Chapter 44: Ji Yanling Ascends the Throne, the Second Investment Target Appears

After sending off the Chi Hu Emperor, Han Yu returned to the villa, where Chi Ming Wang and the others were still respectfully awaiting his return.

Qing Huo Wang was the first to speak.

"Master, has that Chi Hu Emperor been dealt with?"

Han Yu nodded.

"Dealt with."

"Was he killed or released?"

Qing Huo Wang spoke bluntly; he had completely committed himself to Han Yu and no longer had any reservations about his speech.

Han Yu still answered concisely with two words.

"Released."

Hearing this, the details needed no further explanation; the few of them understood everything.

It seemed that the Chi Hu Emperor had already been subdued by Han Yu, otherwise, it would have been impossible to let a tiger return to the mountains.

Thinking of this, Chi Ming Wang glanced at the other two, and those two nodded.

The three of them successively surrendered their Life Souls and handed them over to Han Yu.

"If Senior Han does not mind, we old ones are willing to be driven by you!"

Han Yu put away the Life Souls, and his gaze toward the group softened a little.

"Everyone, there is no need to be so formal. Since we are all on the same side now, let's keep our forms of address a bit more casual in the future."

"You are all several hundred years my senior; there is no harm in calling me 'little friend'."

Chi Ming Wang and the others were stunned for a moment.

They couldn't help but sigh inwardly that this young man was quite skilled at playing the carrot-and-stick game.

Just before they handed over their Life Souls, Han Yu had always been somewhat guarded and wary of them; now that they had surrendered their Life Souls, the other party's attitude had immediately become much friendlier.

In his speech, he also gave them a great deal of face.

This made them feel much better.

After all, they had been forced by the other party's might to surrender their Life Souls, and they had felt more or less uncomfortable about it.

But with the other party being such a young talent and having such a good attitude toward them, that feeling of discomfort dissipated quite a bit.

Han Yu treated Chi Ming Wang and the others with a smile, but when he looked at Chang Feng Wang, he was not nearly as friendly.

Chang Feng Wang could clearly sense a pressure bearing down on him, instinctively giving rise to a sense of palpitations.

He knew very well that if this young man, who appeared as gentle as jade, were to make a move against him, he could easily crush him to death.

Yet, he still spoke with some stubbornness.

"I will not hand my Life Soul over to you."

After saying this, the pressure on Chang Feng Wang grew even stronger.

The young man opposite him seemed like a ferocious beast waiting to devour someone, having already bared his fangs at him.

He bit the bullet and said.

"I can only hand my Life Soul to Princess Yanling!"

Han Yu was slightly taken aback and took a few more looks at this Chang Feng Wang.

Chi Ming Wang immediately explained.

"Senior Han... cough, cough, little friend Han, do not take offense. The Chang Feng Wang clan has been loyal for generations and only pledges allegiance to the Chi Huo Wang Cheng royal family."

Han Yu nodded without getting angry; he actually felt that this Chang Feng Wang was quite interesting.

People like this were quite rare in any world.

"Give the Life Soul to me; I will pass it on to my junior sister."

Chang Feng Wang struggled for a moment, but said no more; he extracted his Life Soul and handed it to Han Yu.

Although he was stubborn, he was not a fool, so he knew very well the consequences of provoking Han Yu.

After collecting all the Life Souls, Han Yu looked at everyone and smiled: "Everyone, rest assured. Taking your Life Souls is not to control you, but because our great cause is not yet complete, it is a necessary precautionary measure to prevent anyone from defecting in the face of battle."

"Once the great cause is accomplished, I will naturally return everyone's Life Souls one by one."

Han Yu knew very well that human hearts have been hard to fathom since ancient times; if he did not take these people's Life Souls, he would not feel at ease letting them stay by Ji Yanling's side.

Having taken everyone's Life Souls, they were all in the same boat.

If anyone harbored evil intentions, then they could not blame Han Yu for being ruthless.

Han Yu quickly exchanged a few more matters with the group, then left on his sword and arrived at the territory of the Red-Clad Army.

Those few kings had already successively withdrawn their legions, and this city had returned to peace.

Han Yu did not see Ji Yanling upon his return; this little girl had begun to cultivate against the clock as soon as she learned the battle situation had stabilized.

Han Yu had always highly approved of his junior sister's diligence.

However, he still temporarily interrupted Ji Yanling's cultivation and called her out of the cultivation room.

"Senior Brother, you're back!"

Seeing her senior brother return, Ji Yanling was very happy.

In front of others, Ji Yanling always appeared very cold, but in front of Han Yu, she was as lively as a little girl.

"It has been very busy these past few days; don't get too lost in your cultivation. Now I will take you back to Chi Huo Wang Cheng and have the kings announce it to the whole country to hold your enthronement ceremony."

"This way, you will have the blessing of orthodox national destiny, and both your cultivation speed and combat power will be greatly enhanced."

Hearing this, Ji Yanling nodded obediently.

"Okay, I will listen to Senior Brother's arrangements!"

Han Yu patted Ji Yanling's little head; this was what he liked most about her.

No matter what he said, she would never object and would only follow his lead.

Next, Han Yu flew on his sword, bringing Ji Yanling to Chi Huo Wang Cheng.

Subsequently, King Chiming and the others began arranging various matters, holding a grand enthronement ceremony.

Ji Yanling wore a crimson phoenix crown and ceremonial robes, sitting upon the throne; she was truly full of charm and possessed a graceful bearing.

In this instant, Ji Yanling felt as if she had returned to her past life.

As a generation of Female Emperor, she had held sway over the Endless Fire Domain, with ten thousand nations coming to pay homage, her majesty unparalleled.

At this moment, her heart was greatly shaken, filled with an irrepressible excitement.

With the help of her senior brother, the speed at which she returned to the imperial throne was faster than she could have imagined.

At this moment, her feelings for Han Yu intensified to the peak, beginning a qualitative change.

【Ding! Congratulations to the host, the favorability of investment target Ji Yanling toward you has reached 100%, completing the thorough conquest!】

【The system is searching for your second investment target, please wait patiently!】

Hearing the system's prompt, Han Yu remained calm on the surface, yet deep inside, a hint of anticipation arose.

I wonder who the second investment target will be; I hope they are as obedient as my junior sister!

……

The matter of Ji Yanling ascending to the position of Country Lord of the Chihuo Dynasty proceeded very smoothly, without any opposition.

Those top combatants of the Chihuo Dynasty had all been subdued by Han Yu, so they dared not oppose, and naturally, those below could only cooperate.

As for those civil officials, they did not care at all who became the Country Lord; in any case, whoever was the Country Lord did not affect them.

After Ji Yanling successfully ascended the throne, she obtained the blessing of the complete national destiny, and her combat power soared straight upward.

One must know, the current national destiny was not in the same state as it was during the periods of those previous Country Lords.

The previous several kings had each acted in their own interests, but now they were united.

One Zhu Long Mai and three Zhi Long Mai of the Chihuo Dynasty began to circulate again, gradually starting to influence the ecology throughout the entire dynasty.

National destiny is a profound and mysterious thing, related to Heaven's timing, geographical advantages, the hearts of the people, and so on.

Previously, the various kings had deliberately tolerated rebellions everywhere and ignored the displaced refugees, all to stir up the national destiny of the Chihuo royal family with public grievances.

If the Zhu Long Mai did not win the hearts of the people, then the three Zhi Long Mai would all have the opportunity to become the Zhu Long Mai.

In situations where the military strength of all parties did not differ much, it required schemes and tricks to contend for the world.

Han Yu possessed the combat power to suppress everything, so naturally, he did not need to be so troublesome.

After Ji Yanling successfully ascended the throne, she began closed-door cultivation; under the blessing of the national destiny, her cultivation progress could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds.

Meanwhile, Han Yu, feeling bored, began to intervene in the internal affairs of the Chihuo Dynasty, offering many suggestions to those civil officials.

These civil officials were civil officials in name, but they were not weak or feeble people.

Because they were Wen Dao Cultivators, and Wen Dao also belonged to a branch within the Great Dao of Qi Refining.

It was just that the Qi they refined was not entirely Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi, but "human Qi," "literary Qi," and "righteous Qi"; these special types of Qi all required deep immersion in the mortal world.

Therefore, they basically all served as civil officials in the mortal world, unlike ordinary Qi refiners who engaged in killing and fighting.

The suggestion Han Yu proposed was very simple: to follow the example of his past life and advocate "governing the country according to law," subdividing and perfecting various laws.

The civil officials of the Chihuo Dynasty all emphasized governing by non-action, and the things they usually did were to frequently lecture, using various grand principles to educate the hearts of the people.

These civil officials mastered various Spirit arts, and the principles they spoke of could indeed penetrate the hearts of the people, making people have profound realizations.

In the process of educating the world, they could also refine their cultivation and obtain growth.

But unfortunately, while this might be a good thing for cultivators, it was of no damn use to the country.

It takes a long time for a person to become good, but only an instant to become bad.

As long as one bad person appears among a group of people, that is a single rat dropping ruining a whole pot of soup.

The educational effects of those cultivators would gradually disappear, and the hearts of the people would slowly turn bad.

The cultivators did not care about these things; if the hearts of the people turned bad, they could just lecture again, which was actually a form of tempering for them.

Therefore, when Han Yu proposed governing the country according to law and perfecting and detailing various laws, those civil officials were all very dissatisfied.

They even began various protests!

Civil official protests meant that internal affairs were paralyzed, and compared to war, the impact on national destiny was no less significant.

And facing these civil officials, simply beheading them could not solve the problem.

They practiced sacrificing their lives for righteousness, and there were plenty who were not afraid of death.

Just as Han Yu was thinking about how to solve these fellows, the system sent a Jieji.

【Ding! A second investment target has been found for you……】

Han Yu looked at Ji Yanling and pondered to himself that this girl's temper was truly becoming more and more explosive.