Imperial Approval! A Worthless Baron!

Tiandou Empire, Heaven Dou City.

The Imperial Government Affairs Hall stood within an independent compound on the eastern side of the imperial palace. Its gray-white stone walls towered high, two stone lions stood imposing and majestic at the entrance, and civil officials in dark-blue uniforms hurried in and out with brisk steps.

The entire Government Affairs Hall carried a solemn air of rigor and busyness, forming a stark contrast with the bustle and prosperity of Heaven Dou City's main street outside.

At that moment, in a spacious room on the second floor of the Government Affairs Hall, a graying middle-aged civil official was leafing through a stack of noble-title applications that had been backlogged for more than two months.

His name was Blair, and he had worked in document auditing at the Government Affairs Hall for nearly twenty years. He had handled tens of thousands of title applications, and with just a glance at the name and level, he could basically judge whether one would pass or not.

He had already been going through the stack of documents before him for nearly half an hour. Most were baron applications submitted by soul masters from various places, and the vast majority of them were around the level of three-ring Soul Elders, meeting the minimum threshold for being conferred a barony, but there was nothing especially outstanding about them either.

He processed them one by one, stamping those that needed stamping and returning those that needed to be rejected, his movements extremely efficient.

It was only when he turned to one application from Nuoding City that his hand suddenly paused.

At the very top of the materials was a letter of guarantee from the City Lord's Mansion. The signature and seal were complete, the format was standard, and there were no issues.

He continued flipping down, and when he saw the applicant's martial soul column, his gaze lingered for a moment.

Blue Silver Grass.

Blair had worked in the Government Affairs Hall for twenty years and had handled tens of thousands of soul master documents and applications. Soul masters with the Blue Silver Grass martial soul who could apply for a barony at the three-ring Soul Elder level could be counted on one hand.

His interest was piqued, and he continued reading through the applicant's detailed information.

Age thirty-three, Soul Power Level thirty-three, soul ring configuration yellow, yellow, purple. Currently serving as Chief Physician of Nuoding City, having provided medical services to the city guard and the City Lord's Mansion for several years. Upright conduct, good reputation.

After reading it, he nodded slightly, pulled this set of materials out, and placed it separately to one side. Then he flipped through a few more sets of documents, picked up the organized batch of approvals, rose, and went out. Following the corridor of the Government Affairs Hall through two doors, he headed toward the inner study on the eastern side of the imperial palace.

The current emperor of the Tiandou Empire was named Xue Zhou. He was around fifty years old, seated behind the broad desk in the inner study, slowly drinking a cup of tea at just the right temperature.

Several newly delivered memorials were spread across the desk before him. After Blair entered, he bowed in salute, presented the approvals in his hands, and quietly waited at the side.

Xue Zhou set down his teacup and picked up the files, turning through them page by page.

Most were routine noble investitures, with nothing worth paying attention to.

His gaze swept over document after document. To him, those names, martial souls, and levels were merely routine symbols—until he turned to the application from Nuoding City, where his fingertips paused slightly.

Blue Silver Grass?

Thirty-three years old, level thirty-three Soul Elder, standard two-yellow-one-purple configuration.

Xue Zhou read that line twice over, set down his teacup, and looked up at Blair. "What do you think of this Lan Tian from Nuoding City?"

Blair bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I have carefully reviewed his materials. His origins are unrecorded, and he cultivated in the countryside from childhood. He only broke through to level ten at the age of twenty-five, and now, at thirty-three, he has reached level thirty-three as a Soul Elder. Judging from his soul ring configuration and growth trajectory, this person's cultivation foundation is extremely solid. Furthermore, all three of his soul rings come from the same plant origin, granting an extremely high compatibility with the Blue Silver Grass martial soul. It can be considered an unconventional yet effective path."

After hearing this, Xue Zhou fell silent for a moment.

He reread the detailed materials submitted by Lan Tian, from his cultivation history to his experience becoming chief physician, then to the guarantee letter personally written by Alfred, the City Lord of Nuoding. There truly was nothing to criticize.

But the problem lay in Blue Silver Grass.

Xue Zhou leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the distant eaves beyond the window, and weighed the importance and urgency of the matter in his heart.

The Blue Silver Grass martial soul had always been regarded as a useless martial soul on the continent. Its Innate Soul Power was low, its offensiveness weak, and its defensive ability poor. From ancient times until now, the examples of people relying on Blue Silver Grass to cultivate above Soul Elder level could be counted on one's fingers.

For this Lan Tian to reach level thirty-three Soul Elder at the age of thirty-three was, to be honest, something that could be called a miracle, and it was indeed worthy of recognition.

But that was all.

A healing-type soul master.

A Blue Silver Grass martial soul.

Even if his soul ring configuration was perfect and his foundation was solid, at the end of the day, he was only a support role.

He had no attack, no defense, no speed, and aside from healing, he had almost nothing at all.

The empire did not lack healing-type soul masters. Even some mutated varieties of Blue Silver Grass martial souls, or support-type martial souls far stronger than Blue Silver Grass, were everywhere within the network of the empire's upper ranks. There were plenty of support soul masters with higher levels and greater strength. This level thirty-three Soul Elder might count as someone important in Nuoding City, but if placed in Heaven Dou City, he would not even make a splash.

So this Lan Tian was an awkward, worthless asset.

If he was conferred as a baron, then with the natural ceiling of his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, he would be completely unable to shoulder any important duties within the imperial system in the future.

But if he was not conferred, it would make the empire seem insufficiently tolerant toward those lower-level soul masters who worked hard to cultivate, which would not sound good if word got out.

Xue Zhou pondered for a moment, placed the materials in his hand back on the desk, and said to Blair, "Although this man's martial soul is somewhat poor, it was not easy for him to come this far. His spirit is commendable. An example like him, someone who could cultivate even Blue Silver Grass to the Soul Elder level, would have a positive publicity effect on the empire's soul master system if spread. It would give those with low Innate Soul Power something to hope for, and let them know that even a useless martial soul can still have a future as long as one is willing to work hard."

He paused, then continued, "Approve him. The baron title will be granted as usual, and a fief will also be allocated according to the standard. However, hold this set of materials for a while before formally issuing it. Wait until I give another approval on my end before making the final confirmation."

Blair bowed and answered, "Yes, this subject obeys Your Majesty's decree."

He collected the approvals and withdrew from the inner study.

Xue Zhou picked up his teacup again and took a sip, then turned the Nuoding City application out of his mind.

He was merely a Blue Silver Grass Soul Elder; he was not worth spending too much thought on. Looking at it from another angle, if this person could cultivate to Soul Elder with Blue Silver Grass, then in the empire's remote towns, he could naturally become a living, breathing inspirational model, more convincing than any empty imperial edict.

As for higher levels and greater strength, those had long since exceeded the limits of a martial soul like Blue Silver Grass.

Time flew by.

The third month arrived.

On this day.

Lan Tian received an official document from Heaven Dou City.

Sitting in the clinic, he broke the wax seal and unfolded the parchment inside. The official seal of the Tiandou Empire was stamped on it, and its contents declared in concise, formal language that, after review and approval by the Imperial Government Affairs Hall, Lan Tian of Nuoding City was hereby granted the title of baron. His fief was located in a hilly area roughly forty li north of Nuoding City, covering about eight hundred mu, now officially registered and effective from this day onward.

After reading it, he rolled the parchment back up and put it into his storage ring, the smile at the corners of his mouth impossible to suppress.

Eight hundred mu of fief land.

Though the location was a little remote, and the soil could hardly be called fertile, this land now belonged to him completely.

With his yearly share of the fief's output, a baron's stipend of one hundred Gold Soul Coins per month, the monthly subsidy of one hundred Gold Soul Coins from Spirit Hall, plus the income from his own clinic, his total annual income would exceed two thousand four hundred Gold Soul Coins. That was already a very considerable sum.

He rose from his chair and walked to the doorway, pushed open the door, and looked at Nuoding City's afternoon streets and sunlight, drawing in a deep breath.

A trash soul master with Blue Silver Grass as his martial soul, who had only broken through to rank ten at twenty-five, had now become a three-ring Soul Elder at thirty-three and had even been formally enfeoffed as a baron by the Tiandou Empire.

If it had been thirty-three years ago, back when he had first transmigrated here, he wouldn't even have dared imagine such a thing.

"Life will get better and better."

He said it to the sunlight outside the door, then turned back to prepare the medicinal bath ingredients for that afternoon.