Chapter 1046 - 456: Consensus

"Among the tools for maintaining stable governance, law is not the only powerful means; beneath the law, there is consensus."

"Law and consensus are both indispensable. Without law, it’s self-explanatory; without consensus, enforcement costs will greatly increase, causing society to tilt towards collapse. The trouble is, building consensus is difficult, but dismantling it takes only a moment."

"Ah—can’t understand—" Martial Extreme King yawned.

Longevity King said, "Is it really that complicated? Identify our enemies, whether Outer Realm Demons or other Celestial Kings, it doesn’t matter. They don’t dare confront us directly; there’s no one on Huaxia’s network who can be our match. Defeat them and then cleanse public opinion."

King of Slaughter looked at the two still feigning ignorance and sighed, "Let’s use an example: the prohibition of private transactions of Cause and Effect Points is an explicit legal regulation and one of the most important rules for us, as it affects our annual income of Cause and Effect Points."

"But this rule is only effective for Low Tier Awakened; it’s due to consensus. Low Tier Awakened know that the Investigation Bureau constantly monitors, so they hardly dare take risks, even though the Investigation Bureau cannot really oversee such a vast number of transactions. But High Tier Awakened know these rules only restrict the lower tiers. The Investigation Bureau won’t investigate them, so they trade recklessly; this is consensus."

"The brotherhood in your guild is consensus, the contractual spirit of the consortium is also consensus, and our Celestial King’s image is even more consensus! But now, someone is trying to undermine this consensus... When people’s hearts turn against us, the number of secret Cause and Effect Point traders will rise sharply. When they realize we can’t truly monitor and only use some deterrent means, this rule will be ignored."

"And real-life examples don’t stop there... To sound alarmist, the entire social order may collapse! Even the military might not be willing to fight!"

King of Slaughter’s expression was serious; as the actual manager of the military, he knows better than anyone the importance of consensus. If connection is only through interests and not consensus, then the invincible army will just turn into a disorganized bandit clan!

"Manipulating public opinion regarding an already established consensus will only have the opposite effect. This you both ought to know. We hope to reach a clear plan, rather than continue discussing nonsense here."

King of Slaughter’s words made Martial Extreme King and Longevity King exchange glances but neither spoke.

Seeing this, King of Slaughter raised his thick brows, like a lion about to unleash its fury, but at this moment, two light knocks sounded in the room.

The Venerable Supreme remained calm in appearance, lightly tapped the table with his hand twice, and spoke softly to the three Celestial Kings: "Huaxia’s resource gathering, the basic policy of supporting the three of you to break through, will not change. The government will not seize the opportunity to take action against you."

When he finished speaking, the two Celestial Kings finally broke their silence.

"What about the populace?" Longevity King asked.

"They may oppose you in their hearts, but... this opposition didn’t start today. Foreign oppression is harsher than yours; the Wizard Council’s sun, the Northern Federation’s Celestial God, the Conquering King is still stirring up conflict... Which one isn’t merciless?"

"What about consensus?" Martial Extreme King asked.

"In ancient times, there were three methods for maintaining military morale: invincibility, shared goals, and offering great rewards. The first two aren’t achievable right now, so that leaves only the third."

The Venerable Supreme slowly lifted his gaze: "You’ve consumed well enough over the years; it’s time to give back a bit."