Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Feed Them All Until They’re Full!

East, Celestial Wu City of the Dao Court.

Lü Yang had just walked out of Celestial Wu Hall, a Holy Decree in hand. It was his official appointment to establish the Imperial City Department using the Incense and Candle Divine Dao.

"Success... The Fortune is mine."

Lü Yang looked up at the sky. His avatar had successfully seized the Fortune, absorbed it into the Myriad-Soul Banner, and then sent it to his main body via Heavenly Qian Captures All Phenomena.

’Things are going so smoothly...’

Lü Yang sighed to himself. Everything had gone frighteningly smoothly since the start of this life, but he wasn’t worried. The Fake Golden Position was the greatest source of his confidence.

’In fact, it’s only right that things are going this smoothly. After all, in this life I don’t have an Immortal Spirit identity to attract the Heavenly God’s schemes. I’m a dignified Great Power at Foundation Establishment Perfection, capable of assuming the Fake Golden Position at any moment. I’ve gathered so much intelligence and am pitting my careful plans against their lack of them. If things *still* weren’t going my way, that would truly defy all Celestial Principle!’

Lü Yang quickly reined in his thoughts.

With the Holy Decree, recruiting personnel was a simple matter. Emperor Jia You hadn’t placed any restrictions in this regard, so Lü Yang was happy to proceed with great fanfare.

...

「One month later.」

Answering Lü Yang’s call, the entire True Dragon Branch that the Dragon Monarch had sent to the East, as well as the many Demon Cultivators from the One Heart Association, had all arrived.

Lü Yang received everyone inside the newly built Government Office of the Imperial City Department.

In addition to the Demon Cultivators from the One Heart Association, there were also many Human Cultivators whom Lü Yang had handpicked from the lower ranks of various government offices and transferred into the Imperial City Department.

But as soon as the Human Cultivators and Demon Cultivators stood together, Lü Yang immediately sensed the deep chasm between them. The Human Cultivators looked down on the Demon Cultivators, and the Demon Cultivators, though resentful, looked down on themselves. As a result, both sides spontaneously formed their own cliques, creating two distinct factions within the Government Office.

Lü Yang’s brow furrowed at the sight.

To be honest, he was someone who advocated for equality, treating everyone the same. Whether they were a Human Cultivator or a Demon Cultivator was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was whether he could use them.

Those who were useful to him were his people.

Those who were not, were his enemies.

He stepped onto the platform.

Lü Yang cleared his throat and said calmly, "Fellow Daoists, we are all gathered here today to serve His Majesty loyally and to contribute to the Dao Court."

"First, let us pay our respects to His Majesty."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lü Yang led by example, turning toward the Imperial Palace and performing a salute.

"All hail His Majesty!"

The Dao Court officials below followed his lead. Instantly, applause thundered, and cries of "Long live the Emperor!" surged like a tsunami, loud enough for half of Celestial Wu City to hear.

However, it was mostly the Demon Cultivators who were putting in the effort. After all, Lü Yang, a member of the True Dragon Race, was now the standard-bearer for all Demon Cultivators in the Dao Court. They were all counting on him to improve their status, so naturally, they were eager to show their support. In contrast, the Human Cultivators’ response was quite perfunctory.

Lü Yang wasn’t troubled by this. He just chuckled and said:

"I won’t waste time on idle chatter. Let’s get right to what everyone cares about most... the compensation and benefits for the Imperial City Department. Your salaries."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone below suddenly focused, their eyes fixed on him.

If he was going to talk about *that*, they certainly weren’t sleepy anymore.

The next moment, Lü Yang calmly stated, "Currently, the salary for Dao Court officials is distributed once every hundred years. You get to choose one of three things: a Cultivation Technique, Spiritual Materials, or an increase in your Enlightenment."

"The compensation for our Imperial City Department will be the same as for other Dao Court officials."

As he spoke, no one in the crowd was surprised. It just meant the pay was the same... But then, they heard Lü Yang continue:

"It will be paid out once a year."

"..."

In an instant, a dead silence fell over the hall.

Whether they were Demon Cultivators or Human Cultivators, everyone wore the exact same expression: utter disbelief, wondering if they had heard him correctly.

The Dao Court’s once-a-century salary... you’re going to pay out every year???

Do you even have that much money?

The answer was: he actually did. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

After all, the Old Dragon Monarch had just sponsored Lü Yang with a large sum. It was money meant for bribes, so using it to pay salaries was easily manageable.

Of course, this only covered the Spiritual Materials.

As for Daoist Skills, Lü Yang had "settled accounts" with so many people by now that calling his collection of Divine Communication Techniques "massive" would be an understatement. He naturally had enough to go around.

The only issue was the Enlightenment bonus granted by the Immortal Dao Law, which Lü Yang couldn’t provide. But these were all Dao Court officials. In the future, joining the Imperial City Department meant they would have to switch to cultivating the Incense and Candle Divine Dao. Their Personhood Realm would depend entirely on the blessings of Incense, so what use would they have for Enlightenment?

The next moment, Lü Yang gave a grand wave of his hand.

In an instant, Spiritual Materials from the True Dragon Race covered the entire floor of the Government Office. A wave of Spiritual Qi so dense it was almost visible washed over the crowd, submerging them.

Everyone was stunned!

’He’s really giving it to us?’

As everyone stared in a daze, Lü Yang maintained a calm expression. "You are all loyal ministers of our Dao Court."

"This pile of Spiritual Materials is your salary for the year. Consider it a small token of my personal goodwill. I’m paying everyone this year’s salary in advance."

Just then, a Human Cultivator cautiously raised his hand.

"My lord... can I choose a Daoist Skill instead of the Spiritual Materials?"

"Of course."

Lü Yang smiled slightly. "But I’ve already taken all these Spiritual Materials out, and I can’t be bothered to put them back. Anyone who wants a Daoist Skill can see me after this. I’ll give you one as a bonus."

Instantly, the crowd grew ecstatic.

’The full amount of Spiritual Materials, plus a Daoist Skill as a bonus?’

’How is that any different from double pay!’

They hadn’t even officially started work yet! On their very first day in the Imperial City Department, they had already received the equivalent of two hundred years of their normal Dao Court salary!

In that moment, the way everyone looked at Lü Yang changed completely.

Seeing the atmosphere in the hall heating up, Lü Yang decisively fanned the flames. "In addition, considering the difficult and critical nature of the Imperial City Department’s missions..."

"...after every mission, you will receive an additional stipend as a reward for your hard work. The better you perform on the mission, the larger the stipend will be."

Lü Yang’s approach to the Imperial City Department could be summed up in a single phrase:

I won’t just let you drink the soup; I’ll let you eat the meat. I don’t care how insatiable you are. The greedier you get, the more I’ll feed you, until your cheeks are bursting!

THUMP!

At that moment, without Lü Yang having to say a word, every Cultivator in the Imperial City Department spontaneously rose and gave him a deep, respectful bow.

The most emotional of them all was the Demon Cultivator Xiao Shan, one of the first to pledge his loyalty to Lü Yang.

He stood up, intending to declare his loyalty to Lü Yang. But when he met Lü Yang’s gaze from the platform, he was suddenly struck by inspiration.

"To loyally serve His Majesty, to give my all for the Dao Court."

With that, he became the first to turn and salute toward Celestial Wu Hall.

"Loyalty! Fealty!"

With someone taking the lead and Lü Yang offering no objection, the others immediately followed suit. They came forward one by one to collect their salary, then turned to salute Celestial Wu Hall.

Only then was Emperor Jia You, who had been secretly observing, satisfied.

BOOM!

The next moment, a boundless torrent of Incense power surged forth, blanketing everything. It instantly blessed every Cultivator in the Imperial City Department, beginning to elevate their Positions.

This was the greatest reward of all!

Emperor Jia You had been watching the entire time but wasn’t concerned. Why? Because he was certain that he alone controlled the most crucial benefit.

Their very Cultivation.

As long as the foundation of the Incense Fire Gods’ Cultivation remained in his hands, it didn’t matter how much grace Lü Yang bestowed; he was merely acting as the Emperor’s proxy. It was all meaningless, and Emperor Jia You was happy to let it happen.

Lü Yang was, of course, perfectly aware of Emperor Jia You’s thoughts, which was why he only sneered inwardly.

Emperor Jia You might see him as a pawn, but little did he know, Lü Yang saw him in the exact same light.

’The complete Seven Luminaries Heaven is in my hands. No matter how many Incense Fire Gods he creates now, who they will ultimately obey... well, that remains to be seen!’