After being bestowed with his title, Ling Han was led out of the Imperial Palace by the female guard. Empress Luan Xing was very much interested in the Absolute Beginning Stone, and wanted to study it properly.
Ling Han returned to the Academy. Immediately, a group of people surrounded him, pulling him out for drinks.
Too astonishing!
He had killed his opponent who had battle prowess of pseudo-Sun Moon Tier; what kind of miracle was that!
"What, you have even now been bestowed the title of a ninth-rank military general by Her Imperial Majesty?" When they heard Ling Han reveal this, everyone was extremely stunned.
Even though Li Weiwei, Ji Yun'er, Lin You, and the others were descendants of nobles, they had not been bestowed any titles. In theory, they had the same status as commoners… Of course, this was only in theory. No one would really treat them as if they were actual commoners.
In the empire, official ranks were an extremely valuable resource because one could use the power of the nation to speed up their cultivation rate after receiving one. Furthermore, as long as they were in the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire, they would be able to use power of the nation to boost their battle prowess.
Additionally, with an official rank, they represented the dignity of the empire, and no one would be allowed to humiliate them.
Even if people like the Left Minister or the Seven Generals wanted to deal with Ling Han, they would have to first mobilize the Ministry of Justice to investigate if Ling Han had indeed done something that was against the laws of the empire. Only then could they apprehend him.
Otherwise, they would be challenging the authority of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire, and would result in a punitive expedition from the great armies of the empire.
"This time, no one will dare make trouble for you." Lin You laughed loudly. Patting Ling Han's shoulder, he said, "I truly envy you, being bestowed with an official rank of the empire so quickly. Normally, if you want to obtain the title of a ninth-rank military general, you would have to kill at least more than 10,000 enemies!"
Ling Han was surprised, and asked, "Is it really so difficult?"
"What do you think?" Even Li Weiwei was slightly jealous. "Even my father is only at first rank."
"… Are you sure you are not flaunting your father?" Ling Han asked, laughing.
"However, the rank of military officer cannot be inherited. Otherwise, it would be even more valuable," Ji Yun'er said.
Ling Han nodded. Now, on the surface, he had really gotten a protective talisman. The official ranks of the empire only differed by being either low or high. They were all subjects of the empress, and no one could use the authority in their hands in a conflict with another.
Even if Ling Han now met with the Left Minister or the Seven Generals, he would only need to pay his respects as a lower-ranking officer, and needed not be reverent in their presence.
It was harder to say when it came to those below the surface. At least, forces like the Dark Night Hall had never recognized the authority of the three great Majestic Empires. As long as you could pay the right price, they would send someone out to dispatch your target. They could wait 10 years, 20 years, or even 100 years.
After all, to Immortals, their lifespan began from 100,000 years onwards, so wouldn't their waiting for 10-100 years be similar to an ordinary person waiting for a few months?
They all drank too much. Shui Yanyu was especially happy. Now that Ling Han had been bestowed an official rank, the possibility that the Shui Clan would recognize their marriage was now much higher.
After they had had their fill of food and wine, they all dispersed.
Ling Han had created a plan. Since he now had an official rank, and had now got rid of the awkwardness of being a hostage, he could now freely enter or exit anywhere with no need to first make a report.
It was time for him to make a trip home to the Great Ling Empire.
He would bring great amounts of resources back, and fully raise the abilities of his three elder brothers. Additionally, he should also have his three brothers come out and travel around, going to various places and learning from experience.
Real elites were produced with true battles, and definitely not just friendly sparing.
There was also that disciple of his. He also had to properly teach him for a bit to do his duty as master.
He continued planning. Because only a year had passed, Feng Po Yun and the others would definitely not have broken through to Immortal level yet. Hence, the resources he had to prepare were all below Immortal level. In the Immortal Realm, these were really too common, and would not cost much money.
Half a month later, he would return to the Great Ling Empire. In any case, he had the Cloud Piercing Shuttle, so the journey would only take a few days.
The night passed. When Ling Han woke, he had a headache. Yesterday, Lin You, Ma Xing, and the others had forced him to drink a huge barrel of wine. Now, he was having a hangover, and experiencing a terrible headache.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
Pounding was heard from the front doors. As Ling Han went to open the doors, he cradled his head, and said, "Coming, I'm coming. You don't have to pound on the doors so loudly so early in the morning, right?"
Creak, the doors were opened. At the entrance, there presently stood a beauty. Her beauty was not the slightest bit inferior to Li Weiwei's and Ji Yun'er's. It was precisely Gu Lingyu, who shared the title of one of the three great beauties of the Imperial Capital, with them.
"Why did you wake up so late?" This beauty's expression was filled with reproach. "Let's go!"
"Go where?" Ling Han asked.
This woman was a little overly familiar. In other words, she was ignorant of worldly matters; her head was only filled with what she wanted to do, not caring the slightest about whether this matter would be reasonable or not to others.
"My master wants to meet you." Gu Lingyu pulled Ling Han along and immediately set off.
"Your master?"
"En!" Gu Lingyu nodded.
Ling Han felt like he was about to go crazy. When he said that, what he meant was 'Who is your master?', but Gu Lingyu completely did not manage to catch the underlying meaning of his words. Her brain really couldn't turn around in the slightest, could it?
He could only ask, "Who is your master?"
Only now did Gu Lingyu reply, "The Deputy Head of the Alchemy Institution, Yan Xiaoxuan. Quickly, quickly, don't make my master wait too long."
She was practically dragging Ling Han along, without caring whether Ling Han was willing to go or not.
Ling Han recalled that she had once helped him out before, so he decided to give her some face. He did not resist, and allowed her to pull him along.
They walked here and there in the Academy, and finally arrived at a place. It was not very big, but from afar, a strange smell could be smelt from it.
The aroma of herbs!
Ling Han immediately recognized the smell. Any alchemist would be very familiar with this kind of smell, and he couldn't help but sniff a few times. Instinctively, he began to deduce what medicinal ingredients were contained in this smell.
Gu Lingyu brought Ling Han to stand in front of a courtyard. They had not pushed the doors open yet when they saw the courtyard doors open with a creak. A young man walked out, wearing long snow-white robes.
This man was extremely handsome, and wearing his completely white robes, he seemed removed from worldly affairs. He was so spotlessly clean it was a little too much.
It should be known that since this was the Alchemy Institution, then they were naturally all alchemists here. Alchemists dealt with medicinal ingredients and furnace fire all day, so how could they possibly be so clean?
"Junior Sister Gu?" When this white-robed young man saw Gu Lingyu, his eyes immediately lit up. But when he spotted that she was towing Ling Han over, a hint of displeasure immediately appeared in his expression. He asked darkly, "Junior Sister, what are you tugging him around for?"
"Oh, under the command of my master, I have brought him here," Gu Lingyu said indifferently, obviously not at all aware of his feelings.
"Master wants to meet this brat?" The white-robed young man showed an expression of disdain. Their master was the Deputy Head of the Alchemy Institution, a great Seventh Tier alchemist. How esteemed was his position? Even if a great many elites of Sun Moon Tier wanted to meet master, it would have to depend on master's mood at the moment.
"He is Ling Han!" Gu Lingyu exclaimed.
"Oh, so you are Ling Han. Hehe, you have been quite popular recently, haven't you?" A hint of dawning realization appeared on the white-robed man's face, but the expression on his face became even more unfriendly.
Ling Han turned to ask Gu Lingyu, "Who is he? An idiot?"
"He is my senior brother, Jiu Wuqi. He is not an idiot, but rather a genius!" Gu Lingyu had obviously not heard the mockery in Ling Han's words, and was still explaining to him very seriously.
Yet Jiu Wuqi flew into a rage. "B-bastard!"