A Truly Catastrophic Start

While observing, Su Luo retrieved a soul-devouring technique from her knowledge of cultivation, modified it slightly, removing the parts that required Qi to drive it, and retaining the core devouring mechanism for soul cultivation.

The first people to be questioned are the pregnant woman and her husband.

"You mean, you were both absolutely willing?" Qi Yuan couldn't help but ask as he listened to the two souls' accounts.

"Of course, we only got this opportunity through connections. After this performance, we would be healed and receive a reward that would allow us to enjoy life for the rest of our lives. But you rude people ruined it all." The husband said with a look of grief and indignation.

When an ordinary person loses their physical body, the hormonal influences from past habits are also lost, and the soul's reaction is always strange.

There is no fear of adrenaline, no calm of serotonin, no pleasure of dopamine; only the most primal fragments of consciousness and instincts untouched by hormones remain.

For some inexplicable reason, instead of considering Kundina's strength and his own situation, this person began to complain.

The two then turned into Soul Fragment, which became the resources for Su Luo's reconstruction.

Su Luo wasn't a good person either. Watching Kundina interrogate nobles and tavern staff, she swallowed them whole after each interrogation without the slightest guilt.

The framework of the entire city, and even the empire, gradually became clear.

The nobles of the empire today are mostly hereditary figures who made great contributions during the founding of the empire. Their ancestors conquered the land during the Steam revolution, and their descendants inherited titles, land, and privileges. Most of them do not have any real power; they are Essence part of the empire's administrative framework.

The Church predates the Empire and possesses all supernatural powers. It Awakened, and believes in the so-called omniscient and omnipotent Holy Light.

The Holy Light is not a philosophical concept, nor a moral principle, but a living, empowering entity. At least, that's what the Church says.

The empire has an emperor, but no royal family. The throne is not hereditary; instead, a committee selects the emperor from among qualified candidates.

Overall, it was a constitutional monarchy, but the emperor still wielded considerable power. He could appoint members of the Privy Council, dissolve the House of Representatives, and issue legally binding edicts in times of emergency.

There are four highest governing bodies: the Empire House of Representatives, the Empire Senate, the Empire Privy Council, and the Management Committee. The administrative, military, and judicial systems below are modeled after the original world. The country is divided into provinces, each headed by a governor who integrates military and political power, and further divided into cities and some special areas.

The internal structure of the Church is even more complex, with many positions held by the same person.

In simple terms, in terms of combat strength, Knights are the backbone of the Church, responsible for daily patrols, expelling troublemakers, and suppressing riots.

The Judgment Knight are considered the backbone of the city, holding multiple positions and being personally granted titles by the empire. They are not only skilled in combat but also capable of managing affairs. The security, conscription, and even taxation of a city may fall on the shoulders of Judgment Knight.

A bishop can suppress an entire province. Many governors are themselves bishops in strength. Among them, the twelve most famous Awakened are known as cardinals and form the Twelve Red Bishop, who are privately referred to as the Popes of the Churches in their respective provinces.

Each Red Bishop, within their jurisdiction, possesses almost equal power to the Pope.

The Pope, the sole supreme leader of the Church of Holy Light, is the "representative of the Holy Light on earth." He is about to step down from his post, and the twelve Red Bishop will elect a new Pope.

"The combat power of this era is unexpectedly strong. The [Knight] Attribute is between 11 and 13, the [Judgment Knight] Attribute is above 15, and the [Bishop] Attribute is at least 20. In the entire empire's twenty-eight provinces, according to the organizational framework, there are at least sixty people openly..."

Su Luo did the math and was surprised to find that there were so many superhumans in an ordinary Steam Age.

Kundina is absolutely no match for Awakened of the [Bishop] level.

The main problem is that the [Era] Dungeon locked everything up. There was no Mana, no Martial Will, no immortal cultivation Qi, and none of the extraordinary energy they were familiar with.

With only an ordinary body and an ordinary soul, and such a terrifying worldview, the pressure is indeed immense.

"Let's continue with a cautious approach and figure out what [World Influence] is. This era is still too OP."

Ye Zizhen said.

"According to Qi Yuan's previous account, the world changes within about a week. After the Steam Age, there will be no major changes, and everyone will have to rebuild from scratch."

Having devoured hundreds of souls, Su Luo, whose mental Attribute was nearing 11, closed her eyes and felt completely refreshed.

"The [Awakened Ritual] is quite simple: it involves arriving at the Church's specialized awakening room and receiving the baptism of Holy Light. With our current strength, we can easily sneak in with some disguise."

Kundina concluded.

Who will become the Awakened?

All eyes turned to Qi Yuan.

The frigid borders of the empire stand amidst a blanket of snow and ice.

It's like a dividing line between heaven and earth. On one side is an empire, with Steam, steel, Order, and a civilization barely surviving between boilers and chimneys. On the other side is nothing. Only snow and ice, and the cold that constantly surges in from the horizon.

The towering peaks loomed in and out of the mist, resembling the skeletons of giant beasts stripped of their skin. The crevices of the peaks were filled with the remains of Steam machines, like helpless maggots on the skeletons.

Countless frontline soldiers and Awakened paid the price with their blood and flesh here. Only here did people truly realize the darkness and terror of this world.

Aside from those who remained in high positions in the rear and the Awakened of the Church, a large number of Awakened were actually sent to various front lines of the Empire after their initial strength was consolidated.

The empire needed them. Those young people who gained power in the Awakening Ritual, before they even had a chance to enjoy the glory that power brought, were loaded onto Steam trains and headed north, north, north, until the green outside the window turned gray, and gray turned white. Fighting against calamity, in the freezing snow, amidst gunfire and bloodshed, they struggled for the Future of humanity.

Arriving at the front were also militiamen who had undergone various specialized training, and even Apprentice Knights specially trained by nobles. But there were also many ordinary people who had no other choice but to try to gain military merit. They had nothing but their lives and a contract that read, "If you die in battle, you will receive a pension of five hundred shillings."

Song Shige's identity is that of an ordinary soldier in the escort company of the front-line Steam armored group.

He Crossing to this world, with a corpse without a lower half on his right and a rifle with its butt blown off on his left. With his initial Attributes of three 7s, he began the war, facing the roaring artillery fire and the calamity's Attributes frequently exceeding 13.