When it was all over, Tai Yi saw that only three places in Bright Capital remained intact: the central square, the palace, and the Research Institute.
Tai Yi signaled to the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress that they could release the buildings they had frozen. Otherwise, the people he had protected would have nowhere to live.
Seeing his signal, the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress acted at once. Under their Soul Power, the clear blue ice began to thaw. The Demon King joined in, using his Soul Power to make the meltwater disappear.
Soon, the buildings in that half of the city reappeared. The bodies inside were gone as well. The Ice Empress and the Snow Empress had turned them to liquid along with the ice, and the Demon King had made the liquid vanish.
Not a single person remained in those buildings. They looked as though they had been washed clean, utterly unlike the scorched earth on the other side.
Tai Yi withdrew the Donghuang Bell's protective barrier from the people in the central square. Then he addressed the crowd, still shaken by the slaughter they had witnessed:
"The purge of Bright Capital is over."
"Those of you who survived were smart enough to know what choice to make."
"These houses are yours to live in. Pick one you like and settle down. As long as you obey and live peacefully as subjects of our Spirit Hall Empire, I can promise you'll be safe. If an enemy comes, I'll protect you."
"But if any of you still harbor divided loyalties, you saw what happened across Bright Capital just now. I don't need to say more."
As soon as Tai Yi finished speaking, the survivors called out:
"My lord, rest assured! From now on, we're subjects of the