World version update

Chapter 295 The Stars Return to Their Positions
The coronation ceremony came to a close with Elizabeth's earth-shattering declaration, "I am the monarchy!"

A strange silence permeated the hall, the deathly stillness after a storm, mixed with lingering fear and a trace of forcibly suppressed resentment and humiliation.

With everything settled, Elizabeth, the princess who was once underestimated, now stood at the pinnacle of power in the Kingdom of Victoria, wearing a platinum crown and holding the scepter of royal authority, with the undisputed presence of a queen.

Meanwhile, Lu Yan, the mastermind behind this earth-shattering upheaval, remained calmly seated on his golden throne, which seemed to transcend everything, as if returning the scepter that symbolized the kingdom's lifeline was merely handing over an insignificant toy.

For Lu Yan, this was indeed the case.

The core value of the Royal Scepter lies in its absolute suppression of those who transcend the path of royal power, and in its unique, incomplete nature.

The former can be borrowed or even forcibly taken whenever he needs it, while the latter does not directly benefit his own power system.

Returning it to Elizabeth was both a gesture of support and a necessary step, since he needed a legitimate representative to control the kingdom.

As for whether the situation will spiral out of control after the return of the royal scepter?

Lu Yan didn't care about this at all; in fact, one could say he was happy to see it happen.

Elizabeth is a smart woman, that much is certain.

She knew full well that her position was entirely due to Lu Yan's support. At this moment, the Kingdom of Victoria outwardly submitted to the new queen's majesty, but in secret, the vast majority of the old nobles and princes who held real power were extremely dissatisfied with her behavior, which was almost treasonous and groveled to foreign powers.

Not to mention her brothers and sisters who also had inheritance rights and were now hiding in the shadows cursing her.

Given the internal and external troubles and the unstable foundation, Elizabeth's wisest and only choice was to cling tightly to Lu Yan, a powerful figure, and use him and the unfathomable power of the underworld behind him to suppress domestic opposition and consolidate her rule.

Of course, Lu Yan also knew that with Elizabeth's skill and wisdom, as long as she had enough time and support, it was only a matter of time before she completely took control of the situation in the Kingdom of Victoria.

Simple intimidation and support may maintain loyalty for a time, but they cannot guarantee a long-term alliance.

So, at the height of her reign, Lu Yan offered her a tempting "pie in the sky" that would drive any ambitious person crazy.

The Path of the True God!

By analyzing the rules of the dead that he had mastered, and by coming into contact with multiple unique entities, including the Undying King, Lu Yan had gained a profound understanding of the essence of this mysterious version of the extraordinary path.

Every extraordinary path corresponds to a metaphysical source, perhaps a natural phenomenon, a social rule, or an ancient and powerful being.

If the root itself is not strong or complete enough to support the path extending to the top of the sequence, then the path is incomplete, and no matter how hard the extraordinary beings on it try, they will not be able to reach the realm of the true god.

Only those extraordinary paths that possess uniqueness have the potential to truly lead to Sequence 0 and enter the realm of true gods.

As Lu Yan revealed to Elizabeth, the path to royal power is precisely such a path with boundless potential.

It is found throughout the seven known human kingdoms and has an extremely broad audience base. The source of its power is not a specific god or being, but the ancient concept of class, which has existed since the dawn of human civilization.

The path to monarchy is closely related to the order of human civilization as a whole, and theoretically it has the potential to give birth to a true god who holds monarchical power.

However, the reality is cruel.

Perhaps it was due to the endless internal strife among humankind, or more likely it was because the seven true gods, who already occupied high positions on their thrones, did not want to see the emergence of an eighth god who was on par with them and might even threaten their rule.

The core symbolizing the completeness and uniqueness of the royal path, the original royal scepter, was somehow divided into seven parts, each incorporated into the heritage of one of the seven kingdoms, and transformed into the royal scepters held by each country today.

Each kingdom possesses only one-seventh of complete uniqueness.

This incomplete power is enough to support the extraordinary individuals who pass through it to reach the level of Sequence Two Earth Angels and establish a powerful secular kingdom, but that is all.

Sequence Two represents the limit that this divided path can reach. This also means that no matter how powerful these kingdoms are, they will ultimately be inferior to the seven churches that possess a true God and a complete lineage of transmission, and will be unable to truly achieve independence and transcendence of secular power.

The blueprint that Lu Yan described to Elizabeth was grand, yet filled with bloody temptations.

Conquering the other six kingdoms is not just about plundering land and wealth, but more importantly, about seizing the power and means of their inherited royal authority, as well as the other six scepters of kingship.

When the seven unique entities reunite and establish a vast empire encompassing an unprecedented level of mystery, the path to the throne of the true god of kingship may open for her.

If Lu Yan had said these words to Elizabeth before demonstrating his terrifying power—enough to suppress the Undying King and look down upon the Victorian royal family—she would have been shocked by such a secret.

Even if one believes in its authenticity, one would never dare to entertain any unrealistic thoughts.

Conquer all kingdoms? Unify the continent?

This is utterly delusional! The difficulty is beyond imagination, not to mention that the seven major churches would never sit idly by and watch a powerful empire rise that could threaten the very foundation of their faith.

But now, everything is different.

Having witnessed firsthand how Lu Yan easily trampled the entire Victorian royal family underfoot, how he forcibly pushed her, an unknown princess, onto the throne of Queen, and even how he could suppress a hidden evil god, all of this planted a seed called "possibility" in Elizabeth's heart.

Since the underworld possesses such terrifying power, it seems not entirely impossible for it to counterbalance or even confront the seven major churches.

If the underworld truly serves as her backing, then the path to the throne of the true god might no longer be an unattainable dream for her.

Lu Yan's true purpose was to ignite the burning flame of ambition in Elizabeth's heart, making her yearn for the path of the true god and thus rely more on Lu Yan and the Underworld for support.

This would not only ensure that Elizabeth would firmly maintain the guild's position and vigorously promote the belief in the underworld after he left this mysterious version, but also firmly bind the entire Kingdom of Victoria, and even other kingdoms that might be conquered in the future, to his chariot.

A queen whose ambition to become a god has been ignited will be his most loyal and powerful pawn.

As everything came to a perfect close, the preoccupied nobles and royals, like a receding tide, hastily withdrew from the hall that had witnessed history.

Many of them still bore the marks of shock and humiliation on their faces, and were eager to spread the sensational news that could cause an earthquake in seven countries.

Of course, a few astute or opportunistic nobles saw an opportunity to rise under the new order.

They tried to remain where they were after the crowd dispersed, hoping to immediately demonstrate their loyalty to the newly crowned Queen and secure a favorable position in the new dynasty. However, Elizabeth's eyes, which had just shone with ambition and majesty, now cast an undisguisedly cold and sharp gaze upon them, her gaze sweeping over them as if it were a tangible object.

The nobles immediately felt their bodies stiffen, as if frozen by invisible ice. Their awe made them quickly suppress their thoughts and dared not linger any longer.

After bowing respectfully, he quickly left the hall.

Within minutes, the once tense atmosphere in the magnificent palace hall was completely emptied.

All that remained were the cold beams and pillars, the magnificent carpets, and Lu Yan, who sat indifferently on the golden throne, with Elizabeth, who had just been crowned queen, standing before him.

As everything around them fell completely silent, only the sound of their breathing could be heard.

Elizabeth slowly turned around and looked at Lu Yan on the golden throne to her side. The majesty and ambition that had just been enough to command the world on her beautiful face receded like the tide, replaced by an almost fanatical reverence and obedience that could not be described in words.

The royal scepter, symbolizing the kingdom's supreme power, was carelessly tossed onto the velvet carpet with a dull thud.

The elaborate and luxurious queen's robe, a symbol of her supreme status, gradually faded away in a soft light, revealing a more form-fitting silk petticoat underneath, outlining her graceful and exquisite curves.

Elizabeth's coldness and decisiveness were replaced by a gentle and passionate allure. Her slender and well-proportioned figure knelt down before the golden throne once again, more thoroughly than ever before, her forehead almost touching the cold ground.

"Elizabeth can never repay all that you have given me."

Her voice trembled slightly, filled with excitement and surrender, "I offer you my soul, my body, everything I have and everything I will have!"

Time flies by like a flash.

With Elizabeth ascending the throne and demonstrating absolute loyalty to Lu Yan, everything in the Kingdom of Victoria seemed to be put on fast-forward.

The development of the guilds was unstoppable. With Her Majesty the Queen’s personal instruction and the strong support of the Kingdom’s government, the guilds, which were originally limited to a few major cities, quickly spread throughout the country, absorbing a large number of artisans, commoners and even some disillusioned knights. Their scale and influence grew explosively.

The spread of the underworld belief was made public, and Elizabeth even personally ordered the construction of underworld temples throughout the kingdom, overseen by the guilds, and the diversion of some resources that originally belonged to the Steam Cult.

The Steam Cult remained silent, seemingly tacitly acquiescing to the expansion of the underworld faith. Suddenly, Lu Yan's plans in the Victoria Kingdom faced no further obstacles and progressed more smoothly than imagined.

The rapidly growing size of the unions provided a large base of believers for the underworld faith, while the support of the kingdom's official government provided legitimacy and resource allocation.

These two factors acted as the most effective catalysts, allowing Anna, as the spokesperson for the underworld in the modern era, to absorb the power of the Sequence Seven Judge of Sins extremely quickly.

Her aura grew increasingly deep, and she seemed to be only one step away from Sequence Six of the Underworld Path.

Lu Yan was even able to vaguely touch upon the incomplete information of Sequence Six through his contact with Anna.

Furthermore, a clear, unseen sense told Lu Yan that once Anna successfully advanced to Sequence Six, he could formally incorporate the six thousand Yin Soldiers at the peak of Foundation Establishment into the Underworld's sequence system, granting them greater power and a more complete order.

This is undoubtedly a huge improvement and enhancement for the Divine Court and the Underworld, which are still in their infancy.

Everything was progressing in the most perfect direction he had envisioned: the guild was growing stronger and the faith was spreading, Anna was about to be promoted, and the Underworld system was about to undergo a qualitative change.

Queen Elizabeth also showed unwavering submission, longing every day to receive the teachings of the Lord of the Underworld.

But for some reason, a faint unease lingered in Lu Yan's heart.

As time went by, this unease did not dissipate; instead, it grew silently, like a vine taking root deep in the soul.

When Lu Yan tried to calm down and trace the source of this unease, he found that it was as invisible and intangible as the fog that shrouded the world, and he could not find its trace at all.

It was as if the danger did not come from a specific enemy or event, but from something grander and more fundamental.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Yan has been in the Mysterious version for five months, and the version update progress bar has reached 84%.

With only about a month left, the next version update will be coming soon.

Night fell quietly, and deep darkness enveloped the royal capital of Victoria.

Standing on the rooftop terrace of the palace, Lu Yan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing intently at the star-studded night sky.

Even though everything was progressing steadily and becoming better, the unease in his heart reached an unprecedented peak tonight.

He keenly sensed that some major, uncontrollable event was about to occur tonight.

At this moment, a sudden change occurred!
Above the night sky, the once tranquil stars suddenly began to shine with an unprecedented brilliance.

Then, the numerous stars in the celestial sphere began to move slowly at a speed visible to the naked eye. They were no longer scattered randomly, but seemed to follow some ancient and sacred trajectory, returning to their original and correct original positions that they should have existed hundreds of millions of years ago.

At the same time, Lu Yan suddenly felt that the mist that had been shrouding the entire mysterious version was also rapidly dissipating at a visible speed under the strange phenomenon of the stars returning to their positions.

The fundamental laws of this world, which had been obscured and distorted by the mist for so long, were now showing signs of re-emerging.

Lu Yan's pupils suddenly contracted. At this moment, looking at the stars returning to their places on their own and feeling the layers of mist peeling away, he suddenly realized what he had been ignoring all this time.

The source of that unease finally became clear in his perception.

"If it is in a deep sleep, it will eventually awaken."

One after another, magnificent and awe-inspiring wills enveloped the heavens and earth; even the fluctuations of consciousness on the eve of awakening shone like the blazing sun.

Within the Church of the Seven Gods, countless whispers, like the chanting of believers, resounded.

"The stars have returned to their places, and the gods have awakened!"

(End of this chapter)