Soul Land V: Rebirth of Tang San

Xiao He has already announced to all the islands that the moment when the bridge is finally completed will be when the humans establish their own nation. Just this point has fully stirred the emotions of all the citizens. This is about building their own country, their own homeland! What could be more important and beautiful than this?

When the princess and Pretty Girl arrived at Crescent Island, they found Xiao He only after much difficulty. They saw that in just this short span of tens of days, he had lost weight and darkened in complexion, but his spirit was extremely vigorous.

Xiao He, the once Peacock Demon King, was a true talent in governance. The former Jiali City had been managed by him in an orderly fashion. How to dispatch, how to build, it was like second nature to him. Moreover, starting from scratch to establish a country held a great attraction for him, and now he was naturally full of drive.

"You must take care of your health! Your cultivation base is still low, so don't wear yourself out," the princess said with concern as she wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Xiao He laughed and said, "I am the prime minister, I must do my utmost! Tang San has thrown this whole mess to me, I must not let down his trust. This is how I repay the life-saving grace."

The princess chided him: "Looking at how happy you are, it doesn't seem like you're repaying a favor, but rather enjoying yourself immensely."

Xiao He laughed heartily, "Indeed, that's true. The more I cooperate with the humans, the more I realize that human intelligence indeed far surpasses that of the Monster Clan and Spirit Clan. Many people, though they've never done certain work, can perform very well with just a little guidance, making their own tools, measuring on their own, many technical talents are now being developed. Construction speed will continue to accelerate. By the way, you'll need to keep up with the resources on your side. The Jiali Mountain Range has plenty of stones, we must speed up the quarrying."

The construction of the human realm cannot do without the secret support of Jiali City. Now that the senior levels of Jiali City are fully committed, their support is naturally generous.

"Let's not talk about this for now; the Ancestral Court has sent someone again. This time, I'm afraid, there might be some trouble. You think of a solution," the princess said, then she recounted the Ancestral Court's demand for Pretty Girl to get married within three months.

After listening to the princess's account, Xiao He couldn't help but furrow his brows, "This is an overt plot, the hardest kind to deal with."

"According to the rules, the Ancestral Court has the right to make such demands on the Main City Lord, so this cannot be avoided. That is to say, Little Beauty must marry. However, under normal circumstances, if she were of age, the Ancestral Court would not be in such a hurry. But now it involves which side can secure the Emperor's position. It's certain that the Rihchen Empire is also busy preparing. This is the fundamental struggle between the two great empires. Therefore, Tianyu Empire is also in a hurry, they are eager to push Little Beauty to resolve the human bloodline issue and then quicken the achievement of Emperor."

"Currently, Tianyu Empire has eight Emperors, and among these eight, the main ones who support this matter are primarily the Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox, along with Sky-breaking and Mammoth Great Demon Emperor at most. Sword Saint Big Demon Emperor doesn't care about these matters. The others stand with Little Beauty. The situation of the last, the Dark Demon Great Demon Emperor, is quite unique. As the sole Emperor of the Dragon Clan, maintaining Crystal City is most important to him; he might also side with Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox."

The princess was startled, "Are you saying that the Undying Great Demon Emperor and Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor will stand with us as well?" As she spoke, she couldn't help but look at Pretty Girl with some confusion.

Concerning the matter of Pretty Girl awakening the Phoenix Bloodline, it hadn't been disclosed. After all, the Phoenix Demon Clan and Peacock Demon Clan were age-old adversaries, and letting the Peacock Demon Clan know that their patriarch possessed the Phoenix Bloodline wouldn't be a good thing. Xiao He had told Pretty Girl before, that this matter should only be revealed to the Peacock Demon Clan when she ascends to the position of Emperor. Until then, it should not be known to the Peacock Demon Clan.
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Xiao He said: "After all, Lin Ximo is Little Beauty's real father. Since learning about his daughter, the guy has been utterly dejected. Previously when we were at the Ancestral Court, he was always thinking about how to make amends to his wife and daughter. And the Undying Great Demon Emperor is the current Phoenix Lord. The Phoenix Demon Clan only has two Emperors. Why did the Undying Great Demon Emperor support her during Little Beauty's report? One reason is Little Beauty's talent, the other naturally is Lin Ximo's pleas. So, his support should not be a big problem either."

Hearing his analysis, the princess breathed a sigh of relief and said, "So, it turns out that we have the support of three Great Demon Emperors on our side, and one neutral, including the Undying Great Demon Emperor. Then there's nothing to be afraid of. We'll just ignore the demands of the Ancestral Court."

"No," Xiao He said in a deep voice. "It's not that simple. Even if the White Tiger Great Demon King, the Undying Great Demon King, and Lin Ximo all support Little Beauty, they cannot stop Heavenly Fox on the grounds of the Ancestral Court's righteousness. At least not openly. That's why I say that a scheme that's out in the open is the hardest to deal with! It's right here."

"What should we do now?" Luo Qingzhu asked.

Xiao He said, "First of all, we can't refuse the marriage proposal. Refusing would be tantamount to standing against the Ancestral Court. The first consequence would be being abandoned by the Tianyu Empire, no longer supporting Little Beauty as the primary candidate for the throne. So, we must accept. The only thing we can do now is to delay. But how to delay and for how long, we still need to discuss with Tang San. We've reached a critical moment, Little Beauty, you need to call Tang San back so we can discuss together and decide on a final strategy."

"Mm, okay," Pretty Girl nodded.

Tang San had been away for quite some time now and had not returned in the meantime, effectively breaking off contact between them. Though they still had a bridge between them because of the Asura God's Sword, she experienced the emergence of an emotion: longing.

An ever-growing longing.

The longer they were apart, the stronger the longing became. She truly wished she could be by his side at all times! Only after being apart did she realize the importance of the other person. Tang San was gone on official business, and she fully supported him, but in her heart, there was an indescribable yearning.

So, when the Peacock Demon King suggested she call Tang San back, she agreed without hesitation. Even if it wasn't for this matter, she so wanted to see him!

...

Fire God City.

When Tang San followed the Chief of the Huoli Clan, Huo Quan, and Huo Ling'er back to Fire God City, it had turned into a sea of joy.

Everywhere there were Fire God Clansmen singing and dancing, with many young men and women even embracing and dancing passionately in the streets.

Huo Quan took Tang San flying over Fire God City, and while they were flying, he said, "The Fire God Festival is our grandest annual celebration. I've heard that on the Demon Monster Land, when members of the opposite sex like each other, they marry and stay together forever, is that so?"

Tang San nodded; whether it was the Monster Clan, Spirit Clan, or Humans, it was indeed so.

Huo Quan said, "Here, it's not like that. Our clansmen cherish freedom, and all children are raised collectively by the clan. Whenever they meet someone they like, they will wait for the Fire God Festival to express their feelings. If the other party agrees, they can naturally be together. The Fire God Festival lasts for seven days and is also the time for our clan to procreate."

Tang San was stunned as he listened. So that's what the Fire God Festival was! Free love, but limited to just seven days. Indeed, a peculiar custom.