After being reborn, the villain comes with a spoiler tag.

As he spoke, Long Yucheng's voice brightened, and when he turned to look at Huo Yu, his eyes and brows sparkled with a cheerful light, as if a ray of sunshine had broken through the gloom:

“It just so happens that Senior Brother now has his own city! Why don’t we bring the residents of Wuliu Village here? Most of them come from the vicinity of Youpo Cave and are most familiar with the strange things in that area.”

He paused, his tone softening slightly, adding a touch of cautious consideration.

"Moreover, these refugees from the Black Mountain, although their cultivation is low, are also rootless and do not belong to any force. The information gleaned from them is more credible than that from those who have already pledged allegiance to the Spirit Clan system."

Long Yucheng had already learned from Liu Shi how difficult life was for the spirit race refugees living in the settlement near Black Mountain. However, at that time, he was barely able to protect himself and was focused on finding his senior brother, so he had no time to worry about anything else.

Now that they have a foothold in the Spirit Clan's territory and the strength to lend a helping hand, that compassion that has never cooled naturally surges up again.

Huo Yu looked into Long Yucheng's sparkling eyes, where an inextinguishable flame seemed to forever dance—a sincerity that had never been worn down by the world's trials, a passion that remained unchanged despite having seen the darkness of the world.

He has always seen things clearly.

This flame was the first pebble that stirred ripples in the still, ancient lake of his heart, and it remains the unchanging essence of Long Yucheng. Huo Yu cherishes the burning warmth emanating from this sincerity and is willing to protect its continued burning.

But if one day this fervent light were to burn Long Yucheng himself, he would not hesitate to extinguish that flame with his own hands and hide the young man in the shadow he had created.

Therefore, Huo Yu simply nodded slightly:

"Once things in the city have settled down, we will begin making arrangements."

Seeing his senior brother readily agree, Long Yucheng's eyes lit up with a smile, and he answered decisively:

"Okay, I'll do as my senior brother says!"

Before the words were finished, a series of neat footsteps could be heard from outside the mansion, approaching from afar and finally stopping abruptly outside the main hall.

Immediately afterwards, Wu Bo's steady voice rang out from outside the door:

"Your subordinate, Wu Bo, requests an audience with the General."

Huo Yu's divine sense stirred slightly, and without a word, the mixed-blood dragon that had been guarding the door immediately understood and stepped aside to let him pass.

Wu Bo strode into the main hall, his armor making a subtle, rhythmic rustling sound with each movement.

He walked to the center of the hall, placed his left hand on his chest, and bowed to Huo Yu, who sat at the head of the table, his voice steady and powerful:

"Reporting to the General, all one thousand soldiers have been stationed in the East and West camps. I have also selected fifty elite soldiers from the army to form the General's personal guard. From this day forward, they will be responsible for the defense of the General's residence, guarding key roads and patrolling inside and outside."

Huo Yu slightly raised his eyelids, glanced at Wu Bai, and nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.

Ub remained in a bowing posture and continued to report the next matter:

"When the Black Mountain City's protective formation was activated, the unique demonic energy fluctuations it contained spread like a beacon, reaching all directions. Soon, all the spirit races within Xuandu will know that a new city stands on the border of Black Mountain."

"As is customary, the first group of visitors will arrive outside the city soon. At that time, those who hold a city-level identity token will be allowed to enter the city; the rest must pass a public selection and examination to be granted a city identity token and officially become citizens of the city before they can enter the city."

At this point, he slightly raised his head and asked for instructions:

"Please provide your instructions regarding the selection criteria and schedule, General."

Huo Yu's gaze remained unmoved, and his voice showed no fluctuation:

"Just follow the regulations."

"My subordinate understands."

Without hesitation, Wubo bowed and accepted the order, then left the main hall and gave a slight nod to the fifty elite Spirit Race soldiers waiting in the courtyard.

Without any further instructions, the fifty guards immediately and silently split into two groups. One group formed two patrol teams and began patrolling along the predetermined routes, while the rest dispersed in well-trained formations to guard key points.

The mixed-blood dragon, which had originally been sent to guard the gate, was not annoyed when it saw two black-armored spirit soldiers standing like iron towers on either side of the main hall, taking over its job. Instead, its eyes lit up, as if it had finally been relieved.

The next second, it happily slipped into the main hall, eagerly approached Huo Yu, its tone filled with anticipation:

"Master, now that we have dedicated gatekeepers, what should my responsibilities be?"

Huo Yu didn't even raise his eyes, only saying calmly:

"Follow Ubak."

"Huh? Follow him?"

The smile on the mixed-race Gu Long's face froze instantly.

Seeing the mixed-race Gu Long's face instantly change from anticipation to gloom, Long Yucheng couldn't help but laugh out loud and teased:

"What? Our Deputy General Huang Shan's status has risen so much that he doesn't even want the position of military supervisor anymore?"

"What kind of military supervisor is this? He's clearly just running errands for that vine demon..."

Upon hearing this, the mixed-race Gu Long instinctively stuck out his neck and retorted, but he suddenly stopped halfway through his sentence.

Long Yucheng's words were like a ray of light striking its head, instantly enlightening it—that's right! Although its cultivation was inferior to that of the vine demon, in terms of status, it was now a deputy general under its master, on par with Wu Bai!

The fact that its master specifically sent it to Wubo's side clearly meant for it to secretly keep an eye on the other party. What does this mean? It means that in the master's mind, it is more trustworthy and capable than Wubo! Even though they are both deputy generals under the master, its status must be one level higher than Wubo's!

In other words, nowadays in Black Mountain City, apart from the master and Long Yucheng, it is the hybrid grain dragon with the highest status!

Having figured this out, its displeasure vanished instantly. It straightened its back, its face radiant, and it loudly replied:

"I will go and 'assist' Lieutenant Wubo immediately, and I will certainly not fail my master's trust!"

After saying that, it happily went to find the black cypress, looking as if it had received some great opportunity, and even its back view exuded a sense of triumphant joy.

Huo Yu sent the mixed-blood Gu Long with Wu Bai not because he really intended to monitor him—for him, "trust" was never a factor in his personnel decisions.

He always judged people solely by their abilities, not by their loyalty. Since Wu Bo was personally appointed as the deputy general by Xuan Heng, his abilities were naturally beyond question.

As for the hybrid dragon... nowadays, apart from its ability to transform and get around, it's really of little use to Huo Yu. Rather than letting it wander around in front of him all day, it's better to send it to assist Wu Bo, which would be making the best use of it.

Long Yucheng watched the smug back of the mixed-race Gu Long and smiled at Huo Yu:

"Judging by the little eel's posture, anyone who didn't know better would think that my senior brother had appointed it as a 'Grand Regent General'."

Upon hearing this, Huo Yu looked up at the young man opposite him. Sunlight streamed in through the tall window frame, casting a clear line of light and shadow on the table between the two of them.

Seeing Long Yucheng's smiling eyes crinkling, a faint, gentle light flashed in Huo Yu's dark eyes, like a ripple appearing in a deep pool:

"If you like, I'll give you one too."

"Since Senior Brother has spoken,"

Long Yucheng followed up smoothly, a sly glint in his eyes.

“Then I’d like a title even greater than ‘Grand General Regent’.”

Huo Jingjing gazed at him quietly, her voice as steady as ever, but her eyes locked onto him as if they were solid:

"What about the 'City Lord's Wife'?"

Long Yucheng was slightly taken aback, and the tips of his ears suddenly turned blush, the blush spreading all the way to his cheeks, but the smile in the young man's eyes was as gentle as spring water.

"Okay."

He met Huo Yu's gaze, a bright smile curving his lips.

"Since it was bestowed upon me by my senior brother, how could I refuse?"

The moment the words fell, it was as if an invisible string in the air suddenly tightened.

The lingering ambiguity and probing flowed between the light and shadow, before it could culminate in more explicit words, when it was abruptly interrupted by the approaching footsteps from the corridor—

The mixed-race Gu Long returned in a flurry of activity, his voice brimming with the excitement of watching a spectacle, and loudly reported:

"Master! A large caravan has arrived outside the city gates. Ub has inspected them and confirmed they are slave merchants traveling between cities. Do you wish to go and see for yourself, or simply drive them away?"

After speaking in one breath, it belatedly realized the unusually quiet atmosphere in the hall, and the gaze Huo Yu cast at it that was three times colder than usual.