Douluo Continent: Half-level Innate Realm, but a Sword Cultivator with a Heart-Only Mind

More than half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the convoy returned to Tiandou City.

Emperor Xueye had already received the message and personally led all the civil and military officials to welcome the students of Tiandou Academy at the city gate.

Meanwhile, the streets of Tiandou City were lined with people, all standing on tiptoe and craning their necks to look out, eager to see who this genius who had made a name for himself in Wuhun City and defeated the Wuhun Hall team was.

The convoy slowly came to a stop about ten meters from the city gate, and members of various academies stepped out of the carriages.

Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, and Jian Douluo walked at the front and bowed to Emperor Xue Ye.

"Greetings, Father Emperor!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Xueye smiled slightly on his pale face and reached down to press down.

"No need for formalities."

The three then stopped their formalities.

Xue Qinghe said calmly, "Father, the geniuses of our Heaven Dou Royal Academy have lived up to expectations in this Soul Master Competition and won the championship for Heaven Dou."

"Your subject here humbly requests that these seven individuals be awarded merit!"

Back then, after the preliminary rounds ended, Emperor Xueye had already awarded corresponding rewards to the top five academy students who passed the preliminary rounds.

However, because the Tiandou Academy team did not participate in the preliminary rounds, they were not awarded a title.

Now that they have returned victorious from the Soul Master Tournament, it is only natural that they will receive a reward.

Emperor Xueye was clearly prepared, and smiled slightly.

"What the Crown Prince said is exactly what I thought."

After speaking, his gaze swept over the group of students from Tiandou Academy, finally settling on Qi Dao, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes.

If the Crown Prince hadn't rushed to deliver Qi Dao's performance from the finals to him right after the finals, he probably wouldn't have known that Qi Dao's strength was so terrifying.

Emperor Xueye had naturally heard of Qi Dao's genius long ago.

But in the past, his impression of Qi Dao had always been that of a genius who had not yet grown up.

Qi Dao's performance in the Soul Master Competition proved that he was not only a genius, but also a genius who had already made a name for himself.

A Soul Saint-level combat power is rare even in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

When he saw in the information sent back by Xue Qinghe that the Pope was using a 100,000-year soul ring and a soul bone of more than 50,000 years to recruit Qi Dao, and that the eldest prince of the Star Luo Empire, Davis, was also using the title of prince and the fiefdom of two provinces as bargaining chips to invite Qi Dao, he was quite shocked.

Among the three forces, the Heavenly Dou Empire was already weak. If it were to lose a monstrous genius like Qi Dao, the blow to the Heavenly Dou Empire would be unimaginable.

So after receiving the message from Xue Qinghe, he has been thinking about how to reward Qi Dao.

At the very least, the reward he offered shouldn't be less valuable than what those two forces offered, right?

Otherwise, if word gets out, people might laugh at us.

But what reward to bestow upon him was a real problem for him.

The Heavenly Dou royal family's treasury wasn't so poor that they couldn't find a single soul bone, but the quality was low and the age was also low, so they weren't presentable.

The title of prince is easy to obtain, but the fiefdom is a big problem.

Because the imperial power of the Heavenly Dou Empire is decentralized, it can only control five provinces, fewer than the Star Luo Empire.

If two of them were directly separated, the Tiandou Empire would only be able to control three fiefdoms.

Therefore, Emperor Xueye was naturally reluctant to directly grant Qi Dao two provinces as fiefdoms. However, in order to save face, he prepared another treasure.

Emperor Xueye smiled kindly and said, "Geniuses of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, congratulations on winning honor for the Heaven Dou Empire in the Soul Master Competition. You are all the hope for the future of the empire, and I am proud of you."

"The Empire will not mistreat anyone who fights for it, so I have decided to bestow upon you titles, wealth, and honor."

Upon hearing this, Yu Feng and the others from the Heavenly Dou Academy immediately showed expressions of anticipation and excitement.

Immediately following, the voice of Emperor Xueye continued to ring out.

"Graphite, Stone Mill, Wind Control, and Oslo, I hereby confer upon you the title of Earl, grant you 100,000 Gold Soul Coins, and bestow upon you the Imperial First-Class Badge."

Upon hearing this, the four men were overjoyed and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty!"

Many Soul Masters who voluntarily surrender are often able to obtain a noble title.

It is especially easier to obtain a title in kingdoms and duchies.

However, most of these titles were honorary titles and did not include fiefdoms; the recipients could only receive certain subsidies from the state.

Imperial titles, on the other hand, not only grant the holders a certain number of attendants but also fiefdoms.

A viscount's territory could already be a small city.

Xiao Chenyu's father was an Imperial Viscount. His ancestors had distinguished themselves in the war against the Star Luo Empire, which is why they were granted the title of Imperial Viscount.

As a result, everyone around turned their attention to Qi Dao and Dugu Yan.

Even ordinary members of the Heaven Dou Academy were granted the title of Earl, and as the captain and vice-captain of the Heaven Dou Academy, their titles would only be higher.

Especially Qi Dao, whose position as the eldest prince of the Star Luo Empire, Davis, invited him to join the Star Luo Empire with the title of prince and two provinces as fiefdoms.

Therefore, everyone wanted to know what kind of reward Emperor Xueye would give Qi Dao.

If this is not even comparable to the reward given by the Star Luo Empire, then that would be ridiculous.

Emperor Xueye, sensing the curious gazes of the crowd, slowly spoke.

"Dugu Yan, the vice captain of Tiandou Academy, is hereby granted the title of Marquis, 500,000 Gold Soul Coins, and a Special Grade Imperial Badge."

"Qi Dao, captain of Tiandou Academy, should have been granted the title of Duke, but considering your contribution to the prestige of Tiandou during the Soul Master Competition, your title has been elevated to the first rank, and you are hereby granted the title of King, with the title of Peerless. Your fief is the Southwest Province of the Empire, the Province of Fasno."

Upon hearing this, everyone present thought to themselves: As expected, it is a royal title, but the fiefdom only consists of one province. It seems that this is the limit that Emperor Xueye can offer. We just don't know if there will be any follow-up.

Emperor Xueye immediately continued, "Furthermore, ordinary treasures are no longer worthy of the Peerless King's status, so I have decided to bestow upon you the Heavenly Dou Empire's national treasure, the Vast Ocean Universe Cover. From now on, it will be the symbol of the Peerless King."

Upon hearing this, not only Xue Qinghe, but also Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi, who were standing to the side, showed expressions of shock.

Ning Fengzhi, in particular, showed a look of envy on his face.

Clearly, as the sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, he knew quite a bit about the function of the Vast Ocean Universe Cover.

The value of the Vast Ocean Universe Cover lies not only in its function, but also in its symbolic significance to the Heavenly Dou Empire.

After all, no one knows yet that the Vast Ocean Universe Cover is related to the Sea God's legacy.

As a national treasure of the Heavenly Dou Empire, it is, in some ways, more significant than a province.

However, Emperor Xueye was more pragmatic.

Rather than leaving the Vast Ocean Universe Cover to gather dust in the treasure vault, it would be better to give it to Qi Dao.

When Qi Dao heard that Emperor Xue Ye had bestowed the Vast Ocean Universe Cover upon him, a strange expression appeared on his face.

Now that the Vast Ocean Universe Cover has fallen into his hands, Tang San can forget about inheriting the Sea God's position as in the original story.