Chang Li

"Chang Li, you're here too! It's only a martial soul awakening. There was really no need to make such a big fuss. You're usually so busy with work already—you've worked hard enough," Lu Jingming said, sounding somewhat embarrassed.

In truth, his position as city lord was more honorary than anything. The one who truly kept all of Haiyuan City running in perfect order was the extraordinarily charming beauty before him.

She was likewise a game character Lu Jingming had summoned with True Power. She came from the mobile game Wuthering Waves and served as a consultant of Huanglong in Jinzhou. Clever and quick-witted, she was unquestionably a top-tier strategist.

Thinking back to six years ago, Lu Jingming had summoned Jing Liu. With her extraordinary strength, she had slain the rebel forces in one stroke and successfully suppressed the chaos throughout Haiyuan City.

At the time, Haiyuan City had only just endured a frenzied invasion by Sea Soul Beasts. Its fighting strength had been severely depleted, leaving it badly weakened.

The subsequent rebellion by several other noble families only made matters worse, plunging the city into utter turmoil.

Although Jing Liu had suppressed every defiant force in Haiyuan City through absolute strength, even she had found herself somewhat constrained when faced with such a chaotic situation.

Yet with no other options available, she could only maintain order in Haiyuan City through force.

It was not until two years later, after Lu Jingming had accumulated another portion of True Power, that he immediately chose to summon someone capable of resolving their predicament. That person was Chang Li.

In truth, he had many characters to choose from, including quite a few whose abilities were even more outstanding.

Yet at the moment of making his decision, Lu Jingming had ultimately followed his own preferences.

After all, Chang Li's stunning figure—especially those impossible-to-ignore huge breasts—was simply too much for him to resist.

For a boy in the throes of adolescence, such allure was undoubtedly tremendously attractive.

After successfully summoning Chang Li, Lu Jingming began making further plans. Haiyuan City's affairs were too complicated for one person to oversee every aspect of them.

So, he planned to summon another character specifically to manage the internal affairs of the city lord's manor, establishing a clearly divided partnership with Chang Li: one responsible for external matters and coordinating the city's various outward affairs, the other responsible for internal matters and carefully managing everything large and small within the city lord's manor.

After much consideration, Lu Jingming set his sights on Yae Miko. In his mind, Yae Miko was intelligent and cunning, and would surely be able to manage the city lord's manor in impeccable order.

However, when he used the True Authority, he overlooked a crucial issue—he had miscalculated the amount of True Power needed to turn illusion into reality.

As the summoning light gradually faded, the graceful and alluring Yae Miko appeared before him. Before she could even say a word, she turned into a Pink-haired little fox.

With no other choice in such a helpless situation, Lu Jingming could only place the responsibility of managing both the city lord's manor and all of Haiyuan City upon Chang Li's shoulders.

At first, Lu Jingming had been worried. After all, both responsibilities were extremely demanding, and managing them simultaneously was no easy task.

Yet Chang Li displayed astonishing capability. It was as though she had been born with exceptional leadership and administrative wisdom. Faced with countless complicated matters, she did not become flustered in the slightest. Instead, she handled everything with ease and put all of Haiyuan City in flawless order.

Those family factions that had once run wild through the city, each harboring their own schemes, were all brought into line by Chang Li's maneuvering and firm methods. None of them dared act recklessly again.

Even beyond her busy daily administrative duties, Chang Li remained at ease and still had the energy to help plan the city lord's manor's various affairs.

Thanks to her careful planning, along with the deterrence and protection of Jing Liu's formidable strength, Lu Jingming was able to firmly retain his position as city lord of Haiyuan City.

One had to know that, under the strict regulations of the Star Luo Empire, the underage Lu Jingming was not actually qualified to inherit the title of Earl of Haiyuan, much less become city lord.

No matter how poorly Haiyuan City might fare, it was still a coastal main city of the Star Luo Empire. There were plenty of people coveting it.

The Lu Family now had only Lu Jingming's bloodline remaining. As the first in line to inherit, Haiyuan City would indeed fall into his hands sooner or later.

But during this sensitive period before he came of age, the Star Luo Empire was highly likely to send another official to temporarily serve as city lord, only handing the position over once Lu Jingming reached adulthood.

However, it was easy to invite a god but difficult to send one away. No one could predict whether, when Lu Jingming came of age, that temporary city lord who had spent years building influence in Haiyuan City would be willing to hand control of the city back to him willingly.

When that time came, the situation would likely become even more complicated, with far too many uncertainties.

Fortunately, Chang Li was farsighted. When faced with the official sent by the Star Luo Empire, she decisively proposed that she temporarily assume the duties of city lord, firmly refusing to let outsiders interfere in any of Haiyuan City's affairs.

Through Chang Li's skillful political maneuvering, together with Jing Liu's terrifying strength as solid backing, Lu Jingming ultimately succeeded in retaining the position of city lord after an intense struggle and negotiation, allowing him to remain securely in control of Haiyuan City.

Without such a capable assistant as Chang Li, skilled in strategy and meticulous in thought, relying solely on Jing Liu would have made the situation exceptionally difficult.

They could either use force to intimidate all sides, which would undoubtedly amount to openly opposing the entire Star Luo Empire and was by no means wise, or they could only helplessly abandon Haiyuan City and leave this troubled land with Lu Jingming to seek another place to settle.

In fact, the Jing Liu summoned by Lu Jingming was not at her peak. She had lost the terrifying power she once possessed in her original world—the power to cut down stars—and no longer had the support of Path power or Imaginary energy.

After arriving in the wholly unfamiliar Douluo Continent, the only power Jing Liu could use was this world's unique Soul Power.

Although she remained immensely powerful, she was clearly not without rivals when facing the vast machinery of an empire. She could not truly be invincible.

Hearing Lu Jingming's concerned words, Chang Li's lips curved slightly upward, and a gentle, captivating smile blossomed across her face.

She spoke softly, her voice like a spring breeze brushing past one's ears. "It's all right. You don't need to worry. Ever since Lady Black Tower joined us, Haiyuan City's affairs have gradually gotten on track. And during this time, I've also focused on cultivating several trusted confidants. With them sharing the workload, I truly have it much easier now, and I have more free time at my own disposal."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jingming nodded lightly. Deep down, he secretly felt fortunate that the excessive burden had not worn Chang Li down.