Chapter 1: Our Story Begins

Dear Reader,

You can refer to the female protagonist as the embodiment of the institution in the Soviet Union responsible for reviewing and censoring cultural products and publications.

Also, there is no communist content whatsoever.

Alright, you don't need to read the content of the next two chapters. You can start directly from the third chapter.

...

...

I am confident that you must have found the first two chapters confusing. Actually, these chapters are not very important; the real story begins from Chapter Three. So, if you didn't understand the first two chapters, it's okay.

Let me make a few notes. The National Radio and Television Administration is an agency responsible for the censorship of all cultural works, such as movies, games, novels, and anime, especially those imported from foreign countries through official channels. All such works must undergo its scrutiny and modification, and it also has the power to ban any cultural work.

However, this is not a political satire novel. The main theme of this book remains swords and magic, and heroes battling the demon lord.

Additionally, the heroine's behavior in the first hundred chapters is quite strange and unlikable. After Chapter 100, the heroine becomes much more normal.

Okay, let our story begin.

...

In the deep autumn, early in the morning, on the slopes of Mount Hua, an old man, well past his sixtieth year, was making a strenuous trek along the rugged mountain path.

Since ancient times, there has been but one path up Mount Hua, and the ascent is as challenging as reaching the sky. Like NeeRongPing, retired elders of his age typically spend their mornings leisurely practicing Tai Chi or dancing in the parks.

However, on the slopes of Mount Hua, NeeRongPing chose to challenge his aged body, over sixty years old, to ascend without the aid of a cable car, climbing the cloud ladder and walking the mountain trails in the most primitive manner, step by step toward the summit of Mount Hua.

In March of 2048, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) was disbanded and restructured, thus becoming a part of history.

NeeRongPing, the last director of the National Radio and Television Administration, might also be the last conservative guardian of traditional conservative values.

Today, he was making his difficult way to the top of Mount Hua in search of a true Daoist sage.

More than sixty years ago, he was a mischievous child, unaware of the vastness of the world, living carefree at the foot of the Imperial City with his kind mother, stern father, and a brother who was even more mischievous than he, in a harmonious family of four.

One day, a wandering Daoist priest visited their home and took a great interest in his brother, who was two years younger, marveling at the boy's natural aptitude. After demonstrating the wonders of his magic, he took his brother away from home to a place called the Heavenly Court, setting him on a path of seeking immortality and the Dao.

From then on, the brothers took different paths. NeeRongPing navigated through the bureaucratic world, gradually ascending to the high position of director, while his brother, who had not returned home for decades, was rumored to have encountered numerous fortuitous adventures and achieved great success in his Daoist arts.

The path up Mount Hua was arduous. Despite his labored breathing and profuse sweating, NeeRongPing, as a staunch moral guardian, maintained his formal attire, never loosening even a single button on his collar.

Whenever he saw young women dressed lightly on the mountain path, he would cast undisguised looks of disdain; whenever he saw young couples passionately kissing in public, he would approach them, tap their shoulders, and interrupt what he considered prelude to copulation akin to animals in nature.

When a young man raised his fist, poised to strike him, an old man struggling to move, NeeRongPing felt a pang of regret, wishing he could have remained in power a few more years to curb such immoral behavior more extensively across the land.

With these thoughts, NeeRongPing quickened his pace up the steps.

Finally, he reached the summit of Mount Hua.

NeeRongPing took a roundabout route to avoid the noisy tourists and pilgrims, finding his way to an old stone staircase sheltered by green pines.

Unlike the famed Heavenly Stairs of Mount Hua, this stone staircase was short, with only a dozen steps. At the top of the steps was a stone wall, seemingly a dead end.

NeeRongPing ascended the short staircase, stepping up nine steps, then back down three, up another six, then back seven, and resolutely walked towards the end of the staircase—the solid stone wall.

Quite naturally, he passed through the stone wall and entered a small courtyard. A young Daoist acolyte was sweeping the autumn leaves with a yellow straw broom, showing no surprise at NeeRongPing's sudden appearance.

NeeRongPing bowed to the acolyte and asked, "May I see Daoist NeeDePing?"

The acolyte paused and returned the bow, saying, "You've come at the right time. The master is in a period of worldly engagement and is willing to meet outsiders, which he normally avoids."

After pointing towards a small cottage deep in the courtyard, the acolyte, with a smile revealing shallow dimples, added, "The master is quite busy with worldly affairs, so please do not disturb him."

NeeRongPing followed the stone path indicated by the acolyte. The path was enveloped in a thin mist, through which he could barely make out the verdant scenery. As he breathed in and out, his spirit was invigorated, and the weariness of his journey seemed to melt away.

He thought to himself, "This is truly a place fit for a high practitioner of the Dao, the last pure land untouched by corruption in this vast land."

Reaching the ancient, tile-roofed cottage, he pushed open the door and quietly stepped inside.

"Malphite, use your ultimate now! ADC, follow up, I've already flashed in, taking all the damage! Ah, we're going to lose!"

Inside the cottage, on a computer screen, the opposing LeBlanc executed a combo of EWQR skills, instantly killing a critically wounded Garen.

As the colorful interface of the League of Legends game turned gray on the screen, NeeRongPing's heart also sank into a deep gray sorrow.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Ahhh!" NeeRongPing, grabbing his neatly combed gray hair, screamed in despair, his heart filled with infinite expectations now plummeting into an abyss of shock and grief.

"Ah, big brother, I knew you were coming. I calculated your arrival three days ago."

A young man wearing a dark blue Daoist robe and sporting flashy red headphones turned his head with a bright smile and greeted him. He took off his headphones, stood up, and embraced NeeRongPing, who was still clutching his hair.

As he rose from his chair, another figure, identical in appearance and posture, remained seated, busily typing away at the keyboard and mouse with rapid 'click-clack' sounds.

NeeRongPing stared at his younger brother, completely baffled by the sight of a Daoist playing games and yet effortlessly performing a cloning technique.

"Brother, I can't let my teammates down," explained NeeRongPing's Daoist brother, NeeDePing, scratching his head sheepishly.

It might seem odd for a young man who appeared to be in his twenties to call a white-haired old man his brother, but it was not surprising to NeeRongPing, as practitioners often possessed the secret to maintaining a youthful appearance.

What truly surprised and angered him were other matters.

NeeRongPing pointed at the obviously expensive liquid-cooled PC case and the 8k large-screen display in the room, stuttering with disbelief, "You... you... you, what is this! It wasn't like this when I came last time!"

"Don't get too worked up, brother!" NeeDePing, dressed in his traditional Daoist robe, pulled up a bamboo chair for the trembling NeeRongPing to sit down. He explained, "I'm in a period of worldly engagement. This is something a wealthy online friend sent me while I was chatting online."

"Worldly engagement... what does that mean?" NeeRongPing asked, slightly more composed.

"Worldly engagement means pretending to be a commoner and experiencing the mundane world to temper my Daoist heart. You've been a high official before, sometimes going down to the grassroots to experience the life of the common people, right? My situation is like the Daoist version of going to the grassroots. Luckily, with today's technology, I can engage with the world without leaving home. In the past, I would have had to disguise myself as a butcher in a market, dealing with blood and meat every day, which wouldn't have been pleasant."

"I see," said NeeRongPing, his old body barely withstanding the shock. He steadied himself against the back of the bamboo chair and took a small bottle of breath-stabilizing medicine from his pocket, popping it into his mouth.

After a few minutes, his breathing calmed, and NeeRongPing solemnly took out a heavy cylindrical brass seal from a yellow silk pouch, untying the drawstring and handing it to NeeDePing.

NeeDePing flipped the seal over, examining the engraved script, and frowned, "Why are you giving me the National Radio and Television Administration's seal? Are you asking me to take over as director?"

He couldn't understand why his brother NeeRongPing would carry such an official seal all the way to Mount Hua, dragging his nearly seventy-year-old body from the base of the mountain to the summit, just to hand him this seal.

The seal felt heavy in his hands, the layers of red seal clay evident on its surface, and the handle shone brightly from years of use, clearly showing the marks of time.

"This is the official seal of the directors of the National Radio and Television Administration. Now that the NRTA is history, the will of the NRTA must be carried on!" NeeRongPing said, looking at the brass seal in his Daoist brother's fair hands. "This seal has stamped countless red-topped documents, banning a myriad of demons and spirits! It has suppressed one poisonous sprout of thought after another! It has prevented countless instances of foreign degenerate hedonism in literature, anime, and films from eroding the spirit of the Chinese people!"

"Is that so?" NeeDePing glanced at the flickering computer screen beside him, "I see online netizens don't seem to say the same thing, it seems the people are quite... resentful?"

"Hmph! A bunch of short-sighted fools, how could they possibly understand the well-intentioned efforts of us die-hard cadres who have weathered countless storms!"

NeeRongPing snorted coldly, straightening up with an air of authority reminiscent of his days as the director.

"Today's world is corrupt, people's hearts have changed, and societal morals have declined! Just take my climb up the mountain today as an example. Mount Hua should be a sanctuary, yet all along the way, I saw countless young couples publicly hugging and kissing, as if nobody else was around.

"How is that different from mindless animals that mate in public! I kindly tried to advise them, to make these youngsters mindful of their behaviors.

"But this bunch of brats didn't appreciate my advice. They not only threw insults at me but even dared to lay their hands on an elderly man like me!"

"Uh..." NeeDePing didn't know what to say to his emotionally charged brother.

"Although the National Radio and Television Administration is now history, our spirit must carry on! This seal carries the will of all the past directors, and I hope you can use your magic to materialize this will and determination to eradicate all negative thoughts! Let it cleanse the filth of this world through those vulgar literary works!"

NeeRongPing finally revealed his intention. He hoped that NeeDePing could use magic to extract a spiritual entity from the seal that embodied the National Radio and Television Administration's will, and infuse it into unhealthy works to change the world.

NeeDePing didn't respond to his request but instead asked, "During your climb up Mount Hua, did you only notice those shameless couples?"

"What else is there to see?" NeeRongPing widened his somewhat cloudy eyes, looking at his clear-sighted Daoist brother.

"Did you see those porters on Mount Hua's treacherous paths, carrying heavy loads on their shoulders, climbing up and down like ants?

"They are the carriers of Mount Hua. The daily massive consumption of food, water, and various supplies by the tourists, pilgrims, and temples on Mount Hua, is all brought up by them, starting before dawn, solely relying on their shoulders.

"Almost every tourist panting on the mountain paths is shocked by the porters' heavy burdens and their swift pace. Yet, brother, all you saw from the base to the peak were those cuddling couples?"

"I..." NeeRongPing was speechless, realizing for the first time that as an official who prided himself on being uncompromising, he might have overlooked something essential during his decades in politics.

After a moment, he bowed his head and said, "That's not my responsibility..."

"But!" NeeRongPing looked up again, not willing to concede in this debate with his brother. Losing would mean the dissolution of the decades-long will of the National Radio and Television Administration!

"Our people wear blue jeans from other countries, listen to foreign pop music, and I am genuinely worried. While some may see our actions as too extreme, it's undeniable that we have kept certain corrupt thoughts from crossing our borders!"

NeeDePing frowned, his brother's words reminding him of a recent game session—Civilization VI. He had fought a day and night-long battle against three other players, only to be defeated by a cultural victory.

In the context of Civilization VI, a game that simulates the struggle between nations, a cultural victory means one nation overcoming others through cultural invasion.

After pondering for a moment, he tucked the brass seal, which held the decades-long will of the National Radio and Television Administration, into his chest. Nodding to NeeRongPing, who was about to launch into another impassioned speech, he promised, "I'll do my best to extract the spiritual entity from the seal."