Chapter 482: Feed Them All Till They’re Stuffed! |
Jiangdong, Dao Court, Tianwu City.
At this moment, Lu Yang had already walked out of the Tianwu Hall, still holding an imperial edict in his hand — it was the appointment assigning him to establish the 【Imperial City Department】 under the Xianghuo Shendao.
“It's done. Great Fortune in hand.”
Lu Yang looked up at the sky. His clone had already successfully seized the Great Fortune and stored it inside the Myriad Spirits Banner. Through the 【All-Embracing Heaven】, it had been delivered directly to his main body.
‘That was really smooth.’
Lu Yang sighed with emotion. The opening of this life had been absurdly smooth. But he wasn’t nervous — the False Golden Fruition Method was his greatest source of confidence.
‘In fact, it’s only natural that things are going smoothly for me. After all, without my previous Immortal Spirit identity drawing the Celestial Department’s scrutiny, I’m now a full Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator who can fake a Golden Fruition at any time. I’ve gathered so much intelligence, and it’s all calculated — if I still don’t succeed, that’d be truly unjust!’
Lu Yang quickly collected his thoughts.
With the imperial edict in hand, recruiting manpower was a simple matter. Emperor Jiayou had set no restrictions on this front, and Lu Yang was more than happy to proceed with great fanfare.
Under Lu Yang’s call, the entire True Dragon sub-branch that had been sent to Jiangdong by the Dragon Monarch, along with the many demon cultivators gathered by the 【One-Heart Society】, had all assembled.
Lu Yang received them inside the newly established office of the 【Imperial City Department】.
In addition to the demon cultivators from the 【One-Heart Society】, there were many human cultivators as well — all of them had been selected from the lower ranks of various departments and transferred into the 【Imperial City Department】.
However, the moment these human and demon cultivators stood side by side, Lu Yang immediately sensed the deep rift between them. The human cultivators looked down on the demon cultivators, and although the demon cultivators bore resentment, they also looked down on themselves. Thus, both sides instinctively banded together, forming two distinct factions within the office.
Lu Yang frowned deeply at the sight.
Truth be told, he was someone who valued equality. He treated everyone equally — whether human or demon mattered not. What mattered was whether they could be used by him.
Those who could be used by him were his people.
Those who couldn’t — were enemies.
He stepped onto the stage.
Lu Yang cleared his throat, then spoke calmly, “Fellow Daoists, we have all gathered here today for one purpose — to serve His Majesty with loyalty and to contribute to the Dao Court.”
“First, let us salute His Majesty.”
As Lu Yang finished speaking, he took the lead and bowed in the direction of the imperial palace.
“Salute to His Majesty.”
The Dao Court officials below followed suit. Applause thundered. Shouts of “Long live!” surged like a tidal wave — so loud that half of Tianwu City could hear it.
Most of the energy came from the demon cultivators. After all, with Lu Yang now being part of the True Dragon Clan, he was a banner for all demon cultivators in the Dao Court. They hoped he would improve their status and thus showed great support. By contrast, the human cultivators responded perfunctorily.
Lu Yang wasn’t in a rush. He chuckled softly and said:
“I won’t speak at length. Let’s get to what everyone cares about most — the benefits and salaries of the 【Imperial City Department】.”
As soon as he said this, everyone’s eyes sharpened.
Talk money, and no one’s sleepy anymore.
The next second, Lu Yang calmly stated, “Currently, Dao Court officials receive their salary once every hundred years. You get to choose one among cultivation methods, spiritual materials, or comprehension boosts.”
“Our 【Imperial City Department】 offers the same options.”
Hearing this, no one was surprised — it sounded like things were staying the same.
Then came his next words:
“Delivered annually.”
“.”
In an instant, all fell silent.
Whether demon or human, everyone wore the same expression: disbelief. Did they hear that right?
The Dao Court distributes salary every hundred years, and you’re giving it yearly.？？
Do you even have that kind of money?
Answer: He actually does.
After all, the Old Dragon Monarch had just sponsored Lu Yang a hefty sum — money meant for bribes, which Lu Yang now used freely for salaries.
Of course, that covered the spiritual materials.
As for cultivation methods — Lu Yang had resolved the lives of so many people by now. His stockpile of divine arts and Dao methods was nothing short of immense — more than enough.
The only thing he couldn’t provide was the comprehension boost from the 【Immortal Nation Dao Law】 — but that hardly mattered. These were Dao Court officials. Once they joined the 【Imperial City Department】, they’d be switching over to cultivate the Xianghuo Shendao, where position and realm depended entirely on incense power. Who still needed comprehension?
The next second, Lu Yang waved his arm.
Spiritual materials from the True Dragon Clan instantly flooded the entire government hall. The surging spiritual energy was almost visible — a tide that drowned the crowd.
Everyone was stunned!
He’s really handing them out?!
As they stared in dazed shock, Lu Yang remained calm: “All of you are loyal subjects of the Dao Court.”
“These spiritual materials are your annual salary. Consider it a small personal gift from me — this year’s wages paid in advance.”
At that moment, a human cultivator timidly raised his hand:
“Sir... can I opt out of spiritual materials and choose a cultivation method instead?”
“Of course you can.”
Lu Yang smiled slightly: “But since I’ve already laid out these materials, I won’t bother taking them back. Anyone who wants a cultivation method can come see me afterward — I’ll consider it a bonus.”
In an instant, the crowd erupted.
Full spiritual material salary — plus a bonus cultivation method?
How is this not double salary?!
And mind you, they weren’t even officially employed yet! This was only their first day in the 【Imperial City Department】, and they’d just received two hundred years’ worth of Dao Court salary!
At that moment, everyone’s gaze toward Lu Yang changed.
Seeing the atmosphere heating up, Lu Yang added fuel to the fire: “Additionally, considering the importance of the 【Imperial City Department】’s missions...”
“There will be extra allowances after each mission — as a reward for your hard work. The better the performance, the bigger the bonus.”
Lu Yang’s approach to the 【Imperial City Department】 could be summed up in one sentence:
Not only would he let them sip soup, he’d feed them meat too. He wasn’t afraid of greed — they could be as greedy as they wanted. He’d feed them till they were stuffed, till their cheeks were bursting!
“Thump!”
At that moment, Lu Yang didn’t even need to say anything. Every cultivator of the 【Imperial City Department】 stood up on their own and bowed to him with deep respect.
The most excited of them all was the demon cultivator Xiao Shan, who had pledged allegiance to Lu Yang early on.
He rose to his feet, intending to pledge his loyalty. But as his eyes met Lu Yang’s on stage, he was suddenly struck by inspiration:
“To serve His Majesty with loyalty, to contribute to the Dao Court!”
With that, he turned to the Tianwu Hall and bowed:
“Loyalty! Sincerity!”
With someone taking the lead, and Lu Yang not stopping them, the rest followed suit — each stepped forward to receive their salary, then bowed toward the Tianwu Hall.
Emperor Jiayou, who had been secretly observing, was finally satisfied.
“Boom!”
In the next instant, an overwhelming tide of incense power surged forth, instantly enveloping all the cultivators of the 【Imperial City Department】 and raising their positions.
This — was the greatest reward.
From beginning to end, Emperor Jiayou had been watching, but never worried. Why? Because he believed he still held the most critical interest.
That was — cultivation base.
As long as the foundation of the incense deity’s cultivation remained in his hands, no matter how much Lu Yang bestowed, it was all on his behalf. It meant nothing. Emperor Jiayou was happy to see it happen.
Lu Yang, of course, understood Emperor Jiayou’s thinking, and merely sneered inwardly.
Even if Emperor Jiayou treated him as a mere tool — little did he know that Lu Yang saw him the same way.
‘The complete 【Heaven of the Seven Luminaries】 is in my hands. No matter how many incense deities I create now, in the end, who they’ll really obey... well, we’ll see about that!’