Chapter 69.2: Mianyin City Lord
From Moonspirit’s perspective…
Although Blue Sea had destroyed Dihai and was relentlessly hunting down Mingxia, she was, in truth, an exceptionally kind person.
Take Jin Yu, for example.
He had accidentally wandered into the edge of the battlefield, yet Blue Sea had spared him.
Not only that, she had accepted his allegiance.
Now she was even willing to let him share in the division of the prisoners.
To Moonspirit, Blue Sea was almost too kind.
Honestly, even Mianyin wouldn’t have been this compassionate.
But since Blue Sea hadn’t asked, Moonspirit didn’t feel it was appropriate to bring it up herself.
In the end, she simply sent someone to retrieve the photograph.
The young man in the picture had crimson hair, emerald-green eyes, and fair skin, just like the other people of Mianyin’s civilization.
He looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, yet he was trying his best to put on a solemn, dignified expression because the photograph was meant to hang on the wall of the City Lord’s Manor.
This was the first City Lord of Mianyin—
Qingyin.
“So this is what you looked like…”
Moonspirit had suddenly realized that she had never known what her friend looked like.
Now that she finally had the chance, she wanted to see him.
When they had first met, Mianyin had actually suggested meeting in person.
Moonspirit’s response had been only five words:
[Have you lost your mind?]
She then explained to him that any City Lord of the Tier-3 or below who wanted to stay alive had better remain inside their City Lord’s Mansion and not venture outside.
For a City Lord, there was no safer place.
Mianyin had listened obediently.
He promised her that until he reached the Tier-4 and became a Tier-4 Transcendent, he absolutely would not step outside the City Lord’s Mansion.
In the end…
He kept that promise.
Until the day he died, he never once left the City Lord’s Mansion.
The one who had struck the fatal blow…
…was his own cousin.
Moonspirit had already guessed the impostor’s identity, and she was certain that the fake Mianyin had long since been reduced to ashes.
Even so, she still asked why.
Deep down, Moonspirit already had an idea of the answer.
But she felt that if Mianyin were here, he would probably want to hear it.
“The reason… the reason was that Lord City Lord—no, I mean Qingkui… Qingkui was an extraordinary man before the apocalypse. He was the owner of a huge company. He was used to being the most outstanding person in the family.”
“He couldn’t stand the idea that the little cousin he used to look after was now above him. Those… those were his exact words when he was drunk! I’m just repeating what he said—I didn’t make it up!”
The man speaking was one of Qingkui’s former confidants.
Held under guard, he trembled uncontrollably.
He had never imagined that so long after the former City Lord’s death, a City Lord from another civilization would come asking about how he had died.
“Qingkui said that everyone used to introduce Qingyin as his younger cousin. But now, whenever people saw him, they’d say, ‘That’s the City Lord’s older cousin.’ If he wanted any official position, he had to apply to his younger cousin for approval…”
“And… he also suggested turning Mianyin into a plundering civilization, but the City Lord refused. He thought the City Lord was too soft-hearted—that he’d been lucky enough to become the City Lord, yet failed to seize the opportunity to lead the Mianyin civilization to greater strength…”
Qingkui had truly loved his younger cousin.
They had grown up together.
After Qingkui’s parents died, Qingyin’s parents had raised him as one of their own.
Had the apocalypse never come, he would have remained a good older cousin, protecting Qingyin for the rest of his life.
But the apocalypse had come.
His company was gone.
His wealth was gone.
Everything had changed.
The affection was still there.
But compared to power…
…it no longer seemed all that important.
The former confidant rambled on, repeating things Qingkui had once said to him.
Gradually, his voice began to choke with emotion.
Regret seeped into his words.
Because back then…
…he had agreed with Qingkui.
He had thought:
Wouldn’t becoming a plundering civilization be so much better?
That way, they wouldn’t have to keep fighting those vicious snow beasts.
The snow beasts were enormous, with razor-sharp claws. Some of them could even fly.
They were simply too difficult to deal with.
Wasn’t killing people far easier than killing snow beasts?
By conquering other Safe Cities, they could seize vast amounts of resources and crystals—and even acquire sl*ves to do their bidding.
After killing Qingyin, Qingkui lied to everyone.
He claimed that Qingyin had been murdered by rebels and had only transferred the position of City Lord to him with his dying breath.
After that, Mianyin Safe City became a plundering civilization.
But if they wanted to plunder others…
Others would naturally want to plunder them as well.
Qingkui successfully lured Mingxia Safe City into an alliance.
Mingxia then brought Dihai along.
After the two cities overwhelmingly defeated Mianyin Safe City, they chose not to absorb its City Lord Core. Instead, they took every last crystal Mianyin possessed and forced the battered Tier-2 Safe City to serve as bait, tricking even more Safe Cities into their trap.
Although the Safe City itself still existed, the once self-sufficient residents of Mianyin instantly became sl*ves to the other two plundering civilizations.
As one of Qingkui’s trusted followers, his own life had become even worse than when he had merely been an ordinary guard.
Moonspirit stared expressionlessly at the tearful man.
She waved her hand.
“Take him away.”
The guards immediately dragged him out.
Moonspirit then asked,
“Qingyin’s parents are still alive, aren’t they?”
One of her guards stepped forward.
“Yes, City Lord. They had no idea that Lord Qingyin was murdered by Qingkui. After Qingyin’s death, Qingkui continued supporting them just as before. But now…”
“…they should know the truth.”
After all, Mianyin Safe City had been conquered by Moonspirit.
Moonspirit Safe City’s own population had been greatly reduced, and she wanted the people of Mianyin to join her city as residents—not become sl*ves.
Naturally, she wasn’t foolish enough to expect them to integrate while still harboring resentment over the war.
For the past several days, every department in Moonspirit Safe City had been busy with outreach and reconciliation efforts.
When Qingyin had been City Lord, life in Mianyin hadn’t been luxurious.
But it had, at the very least, been peaceful and normal.
After Qingkui seized power, the residents’ standard of living plummeted.
The property they had once owned was looted by the residents of the other two Safe Cities. They were forced into servitude, and people died almost every day.
At a time like this, when Moonspirit Safe City revealed the truth, the people of Mianyin directed all the suffering brought about by the war toward Qingkui.
At the same time, they sincerely mourned the late City Lord Qingyin.
As a result, they willingly became new residents of Moonspirit Safe City, carrying very little resentment with them.
Moonspirit placed Qingyin’s photograph into a drawer.
“Upgrade Qingyin’s parents to Star Resident status. Make sure they receive a monthly allotment of food and supplies. Take good care of them.”
“Yes, City Lord.”
Nearby, Ma Yuetian, a resident of Blue Sea, looked from Moonspirit to her departing guard.
“Honorable City Lord Moonspirit, do you still need me here?”
Since Moonspirit and Mianyin belonged to different civilizations, they couldn’t communicate directly.
Blue Sea’s residents had become the ideal interpreters.
Ma Yuetian was one of those drawn here by the generous translation fees offered by Moonspirit Safe City.
Moonspirit gave her a polite smile.
“That won’t be necessary for now. Thank you for your help. My guard will pay you after you leave.”
The moment Ma Yuetian heard the word payment, the smile on her face grew even brighter.
“Understood. Then I’ll take my leave.”
She walked away with light, cheerful steps.
Moonspirit watched her retreating figure.
She was nothing more than an ordinary resident of Blue Sea.
She held no military rank.
She had no wings.
Yet she possessed a strong, healthy physique, a rosy complexion, and not the slightest trace of gloom on her face.
It was obvious at a glance that she had no complaints about her living conditions.
Moonspirit had also noticed something else.
Blue Sea’s residents certainly recognized social hierarchy.
Everyone understood that different professions carried different responsibilities, different levels of authority, and different degrees of importance to the Safe City.
Yet there was no sign of oppression.
Ordinary residents like Ma Yuetian carried themselves with quiet confidence.
Even residents from other civilizations—people who were clearly not native to Blue Sea—showed no fear or timidity when interacting with Blue Sea’s original inhabitants.
This…
…was the kind of Safe City Qingyin had always dreamed of.
Blue Sea…
If Qingyin had never become a City Lord—if he had simply been an ordinary resident—
…he probably would have longed to become one of Blue Sea’s people.
Moonspirit let out a quiet sigh before turning her attention back to her private chat with Blue Sea.
Moonspirit Safe City: [Thank you very much for letting me have so many residents. I’ve noticed that your residents’ wings likely came from the Skywing Dragons. Since you also accepted commissions to hunt flying snow beasts before, I hope you won’t mind my guessing that you may be looking for more Skywing Dragons?]
Moonspirit Safe City: [I know the coordinates of a place where a great many Skywing Dragons live. However, I should warn you that there are at least a million of them there—possibly even more. It’s extremely dangerous. But if you’re interested, you may want to take a look.]
She sent over the coordinates.
Cheng Qisheng glanced at them.
As long as she wished, she could see through the eyes of all her believers.
So while Ma Yuetian had been translating, Cheng Qisheng had also learned about the friendship between Moonspirit and Mianyin.
Considering that Mianyin had relocated because his original location had been overrun by Skywing Dragons…
…it was obvious who had originally given Moonspirit those coordinates.
Even so, she asked.
Her Creator’s intuition told her that Moonspirit needed her to ask.
It was much like the day Cheng Qisheng had happened to glimpse nine-year-old Marshal Alice crying beneath a tree, when an inexplicable instinct had told her…
…to pat the little girl’s head.
Blue Sea Safe City: [Thank you very much. I do need more Skywing Dragons. May I ask how you came by these coordinates?]
Moonspirit Safe City: “A friend gave them to me.”
A moment later, she added:
Moonspirit Safe City: [I think… if he knew he was able to help you, it would make him happy too.]
Blue Sea Safe City: [Please thank him for me. I hope he is happy.]
…
Wen Huahua relocated!
Mingxia and Dihai had possessed sizable populations.
Since the latecomer Jin Yu had received a share of the captured residents, Coriander—Blue Sea’s very first and most loyal follower, who had an even closer relationship with Blue Sea—naturally received a share as well.
Wen Huahua happily relocated his Safe City.
The first thing that greeted him was the sheer size of his boss’s Safe City.
It was so vast that he couldn’t even see where it ended.
Then he was stunned all over again by the enormous number of residents Blue Sea had taken from the two conquered cities.
Without missing a beat, he launched into an enthusiastic barrage of compliments for his boss.
He even volunteered to leave his own City Lord’s Mansion and personally visit Blue Sea Safe City to pay his respects.
His boss politely declined.
Wen Huahua was convinced this could only mean one thing:
His boss was concerned for his safety.
Afterward, he introduced himself to Moonspirit and Jin Yu before throwing himself into work, directing his people to absorb the influx of new residents.
At long last, Coriander Safe City’s chronically underpopulated ranks finally received a massive boost.
Unlike Moonspirit, who was selective about which residents she accepted…
Coriander Safe City and Jin Yu Safe City welcomed everyone without exception.
Wen Huahua desperately needed people to fill out his tiny population.
Jin Yu, meanwhile, wanted more immigrants from other civilizations to dilute the proportion of his original residents—most of whom weren’t even from the same country or ethnicity as he was.
The two of them were absolutely delighted.
Better yet, this entire region had already been thoroughly cleared of snow beasts by Dihai and Mingxia.
The remaining monsters were relatively few in number, making it the perfect place for weak Tier-2 Safe Cities to develop.
Blue Sea’s boss had announced that she was heading off to hunt Skywing Dragons.
As for this region, if Wen Huahua wanted to stay, he was free to do so.
Wen Huahua was so happy he nearly cried.
This…
This is the benefit of following the right boss!!
The region had originally contained three Safe Cities.
After the Safe City war, even with Blue Sea leaving, there would still be three Safe Cities standing.
There was Wen Huahua.
There was Jin Yu, another follower of their boss and, in a sense, Wen Huahua’s colleague.
And there was Moonspirit, already a Tier-3 City Lord, who—out of respect for their shared allegiance to Blue Sea—had signed a temporary alliance agreement (the Four-City Alliance version), guaranteeing that she would not attack either him or Jin Yu.
The three of them could even help each other out whenever necessary.
Wen Huahua wouldn’t have dared dream of a situation this perfect.
Reluctantly, he said,
“Boss, do you really have to leave? This place is so nice. There are just the right number of snow beasts here.”
Blue Sea Safe City: [I’d rather have Skywing Dragons.]
Besides, the number of snow beasts in this region was only “just right” for other Safe Cities.
For Blue Sea…
There were still too few.
Skywing Dragons offered far better value.
Wen Huahua only became more convinced that his boss treated him far too well.
Won’t Boss end up losing out like this?
[Boss, before you leave, why don’t you take more residents with you? Don’t limit yourself to so few just because you’re trying to look after Jin Yu and me. And don’t focus only on quality over quantity! I’ve carefully picked out some residents with useful skills. How about I send them over to Blue Sea?]
[Boss, I know your Safe City already has a large population, but please listen to me. From what I’ve heard, every City Lord says that the more residents a Safe City has, the better. Otherwise, if some major disaster suddenly wipes out a huge portion of your population, you’ll be in a terrible spot. As long as your city isn’t packed to the point of overflowing when you’re gathering residents, you should keep accepting more!]
Cheng Qisheng was silent for a few seconds.
…Haha.
How did you know my Safe City is just about to become so crowded that it really will be overflowing?
The great Creator God silently gazed into the distance through the eyes of one of her believers.
Remember the trio who had been carried by snow beasts to another continent?
Song Xi.
Wang Moning.
Shen Jinyang.
Unable to retrace their route back to Blue Sea Safe City, they had no choice but to continue in the opposite direction.
For most of the journey, the three of them had traveled day and night without stopping, riding their snowmobiles across the frozen wilderness.
When Ruo Buyan invented the flying wings…
…they were still traveling.
When Blue Sea descended near Puya Safe City and charged into a horde of Skywing Dragons…
…they were still traveling.
When Blue Sea gained hundreds of thousands of winged residents…
…they were still traveling.
When Cheng Qisheng acquired the Translation Meme, allowing all of her believers to communicate with every civilization…
…the three of them were still traveling.
Then Cheng Qisheng discovered that the people of Dazzling Star were exceptionally easy to convert into believers.
She sent out a message to all of Blue Sea:
Bring any Dazzling Star resident who becomes a believer back to the Temple.
Reward: 100 contribution points per believer.
—
The trio stopped in their tracks.
They just so happened to be in an area densely populated by Dazzling Star natives.
One hundred points for every believer we bring back?
The Great Creator God’s command was to bring believers back to the Temple.
The problem was…
The three of them were still hopelessly lost.
Even with the Great Creator God’s guidance, finding their way back would probably be incredibly difficult.
After discussing it for an entire night, they reached a unanimous conclusion.
If we can’t go to the Temple…
…then we’ll make the Temple come to us.
The plan was remarkably simple.
As long as they gathered enough Dazzling Star believers—
Enough that moving them overland became impractical—
Then, to receive so many new believers, the Temple would surely descend to their location.
Just like what had happened on Velvet Star.
Whenever believers scattered across the world gathered in one place, the Temple would naturally descend to pick everyone up and bring them home.
The more the three of them thought about it…
…the more flawless the plan seemed.
So they immediately put it into action.
—
Until now, Cheng Qisheng hadn’t devoted much attention to them.
After all, they weren’t like the travel team, wandering from place to place and letting her enjoy the scenery through their eyes as though watching a travel documentary.
She had checked in on them several times.
Day or night, the scene was always the same.
Either they were racing across the snowfields at full speed…
…or they were killing whatever snow beast blocked their path…
…before immediately getting back on their snowmobiles and racing onward again.
Out of every twenty-four hours, they spent twenty-three and a half sitting on their snowmobiles.
Even the Great Creator God couldn’t help but marvel.
What incredible endurance… Those three must have nerves of steel to survive that much riding.
So as long as she could vaguely sense through the chain of faith that her three faraway believers were alive, energetic, and in no danger of dying…
…she hadn’t paid them any special attention.
During the blessing bestowed upon all believers during the Five-City War, Cheng Qisheng naturally included the three of them as well.
Only then did she discover what they had been up to.
Song Xi had led Wang Moning and Shen Jinyang, relying on their extraordinary drive, the pile of item cards they had accumulated during their nonstop journey, and the extensive network of acquaintances they had built along the way.
They had…
…founded an entire nation on Dazzling Star.
