"Equality for All Beneath Me"

Strength can kill a person, but it cannot conquer him.

But ideas can.

When the power structure of the Douluo Continent, under pressure from Bibi Dong, chose to break the deadlock by obtaining faith for You Chen, it became a case of "it's easy to invite a god, but difficult to send him away."

With over 90% of the population of the entire continent practicing the faith of the You Chen, it is impossible for the actual ruler to fall into the wrong hands.

Those in power find it difficult to relinquish their authority. It is only when faced with a madwoman like Bibi Dong, who is not driven by self-interest but solely by the desire to eliminate, that they can make such a choice in the face of the paramount importance of survival.

However, they thought they were welcoming a saint, but in reality, they attracted a ravenous wolf that would devour people without spitting out the bones.

When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked.

After gaining control of the Douluo Continent, or rather, the current Starshine Continent, You Chen swept all those useless nobles who had power but no ability into the dustbin of history.

Those who survived did so not because of their social status, but solely because of their abilities.

The talent of a county can govern a country; in fact, the difference in human management ability and other talents is not particularly great.

However, in a world with extraordinary power, the value of an individual still lies in their Soul Master abilities. Therefore, considering that these high-level Soul Master are quite rare, You Chen would naturally treat them differently.

But You Chen doesn't need them to be superior to others.

To put it bluntly, for You Chen, the abilities of Soul Master and other non-extraordinary abilities are simply different types of abilities.

There is no need to categorize them as superior or inferior.

God is supreme, and all living beings are equal, which means "everyone is equal under God".

The aristocracy was thus forcibly abolished.

It's not that no one causes trouble, but for such people, You Chen only needs to kill them.

Even though the emperor was subject to the same laws as commoners, such a legal system was rarely enforced throughout history, it was still recorded at some point.

But the only deity is no longer subject to legal restrictions, and no one has the power to punish it.

Killing those in management positions is no big deal to You Chen now.

With believers making up over 90% of the population, the stability of the regime is temporarily assured, and promoting talented individuals is even easier.

Even if the person they are jealous of actually has outstanding qualities, as long as they seem to have something "not so great", they will feel jealous and want to take their place.

As for those who are absolutely superior, they can only feel admiration.

You Chen was that god.

Perhaps a very small number of ambitious people are dissatisfied with You Chen, but the vast majority of people are applauding when they know that no one but You Chen can bully them. Once those officials have truly become so-called public servants, they are naturally delighted.

Even if gods possess power, they would not engage in such pointless acts of oppressing mortals.

In the second year of Xinghui, Ocean Douluo and Angel Douluo, two Limit Douluo, led nearly twenty titled powerhouses across the vast ocean to the Sun and Sun Moon Continent Douluo Star, now Starshine Star.

In the Douluo Continent, even if the combat power is the same, the range of damage of Soul Master varies greatly depending on the type of Martial Soul and the type of Soul Skill. It is not possible to directly use the evaluation criteria of destroying streets, destroying cities, or destroying countries, which emphasize the range of the maximum output capability.

But without a doubt, every Limit Douluo can Destruction God King a city with a certain amount of effort.

In this respect, there is no significant difference between a god-level being like Limit Douluo and Bibi Dong to ordinary people.

Furthermore, if Titled Douluo is skilled in large-scale destruction, the threat they pose to mortals is no less than that of Limit Douluo.

If an elite team of two Limit Douluo and twenty Titled Douluo were to be assembled, they could destroy cities and countries at a speed even faster than Bibi Dong did in the past, unless they encountered resistance.

So, does the Sun Moon Continent have such capabilities now?

The answer is... no.

Ten thousand years ago, on the Sun Moon Continent during the Douluo Continent II: The Peerless Tang Sect era, the development of Soul Tool was far from bridging the gap in cultivation levels. Due to the disparity in cultivation resources and Soul Master resources between the Sun Moon Continent and the Starshine Continent, the number of top-tier Soul Master was far less than that of the current Starshine Continent.

The process of conquering the Sun Moon Empire went far more smoothly than the people of the Starshine Continent had initially anticipated.

In just three years, Xinghui had established its initial rule.

However, the faith of the people of the Sun Moon Continent could not possibly be as steadfast as that of the people of the Starshine Empire, who were built up amidst the disaster.

Furthermore, since it was only the initial stage of rule, it was impossible for everyone to believe in the Star God. Even with a larger population, the initial amount of faith power provided was less than one-tenth of that of the Starshine Empire.

Then, the year 5 of Starshine arrived.

In the Starshine Empire, one can see a commoner's home, where the unemployed Guo Da slowly wakes up to the sound of square dancing outside.

"What? It's only ten o'clock. Go back to sleep."

After glancing at the alarm clock, a groggy Guo Da pulled the blanket over his face again and went back to sleep.

But as you know, whether you can fall back asleep after being woken up is a matter of random probability.

Especially when the noise is constant.

"Ughhh!!! It's so noisy!!!"

In the end, Guo Da couldn't resist the ear-piercing noise and roared as he got out of bed.

He glared fiercely out the window. "I'm going to complain! I'm definitely going to complain!"

Then he got out of bed.

The benevolent Starshine Emperor did indeed proclaim the law that "all people are equal under my rule."

But humans are not as precise as ants.

Absolute fairness cannot exist unless people can see themselves as tools.

Because when a person exercises their own freedom, they inevitably infringe upon the freedom of others.

This process is difficult to judge as absolutely right or wrong.

For example, Guo Da wants to sleep until noon, while the older women want to turn up the volume on their stereos and dance; these two things are in conflict.

When Guo Da chooses to file a complaint, the person in charge of resolving the issue intervenes and makes a judgment between the two parties, thus power emerges.

But... this only applies to the vast majority of people.

Guo Da, however, did not have such worries.

While washing up, Guo Da muttered to himself, "Great Starshine Emperor, today is also a day full of hope. Thank you, Di Nie."

It's hard to imagine that these abstract words came from the mouth of a man in his thirties.

But as soon as Guo Da said this, his wristwatch beeped.

Guo Da glanced to the side and saw the change in his faith value, then smiled with satisfaction.

This information wristwatch, which everyone in the Starshine Empire possesses, is so powerful that it rivals modern smartwatches, but its most important function remains "detecting faith."

Devotion index, monthly offerings, and total offerings.

The piety index changes with each prayer of the believer; it is a value that the believer uses to assess themselves and has no actual impact.

The believer's level is calculated primarily based on their monthly offerings.

The Empire's benefits vary depending on the believer's rank.

You Chen naturally knew that humans cared more about what they lost than what they gained, and might even harbor resentment because of it.

Therefore, there is no punishment for having a low level of believer, but social welfare will be lower.

The hierarchy of believers is more of an incentive mechanism.

Many of the prestigious jobs in the Starshine Empire are only available to believers whose level of faith is not high enough to even qualify for an exam.

The struggle for power is essentially a struggle for resources.

For You Chen, faith is the resource he needs most.

Not to mention, the faith provided by believers can be transformed into omnipotent divine power, which is equivalent to real-world resources.

This has even given rise to a special profession called "NEET".

In other words, as long as your faith is firm, it's okay if you don't go out to work.

Once your believer level reaches 5, the empire's economic subsidies will be enough to make you live a very comfortable life.

Guo Da is a NEET.

Moreover, he is a very famous figure in the NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) community.

It was precisely because his follower level was as high as level 8 that, in the old days, he would have been considered a fanatic.

Didi.

A text message came through the Information Wristband.

"Wow, that was fast! I hadn't even finished brushing my teeth and my appeal was approved? Is this what it's like to be in power?"

Guo Da clicked his tongue in admiration, but his mood remained relatively calm.

In the Starshine Empire, the level of a believer is, in a sense, a kind of authority.

In many government departments, official positions remain symbols of status, but any transgression will be subject to legal judgment.

On the contrary, believers enjoy power but are not required to fulfill obligations or duties, which is true freedom.

With such high authority, Guo Da can basically live a carefree life.

Most of the followers of some important officials in the empire were not as high-ranking as him.

Even after these people used methods such as self-hypnosis, they still couldn't raise their faith level to level 8.

But that's not surprising at all.

After all, he had heard that there was a young man next door who had just graduated and didn't want to go to work, so he called a hypnotist to hypnotize himself, but his believer level was still 1, and he went to work very reluctantly.

Many people have asked Guo Da for his secrets, and he has answered truthfully without reservation. As a devout believer, he is naturally happy to elevate the level of other people's faith.

Unfortunately, no one has learned anything from him so far.

Guo Da's idea was very simple.

"It's nothing. To be honest, I don't really consider myself a fanatic. It's just that I'm truly grateful to His Majesty the Emperor. In the past, someone like me would be lucky to even have a decent life, let alone be bullied. So, of course I'm grateful to His Majesty. Thanks to His Majesty, I don't have to go to work every day, and I can do whatever I want. I feel that just being grateful in my heart isn't enough, but I'm too lazy, so I'll just express my gratitude in my heart! I can never repay His Majesty's kindness! Loyalty!"

Guo Da didn't think it was a big deal. Or rather, he believed that such gratitude was only natural.

But others don't seem to be able to do that.

Perhaps this is a kind of talent of his.

What Guo Da considers easy is actually not so easy for most people; he just doesn't realize it.

The empire has been established for five years.

With the development of technology, low-level Soul Master have basically lost their former high status.

At present, the martial value of Soul Elder has completely disappeared.

Even ordinary civilians can easily kill Soul Elder single-handedly once they are armed. A typical ten-person squad can easily surround and kill an ordinary Soul King.

It is foreseeable that as technology continues to develop in the future, only those at the Soul Sage or even above the Titled Douluo will possess individual combat value.

It is said that the airships manufactured by the military have the ability to rival the Titled Douluo, which were only heard of in legends in the past. Perhaps in the future, the Soul Master profession will be completely eliminated.

At present, the Empire no longer specifically trains Soul Master whose innate Martial Soul aptitude is lower than advanced and whose potential is lower than top-tier.

This strategy initially provoked fierce opposition from many established families, but before long, those opposing families became history...

For You Chen, there is absolutely no need for extraordinary professions.

It's obvious to anyone with a brain that for a nation, individuals with strong military power are merely destabilizing factors.

These guys are not only undevout, but they also consume a lot of resources, making them completely inefficient for him, who is both a god and an emperor.

He intends to rule the Starshine Empire eternally and build it into Earthly Paradise.

From a necessity standpoint, a god possessing extraordinary individual power is sufficient with just one being.

This way, not only will there be more power of faith, but the burden on the planet will also be less.

However, You Chen is not a robot that is purely calculating interests.

He naturally cherished the old friendships with his loyal subordinates who had followed him all the way.

If the plan goes smoothly, he will also help them become gods, thus helping himself maintain eternal rule.

Although he could foresee that the growth of these subordinates' strength would not outpace technological development, and that even if they became First-Level God in the future, they would not be of much help to him, these were all irrelevant matters; the important thing was that he was willing.

As for the two star slaves, one has already become a god, and the other is only one step away from becoming a god, so he doesn't need to spend much resources at all.

For a period of time after they become gods, they can still provide assistance to themselves, so the cost-effectiveness is self-evident.

In the future, the energy consumption required to sustain their immortality will eventually exceed the resource growth they bring.

However, I probably wouldn't care about this resource consumption at that time.

Ultimately, the most important thing is to increase one's own strength.

Even with You Chen's perspective, he couldn't foresee a day when technology would surpass his own martial prowess.

Technology is ultimately just an aid to increasing one's own strength, and a part of entertainment.

Over the past five years, the increase in faith power has not been You Chen's greatest gain or enhancement.

Over such a long period of time, with the natural cooling of the Inspiration Burst, coupled with the Bibi Dong, You Chen has used the Inspiration Burst dozens of times.

Such cutting-edge technology as Information Wristband that can detect faith in real time is just a small bonus that You Chen obtained after dozens of Inspiration Burst.