When that day truly came.
The Xue Family of the Royal Family would be wiped out, and all of Heaven Dou would fall into the predicament of having no leader.
To stabilize the Empire, the next ruler of the Royal Family would be chosen from among the nobles.
Among all the nobles of the Heaven Dou Empire, only the ten great noble families possessing hereditary titles of marquis or above were qualified to contend for the next royal throne. They were:
The three great hereditary dukes:
Lin Family (Dragon Soul Vine), Bai Family (Heavenly Star Furnace), Shi Family (Black Tortoise Turtle).
The seven great hereditary marquises:
Ye Family (Nine-Hearted Begonia), Ao Si Clan (Ghost Leopard), Yu Family (Wind Chime Bird), Wei Family (Snow Lotus), Lyu Family (Heavenly Martial), Zhi Family (Azure Vine), Du Family (Thousand Leaf Banyan).
Although there were more than three dukes and more than seven marquises among all the nobles of Heaven Dou, aside from these ten families, the titles of all other nobles were inherited at reduced rank rather than being hereditary in perpetuity.
Noble titles were divided into five ranks: duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron.
Once a title had been reduced to baron, it could not be reduced any further. The family would be stripped of its noble status and fall into commonerhood.
For non-hereditary nobles to keep their titles from being downgraded, the current heir had to reach a certain standard in Soul Power cultivation.
For example:
To retain the title of duke, one had to break through to level seventy and become a Soul Saint.
To retain the title of marquis, one had to break through to level sixty and become a Soul Emperor.
To retain the title of count, one had to break through to level fifty and become a Soul