"So you are suggesting that we throw everyone who doesn't want to be part of it to the wolves," Christopher replied with much less venom.

  "I do. They will be allowed to go where they want. I am not going to have anyone killed for it but people will have to make a decision."

  "Assuming that we do this how do we go about it? Do you want the army to move out and deal with people? Are we gathering weapons to destroy anyone who stands against us? What are the logistics?" Aaliyah asked next.

  "In short yes. I will deal with the UWG and Commonwealth. There is no point in risking lives to fight members of the top ten. I will expect our strongest to deal with everyone else. I don't know much about waging war or building a proper nation. For that, I will lean on you all the rest of our people. If there are any former soldiers, historians, politicians, or anyone else with knowledge that could help I want to speak with them."

  "This is insane," Christopher grumbled though the fire in his eyes had long faded. "We aren't soldiers or conquerors."

  "If there is anyone that can not give what I need from them you are free to leave. Pass word throughout the city. It is time for Amara to shift into a proper nation."

  "What do you plan to do about the other two forces on this continent?" Desbera once again joined the conversation.

  "I am going to visit them and let them know what I plan to do. I am confident that they will plan to fight me for it. With any luck, I can get a good fight out of them before I crush them."

  "Is your goal to deal with them or have fun," Keshaun asked though based on the tone in his voice it was more of an accusation than a serious question.

  "I offer words of advice from what I have heard and seen. Your world will need powerful elites. You have fostered some of course. You and the boy chief among them but that isn't enough for a faction. Killing every member of the top ten would be a tragedy. Not to mention the rest of your top one hundred." Desbera stated.

  I rubbed my temples for several moments before I sighed. "You are correct but I can't guarantee that they will listen."

  "You kill a wyvern to scare the dragons," Azariah said. All eyes landed on her a moment later.

  It took me a moment to process what she said and what she meant. "You mean I should make an example out of one to make sure the others play nice. It's not a bad idea not exactly exciting but not bad. I could probably beat some of them badly enough that they give up. I would need to do the same for the Commonwealth. I also don't want to risk them attacking here afterward."

  "Do you believe that either of them would do that?" Aaliyah asked. "I mean even if they ignore how strong you are would they be willing to kill that many people?"

  "I think it would make it more likely," Keshaun replied. "Once it's clear that they can't beat him with power they would likely search for some other way to gain influence. "

  "You think they would try lives to force him to back down?" Aaliyah asked as if she couldn't believe it.

  "It shouldn't matter as long as the array is functioning. If they sent a strong enough group to break through it and overpower all of you there would be nothing to fight the Young Master with." Desbera replied.

  "Which is why I am going to deal with them directly. We have to assume that they are expecting something like this. Especially after the last time, I went to the Commonwealth. I want the majority of their force aimed at me. It would be difficult and annoying to have to worry about keeping all of you safe. Especially if the rest of the top ten show up."

  "Can we count on Romulus or Amahle? You mentioned that they were friendly toward us and you have an alliance with Romulus." Aaliyah asked.

  "I don't know. I am pretty sure Romulus wouldn't join them to fight me but I am not sure he would help. I am no expert on international law but it seems like planning to conquer the world ends whatever treaties or alliances you had."

  The council went back and forth for another hour before I decided to end things. I ended the meeting with an agreement to continue tomorrow. Now that I had made the decision everyone shifted to focus on the details. We used the system I created back when I conquered my first town. Once the enemies fell we needed to get the new territory up and running fast. I entered my bedroom and lay down. Between the trial and the upcoming changes, I was tired.

  The next day brought another series of meetings. This time we moved it to a different building due to the amount of people in attendance. Everyone from actual historians to former history students had an opinion. Alongside them were political scientists, sociologists, and soldiers. The meetings swelled to five hundred people before I had everyone else wait outside. The meeting area was a former convention center that had been redesigned.

  It reminded me of going to vote only without the stickers, desks, and tablets. The meeting was strange, to say the least. As a former law student, I was no stranger to public speaking but this was different. My word had become law. People looked at me with either reverence, fear, or nervousness. One elderly woman who used to work for the German government nearly jumped out of her skin when I dropped something. It ended up being the most fun part of the conversation.

  The meeting could be boiled down to a complete redesign of the Amara. My tiny country shifted from a city and a town to a country. The easiest and hardest pill to swallow was that the country was officially an absolute monarchy. I could do whatever I wanted. That nearly cost us a third of the attendees but when Desbera, Azariah, and Saanite pointed out that it was already true. We managed to salvage the situation. It also didn't paint a full picture.

  As explained by the others I would only interfere on important issues and things I personally took an interest in. My main job was to be the nuclear deterrent. I was to cultivate and get strong enough that when Earth was no longer shrouded people didn't invade. The way the ranking system worked Amara was considered an unranked organization. Unofficially it was late First Realm, due to my personal cultivation. Which meant just about anyone else could come in and wipe us out.

  Which meant that Amara would need to function without me. Which was where the new council came in. It was reminiscent of the House of Representatives only much bigger where many different people would come together to make decisions. It was this body that would deal with the day-to-day issues, pass laws, and deal with the influx of refugees. The government was also divided into five departments.

  There was a Department of Commerce, State, Justice, the Interior, and finally Education. The last of which was equal parts about educating people as it was about developing weapons, pills, and other things we would need. There was even a discussion about an array and alchemy department but it was too soon. The amount of people who could reliably make even the simplest of arrays was too low. Same with alchemy.

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  From there things shifted to the minutiae. Details that included how people would join the country, whether would they be full citizens immediately or would need to meet requirements first. A process that became increasingly theoretical since we didn't have a massive population yet. When I was tired of the conversation I ended the meeting. I briefly checked in with Xerxes who was now inside a weird emerald cocoon. One that I couldn't break. At least not without unleashing the Tao of Compression. I couldn't be sure my normal attacks wouldn't ignore the cocoon and hit Xerxes. I decided to leave it alone.

  From what I could see the cocoon was helping him. The amount of energy going into it was startling. The array had turned the area into a bit of a dead zone. Where cultivation took nearly twice as long. I made a mental note to have the homes in this area moved so that they would be dedicated to beasts. I didn't want to accidentally create a slum. After that, I went and found Trey. I spent two hours grinding the monsters in the area with him.

  By the time we were finished, he was closing in on level 20. I opened a portal and brought him back to the city proper before it was time for me to depart. "Are you sure you don't want me to join you?" He asked for the tenth time in the last two hours. "I am doing better with my wings and I should be able to deal with anyone outside the top one hundred."

  I shook my head and patted him on the back. "Don't worry about it. I am pretty sure I can handle it and it will let me have some fun." I rolled my shoulders and took a deep breath. "Besides if anything happens I would prefer you to be here. That way you can make sure Aaliyah, Christopher, and the others are taking care of things."

  Trey nodded just before his wings appeared behind him. I took a moment to appreciate how beautiful they looked before I turned to leave. "Keep practicing with those. I am going to see if I can find a gift like the fruit for Aaliyah and the others. If I had known how good they would be I would have tried harder to find something special for the whole council."

  "Don't worry about it Instructor Desbera says that cultivation is ultimately a personal journey. We can't rely on you to give us everything."

  I waited for him to fly off toward the tower before I activated Apportation. I stepped through the portal and reappeared over five miles away in the middle of an intersection. "I wonder at what point you go from being a hero to a monster? Would I even notice the change?" I sighed and focused on the task at hand. The historians would be the ones to decide that. Today it was time for me to solidify my path.

  I pushed off from the ground and the city blurred as I ran. In seconds I was at a speed NASCAR drivers would be jealous of. I had crossed half the distance to the UWG before something changed. A leopard-like creature with silvery metallic fur leaped at me from the shadows of an old storefront. Six blades of psychic energy slammed into it. I didn't have to break my stride before the creature was dead.

  I continued like this until the lights of the city were in view. I opened another portal and appeared on top of the former UN building. The street below me looked so out of place. Like it was frozen in time. Men and women in business suits swarmed with places to go. Even the old billboards were lit up, with products that no longer existed. The Eye of Heaven made the situation even more stark. Everyone was too low a level. Like they had just given up on cultivation.

  A complex flame of emotion formed in the pit of my stomach. Anger, disappointment, disgust, hate, none of those were accurate descriptions nor were they wrong. I watched them for a few minutes as I firmed my resolve. When I was ready I stepped off the edge of the building. I released a burst of spiritual energy to cushion my impact as a group of mortals ran to avoid me. I opened all three eyes just before a group of six cultivators stormed out of the building. Masquerade wasn't with them nor were any other members of the top ten.

  "What's the meaning of this!" The lead cultivator called out. A broad-shouldered man with a war hammer in his hands. He looked like an NFL linebacker and bodybuilder combined together. His physique had to be beyond what was possible before the System. Despite its impressive appearance, he didn't have the energy to back it up. I wasn't sure if he looked like it due to a treasure he ate or if it was what happened if you put too many points into strength and upset the attribute balance.

  "Hello, I am sure you understand who I am. I am here to speak with your leaders."

  The man gripped his hammer as if he wanted to rip my head off and part of me wanted him to try. I wanted him to give me a reason to attack but that would be unfair of me. I took a step forward and all six tensed. I had just started to manipulate my energy when the door opened a familiar squad stepped out. I gave a respectful nod to Chang Yi and his team. Who offered me a bow.

  "Governor Jackson we weren't aware that you were coming by today or else we would have provided a better reception. Is there something we can do to help you?"

  "As I explained to these people I need to speak with your leader. There is something I need from him. I would prefer not to do the conversation out here out of respect."

  Chang Yi's group looked at him clearly prepared to follow his lead. Part of me respected that. They were all scared but willing to fight anyway. Before a decision was made there was a shimmer in the energy around Chang Yi. At first, I thought he was preparing an attack but I quickly realized that wasn't the case. Instead, he was either using a communication ability or someone else had connected to him.

  "Alright, we have arranged a meeting room for you. If you would kindly follow me." He gave a polite bow and turned his back to me. The groups behind him parted and I followed. I stayed about five feet away from him to not scare him any further. The rest of their cultivators fell in ten feet behind me. The walk to the private room was quiet. Eyes lingered on me as we walked and more than a few side conversations began.

  None of them were important enough for me to care. The building had gone through a transformation of its own. There was a series of arrays that spread across every inch that I could see. The arrays weren't anything special and only made the building more durable. Even with the modifications most cultivators could rip the stone and wood apart with our bare hands so I wasn't sure what the point was. Secondary arrays controlled the things that made the place comfortable. Things like climate control, electricity, and fresh water. It represented an interesting combination of old and new.

  We arrived in a room, not unlike the one where we collected my auction winnings. Chang Yi and his group took up positions on either side of the door before he gestured for me to enter. "Someone will come and speak with you as soon as they are available. If there are any refreshments you need please let us know."

  I cocked my head at him as the fluctuations returned. I attempted to access them, hoping that it would let me hear the conversation but either I couldn't or I didn't know how. "Alright, sure" I stepped inside and the door shut behind me. The room was identical to the last one. It had no windows, there was a simple black table in the middle, a small couch, and two chairs to sit on. Yet for some reason my danger sense was active. It wasn't enough to make me panic, it was more like a dull ache or itch in the back of my mind.

  I gently and slowly expanded my soul sense throughout the room and then as far into the building as I could. I listened in on several conversations before I found the one that interested me. There was another meeting going on. Similar to the one I had a little while ago with my advisor. The more I listened the more amused I became. It appears that they were planning to do the same thing I was. Only they lacked the power to do it.

  Their plan to deal with that was poison. I turned my focus to the intricate patterns of vents that went through the building. There were four people currently placing some sort of alchemical solution into them. They had already blocked the vents that would lead away from this room which meant they had planned to do this already. Or they had done this to kill someone earlier. Either way, it didn't matter.

  It wasn't the poison that made my danger sense act up. Instead, it was a device in front of the former chief. It was covered in the densest array I had ever seen. The device looked like an old jewelry box made out of stone and wood only it was filled to the brim with energy. Based on their conversation the System provided them with a way to kill me. A bomb that could wipe out a country. The thought made me grin. The System would always provide a way. The only question was how should I play it. If that bomb went off there was no way I could protect the people here. I grinned to myself as I activated Apportation. It was time to crash a meeting.