One Piece: Ascending the Divine Path

The back garden of the royal palace in the Kingdom of Dunas.

The spacious garden, now bursting with blooming flowers, was packed with people, all dressed in fine clothes, chatting in small groups.

John was one of them.

He is forty-two years old and is the mayor of Dongshan Town in the Kingdom of Dunas.

Although he was just a town mayor, in this small country with only five million people and just one city, he was already considered a mid-level bureaucrat, managing more than 20,000 people under his command.

Yesterday, John suddenly received a notice from his superiors to come to the palace, so early this morning, he came with the town's deputy mayor, sheriff, treasurer, and tax collector.

The other people in the garden were similar to John and his companions; they were all mid-level bureaucrats in the country, and all held powerful management positions.

So, what exactly is this all about?

John wondered what kind of important matter could warrant summoning all the middle-level managers.

He asked other people, but they knew nothing about it either.

Just then, a well-dressed old man walked into the garden.

John and the other bureaucrats immediately adopted respectful expressions and greeted the old man, "Mr. Thomas!"

The visitor was the country's chief minister of state affairs, and the most powerful person in the country besides King Gaston.

Thomas, the old man, glanced around as if counting the number of people, then nodded slightly. "Almost everyone's here, so I won't waste any more words."

"I know you all have doubts, but I can tell you first that it's not a bad thing."

A subtle smile appeared on the old man's face. "Or rather, quite the opposite, it's a good thing, a very good thing!"

good thing?

John looked somewhat bewildered.

As we all know, when a leader says there's something good going on, it usually means they want you to contribute.

"Next, you will be taken to another world, but don't panic!"

Minister Thomas said, "Someone is over there guiding you; you just need to listen quietly!"

Another world?

John's mouth was slightly agape.

What happened?

Does Minister Thomas suffer from dementia?

What exactly is he saying?

Just as they were wondering, they saw Minister Thomas respectfully bow towards the high terrace on one side of the garden and call out, "My lord, thank you for your help."

John subconsciously looked up.

There are people on the terrace, but they can't be seen clearly because of the obstruction.

Consciousness was rapidly plunging into darkness.

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John swayed and collapsed to the ground.

What's wrong?

"Um?"

John suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"What?"

John was utterly shocked the moment he saw his surroundings clearly.

It is the new world in the literal sense!

He arrived at a completely unfamiliar place, which appeared to be a wide square surrounded by tall buildings he had never seen before.

Around him, many of his colleagues arrived, and everyone was stunned into silence.

"What on earth is going on?! What happened?!"

"Where have we been taken? Is this still in China?"

"Is this the new world that Lord Thomas spoke of?"

John was no less shocked than his colleagues, but he remembered what Thomas had said: this was a good thing.

Mr. Thomas, is there really no need for us to lie to them?

"Quiet down."

At that moment, a familiar voice descended from the sky.

John and everyone else instinctively looked up and saw the man standing in the sky.

Almost instinctively, everyone knelt down.

"Your Majesty!"

The man standing in the sky is none other than His Majesty Gaston, the hero-king of this nation!

So, when Mr. Thomas mentioned someone providing guidance, he was referring to His Majesty Gaston?

But how can His Majesty the King fly?

"Alright, get up, everyone."

The king's voice boomed down, "I'll get straight to the point."

John obediently stood up and listened respectfully to His Majesty the King's speech.

"The name of this city is Dream City!"

John heard the king say, "It was the great Night King who took pity on our misery in the real world and created this paradise for us!"

Everyone was stunned by that one short sentence.

City of Dreams?

Lord Night King?

The real world?

paradise?

John felt only confusion.

"Don't worry about whether this world is real or fake. All you need to know is that you can get everything you want in this world!"

His Majesty the King's voice was impassioned, and his expression was one of boundless excitement: "Enjoy yourselves to the fullest, let loose, and revel in the dreamlike life that the Night King has bestowed upon you!"

"But before that, you need to get your tickets."

At that moment, clusters of light appeared before everyone.

John stared at the ball of light before him. What was that?

"Catch them."

The king's voice came, "Then accept it wholeheartedly."

Is this a dream life?

With this thought in mind, John's body, unable to disobey the king's command, instinctively reached out and grabbed the ball of light.

The ball of light merged into his body.

Something seems to have changed, but I can't feel anything at all.

No, my brain has a lot more information now!

Are you introducing this city?

"very good!"

The king in the sky nodded in satisfaction, "In this way, you will automatically enter this world every time you fall asleep, no matter where you are."

"You can leave this world at any time, or your physical body in the real world may be impacted and cause you to leave."

"You can stay for eight hours each day. Remember, work hard for me during the day; you can only come in at night!"

The king explained the rules, but John and the others only felt a sense of unreality.

Are the information in my mind and His Majesty's words really true?

"The reason I'm letting you enter this world first is so that everyone in the country can later enter Dream City! Your job then will be the same as mine now: maintain order and guide the people!"

"As for now,"

The king grinned. "Dismissed! You may now enjoy the beauty of this world to your heart's content!"

After leaving behind these words, the king disappeared into the sky.

Only a few stunned people remained in the square.

A few seconds later, a hesitant voice finally rang out.

"So many things came to mind: this city has endless delicious food, countless fine wines, and a plethora of beautiful women; beyond the city, there are countless breathtaking landscapes..."

"Your Majesty, you wouldn't lie to us, would you?"

"Shall we go take a look?"

The sounds gradually increased and became louder.

"Then let's go take a look!!"

People immediately began to move out of the square in small groups, ready to explore a brand new world.

John looked at his colleagues, who were from the same small town, and tentatively suggested, "How about we go take a look?"

"have a look!"

So, the group of people set off into the city together.

"It's so clean."

Walking down the wide street, John couldn't help but marvel.

The wide streets were spotless; there wasn't a speck of trash, not even a speck of dust.

"Look!"

The town's tax collector, a somewhat plump man with a round face, glasses, and a short beard, walked up to a tree in surprise. "It's laden with fruit!"

John looked up and saw that the tree was indeed laden with fruit.

but.

"Isn't something wrong?"

John couldn't help but say.

The tree was laden with apples, pears, peaches, grapes, strawberries, and even watermelons...

No, how do watermelons, strawberries, and grapes grow on trees?

"Haha, who cares!"

The sheriff chuckled, reached out and picked an apple, wiped it, and took a bite.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

His eyes lit up immediately. "I've never eaten such delicious apples before!"

"I'll try some too!!"

Then, the group continued strolling around, each carrying a pile of fruit.

There are many shops along the street.

Jewelry, gold and silver, clothing, furs, shoes...

The group explored the entire area with great enthusiasm.

They could take anything from the shops at will, and soon, everyone looked brand new.

"Hey, how about we try the food in this world?"

The finance officer, who said this while pointing to a restaurant not far away, said that the food was already delicious.

"OK!"

The group happily went.

Several people were already dining in the restaurant, and they smiled and told John and his friends that the food was excellent.

As a result, the group became even more excited.

They found a seat and opened the thick, dictionary-like menu.

"What is this dish?"

"Never heard of this dish before?"

"We won't get full anyway, so let's bring out all the dishes!"

"And wine! I want to taste the wines of this world!"

The Kingdom of Dunas is an agricultural country. Its agricultural products are relatively plentiful, but they are by no means comprehensive, not to mention those things that are not produced locally.

Therefore, it is only natural.

"Wow! Delicious! What kind of meat is this?"

"It looks like dinosaur meat."

"This wine is so rich and flavorful! I've never tasted such a delicious wine before!"

The group was completely absorbed in it.

Several hours later, the group finally emerged from the restaurant, completely satisfied.

"Endless delicious food, inexhaustible fine wine, and countless beauties to enjoy."

The sheriff suddenly spoke thoughtfully, "You've enjoyed the delicious food and the fine wine, so..."

The group chuckled together.

John couldn't help but smile.

Mr. Thomas and His Majesty the King are absolutely right!

This world is so wonderful!

His own living conditions were already considered quite good in the Kingdom of Dunas, yet he still lingered there, so what about the impoverished commoners?

No wonder we can only stay for eight hours a day.

At this moment, the tax official pushed up his glasses and said, "You know me, but do you not know whether 'beauty' includes handsome men?"

The remaining few people's mouths twitched.

A higher dimension of the dream world.

Knight lay on Luna's full thighs, yawning weakly. "Next up are the ordinary civilians. It's going to be a huge undertaking."

"Given the current situation, it will take at least a year to turn everyone into hubs."

Luna responded.

Neither drawing people into dreams nor creating hubs is without limits.

With Knight and Luna's mental power, the number of people they can pull into the dream world each day is limited, and the number of hubs they can create is also limited.

At most, it's only ten or twenty thousand a day.

"Take your time."

Knight said, "The more hubs there are, the more connected they are to the real world, and the easier it becomes to create hubs."

"As for drawing people into dreams, we can just upgrade the permissions of other people."

There's no need to elevate them to the level of Luna, who has the authority to modify the dream world. Just grant the other executives the authority to lure people into dreams.

"Understood."

Luna nodded gently.

"Next, Dream City becomes a bit too small."

Knight muttered to himself, "First, expand Dream City according to the terrain of the Kingdom of Dunas, and then create small satellite towns."

"To facilitate people's transportation, portals should also be installed."

"Once the number of participants increases, it's time to add the cultural and entertainment module."

Let the people who enter the dream world create their own spiritual culture, literature, music, film and television, and even games. A country with more than five million people certainly has no shortage of talent in this area.

In this way, the world can become more colorful and more fascinating.

As for how to stimulate people's creative enthusiasm, it's very simple: just set up a currency.

In the dream world, resources are unlimited, so currency cannot be used to buy things. Hmm, let's add a customization module. By spending currency, you can enjoy various customized services.

With enough money, even ordinary people can have a private, customized dream world, just like officials.

However, these things are not urgent for now; we'll discuss them once we have a large enough pool of participants.

"The foundation of all this is that the country must have a safe environment."

Knight said, "Make those guys watch out, and don't let anyone come and destroy this country."

That's why we brought those guys out of Impel Down.

As I've said before, everyone in this country is a precious asset.

Wow, is there another boss in this world as kind and considerate as myself? I love it!

"Yes, Lord Knight."