After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

The main hall of the city lord's mansion was brightly lit.

Jiang Yan sat in the head seat, her face still somewhat pale, her back ramrod straight.

Tu Shan Jing sat to his left, and Pei Xiao, Lu Fa, Tu Shan Ye, Cang Wu, Lu Zhan Shuang, as well as several Tu Shan generals and two retainers took their seats in turn.

Everyone's face was covered in a layer of dust.

News has already reached the capital.

His Majesty's breakthrough failed, and Tu Shan Yao ascended to the throne.

Jiang Yan was accused of being greedy for credit, reckless, and defecting to establish his own regime.

The capital city is already assembling its army, preparing for a punitive expedition.

"What utter bullshit!" Pei Xiao was the first to curse. "We were fighting desperately in front of them, and they stabbed us in the back, and now they're turning around and accusing us of defection?"

Lu Zhanshuang sneered, "An accident during cultivation? I've known His Majesty for so many years, when has he ever had an accident during cultivation?"

"Sirius's reaction also confirms this." Cangwu put down his teacup, his tone calm but chilling.

The answer is self-evident.

Everyone present knew better than anyone else what level of cultivation Tu Shanlie possessed.

Even if the breakthrough fails, it could never be so serious that it would be necessary to hand over the reins of government to a prince who should be in the forbidden area.

Moreover, the first thing Tu Shanyao did after taking power was to cooperate with Tianlang to besiege the Northern Army.

Jiang Yan listened quietly without interrupting.

The Qi Nourishing Technique within his body was still operating, and he could feel that the Qi gathered from all over the Tushan Dynasty had weakened by more than half.

Now that his reputation for defection has spread throughout the world, it is inevitable that his popular support will be eroded.

But that's not important; he's not worried about himself.

"What about Ruoshui?" Jiang Yan asked, his voice a little hoarse. "And the Jiang family, has Tu Shanyao made any moves since taking the throne?"

Tu Shan Jing shook his head.

"News from the capital is being tightly controlled, and the specifics are still unclear."

Jiang Yan's fingers gripped the armrest tightly, then slowly loosened.

Everyone knew what he was worried about. Tu Shan Yao never concealed his hatred for humans, and the Jiang family was the head of the human race in the Tu Shan Dynasty. Ruoshui was his sister whom he had once sent assassins to kill.

Now that Tu Shanyao is in power, no one knows what will happen.

Jiang Yan remained silent for a while, then leaned back in her chair and stared at the roof beams.

He served as an official in the Haoran Domain his entire life, rising from county magistrate to prime minister, relying on the trust of the dynasty and the support of the people.

Having arrived in the Demon Realm, we followed the same route as originally planned.

He used to think that as long as he made enough military achievements and stood in a high enough position, he could win a place for the human race in the Tushan Dynasty.

As it turned out, he was close to achieving it: being granted a title, land, and command of an army. Tu Shan Lie gave him the highest treatment a subject could receive.

But once Tu Shanlie fell, all of this was like a tower built on sand.

No matter how high one stands, one is ultimately a subject dependent on others.

"It's time to change my way of life," Jiang Yan murmured to himself.

After the meeting, Jiang Yan went to the side hall alone.

Ao Tianxin sat by the window, holding a wine glass in her hand, and did not get up when he came in.

"Tianxin, I want to ask you for a favor."

"explain."

"Go to the capital and check on the Jiang family's situation, and also on Ruoshui."

Ao Tianxin's fingers paused on the rim of the cup for a moment, then she turned to look at him.

"I know the Jiang family."

"That Tu Shan Ruoshui—" A hint of amusement flashed in her eyes, "Who is she?"

Jiang Yan felt a little embarrassed and coughed lightly: "Childhood sweethearts, we grew up together in this life."

"Oh." Ao Tianxin nodded, drawing out the sound, her expression carrying a hint of mockery.

She has lived too long and seen too much.

Monogamy, polygamy, polyandry—the rules of ordinary people had long since faded into insignificance for her.

But she didn't care. She had full confidence in Cang Yao. In other aspects, there might be people who could compete, but when it came to who could give everything for Jiang Yan, that girl had never lost.

Besides, Cang Yao will become a true dragon sooner or later, so why worry about not being able to keep things under control?

He placed the wine glass on the windowsill, stood up, and said, "I'll go."

Jiang Yan bowed respectfully.

Ao Tianxin glanced at him, said nothing more, and disappeared out of the window in a flash, turning into a streak of light and flying away.

After watching her leave, Jiang Yan officially began to reorganize Chang'an City.

He sat in the council chamber for an entire day, and decrees flowed from his pen.

Every decree addresses the core issues.

The previously inadequate household registration system, street and alley divisions, patrol rotations, material allocation, and tax standards of Chang'an City were all redefined.

His experience in governing prefectures and counties and the Six Ministries in his previous life came in handy at this moment. Chang'an City was not small, but it was certainly not comparable to a prefecture. This was something he was very familiar with.

Currently, 80% of the population in Chang'an are humans, and the remaining 20% ​​are demons who are close to humans. Including the Northern Expeditionary Army and remnants who withdrew from the northern border, the total population is close to 300,000.

A huge flag bearing the character "Jiang" was erected on the city wall, visible from halfway across the city. Every day, newly arrived refugees would look up at it with relieved smiles on their faces.

Three days later, Jiang Yan erected a stone tablet in the center of Chang'an City. It was nine zhang tall, completely black, and covered with densely packed golden characters.

The stone tablet was inscribed with cultivation techniques.

Of course, it's not some kind of ultimate secret manual, just some basic methods for drawing qi into the body and building a foundation, along with simple sword techniques and spells.

In the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, these things may be insignificant to the demon race, but they are extremely precious to the human race.

On the day the stone tablet was unveiled, the city's residents packed the central square to capacity.

An elderly man with gray hair stood in the front row, looking up at the golden characters on the stone tablet, tears welling in his eyes.

A young boy beside the old man was holding his arm, his eyes fixed on the sword manual on the monument.

The most fundamental defense of a city is not its walls, but the ability of every person in the city to pick up a sword.

Since ancient times, most martial arts techniques have been passed down through sects, families, and oral traditions between masters and disciples.

This is especially true in the Demon Realm, where many exceptionally talented humans have perished over time simply because they did not know how to enter the right path.

If Jian Li hadn't met him, she might have ended up as one of those countless people who were overlooked.

Jiang Yan chose to make the cultivation method public in order to break this monopoly and give everyone the opportunity to embark on the path of cultivation.

A few days later, the first large human exile group arrived outside Chang'an City.

The procession was very long, with families in tow, and everyone's face was covered with the marks of time.

Tu Shanye and Lu Fa were in charge of receiving refugees.

At the busiest times, there was a queue three miles long outside the city gate. They had to verify the identities of each person, register their household registrations, and assign them accommodations. They also had to guard against spies sent by Tianlang to sneak in.

Fortunately, Jian Li took the initiative to help. The young girl has now gained quite a reputation in the army. By bringing out the Jiang character flag and standing it at the city gate, the screening efficiency has increased considerably.

Jiang Yan stood on the city wall, gazing out.

The Qi Nourishing Technique within his body was still slowly circulating, and he could feel that his Qi was still gathering, although it was much weaker than before, it was slowly increasing.

More and more humans are flocking to Chang'an from all corners of the Tushan Dynasty and even the Tianlang Dynasty.

In the hearts of the human race in the Demon Realm, Chang'an may be the only banner.

Of course, this excludes those who believe Jiang Yan's move is too risky and will bring trouble to the human race within the Tushan Dynasty.

It also excludes those traitors who have long been assimilated by the demon race and turn a blind eye to the suffering of their own kind.

It doesn't matter.

Jiang Yan withdrew his gaze, walked down the city wall, and stepped into the city lord's mansion.

The road ahead is still long.