"You have successfully earned the qualification to advance in this year's Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament. As the supreme ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire, I am proud of you all."
"You represent the future hope of our Empire. As the captains and vice-captains of your respective academies, your strength has played a decisive role in your victories. Therefore, I have decided to confer upon the ten of you the noble title of Viscount."
"As for the other participating students from the five academies, each will be granted the rank of Baron. Once you graduate, the doors of the Imperial Court shall always remain open to you. Your fiefs will be distributed accordingly after your graduation."
"Your Majesty, this might not be appropriate."
Salas suddenly interjected. To interrupt a reigning emperor mid-speech was bold enough—showing just how confident the Spirit Hall was in its influence.
He wasn't particularly afraid of the Heaven Dou Empire trying to recruit these young talents. After all, with the Holy Son present, such people hardly mattered; the continent might already be unified before they even grew to prominence.
What truly made Salas uneasy was—how do we handle it when even our Holy Son is being granted a noble title by the Empire? Yet he couldn't say that out loud.
Emperor Xue Ye merely cast Salas a cool glance.
"Is there something wrong, Bishop Salas?"
Salas hesitated, then replied, "In past tournaments, there has never been any precedent for granting noble titles as rewards. Moreover, isn't the rank perhaps too high?"
Across both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires, the noble hierarchy went: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron. To hand out ten viscount titles merely for passing a preliminary tournament was astonishing generosity.
Clearly, the Heaven Dou Empire was sparing no effort in attracting promising talents.
Li Chang'an thought silently to himself, They're pulling out all the stops this year.
However, Emperor Xue Ye easily silenced Salas with a single line:
"Bishop Salas, the granting of titles is an internal affair of the Empire. It has no relation to the Spirit Hall, nor to the tournament itself."
"I am simply rewarding these children because I admire their talent. They represent the Heaven Dou Empire in this prestigious competition. Furthermore," — the Emperor's voice deepened slightly — "should any of your teams win the final championship, every member of that team shall be promoted one rank in nobility, and your academy's name shall gain the title of Royal Academy, with full financial support from the Imperial Treasury."
Generous indeed, Li Chang'an mused. The Heaven Dou Empire must be feeling the pressure lately to offer such rewards just to secure talent.
Yet as someone who knew history well, Li Chang'an also understood the danger of an overabundance of nobles. So many dynasties in China fell precisely because of their pampered aristocrats—privileged, unproductive, and draining the empire's wealth.
But sadly, aside from him—someone who had long transcended the flow of history—few could see that truth.
Even though these young captains and vice-captains had all seen their share of the world, Emperor Xue Ye's list of lavish rewards left them momentarily stunned.
After all, what did nobility represent?
A Viscount could own land, servants, and enjoy government stipends—enough to live a comfortable life.
While some Spirit Masters did hold noble titles, those were usually from smaller kingdoms or duchies. Receiving a title directly from the Empire itself—especially Viscount—was another matter entirely. A Viscount's territory could even encompass a small city.
And the Emperor had explicitly stated that, upon the tournament's conclusion, their fiefs would be formally granted.
That meant these were not mere honorary titles—they would become true landed nobles.
Of course, this didn't apply to Li Chang'an and Meng Yiran. As for Meng Yiran, she only listened to Li Chang'an. To her, no title could compare to being near her Li Chang'an. After all, what's a noble title compared to that kind of comfort?
Salas' expression was turning darker by the moment. Though he said nothing further, the discontent in his eyes was unmistakable—especially when he shot a hard glare at Li Chang'an. What kind of nonsense is this?
The captains and vice-captains of the six teams that had passed the preliminaries were all elite young Spirit Masters—each intelligent and perceptive. From the Emperor's reward and Salas's interruption, they could already sense the tension between the two powers.
Ning Fengzhi merely stood aside, smiling quietly as though none of this had anything to do with him.
Emperor Xue Ye ignored Salas's darkening face and continued with a pleasant smile:
"The advancement matches will also be held within the Empire, but the venue shall change—from the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena to the Royal Hunting Grounds. There, the ten teams representing the five kingdoms and duchies will compete against you for advancement. I hope the six academies of our Empire will achieve high ranks, securing a stronger position in the finals."
"The advancement matches will be the best stage to display your personal strength. The top three participants with the most victories will receive special imperial rewards—each will be granted the right to select a spirit beast for their next soul Ring. The Empire will provide any beast below thirty thousand years in cultivation."
'Well, that doesn't concern me directly,' Li Chang'an thought, 'but it would be a waste not to take advantage of this. My girls should definitely go for this opportunity.'
After all, once a Spirit Master reached level fifty, their cultivation speed slowed dramatically. Having a high-quality ten-thousand-year soul ring early on would ensure steady progress between levels fifty and sixty, paving the way for future strength.
As Emperor Xue Ye watched the excitement flicker in the eyes of the young elites, he smiled faintly.
"The advancement matches will be held one month from now. I hope all of you can make new breakthroughs during that time. That is all—I trust such intelligent youths will make wise choices."
After finishing, he cast a brief, meaningful glance toward Salas before leaving with his imperial entourage.
Salas's eyes flickered slightly, but his expression quickly returned to calm. Whatever thoughts he had were well hidden—for Li Chang'an had just sent him a voice transmission, whispering a few quiet words that set his mind at ease.
"Don't mind the old man's posturing," Li Chang'an had said. "The Spirit Hall doesn't need to fight over the future. We can unify the continent any day."
After leaving the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena with Meng Yiran, Li Chang'an saw the others waiting outside. But just as they stepped out, a sudden voice called out sharply—
"Li Changsheng!"
Li Chang'an turned his head. A flash of red filled his vision—it was Huo Wu.
"Do you need something?" he asked, feigning puzzlement.
Huo Wu strode up to him, stopping barely a meter away.
Standing face to face with her carried a certain pressure. Her height was exceptional for a girl—nearly equal to his own.
At this point, Li Chang'an's physique, strengthened by the absorption of soul rings, was already far beyond that of an ordinary youth. He stood about 1.85 meters tall. Huo Wu, however, was 1.80 meters—nearly his equal.
'Thankfully she won't grow any taller,' Li Chang'an thought half-jokingly. Otherwise, conquering her might become a literal uphill battle. Still, though her height was striking, some aspects of her physique were… less developed—something he privately thought could use his "personal intervention."
Huo Wu stared straight at him, her fiery eyes locked onto his calm, confident face.
"Do you have the guts," she asked coolly, "to fight me—without using your martial soul?"