While Lord Revelation filled his pockets and spread terror, Harun sat crossed-legged in meditation, interacting with his Karmic Tree.
"Lord Birusk, may your splendor guide the lost back to the holy path."
"Lord Birusk, please watch over my son's cultivation."
"Lord Birusk, several lads were ogling my daughter today. Can I snap them?"
"Lord Birusk, I want your babies!"
"..."
Harun stopped here. Although the Birusk clansmen were united in their fanatical devotion for their Spiritual Lord and Ancestor, on several topics, their thoughts differed. Some believed that given the chaos beyond clan land, they should impose their Lord's faith through any means possible—achieving long-term peace through short-term bloodshed. Others argued that tolerance of foreign thoughts were core values of the Birusk clan, and that a brutal takeover would undermine their foundational beliefs. Many more stayed out of such debates, trusting in their Lord's guidance only.
Granted, Harun didn't wish to become the leader of a world-oppressing cult, but his actions and methods showed where he stood on the moral compass. Whenever necessary, he didn't mind using dishonest tricks to achieve his goals—as long as they remained within certain boundaries. "Treat the ruthless ruthlessly," ranked high on his list of mottoes. But brutalizing a world into praying "Lord Birusk Almighty" was probably where he'd draw the line. To say nothing that Forced Attachment didn't help him in the slightest. Making them sing "All hail Harun the Magnificent, God-Emperor of Gluttony, Whip of Anarchy, Leader of the Free World," was much more reasonable. He had to temper the more bellicose clansmen before their thoughts led to catastrophes.
But as Harun's thoughts trailed off, knocking sounds brought him back to reality. Though annoyed, Harun let the dream-breaker in. One of the three lute-playing girls he saw earlier walked in. "Greetings, Spiritual Lord," the lady said with a polite bow.
"From You to Sir, and from Sir to Spiritual Lord. We've come a long way, Gulseni. Who knows, maybe tomorrow you'll call me Master," Harun said, and the lady's face twitched under her veil. This lady was none other than Gulseni's first Door God, or Goddess in this case, which she sent to the capital on Harun's orders. Formed in the Celestial Knight Realm by the transformation of totems into Divine Gates, unlike what the name implied, Door Gods were just avatars, and forever remained half-a-realm weaker than their creator.
Celestials often considered them the least useful of their boons on the Divine Path. However, only Door Gods could control the Divine Hosts of Ascending Gods and above—making them the number one generals at their masters' disposal. Ignoring Harun's pique, Gulseni summarized the reason for her visit.
"The Barbaric Demon Stronghold Master invited me to join him in the third range, alongside my entire sect, and become his primary consort."
She spoke the facts, not beating around the bush. The words made Harun's heart skip a beat. On the way to the Vermilion Brides Sect, did the Stronghold Master not come across his Treasure Land? And as if reading through his mind, Gulseni cleared that doubt.
"The Stronghold Master is a Heavenly God Realm expert, he can come and go through spatial rifts. You don't have to worry about that?" She comforted, yet felt the words slightly insulting. Could the Treasure Land's safety not compare to her sect's 800 ladies? Then again, Harun didn't owe them anything.
"Phew...I really need to figure out how to turn my home-base into a flying battleship or something. In any case, how are you feeling? Did he upset you in any way?" Harun inquired, startling Gulseni who hadn't expected this show of concern.
"Don't overthink. This is basic 'Boss-Subordinate' relationship. A good manager cares for his workers' mental health. Let's not lose our professionalism," Harun splashed cold water on Gulseni's thoughts. The fairy wanted to say that considering his relationship with Jiyan, Harun shouldn't speak such words with a straight face. But knowing that no good result would come from exposing this spiritual devil, she restrained herself.
"Besides his fondness for voluptuous women and feminized boys, the Barbaric Demon Stronghold Master is a well-known gentleman. How could he offend me?" Gulseni rhetorically asked. A legendary expert across all ranges, Xerzan, the Stronghold Master, was born with Heterochromatic Double Pupils, meaning that he automatically reached the Heavenly God Realm around 300. Thus, when he first appeared, no one questioned the roots of his formidable strength, but all were shocked to learn that he didn't belong to the Serpent Domain, and wanted nothing to do with them.
After defeating the top ten chosen of the Serpent Domain and butchering several Empyrean Monarchs of the Slaughter Syndicate, Xerzan was recognized as the undisputed number one of Heaven's junior generation, and established the Barbaric Demon Stronghold in the Third Range. Notoriously lazy and undisciplined, Xerzan's fame went down the drain when his untraditional sexual orientations and disturbing balls became public—not that he ever cared.
Rumors of his dealings with the Truth Scrying Grotto were the only things Gulseni could get her hands on, making her wonder if even those weren't leaked on purpose. Be that as it may, if there was one person she didn't wish to antagonize, it was Xerzan. His growth rate was at best terrifying, and perhaps in the nearby future, he'd match up to the likes of Silav, Dilnaz and Nakula.
Harun's thoughts were simpler. Xerzans were tumors. Ignoring them only helped inflate the disease. The only solution was to sever it at the roots. A pity that they were way too weak for such radical measures.
"As if we didn't have enough problems already. A polite rebuttal is probably the best option right now. If push comes to shove, I will hide you. We will deal with him in the future...if he doesn't die early, that is," Harun replied, and Gulseni agreed with the words. The Holy Lands built their peace treaty on ramshackle foundations. How long before it collapsed, and the war returned, more brutal than ever?
When it did, the likes of Xerzan that accumulated grievances like candies would stand among the first targets, and unless some hidden expert sheltered him, his fate looked grim.
…
The next three days passed without much disturbances. The tavern owner completed his task and left for the Birusk clan. Harun ensured that anyone that attempted to trail him ended in the reincarnation cycle.
Stirring the Golden Silkworms in his unaware victims, Harun stimulated their anti-monarch sentiments, gathering them all in an organized rebellion against the throne. The following two days saw waves of escalating protests that culminated in the looting of the royal barracks. Experts of the Soul Refining Hall and Immolation Blade Sect fanned the flames, while also carrying out coordinated attacks under the rebels' banner. On the next day, Mehran Hisyar, High King of the Dark Stone Country, announced that on his 79th birthday, he'd hold an Abdication Settlement; welcoming all officials, citizens or royals to present a better candidate, and plead their case.
The rioters thus remembered that they carried out all this looting on the eve of the monarch's birthday—some lamented the decline of the Hisyar Dynasty—others inwardly sneered. Faced with the world's indignation, even a monarch had to bow his head and seek compromises—or so they thought.
Believing that on this night, Mehran's true body would stand in the royal palace, the Soul Refining Hall and Immolation Blades surrounded it with their hidden forces, and dispatched several men to catch and lobotomize Mehran.
At the same time, Harun and Jiyan left the tavern and snuck into the royal palace.