The Four Types of Factions in the Real World

【“The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts!!”】

【You stood in the sky above the headquarters of the Winged God Cult on Fortune Star, a place so large it could be regarded as a city, and waved the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls in your hand.】

【Countless demon souls surged out with ear-piercing howls, blotting out the sky and covering the sun. The entire city was plunged into darkness.】

【Like a massive wave, the demon souls swept across the entire city from east to west.】

【They would not damage any inorganic structures, but they could force every living being out.】

【Put simply, the city’s buildings and belongings would remain intact, while all the Winged God Cult members and alien residents living there would be driven out.】

【As for how they would survive after being expelled from the city?】

【Well, life always finds a way.】

【You had Treasure-Seeking Granny, the High Priest, and ten Cardinals remain in the city.】

【Treasure-Seeking Granny looked at the enormous castle you had prepared for her and said,】

【“So, what exactly do you want me to refine for you? If you need a large quantity, I’m afraid I’ll have to start preparing in advance. At the very least, I’ll need to gather the materials.”】

【You were quite satisfied to see the Old Hag enter work mode so quickly.】

【“I respect talent. There’s no need for someone as technically skilled as you to collect materials yourself. There are plenty of laborers outside.”】

【You were referring to the group of aliens who had just been driven out of the city.】

【“The main things I need you to refine are weapons and armor for low-level cultivators and even ordinary mortals. I want these weapons to pose a certain threat to Core Formation cultivators, even when wielded by mortals. As for the armor, it must be capable of withstanding a full-power strike from a Core Formation cultivator and preventing the wearer from dying on the spot.”】

【“Your requirements are a little too high.”】

【“If I were willing to settle for any ordinary artifact refiner, why would I have kept you around?”】

【“I’ll need to think carefully about how to do this. I may need some rare materials, and they might not exist on this planet…”】

【“Don’t worry. Even if they aren’t found on this planet, I’m sure they exist somewhere in this star system. I’ll soon be visiting every planet under the Winged God Cult. You only need to stay here and focus on figuring out how to refine the artifacts or spirit treasures I need.”】

【As he spoke, you snapped your fingers, summoning Chen One.】

【Your current appearance had been edited through “Who Am I?” It was even more handsome than your original face, while also carrying an added air of ruggedness and decisiveness.】

【The most distinctive feature was—your red hair!】

【The Red-Haired Demon Slayer had made a limited-time return.】

【However, clones such as Chen One and Chen Two still retained your original appearance, so they looked different from you.】

【Treasure-Seeking Granny scrutinized Chen One for a few moments and discovered that his cultivation was only that of an acquired martial artist.】

【“What do you mean by placing him here?”】

【“To keep an eye on you, in case you try to escape.”】

【“Him? He’s merely an acquired martial artist. To me, he’s no different from an ordinary mortal. In fact, he’s even weaker than one—a decrepit old man.”】

【Chen One was displeased by those words.】

【“Hey, you Old Hag! Who are you looking down on? Don’t bully an old man just because he’s poor!”】

【You shoved Chen One aside.】

【“With him here, I’ll know immediately if anything happens, no matter what kind of disturbance occurs. He may not be able to stop you, but I can. You’re welcome to try.”】

【You naturally had not placed the slightest bit of trust in Treasure-Seeking Granny.】

【Even when she had just said she needed to prepare the materials, you had refused to let her leave, precisely to prevent her from taking the opportunity to escape.】

【After making arrangements for the Old Hag, you went to the city’s prison and met the High Priest and the ten Cardinals confined there.】

【“Well? Are you satisfied with the prison you designed yourselves?”】

【In this gloomy, damp dungeon, whose walls were covered in dark-red bloodstains, who knew how many human rebels and insurgents had been persecuted to death?】

【You could almost see their spirits lingering in the dungeon, wandering about and refusing to disperse.】

【You picked up some of the instruments of torture in the prison and toyed with them with interest.】

【These instruments were no ordinary objects. Every one of them was a magical artifact.】

【The High Priest smiled obsequiously.】

【“Mighty one, whatever information you need, we’ll cooperate fully. We’ll tell you everything we know! There’s no need to use these little toys on us.”】

【You tossed the torture instruments aside and raised your chin slightly, looking down haughtily at the men who had once stood at the absolute pinnacle of power on this planet.】

【“Don’t lump me together with the likes of you! I have no interest in abusing others. If I wanted you dead, you’d already be swimming in the Soul Sea of the Netherworld!”】

【“Yes, yes, of course. The mighty one is upright and honorable. We truly admire you…”】

【“Tell me about the Winged God Cult’s organizational structure, personnel composition, distribution of power, level of armament, intelligence network…”】

【“Y-You’ll have to slow down. We’ll explain everything one point at a time.”】

【“Then let’s begin with the organizational structure.”】

【“Yes. The Winged God Cult is one of the hundred great churches of the Southern Star Sector. It currently has a stellar-level territory and rules over the Eclosion Star System, including the Fortune Star beneath our feet.】

【“Eclosion Star is a star. It has three third-tier planets, one second-tier planet, and six lifeless planets. The level of immortal energy on those lifeless planets is also equivalent to that of third-tier planets.】

【“The Winged God Cult’s main headquarters is located on the second-tier planet, Lingwei Star…”】

【“Church” is one of the classifications of powers in the Material Realm.】

【The powers of the Material Realm can generally be divided into four types.】

【The first is the church. It takes the form of a religious organization, worships some god—real or imagined—gathers a group of cultivators, and uses its doctrines to rule and manage its members as well as the common people within its territory.】

【The Winged God Cult is one such church. In the Southern Star Sector of the Milky Way’s native galaxy, there are one hundred relatively powerful churches capable of reaching the stellar level. These are known as the Hundred Great Churches.】

【The second is the Immortal Kingdom, similar to the nations of the Mortal Realm. It has emperors, ministers, generals, armies, central governments, local governments, and so on.】

【Any power that can be called an Immortal Kingdom has generally reached the star-realm level and governs multiple star systems.】

【For example, the Ares Immortal Kingdom, where you are currently located.】

【Some planets and star systems also have powers organized as nations, but they are usually insignificant and are essentially vassals of an Immortal Kingdom or some greater power.】

【Judging by its level of authority, the Winged God Cult actually falls under the jurisdiction of the Ares Immortal Kingdom, since the Eclosion Star System lies within Ares territory.】

【The third is the Immortal Court, a transcendent cultivation organization that stands above churches and nations.】

【They are often subject to no one’s control and may establish rules of their own.】

【Some possess territory, while others do not. Those that possess territory all control at least one entire planet.】

【The Sacred Dragon Association is an Immortal Court, and one with territory at that. Its territory encompasses the entire Milky Way’s native galaxy.】