Chapter 332: Universal Divine Authority and the City-State Alliance
Chapter 332: Chapter 320: Universal Divine Authority and the City-State Alliance
As early as the Beast Fighting Era, the Twin Cities had their first direct competition. This rivalry was a contest of urban systems and developmental paths, determining which city was qualified to be the leader.
The victor back then was Yao City.
Yao City was as steady as a mountain, but Yan City’s overly aggressive development strategies and internal conflicts led to the city being controlled by Slave Traders for a time, squandering its golden age of development.
In the Fire Steam Era, which transformed the perception of the Yao Race, another face-off between Yan City and Yao City began.
This time, both sides went even further, establishing two completely different systems and forming nascent urban ideologies.
Now, they were trying to prove that their respective systems represented the most universal values for the Yao Race.
Luh Yao, for his part, wasn’t worried about a war breaking out over this.
This was a world under the watch of a God.
The Twin Cities were like different cities within the same country. Their competition spanned economics, culture, technology, and talent, and the smaller the gap between them, the fiercer the rivalry became.
But all these actions were constrained within the framework set by their God. With Apostles overseeing them and a Prophet to guide them, this had already become a deep-rooted tradition for the Yao Race.
To be on the safe side, Luh Yao summoned the Apostles from both cities to ask for their opinions.
The Tyrant, representing Yao City, declared, “Yao City has always been, without a doubt, the number one city of the Yao Race and the center of the entire world. We don’t care what other cities do; Yao City has always been the one to be chased and imitated. I hate to say that no city can even come close to Yao City, but it’s the truth.”
The Blood Knight was blunt: “Yan City will win. Yao City is old.”
As soon as the two Apostles spoke, a combat icon of crossed swords appeared above both their heads.
Luh Yao felt a headache coming on.
Whenever the rivalry between the Twin Cities came up, it felt like a contagion. The citizens were uncompromising with each other, the Prophet and the mayors saw each other as hypothetical enemies, and even the Apostles were full of animosity.
“Yao City is old? Ridiculous.”
The Tyrant Taunted, “A city’s development requires the inheritance of knowledge and the accumulation of History, not some group of nouveau riche petty merchants. Do you really think you can build a beacon of gold and silver just by hoarding resources for a short time? Foolish.”
“Having money is better than having no money.”
The Blood Knight, for once, offered a verbal Counterattack. “Slow development. Lack of ability.”
“I’ve had enough of you! You walking suit of armor!”
The Tyrant was furious.
The Blood Knight just said, “He’s mad. He’s mad.”
The Tyrant knelt before the screen. “My Lord, I formally request permission to teach this insolent fellow a lesson.”
The Blood Knight stood his ground. “I don’t mind. He’s just a defeated foe, that’s all.”
This made flames of rage erupt above the Tyrant’s head.
Luh Yao struck the two Apostles with a few bolts of lightning to help them cool down.
‘I summoned you here to discuss matters, not to start a fight. This is clearly a personal grudge. You can’t even separate public and private affairs.’
While the two Apostles were cooling down, new notifications popped up on the screen.
[Universal Divine Authority has won a large number of supporters among the Yao Race, creating a brand-new ideological system: ‘Oracleism.’]
[The Yao Race has perfected its first ideological system. Due to ‘Oracleism,’ the Yao Race has developed a fanatical worship for you, and your Faith has increased significantly.]
[Yao City has authored: *The Oracle Dictionary*]
[The emergence of ‘Oracleism’ has given rise to a new profession: Oracle Singer.]
[Saniluo has implemented Universal Divine Authority.]
[Uda City has implemented Universal Divine Authority.]
Luh Yao checked the world’s backend and found the relevant entries.
Oracleism was an ideology derived from the Universal Divine Authority system. Its core practice was to collect all the Oracles issued by Luh Yao and compile them into a codex.
When faced with unsolvable problems or dilemmas, followers of Oracleism would search through *The Oracle Dictionary* for inspiration and guidance, then use that as a basis for their own reasoning.
When Luh Yao first saw this description, his heart skipped a beat.
‘Oh crap, this is going down the wrong path.’
However, after reviewing the subsequent detailed records, he gradually relaxed.
Oracleism didn’t appear out of thin air. Universal Divine Authority was the fertile ground for its birth, but the emergence of the ideology itself was rooted in a specific historical context and the needs of the people.
In the Fire Steam Era, everything was developing too quickly.
For the average resident of the Yao Race, it was as if they were donkey riders suddenly forced onto a high-speed train. Their initial curiosity and excitement at the rapidly changing scenery gradually turned into confusion and a sense of loss.
The knowledge they once possessed seemed to become obsolete overnight. They had to learn everything from scratch. The familiar roads, livestock, and topics of conversation all became things of the past.
They were like small boats swept into the vast sea by a raging storm. Even with a large ship leading the way, they were still lost and disoriented.
Old things constantly disappeared while new things appeared with Madness. Everything familiar had taken on an incomprehensible new form.
It seemed as if nothing in this world was constant.
In such a period of rapid change, they needed a stable anchor.
Oracleism arose in response to this environment.
All things change, only God is unchanging.
The Oracles were that Immortal and stable anchor, allowing many people to find their place and peace of mind.
…
[Oracle Singer]
They compile Oracles and Miracles into poems and songs, bringing people peace and Joy. They have a certain chance of inspiring talent in their listeners.
…
The job of the new profession, [Oracle Singer], was to chant the God’s Oracles and Miracles, which served to calm the people’s hearts and also had an inspirational effect.
Luh Yao noticed that Oracleism had brought in about 140,000 Faith.
‘I didn’t expect this first ideological system to be far less influential than *The Divine Hall Warrior*… I guess that’s the difference in audience between serious philosophy and popular entertainment.’
Under the overwhelming influence of Oracleism, the last few lines of notifications seemed somewhat dim in comparison.
[Crystal City has implemented the City-State Responsibility System.]
[Canopy City has implemented the City-State Responsibility System.]
[The Elf Village has implemented the City-State Responsibility System.]
[Strait Pier has implemented the City-State Responsibility System.]
Yan City wasn’t without its allies. In terms of numbers alone, it even had twice as many as Yao City.
Unfortunately, aside from Crystal City, the other three were all poor buddies. Compared to Uda City and Saniluo, they were basically small fry.
Aside from Canopy City, both the Elf Village and Strait Pier could only be considered small villages.
Luh Yao checked the intelligence in the world’s backend.
The results were just as he had predicted. Except for Crystal City, these three locations each had their own weaknesses, but they shared a common trait: they were poor and weak.
Of course, this poverty and weakness was relative to proper cities.
Even the slightest disadvantage would be continuously magnified in urban Trade, and ever since the rise of the Twin Cities, the pursuers who came after had not only failed to close the gap but had fallen further and further behind.
Therefore, between Universal Divine Authority and the Federation Responsibility System, these places all chose the latter.
They didn’t have the foundation to choose the former.
To follow the path of Universal Divine Authority, one first needed extremely abundant material reserves and resources. Otherwise, it would be impossible to support the high cost of education, let alone anything else.
The advantage of the Federation Responsibility System was that it allowed for the rapid completion of basic infrastructure through a series of new methods, spearheaded by City Bonds, using credit and loans.
With Yan City as the center of Trade, it connected Crystal City in the far north, Strait Pier by the Dragon Nest, the Elf Village in the far south, and Canopy City in the east, forming a trade route that spanned the world.
As they all shared the City-State Responsibility System, their City Bonds could circulate among the various cities.
For these relatively underdeveloped places, this was clearly a good opportunity to ride on the coattails of success.
What Luh Yao found interesting was…
Yao City, which had once traveled from island to island spreading culture and Faith to all, had now withdrawn to become a gathering place for the elite, beginning to construct its own superstructure.
Meanwhile, Yan City, which had always aggressively pursued high returns, was now solidly uniting the majority of the lower classes and peripheral regions. Regardless of its motives, Yan City was indeed bringing them along for the ride.
Luh Yao was still looking up the relevant data when new messages began popping up on the simulator one after another.
[Yan City has created: The Yao City State Alliance]
[The Yao City State Alliance will adopt many of Yan City’s laws and management systems.]
[Canopy City has joined the Yao City State Alliance.]
[The Elf Village has joined…]
[Strait Pier has joined…]
[Yan City has created a brand-new political entity, gaining immense prestige. Its influence has greatly increased, its external appeal is growing, and its population is continuously rising.]
[The emergence of the ‘Yao City State Alliance’ has given rise to the prototype of a new Wonder.]
[Discoverable Wonder Prototype: City Council.]
Luh Yao watched this, utterly amazed.
Yao City gives birth to a new ideology, and Yan City counters with a new political entity.
The contest between the Twin Cities was far from over.