Ye Yang left the Nine Heavens and returned to the demon realm. Even though he may have liked to stay longer, he knew he couldn’t. There was too much to do back at home and too much risk involved in indulging his own desires.

The ‘gratitude’ An Bai had spoken of was sent over a few days later. Looking at the carved box which held some rare materials, he could only sigh. Well, he did have a use for this or at least he would have very soon. Not that he couldn’t find anything like this in the treasury.

In fact, thanks to the fact that Jin Ling’s reign had been long and that he hadn’t cared much for the people around him, quite a few things had accumulated in there and he’d be happy to get rid of some of them. Still, the grade of these materials sent by the dragons was high, demonstrating just how much they valued their king’s future spouse. It also made them the perfect reward for whoever won the next competition.

Speaking of which … Ye Yang had invited Guan Chen, the one who won the first competition, over as soon as he got back. He didn’t like to push these things back and rather wanted to deal with it fast. The sooner one was finished, the sooner he could focus on something else.

Needless to say, the person had expectations but Ye Yang pretended not to see. He first praised his skill with a few more words, had a servant hang the painting in a visible spot in the throne room, and then led Guan Chen to the treasury to make good on the promise of letting him choose something.

Seeing that the king didn’t care at all about his flirtatious glances, Guan Chen could only purse his lips and carefully look through the treasury, trying to pick out whatever was of the highest value. In the end, he chose a crystal that could promote someone’s magic abilities.

Beauty could be used to find someone to rely on but only your own strength could keep you reliably safe in the demon realm. Guan Chen certainly had the former but was lacking in the latter. Now that he got the chance, why wouldn’t he take it? In fact, this was more reliable than seducing his new king. After all, not to mention that the person seemed disinterested, he also wouldn’t know how long it’d last. Not everyone was like Jin Ling, keeping the beauties he collected until the day he died.

Ye Yang watched the process and took out a small box from his own spatial ring, putting the crystal inside. After thinking for a moment, he added another ingredient that could help with absorbing the power of the crystal before he handed it back. He wanted everyone to know that these competitions were worthwhile so he had to make Guan Chen happy. If he did, the person was much more likely to spread the word later on.

Guan Chen’s expression indeed lit up as soon as he saw what the king took out and he gave him a pleasant smile. “Your Majesty treats me so well.”

Ye Yang smiled back and turned around, waving for him to follow him back outside. “I treat all the talents of our demon race well. You’ll see in the future. Speaking of which … I told you before that I had a special task for you. Let me explain more about this as we head back.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Guan Chen hurried to keep up with him, carefully tugging the small box away. He currently had the two resources he needed to upgrade his magical abilities but he first had to keep those safe. The best thing would be to do this in the palace but that required Ye Yang’s agreement. The king did seem rather amicable though, even if he didn’t want more from him. If he listened and promised what he wanted him to do and then asked him for help in return, he didn’t think Ye Yang would disagree.

Thus, Guan Chen listened with a pleasant smile the whole way back, his choice already clear in his mind before he heard a single word. Of course, what Ye Yang actually proposed wasn’t too bad so even if he didn’t have his own considerations, Guan Chen still would have agreed.

“The next competition will be that of the jewelers. I want them to create whatever type of piece they’d like. But unlike paintings, jewelry is to be appreciated on the body of a person, more so than simply being displayed. If it isn’t wearable, is it actually good jewelry or simply another piece of pretty art?

“Of course, this is difficult to do for a competition. To keep everything fair, the finished objects need to be shown for an equal amount of time and in a comparable manner. I can’t have different people wear them, can I? If I did, their own beauty would impact what people vote for as not everything would look the same on every person and the most beautiful person might receive more votes simply based on their own looks, instead of the jewelry. That isn’t what I want.

“I hope that you will take on this task of presenting those pieces in all their glory. It will require a lot of time but it will also be an opportunity to make your name more widely known, just as I promised. Of course, I will make it worth your while as well.” Ye Yang stopped walking and turned to Guan Chen. “I can see that your magical abilities are low and it seems you want to change that. There aren’t many objects in the treasury to promote one’s level but I am sure that more can be found. How about me adding one of them after you do this?”

Guan Chen smiled brightly. He sure liked his new king’s way of doing business. “I would love to do this for Your Majesty. Of course … if I may be so brazen to ask this … Is it possible to stay in the palace for a few days to make use of this gift? I am afraid that if I were to go home with something this valuable, it’d only end in disaster.”

Ye Yang naturally inclined his head. “Certainly. I will have someone prepare a room for you. I will announce the competition in another week. If you are finished by then, I’d like you to come with me. Also … if you can, I’d like a portrait of you to make copies I can give to the jewelers. That way, they’ll be able to reference the painting while doing their work.”

“Of course, Your Majesty. I’ll get to it right away.”

Ye Yang gave a hum just as they reached the throne room. Waving at the servant who had hung the painting earlier, he had them get a room for Guan Chen. Then, he simply needed to wait until the following week.