Centralization

As the sun grew fiercer, Dendall left with a face full of disbelief and excitement.

He headed straight for the Palace, where he met the two Magic Gods, Zimor and Bethany, at the gates. Together, they sought an audience with Keshan, the eleventh ruler of the Kevil Empire, reported the results of the negotiations, and symbolically completed the appointment procedure.

At this point, the Kevil Empire's political system had to be mentioned.

In this land where violence defined order, the Empire's power and resources were almost entirely controlled by mages!

The Royal Family and nobles were to mages what professional managers were to shareholders.

Of course, in reality, the boundary between the two was rather blurred.

Mages could be born among the nobility;

powerful mages could also obtain Noble Titles and territories.

Now that the Royal Family had declined, despite being known as one of the Four Pillars of the Empire, it relied on nothing more than special magical artifacts and generations of accumulated foundations. Naturally, the Empire's voice had fallen into the hands of the Three Magic Gods.

This was also the fundamental reason Dendall could represent the Kevil Empire in negotiating with Yu Sheng'an.

Back to the matter at hand.

After obtaining nominal authorization, the Magic Tower in Willis City lit up once again.

Commands were transmitted through the Magic Towers to the various Cities.

As waves of magic rippled outward, the long-prepared social transformation finally began!

Within the seven-story Magic Tower standing at the center of Tuwa City, a frontier city of the Kevil Empire, Grand Mage Theodore read the jointly signed order from the Four Pillars of the Empire. His heart was thrown into immense turmoil.

As a mage governing one region, he might have been far from the center of power, but he still knew about the major events taking place in Willis City.

He had especially kept a close eye on the Internet Divine Art, which had suddenly emerged and become popular in the Capital City.

Regardless of his personal views, he had believed there could only be two outcomes to this matter:

Either the Empire would ban it by force;

or it would allow it to spread unchecked.

But he had never expected the Empire to choose cooperation with the God of the Internet!

No, how was this cooperation? This was clearly the Empire throwing itself in with the God of the Internet!

Although the Empire and the God of the Internet had signed a harsh Contract forbidding the construction of churches, forbidding the use of Divine Art to spy on mages... and so on, Contracts could always be renegotiated.

Given the Internet's ability to spread propaganda, once the God of the Internet had deeply rooted himself in people's hearts, he could very well use that opportunity to force the Kevil Empire into signing a new Contract.

The thought made Theodore's scalp tingle.

He could not understand why the Three Magic Gods had agreed to this cooperation.

But it was too late to say anything now.

He knew the times had changed.

The God of the Internet was highly likely to become an existence above the Empire in the years to come.

He was only a Grand Mage, lacking compared to those above him but more than capable compared to those below.

He could not take part in deciding the Empire's fate, but he could choose his own fate—if he chose the right direction amid this tidal wave of change, perhaps he could achieve twice the result with half the effort.

With such complicated thoughts in his heart, he activated the Internet Divine Art.

In an instant, the familiar Phantom Scroll unfolded before him.

But this time, a new section had appeared on the main page: the emblem of the Kevil Empire—the Ring Magic Tower.

When he clicked into it, the parchment-like new window that appeared left him utterly stunned!

Unlike the other functional sections, the Empire Official Website was divided into countless blocks of varying sizes.

The top row of blocks displayed the Empire's administrative departments, large and small, in order.

The blocks below publicized the Empire's latest decrees, news, announcements... and so on.

Under the latest decrees section were the very two new orders he had just received.

First, spread the Internet Divine Art.

Second, all levels of administrative units were to immediately establish literacy schools.

Theodore's scalp tingled as he examined the details of the Empire Official Website, his thoughts racing as he browsed.

It was clear that the newly launched Official Website possessed only a basic framework. After entering many sections, one found almost nothing but blank space.

Yet even this basic framework left his limbs cold with shock.

For example, the Judgment Department section published the Imperial Code in detail.

One could foresee that once the Internet Divine Art spread and everyone could access the Internet, it would greatly curb the Magistrates' authority to interpret the code.

In other words, it would also restrain and supervise their power.

Furthermore, the government Complaint Section shook him to his core.

In the Complaint Section for Willis City, he saw a great number of anonymous complaints.

Some concerned trivial matters, such as there being too few wells in the Slums, or someone bullying someone else... and so on.

But there were also matters that appeared minor yet were actually grave.

For example, someone had accused the private steward of the noble Lang Family of preying on men and women alike and exploiting commoners.

Theodore knew that although the Lang Family appeared mighty, it had gradually declined ever since Archmage Langfellow's death.

For the first few years, it had managed to hold on through the connections Archmage Langfellow had left behind.

But as Langfellow's son, Langerman, had failed time and again to enter the Archmage realm, the resources his family occupied had already drawn envious eyes.

This accusation might very well become the fuse that ignited the Lang Family's downfall.

Theodore took a deep breath. He had long recognized the Internet's ability to manipulate public opinion, but he had to admit that he had still gravely underestimated it.

After all, crows were black all over.

Who could guarantee that their own hands were absolutely clean?

No one.

Of course, a mage's authority came from strength. As long as one was powerful enough, no amount of public opinion was of any use.

But public opinion would become an excuse to draw the blade.

Theodore finally understood why the Three Magic Gods had chosen to cooperate with the God of the Internet.

Under the pressure of countless voices, everyone would have to choose a master and take a side. Otherwise, with the slightest manipulation of public opinion, those above would have a reason to draw the blade.

In other words, the Empire's power would be centralized as never before!

At that thought, Theodore stared at the complaint function on the Official Website interface, and a horrifying realization suddenly came to him.

He realized that manipulating public opinion was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was power reaching directly to the grassroots. That was the true blow to the foundation.

Before this, although everyone revered the Magic Gods, they were not overly afraid of them.

Presumably, even if public opinion boiled over, if the person involved was a Grand Archmage controlling an entire region, those above could only turn a blind eye for the sake of stability.

After all, the Empire needed people to govern it. To have people govern it, concessions naturally had to be made in certain areas.

But things were different now.

Through the Internet Divine Art, the grassroots could directly reach the highest ears, and a single order from a Magic God could likewise directly mobilize grassroots power. In other words, the intermediate management layer had become unimportant.

When the relationship between supply and demand fundamentally changed, would anyone still dare act with such impunity?

What?

There were only so many mages? Magic Gods could not casually punish or erase people?

Heh, hadn't they seen the basic magical knowledge published on the Internet?

It was foreseeable that once the Internet Divine Art spread, the number of mages would inevitably explode in the coming years.

With too many wolves and too little meat, who would still dare act without restraint?

No one!

What a terrifying scheme!

Who had come up with it?

With fear chilling his heart and trembling through his body, a title almost instinctively surfaced in Theodore's mind—the God of the Internet!

No wonder he had been able to persuade the Three Magic Gods?

Theodore stared at the Internet page and fell silent.

He pondered his path forward.

After a long while, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Because he realized that the emergence of the Empire Official Website would usher in the worst era for traditional nobles.

But for capable youths from humble backgrounds, it would also be the best era!

Once information became public, would the day when capable people rose to prominence still be far away?

"Praise be to you, great God of the Internet!"

Theodore could not help but praise him!