Holy Soul Viscount

Within the imperial palace, Xue Ye wore a dragon robe. At his side stood the Heaven Dou Empire's Grand Marshal, Ge Long; the crown prince, Xue Qinghe; Prince Xue Xing; and three Education Committee Members from Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Looking at Chen Ming, who had invented these two divine weapons at such a young age, Xue Ye's eyes held a trace of disbelief. He simply could not understand how a child who had not even come of age could create such weapons of national importance.

But on second thought, if it had not been a young genius like this, with no background other than talent and a heart full of passion, an ordinary Spirit Master would not have handed over such national weapons to the imperial family so readily even if they had created them.

"Are you Chen Ming?"

This was a private meeting. Other than the core figures of the Heaven Dou Empire, there were not many people present. Thus, Xue Ye did not put on any airs. Instead, he assumed the stern yet kindly demeanor of an elder, hoping to win Chen Ming's favor.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. These two items are my inventions. When I was young, I once watched hunters hunt and tried touching their hunting bows. In the end, I discovered that my arm strength was simply insufficient to draw them."

"I also heard people say that the greater the force of a bowstring, the greater the force of the arrow, but the harder it was to draw. That gave me an idea. Since one person could not draw a large bow, could two people draw it? And if two people drawing a bow was still inconvenient, and larger bows were even harder to draw, why not fix the bow in place and have several people draw it together from behind?"

"In the end, I found the answer in millstones and rope. I shrank the millstone, enlarged and fixed the bow, then added a component to hold it in place and temporarily secure the string. That way, the bow's power could grow greater and greater. A large bow was like a bed, so I called this thing a Bed Crossbow."

"But then I thought that while such a bow had enough power, stringing it was still too troublesome. So I turned the bow sideways and added a fixed section. Then, for stability, I added a groove. This way, the user could string it by hand. One that could be held in the hand was called a Hand Crossbow."

"Genius, truly genius! Why had I never thought of that?" Hearing Chen Ming's simple and clear explanation, Xue Ye felt as though the fog in his mind had instantly cleared. He clapped his hands and immediately understood the core of the technique.

He had shot bows and arrows plenty of times in his youth. Why had he never thought of such a simple method?

"People have always regarded bows and arrows as lowly weapons. Very few Spirit Masters use such tools, and these tools find it difficult to harm high-level Spirit Masters. Other than Spirit Masters whose Martial Souls are bows or arrows, very few pay attention to them."

Behind Xue Ye, the gentle and refined-looking Xue Qinghe spoke.

"If a person cannot draw a bow, we only think that the person lacks strength. We think the problem is not with the bow. As long as one is strong enough, the bow can be drawn. If one wants a more powerful arrow, then one must draw a larger bow and use greater strength."

"But this young genius's thinking is completely opposite to ours. He believed that if drawing a bow was too difficult, then he should make the bow easier to draw, and then further increase its power by modifying that easier-to-draw bow."

"This is simply the thinking of a genius. Perhaps this was the result that could only be reached by someone who had begun thinking from childhood. After all, Spirit Masters would only think that our strength was insufficient, while only children would consider questions that broke from convention."

"That is true." Xue Ye immediately nodded, admitting that it was a matter of mindset, not that his own mind was incapable of thinking of it.

Looking at Chen Ming, who despite being born in the countryside was still extraordinarily gifted and carried himself with remarkable bearing, Xue Ye could not help but feel a measure of admiration.

"Ge Long, what do you think? If these crossbows were distributed throughout the army, how much could they increase its combat strength?"

"Your Majesty, it is impossible to estimate." Ge Long cupped his fists as he answered, "Training an archer takes a long time, but I just examined this crossbow. As long as able-bodied young men trained for a few days, they could use it freely."

"Moreover, the power of a crossbow is generally greater than that of a bow. Stringing it and aiming is also easier and more convenient than drawing a bow to aim. I believe its improvement to the army's strength cannot be explained by merely saying it would increase by a little."

"Furthermore, just as this young genius said, these crossbows can be enlarged further. The Bed Crossbow can be enlarged several times over, made with better materials, and fixed in a particular location."

"With several soldiers stringing and firing it together, even a Spirit Master at the Soul Ancestor level would be unable to ignore it."

Although his actions sometimes made people suspect that he was an enemy spy, Ge Long's military judgment was still sound under normal circumstances. He saw the advantages of crossbows very clearly.

He would not foolishly shout that the laws of the ancestors could not be changed, or that crossbows were simply inferior to bows.

The Heaven Dou Empire was not the Star Luo Empire. Though the forces within its borders were powerful, none of them obeyed the empire. There were quite a few powerful Spirit Master sects, but almost none were willing to join the military.

If not for Spirit Hall's obstruction, the Heaven Dou Empire would have long since been annexed by the Star Luo Empire. Ge Long cared greatly about reforming weapons and increasing the military's strength.

"Good, good, good!"

Xue Ye was in high spirits after receiving Ge Long's answer.

His health had worsened with each passing year, and the matters he handled personally had become fewer and fewer. Most affairs had been handed over to his most valued crown prince, Xue Qinghe. There were very few things that could make him feel so delighted.

At this moment, Xue Ye was so happy that he seemed several years younger, a flush of excitement coloring his face.

"To create such a sharp weapon at such a young age, I must reward you generously. The rank of baron is far too low and does not match your merits or talent. Then I shall grant you the rank of viscount."

"I heard from the three Education Committee Members that you came from a place called Holy Soul Village in Fasinuo Province? From this day forth, you shall be the Holy Soul Viscount. With Holy Soul Village as the center, everything within fifty li shall be your territory. It shall be hereditary in perpetuity."

"Furthermore, I shall reward you with one hundred thousand gold coins and bestow precious medicines upon you. If you can produce even more creations in the future, I shall elevate you to marquis."

In his excitement, Xue Ye began handing out rewards lavishly. Without caring whose territory Holy Soul Village belonged to, how large the surrounding area was, or what lay within one hundred and fifty li, he simply waved his hand and granted it all to Chen Ming.

Although the rank of baron was not considered high in the Heaven Dou Empire, it was not something an ordinary person could obtain.

A normal level-forty Soul Ancestor who joined the Heaven Dou Empire would receive only the lowest rank of baron, and that would be an honorary baron with no land, merely a title. Only after making some contributions to the Heaven Dou Empire could one become a baron with real authority, and even then, whether the title could be passed down for several generations was another matter.

A hereditary viscountcy with real authority was already a rather respectable position.

Especially since Fasinuo Province, where Holy Soul Village was located, was one of the Heaven Dou Empire's main grain-producing regions. Chen Ming's territory was not only equal in area to several viscountcies combined, but its land was also far more fertile than what an ordinary viscount could possess.