After entrusting everything to Kuang Cang, Cheng Yu returned to the Demon Capital.
He simply could not leave the Demon Capital for long now. That was the price of choosing to replace his nominal elder brother at the center of the Demon Race's vortex of fortune.
Had his acting not been convincing enough, and Shen Yu's achievements all those years ago not been so illustrious, the Sages of Humankind and the Ghost Venerable might have noticed something amiss long ago.
After returning to the Jade King's Residence, Cheng Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The five decays of heaven and man did not affect only him. The malice the surrounding world directed at him had never abated; it had even grown worse.
Only in the Demon Capital did that feeling ease a little. After all, however far the Demon Race had fallen, they had still been the world's chosen race in the previous era, and they had made tremendous sacrifices during the Abyss's invasion. Though the Heavenly Dao had abandoned them, their immense merit remained.
Standing before Mirror Lake, Cheng Yu watched the situation in the Southern Continent and murmured,
"Kuang Cang shouldn't have much trouble, but Nian... is still something of a problem..."
Inside the governor's residence in the Southern Capital, Kuang Cang held the Demon Dynasty's imperial edict and slowly finished reading it aloud.
Before him stood Azure Owl and the figures who held real power in the major Demon Race tribes throughout the Southern Continent.
"We accept the decree!"
Azure Owl rose and warmly clasped Kuang Cang's hand.
"Your arrival is truly a blessing for the Southern Continent, General. I've already prepared a banquet. Please do us the honor of attending."
As soon as Azure Owl finished speaking, the tribal chiefs and elders behind him