Chapter 170: Walking on the Right Track

He moved to the front with incredibly smooth grace, almost sliding into a kneel.

Without waiting for Wang Yu to speak, he continued.

"City Lord, this is the prodigy of my Guan family's next generation."

"Guan Yingdong, Guan Yingxue, come quickly and pay your respects to your future master."

From behind the plump figure of the Guan family head, a pair of twin sisters walked forward. Both were dressed in similarly colored ivory-white lotus-petal skirts, which were, for some reason, cut very short.

They barely covered a third of their thighs. Two chiffon ribbons, tied into small bows, fluttered down from the small of their backs, adding a touch of playful and charming elegance.

Their slender, long legs, white as snow and smooth as jade, appeared slightly delicate yet possessed a unique beauty.

Their footwear was interesting; it seemed to be a pair of combined attack magical artifacts that had not yet been refined.

One had a golden snake-like decoration wrapped around her left leg up to the knee, integrated with the footwear. The openwork carving design made the pale, jade-like feet inside subtly visible.

The other had a silver snake-like decoration wrapped around her right leg, with almost the same arrangement as the first, only differing in position.

A First-Tier Supreme-Grade Combined Attack Magical Artifact: Gold-Silver Snake Footwear!

His gaze moved upwards.

The twin sisters looked identical. They had their hair styled in a graceful, parted cloud bun, with two wisps of bangs falling to frame their already delicate, oval-shaped faces, making them even more perfect.

Swallow-tail braids draped symmetrically over each of their shoulders. When they spoke, their voices were so soft they seemed helpless, instantly eliciting pity.

Wang Yu couldn't help but gasp inwardly.

This wasn't a prodigy the Guan family head sent; this was meant to drain him dry!

Especially now, the Guan family head's gaze was practically overt.

"Yingdong greets Master."

"Yingxue greets Master."

The two young girls bowed flawlessly and impeccably. Wang Yu felt helpless; he genuinely had no interest in girls this young.

If he wanted to pursue anything in this regard, he'd prefer to find a few older or more mature women; that was more to his taste.

It was just that he didn't want to form a Dao companion contract.

So he used the method of accepting disciples to establish a stable alliance of interests with the Guan and Jiang families.

However, the Guan family seemed more eager to express their sincerity, fearing he wouldn't trust them, going so far as to send these twin sisters—it was truly outrageous.

After a moment of silence, Wang Yu finally spoke.

"Which of you is the older sister, and which is the younger sister?"

"Replying to Master.

"Yingdong is the older sister, and Yingxue is the younger sister."

"All right, come here."

Considering the importance of the Guan family, Wang Yu still accepted them. Both immediately beamed with joy, and after quickly kneeling and kowtowing, they hurried to his side.

They stood somewhat timidly next to Xueyu.

Seeing this, the Jiang family head also squeezed forward a step.

"City Lord, the Jiang family's prodigies have also been brought. Jiang Li, Jiang Chuan, step forward and pay your respects to your future master."

The two individuals brought by the Jiang family seemed unfamiliar with each other. One was dark-skinned, like a dark-skinned youth, while the other had an ordinary appearance, but only his eyes were somewhat spirited.

At this moment, he was staring straight at him, quite bold.

"Not bad."

Wang Yu accepted all four disciples. He could just teach them casually, as they probably knew this was a political arrangement, and they were merely sacrifices.

The so-called "Qilin children" was just a way for the families to glorify themselves, though it was true they had the potential to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

After this part was over.

The Guan family head and the Jiang family head exchanged glances and tacitly handed over storage bags and recently compiled jade slips, reflecting their families' steadily increasing incomes over the years.

Yet the taxes they paid had never increased. This was to make up for the increased portions, amounting to about 100,000 spirit stones from each side.

For them, this was a small bleed, not enough to cause severe damage. Along with this, the Ink Painting Sect, Scent Teaching Sect, and Purple Dragon Mountain also paid their five-year land rent for the current cycle.

In total, it amounted to 500,000 spirit stones, causing the spirit stones in Wang Yu's possession to exceed a million for the first time. Even if converted to mid-grade spirit stones, it would be over 110,000, which was no small sum.

It was enough to bid on a Core Formation spiritual item at the Golden Pavilion.

Of course, Core Formation spiritual items were best if they matched one's attributes; otherwise, there was a high possibility of failing Core Formation. Whether he could find one depended on luck. The most suitable Core Formation spiritual items for Wang Yu were still Yin or Ice-attributed ones.

Seeing that everyone was obedient and yielding, Wang Yu was not stingy about sharing the spoils.

"You can divide the White family's spiritual fields and shop assets, but who gets more or less must follow my rules."

The five factions were all overjoyed at these words. They hadn't expected such a benefit, thinking that the White family's demise had truly served a purpose.

Making this decision was not just for stability, but also to transfer some of the animosity onto them. If they encountered any remnants of the White family in the future, they would naturally spare no effort in surrounding and suppressing them.

A new monarch brings new ministers, and nothing could be truer than this!

The corner of Wang Yu's mouth curved slightly upwards.

"As you all know, the spiritual fields belonging to the City Lord's Manor are being encroached upon by a group of savages, and a large number of the City Lord's Manor's shops in the North and Central districts have been privately occupied.

"Proportionally, whoever can return these assets to the City Lord's Manor, the more they return, the more of the White family's assets they will ultimately receive. The one ranked first can choose the high-quality assets first."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Because the City Lord's Manor's assets had mostly been occupied by them, and ordinary rogue cultivators wouldn't have such ability, it was clear who the "savages" referred to.

From another perspective, Wang Yu was essentially exchanging the White family's assets for assets that already belonged to the City Lord's Manor. From his perspective, it was a loss, considered a reward.

From the perspective of the five factions, this was an equivalent exchange of assets, neither gaining nor losing. Or rather, that's not entirely accurate; at the very least, their assets had been "whitewashed," meaning there would be no procedural issues even if members of the Rebellious Spirit Blood Sect came to investigate.

They wouldn't need to worry about being held accountable.

This time, it was the Ink Painting Sect's representative, who had always been rather inconspicuous, who nodded first.

"The City Lord is absolutely right," he said. "We will profit from this. In half a month at most, this old man will be able to retrieve the City Lord's Manor's properties."

As he spoke, he looked at the others.

After all, he alone couldn't recover so much; everyone needed to work together to return everything intact. They could return them after a quick inventory, and if they acted quickly, they might be able to choose many of the White family's high-quality assets.

It was a give and take: the earlier they chose, the greater the chance of profit.

He wasn't the only smart person present.

"I, Guan, also agree; a result can be had in three days at most."

"The Scent Teaching Sect agrees."

"My Purple Dragon Mountain also agrees to help the City Lord this once."

"The Jiang family... agrees."

Seeing this, Wang Yu had no further matters, so he said.

"Very well, there are no other matters for this visit. You may disperse.

"Oh, right... please spread the word: in seven days, the Guileng City Lord's Manor will widely recruit talented individuals. Anyone at the mid-stage Qi Condensation realm can join the City Guard."

Guileng City has a total of ten city gates—four on the front and back walls, and six on the left and right walls. These cultivators don't need high cultivation; just being able to monitor people and maintain order is enough.

Everything was getting on track.

The makeshift organization would gradually mature under his continuous optimization. After this period of effort, Guileng City was finally under his initial control.

As for how to manage it, that was a matter for the future.

Making the cake bigger benefited everyone, and it was impossible for him to do all the work alone.

Now, he truly needed to go into seclusion for a period of cultivation.

This was both to digest what he had gained during this period and to further advance his numerous soul path inheritances. Furthermore, the resources he held must be utilized and converted into strength; otherwise, why would he bother with all this effort?

Seven days later.

Wang Yu emerged from seclusion on time. On the plaza in front of the Guileng City Lord's Manor, he used 1.5-meter-high ice as a low wall to enclose an area, preventing the crowd from pressing too close and ensuring safety.

And directly in front, there was already a long line, stretching seemingly endlessly as far as the eye could see.

His four disciples and Xueyu followed beside him.

Jiang Li and Jiang Chuan, the two boys, sat at the prepared tables and chairs with a complete set of paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones in front of them.

One was responsible for recording names, origins, cultivation levels, and specialties.

The other recorded the reasons for joining the City Lord's Manor and what they could do for it.

Guan Yingdong and Guan Yingxue each held a sign—the older sister held the "selected" sign, and the younger sister held the "eliminated" sign. They simply stood beside Wang Yu, responsible for holding up the signs.

Wang Yu lay on Xueyu, able to hear the sounds from the lines; whether to accept someone depended entirely on his decision.

This method was quite interesting.

But if it lasted for a long time, no matter how interesting, it would become a hell of repetitive labor.

"Let's begin."

"Alright, please come one by one," he announced. "Join the City Lord's Manor to maintain Guileng's public order. We offer excellent treatment and conditions. Those at mid-stage Qi Condensation realm and above can step forward.

"If you are a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you can directly become an honored guest of the City Lord's Manor, receiving a generous reward of spirit stones and merit points annually, which can be exchanged for cultivation techniques and secret arts.

"Anything below third-tier can be exchanged! Those who wish to join, come here to register."

This recruitment lasted for three days.

Those who wished to join came in an endless stream. The first day was mainly cultivators from within the city; they lived here, bought houses here, and thrived, raising their descendants here.

At this time, having an officially recognized identity, whether for the City Guard or the City Patrol, was very important, as it could at least protect the safety of one's family.

Only a few outsiders were interspersed among them.

By the second day, the number of applicants had doubled. Regardless of their intentions—whether they were fleeing pursuers or had once been rogue cultivators—Wang Yu allowed them to join if he deemed them acceptable.

As long as they had enough talent, he would accept them.

There were certainly spies from various factions mixed in, which was unavoidable.

The recruitment lasted three days and ended to the regret of countless people.

Wang Yu did not fully staff.

He only recruited 1,000 mid-stage Qi Condensation City Guards, divided into ten hundred-man squads, with late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators as captains. Besides guarding the city, they also needed to patrol the outer ring, farmlands, and other areas.

Responsible for the safety of mortals and spiritual farmers, this number of people was just enough for deployment.

Five hundred City Patrollers were assigned, one hundred to each of the five city districts, with fifty rotating to work day and night without rest. Their captains were at Qi Condensation level eight or nine.

One hundred guards for the City Lord's Manor were recruited, all at late-stage Qi Condensation.

Ten instructors, all elderly cultivators at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation with no hope of breaking through to Foundation Establishment, possessed rich theoretical knowledge and would manage the batch of young talents for him daily.

Thus, all necessary tasks were completed.

His days of staying indoors officially began. Apart from occasional contact with the five major factions, Wang Yu often frequented the branches established by the dominant powers of the Scarlet Kite Demonic Domain in the Central District.

Such as the Golden Pavilion's Guileng branch.