his antics in the soul place, his eyes suddenly went dark again. Outside the soul palace, he fainted on the floor due to the over-exertion of soul power needed to stay in the soul palace without any cultivation powers, and he fell into a deep sleep.