Spark City, City Lord's Mansion.
The City Lord's Mansion was brightly lit. The servants were all beaming, and the halls were filled with elegantly dressed nobles. They had moved here from different places of their own accord after seeing Spark City's low taxes and good public order.
The city had been established here for six years. Time was the best medicine, but also the deadliest blade.
The situation in the Anlan Kingdom had worsened with each passing day. As early as six years ago, some of the kingdom's regional governors had begun to defy the king's orders. When they saw that the royal family had no strong response, they began to consider declaring independence. Six years later, two of the Anlan Kingdom's three original provinces had already been carved up by several dukes, and the factions had even reached the point of drawing blades against one another.
With the situation so dire, it was only natural that all kinds of measures were taken to raise taxes. The nobles who suffered most were those whose livelihoods depended on grain and iron ore. At best, they were conscripted; at worst, their entire families were wiped out. The able-bodied men of the two provinces had already been drafted again and again.
The situation was dire, and things in the capital were no better. In such circumstances, Spark City imposed no additional taxes and conscripted no one. Even its current defensive forces were made up of residents who had joined of their own accord. After all, the benefits really were that good.
With Spark City as a point of comparison, anyone with the means naturally wanted to move there. As a result, its population had grown from just over a million to six million in only three years. Even the surrounding townships had populations of at least three or four hundred thousand.
The total population under Spark City's rule had now surpassed ten million.
It could not compare to provinces with populations in the hundreds of millions, but these ten million people had enough to eat, warm clothes to wear, and care in their old age; the young were provided for, too.
After three years, the number of people who recognized Spark City's rule had reached eight million.
Among those eight million residents, more than seven hundred thousand were Level 3 Warriors. Though the number of Level 4 Warriors had dropped sharply, there were still over fifty thousand. There were also more than six thousand Level 5 and Level 6 Warriors combined.
All of them could enjoy the passive bonuses granted to the territory by the Karl System, even if the increase was only a tiny one percent.
Carl believed that within ten years at most, at least a million of the eight million residents who recognized Spark City's rule would become Level 3 Warriors.
A Level 7 Warrior could defeat a thousand troops alone. To join the regular army, one had to be at least a Level 1 Warrior. A thousand Level 3 Warriors working together would probably be no weaker than a peak Level 7 Warrior.
The increase in the number of lower-level fighters was certainly gratifying, but today's banquet was being held solely for the City Lord.
Three days ago, the City Lord, Lin Taros, had successfully advanced to become a Level 8 Warrior. It might seem like only a one-level difference, but even if a Level 7 Warrior gave everything he had, he could not earn the title of Viscount in the kingdom. A Level 8 powerhouse, however, only needed to protect a region for the royal family to readily grant him the title.
Viscount seemed to be only the second-lowest noble rank, but in reality, that title was beyond the reach of ninety-nine percent of the people in the world.
The City Lord's Mansion was full of celebration, and the road outside was crowded with carriages. Anyone who knew even a little about the City Lord understood that reaching Level 8 would extend his lifespan. That meant he would continue ruling Spark City. He was the true source of their livelihood. No one feared having brought a gift to the celebration; what they feared was that the City Lord might notice who had failed to attend.
The road was jammed with carriages, nearly blocking the entire mansion. The nobles' guards and servants were not even allowed inside and could only wait outside. Their numbers, combined, easily exceeded a thousand, showing just how prosperous Spark City had become.
But while the area outside the mansion was filled with celebration, deep within it, in the courtyard belonging to Carl, an old man sat across from her, sipping tea just as she did.
The old man had a full head of white hair and a white beard. He looked extremely old, but his sky-blue eyes gave him an unusual air.
"Heh heh, I came without an invitation. I hope you won't mind my presence, sir," the white-haired old man said with a smile.
"Greetings, senior."
Seeing the visitor blocking her way, Carl did not dare be careless. She hurriedly greeted him with respect.
"Oh? Do you know me?" the white-haired old man asked, somewhat surprised.
"I do not. But since you were able to come here without anyone noticing, you must be a truly formidable powerhouse," Carl replied, praising him without changing her expression.
Of course, Carl knew who the old man was. But even though she had reached the Saint Realm, she had kept it secret and had never met any Saint Realm friends. If she suddenly claimed to know this God Level powerhouse, it would obviously seem suspicious.
Besides, even ordinary Saint Realm powerhouses would not be mentioned lightly unless the person in question was standing right there. After all, a God Level powerhouse's divine sense might not cover the entire Yulan Plane, but covering the mere Yulan Continent would be easy.
Under the divine sense of a God Level powerhouse, even if he was not present, merely mentioning his name—or even referring to him indirectly—might alert him.
It was just like the uncrowned king of the Yulan Continent. Carl did not even dare think about him. She knew that a Sovereign could kill an Asura standing at the pinnacle of the gods with a single thought. Who knew whether such a being could also sense the thoughts in another person's mind?
Seeing how respectful the young woman before him was, the white-haired old man lost any desire to toy with her and spoke directly.
"You may call me Hodan. I came here today mainly because of you," the white-haired old man—Hodan himself—said with a smile.
"Please enlighten me, senior." Carl's expression remained unchanged, and she became even more respectful.
Below the God Level, everyone was an ant. She had no backing, either. If she offended Hodan with a poor attitude, he might toss her into the Divine Plane to fend for herself.
"Heh heh, there's no need to worry. Let me ask you this, Carl: over the countless years on the Yulan Continent, how many geniuses have there been? Even if there was only one every hundred years, there would have been a thousand in ten thousand years. Yet how many Saint Realm powerhouses are there on the Yulan Continent today? An empire has only a few dozen at most," Hodan continued with a smile.
"Can Saint Realm powerhouses live for a hundred thousand years?" Carl asked in surprise.
In theory, Saint Realm powerhouses were immortal. But they had yet to reach God Level, and their near-immortality came only from the transformation of their bodies and souls. Carl herself did not know exactly how long a Saint Realm powerhouse could live.
After all, she had successfully reached the Saint Realm, and from what she could tell, as long as no one killed her, there was no way she would die before reaching God Level. She was not worried about her own lifespan, but about her family.
There were conditions for a family to advance in rank. To go from Level 1 to Level 2, it was enough to reach the required strength. But to advance from Level 2 to Level 3, the family had to meet certain requirements in terms of its strength.
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