Heavenly Dao Engine -
Chapter 764 - 764 0478 What Exactly Does He Want to Do
Chapter 764: Chapter 0478: What Exactly Does He Want to Do? Chapter 764: Chapter 0478: What Exactly Does He Want to Do? Chapter 0478: What Is He Up To?
After appeasing the civilian and military officials, as well as the nobility, Qi Tian went to console the cultivators who had joined Prince Zhao. There were many solo cultivators and small cultivation sects or families in the Cultivation World of the Great Zhao Nation. Every time a dynastic change or a power struggle for the throne occurred, these cultivators were most active. If they were lucky enough to choose the right side, they would reap great benefits when Prince Zhao eventually became the Crown Prince, and even the new emperor.
In the beginning, cultivators in the Great Zhao Nation didn’t have high expectations for Prince Zhao. However, as Qi Tian gradually established his reputation, the opinion of the world’s cultivators towards Prince Zhao rapidly changed, and a large number of them began to join Prince Zhao. They were quite clear about their place, not daring to vie with Qi Tian for the position of the chief cultivator at the prince’s side. They were merely satisfied with the hope of becoming one of Prince Zhao’s retainers in the future.
Compared to officers of the Northern Expedition Army, civilian and military officials, and nobility, the cultivators were the most difficult to appease. Money and power could satisfy the majority of the aforementioned, but cultivators wanted more. Although some desired wealth and honour, most sought cultivation resources and opportunities to propel their cultivation journey.
At this point, Qi Tian knew better than trying to placate them with a handful of so-called quotas. They were cultivators after all, who were not bereft of cultivation opportunities. What they lacked was better opportunities and more cultivation resources.
Great Zhao Nation and the surrounding countries all suffered from a dearth of cultivation resources. The limited resources were concentrated in the hands of the royal family, who certainly would not share their cultivation resources with outsiders. After all, the royal family also needed to cultivate, especially the emperor and the crown prince, who were significant consumers of cultivation resources. How else could they achieve the status of a Gold Core Realm cultivator under the sky of Great Zhao Nation?
Take King Zhangbei Manor for instance, a direct lineage of the royal family, with King Zhang Bei and Emperor Tian Rui sharing the same grandfather. Even so, Emperor Tian Rui only allocated twenty low-grade spirit stones to the Manor per year. This illustrated how strict the royal family’s control over cultivation resources was.
If Prince Zhao were to become the crown prince, or even the emperor, he would inevitably strengthen the control over cultivation resources. Without control, their family may lack cultivation resources, potentially hindering his descendants from becoming Gold Core Realm cultivators, thus losing their deterrent power. On the other hand, excessive control would disperse a plethora of cultivation resources, which could breed an exceptional cultivator among the clans or sects. If such a cultivator harboured malicious intentions to overthrow the rule of the Great Zhao Nation or emulate Qi Tian to usurp Prince Zhao by crowning a new prince, wouldn’t that lead Prince Zhao to his doom?
However, it was also unacceptable without promising some benefits to cultivators supporting Prince Zhao. Qi Tian couldn’t manage all of Prince Zhao’s affairs nor stay by his side forever. Sooner or later, he would leave, and his absence would undoubtedly leave a void that needed to be filled. Even if he stayed, Prince Zhao’s entourage would still need dedicated cultivators.
How much cultivation resources should be given to them, and how should they be distributed? Such delicate considerations were necessary.
Accompanied by Marquis Ma, Qi Tian arrived at the Hundred Immortals Pavilion, which Prince Zhao had specially built for the cultivators who had come to support him. To date, there were approximately over fifty of them, barely passing the half-century mark.
Although this number didn’t seem large, it was quite significant. For example, King Zhangbei Manor, including King Zhangbei and Zhao Qian, totalled less than ten cultivators, evidencing that cultivating cultivators as retainers is highly resource-intensive.
Qi Tian personally rang the bell summoning all the cultivators, and not long after the sound resonated, over fifty cultivators gathered.
Without deploying the Heavenly Dao Engine, Qi Tian merely gauged with his eyes and had an accurate measure of these fifty cultivators’ circumstances. 99% of them were at the Qi Cultivation Period, primarily at the initial stage, and the middle and latter stages combined didn’t even reach ten. Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators were even rarer, with just one among them.
This Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator appeared quite aged, donned in Taoist robes, with a white beard and hair, portraying an image of an immortal. He introduced himself as Li Zeyuan. Prince Zhao held him in high respect and subtly tried to recruit him, but Li Zeyuan maintained a non-committal attitude towards him and never empirically accepted Prince Zhao’s offer.
Qi Tian had heard many reports about Li Zeyuan but met him in person for the first time today.
Li Zeyuan carried a whisk which he flicked, rested it on his elbow, then bowed to Qi Tian in salutation, “Greetings, Master.”
There was nothing wrong with Li Zeyuan’s behaviour, but several cultivators who had arrived before him paid their respects to Qi Tian, most of them kneeling in reverence and even hitting their heads on the ground. If not, they were bending in deep respect. Li Zeyuan was the first one to act otherwise.
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