NOVPUB
Chapter 483: 479
Managing the livelihoods of tens of millions of people is no simple task.
Even with the assistance of the more than a thousand people brought by Liu Feiyun, and later the addition of disciples from the Li Yang Cave Heaven to help maintain order, it still took three days.
Leave professional matters to professionals.
Gu Jinlai did not interfere with these personnel arrangements.
Moreover...
Thanks to the Demon Kingdom’s plans to keep these tens of millions of people in captivity for the long term, the living conditions of these 1,040,000 individuals were not as miserable as one might imagine.
It could not even be said that they were starving or living day to day.
Several Demon Emperors have devised two strict promotion systems.
One system, for compliant citizens.
Everyone willingly accepts the dominion of the demons, governing the tens of millions of humans.
They were not only able to practice cultivation and martial arts, take up official positions managing these million citizens, but also enjoy relatively good healthcare and education.
The education, however, was focused mainly on literacy with any projects related to martial might almost completely banned.
There was also another system, referred to by Qi Yunxiao and Zhao Yushu as the Defiant System.
The demons would turn a blind eye to a group of people secretly practicing martial arts and cultivation, stepping into the path of awakening the populace, calling them to resist the demons, and repeatedly fighting with them.
Sometimes they would even deliberately hand over some completely beast instinct-driven demons for them to kill, to serve as motivation for their resistance.
They were like high judges, watching the continual strife among human forces from above.
They would give the Human Clan hope, then bring them despair.
Making these people suffer and waver between these two emotions, ultimately producing deliciously spiritual essence for them to enjoy.
This approach was about sustainability.
So, unless there was a sudden influx of a large foreign population, the demons would not carry out large-scale genocide.
...
At this moment, Liu Feiyun was reporting to Gu Jinlai, "Over these past few days, we have re-registered 1,040,000 people. Most of them are common folk, but the number of cultivators is not insignificant."
As she spoke, she added, "Yes, cultivators. Among these cultivators, there are nearly ten thousand at the Hugging Pill level."
"Ten thousand Hugging Pills?"
Gu Jinlai was somewhat surprised, then something came to mind, "Are they those who have only reached the Perfection of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, the Fake Pills?"
"Yes."
Liu Feiyun nodded her head.
Decades ago, the Demon Realm had already developed a cultivation system tailored for this world.
The Hugging Pill practitioners concerned themselves only with Perfect Essence, Qi, and Spirit, the Refiners only developed their Divine Sense, Devas could control the power of Heaven and Earth within a span of a hundred meters at most, and had no idea what Divine Skills were.
And Saints were shaped from materials such as Thunder Spirit Stone and Thunder Spirit Wood.
These Saint Bodies had a certain probability of surviving Heavenly Tribulation, but in terms of defensive power, they could hardly withstand flying swords imbued with Sharpness and Breaking the sky traits.
The reason the demons put so much effort into the human cultivator system on one hand was to weaken the system, and on the other hand, it was because the more powerful the living being, the more delicious their "Spirit" would taste.
Especially the Perfect Essence, Qi, Spirit of Hugging Pill Realm, the Divine Sense of Refining God Realm, the Spiritual Sublimation of Devas Realm, as well as the Undying Will of Saints...
To the Demon Spirits, these were all considered supreme delicacies.
Of course, the most delicious of all was the Heavenly Monarch True Spirit.
But the demons harbored a deep fear of the Heavenly Master lineage; a fear that couldn’t be overcome in a mere century, so they didn’t dare allow the Heavenly Master Path to grow powerful.
Heavenly Masters in confinement were no exception.
"These tens of thousands of people, their path of cultivation has almost been completely severed..."
Liu Feiyun said.
"Wait a second."
Gu Jinlai stretched out his hand, "But their Essence, Qi, and Spirit are indeed perfected, right?"
"Yes."
"Before the Martial Artist System emerged, cultivators who had achieved Perfect Essence, Qi, and Spirit had two paths to choose from after. One, to condense Divine Thoughts to achieve Refining God, the other, was Qi Refining and God Transformation to cultivate Divine Sense."
Gu Jinlai pondered, "Should we guide them to take the path of the Heavenly Master?"
"The path of the Heavenly Master?"
Liu Feiyun was startled, then quickly said, "I’m afraid that’s not feasible. From what we understand, there’s a fragile balance between the Holy Dynasty and the demons. The Holy Dynasty cannot move against the demons, and the demons would also incur a great cost to destroy the dynasty. It seems that the demons believe their power will keep growing over time, so they don’t rush to exterminate the dynasty, which gave it a chance to breathe. But the Heavenly Master is a taboo for demons, and if we let a large number of cultivators switch to cultivating the Heavenly Master lineage, it would definitely trigger a thunderous and devastating attack from the demons."
"So if we don’t let these people switch to cultivating the path of the Heavenly Master, the demons will turn a blind eye?"
Gu Jinlai said, "Don’t forget, conquering the Chi Long Territory, slaying four Demon Emperors and dozens of Demon Kings, this is undoubtedly a direct provocation to the demons. The Dragon Tears Demon Emperor behind the Chi Long Territory will certainly not let it go..."
He looked at Liu Feiyun, "You are also aware of this point."
Liu Feiyun opened her mouth.
Of course she was aware.
However, in order to rescue the survivors of the Li Yang Cave Heaven, she dared not bring it up.
Fearing that if she brought it up, Gu Jinlai might, like other Saints and Martial Saints, shy away from involvement due to his wariness of devils.
This was her selfish desire.
Unexpectedly...
Gu Jinlai was well aware in his heart.
"Besides, have you thought about how these ten million people are to be settled?"
Gu Jinlai said, "Should they be placed in Liuhuo City, Wind and Rain City, or Hai Feng City?"
A trace of sadness flashed in Liu Feiyun’s eyes.
She knew the real reason why Gu Jinlai was asking her this question.
Because of these ten million people, the attack on Chi Long Territory would inevitably invite the Dragon Tears Demon Emperor’s retaliation.
As expected, whichever city took in these ten million people would be the Dragon Tears Demon Emperor’s primary target for revenge.
In such a situation, whether it be Liuhuo City, Wind and Rain City, or Hai Feng City, who would dare to take them in?
"It’s better to rely on oneself than on others."
Gu Jinlai said.
"But if we don’t find a city to shelter them, leaving these ten million people to fend for themselves in the wilderness, they would quickly collapse under the attack of devils..."
Liu Feiyun said this, and a hint of pain flashed in her eyes. "Moreover, Chi Long Territory has existed for over a decade. In these years, Chi Long Territory has had two factions. Through the humans, devils have been spreading propaganda, and more than a million people are almost completely under the devils’ control, even seeing us as invaders... They believe that devils are a symbol, a spiritual totem, their appearance is to liberate them. And they keep proclaiming that the Holy Dynasty cities are oppressive to the populace... Although it’s only been over a decade, those millions have already been thoroughly brainwashed... They feel... feel..."
"Feel what?"
"Some of them feel that humanity should avoid war and live in peace with devils, while others even think that it doesn’t matter under whose rule they live. They might have a better life under devil rule..."
As she said this, Liu Feiyun’s voice paused: "Those devils pushed many of the devoured Human Clan onto the Resistance Army."
Listening to what Liu Feiyun said, Gu Jinlai couldn’t help but feel as if he had seen a similar scene before.
"In fact, since we fled from Li Yang Cave Heaven over the years, we’ve seen too many similar scenarios."
Liu Feiyun sighed: "Devils are not fools. Their goal is to domesticate the Human Clan, using us as sustenance for their advancement. Chi Long Territory’s propaganda has only been going on for over a decade, and many people are still rational. Some have been domesticated for decades, even nearly a century, and in those countries, the history of the Human Clan has already been altered."
The pain in the voice of this true inheritor from Li Yang Cave Heaven was evident: "They no longer appeared as invaders, but as saviors. They have saved countless of the Human Clan, allowing them to escape a life of oppression by cultivators and major sects, ushering in a new era... The older generation still remembers the truth, but the new generation of Human Clan, educated since birth, spontaneously consider themselves members of the Demon Kingdom, ready to defend their nation, to resist those of the same clan who wish to destroy their way of life, willingly shedding their blood and sacrificing their heads..."
Gu Jinlai, hearing what Liu Feiyun said, sighed in his heart but also understood that this was not alarmist talk.
Invaders never tell the enemy they are invaders.
Devils are no exception.
In the early days of the devil chaos in Qiantian, there were people who claimed that although devils are frightening, not every devil is evil incarnate.
There are good devils among them.
As creatures of the world, the Human Clan must learn to coexist peacefully with devils.
It was precisely because of these "seductive" people that, in the early days, Qiantian did not take the appearance of devils seriously.
Add to that the chaos caused by Heavenly Immortal Palace, the battles between Emperor Tianji, Emperor Master Tai A, Master Wushi, Abyss Lord, and Wuying—five Earthly True Immortals with Divine Weapons that turned the sky and earth dark, eventually allowing the devils to gain a foothold and quickly grow in strength, nearly wiping out the Qiantian Heavenly Masters.
Had it not been for Jiang Tianji realizing the threat of devils later, ascending to power, and issuing the order to "kill all devils without distinction of good or evil," Qiantian might not have lasted till today.
"Ultimately, those completely brainwashed are in the minority."
After a while, Gu Jinlai spoke again: "The majority of people are still able to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, and for the settlement of the remaining people..."
His gaze turned towards Liu Feiyun.
Recalling the astonishing strength Gu Jinlai displayed single-handedly against Chi Long Territory just a few days ago...
Liu Feiyun made up her mind.
"Regardless of whatever decision the Ancient Martial Saint makes, we of Li Yang Cave Heaven will do our utmost to support the Ancient Martial Saint and assist you in your endeavors," she said firmly.
"Good, with your words, I’m assured."
Gu Jinlai nodded.
"So the arrangement for these ten million people..."
"Take them to Wind and Rain City."
Gu Jinlai said directly.
"Wind and Rain City?"
Liu Feiyun was slightly taken aback: "But Zhao Hua, the lord of Wind and Rain City... might not be willing to take in these ten million people."
"I am the Chief of the Outer City District of Wind and Rain City, and it’s my duty to receive and settle the displaced people," Gu Jinlai said with a cold laugh. "Moreover, when I took over as the Chief of the Outer City District, Wu Tianya, one of the leading figures of Wind and Rain City, had said that I need to increase the city’s population by one-tenth. Ten million and forty thousand people? The more, the better." 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Will he help us against the Dragon Tears Demon Emperor backing Chi Long Territory for these ten million people?"
Liu Feiyun asked, somewhat worried.
"Sheltering the populace is a duty and obligation that every City Lord must fulfill! If this Zhao Hua can’t even protect his own city’s citizens, what is he doing as the National Guardian Saint, being the lord of Wind and Rain City!?"
Gu Jinlai’s voice rang out strongly: "According to the laws of the Holy Dynasty, if the upper echelons of the city turn a blind eye to the demons oppressing the citizens within their jurisdiction, they should be executed by law! If this Zhao Hua, as the City Lord of one of the Outer Ring Thirty-Six Cities—Wind and Rain City, does not respect the law and fails to fight the devils, is he still an official of the Holy Dynasty? Is he contemplating rebellion!?"
