"Crack, crack—"
The guard captain snapped his whip through the air, forcing the crowd to keep backing away.
Once the decree bearing the King's seal was presented, no matter how dissatisfied everyone was, they dared not speak out.
It could not be helped. In most people's minds, the King represented supreme authority, while the nobility was an unshakable mountain pressing down upon them.
Some might find it strange. This world clearly allowed cultivation, and those with talent could possess power greater than all else, even beating the hell out of the entire world by themselves. So why would they still fear secular authority?
What if I told you that the vast majority of powerful people were themselves closely tied to secular authority?
There might be powerful individuals who refused to submit to the King, but there were far too few of them. Besides, there was another important reason—the strong were all more or less evenly matched.
The strong were all incredibly powerful. Moving mountains, filling seas, and changing the weather were nothing to them. Yet no overwhelmingly superior figures had emerged. It was like Jujutsu Kaisen without Sukuna and Gojo Satoru, or the early days of Martial God without Bai Chou and Sha Ya. The remaining powerhouses would tie in a one-on-one fight, win steadily in a two-on-one, and crush their opponents three-on-one. A strange balance had formed, and no one wanted to be the first to start a conflict.
Though there were Gold Rank adventurers and even legendary ones among the adventurers, most of them would never empathize with the Bronze Rank underclass.
"Damn it."
"This is way too overbearing."
"So the Bede Family's help in developing Gourmet Paradise wasn't out of kindness after all."
The adventurers present retreated unwillingly. The guards wore mocking smiles and casually waved their