Li Tian bowed to Chen Xin, holding his sword, and sincerely said, “Thank you, Your Excellency, for fulfilling this!”
Chen Xin waved his hand and said, “No worries.”
Li Tian quickly completed the replication of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda with Ning Fengzhi’s help.
Now, with defense, attack system, and support covered, only control and long-range were missing. Top-tier control and long-range were currently out of reach, but perhaps two decent alternatives could be found.
Ning Fengzhi and the two others did not stay long.
Some matters cannot be rushed; otherwise, too obvious an objective will only backfire.
There’s still plenty of time; let’s take it slow.
After Ning Fengzhi and the two others left, Xue Ye exchanged a few more pleasantries with Li Tian before allowing them to depart.
“What do you think of Rongrong?”
Qian Renxue’s inexplicable question left Li Tian speechless.
There’s no need for probing to be so obvious, is there?
“What does Your Highness mean by that?”
Li Tian did not directly say he was not interested but instead asked her a question.
Qian Renxue smiled and said, “That is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School’s little princess.”
“If you can marry her, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School will become your strongest backing.”
“It just so happens that you and she are of similar age.”
“With your Genius, my teacher should not refuse. If you are interested, I can help you set up a connection.”
Li Tian said speechlessly, “Your Highness, I am only six years old.”
“Moreover, I was born with good teeth and cannot eat soft rice. If I don’t like her, even a heaven-reaching background would be useless.”
‘Because one day, I will be that heaven-reaching background.’
Li Tian only thought the last sentence to himself and didn’t dare to speak it aloud, mainly because he was afraid of revealing too much ambition and arousing Qian Renxue’s wariness.
Being cautious has no downside.
Qian Renxue was somewhat satisfied with Li Tian’s answer, but she didn't fully believe him.
After all, no one knew what he was truly thinking inside.
And even if that was his true thought, who knew if his thoughts would change in the future?
Being cautious has no downside.
Li Tian, oh Li Tian, you must not be swayed by beauty. Don’t force me to eliminate you.
…
The next day, early morning.
Li Tian was woken up early by palace maids, washed up, and put on the hastily made ceremonial robe. Without even a chance to eat breakfast, he was led to wait outside a hall.
After waiting for a long time, Li Tian was finally summoned into the hall.
There was no snobbery; everyone looked at Li Tian with a hint of friendliness.
After all, he was a future Titled Douluo.
Such a person would only spend all their time and energy on Cultivate.
Without power struggles, there was naturally no need for conflict.
Perhaps he would gain power when he grew up, but that would be at least thirty or forty years later.
They didn’t even know if they would still be around then.
A Count’s title is usually the name of a place, as their duty is to govern a region.
However, there were exceptions, such as Li Tian.
A Count like him, who only had the title and no temporary fiefdom, naturally had no place name.
Count Qianji!
Li Tian used his Spirit as his title, and he could continue to use this title when he advanced to Titled Douluo in the future.
And then came the previously promised rewards.
A ten-thousand-year-quality Spirit Bone, a guard team, and a mansion.
Additionally, Xue Ye privately added one more item.
All expenses for Li Tian’s residence, including food, clothing, servant wages, and all other costs.
Were to be fully covered by the imperial family.
The salary was equivalent to pure pocket money, said to be to avoid him wasting his energy on such trivial matters.
And Li Tian’s annual salary was twenty thousand gold coins.
It didn’t seem like much, but this was already the highest tier among Counts.
Officials did not rely on their salaries to live.
This was also the reason Xue Ye wanted to cover all expenses for Li Tian’s residence.
If he didn’t cover them, he was afraid Li Tian wouldn’t have enough money.
Don’t go to great lengths to show goodwill, only to end up alienated due to a lack of money.
That would be laughable.
After the enfeoffment, Li Tian did not leave but experienced the pain of attending court.
Honestly, he never wanted a second time.
You could see attending court as a meeting, and one where you stood for several hours.
Even trivial matters would be debated for a long time.
After the court session ended, after dealing with various greetings and displays of goodwill, Li Tian finally escaped with Qian Renxue’s help.
Qian Renxue stood there and teased, “How do you feel?”
Li Tian shook his head and said, “Not very good. I feel like I’m not cut out to be an official.”
“Hahaha…”
Qian Renxue laughed and comforted him, “Today is your enfeoffment day, after all, so the process still needs to be followed. From now on, you can just Cultivate in peace, Li Tian.”
Li Tian said, “That’s for the best.”
“Let’s go, first fill our stomachs, then I’ll take you to your residence. Your guard team is already waiting there; I’ll introduce them to you then.”
Qian Renxue patted Li Tian’s shoulder.
Li Tian then followed Qian Renxue and enjoyed a luxurious lunch before leaving the imperial palace.
On the way, inside the carriage.
Qian Renxue suddenly remembered something and said, “The salary is just a living guarantee, and it’s not good to make an exception and give you too much, but if you don’t have enough money, you can always come to me.”
“Enough, enough, I don’t have much to spend.”
Li Tian thought, if twenty thousand gold coins a year wasn’t enough, how extravagant must one’s life be?
Even partying every night wouldn’t exhaust it, right?
The north of Heaven Dou City was the wealthy district, where only the rich and powerful resided.
Li Tian’s mansion was also located here.
A Count was a third-rank noble, considered a middle-tier title, with a decent status and position.
Li Tian was even a capital noble, so his mansion naturally couldn’t be too shabby.
The mansion Xue Ye bestowed upon him was a four-courtyard compound with a central entrance.
It wasn’t overly magnificent, but it was grand.
Li Tian was alone, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call his living situation luxurious.
In front of Li Manor.
About fifty people stood neatly arranged, quietly waiting.
Among them.
There were thirty-one armored guards, mostly in silver armor, with only one person in golden armor.
Not many people, but they exuded an aura of solemnity.
There were also about twenty servants dressed in various outfits: an old man dressed as a butler, male servants, young maids, and chefs.
The carriage carrying Li Tian and Qian Renxue slowly stopped in front of everyone.
Li Tian and Qian Renxue stepped out of the carriage.
“Greetings, Count Qianji / Young Master!”
Everyone bowed in unison, with different statuses, different courtesies, and even different titles.
“You may rise!”
Li Tian remained relatively calm and was not flustered by the grand display.
Qian Renxue briefly introduced them to Li Tian.
However, she only introduced two people: the guard captain and the butler.
The guard captain was named Bai Duo, a stern middle-aged man.
His Spirit was Blazing Heavy Sword, a seventy-eighth-level attack system Spirit Saint, with excellent strength.
He looked about forty, but was actually almost sixty.
His talent and potential were basically exhausted, and it was hard to say if he could reach Spirit Douluo in his lifetime.
A Titled Douluo was even more out of the question.
The butler was named Wang Ming, a white-haired old man, sixty-three years old this year.
His Spirit was Long Staff, a fifty-second-level Battle Spirit King.
One was responsible for Li Tian and the safety of the residence, while the other was responsible for daily life and the management of the residence.
The thirty guards were divided into three teams, each led by a Spirit Emperor.
They worked in three shifts, providing twenty-four-hour comprehensive security for the residence.
Li Tian’s outings were handled by Bai Duo.