A large and a small team both headed towards the South City Gate.
Along the way, Lord Zhou Ye frequently glanced to one side, curious about the visit of Mayor Cui.
But if the other party didn't speak, it would be inappropriate to ask.
Zhou Ye could only continually guess in his mind, unable to suppress his curiosity.
With Mayor Cui Long's status, he didn't need to run a commercial guild at all. The daily income of Shiling Town alone was a astronomical figure. Even if most of this income was to be allocated to the official association, the remaining half would still make Mayor Cui Long wealthier than most city lord-level lords.
This is the status of the lord of a central town.
Every official lord dreams of obtaining the position of frontline heavy town manager. Unfortunately, only a very few can ascend to that position.
Mayor Cui Long was one of them.
Retreating a step, even if Mayor Cui Long founded a commercial guild himself, he wouldn't need to lead the team personally given his status.
It was clear that Mayor Cui had come for a particular reason.
It seemed he brought quite a bit of stuff too? What was his motive? Could it be that Lord Mu has a grand background, being a relative of a big shot?
This was the only explanation Lord Zhou Ye could think of. A normal second-generation lord wouldn't need Mayor Cui to court him.
But even if he were the top second-generation, it would make little sense for Mayor Cui to pay a personal visit, right?
Cui Long indeed had no need to curry favor with so-called second generations.
He was backed by Tai Xuan officials and was a core member within the official department. Comparatively, his conditions and channels for obtaining treasures were no worse than those of top second generations.
He was simply not as free as an independent lord, with many eyes watching, and needing to manage a multitude of tasks every day.
But Tianyuan Territory was within the region of Shiling Town. Previously, during the Red Fog disaster defense, they owed the victory which resulted in the perfect kill of the perfect appearance of the Fallen God's servant to General Seventeen.
Out of gratitude and obligation, he, as the manager of Shiling Town, had to visit and express his appreciation.
Oh, and it's not just about that matter.
Even earlier, during the battle against the Nest of Filth, several mysterious strongmen were presumably from Lord Tianyuan's side.
He owed them two favors.
So even if Mayor Cui Long was extremely busy, supervising post-disaster reconstruction and security patrols in the Shiling Town region, he still set aside many tasks, personally led some of his direct troops, and headed towards Tianyuan.
In this, he also had a bit of personal interest.
He could have a temporary vacation, get a glimpse of the appearance of Tianyuan Territory, and express his sincere gratitude. This was a three-way win.
As for the legendary Tianyuan Territory, Cui Long dared to say that from ordinary players to the Great Lord, not a single one was not curious.
This stemmed from Tianyuan Territory's continuous miracles;
It also stemmed from Tianyuan Territory's mystique;
And this mysterious territory was located within his Shiling Town region. He seemed to be lifting some of its veils.
Outside the towering city walls,
The territory citizens were cultivating farmland and transporting supplies.
Many of the citizens were robust and vigorous, with exceedingly good spiritual looks.
Passing through the city gate, the orderly and tidy buildings lined side by side on both sides of the wide and straight streets.
Naturally, it was far less prosperous here than in Shiling Town, as this was an independent territory, not even a pioneer territory. Non-pioneer territories lacked players residing and consuming here, and the town was naturally difficult to prosper.
Many old lords, who had managed their territories painstakingly for years, even decades, resembled the castles and towns of ancient times—desolate, deserted, with a foul smell.
Even many small city-level territories only appeared modern and miraculous at their core areas.
This outer city area of Tianyuan Territory, of course, couldn't possibly be filled with modern high-rise buildings or refined buildings enveloped in brilliant light. Yet, the external appearance of the buildings was far from crude or simple.
It was clear that what Lord Tianyuan wanted to build were not just simple huts or wooden houses that sheltered against the wind and rain, but brand new 'ancient buildings'.
These ordinary buildings intended for the use of the territory citizens, in terms of appearance, specifications, and materials, seemed to be no less than his Shiling Town.
Know this, Shiling Town as a frontline heavy town, is itself financially robust. The welfare treatment given to the citizens is also top-notch. There were hardly any town or city-level territories that could compare.
Tianyuan Town seemed able to compare.
Of course, Lord Tianyuan was indeed a lord who constantly created miracles. It seemed quite logical he had the ability to build his own territory to be more orderly, cleaner.
On both sides of the street, there were also some small vendors selling their wares, and a few tea houses and inns of not so large scale could be seen.
This was not comparable to the bustling big cities, but it had nothing to do with desolation or coldness anymore.
From this perspective, while Lord Tianyuan held great power, he was not indulging in military aggression. His entire territory was developing in a balanced, steady manner.
And balance means sustainability.
Mayor Cui nodded, while not far away, Lord Zhou Ye's mouth was slightly agape.
"When I came here before, wasn't this area still quite desolate?"
At that time, the main road and the under-construction city wall had just begun to take shape. Crossing over the line of the city wall, both sides of the road were bare. Only after walking for a while could sporadic buildings be seen.
But now, not only were the buildings neatly arranged, but they were also cultivating land and constructing buildings outside the city.
How long had this been?
They surely couldn't have been constructing during the Red Fog Disaster Month, when everyone was struggling to fend off monster waves, right?
He guessed correctly.