Every single day near a massive platform, Bai Xiao would walk out and start giving lectures. Very few people came to hear them initially - only about a handful - but the crowd soon grew to several hundred as many people came to hear his thoughts on the rights of gu worms.
"Gu worms have lives just like our own," Bai Xiao said. "They have feelings and thoughts as well. They are living creatures just like us, requiring food to eat. Given this, trying to enslave them is immoral. I know that many Gu Masters use their gu worms and even refine them. But what is refinement? It would be like grabbing one of you and fusing you with another human to create a third human, while being told that you may even die in the process. Which one of you would possibly agree to such a thing? If we would not put our fellow humans through such a process, why would we do it to gu worms?"
Bai Xiao did not advocate for violence against Gu worms or Gu Masters, unlike many of the other people on the continent. Instead, he was trying to convince them that Gu Master cultivation was inherently immoral. Many people listened to him, but many ultimately discarded his ideas when they saw just how practically useful gu worm cultivation was. That didn't dissuade Bai Xiao, however; he would continue preaching and trying to change the minds of the people there. Even if he died one day, he felt that his teachings would still live on through the people of Wang Tian City via those whom he influenced.
Wang Tian tried his best to maintain order. Because of this, he ended up neglecting his Gu Master cultivation, as many clan heads would. The Yin-Yang Unity Gu kept his extreme physique in check with few downsides, but despite the long time that had passed, he was still at Rank 4 Initial Stage.
There were numerous issues that had to be ironed out when it came to the management of Wang Tian City. For one, keeping all the factions cordial with each other where so many humans lived with different views meant it was inevitable that conflict in some form or another would burst out, and Wang Tian would have to smooth things over as best as he could.
Such as with Haung Fei. First of all, there was an issue regarding where he would keep all of his animals - mostly the reindeer - alongside him.
There were many other tribes who had grazing animals with them, and they had to partition the area they would use. Secondly, there was the issue of Huang Fei's extended family, who had been the ones who kicked him out of his tribe in the first place. They were not nearly as threatening as the Shen tribe and could only swallow their anger. Wang Tian was pretty sure that they posed no current threat to him or his city; however, they were without a doubt scared of what might be done to them. And that might spur them into an action that they would end up regretting.
That was a bigger problem on the horizon for Wang Tian. Although he wanted to establish a peaceful society, many other tribes throughout the continent were naturally wary of this massive organization that promoted the cultivation of Gu Masters. Several of them thought that Wang Tian was simply putting on a facade and would soon attempt to envelop the entire continent and bring it under his heel, though he had no desire to do so.
Without a doubt, Wang Tian felt that things were not going to be as smooth as he had initially thought. There were several remnants of the Shen tribe which still existed. They had fled far away, but they were not gone. These disparate forces could not coalesce to form a force against him, thankfully - first because of their size, second because of the great distance between them, and third because most didn't have any of the weapons needed to strike against them.
Tales of what Wang Tian had done using gu worms had spread throughout the entire continent, and many people were terrified of him. That was good, but at the same time, it also meant their wariness toward them and inclination to attack would only increase with time.
If nothing else, there was the threat of other Gu Masters deciding to attack them if Gu Master Cultivation took root in another part of the continent.
Then there were structural issues regarding the city itself. Where should the wall be built around the city? Did they city even need a wall or was it better to leave it open? And so on, and so forth.
One night, after balancing his extreme physique with Shen He's help, she said, "Husband, I know that you're a gentle creature and you do not wish to impose rule upon others. But what kind of place do you truly wish to make? And secondly, how do you intend to maintain it?"
It was a question that Wang Tian had been struggling with for some time. The core issue was that he simply wanted to make people happy. Since everyone here was his people, so to speak, he wanted to make them all happy.
After becoming a leader, however, he realized just how difficult that was. Happiness was such a fleeting and strange concept. It could mean different things to different people. Did it mean freedom from external threats? The ability to live life as they pleased? To live in a cooperative society? These things seemed like small details but many things were incompatible with each other; and depending on what he prioritized the world would end up looking quite different.
So the question was: what kind of society did Wang Tian want to build? Did he want to create a place that prioritized Gu Master cultivation so that their new civilization would be stronger, ensuring their survival? And what about the kind of government that he wanted? Did he want to prioritize equality and establish something akin to a democratic voting system in which people would elect their leaders?
"The fact of the matter is," Shen He advised him, "might makes right. Even if you wish to establish something more egalitarian in which people have a choice in how they are governed, the disparity in Gu Master cultivation powers compared to ordinary people means that one day or another, people will end up being suppressed. People are not blind, and so, fearing suppression, they try to suppress Gu Masters first."
That was exactly what was going on within the continent in the first place. Wang Tian sighed. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"If you want to maintain egalitarianism," Shen He said, "you should establish yourself as king and ensure that our children end up inheriting your position. As long as you teach them the right values, they can keep maintaining the vision of the city that you have."
Wang Tian understood what she was saying. From a practical perspective, it was probably the only way things could move forward. But that in itself caused all sorts of internal conflict. For one, he himself wasn't sure how he wanted society to be structured. Secondly, even assuming they did so, what were they going to do if their grandchildren or great-grandchildren strayed from the path? Or if there was a succession struggle? How exactly could a world with Gu Masters be properly structured and governed to create a place that would not just ensure happiness for all its citizens, but also remain internally stable and not fall to the whims of a foreign power?
As for sailing beyond the sea, though Wang Tian would love to do so - vessels that could make that kind of journey hadn't been developed yet. And although he wanted to, he couldn't just leave the affairs of the city behind and decide to go on some kind of wacky adventure.
From high up above in White Heaven, Fang Yuan watched the developments in Wang Tian City. He watched the people farming in peace and trading with each other. There were even some nearby villages that had decided to become vassals of Wang Tian City and pay tribute, although Wang Tian assured them that this was not necessary. Yet they insisted upon giving him these "gifts" anyway. There was also trade through the river network. The nearby primeval spring had been, to some degree, monopolized by the Gu Masters of the city, turning it into something of a satellite colony.
Glancing at it, Fang Yuan couldn't help but feel that the entire place seemed chaotic - a meshwork of ideas that simply didn't work together. A house of cards that would likely collapse the moment that Wang Tian, the glue that held it all together, passed away.
Then again, one could also say it was a microcosm of humanity itself. Was this what his aperture had been designed to create in the first place?