Chapter 291: Who Said She Was Foolish?

With the imperial house taking the lead, a joint discussion was held with the Five Great Sacred Lands regarding the matter of 'cultivators entering the capital.' As the imperial representative, Xue Xian had expected prolonged haggling, never anticipating matters would proceed so smoothly.

There was no back-and-forth confrontation, nor any mutual shirking of responsibility; before he even needed to speak, the Five Great Sacred Lands each presented concrete solutions, most importantly, ones that aligned perfectly with the Emperor's desired duties for them to undertake.

The weight Xue Xian had been carrying in his heart finally settled; although logic lay with the imperial house regarding the 'cultivators entering the capital' issue, if the Five Great Sacred Lands refused to cooperate actively, he, as the person in charge, would find himself in an extremely difficult position.

Now that the people from the Five Great Sacred Lands were so cooperative, he truly felt pleasantly surprised.

Hua Changxi looked at Xue Xian: "I wonder what Lord Xue thinks of our proposal?"

Xue Xian smiled: "This official finds it excellent; let us proceed as everyone has said, however... the quantity of cultivation resources provided by the four Great Sacred Lands of Pill, Formation, Artifact, and Talisman must first be determined."

Hua Changxi glanced at Tong Yao and the other two, thought for a moment, then looked back at Xue Xian: "Then we trouble Lord Xue to first provide us with a list of soldiers assigned to maintain public order in the capital, after which we will make our decision."

After all, they could not simply provide whatever amount of resources the imperial house demanded.

Xue Xian knew clearly that expecting the Four Great Sacred Lands to play the fool was nearly impossible, so he immediately agreed: "Very well; later, this official will compile the statistics on personnel deployed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Wucheng Military Command, and the Six Doors, and deliver them to the four of you."

Seeing him agree, Hua Changxi spoke no further.

Xue Xian smiled again, looking at Chu Junling and Tong Yao along with the other two: "I wonder if any of you have other opinions?"

Chu Junling spoke up: "Most of the personnel in the Wucheng Military Command and the Six Doors are martial artists; even those few who are cultivators possess very low cultivation bases."

"Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard has strong experts, their numbers are clearly insufficient when facing cultivators flooding in from various regions."

"The five thousand Demon-Suppressing Army troops dispatched by this General include five Nascent Soul cultivators and forty-five Golden Core cultivators, with the rest at the Qi Sea realm; overall, the strength is barely adequate, yet once they are scattered across various locations, they will still be easily defeated one by one."

Hearing this, Yan Zhenzhen could not hold back: "With cultivators from outside entering the capital, conflict may be unavoidable, but General Chu's implication just now suggests you believe some cultivators will intentionally cause sabotage; I feel you are borrowing worries unnecessarily."

Chu Junling looked at her but did not argue: "This General merely wishes to prepare for every eventuality; here, these are only possibilities, but should commoners encounter them, it would be a catastrophic disaster."

Jing Le, who cared most about the safety of the common people, nodded: "General Chu's words are reasonable; I wonder what brilliant advice the General has?"

Chu Junling looked at those present: "The four of you just stepped in to resolve the tiger demon, displaying supreme strength that truly astonishes this General; this General believes that with the four of you stationed here, the common people in the capital will surely be even safer."

Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi immediately could not sit still, looking at Chu Junling with unfriendly eyes: "Do you intend for us to contribute both money and effort?"

Tong Yao and the other two also frowned.

Hearing Hua Changxi's such blunt questioning, Chu Junling's expression remained unchanged: "This General's meaning is simply that when the four of you have spare time, appear more often in the capital to intimidate the petty criminals."

He paused.

"Of course, this General will do the same."

Jing Le said: "General Chu has considered everything thoroughly." Looking at Hua Changxi, Tong Yao, and Yan Zhenzhen, he added, "The common people are paramount; why don't we each guard one city gate?"

Tong Yao remained silent for a moment, then agreed.

Yan Zhenzhen was somewhat reluctant; researching formations required vast amounts of time and energy, and she did not wish to waste too much time on mundane affairs, but seeing that even Tong Yao had agreed, she could only nod with difficulty.

When it came to Hua Changxi's turn, she did not express her stance.

Although appearing occasionally would not delay too much time, she simply felt Chu Junling was pushing his luck, using them to help the imperial house stabilize the capital.

Seeing Hua Changxi remain silent, Jing Le said: "Benefactor Hua, this is also a form of tempering."

Tong Yao followed with a smile: "When successful, one benefits the world; when in hardship, one perfects oneself. What do we cultivate for? What is the purpose of obtaining powerful strength?"

Hua Changxi glanced at the two: "Fine then; the Medical Bureau is in the eastern city, so I will frequent the East Gate more often."

Tong Yao said: "Then I will take responsibility for the South Gate."

Jing Le said: "This humble monk will take responsibility for the West Gate."

Yan Zhenzhen said: "I will take responsibility for the North Gate."

Watching the interaction among the four, Chu Junling's gaze darkened; Hua Changxi was not only familiar with the successor of the Formation Saint Sect but also acquainted with people from the Talisman Saint Pavilion and the Artifact Saint Palace.

Seeing Chu Junling curl the corners of his mouth as his objective was achieved, Hua Changxi's eyes turned: "I feel we should precisely borrow the matter of 'cultivators entering the capital' to reform the original unhealthy trends in the capital."

Hmm?

These words successfully captured the attention of the others.

Hua Changxi said: "Whether it is the patrols of the Demon-Suppressing Army or the deterrence of high-grade cultivators, these can only serve to prevent small issues from growing. To truly ensure the stability of the capital, I suggest we directly establish rules: henceforth, within the city, cultivators are forbidden from fighting and forbidden from flying."

"If any cultivator violates this rule, regardless of who they are or what status they hold, they will be lightly expelled from the capital, or heavily have their cultivation removed."

Hearing this, the expressions of everyone present changed.

There were many cultivators in the capital, and incidents of fighting triggered by conflicts and disputes were not uncommon; many such matters involved the children of nobles and officials.

The situation of flying through the air within the city was even more severe; only near the imperial palace and around the Tian Department would cultivators restrain themselves somewhat, while in other areas of the capital, many cultivators came and went as freely as if in their own back gardens, without any scruples.

Among them, the most domineering were undoubtedly the members of the imperial family.

Chu Junling looked at Hua Changxi, narrowing his eyes slightly, clearly sensing that Hua Changxi was saying these things targeting him.

Hua Changxi felt Chu Junling's gaze but ignored it, continuing instead: "Of course, cultivator cultivation emphasizes the smooth flow of intent; if one truly cannot swallow their anger due to a conflict, it would not be right to prevent them from venting."

"I suggest this: build several arenas within the city; those who wish to fight can go directly to the arenas to duel."

Jing Le was again the first to respond: "This humble monk feels Benefactor Hua's idea is excellent; the capital has continued with old rules for too long, which are indeed somewhat outdated; it is time to establish new regulations to constrain cultivators."

Tong Yao and Yan Zhenzhen also showed signs of agreement.

Xue Xian looked at Hua Changxi, Tong Yao, Yan Zhenzhen, and Jing Le, then looked at Chu Junling; he realized that the people from the four Great Sacred Lands of Pill, Artifact, Talisman, and Formation seemed to be grouping together, while the First Prince from the Central Sacred Land appeared to be excluded by them.

"The suggestions raised by everyone, this official will report to His Majesty."

Hua Changxi said: "I have not finished speaking yet."

Hearing this, Xue Xian's eyelid could not help but twitch.

Hua Changxi said: "With cultivators entering the capital, we each have responsibilities to undertake; to clarify the scope of duties, I suggest we publish all of these openly. This way, there will be no worry of confusing the responsibilities each party must bear."

Everyone understood Hua Changxi's meaning, and their expressions fluctuated.

Wu Liyun could not help but look at Hua Changxi; who said Hua Changxi was a muddle-headed person whose joys and anger showed on her face and who could not grasp the situation?

In her view, this person was clearly extremely shrewd, with every word spoken carrying a distinct purpose.

Publishing the scope of each party's responsibilities was obviously intended to avoid blame falling on her due to negligence caused by others.

Between the imperial house and the Five Great Sacred Lands, the party most prone to oversights was undoubtedly the imperial house; once patrols were improper and cultivators endangered the safety of commoners, the imperial house would surely suffer criticism and condemnation from the people.

Hua Changxi's move was clearly intended to distance herself from the imperial house, so as not to affect herself and the other three Great Sacred Lands.