To achieve this, Princess Yu nearly emptied the Royal Familyâs secret treasury just to gather enough rewards for Ye Luo.
Ye Luo understood this point, and naturally wouldnât say much.
Moreover, he was only responsible for issuing rewards; how to earn them back was Princess Yuâs business, so Ye Luo certainly didnât feel right to say anything else.
The mighty procession set out, traveling and stopping along the way.
Initially, Man Niu wasnât keen on the idea, but seeing how everyone adored him along the way, he couldnât help but smile happily. As for Man Niuâs tribe?
They had no objections. Knowing that Ye Luo, the negligent Demon King, hadnât been on an expedition since ascending the throne, and his first destination was their tribe, what reason did they have to be dissatisfied?
Unknowingly, this indeed brought honor to Man Niuâs tribe.
Thus, the Divine Bull selection was delayed a few days, and they werenât upset at all. On the contrary, they began preparations within the tribe to welcome Ye Luo.
...
"Itâs exhausting and costly!"
Sitting on the carriage, Ye Luo inexplicably uttered this sentence.
Feng Ling turned her head to look at him and smiled, though she said nothing.
But Ao Long wouldnât spare Ye Luoâs feelings, casting a glance at Ye Luo and saying indifferently, "I see youâre enjoying these privileges, and yet you dare to utter such words now. Arenât you embarrassed?"
With Ao Longâs remark, Ye Luo was indeed embarrassed.
He had only said it offhandedly.
This was his inner thought, and though he stopped at many tribes for less than half a day, giving rewards and offering a few comforting words before continuing on,
to welcome Ye Luo, these tribes had made extensive preparations, hence Ye Luoâs mention of expense and exhaustion.
But Ao Long was right; while Ye Luo contemplated the costs, he still quite enjoyed such treatment.
Ye Luo didnât bother debating with Ao Long since he knew he couldnât outargue him; instead, he turned to ask Man Niu, "Brother Niu, how much longer until we reach your tribe?"
They had been on the road for over ten days, visited numerous tribes, yet Ye Luo honestly didnât know how much longer until Man Niuâs tribe.
The Da Yue Empireâs size was actually larger than the Great Tang Empire, as the Great Tang Empire was highly urbanized, whereas Da Yue maintained a tribal system; yet their populations were similar, indicating Da Yueâs territory was significantly larger!
Of course, a larger territory doesnât equate to greater strength; true strength relies on internal production.
Man Niu paused, for such a profound question, he truly couldnât answer.
Ye Luo was helpless; why did he even ask Man Niu...
The team continued moving forward, finally arriving at Man Niuâs tribe after a good four months!
Along the way, there were transmission arrays, but the task Princess Yu gave Ye Luo was to placate each tribe en route, to demonstrate his authority as the new Demon King, so naturally, the transmission arrays couldnât be utilized; they had to travel by foot.
Over four months of travel to reach Man Niuâs tribe, yet considering the distance Ye Luo covered, it was less than one-fifth of the entire Da Yue Empire!
Man Niuâs tribe was located in the wilderness, sparsely populated yet abundant with demon beasts, truly an undeveloped area.
During the Commerce Allianceâs attack, while wars ravaged other regions, this wilderness remained untouched, mainly because it was too desolate, and perhaps tens of thousands of troops wouldnât even satisfy the demon beastsâ hunger on the plains.
Only native tribes like Man Niuâs and others in the wilderness could thrive like fish in water!
It was apparent that Man Niuâs tribe made genuine preparations.
But upon seeing the palace they prepared for him, Ye Luo could only smile wryly.
A large tent made of beast bones and skins, emitting a wild atmosphere, full of exotic flair!
"Welcome, Your Majesty!"
Amidst a dark mass, a large group of people knelt before Ye Luo. He realized that the wilderness tribes had all gathered at Man Niuâs tribe, knowing well that Ye Luo couldnât possibly visit each of their tribes individually, especially when some wilderness tribes had populations of only tens of thousands, scattered throughout the Great Wilderness. If Ye Luo wanted to tour the entire wilderness, it might take years!
Suddenly, Ye Luo noticed Ao Long and Feng Ling staring at the palace prepared for him, lost in thought.
"Hey, whatâs up with you two?"
Ye Luo asked curiously.
Unexpectedly, Ao Long replied angrily, "Such wastefulness, simply wastefulness!"
Slightly confused by Ao Longâs words, Ye Luo looked at the grand tent, not seeing anything special about it. What was Ao Long talking about?
Fortunately, Feng Ling understood what Ye Luo wanted to know, explaining, "Your Majesty, the palace Man Niuâs tribe prepared for you involved at least twenty types of rare resources. Some of these resources could fetch sky-high prices domestically..."
Rare resources?
Ye Luo furrowed his brow and, after a moment, understood!
Throughout history, the Demon Kings of the Da Yue Empire never paid much attention to the Great Wilderness. Firstly, it was vast; secondly, the spiritual power on it was thin, or even absent in many places. The tribes residing there, such as Ao Long, relied nearly entirely on physical strength and battling Man Niu.
Considered an extremely barren region, it naturally received little attention.
But actually, this Great Wilderness probably hid countless treasures!
And all these treasures were undeveloped!
"Senior, since youâre so interested, why donât I assign some people to you, and you can explore this Great Wilderness?"
Ye Luo suggested tentatively, as he was friends with Ao Long and couldnât possibly assign tasks to him.
But clearly, some things may be beyond the knowledge of ordinary individuals. Perhaps Feng Ling could recognize some, but Feng Lingâs knowledge was likely inferior to Ao Longâs. Hence, sending Ao Long with people to explore the wilderness might be a better way to utilize and develop it!
Ao Long did not refuse, but nodded: "Alright, Iâll take some people to help you check this place out. It seems to be an undeveloped sanctuary, hiding who knows how many good things! Iâll go for a walk now, you stay put!"
Saying this, without waiting for Ye Luoâs response, Ao Long left!
Ye Luoâs arrangement for people to follow, Ao Long completely ignored. Perhaps in Ao Longâs eyes, even bringing such people might be useless!
As for not sending Feng Ling?
Feng Ling is now the Demon Queen; moreover, she doesnât know as much as Ao Long. The unexpected departure of the Demon Queen could inevitably trigger gossip.
But Ao Long, whom the Demon Clan all knows, is an extremely important figure beside Ye Luo, yet who he truly is remains unknown.