Inside Green Light City.
After Ye Qingxuan hurried back to Green Light City through the teleportation array, he took out his array plate and set up teleportation arrays leading to East Mystic City in the other three districts of Green Light City, one after another.
Once the teleportation arrays were ready, Ye Qingxuan immediately announced to the whole city:
“The new city has been established. From today onward, the ordinary residents of Green Light City will begin relocating.”
“As the first batch of residents in the new city, you will be allocated free courtyard homes and land.”
“After the relocation is complete, I, as the city lord of the new city, will leave Green Light City and take up residence in the new city. I hope you will all conduct yourselves well.”
The reason Ye Qingxuan was only relocating seventy percent of Green Light City’s population was not because he wanted to reserve thirty percent for the city.
It was because, during the relocation process, there would always be some residents who were attached to the old place and unwilling to leave Green Light City.
Ye Qingxuan would not force them.
That thirty percent was his estimate of the people who would be unwilling to relocate.
Green Light City had just suffered a beast tide that breached the city. Although it had not suffered actual destruction, the shadow left in the hearts of the city’s residents was bound to be considerable.
On top of that, the new city offered free courtyard homes and land.
And he, their savior, would also be leaving Green Light City.
Given all these factors, Ye Qingxuan was not worried that most people would refuse to relocate.
Sure enough.
After hearing Ye Qingxuan’s voice, the expressions of the residents in Green Light City kept changing.
Knowing that Ye Qingxuan would be leaving, and that they could obtain free courtyard homes and land in the new city, most residents made up their minds after a moment of thought and chose to follow Ye Qingxuan to the new city.
In the world of cultivation, it seemed as though immortals and mortals were separated, but in truth, the lives of ordinary people were closely tied to cultivators.
Even a mortal hoped to receive the protection of a stronger cultivator.
Likewise, they hoped their descendants would possess spiritual roots, giving them a better platform in life.
Under such circumstances, currying favor with the powerful was the instinct of most ordinary folk.
Moreover, Ye Qingxuan had just saved their lives not long ago.
So their choice to relocate to the new city was entirely understandable.
Inside a small, dilapidated room in Green Light City.
After hearing Ye Qingxuan’s voice, the little girl Yinyin looked excitedly at her grandfather:
“Grandpa, is that the city lord’s voice? Are we going to move with the city lord?”
Ever since she learned that Ye Qingxuan had saved her and her grandfather, and heard about his deeds in saving Green Light City, the little girl had become Ye Qingxuan’s little fan.
Her grandfather looked at his granddaughter with doting eyes:
“Yes. So, is little Yinyin willing to leave this place?”
Hearing her grandfather’s question, Yinyin nodded seriously with her little face:
“Yinyin is willing! Wherever the city lord goes, Yinyin will go!”
At that, Yinyin’s grandfather looked around the dilapidated room.
A trace of reminiscence flickered through his cloudy eyes. He unconsciously reached out and stroked the two little braids on Yinyin’s head, murmuring:
“Well then. Perhaps this will be a new beginning!”
Inside the city lord’s manor of Green Light City.
All the cultivators in Green Light City had been summoned by Ye Qingxuan to the city lord’s manor.
At this moment, Ye Qingxuan sat in the seat of honor, looking around at the fewer than two thousand cultivators in the hall, and spoke calmly:
“For this relocation to the new city, those who are willing to settle in the new city but wish to remain independent cultivators, step forward one step.”
“Those who are willing to join the new city’s guard corps, sign a contract, and follow me, step forward two steps.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, cultivators who had already made up their minds stepped forward.
Among them, all the independent cultivators who had previously stayed in Green Light City moved.
They had been willing to stay in Green Light City after the beast tide precisely to gain Ye Qingxuan’s protection.
Now that Ye Qingxuan was leaving, they naturally wanted to follow.
However, these independent cultivators were used to their freedom. Although they were willing to settle in the new city, only a handful chose to sign a contract and join the new city’s guard corps.
Among those few were the Foundation Establishment cultivator Li Yuan and his wife Mu Qingqing.
Li Yuan and his wife were willing to join the new city’s guard corps mostly for the sake of their child.
Several years had passed, and their child had been born—a chubby little boy.
Children born to cultivators had a high probability of possessing spiritual roots.
Under such circumstances, Li Yuan and his wife naturally wanted to secure a better cultivation environment for their child.
Joining the new city’s guard corps was undoubtedly a good choice.
As for the original members of Green Light City’s guard corps, nearly eighty percent of them stepped forward two steps.
The vast majority of that eighty percent were original residents of Green Light City.
When Zhou Qingguang had abandoned the city in the face of the beast tide, although they understood, his actions had undoubtedly still hurt them.
Now, relocating to the new city meant they could bring their families along.
These guard corps members were naturally willing to follow Ye Qingxuan, who had saved their families’ lives.
Zhou Qingguang did not care about the departure of eighty percent of the guard corps.
But when Xue Yu, the commander of Green Light City’s guard corps beside him, suddenly stepped forward two steps with a blank expression, Zhou Qingguang’s expression changed slightly.
Black Wind and Qing Yu both showed looks of disbelief in their eyes.
The three of them had followed Zhou Qingguang for many years, and Zhou Qingguang had treated them well.
So Black Wind and Qing Yu had never intended to leave Green Light City.
But neither of them had expected that Xue Yu would choose to leave Green Light City and follow Ye Qingxuan.
However, with Ye Qingxuan present, they could not confront Xue Yu about her choice.
But the two of them felt as though they had been betrayed by a comrade, and they were furious, unable to calm down for a long time.
Zhou Qingguang, on the other hand, took it quite well.
After his expression shifted slightly, he quickly came to terms with it.
After all, Xue Yu’s relationship with him was purely one of mutual interest.
Xue Yu joined the guard corps and served him, while he provided her with cultivation resources and a cultivation cave.
There was no debt owed between them.
Now that Xue Yu wanted to follow a stronger person and obtain a better cultivation environment, that was only human nature.
After everyone had made their choice, Ye Qingxuan did a count.
The number of members willing to join the new city’s guard corps totaled 1,352.
The number of cultivators willing to settle in the new city while remaining independent totaled 234.
Among the new city’s guard corps, including Xue Yu, there were 4 Purple Mansion realm cultivators, 83 Foundation Establishment realm cultivators, and 1,265 Qi Refining realm cultivators.
There were quite a few Purple Mansion realm cultivators among the independent cultivators.
After all, independent cultivators capable of traveling outside and going between major cities were not weak in cultivation.
Most independent cultivators below the Foundation Establishment realm gathered in small market towns without city protection.
Very few Qi Refining realm independent cultivators could establish themselves in a city.
Qi Refining realm cultivators in the major cities were basically all born from the cities’ original residents.
Unfortunately, these independent cultivators were unwilling to accept restraints and join the city guard corps.
Looking at the cultivators willing to join his ranks, Ye Qingxuan nodded in satisfaction:
“Members of the new city’s guard corps, stay. Everyone else, you may leave for now.”
