To achieve this, Princess Yu nearly emptied the Royal Family’s secret treasury just to gather enough rewards for Ye Luo.

Ye Luo understood this point, and naturally wouldn’t say much.

Moreover, he was only responsible for issuing rewards; how to earn them back was Princess Yu’s business, so Ye Luo certainly didn’t feel right to say anything else.

The mighty procession set out, traveling and stopping along the way.

Initially, Man Niu wasn’t keen on the idea, but seeing how everyone adored him along the way, he couldn’t help but smile happily. As for Man Niu’s tribe?

They had no objections. Knowing that Ye Luo, the negligent Demon King, hadn’t 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 Niu’s tribe.

Thus, the Divine Bull selection was delayed a few days, and they weren’t upset at all. On the contrary, they began preparations within the tribe to welcome Ye Luo.

...

"It’s 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 wouldn’t spare Ye Luo’s feelings, casting a glance at Ye Luo and saying indifferently, "I see you’re enjoying these privileges, and yet you dare to utter such words now. Aren’t you embarrassed?"

With Ao Long’s 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, 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

to welcome Ye Luo, these tribes had made extensive preparations, hence Ye Luo’s mention of expense and exhaustion.

But Ao Long was right; while Ye Luo contemplated the costs, he still quite enjoyed such treatment.

Ye Luo didn’t bother debating with Ao Long since he knew he couldn’t 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 didn’t know how much longer until Man Niu’s tribe.

The Da Yue Empire’s 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 Yue’s territory was significantly larger!

Of course, a larger territory doesn’t equate to greater strength; true strength relies on internal production.

Man Niu paused, for such a profound question, he truly couldn’t answer.

Ye Luo was helpless; why did he even ask Man Niu...

The team continued moving forward, finally arriving at Man Niu’s 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 couldn’t be utilized; they had to travel by foot.

Over four months of travel to reach Man Niu’s tribe, yet considering the distance Ye Luo covered, it was less than one-fifth of the entire Da Yue Empire!

Man Niu’s tribe was located in the wilderness, sparsely populated yet abundant with demon beasts, truly an undeveloped area.

During the Commerce Alliance’s attack, while wars ravaged other regions, this wilderness remained untouched, mainly because it was too desolate, and perhaps tens of thousands of troops wouldn’t even satisfy the demon beasts’ hunger on the plains.

Only native tribes like Man Niu’s and others in the wilderness could thrive like fish in water!

It was apparent that Man Niu’s 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 Niu’s tribe, knowing well that Ye Luo couldn’t 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, what’s up with you two?"

Ye Luo asked curiously.

Unexpectedly, Ao Long replied angrily, "Such wastefulness, simply wastefulness!"

Slightly confused by Ao Long’s 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 Niu’s 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 you’re so interested, why don’t 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 couldn’t 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 Ling’s knowledge was likely inferior to Ao Long’s. 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, I’ll take some people to help you check this place out. It seems to be an undeveloped sanctuary, hiding who knows how many good things! I’ll go for a walk now, you stay put!"

Saying this, without waiting for Ye Luo’s response, Ao Long left!

Ye Luo’s arrangement for people to follow, Ao Long completely ignored. Perhaps in Ao Long’s eyes, even bringing such people might be useless!

As for not sending Feng Ling?

Feng Ling is now the Demon Queen; moreover, she doesn’t 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.