After formally expressing his gratitude to Emperor Xue Ye, Chen Ming returned to the Heaven Dou Emperial Academy.
But things were no longer the same.
He was no longer an obscure village boy with no background—he was now a titled noble, a viscount recognized and backed by the empire itself.
The very next day, due to matters concerning his newly granted territory around Holy Soul Village, Chen Ming was approached by royal officials and hurried back to Fasinuo Province.
Under Xue Ye's decree, the local nobles offered no resistance. Previously, Holy Soul Village had been part of another viscount's domain, contributing a portion of its taxes upward.
But with a single imperial order, everything changed.
With Holy Soul Village at its center, all land within a radius of roughly twenty-five kilometers now belonged to Chen Ming.
That included sixteen villages, along with over thirty-three square kilometers of fertile, fully developed farmland.
The terrain of Fasinuo Province was largely flat, blessed with a favorable climate, making it one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Heaven Dou Empire.
And Nuoding City, where Holy Soul Village was located, was itself a key production hub. Naturally, the surrounding areas were filled with vast stretches of well-developed farmland.
Xue Ye, in his excitement, hadn't even bothered to investigate the specifics of Holy Soul Village's location. With a single sweeping command, he had granted Chen Ming not only the village, but everything within a twenty-five-kilometer radius of it.
The result?
Chen Ming's territory had a population of fewer than ten thousand people, yet it contained over thirty-three square kilometers of fertile farmland.
That kind of imbalance could only exist in a world as vast and sparsely populated as this one.
In any feudal dynasty from Chen Ming's previous life, even if an emperor made such a promise in a moment of enthusiasm, there would almost certainly be attempts afterward to retract or revise it—perhaps by relocating the land grant elsewhere.
After all, this wasn't some undeveloped wilderness or marginal land.
This was prime agricultural terrain—fully cultivated, consistently productive, and supported by convenient transportation and logistics. Its value was on an entirely different level compared to ordinary territories.
After conducting a proper assessment, Chen Ming came to a startling realization:
Though he held only the title of viscount, his actual wealth now surpassed that of many marquis-level families.
Returning home under such circumstances could hardly be described as "returning in glory."
It was more like a noble lord inspecting his own domain.
At this time, the Nuoding Academy had already begun its term, and both Xiao Wu and Tang San were studying there.
When Old Jack saw Chen Ming—dressed in the uniform of the Heaven Dou Emperial Academy, followed by dozens of influential figures from Nuoding City—he thought the sun had gotten to his head. He stood there in a daze for a long while before daring to open his eyes again.
But Chen Ming was really standing there.
And behind him, a crowd of officials and attendants—dozens of important figures and hundreds of followers—filled the entrance to the village.
Old Jack nearly fainted on the spot.
Chen Ming quickly stepped forward to steady him, trying to explain his new status. But after just three sentences—
"I'm now a viscount."
"I've met the emperor."
"Everything within a twenty-five-kilometer radius of Holy Soul Village is now my territory."
—Old Jack nearly passed out three separate times.
Fortunately, there were healing-type Spirit Masters among the entourage who hurried to revive him. Otherwise, Chen Ming might have had to perform emergency aid himself.
From the one hundred thousand gold soul coins awarded by the emperor, Chen Ming decided to leave ten thousand behind for the development of Holy Soul Village, while keeping the remainder with him.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to give more—he simply feared that Old Jack wouldn't be able to manage such a massive sum responsibly.
That very night, Old Jack, beaming with joy, led the entire village—men, women, young, and old—to the village entrance. There, he personally took down the signboard that had hung for a hundred years bearing the name "Holy Soul Village" and replaced it with a newly crafted plaque made by Chen Ming: "Holy Soul Territory."
As for the old sign, Old Jack carefully stored it away in his home like a treasured relic.
From that day forward, the legend passed down through the village would likely change.
No longer would it be, "Our village once produced a Spirit Saint."
Instead, it would become—
"Our village once gave rise to a genius personally rewarded by the emperor."
After all, while a Spirit Saint sounded impressive, it had never brought any real, tangible benefits to Holy Soul Village—only a vague sense of prestige and some intangible influence. Chen Ming, on the other hand, was already planning something far more concrete: he intended to build a new Holy Soul City outside Nuoding City, and at the very least, transform Holy Soul Village into a proper town within the next few years.
...
After briefly handling matters regarding his territory and Holy Soul Village, Chen Ming went to the Nuoding Academy to see Headmaster Lu.
Because of the special approval from the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's Board of Education, the former Nuoding City Junior Spirit Master Academy had become the Nuoding Intermediate Spirit Master Academy, raising its status significantly.
In just a few months, the entire academy had undergone a round of expansion and reconstruction, already possessing the look and feel of an intermediate academy.
Chen Ming met with Headmaster Lu, and although he had only been away for less than half a year, he donated five thousand gold soul coins to the academy under the name of "alumni contribution." In private, he also handed over another five thousand gold soul coins as a personal gift, asking Headmaster Lu to help look after Holy Soul Village.
Hearing this request, the already elated Headmaster Lu thumped his chest and readily agreed, swearing that if anyone dared to harm the village or scheme against it, he would personally smash their heads in with his Great Iron Hammer Martial Soul.
By the time Chen Ming finished all his business and returned to the academy, the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy had already been in session for nearly a week. However, since the three board members knew why Chen Ming had left, he faced no obstacles upon his return.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that two major events had taken place during his time away.
The first was that Dugu Bo had enrolled his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, into the academy. Any matter involving a Titled Douluo naturally drew widespread attention.
However, due to her special status, most people had no idea where she stayed. Occasionally, though, a glimpse of a green-haired girl would appear in class, fleeting and mysterious.
The second event… was Chen Ming himself.
No one knew exactly which loose-tongued individual in the palace had spread the news, but the story of a commoner offering a new type of weapon and being directly granted the title of viscount spread through the academy like wildfire.
And when people learned that he owned over thirty-three square kilometers of farmland…
Whether teachers or students, they all looked at him as if he were some kind of rare specimen.
Even though Chen Ming had long anticipated such a situation and mentally prepared for it, the sheer weight of those gazes still made his skin crawl.
Because of this, there were many things he found inconvenient to do within the academy.
Fortunately, with the tacit support of the three board members, none of the idle, arrogant young nobles dared to provoke him out of boredom. As long as he ignored the stares around him, Chen Ming could still focus on his studies.
In theoretical classes, he displayed a level of memory and analytical ability far beyond ordinary comprehension, firmly occupying the top position with an overwhelming lead.
Spirit Master theory, Spirit Beast knowledge, Martial Soul studies… anything that had ever been taught—even topics mentioned only in passing—he could recall in full detail.
In practical classes, while his current Level 18 cultivation wasn't particularly outstanding, few among his fellow freshmen could surpass him in raw strength.
Combined with his own combat skills, his performance in actual combat, though not as overwhelmingly dominant as in theory, was still undeniably excellent.
Even the most demanding instructors could find no fault in him, and could only marvel again and again at the sheer absurdity of his talent.
Half a month passed in this manner.
Instead of fading, the rumors surrounding Chen Ming only grew more widespread. Gradually, he began to take on the aura of a living legend within the academy.
Some particularly imaginative students even gave him a nickname—
A monster.
To them, Chen Ming no longer seemed like an ordinary human at all, but rather something akin to a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast in human form. Otherwise, how could a person behave in such an abnormal, almost unnatural way?
And then, one evening, just as Chen Ming finished his meal in the dining hall and was heading back to his training grounds—
A flash of green emerged from a side path.
A figure stepped forward, blocking his way.
...
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