Ye Yang stared at the scroll in his hand, not sure how to feel. Lin Shi had helped him contact those among the demons who were well-known painters and they had all gathered in the capital city over a week ago.

Based on the painting scroll they had received from the dragon realm which depicted the Son of Heaven, each of them had drawn portraits that were then distributed throughout the realm with a notice that any information about the person in question should be reported to the demon king’s palace and would be rewarded. So far, nothing had come of it but Ye Yang had started to make use of the opportunity in other ways.

The problem in their realm was that with nobody trusting each other and everybody only thinking of themselves, there hadn’t been any genuine effort to better their people’s situation. Most demons didn’t care but Ye Yang had some faint expectations. He was now the king of this realm and he wanted to make something of that. At the very least, he wanted to create a place that wasn’t constantly wrought with strife. Instead, they should be striving toward a better tomorrow.

Of course, reaching that goal required a scheme because he wasn’t in the lucky position of the dragon king who had not just close confidants he could trust but the admiration of all his people which made them willing to follow his lead even if they couldn’t see the bigger picture. With the demons, such a situation was impossible because even if he tried to implement something, everyone would just try to benefit themselves and wouldn’t want to work in a way that benefited others. So … he’d have to force them to do so.

These painters were his first … victims if you wanted to call it that way. He had found a few guesthouses in the capital and had Lin Shi arrange rooms for them. Since the task of painting the crown prince of the Nine Heavens had been finished, he had given them a new task: Paint something of their choice to the best of their ability. Afterward, all the paintings would be displayed in the city and judged by any willing visitors. Among the ones who voted he’d randomly choose a few to reward for their effort.

This solution wasn’t the most elegant but Ye Yang was sure that it was one that could work in the demon realm. Those painters were considered the best in the realm and all of them had their own pride. Having their painting crowned the best among everyone would naturally stroke their ego. As for having others vote, the rewards should be enough to guarantee that people would be interested.

Of course, Ye Yang did not want to stop at that point. Inducing some competition between these people was simply a good starting point. The more important part was what came after: He had to create an environment conducive for everyone to learn more. As for how to do that … to be honest, he wasn’t sure yet. He was hoping for some inspiration during the exhibition. What he had actually received was something else though.

Ye Yang sighed deeply and put the scroll to the side. Everyone had been able to choose the topic of their painting but, naturally, with the contestants being demons, quite a few of them had made their decisions not based on what could bring out their best painting skills but what might be able to draw their new king’s attention.

Ye Yang only needed to think with his toes to understand what was going through their mind: He had only just taken the throne but he had somehow subdued Xia Wei and those demons who liked to revolve around him. Plus, he seemed to be making several changes recently but hadn’t been challenged by anyone yet. Compared to Yong Hai who barely held on for a single day before being dethroned, chances were that this person would sit in the palace for a long time. Considering that his harem was completely empty … there might be a position to snatch up.

As a result, Ye Yang received a few portraits of himself, some depictions of the battle against the dragons or of him killing Yong Hai, and the one thing that actually managed to keep his attention: a portrait of Jin Ling.

The man in the painting was reclining on a ta, the muted green outer robe with the beautiful embroidery half opened while his copper-colored hair fell over his shoulders in soft strands. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the light of a brazier next to him and he held a cup in one hand that might have held tea or maybe a light wine. The whole image seemed to be a silent invitation.

It wasn’t like he had loved him since, well, he was a demon but seeing this painting made Ye Yang feel nostalgic. He had always admired Jin Ling’s beauty and had pursued him with fervor when the opportunity arose. It seemed as if he had gotten what he wanted but, to be honest, the two of them had never been close and that distance had sometimes irked him.

He might be a hypocrite for laughing at other demons being easy to manipulate due to their pride because, actually, he was the same. There were no deeper feelings for Jin Ling apart from the appreciation of beauty and a sense of accomplishment in gaining what he wanted. It had hurt his pride that he wanted Jin Ling more than the other way around though.

Ye Yang sighed and sat down, unwilling to look any longer. Jin Ling was gone and he only thought of him in passing every now and then. By now, he usually didn’t think of his shocking beauty though but of his relationship with that person he had seen in the dragon realm. Suddenly, a lot of things from the past made sense. In a way, that gave him some closure. Of course, part of the reason might also be that when thinking of beauties, his first thought was now that of a pretty white-haired dragon instead.

It was a pity that he couldn’t go to see the person or he was likely to cause the relationship with the gods and dragons that he was trying his best to stabilize to collapse completely. He wasn’t willing to risk as much just for his amusement. And, well, it wasn’t like he’d get much out of it even if he went to see him. That little beauty’s stance toward him likely hadn’t changed at all and he didn’t know how to change that either.