For the ordinary people, it meant that the ubiquitous tax system of the Imperium would be highly efficient and cruel. Naturally, it was impossible for them to evade taxes. Also, the bizarre, inexhaustible taxes and fees could be directly deducted from their accounts without even half a second of delay.
For the Immortal Cultivators, especially the low-level Immortal Cultivators who were ambitious enough to climb up, it also meant that their entire training plan would be exposed to the sunlight. Or more terrifyingly, they would be exposed to the eyes of those who were jealous of their talents and did not want them to grow stronger.
Training consumed resources, and the purchase of resources would leave all kinds of traces on the Spiritual Nexus. Then, as long as the purchase records and the flow of funds were grasped, it would be easy to grasp an Immortal Cultivator's level and recent training status.
For the people with vested interests, the leadership who controlled the major sects and families, namely the so-called nobles, did not want to see the ambitious poor guys or the low-level Immortal Cultivators from secondary branches climbing up.
Then, as long as they discovered the abnormal changes in the accounts of the low-level Immortal Cultivators and traced their purchase of resources recently, they would know that they were in the middle of a certain kind of training or even preparing for a critical breakthrough.
At the critical moment, it would be more than easy for them to play tricks and set up a few traps.
Even if the low-level Immortal Cultivators did not want to count on the strength of their families and accepted private jobs as mercenaries or assassins to make money for their training, as long as the money was the crystal coins of the Imperium and was transferred via the Spiritual Nexus, they would still be discovered by their families. The heads of the families and sects had plenty of ways to buy the secret transfer records from the black market. Then, they would be able to choke the low-level Immortal Cultivators hard.
In short, under the currency system of the Spiritual Nexus, the people with vested interests controlled the lifeblood of money tightly. The social stratification was even more serious, and the channels of improvement were completely blocked. The low-level Immortal Cultivators did not have the freedom to grow wild at all. If they wanted to grow stronger, they could only be the dogs of the high-level Immortal Cultivators obediently.
Of course, many Immortal Cultivators did not mind being the dogs of the experts.
But there were even more disobedient, ambitious Immortal Cultivators who were determined to dominate the world. They were unwilling to bend their knees and be choked for the rest of their lives!
The ordinary people might be able to bear the agony of being exploited by the Immortal Cultivators forever. They did not have the strength to make a sound even if they wanted to.
However, the dissatisfaction of billions of low-level Immortal Cultivators about the status quo would certainly affect the entire Imperium!
They were Immortal Cultivators. They were born to rule the world and conquer the universe, not to be dogs for the rest of their lives!
The low-level Immortal Cultivators had never craved strength so strongly before. In order to obtain greater strength, they needed money. Real money, the currency that truly belonged to them, not the paper that was closely monitored in every transaction like the crystal coins of the Imperium!
They craved such a currency. First of all, it needed a relatively stable value. It was not that it could not be diluted, but it should be diluted slowly as the economy grew, unlike the crystal coins of the Imperium that were printed by the four families nonstop. The money that could buy a chicken today would only be enough to buy an egg tomorrow.
Secondly, and more importantly, such a currency must be untraceable and unmonitored. Only in such a way could they trade resources without alarming anyone, grow and develop barbarically right under the nose of the high-level Immortal Cultivators, and eventually challenge the authority of the high-level Immortal Cultivators.
Where there was oppression, there would be resistance. Where there was demand, there would certainly be corresponding products.
Based on the intense demand of the low-level Immortal Cultivators, the "free coin" was born.
The free coin was not a currency in the traditional sense. It was just a virtual currency that was born in the crystal processors and the Spiritual Nexus. It was a decentralized, peer-to-peer, brand-new transaction algorithm.
The free coin did not have all the features of the traditional currencies. It did not even rely on any currency issuing authority to issue it. Instead, it was generated by tapping the potentials of the super crystal processors that were distributed throughout the Imperium through a very special algorithm. The transaction records were marked and stored with the scattered databases on every node of the Spiritual Nexus. Its absolute security was ensured by the naturally-born advantages of algorithm design and multiple cryptography features.
Li Yao was not an economics student, and he knew even less about virtual currencies. Therefore, he did not really understand the nature of the free coin. Perhaps it could be said that the free coin was in fact a virtual, anonymous ledger that recorded all the transactions of the user. However, such a ledger was owned by every user in the Imperium, and the data could be updated simultaneously.
As a result, no intruder of the Spiritual Nexus would be able to tamper with the transaction data of the free coin. It was extremely secure.
Also, the free coin was not issued by any bank but "created" by tapping the potentials of all the super crystal processors in the Imperium.
For a certain period of time, the potentials of the super crystal processors were constant, and so was the quantity of the free coin. Therefore, the stability of the currency's value was ensured, too.
What if the potentials of the super crystal processors were significantly improved?
It would mean that the number of super crystal processors would increase, and their performance would be higher. The modern civilization was mostly a civilization of crystal processors. The upgrade of the super crystal processors meant economic development. Then, the increase of the free coin would not be a problem at all. It was almost perfect!
Of course, there was still a chasm between the free coin and the real currency. A pair of wings had to be attached to the free coin in order to complete the most thrilling leap, which was credit.
Currency was credit. Currency without credit was no different from the game coins in virtual games.
The free coin at the beginning was merely a concept created by the crystal processor specialists among the space pirates at the peripheral worlds of the Imperium when they were extremely bored.
The purpose of its creation was to serve as a ledger for the black market among the space pirates in order to avoid the strikes of the authorities of the Imperium on the space pirates.
It counted on the strength of the space pirates as credit. Therefore, it was of no value outside of the circle of space pirates at all.
However, it must not be forgotten that in the peripheral worlds of the Imperium, the so-called "space pirates" was actually a synonym for "privateers". Most of the powerful pirate gangs were just the troops of the warlords who had changed their identities.
When the free coin spread among the pirate gangs, it immediately caught the attention of the local warlords and the local magnates at the peripheral worlds of the Imperium.
The exploitation of the peripheral worlds by the central worlds of the Imperium was extremely cruel. The dumping of industrial products and the shearing of sheep almost cut off the lifeblood of the warlords and the local magnates. As it happened, their entire economic system had been based on the "crystal coins of the Imperium". It was impossible for them to hide a single coin. Keeping a low profile and preserving their strength? That would be a pipe dream!
The appearance of the free coin gave hope to the warlords and the local magnates. Under their connivance and even encouragement, the free coin soon became one of the main means of trade in the black market at the peripheral worlds of the Imperium. It also gained new credit, which was the guarantee that the warlords and the local magnates poked at them with their guns.
Even so, the newly born free coin was still as vulnerable and helpless as a baby in its cradle. It could be killed after a gentle pinch.
But at this time, there was another serious economic crisis in the Empire, which happened exactly a hundred years ago.
A hundred years ago, the Imperium suffered an unprecedented crushing failure in the frontline. The Black Wind Fleet, which was known as the "strongest border defense army", suffered a crushing defeat. Five highly-militarized, heavy industrial worlds were all lost to the Holy League, which aimed at the heartland of the Imperium.
For a moment, evil winds were blowing everywhere. Everybody was panicking, as if a catastrophe was coming.
However, the wretched Black Wind Fleet did not stop. Knowing that the court would not let go of them after their failure, they simply gathered a bunch of defeated soldiers and wandered in the heartland of the Imperium all day long, yelling that they would "wash away their shame" and help the Imperium conquer the desolate worlds at the edge of the cosmos to atone for their sins. Of course, since the emperor did not send hungry soldiers, the court had to pay them a large sum of money as compensation.
They looked absolutely shameless, as if they would surrender to the Covenant Alliance if the court did not pay them. They were ready to die together with the Covenant Alliance.
At that time, the emperor was weak, and the four families were not united. Therefore, he accepted the threat of the Black Wind Fleet reluctantly and offered a large sum of money to pacify the defeated soldiers.
As it turned out, the defeated soldiers left with the high compensation and went to the edge of the cosmos to seek death for the Xing Yao Federation after a hundred years.
At that time, "Marquess Liaohai" Lei Chenghu stepped forward and saved the day, finally resisting the Holy League's aggressive attacks. However, the Imperium suffered heavy losses again. The military expenses, compensation, and development fees were all astronomical. There was also the chain reaction in the financial market caused by the loss of five Sectors in a row. It would be strange if there was no economic crisis!
The economic crisis led to the collapse of the cabinet of "Silver Fox" Li Jiande, the prime minister of the Imperium at that time, and the last bit of credit of the crystal coins of the Imperium was completely gone.
Right now, the credit of the free coin was almost zero, but its value was stable, and it could be traded freely without being monitored.
The credit of the crystal coins of the Imperium was almost zero, too, but they could depreciate crazily at any moment. Every transaction would be closely monitored, too.
Even an idiot would know who to choose!
When it came to money, merchants always had the keenest senses.
Right when the Black Wind Fleet collapsed in the frontline, the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, which was also developing in secret at that time, foresaw the arrival of the economic crisis. It must be noted that even Di Feiwen, the deputy commander of the Black Wind Fleet, was a member of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Even the Black Wind Fleet's extortion of the court might have something to do with the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.
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