Chapter 120: Planning the Future of the Capital City

The appearance of the Ape King made the Snake King tense for a moment, but Zhou Tian felt nothing of the sort. It was as if he were looking at a fool; after giving the Ape King a single glance, he casually turned to the Snake King and asked, “Who is this guy?”

“That’s the Ape King, the strongest among the beast kings on our outskirts. If our strength only approaches the Saint tier, then his might may well have reached that level already.” After speaking, the Snake King crawled forward slightly, positioning himself between Zhou Tian and the Ape King. He looked solemnly at the Ape King, then quietly said to Zhou Tian, “You step aside for now. I’ll hold him back. If you see that I’m about to be overwhelmed, don’t hesitate—just run. No matter what happens, we’ll deal with it once you’ve recovered.”

“How does it sound like a matter of life and death? I just exerted a bit too much. Do you really think it’ll take me long to recover? Didn’t I give you that thing? Use it to stall this guy; once I’m back to full strength, I’ll deal with him properly.” Zhou Tian showed no worry over the Ape King’s appearance. He took a half-step back, casually glanced at the Ape King, and comforted the Snake King.

Hearing Zhou Tian’s words, the Snake King finally relaxed.

In contrast, the Ape King grew tense upon hearing Zhou Tian’s confidence. Previously, the Ape King had sensed something amiss with the Snake King, which is why it had been eavesdropping on Zhou Tian and the Snake King’s conversation from the sidelines. Only after learning Zhou Tian’s current condition did the Ape King dare to step forward and threaten them.

Now, hearing that Zhou Tian wouldn’t take long to recover, how could the Ape King not be afraid?

Having witnessed Zhou Tian’s formidable strength firsthand, the Ape King knew well that if faced with Zhou Tian’s “Fan Tian Seal” attack, it would be as powerless as any other demon beast, with no confidence whatsoever in withstanding it.

Under such circumstances, the Ape King dared not give Zhou Tian any chance to recover. It was one thing if Zhou Tian couldn’t recover, but if he did and launched another attack like before, the Ape King had no faith it could survive the Fan Tian Seal.

Since it could not allow Zhou Tian to recover, the Ape King resolved to subdue or kill him before that happened.

With that decision made, the Ape King charged directly at Zhou Tian.

But just as the Ape King moved, the Snake King suddenly blocked its path.

“Looking for death!” The path was blocked, and given the relationship between the Snake King and Zhou Tian, the Ape King never thought a few words would persuade the Snake King to step aside. Seeing the Snake King, the Ape King immediately launched a full-strength strike, hoping to leverage its slight advantage in power to kill or repel the Snake King.

However, the Snake King showed no fear. It opened its mouth and summoned the “Ten Thousand Snake Basin.”

At the Snake King’s command, countless snake soldiers and warriors began crawling endlessly out of the basin.

“Do you really think these little ones can stop me, Snake King? You’re seriously underestimating me!” The Ape King snorted angrily without hesitation, continuing forward. When it met the mass of snakes emerging from the basin, it casually flicked its palm, unleashing a magical power that formed a ten-meter-long handprint, smashing down onto the snake horde.

“Boom!” Though no match for the Fan Tian Seal, the Ape King’s strength was formidable. Even a casual strike from it was terrifyingly powerful, carving a nearly one-meter-deep pit where the snake horde had gathered.

Yet, when the Ape King confidently assumed it had wiped out all the snakes, many survivors began crawling out of the pit.

Without hesitation, under the Snake King’s control, these surviving snakes immediately surged toward the Ape King again.

The Ape King was stunned by this—confident as it was in its own strength, it had never imagined any snakes would survive its attack. Discovering its strike had failed to achieve the intended result, the Ape King was naturally surprised.

Still, it didn’t overthink it at first, and upon seeing so many surviving snakes, it unleashed several more powerful palm strikes.

“Bang! Bang!” After several loud clashes, the Ape King finally slaughtered the entire snake horde released from the basin. Yet, rather than feeling relieved, its expression grew grim.

“Ape King, you’re not so impressive after all! Just ten thousand snakes have you struggling. I wonder if you can handle a million?” The Snake King sneered maliciously as it released even more snakes, directing the swarm to encircle the Ape King.

Glancing greedily at the Ten Thousand Snake Basin, the Ape King shot the Snake King a venomous glare. “I didn’t expect you to have such a treasure on hand. Looks like today I’m out of luck. Don’t give me the same chance next time, or I won’t miss my mark again.” With that parting shot, knowing it could no longer defeat the Snake King and Zhou Tian, the Ape King immediately turned and flew back toward its territory.

Just as the Ape King took flight, Zhou Tian spoke up.

“No need to rush off just because you showed up! Based on your recent performance, I’m determined to keep you here.” After a casual glance at the Ape King’s retreating back, Zhou Tian summoned the Fan Tian Seal once more with a flick of his hand.

“You… you lied to me just now?” Seeing the Fan Tian Seal, the Ape King’s face filled with terror. Screaming, it dared not confront Zhou Tian head-on and immediately accelerated its flight.

“I didn’t lie. Besides the treasure, I have other tricks. If my mana runs low, I know how to use potions!” Zhou Tian lightly retorted. Not giving the Ape King much time to escape, barely a hundred meters away, the Fan Tian Seal suddenly transformed into a small mountain crashing down upon it.

“Ah—no!” The Ape King cried out in alarm, realizing it was doomed. Yet unwilling to die so easily, it glared hatefully at Zhou Tian, then let out a frenzied roar and charged headlong into the Fan Tian Seal.

“If I die, you won’t have it easy either. Since you want me dead, I’ll destroy your treasure even in death!” With that, the Ape King chose to self-destruct at the very moment the Fan Tian Seal was about to strike.

“Boom!” The power of a divine beast’s self-destruction was no joke. Though not as powerful as the initial Fan Tian Seal attack, it was still formidable enough to cause massive devastation. Without that strength, the Ape King wouldn’t have dared attempt to destroy the Fan Tian Seal.

Sadly for the Ape King, its wish was unlikely to come true.

The Fan Tian Seal was forged from the Pillar of Heaven, the Buzhou Mountain, by a saint. It had faced countless treasures in ancient times, with very few celestial relics able to harm it. The Ape King’s self-destruction simply couldn’t damage it.

Before the Ape King’s explosion fully dissipated, Zhou Tian retracted the now-shrunk Fan Tian Seal and slipped it into his ear.

Smiling, he turned to the Snake King and asked, “Taking down that Ape King won’t cause you any trouble, will it?”

“No problem.” The Snake King casually glanced at the Ape King’s remains and replied, “While beast kings typically avoid conflict, casualties in a fight aren’t a big deal. Soon, the Ape King’s tribe will send a new member to take the throne. For a new Ape King to come out here and become a beast king is practically a lucky break. They might even secretly thank us!”

Of course, the Snake King said this, but only it truly understood that when a beast king fell, others in the outskirts would never let the opportunity pass for their own safety. That was why, despite the Ape King’s strength, it had never dealt heavy blows to other beast kings.

Now, the Snake King wasn’t overly concerned about the Ape King’s death because of Zhou Tian’s deterrent power. Based on the Fan Tian Seal’s previous display and the Ape King’s voluntary attack this time, as long as the Snake King ceased infringing on others’ interests, no beast king would dare challenge it without absolute certainty.

Zhou Tian suspected the Snake King was hiding some truths but didn’t mind. After witnessing the Fan Tian Seal’s might, he was brimming with confidence in his own power. If not for the high mana cost of using the Fan Tian Seal, Zhou Tian might even seek out fights proactively.

Let the Snake King conceal what it wished—nothing bad happened, so all was well. If trouble ever arose, Zhou Tian was confident that a few Fan Tian Seals would settle matters, and no one would dare bully her afterward.

After enduring the Snake King’s persistent demands, Zhou Tian stayed in its territory for a few more days before finally escaping and returning to the capital.

Since Zhou Tian’s display of power in the demon beast forest, no beast dared trouble him again. The spots where Zhou Tian had urinated were now considered forbidden zones by the beasts. The young demons had all learned from their parents: if they smelled Zhou Tian’s urine, they hurried far away, lest they cross paths with him and risk their lives.

Zhou Tian was unaware of how badly his reputation had been sullied in the demon beast forest. He never intended to develop there; as long as the beasts left him alone, he cared little for anything else.

Upon meeting Vivian and the others, Zhou Tian briefly informed them that the demon beast disturbances had been resolved but omitted the details. Vivian and the others didn’t ask.

With the lively demon beast incident over, the capital quickly returned to its former prosperity, bustling with nearly ten thousand people flowing through daily.

Though the capital paled compared to the major cities of the Yanhuang Empire, it had expanded at least a hundredfold from its former border town state. Among all towns near the demon beast forest, the capital was by far the largest city.

Yet Zhou Tian remained unsatisfied with the current results.

City development wasn’t merely a function of money. It might be possible to turn a small town into a city by pouring in funds, but to elevate a city into a renowned metropolis, the capital still lacked one crucial element: character.

The Holy City thrived because it was the headquarters of the Church of Light; Xuanwu City prospered as the political center of the northern Yanhuang Empire. Other notable cities were at least political or cultural hubs, each possessing its own distinctive traits.

What characteristic did the capital have? None. Zhou Tian racked his brain but could not think of anything noteworthy.

Culturally, the capital was merely a border town’s successor. It had no ancient ruins or church headquarters to attract scholars or believers.

Politically, it was even less significant. Though Zhou Tian was both bishop and lord, his foundation was too weak. Everyone knew only of Xuanwu City as the northern power of the Yanhuang Empire. Even if they’d heard of Zhou Tian, they wouldn’t truly regard him as the northern overlord.

In truth, the capital’s sole unique feature was probably the auction Zhou Tian had hosted last time.

Thanks to the system store’s various goods, as long as Zhou Tian was willing to sell them, the nobles of this world were eager to pay handsomely. After that auction, Zhou Tian’s event had gained some renown, so hosting another wouldn’t have a problem attracting visitors.

But one or two auctions couldn’t solve the capital’s developmental challenges. Visitors came only for the auction. After attending once, they left immediately. Without something to keep them, they wouldn’t stay except during the next auction.

Zhou Tian naturally couldn’t hold auctions regularly. Beyond occasions needing vast crowds, he would rarely host one. Regardless of how precious the items, the principle of scarcity applied; flooding the market would devalue even the finest goods.

Thus, how to develop the capital and what character to give it became Zhou Tian’s pressing dilemma.

He dismissed political avenues without hesitation.

Given his role as bishop of the Church of Light, Zhou Tian becoming a city lord was already remarkable. Advancing further risked provoking the Yanhuang Empire’s backlash. If the empire cracked down, the capital might not only fail to develop but regress.

Therefore, pursuing political prominence was out of the question. After much thought, Zhou Tian realized that aside from entertainment and culture, there was no other viable path.

Traditional culture was a major weakness for the capital. As a city less than a year old, it had no historical heritage to leverage. Even if Zhou Tian spent lavishly to develop culture, he doubted he could transform the capital into a cultural relic city.

Weighing pros and cons, Zhou Tian resolved to focus the capital’s development on entertainment.

Speaking of entertainment, given how primitive this world was, it could not compare to Earth. It had no movies or television. Even music was mostly praise or autobiography.

It wasn’t that this world lacked pleasant songs, but no one composed many masterpieces for famous figures. Compared to Earth’s diverse music, the two were incomparable.

As for literature, it was even more disheartening. All books were autobiographical, mostly diaries. Zhou Tian, accustomed to wuxia and online fiction, found reading this world’s texts tolerable once or twice but quickly lost interest.

Given Earth’s overwhelming advantage in entertainment, Zhou Tian believed that if he leveraged this properly, making the capital the entertainment and cultural center of this world was truly possible.