"Alright, then I will restore their original souls now."
The next second, Zhou Hong released the state of the puppet souls. Those dozen demon kings had no idea what had just happened, only feeling a gap in their memory.
"City Lord, spare us!"
"Yes, City Lord, what's the point of killing us? We'd even be willing to be your dog."
As soon as the dozen demon kings recovered, they immediately continued to beg for mercy.
"Alright, seeing as you are genuinely begging for mercy, I will not kill you. Go back, and from now on, do not cause trouble within the territory of Wumeng City. Otherwise, the Dragon Tiger Demonic Sect will be your example."
"Yes, yes, yes!" The dozen demon kings nodded repeatedly.
"Go!" Zhou Hong waved his hand.
The dozen demon kings hurriedly fled out of the underground secret chamber.
Zhou Hong also returned to the surface.
For the next few months, Zhou Hong didn't go anywhere, staying at home with his wife.
Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, a year had gone by. Zhou Hong had spent a year at home with his wife.
During this year, besides spending time with his wife, Zhou Hong also dedicated some time to cultivation, though the results were minimal. Nevertheless, Zhou Hong had progressed from a Fourth-Grade Demon Master to a Fifth-Grade Demon Master.
Although the improvement was not significant, Zhou Hong was not in a hurry. The lower his strength, the safer he was. If he were to reach the Ninth-Grade Demon King now, it would more easily attract the apprehension of others.
"I've been at home for a year now, it's about time to set off and collect puppets from various places one by one," Zhou Hong said to himself.
Just as Zhou Hong was preparing to depart, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "All City Lords, please proceed to the Demon Immortal Kingdom for your annual review."
Zhou Hong couldn't help but be taken aback: "What does this mean?"
"You don't know yet? You are now a City Lord, and it is your duty to report the situation here to your superiors. This is called an annual review," said Zhou Hong's grandfather in his mind.
"Oh!"
Since that was the case, Zhou Hong would go to the Demon Immortal Kingdom for his review first.
Zhou Hong immediately leaped up and flew deep into the sky.
After about a day, Zhou Hong saw islands floating in the sky. The last time he became a City Lord, he had come here to register.
Zhou Hong arrived at the Heavenly Gate he had visited before.
The two guardian generals at the gate were still the same two. They seemed to recognize Zhou Hong at a glance.
"It's you, the City Lord of Wumeng City." The two guardian generals greeted Zhou Hong, seeming to have a good impression of him. After all, Zhou Hong had handed over the wanted demonic artifact, the Demon Subduing Pestle, last time, so when they handed it in, they had also made a merit, thus developing a favorable impression of Zhou Hong.
"Greetings, two generals."
"Hello. Since you came here to register your City Lord position and handed in the wanted demonic artifact, it's been almost two years, hasn't it?"
"Yes!" Zhou Hong nodded.
"Last time, we thought you would be killed halfway by someone called Luobo Gan, but you actually made a comeback. It seems one should not underestimate you."
"Heh, just good luck."
"Alright, you must be here for your annual review today, right?"
"Yes, this is my first time attending the review, and I don't know if there's anything I need to pay attention to. I hope the two seniors can offer some guidance."
"There's nothing much to note. The annual review is held every ten years. Once the time comes, you will hear a sound in your ear. Just come up when you hear the prompt."
"Okay! So, what do I need to report during the review?" Zhou Hong asked.
"You don't need to report anything. If there have been no major incidents in the area you manage, or no uncontrollable forces, you don't need to report specifically. If there are, then you must report it immediately. You will understand when you go in later."
"Understood!"
"Then go in, don't go up the stairs, enter from the right side of the stairs."
Zhou Hong immediately walked into the Heavenly Gate. As a City Lord, he was not yet qualified to go higher, so he had to enter from the right side of the stairs, just like when he registered last time.
After walking for a while, Zhou Hong arrived at a grand hall.
When Zhou Hong entered the hall, there were already over a hundred people inside.
"Hello, are you also a City Lord?" A middle-aged man asked Zhou Hong with doubt as he entered, because he noticed Zhou Hong's weak strength.
"Yes." Zhou Hong looked at the man and saw that he was a Third-Grade Demon King.
The other over 100 people present were all Demon Kings from First to Third Grade.
"Such a weak City Lord?" the middle-aged man said in disbelief.
"Heh heh." Zhou Hong had nothing to say, he just smiled. After all, his cultivation realm had not yet reached Demon King, so it was normal for others to be surprised. Sudang novel website.
"Brother, let's get acquainted. What's your name?" The middle-aged man seemed very interested in Zhou Hong and quickly asked for his name.
"My name is Zhou Hong, and I'm from Wumeng City."
"Hello, my name is Rigli, and I'm from Juran City."
"City Lord Rigli, you must have been a City Lord for quite some time now, haven't you?" Zhou Hong initiated a conversation.
"Yes, I've been one for over a thousand years."
"Wow, that long."
"We cultivators of the demonic path have long lifespans. A thousand years isn't long; it passes in the blink of an eye."
"Indeed. By the way, City Lord Rigli, do all City Lords come for the annual review?"
"Of course. But it looks like they are almost all here now."
Zhou Hong was a little surprised because there were only a little over a hundred people in the hall, yet this fellow said they were almost all here.
"No way? You say they're almost all here with only over a hundred people?"
"Of course, otherwise, how many people do you think there are?"
"Everyone who comes here represents a city. Does the Demon Immortal Kingdom only have over a hundred cities in total?"
"Heh heh, that depends on which Demon Immortal Kingdom. In the entire demonic cultivation world, there are countless City Lords, of course. But in this Demon Immortal Kingdom we are in, there are only over a hundred cities in total."
"Oh, oh!" Zhou Hong felt a bit surprised. He didn't quite understand how many Demon Immortal Kingdoms there were.
"City Lord Rigli, you have more seniority. Do you know how many Demon Immortal Kingdoms there are in our demonic cultivation world in total?"
"There are about a hundred in total."
"What? That means there are hundreds of Demon Emperors?"
"Of course. Each Demon Emperor has the conditions to expand their territory and establish their own Demon Immortal Kingdom. The Demon Immortal Kingdom we are currently in is called the Li Qiang Demon Immortal Kingdom."
"Li Qiang?"
"Yes, because the Demon Emperor's name is Li Qiang, he named his Demon Immortal Kingdom after himself."
"Oh!" Zhou Hong nodded.
"The Li Qiang Demon Immortal Kingdom is not considered strong among all Demon Immortal Kingdoms. It can only be considered a lower-tier Demon Immortal Kingdom. Those powerful Demon Immortal Kingdoms rule at least a thousand cities."