Above The Sky
Chapter 540 - 540 509 The Power of Making Knowledge Meaningful 24

540: Chapter 509: The Power of Making Knowledge Meaningful (2/4) 540: Chapter 509: The Power of Making Knowledge Meaningful (2/4) ——Is there no channel for upward mobility, and for converting knowledge into salary and social status?

Upon hearing this, Ian paused slightly.

Although he had considered similar issues before, because there was too much to think about, he never delved deeply into it…

But now that he thought about it, it was indeed so.

In his previous life, studying was regarded as a way to change one’s destiny precisely because it could change one’s destiny, earn respect from others, acquire job opportunities, and receive a salary.

Let’s not even talk about the self-sublimation that comes with studying.

If studying does not lead to an actual promotion in social status and the corresponding rewards, then what self-sublimation is there to speak of?

After all, people need to make a living.

And on Terra…

this channel may not have been completely cut off.

But it was capped by the “Sublimators”.

The nobles occupied all the technology and knowledge of the Sublimators; ordinary people, even if they acquired relevant technical knowledge, if they do not become Sublimators, they can’t make further advances in their professional level…

And the Magic Potions, heritage, formulas, assistance from alchemists, tests for compatibility with one’s bloodline…

These things are nearly impossible for one generation to overcome.

Of course, the channel for ascending isn’t entirely closed.

If someone is a true genius, it’s possible to become a Sublimator in one’s lifetime, then gradually accumulate wealth and knowledge.

After a few generations, they might become nobles.

For such emerging nobility, the traditional nobility might not even object because if they could absorb such geniuses into their power system, it would be even more beneficial to them—their positions aren’t saturated yet, the world is still vast, they just don’t want to be destabilized, and absorbing individual Sublimators is a great opportunity to strengthen themselves.

And some lucky individuals might be able to pass down a First-Level Sublimator heritage stably, with which becoming a wealthy local gentry in the regions is definitely not a problem.

Moreover, it is exceedingly stable; as long as there are no wars, famines, or natural disasters, their status could be even more stable than some old noble masters.

But it’s a bit difficult to expect to achieve class mobility purely based on knowledge.

Of course, there are some who consider themselves extremely talented, capable of challenging Sublimators with nothing but their brains and techniques.

Some of them might genuinely be that smart.

But what then?

Not even a Sublimator, unable to handle Origin Quality, unable to sense Spirit Energy, unable to activate Inscriptions, unable to perform experiments on their own…

Are such geniuses with just their brains in short supply on the Terra Continent?

It’s as though Sublimators don’t have brains and aren’t able to conduct scientific research, like you’re the only one who understands it?

Moreover, the Tara Confederation isn’t lacking in technology—Ian remembered those Armor Suits, those plowing machines, those fertilizers and herbicides, those war weapons he hadn’t yet seen but could fully imagine the power of…

Even if Ian really brought over a complete database from Earth and all the industrial machines, he felt he couldn’t catch up with Terra’s previous era technology in a few decades of farming, not to mention that today’s Terra has not only the previous era technology but also a bunch of incredibly strong Sublimators.

But the problem is, without becoming a Sublimator, how can he farm peacefully for decades in this dangerous world where a single Second-Level Magical Beast can destroy fortresses and towns, and a Third-Level Magical Beast can invade an entire province?

Just like the current Ian, he doesn’t think his domain is that important.

Because if he, being a First-Level Sublimator, went to a Knight’s Domain to farm until death, he might not be able to invent the airplane; and moreover, with any large monster appearing, he might have to start all over again.

But if he were a Second-Level Sublimator and started farming with a Barony, Ian felt that he might be able to invent the rocket.

At the very least, it would be safer, with fewer troubles.

He could fend off a Swamp Crocodile Dragon or a Tenglan Giant Eel, just as Viscount Grant does, able to improve Harrison Port steadily and well.

If it is the Third Energy Level and the Sublimator Heritage is suitable, one could probably create an aviation engine with just their hands.

The starting level isn’t the same at all.

The King of the Mountain in the Bison Mountain Range, the mother of Sio, a Fourth Level True Dragon, can fly at twenty times the speed of sound in its normal state within the atmosphere.

If it really wanted to destroy a small country, it wouldn’t need to do anything special, just lower its flying altitude a bit, restrain some of the power normally used to suppress the impact force of its flight, and then circle the country in half an hour.

Its flying speed even renders all missiles and cannonballs meaningless.

Only a direct hit from a very large yield hydrogen bomb could possibly breach its defenses…

and even then, not necessarily.

The destruction caused simply by that massive brick of force allows a single True Dragon to negotiate with a nation on equal footing—in fact, any powerful being without their own forces could negotiate with a nation on their own.

Ian was reminded of what Master Gossay had told him about Dawnlight City.

The Fourth-Level Magical Beast that destroyed it, the Arello Hundred-Arms Giant Vine, is roughly the size of a city.

Would such Titan Creatures really fear hydrogen bombs?

The energy within their bodies probably exceeds hundreds of millions of tons of TNT anyway, with just a few billion degrees of temperature and shockwave impact.

From a biological standpoint, they can likely protect all of their vital organs.

As for radiation…

well, Second-Level Worm Nests can drink radiation like water, converting it into an energy source, and higher-level nests might even have biological nuclear reactors as their own energy source.

Ian guessed that a First-Level Sublimator would not be too afraid of high doses of radiation.

As long as they don’t die on the spot, they would definitely be able to recover.

For those modified beings left on Terra by an extraterrestrial civilization likely capable of interstellar travel, or even the extraterrestrials themselves…

thermal nuclear weapons, such low-efficiency arms, are really just for bullying beasts and unsophisticated natives who have never taken to the skies.

Not to mention even more outrageous beings, like those that can suppress earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, even columns of mantle magma.

Furthermore, Fifth-Level creatures like Carlin’s Flower…

such ‘Monarchs’ that cannot wage battle on the planet’s surface are essentially human-shaped cosmic battleships, just bound to the surface of Terra.

“Only Sublimators.”

Sitting in the chair of his own laboratory, Ian looked around the large experimental building he would never have been able to acquire if he stayed at Harrison Port.

He said softly, “Ordinary knowledge is meaningless; this world is not short of common technical talents, everyone understands those things.

What’s important is to have the power to ensure it can be developed and constructed.”

“Only the fundamental enhancement of life brought by Sublimators, along with the power and security they provide, can make all knowledge meaningful.”

“Indeed.

Ian, you are really quite remarkable.”

Michael genuinely applauded.

The Second Prince nodded, “That’s why the previous attempt at popularizing education was quite a failure.

The people it reached simply didn’t want that culture; they desired something more immediate, like how to farm better, raise pigs scientifically, how to fatten their chickens, cows, and sheep.”

“Therefore, these past few years my father has actually been trying to popularize these more trivial matters…

Ian, you must have seen them on your side, right?

Those pamphlets on breeding techniques.”

“I’ve seen them.” Ian recalled for a moment and then nodded, “‘Common Poultry Rearing Manual,’ ‘Postpartum Care for Sows,’ and ‘Manual for Raising High-Quality Venison in Forests’…

even the natives are reading them.”

“This targeted popularization, which even natives must learn, is the lesson drawn from my grandfather’s experience.

They will become part of The Empire.” Michael nodded slightly, “To understand books and grasp these key pieces of knowledge, learning to read is a mandatory requirement.”

“After that, you have a foundation.”

“Ian…

in fact, all Terra People are very intelligent, even the ordinary people who are not nobles are quite astute.

And for that reason, silently eradicating illiteracy won’t take two generations; this is the legacy left to us by the civilization of the previous era.”

At this moment, Ian’s brows furrowed.

“Your Highness,” he spoke seriously, looking straight into the eyes of the Prince across from him, almost accusingly, “Why do you know about these things?”