The empty position mentioned by the Great Emperor of Dongyuan was not ordinary. The position he had arranged for Luo Kai was Marquis Changfeng, concurrently serving as the fifth commander of the Imperial Elite Guards.
In the aristocratic system of Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron, the title of Marquis and above was already considered a superior aristocrat. They had a fief and were hereditary. It was not just a title.
His fief was located in a place called Changfeng River Valley in the western part of Higashimogami Province. However, Changfeng River Valley only belonged to Higashimogami Province in name. Several powerful nomadic tribes had always lived there. They were good at taming Direbeasts and were extremely valiant in battle. Even the powerful national power of Higashimogami Province could only force them to submit in name. They had tried to send the Chief Executive there several times, but they were all chased away. Therefore, this Marquis was only an empty position.
Any aristocrat who had a fief had to be approved by the Imperial Senate and had to have outstanding achievements. Luo Kai did not have this qualification, but what the Great Emperor of Dongyuan did not expect was that the Elders of the Four Great Clans who had always opposed him in the Imperial Senate did not raise any objections. Not only did the Thirteen Elders approve, they even proposed to directly enfeoff Luo Kai as the Grand Duke of an administrative province.
At the concert, many survivors had witnessed Luo Kai's shocking strength. Although they had all fainted at the last moment, the earth-shaking thunder still reverberated in their minds from time to time. Some people had already given Luo Kai a title, "Master Thunder!"
He had not yet become a Physique Master, but he could force back four Oceanic Physique Masters by himself. Clearly, this rising star had attracted the attention of all forces.
In addition, the position of Imperial Elite Guard Commander was also an empty position. Its main purpose was to freely enter and leave the Imperial City and show Luo Kai's work for the Imperial Family.
There were more than ten thousand elite guards in the Royal Family, and all of them were physical warriors. They were divided into the Shadow Guards, Thousand Jun Guards, Patrol Guards, and Golden Armored Guards. The Thousand Jun Guards and Golden Armored Guards were mainly responsible for guarding the Royal City, the Patrol Guards were responsible for patrolling the various administrative provinces, and the Shadow Guards were a secret force that mainly dealt with espionage. The commanders of these four forces were all powerful physical warriors, and they were the direct subordinates of the Royal Family.
Luo Kai didn't reject these two positions. Power was like floating clouds to him, but humans were social creatures after all. As long as they lived in this world, there were some things that couldn't be avoided. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Even the powerful Saints had things that they couldn't let go of. It could be material, it could be feelings, it could also be the soul. It was always difficult to break free from these shackles.
He faintly understood that if one day he could give up the feelings of living creatures and give up "me", he would be able to break free from these shackles and reach for the Heavenly Dao.
All the Saints might know this, but no one would take that step. By that time, he might not be himself anymore, because he had already integrated into the Heavenly Dao, which was the Taoist's so-called Refining Void and Merging Dao. This level was the goal that all living creatures pursued, but at the same time, they were also afraid. I think, therefore I am. Once I became the Heavenly Dao, then "I" would no longer exist!
After parting with Qian Mingzhe, Luo Kai was led by a pretty maid to the residence of the Ninth Princess. Along the way, there were majestic golden-armored guards everywhere. There were many sentries, and the security was tight. The invasion of the beasts yesterday had caused the largest human city to enter a state of war.
The Great Emperor of Dongyuan had many sons, but very few princesses. Every generation of the royal family had to try their best to cultivate a Saint. This Ninth Princess was cultivated as the next Saint. She had amazing talent. When she was ten years old, she was sent to the ruins of an ancient civilization that had a slim chance of survival. There was a kind of energy modification device in the ruins that could speed up the process of energy infusion. That was why she became a Physique Master in her twenties. The reason why Luo Kai agreed to meet with the Ninth Princess was that he wanted to know the situation in his dream.
Ever since he felt the inherited memory in the Book of the Universe, Luo Kai suspected that the scenes in his dream were instilled in his memory by others.
Before the Catastrophe, there was a scientific proposition that if human memory was kept forever, it meant immortality. Now Luo Kai understood that memory and consciousness were not the same thing. Memory was just equivalent to the data in the hard disk, while consciousness was a frequency signal. Without the frequency, "I" would not exist. There was nothing in the world that existed forever.
About ten minutes later, a sparkling moon-shaped lake appeared in his sight. The residence of the Ninth Princess was on a small island in the center of the lake. There were no roads connected to the island, so he could only go there by boat. The lake water was so clear that he could see the bottom. Fish of various colors were tossing and frolicking. Sensing the arrival of people, they flocked to the boat and spat out bubbles.
Luo Kai touched his pocket. He had a lot of rice grains that were used to feed the Void Piercing Birds. He grabbed a handful of fragrant rice and scattered it into the lake. The fish immediately scrambled for the food.
This rice was not ordinary rice, but was produced by a mutated plant called Yuling Fragrant Rice. It was full of active energy. The flesh and blood of ferocious beasts inevitably contained a serious Evil Spirit energy. Eating it for a long time would have a psychological impact. However, the seeds produced by mutated plants did not have this drawback. They were extremely precious for physical trainers who pursued calmness.
Stepping on the island, there was a small building in the center of the island. On the balcony of the small building stood a bright and beautiful woman. It was the Ninth Princess. She was staring at the sky blankly. Her big eyes revealed a trace of sadness. Her figure was very haggard. She looked a little weak and delicate, but it made people want to protect her even more.
Luo Kai stopped downstairs, his mind churning with the sorrowful dream. In the dream, the woman in front of him had killed "him". Who was he in the dream?
"You are Luo Kai?" The woman upstairs looked down at him and her face returned to coldness.
"Yes." Luo Kai came back to his senses and looked at her watery eyes. He nodded gently.
The Ninth Princess looked at him quietly and suddenly said, "Have I seen you before?"
The "before" she was talking about was obviously not the previous concert. Luo Kai felt something in his heart and said softly, "Maybe it's fate in the previous life."
"It seems that you are very good at talking to girls."
Luo Kai smiled and looked at her cold eyes. He said, "I will take it as a compliment."
The Ninth Princess did not dare to look directly at his eyes that seemed to be able to see through her soul. She hurriedly turned back to the house.
Luo Kai walked into the small building. The decoration of the building was very elegant and spotless. As soon as he stepped through the threshold, several pretty maids came up to him and wanted to take off his boots and clothes. Luo Kai did not refuse. The clothes he was wearing were corroded and had several big holes. He looked a little shabby.
A few maids brought over a clean gown. As they changed, they secretly sized up this future prince consort from the corner of their eyes. One of the maids with a round face sniffed. She was more courageous and couldn't help but say, "Prince consort, your body smells so good."
Luo Kai bent down and sniffed his body. He indeed smelled a strange fragrance. It was similar to the fragrance that Zi Lan emitted, but it was also somewhat different. He slightly accelerated the circulation of his blood and Qi, and the strange fragrance became stronger. He understood the reason in his heart. He had already reached the realm of dust avoidance. Let alone dust, even his skin tissue would not break off. It could be said that in this world, only a baby would be cleaner than him. Moreover, the pores on his skin were constantly overflowing with energy. This energy was the source of the fragrance. He smiled and said, "I am not the Prince Consort. My surname is Luo. You can call me Brother Luo."
"I don't dare."
The round-faced maid blushed and hurriedly shook her head. Then she lowered her voice and said, "My Princess has a quiet temperament, but she likes to listen to others. You have to talk more later."