Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 106: Chapter 89: City Lord from Today Onwards

Li Chang’an slept soundly.

When he woke up the next day, he finally felt much of the mental exhaustion disappear.

With his current strength, he shouldn’t have felt any discomfort even after going a long time without sleep.

But the aftereffects of consecutive rebirths were mental, and Li Chang’an had not yet learned any special Spiritual Recovery Technique, so he could only restore his Spiritual Power through a primitive method like sleeping.

After waking, Li Chang’an called for Zhao Xi and asked about her progress.

Zhao Xi didn’t disappoint him; she had successfully convinced everyone to stay. After all, none of them were fools. Even though Zhao Xi had snatched the secretary position, it was obvious that Cangxuan City, a place ripe for rebuilding, held immense potential. There was no way they would pass up such a golden opportunity.

Besides, outsiders might not have been aware of this.

But this group of members from the branch families of Reincarnator Families all knew that Li Chang’an was the undisputed champion of the latest Reincarnator assessment, and the recipient of an S-Level rating—something that hadn’t been seen in decades!

With the talent he had displayed so far, given a little more time, he could become one of the most powerful City Lords in all of Linjiang.

’The glory of backing a rising star!’

Who could resist such a temptation?

Not to mention Li Chang’an was willing to offer them a relatively good salary. Even if he had offered nothing, many would have still been willing to stay.

Once the staff was hired, Li Chang’an gave Zhao Xi a new task. “Recruit a group of civilians and artisans to reinforce the damaged and dilapidated sections of the city wall. And while you’re at it, have all the war machines on the walls—the ones that haven’t been updated in years—overhauled. Anything that can’t be repaired, just sell it off for cheap.”

Hearing Li Chang’an’s command, Zhao Xi nodded, but after a moment, she hesitated. “Lord City Lord, I looked over Cangxuan City’s finances late last night… At the moment, the funds we have left are barely enough to recruit some civilians. We can’t afford to buy new war machines or repair the old ones!”

’Even the most capable housewife can’t cook without rice.’ The City Lord had given the order, but as his secretary, she could only stare at the empty treasury, not daring to make a move.

Li Chang’an scratched his head and asked, “How much are we short?”

’The secretary does the work, and the leader finds the money.’

This was indeed a problem he needed to solve.

Hearing this, Zhao Xi hesitated again before speaking in a tone that lacked confidence, “I still need to go back and calculate the exact amount. However, the upgrade and replacement cycle for city defense war machines is very slow now, so the price for purchasing the latest equipment has remained high!”

Her voice trailed off as her mind clearly raced. After a long moment, she continued, “A rough estimate, just for the most basic repairs and replacements, would be about one hundred thousand Rebirth Points!”

’For a secretary, knowing how to ask the boss for money without causing offense, while still ensuring the job gets done, was an art that required constant practice.’

And Zhao Xi was clearly a complete novice in this regard.

Thus, her voice was laced with uncertainty.

Li Chang’an stared at her for a moment, then asked, “How much?”

Seeing her City Lord’s strong reaction, Zhao Xi’s already frayed nerves gave way to panic. She quickly backpedaled, “Actually, there are other ways to lower the costs! The prices I calculated were just for the standard procedures…”

She assumed Li Chang’an was unhappy with her estimate, thinking it was too high, so she scrambled to do damage control. Inwardly, she wanted to smack herself on the head.

’I finally landed this core position as the City Lord’s secretary, second only to him and above all others, only to make a bad impression on my very first day. How much work will it take to fix this?’

Seeing her flustered, Li Chang’an couldn’t help but laugh. “What are you so anxious about? It’s just a hundred thousand Rebirth Points, right? I’ll front the money myself for now. Just pay me back when the city’s finances improve!”

One hundred thousand Rebirth Points was a considerable sum for anyone.

But Li Chang’an didn’t find the amount excessive.

After all, he had only reincarnated twice, and he already had 500,000 Rebirth Points in his account, and that was without even counting other intangible rewards.

However, his casual manner made Zhao Xi’s beautiful peach-blossom eyes widen in disbelief.

…Eh? Huh?

Hearing Li Chang’an’s reply, Zhao Xi froze on the spot, completely stunned.

To her, a hundred thousand Rebirth Points was a very large sum. Even many veteran Reincarnators couldn’t come up with that much all at once.

And Li Chang’an was just a recently graduated newcomer Reincarnator. According to rumors, he wasn’t from any Reincarnator Family; everything he owned, he had earned through his achievements in the Rebirth Worlds.

Although he was now a City Lord, the fact that he could produce so many Rebirth Points on the spot—and for something as basic as town maintenance, no less—struck Zhao Xi as utterly unbelievable.

After a long daze, she snapped out of it as if waking from a dream. “Oh! Right… In that case, I’ll go find the workers right away!”

Now that money was no longer an issue, everything else was manageable.

With Zhao Xi’s competence, she could certainly handle the rest.

Naturally, her lips were sealed regarding everything Li Chang’an had revealed.

’As the City Lord’s secretary, I have to be prepared to keep his secrets. I must remain tight-lipped in front of outsiders about anything and everything concerning him!’

Before long, a new recruitment notice appeared on the City Lord’s Mansion bulletin board.

If Li Chang’an’s decision to immediately repair the walls and replace the weaponry upon moving into the City Lord’s Mansion was a huge surprise to the civilians of Cangxuan City, then the news that he was also willing to allocate funds to hire artisans and laborers was a massive reassurance.

Some civilians even cheered aloud.

The previous City Lord, aside from the most essential repairs, had refused to spend a single cent on urban development or civilian employment. He even used the City Lord’s exclusive “Summoning Order” to force people to work!

In ancient times, there was a simpler name for this: corvée labor.

You can imagine how much people hated it.

As a result of the previous City Lord’s actions, Cangxuan City’s walls were pitted and crumbling, while its defensive emplacements and military hardware were dangerously outdated, frequently malfunctioning from overuse.

Not only could the civilians not earn money or get enough to eat, but they were also constantly being conscripted to fight for their lives against Exotic Beasts on the walls…

They had silently endured this hellish existence for decades. Cangxuan City’s birth rate had plummeted, hitting a new low year after year. Now, it seemed their suffering was finally at an end.

For this reason alone, many people already felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Li Chang’an.

Despite their uncertainty about the future, countless civilians joined the flurry of activity.

The territory’s development was in full swing.

Li Chang’an wasn’t slacking off, either. ’After all, I’m now a man with a whole city to support; I have to become stronger.’

Opening his Rebirth Mark, he transferred one hundred thousand Rebirth Points to the City Lord’s Mansion’s account.

Li Chang’an checked his own account balance.

However, the sight nearly made him think he was hallucinating—the balance on his Rebirth account showed that he had 1,430,000 Rebirth Points left!

One million, four hundred and thirty thousand…

’Where did this extra million come from?’

Li Chang’an stroked his chin and pondered for a long moment, then it dawned on him. He opened his message history on the Rebirth Forum and saw that it had been sent by the Xiangnan Province Rebirth Association.

Along with the one million Rebirth Points, there were also a full five thousand Citizen Points!

[Name: Li Chang’an]

[Permanent Rebirth ID: 31402]

[Evolution Level: E+ (Martial Arts Second Rank Peak)]

[Citizen Rights: Level 3 (500/3000)]

[Exclusive Talent: Heaven-defying Comprehension (Unique)]

[Remaining Rebirth Points: 1,430,000]

Looking at the personal information in his vision, Li Chang’an finally understood what had happened. ’All these rewards… this must be from Xiangnan Province for uploading the Martial Dao Evolution Path!’

A total of one million Rebirth Points and five thousand Citizen Points had directly raised his Citizen Level from Level One to Level 3!

A massive jump in level.

It seemed Su Ruobing had been right; the reward from Xiangnan Province was truly top-tier. And this was only the initial payment.

If Xiangnan Province promoted it further and received good feedback, there would be even more rewards.

Moreover, this was just the reward from the provincial level. If it could pass the review of Kyoto and even the Human Alliance, the rewards would be even more astronomical.

Thinking of this, Li Chang’an finally understood why the Human Alliance was so incredibly cautious about reviewing uploaded Evolution Paths.

He also understood why, despite the review being so difficult, so many Reincarnators still tirelessly uploaded Evolution Paths every year.

The rewards were simply too massive.

After calming himself slightly, Li Chang’an couldn’t help but grin, stopping just short of laughing out loud like an idiot.

After all, for him, a man who possessed the Heaven-defying Comprehension talent, as long as he could obtain enough Cultivation Techniques and Secret Manuals in the Rebirth Worlds to use as fodder,

providing various Evolution Paths that the Main World didn’t have was as simple as eating and drinking.

In other words, the Evolution Path review process established by the Human Alliance was, for him… an inexhaustible ATM!

He suppressed the impulse to immediately upload another new Cultivation Technique, taking a deep breath to cool his racing thoughts.

He would definitely upload more techniques to expand the available Evolution Paths, but now was not the time.

Opening his Rebirth Mark, he said aloud, “Mark, I want to buy two Tier Three Martial Arts Energy Cores and a technique that can accelerate Spiritual Power recovery!”

Hearing his voice, the Rebirth Mark was silent for a moment before replying in an extremely gentle tone: “Hello, esteemed Level 3 Citizen Mr. Li. Welcome to the Rebirth Store!”

“A Tier Three Energy Core is priced at: 100,000 Rebirth Points each!”

“Level 3 Citizens can enjoy a 50% discount on the first five Energy Cores purchased. After the discount, two cores will cost 100,000 Rebirth Points!”

“With your authority, you can view and purchase spiritual recovery techniques up to Tier Three. The Mark has already searched and sorted all relevant entries on the market. You may choose according to your needs!”

“Note: Items purchased at a discount cannot be traded on the Rebirth Forum or in the real world. Please purchase with caution. Malicious hoarding is strictly prohibited!”

Listening to the Rebirth Mark’s respectful and gentle voice, Li Chang’an was a bit stunned, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

In the past, the Rebirth Mark’s tone had always been ice-cold, sounding like an artificial intelligence from the Main World reading out information.

Even on the rare occasion it called him an “esteemed Reincarnator,” it was only when he was making a purchase.

A classic case of “money talks.”

But now, after his Citizen Level had increased, even the Rebirth Mark’s tone of voice had changed. Not only was it no longer cold, it had even switched to a soft and pleasant female voice.

While he found it a little unsettling, a part of him was also captivated.

’If I can enjoy this kind of treatment as a mere Level 3 Citizen, what kind of life must the true powerhouse Reincarnators at the apex of the Main World lead?’