1045 Patent & Sudden Movement
Heavenly Court:
Wang Wei had eyes in every world and saw how these people operated. For the most part, the Lower Realm natives did not resist because of the sheer difference in power. However, some more belligerent or xenophobic resisted no matter how much blood was shed. One of the top Supreme Lands was unlucky and chose a rebellious world, forcing them to ask the court for help.
'In general, things are proceeding smoothly,' thought Wang Wei. It's only a matter of time before the court's tentacles spread to every corner of this world community. 'The next thing is to keep an eye on those thieves."
He looked in the distance. There were too many eyes paying attention to this community. With such a large commotion, these people immediately began to try every means to learn what was happening, so he had to block them temporarily.
Wang Wei sneered before moving his eyes away; the next step was the creation of the patent system.
"True Heavenly Dao, be my witness, I wish to create a patent system to protect my creations or innovative ideas."
Wang Wei's voice echoed throughout the Myriad Emperor World, and a few seconds later, the Eye of True Heavenly Dao manifested. He immediately used his Divine Sense to convey this new system, explaining its ins and outs - and defining its intricacies.
Half an hour later, Wang Wei's voice was no longer limited to the Myriad Emperor World but to every corner of the Endless Void. All cultivators in the world then knew of the existence of the patent system. All factions, both visible and hidden, immediately began to mobilize; they wanted to know the exact details of this system and how it would affect them.
"Well, things did not proceed as I wanted," muttered Wang Wei, not hiding his disappointment. True Heavenly Dao accepted his patent system, but it was not as detailed or restrictive as he had expected.
Firstly, it only protects inventions or ideas that have a wide-scale effect on the entire lower dimension. As such, Wang Wei's Dream World, Mortal Civilization, Enlightening Temple, and the Heavenly Court were protected; people must pay him patent fees for using or replicating his ideas in their respective World Communities, and he has the right to deny them. Then, True Heavenly Dao will reinforce the rules and protect his assets.
However, other things, for example, Yan Liling's automatic cauldron or Tong Ruobing's Talisman Weapon, would not be protected by this patent system. In other words, people can gain merit by replicating these things in their community, and if Wang Wei wants to protect his ideas, he has to use force or something like the former curse he placed on the Heavenly Emperor Position.
Such a limit was not the only disappointing thing. True Heavenly Dao will hold records of people with patents, but these records are not part of an Eternal Emperor's [Existence]. In simpler terms, Wang Wei would not be able to use his name on the record to revive himself; if someone erased all his history, they would not have to worry about True Heavenly Dao's record.
Wang Wei's biggest surprise was that Tte changes in Innate Environment are not an accepted patent since "many people had this idea." So, he is prepared to collect payment for anyone who uses the idea from his formation to change their environment. He won't help anyone since he chose the environmental advantage as one of the things he would leave only for the Myriad Emperor World, but he also won't allow anyone to use his ideas for free.
'Things have been going so well that I almost forgot this was not Earth. In the cultivation world, one of the fundamental rules is the strong prey on the weak, and Heavenly Dao encourages such practice.'
Wang Wei shook his head; the only 'positive' of this patent system was the lack of term limits. He can hold this pattern for as long as he lives and even leave for an heir if something happens to him. From now on, the Qi Luck or blessing from these patents will form another layer of protection for the Dao Opening Sect.
Wang Wei waved his hand to take his merit for this system. He now had to create an independent patent system after taking over the Commerce Hub. However, such a man-made system is easily susceptible to corruption, unlike if it was under True Heavenly Dao's supervision.
'I don't need to worry too much about the future. I will do my best, but it's up to them to preserve what I leave.' He will create a strong and balanced man-made patent system, but it will still be up to the individual to maintain it.
Wang Wei was intrigued and decided to see what other people had accepted patents. According to his divination, there were a few, but only three caught his attention. The first one was the person who created a universal language that is still used to this day. All cultivators interacting with different world communities will know three languages: their native language, the Dao Language to explain the laws of Heaven and Earth and the universal language.
Although direct communication through Divine Sense will also ignore language barriers, people will not easily communicate this way with strangers, so spoken words are still needed. Additionally, some cultivation systems will not develop Divine Sense until the very late stage, making this issue even more prominent.
The other two noteworthy patents were the Commerce Hub and the Void Battlefield. The Commerce Hub created a universal currency for the lower dimension, a universal trading system, and even a universal bank.
Wang Wei watched how the merit of the Commerce Hub was divided amongst many factions, most of which held high positions at the core of the hub. A few of the foundation factions or individuals had long died and had no descendants, so True Heavenly Dao handed the merit to the group and let them decide how to divide it.
His gaze shifted to a faraway world to a thin mortal girl working on the farm. She was the descendant of one of the Commerce Hub's founders. The merit entered her body and immediately granted her a body suitable for cultivation, a basic technique of her world, followed by a peak Gold Qi Luck Dragon. She was shocked, and so were the other farmers around her.
Then, she ran home, packed her things, and swiftly left the village.
'Calm, quick, and decisive,' thought Wang Wei, 'but not cruel enough.' The best choice was to eliminate the people who saw her and delay the trouble that was coming.
Wang Wei removed his gaze and focused on something else.
'What to do?'
The patent for the Void Battlefield belongs to a sect with three Great Emperors. If he wants to create his Void Battlefield that runs through the entire Endless Void, he must ask them for permission and pay the fee for using their idea.
'Let's use a diplomatic approach first. If they disagree...' He had a cruel smile. 'The cultivation world's law of the jungle is something that I can also appreciate.'
Wang Wei turned away, preparing for his next plan; he had a few more things to do before continuing healing and cultivating. He suddenly stopped as he sensed something. He divined what he wanted but felt resistance, so he temporarily activated all his strength to proceed.
"The Corpse Selling Sect is about to move?' His eyes lit up as he navigated the infinite strings of fate, trying to find the future or fate he desired.
"They want to acquire a patent involving the death business and recycling dead bodies. Beforehand, they need to make some changes to how they operate. This is my chance."
He immediately contacted Wang Ju and told her about the news; this was the perfect opportunity to either infiltrate or find more information about the Corpse Selling Sect. Wang Wei smiled at this good news, no longer minding the unpleasant experience with the patent.
However, he soon returned to a contemplative expression. He wondered whether this new movement on their part was simply because of the appearance of the new patent system or whether there were greater implications. For example, was this an indication of Death Reverence's return?
'This theory is not too far-fetched. With Maitreya and Supreme Unity gone, these people in Limbo should be restless and preparing for their return. It's possible the Corpse Selling Sect is gathering merit and luck to facilitate his revival.'
Wang Wei frowned, 'For once, I'm on Supreme Unity's side; I hope he does not allow these people to return yet.'
He does not want to be Death Reverence's enemy now. Not only was the latter probably a Primal Paragon, but from what Wu Hong told him, he was a weird person with a terrifying secret. It would be a nightmare to make such an enemy in the current period of his cultivation journey.
'Should I just ignore the Corpse Selling Sect?' contemplated Wang Wei. 'No, they are one of the greatest unstable variables of my era; they must be eliminated.'
His eyes became firm and no longer wavered in his decision. He returned to his throne and activated a communication array that displayed a screen.
[AN: Previously, the Commerce Hub scaled to a few hundred world communities. I have officially retconned it to a third of the lower dimension, or more than a thousand world communities.]
