"Emotional Tax" isn't an official term. In official documents, it's called "Spiritual Energy Conversion Loss."
Not all emotions generated by mortals are absorbed. The system deducts a portion as follows:
• Stable city operation
• Emotional monitoring network
• Basic maintenance of the cultivation system
The remainder enters the cultivator's cultivation cycle. Lin Jin witnessed a public demonstration once. Cultivators stood on a high platform, mortals below. Emotions were guided, amplified, and extracted. The process was quiet, orderly, and bloodless. Afterward, the cultivator announced: "Today's spiritual energy conversion rate is good; the mortal emotional tax remains at a reasonable level." The mortals applauded. That was a permitted joy: limited time and quantity.
The mining area was the first place in Lin City to implement emotional management. At that time, the system was immature, and fear often spiraled out of control. Lin Jin's parents died during that phase.
Official records state:
"Due to excessive emotional fluctuations, plasma backlash was triggered; this is an unavoidable loss in the early pilot phase."
Later, the system was improved. The loss was compressed to an "acceptable" proportion. Lin Jin had reviewed those old records in the archives. A dense array of names, categorized, numbered, and tallied. There were no eulogies, no names of those responsible. Only a line of red text noted: "Provides crucial data support for subsequent stable operation." That day, as he closed the file, a faint glow of purple clouds appeared outside the window. He lowered his head, making sure his emotions didn't cross the line. Because he knew very well that in the Quota City, remembering these things wasn't illegal.
The real danger was feeling angry about them.