Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou
In 577, Northern Qi was conquered by rival Northern Zhou (Western Wei's successor state). Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, who had previously already been impressed by the edicts that Li Delin drafted for Northern Qi's emperors, made the comment, "I have long heard of Li Delin, and when I read the edicts that he wrote for Qi, I believed him to be a heavenly man. I did not know then that one day I can have him draft my own documents." Li thereafter served in Northern Zhou's imperial government, although not of high rank. During the time of the reign of Emperor Wu's grandson Emperor Jing (579–581), while Emperor Wu's son Emperor Xuan still retained imperial powers as retired emperor, Li was created the Baron of Cheng'an.