Jixia's words rendered everyone present silent.
Even many officials of Tai Cang, who had been assisting Jixia for a long time, had no idea that the young monarch harbored such vast ambitions.
Tai Cang's grand rise, the rise of humankind!
In just two short sentences, he had expressed two grand objectives.
How could a weak race, a lowly bloodline, achieve such a rise?
They could clearly see that in the short period since Jixia had taken the throne, Tai Cang had undergone immense changes. Two of their former enemy races, who had once slaughtered them at will, had either been annihilated or, in the case of one, were still surviving in the south but no longer posed a threat.
The people of Tai Cang had enough food, and the military strength of Tai Cang had surged to levels they never even dreamed possible before.
All of these improvements were thanks to the efforts of the young monarch, Jixia.
Just when they thought that Tai Cang, now free of enemies, could slowly develop, Jixia finally revealed his ambitions!
The grand rise of Tai Cang, the rise of humankind!
These two statements stirred their blood.
Could humans only remain lowly forever?
Could they not receive the homage of all other races?
Could Tai Cang not become that legendary shining kingdom, ruling over all races?
With such a wise ruler and their diligent nation-builders, could such grand aspirations really be without any hope?
They looked at Jixia, who stood like a god, illuminated by the brilliant golden spiritual sphere, their hearts filled with passion and hope.
"Now, the main difficulty in housing construction is the issue of darkness, isn't it?" Jixia continued his conversation with Old Nine.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the old man replied. "It's just that, now that the day of rest has arrived, the people can still resist the cold, and with the royal court supplying ample food, the young and strong can still work hard for twenty days. However, the area is far too dark, which is greatly hindering the construction of houses…"
"How many days would it take to finish the work if there were sufficient lighting and full cooperation from Tai Cang?" Jixia asked.
"Your Majesty," Old Nine replied, "According to Lord Ronglou and Lord Lu'an's plans, and after calculating with many officials, we are building two sizes of houses for every household, based on their population."
"For households with fewer than four people, we are building smaller houses, totaling 1,893. For households with more than four people, we are building larger houses, totaling 573. Currently, the labor force for construction is more than sufficient, with many extra hands. There are also craftsmen from the Craftsman's Guild helping us solve many of the construction problems."
"Besides the lighting issue, all other problems are minor. If we can solve the lighting problem, we should be able to complete the construction in about twenty days."
After a lengthy explanation, Old Nine, now in his hundredth year, was a little out of breath. Jixia smiled as he looked at the elderly man and thought, "This old man must have been quite capable in his youth. Even now, in his advanced years, he still remembers all these details."
He nodded and surveyed the faces around him. "If it's just a lighting issue, Tai Cang has a solution."
Upon hearing these words, Old Nine's face immediately lit up with joy.
The other people from Jian Gu also shared his excitement.
The officials of Tai Cang behind Jixia exchanged confused glances. How could they not know that Tai Cang had a solution for the lighting issue? Did they need to supply oil from the palace's stores to light the entire region during the Day of Rest?
Before they could ask, Jixia flicked his wrist, and an ancient lamp appeared in his hand.
The lamp was divided into two layers. The bottom layer was the base, simple without any decoration or patterns. The top layer, however, was exquisitely designed like a bronze lotus flower, which looked particularly special.
This lamp was the Firefly Light that Jixia had exchanged from the Divine Tree.
Now that the Day of Rest had arrived, the lamp finally had a practical use.
Holding the lamp, Jixia looked around and finally spotted a youthful face in the crowd, looking at him with admiration.
"You are Gu Xuan, right? Come forward."
Jixia's voice, though soft, rang out clearly in the crowd.
Gu Xuan, suddenly called by Jixia, was momentarily dazed, until a relative beside him gave him a push.
"Gu Xuan! The monarch has called you, don't delay!"
Gu Xuan snapped back to his senses, realizing the people in front of him had stepped aside, some even turning to look at him.
"The monarch remembers my name," Gu Xuan thought, feeling dizzy with excitement. He hurried forward and was about to kneel.
But Jixia, with a gentle movement of his spiritual energy, lifted Gu Xuan before he could fully kneel, and handed him the Firefly Light.
"This lamp is called the Firefly Light. It is a precious item. You must channel your spiritual energy into it."
Jixia's wrist flicked, and the golden spiritual sphere in the sky disappeared, leaving the area in darkness once again.
The people who had just gotten used to the darkness were now startled by the sudden extinguishing of the light. Even the officials of Tai Cang behind Jixia couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Gu Xuan took the lamp, still in a daze, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He only had cultivation at the second level of Heaven, and his spiritual energy, which had been refined and stored in the Snow Mountain, was very limited.
"The monarch wants me to infuse my spiritual energy, but how much should I put in? What if I run out of energy and the process is interrupted? That would be too embarrassing in front of the monarch."
Gu Xuan thought nervously, his face flushing red.
"It's fine. Just focus on infusing your spiritual energy," Jixia reassured him.
Gu Xuan, encouraged by Jixia's words, gathered his courage and began to channel his spiritual energy from the Snow Mountain into the Firefly Light.
The spiritual energy flowed from his body into the lamp.
Suddenly, the lotus-shaped part of the lamp burst into a warm glow, illuminating a large area!
The light was unique—it wasn't blinding, but had remarkable penetrating power.
In an instant, half of the construction area was illuminated!
Gu Xuan stood in awe, staring at the lamp. He realized that his spiritual energy had activated the light!
What amazed him even more was that, despite his limited cultivation, the light continued to shine brightly, showing no signs of weakening or flickering even after thirty or forty breaths.
Jixia, observing the amazed expressions of those around him, thought, "You're surprised by the lamp's brilliance, but I'm surprised by how little energy it consumes!"
The Firefly Light had clear instructions on its energy requirements, and Jixia, in his first experiment, was astonished by how little energy it drained. After lighting an entire night, he didn't feel any weakening of his own spiritual energy!