Having suffered a great loss at Xiao Tian's hands, Xue Yushuang Feng Qingkuang, Xue Yushuang, Futu Hu, and Long Yun had no face to stay in Luo Cheng any longer, and each led their family members away from Luo Cheng in disgrace.
After receiving news of their departure, Xiao Tian went to the council hall of the city lord's mansion.
Dozens of people gathered in the hall.
" City Lord Xiao!"
Xiao Tian greeted them with a smile. These people came to Luo Cheng from all over Country H. Some of them were extremely powerful, some were former city lords, and some were wealthy traveling merchants.
"Welcome, Luo Cheng. I am Xiao Tian, the city lord of Luo Cheng. I don't care what you all did before. Since you have come to Luo Cheng, it means you have high hopes for Luo Cheng. As the city lord, I will naturally not disappoint you."
People's eyes were filled with anticipation.
"Here, you can rebuild your homes. Depending on your abilities, we will provide you with free accommodation and arrange jobs, though you may also choose your own. Furthermore, those of you who have come here are highly valued by me. To put it bluntly, you are all elites. I sincerely hope that you can help me and everyone else to make Luo Cheng Luo Cheng a better place, a dream home for countless people from all over the country who are still searching for a place to survive."
People's eyes changed; they looked at Xiao Tian with more respect and approval.
"Gentlemen, that's all I wanted to say. Those with grand goals and plans can contact Deputy City Lord Long Zaitian. Finally, I must remind everyone that Luo Cheng does not tolerate chaos, class warfare, or regional instigation. Anyone who violates the law will be punished by being expelled from Luo Cheng, or, in serious cases, executed without exception!"
Although Xiao Tian spoke calmly, everyone present felt a chill upon learning that the city lords of City in the Clouds, Ice City, and Phoenix City, as well as the Xiao Tian of the Futu Clan, had suffered a great loss at his hands and had been forced to flee Luo Cheng in disgrace. They secretly reminded themselves to restrain themselves, as this was no longer their territory.
" City Lord Xiao, I have a general idea that I'd like to discuss with you."
Xiao Tian's gaze swept towards the middle-aged man who had raised his hand, and information about this man surfaced in his mind.
Ye Ming, the Grand Elder of the City in the Clouds Cabinet, is an important figure on the Elders' Board of the City Lord's Mansion. He brought his family to Luo Cheng and is himself a Late Shackle Realm expert with the abilities of wind and fire. He once controlled 50% of the general merchandise and food industry in City in the Clouds and is a very Gozu.
"Brother Ye, please speak."
Ye Ming was somewhat flattered, but after all, he was the Grand Elder of the City in the Clouds Inner Cabinet. He quickly adjusted his mindset and explained his plan.
After listening, Xiao Tian secretly admired Ye Ming, thinking that he was someone who cared about Luo Cheng and genuinely wanted to integrate into Luo Cheng.
There is a lot of vacant land in Luo Cheng, with many residential areas and many unused areas. Ye Ming has been in Luo Cheng for several days and has gained a direct understanding of the Luo Cheng through various channels. He plans to propose the development of a farmland and several food processing plants. With the strong protective array of Luo Cheng, it can maintain sufficient self-sufficiency in the future if it encounters a closed war like the strange fog.
"Elder Ye, you and Long Zaitian can discuss this later. Don't worry about personnel allocation or funding; just ask."
The others' expressions changed; they hadn't expected Ye Ming to be nominated as an elder so directly!
Ye Ming was also surprised and delighted, yet he understood the weight of his responsibility.
"Thank you, City Lord! Ye Ming will definitely live up to your expectations!"
Soon, one after another, people boldly put forward their ideas for the development of Luo Cheng.
Although Xiao Tian was only a half-baked city lord, he granted conveniences and positions to any plan or suggestion that he thought was good for Luo Cheng, based on the degree of its impact on Luo Cheng.
Overall, this was a gathering of heroes where Xiao Tian won over the hearts and minds of the people.
Dragon City, the Overlord received intelligence from Luo Cheng.
"Interesting. This Xiao Tian is truly unique. I was wondering why the city lords of City in the Clouds and Phoenix City didn't come to Dragon City; they all went to Luo Cheng instead. What a pity, they underestimated Xiao Tian."
The golden-armored guard beside him said, "It's now basically confirmed that Lord Xiao Tian is at the Carefree Realm. According to intelligence, those four who suffered a setback will be heading to Dragon City."
"Let them come, but they'd better behave themselves in Dragon City! This isn't their territory!"
" My Overlord! Urgent report!" A silver-armored guard appeared.
After reading the intelligence, the Overlord frowned deeply.
"The beasts also suffered heavy losses. This proud Golden-Winged Great Peng King actually humbled himself so much, wanting to settle in Dragon City. His intelligence network is quite strong; he knows that our Dragon City has established a complete defensive formation."
"Reply to it, saying that Dragon City's population has surged. Because the vast outer city is unusable, and Dragon City, with only the inner city, cannot accommodate such a large population, and considering the inability to properly manage so many beast herds, I have spoken with the Lord of Luo Cheng, and Luo Cheng has agreed to allow you to temporarily reside there."
The golden-armored guard couldn't help but laugh. "My Overlord, the Golden-Winged Great Peng King is probably losing face. It's probably better to kill it than to send it to beg Lord Xiao Tian."
The Overlord smiled and said, "If it were just the Peng King all alone, it certainly wouldn't want to lose face. But considering its vast clan and its prestige among the beasts, it has no choice but to sacrifice its pride for the greater good."
"That's true. Now that we've passed through, the gap between us and the various beast groups within our borders has widened, and they no longer pose much of a threat to us."
The Overlord nodded, but the smile on his face vanished, replaced by a solemn expression. "What I'm most worried about now is the next battle against the strange mist. The sealing of the spatial rift may have truly had an effect. The next time we come, it will inevitably be an extremely difficult and bloody battle! Although our Dragon City now has a perfect city-protecting formation, formations cannot operate stably indefinitely."
"In this increasingly mysterious world, the road ahead for humanity is still very long."
The golden-armored guard nodded, then suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but ask, "My Overlord, we should contact Luo Cheng as soon as possible, and what if Lord Xiao Tian refuses to agree?"
The Overlord laughed and said, "Knowing Elder Xiao as I do, he will definitely agree readily, and he will be happy to see Peng King enter Luo Cheng in a sorry state. Of course, we should also make our current situation in Dragon City sound more dire, and on the surface, we will send some resources to show that they are for the use of our human compatriots who are pouring into Luo Cheng, so as to share the pressure on Luo Cheng."
"Clear."
Luo Cheng.
Xiao Tian was sunbathing and fishing in the open-air pond of the city lord's mansion when Long Zaitian rushed over to deliver a message.
"Oh wow! Is this bird so pitiful now?" Xiao Tian laughed.
"City Lord, if we allow the Golden-Winged Great Peng King and the like to settle in Luo Cheng, I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble. There is a lot of friction between the beasts and humans, and it will be difficult to control them," Long Zaitian said, frowning.
"Hehehe... Old Dragon, don't worry, Bird King will know his place, unless he wants to eat a meteorite-like punch. Besides, I've been craving Cola chicken wings lately."
Chu Feng and Zhou Quan couldn't help but laugh.
Long Zaitian felt a chill run down his spine; suddenly, he began to worry about the Golden-Winged Great Peng King.
Inside a certain mountain, the Golden-Winged Great Peng King received long-awaited intelligence information. After reading it, his face turned green with rage, and he immediately burned the note.
"Damn it! Go to Luo Cheng? Isn't Luo Cheng that disgusting guy's territory?!"
The Golden-Winged Great Peng King thought of how it had been defeated by Xiao Tian and how it had fled in humiliation in the eyes of its clan, losing face in the process. It was a lifelong shame in its heart.
It fantasized more than once about obtaining the mysterious sacred fruit, greatly increasing its power, entering the realm of mystery, thereby annihilating Xiao Tian, washing away its shame, conquering humanity, and controlling them to grow food and do menial tasks for its herd.
"Your Majesty, where are we going?"
The Golden-Winged Great Peng King trembled with rage, gritting his teeth as he roared, "To Luo Cheng!"
The Peacock Clan elder beside him looked on with awe, knowing that the Peng King was prepared to disregard his own reputation for the sake of the entire clan.
This commanded its utmost respect!
Seven days later!
At the gates of Luo Cheng, the situation was dire. Many Evolver and guards on the city walls watched with solemn expressions as a vast and numerous horde of beasts surged forth a hundred kilometers away from the city gates!
"Good heavens! Are these beasts courting death? Do they want to experience the power of our city's protective formation?"
"I was just lamenting that I hadn't had enough of the battle in that eerie fog! This horde of beasts is just in time!"
"Silence! You're all acting like you're on steroids! Don't you see that the leader of the beast horde is the Golden-Winged Great Peng King, whom our city lord once defeated? He's the enemy's leader, so show some respect!" a commander said coldly.
"So you're just a defeated opponent of our city lord! Heh!"
"Pah! What do you mean 'defeated opponent'? He's clearly a defeated bird!"
At this moment, the city gates opened wide, and the deputy city lord rode his sword, standing in the air.
" Peng King, gentlemen, our city lord has been waiting for you for a long time! After entering the city, Peng King, please keep a close eye on your men, otherwise our city lord is really looking forward to Cola chicken wings."
The defenders were completely dumbfounded! Then they burst into laughter.