Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Clay, the Creator of All Things

"Well, you don't need to think about these things now. Once you've cultivated the techniques I gave you to a certain level, you'll naturally understand."

"To what extent?"

"Perfect, almost reaching the level of a quasi-god of level 99."

Qian Renxue: ? ? ?

“Xiao Lu, I’ve discovered another great strength of yours,” Qian Renxue said seriously.

"What?" Lu Yan asked curiously.

"What a show-off!" Qian Renxue gritted her teeth in hatred.

"Haha." Lu Yan was amused by the little angel's sullen and resentful look.

"You're still laughing!" Qian Renxue bit Lu Yan's arm in dissatisfaction.

After a few more moments of playful bickering, Qian Renxue finally spoke up: "So you just directly 'dismantled' my disguise soul skill earlier?"

"Mm." Lu Yan nodded.

"Xiao Lu, I feel that the gap between us is widening. Perhaps in the future, I won't be able to help you much anymore." Qian Ren was silent for a moment before speaking softly.

"I'm thinking about going back to inherit the position of angel."

"No, there's no need for that." Lu Yan quickly waved his hand. "Actually, if we could directly cultivate to level 99..."

"There's a high probability that I can become a god directly, and then inherit the authority of the godhood, which should be fine."

Lu Yan's words immediately puzzled Qian Ren, "Become a god directly?"

"Yes, in fact, your six-winged angel bloodline inherently contains a trace of divine authority."

"I just discovered this myself. If you cultivate using techniques, once you reach level 99 and condense your divine soul, I'll give you a push, and you can directly become a god."

"Huh?" Qian Renxue was confused.

"Stop it, you've steered the conversation off-topic. You'll see soon enough," Lu Yan insisted, and said no more.

"Oh!" Qian Renxue responded, and then chatted with Lu Yan about the topic of ascending the throne.

Chapter 228 You call this a city?

So, Lu Yan conjured up two cups of tea out of thin air, allowing them to moisten their throats.

I understand everything I understand.

Sometimes being too intimate isn't good either.

When all the moisture is absorbed, it's easy to feel thirsty.

Qian Renxue picked up the teacup, took a big sip, and carefully moistened her throat.

His tone gradually became calmer, "These past few days, I have been secretly making arrangements. In the court, thirty percent of the veteran officials have clearly sided with me."

"Half of the royal family members also tacitly approved. After all, my achievements in managing state affairs over the years are evident, and I am far more popular than that incompetent Xue Beng."

"As for the nobility, most of the old nobles in the Heavenly Dou Empire are greedy for stability, and we have also promised them benefits before."

"Although ultimately the power over the territory did not actually fall into their hands, but was controlled by the rescue organization."

"But they didn't miss out on the profits they were entitled to; they made a fortune."

"They earned several times more gold soul coins than if they had managed it themselves."

“These people will at least remain neutral, will not deliberately obstruct us, and may even be somewhat biased towards us.”

"As for the military, the Thousand Rock Army, which we have personally built, is already well-established. Its three thousand elite soldiers are all loyal men selected by the Rescue Association and are led by your third brother. Their combat strength far surpasses that of other armies in the empire."

"In addition to the several legion commanders I secretly recruited, as well as those eight hundred Qi and Blood warriors, my military power is already quite considerable."

At this point, Qian Renxue looked at Lu Yan with a hint of certainty in her eyes: "The most crucial thing is the common people and the relief association. Nowadays, everyone in the entire Tiandou Empire knows the Judge, and his reputation is even more renowned than mine as the president of the relief association."

"In the eyes of countless commoners, there is almost no one who is more like the Judge than Emperor Xueye."

"Your relief efforts will cover hundreds of millions of people. As long as you express your support, the hearts and minds of the people will be completely under our control. At that time, even if Emperor Xueye wants to stop us, he will be powerless to change the situation."

"Looking back now, I truly realize that what you said back then was absolutely true; the power of ordinary people is indeed so great."

"With the support of the common people, nobles and royalty are nothing but empty shells."

Upon hearing these last few sentences, Lu Yan rolled his eyes at Qian Renxue: "After all that talk, you've finally gotten to the point."

"So how well has the relief organization trained its administrative personnel?" Lu Yan cut to the chase: "Ministers and nobles alike are all just fleeting clouds."

"It only played a role in stabilizing the situation in the early stages, but it will have to be replaced sooner or later."

Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue nodded: "Some of them have already entered the court, although their status is still a bit low."

"But many of them have already shown their talent and are worth using."

"Once the situation stabilizes in the future, the ministers and nobles in the court can be gradually replaced."

"As long as everything proceeds smoothly during the transition, that's fine." Lu Yan was quite satisfied with this, not that he didn't want to seize power forcefully.

They have neither top-tier military strength nor popular support.

On this snowy night, there was no way to retreat, and no possibility of turning the tide.

However, neither Lu Yan nor Qian Renxue wanted to cause too much of a commotion.

After all, if Emperor Xueye's side were to cause trouble, it would inevitably result in many deaths and injuries.

Population is what Lu Yan values ​​most.

"So, is it really necessary to go to such lengths just to build a city?" Qian Renxue asked Lu Yan, puzzled. "Actually, in just one or two more years, we won't need to do anything at all."

"Xue Ye himself will realize that he is powerless to reverse the situation."

"We can take over the entire Tiandou without shedding a drop of blood."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan shook his head and smiled: "Because what I'm going to build is not an ordinary city."

“In the future, that place will be my earthly kingdom.”

"A divine kingdom on earth?" Qian Renxue was dumbfounded. She had only ever heard of gods, the divine realm, and divine positions.

But what is the earthly kingdom of gods?

"You can think of it as a megacity that must gather at least tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of people," Lu Yan casually stated, uttering a staggering figure.

"Tens of millions, hundreds of millions?" Qian Renxue's eyes widened. "Xiao Lu, you call this a city?"

"That's why I said it's called the Earthly Divine Kingdom!" Lu Yan waved his hand.

So, Qian Renxue gave Lu Yan a deep look, and after a long while, she finally spoke: "Now I understand why you wanted Xueye to abdicate."

"The influence that the Rescue Association now controls, even though it is spread throughout the Heaven Dou Empire, has already made Xue Ye restless and unable to eat or sleep."

"Such a large population, even if only a small amount is moved in the early stages, will inevitably arouse Xueye's vigilance."

"To avoid Xueye doing anything troublesome, it would be better to just make him abdicate!"

"So, since things have come to this, why not give Xueye a dignified send-off?" Lu Yan said casually.

"After taking Xueye, prioritize purging the nobles and useless ministers within Tiandou's direct jurisdiction."

"Next, we swept away the power of those kingdoms, dukes, and other nobles, and in one fell swoop, we completely unified the entire Heavenly Dou Empire."

"So that these guys don't get out and get in the way."

Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue nodded slightly, but then frowned and said, "Taking Xueye is not difficult, but the forces of those kingdom guilds may cause some trouble."

"So, what do you think was the reason I laid out the magic network ahead of time?" Lu Yan countered. "Don't worry, the magic network now covers most of the Heaven Dou Empire."

"We only need to clear out the resistance forces at the top and the forces at the bottom. With the help of the magic network, the local relief branches can quell the unrest."

After speaking, Lu Yan smiled to himself. Did he really think that he had accumulated so much Magic Network traffic just to raise fish?

Before Ah Yin actually spread the magic net, some members of the rescue association already had secret access to the spells.

These people may not be that strong now, but if he were willing to delegate authority and allow them to reach the level of casting first- or second-circle spells, it wouldn't be difficult.

Besides, if there really is a problem, it won't just consume the power of the magic network.

The prayers of the people are also an effective supplement.

It's impossible to break even this time; we'll definitely lose some of the traffic we've invested.

But Lu Yan estimated that he wouldn't lose too much.

"Xiao Lu, I think you're oversimplifying things." Qian Renxue shook her head upon hearing Lu Yan's words: "Are you getting a little arrogant because of your improved strength?"

"Huh?" Lu Yan was taken aback, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Have you forgotten Bibi Dong and the Star Luo Empire?" Qian Renxue seemed to have regained her intellectual superiority in front of Lu Yan, and rolled her eyes at him.

"Uh, isn't Bibi Dong backed by you?" Lu Yan chuckled. "With you and the Hall of Offerings there, holding Bibi Dong back and preventing her from doing anything shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Hmph, you wish!" Qian Renxue understood. Lu Yan hadn't been unaware of it; he was just waiting for her to speak up!

However, Qian Renxue did not object to this at all, but simply raised an eyebrow: "What about the Star Luo Empire?"

"With the limited forces we have, if the Star Luo Empire's army were to press on our borders while we were embroiled in internal turmoil and unable to attend to anything else."

"That will probably kill a lot of people." Qian Renxue directly addressed the issue that Lu Yan was most concerned about.

As for how much the Star Luo Empire could take advantage of them, Qian Renxue didn't mention it at all.

Do they really think their side's strongmen are just for show?

The lack of troops was simply a concern that during times of unrest, the government would be unable to quell the unrest quickly enough, resulting in too many casualties.

After all, even a titled Douluo cannot possibly run around the entire Heaven Dou Empire to maintain order.

Even if they had the will, they didn't have the ability.

But if the Star Luo Empire dares to send a large army to invade, even if Lu Yan doesn't personally take action, Dugu Bo alone would be enough to give them a hard time!

However, the number of people who will die is probably quite large.

Qian Renxue understood Lu Yan, not just the entire population of the Heavenly Dou Empire.

Lu Yan cares deeply about the population of the entire Douluo Continent, including the Star Luo Empire.

"Uh, didn't I make myself clear? Suppress some, win over others, and appease others." Lu Yan sighed helplessly.