Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Above the mist, a long staircase leads to a majestic palace.

"Is this... the third stage of the Leader's Certificate...?"

Liu Xia looked at the towering stone walls and ramparts around her, which were exactly the same as the stone walls she had previously imagined, except that she was now inside them instead of outside.

The stone slabs beneath her feet were covered in dust, exuding an ancient and desolate aura. Ryusha pushed open the palace's stone doors, revealing a vast, empty hall, like a royal palace, with a colossal throne at the far end. Below it stood countless stones, resembling sculptures of submission, though none were fully carved. Only a golden figure in front of her was lifelike. Ryusha approached; the statue was Hetia, leaning on two swords, kneeling in submission on one knee.

Behind the throne, there seemed to be another passage, but it was obscured by some force. Ryūka could only go this far. He looked at the throne, and an ancient character appeared on the mottled back of the throne, which Ryūka murmured aloud.

"The one who is worshipped is the lord, and the one who rules over his subjects is the king..."

"Interesting. So, I'm now a lord, but not a king. And the condition for achieving this is to fill the palace below?"

Ryusha slowly sat on the throne, looking down at the kneeling statues of submission. Apart from Hetia, his other followers were also among them, though not yet fully shed their stone forms. Those closer to him, like Melanie and Hafulen, either showed half their bodies or had just revealed their faces. Those bound by special contracts and secret arts, such as Megan and Zona, were nearly complete, though still requiring meticulous refinement.

It seems the conditions are even more stringent than he imagined, and Ryūka is no exception. His relationship with his followers is based on mutual benefit and affection, but even he himself wouldn't believe that it would last forever.

What about Hetia? Perhaps she had no other obsessions; loyalty to the monarch she served was her worldview, only before it was for Tipalotura, and now it's for herself. Besides winning her over with trust, he also used the power of the Leader's Certificate to elevate her aptitude and transform her, seemingly establishing a special connection as well.

To Ryūka's surprise, Kania wasn't among the statues below...

This gave Liu Xia a slight doubt, but looking at the empty hall, a sense of familiarity made him make some deductions.

This is not the same thing as the Temple of Chloeur! It's just that mine is a little smaller and the decoration style is a bit different.

The gathering of faith by uniting with the gods is the same as the proof of leadership; Chloe even once said that she possessed a fragment of godhood. As for Kania, she is a descendant of a cruel witch, and their contract was built upon the witch's curse. Perhaps in some sense, Kania's power is equal to her own, which is why she wouldn't be here.

The hall before them, besides its earthen-yellow stone walls, also displayed faint blackish-purple cracks on its walls and ceiling. This mirrored the effects of the witch's corruption, further confirming Ryuka's suspicions. Those were the Leader's Proof and the Witch's Power, both divine or near-divine levels, but both requiring nurturing and growth. (The last sentence appears to be unrelated and possibly a fragment from another text.)

However, this conjecture still needs further verification. It seems that we need to get the truth about the gods and this world from Chloe.

As for the passage behind the throne, Ryuka raised the corners of her mouth: "The next level after the king, if not an emperor, should be a god, right?"

However, all the powers he had encountered so far, apart from the mysterious and enigmatic Chloe, could only be considered 'superhuman' at best, far from being gods. But this also sparked Ryuka's deep interest in the legends from a thousand years ago, after all, that was a lost mythological era.

What Ryuka is more concerned about is whether she has gained new power.

As if sensing his intention, the stone slab beneath his feet slowly trembled, and a stone platform appeared before the throne. On the half-person-high square platform was a deep socket, as if something was missing, calling for Ryūka to pour his power into it.

“This size and angle…” Ryuka frowned, “Well, let’s rule out inserting the pendant first…”

Ryūka joked with herself, reaching her hand towards the stone platform. If there was any power related to the Leader's Token besides Faith Points, Ryūka couldn't think of anything else.

But this test had no consequences. Liu Xia felt all the power in her body rushing wildly toward the gap, and the points she had accumulated over a long time vanished like snowflakes, all pouring into it.

Ryuka's face paled. Even after strengthening Hetia, she still had a considerable number of points left, which she had intended for emergencies, but now the stone platform had drained them all. Even so, it seemed far from enough; it had only managed to create a golden phantom in the gap…

It resembled a sword hilt or a broken staff. After absorbing all of Liuxia's points, the phantom automatically flew into Liuxia's hand, fitting perfectly into her palm like some kind of magical artifact.

As Liuxia held the twenty-centimeter-long golden phantom, its name automatically appeared in her mind.

'royal'

"Yu?"

This shout had no effect; the golden phantom immediately scattered into countless points of light, which condensed into a human shape in front of Liu Xia. As it gracefully landed, it immediately emitted a sweet yet noisy voice.

"Here you are~ Xiao Yu is here~ Welcome back~ Young Master? Master? Your Majesty or Lord? Which way of addressing you do you prefer?"

A golden-haired girl descended from mid-air, her translucent bare feet gently pushing aside the dust on the heavy stone slabs with her golden anklets before landing softly. Apart from her fair and translucent skin, the rest of her body was a soft, shimmering gold hue: her golden twin ponytails tied up with golden hair ornaments, the golden patterns on her skin, and the soft, form-fitting golden robes covering her slender body—she resembled a priestess from ancient Greece or Babylon in Ryuxia's memory.

"Wow~ You're so cute~ You~ Ah~ I mean...you~"

Seeing the girl who called herself 'Yu' whistling flirtatiously at her, acting all effeminate, Liu Xia felt a chill run down her spine. Her sudden appearance was enough to make one wary, let alone with this kind of personality.

Her flippant words reminded Ryuka of the descriptions she had seen on the stone wall when she first awakened her [Proof of Leadership].

Her flippant words reminded Ryuka of the descriptions she had seen on the stone wall when she first awakened her [Proof of Leadership].

"You... are the true form of the [Proof of Leadership]?"

Ryuka watched the translucent girl playing with her hair. She seemed very interested in everything around her, constantly looking around. She was particularly interested in the follower statues in the hall, even touching Hetia's lifelike sculpture a few times. Besides that, she also looked thoughtfully at the purplish-black cracks around her, as if she was pondering something.

"The Leader's Proof?" Yu tilted his head, then said with a sudden realization, "Ah~ you mean this~ I had forgotten that we had such a name..."

Yu's somewhat eccentric behavior silenced Ryuka. He looked at the girl before him, wary yet curious, but one thing he was certain of was that there was a subordinate relationship between him and Yu. Ryuka silently reached out and grasped her hand, and Yu's semi-transparent figure immediately began to dissipate, turning into specks of golden light that flew into his hand.

"Wait……"

Before the girl could finish speaking, it had already transformed back into the broken handle. Ryuka weighed it up and down a couple of times. Although it looked like a semi-transparent phantom, it did have a physical form and was completely under her control.

"uh-huh……"

Ryuka played with the Yu in her hand, twirling it twice on her fingertips before tossing it into the air again, transforming it into the shape of a young girl.

"Ugh... Couldn't you at least say hello...?"

The royal attendant, now reappearing, cast a helpless glance at Ryūka, who was lounging on the throne with her legs crossed. Ryūka simply stared at her without saying a word, which made the royal attendant somewhat uncomfortable. She frowned and looked at Ryūka, asking:

"what happened?"

"Isn't that what I should be asking?" Ryuka rested her chin on her hand, took Yu back into her hand, shook it a few times, and then threw it out, turning her back into human form.

After these two exchanges, Yu finally understood Liu Xia's meaning. Although he didn't understand what was going on between this temple and himself, he was clear on one thing: he was the master.

"I understand... I'll explain it to you properly... I mean, you..."

"If that feels awkward, I'll just call you 'you,' or you can call me Ryukatsu. Tell me, who exactly are you? What is the Leader's Certificate? Why is it on me? Did you write the descriptions on those stone walls?"

"Hmm... to be honest, I forgot about these things~ Hehe~ wait, wait, wait! I'm not lying to you! In short, it's because the power you gave me, Master, wasn't enough. You saw that I'm under your control, so I have no reason to lie to you..."

"Really? I don't believe it."

Ryuka stood up, trying to grab Yu, but unlike the broken handle form she could grasp, Ryuka's hand passed right through Yu's translucent chest, making it impossible to touch her. This made Yu's eyes widen; it seemed she had only just noticed her translucent form, and she became somewhat saddened.

"Alright... I'll tell you... but I don't remember much. It's not my fault, it's just that my strength is too weak right now..."

She sighed softly, and then slowly recounted what she could remember.

Chapter 20 The Power of the Third Tier (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival)

"The power you possess is a set of rules and techniques derived from the 'root' of all things—magic, miracles, divine arts… interpret it however you like. It existed as far back as the primordial era. This power gradually materialized and was transformed into its current form after the first life appeared on earth…"

“There are many such ‘rules,’ and the so-called proof of leadership is just one of them. I am the ‘spirit’ that serves these rules, and you are one of the chosen hosts. Do you understand?”

In other words, if we understand the "Proof of Leadership" as a kind of divine artifact, then Yu is the artifact spirit, obeying its master to better utilize the existence of this divine artifact.

Hearing Yu's words, Ryuka couldn't help but ask, "One of the chosen ones, which means that someone before me has possessed this power?"

“There should be a few…” Yu waved his hand, “but only you have made it this far. The others couldn’t even control the first or second tier, or they died before that, and didn’t even have the ability to awaken me…”

Yu looked rather unhappy, quite dejected and dissatisfied. Ryuka seemed to understand that although she was clearly a 'spirit' serving him, she acted unruly, probably because she felt she might not even be qualified.

"Then what about all that information and introduction I had in my mind before, and the name 'Leader's Certificate'?"

Yu blinked as he listened to Ryuka's question: "So you consider this my introduction and guidance?"

Is this considered slacking off at work? Liu Xia felt a little embarrassed. The woman in front of her had the mentality of a worker just going through the motions, but this made Liu Xia even more curious about her background.

"Who chose me? Where did you come from? Were you born of heaven and earth? Or was someone created you? What is the relationship between this power and 'God'?"

Surprisingly, Yu crossed his arms, turned to look at Liuxia, and said, "Men who are always asking questions and pestering you are annoying, even if you're good-looking. You'll know when you have the ability to open the back door..."

She pointed behind the throne, and then began to lecture Ryūka quite directly:

"First, raise your abilities to the fourth tier. You're the first host I've met, so you'd better work hard and not let me down. Of course, if you still can't do it with my help, then you can only blame yourself. Also, those 'parasites' on the ceiling and walls will have to be cleaned up sooner or later. I can't stand this kind of working environment."

She pointed to the purplish-black cracks that symbolized the witch's power. Although he was an infuriating character, Yu seemed to have a perfect grasp of people's hearts, and before Ryūka could express her displeasure, she immediately put on a professional smile:

"Well~ instead of these things, let's talk about the benefits, Master~"

Liu Xia sighed. Why are all the girls she meets so troublesome? Can't she find some gentle, sweet, cute, and obedient girls?

However, he still agreed with what Yu said, that he was indeed more interested in the tangible benefits. What abilities would the third stage of the Leader's Certificate have?

Yu snapped his fingers lightly, and golden light appeared, converging into a pattern that was familiar to Liu Xia.

"Maps of Sochi Territory and Linhu Territory?"

"Are these the two names? Anyway, this is the territory you control, Master, right? The light above indicates the source of your faith. Isn't that intuitive?"

Ryuga looked over and, sure enough, although the light spots in the Linhu Territory were scattered, they were brighter than those in the Sochi Territory. On the other hand, the brightness in the Sochi Territory was concentrated in Sochi City and its directly administered territory.

It was almost like a map interface in a strategy game. Looking at a few slightly darker areas on the map, Liu Xia could immediately see where her prestige hadn't yet spread. Knowing this, she could combine it with real-world circumstances to find the reasons for the low prestige in those areas and address them accordingly, which was indeed much more convenient.

Currently, the groups with low prestige are primarily...

"A temporary settlement for people migrating south, huh? It seems they still harbor anxieties about the unknown future... Hmm? What are these gray things?"

Looking at some dark, flickering marks on the map, Ryuka asked Yu.

"Oh, Master, you don't think that as a ruler, you only govern 'living beings', right?"

Yu's smile appears quite aggressive, yet there's a hint of pride within it.

"Mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, stars, and all things—the one who can make all things submit is the true ruler, isn't he? This is also part of the 'rules,' it's just that few people can do it."

“You mean…” Ryuga frowned. He looked at the gray marks and lines, which overlapped with the real map in his mind, and quickly came to a conclusion.

"Is this a river within the territory? And is this a wasteland?"

"In this world, it's not just humans or other creatures who possess their own will. You asked before what this power had to do with gods, so it seems you've already come into contact with it, right? Those beings that transcend the mortal realm, whether they are gods or anything else..."

Ryuka immediately thought of the vengeful spirits that Chloe and her followers would generate. Regardless of which one it was, they couldn't really be described as living beings. Did Yu mean that everything in the world possessed its own will? Was he trying to conquer not only the hearts of the people, but also nature itself? (The last part, "你咏没在梅有空你林在在没," is a nonsensical string of characters and doesn't translate directly.)

No, that's not right. The so-called 'nature' is just my past understanding. This is a magical world, and I shouldn't be surprised by anything that happens.

But if even mountains and rivers have their own will, shouldn't there be river gods and mountain gods? Why are there no related records or legends...?

Ryūka immediately realized it was the Holy See!

"Well~ don't worry about the details, I was just showing off my abilities a little~ there's more~"

Yu smiled and walked up to the lifelike sculpture of Hetia. He gently flicked her forehead, and a golden phantom of Hetia stood up from the sculpture. This 'Hetia' seemed to come alive, and instantly opened her eyes wide.

"What's going on? Where is this? Ryukyu? Huh?"

Before Hetia could ask any further questions, Yu snapped his fingers again, and the translucent Hetia vanished instantly.

Ryuka immediately realized: "You can also pull the consciousness of your followers into this space?"

"That's right, but to be precise, this is using your power. I'm just showing it to you, after all, I'm just a 'spirit' responsible for guidance and service."

Yu spread his hands, and a consciousness entered Liu Xia's mind, allowing him to instantly master this power.

There are no time or distance restrictions. As long as you want, you can summon the consciousness of your followers in this space to communicate with them and even grant them enhancements and abilities, but it only requires consuming the corresponding faith power.

It was as if Chloe had summoned herself to her temple.

"However, it's important to note that the flow of time in this space is currently the same as outside, and only consciousness enters. Whether it's you or someone who has been summoned, consciousness will be temporarily separated from the body, so be careful when using it."

Yu may seem carefree and irreverent, but she is quite diligent in her presentations. She had just demonstrated this ability and immediately began introducing the next one.

It's like a salesperson demonstrating their product...

Chapter 21 Earth, Moon, Stars, and Sky (New setting, rather boring)

"In the past, you needed to draw energy from the life forms you followed and believed in, right? That was only a first or second-tier ability. Now you have gathered the land and enough loyal servants, so you are qualified to knock on the door behind you. So forget those narrow ways of ruling from before."

In Yu's words, it was as if Ryukatsu's past actions of winning over the hearts of the people were not worth mentioning, but Ryukatsu soon understood why she said that.

The true ruler is one who can command the submission of all things, from mountains and rivers to vegetation and the myriad phenomena of the universe.

The people are merely one of many living beings on this earth.

With a wave of his hand, Yu brought the map back to life. This time, however, the golden map suddenly grew larger, transforming from flat to three-dimensional, enveloping both Ryuka and Yu.

The view is soaring.

Like an eagle soaring over the earth, Ryuga saw everything on his land: mountains and rivers, people and monsters, all radiating a faint light.

Those rays of light converged into countless fine lines, eventually flowing into Yu's hand and coalescing into the broken handle.

"This is 'power,' the symbol of your rule, and it can command more than just the people... Well, it's a bit hard to understand in words, so let me let you experience it. Although it's just a fantasy, you'll understand once you experience it..."

As Ryuka watched as Yu Jiang pushed the 'power' in his hand toward him, the moment he took it, the usage of the 'power' instantly became clear in his mind.

With a mere wave of his hand, Liu Xia caused all living things on earth to submit. Whether they were civilians, animals, or even the demons of the mountains and forests, they all bowed and worshipped him. It was as if they would brave any danger, no matter how great, at his command.

"This is part of 'land rights,' similar to your past abilities. It allows you to command the life on your land, but of course, it consumes energy and faith. Well, you don't have that much prestige to command yet; this is just an experience."

Is this an enhanced version of the previous 'Call to Arms' and 'Inspire' abilities? Only this time, it doesn't just affect humans. Ryuga waved his 'Power' once more, and what happened next left him utterly astonished.

Rivers surged! Mountains trembled! At this moment, he understood what Yu meant by ruling over all things in the world! If one possessed such power, no enemy, no matter what kind, would dare to invade! This was beyond Liu Xia's imagination!