Lioz's words were utterly calm, his tone slow, his bearing steady, as though he were discussing some trivial matter.
"Speaking of loyalty, I took not a cent from the Star Abyss Will, yet fought bloodily for tens of billions of years. Speaking of love for the people, I purged every corrupt official and did everything I could to ensure Zhouyuan's liberation came at the lowest possible cost—tell me, esteemed God of Falsehood Destruction Lord Jio Zeiou, am I, Lioz, conqueror of the stars and secret smith, truly not a qualified Star Abyss Person?"
Jio Zeiou stood there with his mouth open, always wanting to offer some rebuttal.
Reason told him that Lioz was wrong.
Over the past few months, Lioz had neither concealed his actions nor restricted Jio Zeiou's understanding of the Source Abyss Federation.
Or rather, Lioz disdained to hide his populist views.
Jio Zeiou had read the Source Abyss Federation's textbooks. Most had been personally compiled by Lioz; even those that had not were completed under his supervision. Lioz constantly demanded that federal citizens heighten their awareness as masters of the state, demanded their absolute loyalty to the motherland, and permitted no impure thoughts to emerge.
In the Federation, bureaucrats and military officers from commoner and poor backgrounds were given priority appointments. Even grassroots self-governing officials were all elected by people from the lower classes. These people had no backing. Watched by Lioz's alternate-world counterparts, they had no way to contact the Federation's high-ranking interest groups. Commoner bureaucrats, officers, engineers, and intellectuals could only choose to cling tightly to Lioz alone.
Because they could receive no support from interest groups, their promotion paths depended entirely on political achievements—and the ones reviewing those achievements were the Grand Commander and the ruling party, who controlled personnel appointments and dismissals.
Even