The City of Wind and Rain

"The Holy Dynasty is divided into the Imperial City, the Twelve Inner Ring Cities, and the Thirty-Six Outer Ring Cities. The Twelve Inner Ring Cities are named after the Twelve Domains, signifying the inclusion of all humankind from the Twelve Domains. The Thirty-Six Outer Ring Cities have different names, such as the Wind and Rain City where we are, and the surrounding Flowing Fire City, Purple Thunder City, White Jade City, and so on."

On the way, Zhao Yang kept introducing to Gu Jinlai: "Unlike those inner ring cities that have been established for fifty or sixty years, Fengyu City has only been around for twenty years. Because there are always human compatriots who have fled here from other areas, Fengyu City, which belongs to the outer ring, is constantly expanding. To date, the population under the city's jurisdiction has exceeded one hundred million."

"One hundred million?"

Looking at Zhao Yang, Gu Jinlai, "Does Fengyu City have a hundred million people?"

"Wind and Rain City is divided into the Old City, the New City, and the Outer City. The Old City is bounded by the original Wind and Rain City walls and has about four million people. The New City is the newly expanded Wind and Rain City and has more than 26 million people. The remaining nearly 80 million people live in the Outer City."

Zhao Yang said.

"A city of thirty million people!?"

Although it wasn't the initial 100 million people, in this predominantly ancient social structure, a city housed 30 million people.

It's truly unimaginable.

"Despite our continuous expansion of the city, we still need to settle nearly 80 million people in safe urban areas. Without people growing food in the outer city, the Inner City simply cannot be supplied with the necessary resources..."

As Zhao Yang spoke, his expression turned somewhat somber. "Therefore, the outer city area is actually no longer part of the city of Fengyu City. There are no city walls, and at most, there are guards constantly patrolling to ensure the safety of the area. However, from time to time, there are still incidents of Demonic Beasts eating people."

"The outer city area is quite large, isn't it?"

"The area within a hundred li radius of the Inner City is considered part of the outer city..."

Zhao Yang paused, then continued, "Perhaps two hundred li..."

Looking ahead from Gu Jinlai the present.

According to Zhao Yang, this place is definitely more than 200 miles away from Fengyu City, but he can already see signs of human habitation.

Seeing this, Zhao Yang quickly explained, "The Demon Slayers of Wind and Rain City constantly patrol outwards, often covering an area of nearly a thousand miles. Their goal is to exterminate Demonic Beasts. However, demon generals and demon commanders are somewhat better off; once they take action and their Qi and Blood is activated, they will be sensed by the Demon-Seeking Disc and attract the Demon Slayers. But those ordinary Demonic Beasts... are impossible to guard against. Demonic Beasts- devouring incidents are also caused by ordinary Demonic Beasts, but thanks to the strength of the Demonic Beasts, the scale is generally not large."

Gu Jinlai nodded.

This kind of thing is indeed unavoidable.

The city of wind and rain is too big.

According to Zhao Yang, the area within a thousand miles of Fengyu City is the territory of this city.

This is 250,000 square kilometers of land.

It is indeed very difficult to completely protect this land from the invasion of Demonic Beasts.

The caravan moved on.

As they got closer to Wind and Rain City, the number of people around them gradually increased.

When you are less than a hundred miles away from Fengyu City, the scattered buildings have already formed a small town, scattered along both sides of the road.

Only...

Gu Jinlai.

The people in the town were mostly sallow-faced and dressed in old, tattered clothes.

The only thing that stands out is their spirit and energy.

They were not as apathetic as those in impoverished cities; although they were dressed in rags, their eyes shone with light.

It seems that some hope sustains them, allowing them to persevere through this suffering and face life with an optimistic and positive attitude.

Zhao Yang seemed to notice the somewhat puzzled looks from Gu Jinlai and said with a smile, "His Majesty of the Holy Dynasty has an unparalleled strategic vision. Some of his famous sayings are constantly circulating among the people. The two most important points are: First, the safety of the people's lives is paramount, and no one has the right to arbitrarily take away another's life! Second, children represent the future of our country and the hope of humanity. Every city must establish public schools to teach children martial arts for free."

At this point, his tone was filled with admiration for His Majesty: "Not only does His Majesty safeguard everyone's life and promote free education, but he also tries his best to promote free medical care. Unfortunately... the country needs money for far too many things, and the number of people admitted each year is far too many, making it impossible to afford. Even so, if anyone gets seriously ill, the policy of 'treatment first, payment later' must be implemented. The Holy Dynasty Bank will use a near-interest-free loan model to help you pay for medical expenses in advance."

"Protecting lives, providing free education, implementing healthcare... and banks..."

Gu Jinlai who have heard Zhao Yang's words, if true, believe that the Holy Dynasty's system...

It is indeed a big step forward compared to other countries in the region, such as Great Qian.

"It is because of His Majesty's concern for the people that even though everyone is living a hard life now, tightening their belts, they are full of hope for the future and have no doubt that the human race will surely drive out the Demonic Beasts and restore our beautiful land."

Zhao Yang said.

Gu Jinlai nodded.

He observed along the way and found that many people showed signs of martial arts training.

Of course.

It's just a trace of martial arts training.

In reality, less than 10% of those who have truly mastered Body Tempering are actually skilled, and among demon god warriors, there might not be even one in a hundred.

This may be related to the fact that they have not yet entered the city, but it is not hard to foresee that even if everyone practices martial arts, it will still not be an easy thing to achieve something.

Gu Jinlai even arriving in Fengyu City, I had heard Zhao Yang describe it as a "giant city" more than once.

But when he actually arrived at the foot of the city walls, he realized that even calling this city a "giant city" would be an understatement. The city walls alone were like a mountain range stretching across the sky, blocking the view of countless people.

Even with eyesight from Gu Jinlai, one still has to look up to vaguely make out some guards, arrow towers, and watchtowers on the city wall.

The city walls were so vast that their length and width were unknown, and Gu Jinlai, due to the limited field of vision, their end could not be seen.

"This is the City of Wind and Rain."

Zhao Yang said with some pride, "This fortress city was built by countless people with more than ten years of hard work. The walls of Fengyu City are 50 meters high and stretch for 200 miles. The city has a permanent garrison of 800,000 people, all of whom have Body Tempering. Among them, the most elite 100,000 are all formal martial artists without exception. In addition, the number of registered martial artists in the city has reached 300,000. This is a force that no other power dares to imagine."

"Three hundred thousand demon god warriors!"

Hearing this number has always been somewhat alarming, both in Gu Jinlai.

Demon warriors are beings comparable to Demonic Beasts.

Three hundred thousand warriors are equivalent to three hundred thousand Demonic Beasts.

This is just the power of one Stormy City; if we were to extrapolate it to the entire Holy Land...

How powerful would that have to be?!

But after a moment, he felt something was wrong.

"If the Demon God Warrior system is perfected and martial arts training is promoted to the general public... there should be more than 300,000, right?"

This Gu Jinlai.

Zhao Yang was taken aback, then his expression became slightly complicated. "Senior Gu has keen insight."

He glanced around. "As you've noticed, there are many people outside the city, dressed in rags, some even pale and emaciated... Ultimately, it's about resources."

"Resource?"

"Too many people have come to the Holy Land. The territory occupied by the forty-nine giant cities simply cannot support four billion people. Moreover, martial arts training requires various kinds of meat to supplement the diet. Under the circumstances of scarce resources, only one in two or three hundred people can successfully cultivate into a Demon God Warrior."

Zhao Yang said, "Although Your Majesty is benevolent and righteous, and everyone can study martial arts for free, in reality it often takes two or three families to work together to support one person to focus on the path of martial arts. As for the other children... they stay in the martial arts academy for three years to see their talent. If they are not good enough, they will eventually have to go back to work and contribute to the construction of Fengyu City."

"After becoming a Demon God Warrior, one can slay Demonic Beasts, report back to the Lineage, and train Demon God Warriors for the Lineage, right?"

This Gu Jinlai.

Zhao Yang was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Senior Gu was referring to the flawed Demon God Warrior system from decades ago, right? That system refines the Essence Blood of Demonic Beasts, but it's too domineering and accumulates demonic energy, often leading to loss of control within three to five years."

He said, "Our Holy Land's demon god system often involves refining the Essence Blood of ferocious beasts and heavenly materials and earthly treasures."

"Refine the Essence Blood of ferocious beasts, heavenly materials and earthly treasures..."

Gu Jinlai, people have thought of the true demonic body of chaos.

The demon warriors of the Holy Land are inclined towards the demon god cult system.

"If you don't refine the Essence Blood of Demonic Beasts, as long as a martial artist's State of Mind and will are pure and strong enough, and they can deeply perceive and introspect themselves, and digest all the Essence Blood of the ferocious beasts and treasures, there will basically be no hidden dangers left in their body. Therefore, we can live to the end of our lives smoothly."

Zhao Yang paused, then said, "Senior Gu, as an outsider martial artist, you need to register locally. Fengyu City welcomes your arrival, but... you understand the current situation. Fengyu City also needs your strength. After registration, you will be incorporated into the Tianwu Camp. Although you will need to go out to fight Demonic Beasts, you will enjoy the same treatment as the Demon Slayers and everyone else in Fengyu City."

Gu Jinlai nodded.

The entire area within a thousand miles centered on the giant city is vulnerable to attacks by Demonic Beasts, demonstrating that Wind and Rain City is not absolutely safe and naturally requires a large workforce.

Resources were scarce, and warriors continued to sacrifice themselves...

This is why there are only 300,000 warriors in Wind and Rain City.

Soon, the group arrived at the city gate.

There are nine gates at the city gate tower.

At this moment, all doors except the main gate are open.

People were paying the city entrance fee at the gate.

The caravan paid taxes.

I've observed the city entrance fees and taxes briefly over Gu Jinlai...

Very high.

Zhao Yang explained, "The city is only so big and can't accommodate too many people coming and going, so we have to set a higher entry fee."

"The taxes and fees must be very high, right?"

"There are 800,000 soldiers to support in the city, and more than 100,000 demon slayers constantly going out to kill Demonic Beasts. Only in this way can there be peace in Fengyu City. It is reasonable that there are more taxes and fees. During this difficult period, everyone should be patient. Things will get better after this period."

Zhao Yang, on the other hand, seemed quite open-minded.

Nothing more has been said Gu Jinlai.

The group quickly entered Wind and Rain City.

I went to the hospital today and didn't have time to write. The next chapter will be a little later.