1603 Double the Reward, Double the Happiness! (1)
Wang Teng’s rise in noble status made everyone fall into shock. It took them a while to recover.

“Wang Teng, please take out your baron seal,” said Grand Duke Chongshan in a soft voice.

The young hero regained his senses and took out his token from the space ring. Honestly, the seal had barely been stored there for a short time. Having to give it away saddened him a little.

The grand duke opened the square jade box he was holding, revealing a similarly squarish seal of a different standard.

All of the empire’s seals had a Kunwu Beast on them. Depending on the bearer’s status, the Kunwu Beast would have a different number of horns. The creature depicted on a baron’s seal had one horn while an earl’s would have three.

Wang Teng’s gaze turned sharp when he saw his earl seal in the grand duke’s hand.

The latter clenched his fist and the seal flew over. He tapped on the item and a beam of golden light was shot, entering the earl’s seal on his left hand.

Then, he waved a hand and the new seal flew towards Wang Teng.

“Mark it with a drop of your blood,” said the high noble.

The young hero complied, pricking his finger and leaving a drop of blood on the seal.

The blood was sucked in the moment it landed on the three-horned Kunwu Beast.

Boom!

Suddenly, the new seal glowed intensely and floated, to then land in the hero’s hand.

From then on, he was a low-class baron no more. He became an earl!

“I know that you are pressed for time, and so we won’t be holding a conferment ceremony. I hope you don’t mind,” said the grand duke.

“Why would I?” Wang Teng smiled. “I’m not fond of those things. This arrangement is great.”

“It’s good that you understand.” Grand Duke Chongshan nodded. Then, he smiled and continued, “The entire Great Qian Empire is in shock because you entered one of the Seven Stellar Academies. At the same time, the empire is viewing you with greater significance. We actually wanted to bestow a marquis title but you’re too young. That is why you received the earl title first. The empire will elevate you to marquis once you mature further in the academy.”

“Another conferment!” Ji Haochen and the others didn’t know what to say anymore. They were filled with envy.

Ji Haochen, Timothy, and some of the others were part of dukedom families. They had powerful backgrounds, but they themselves had no titles.

Having titles like Wang Teng would raise their statuses, giving them greater authority in their families.

As for Yue Qiqiao, Su Jianchen, and Leng Qianxue, they were lower born in comparison; their desire for receiving noble titles from the empire was much greater.

“All of you have rewards!” Grand Duke Chongshan smiled when he saw the other geniuses’ expressions. “All of you possess great potential since you managed to enter the top ten. Aside from the Second Prince, the rest of you will be given baron titles.”

Yue Qiqiao and the others were elated.

We’ll become nobles too! It was just a baron title, but it did count as a qualitative leap.

Even Su Jianchen and Leng Qianxue—always clear-minded and calm—were excited because of the news.

The grand duke took out eight baron seals and repeated the bestowal ceremony.

“Once you become barons, you will have your own fiefdoms. More details will be sent to you through your wristwatches; please remember to check them.” The high noble then looked at the hero and said, “Your fiefdom will be expanded. Four more galaxies close to the Yulan Galaxy will be added to your fiefdom.”

“Four more galaxies!” Wang Teng was dumbfounded. He would now have six galaxies under his command!

“Also, your hometown, the Milky Way, will now be part of the empire. It will also be counted as part of your fiefdom,” said the grand duke.

“Thank you!” The young hero was overjoyed and grateful.

The news was amazing. The Milky Way was under his name, but accidents could still happen if there wasn’t a strong faction protecting it. After all, he himself destroyed the Olant Federation.

Now, his home galaxy would have an additional layer of protection after being annexed into the empire as part of his fiefdom.

Earthlings in the future could have the chance to explore the Great Qian Empire directly, all without having to worry about becoming slaves.

Grand Duke Chongshan waved a hand and boxes appeared before the geniuses. “These battle armors, weapons, and medicinal dans are also part of your rewards. UCs have been credited directly into your accounts.”

Wang Teng’s eyes lit up. He didn’t rush to open his box; instead, he asked Round Ball to check his account.

“Wang Teng, you have received five trillion UC in your Universe Bank account,” Round Ball said.

“Five trillion!” The hero was truly surprised. Not bad, this can solve my urgencies.

“The empire is being extremely generous this time,” the little helper lamented, “I think it’s because you entered the Star Rankings. Honestly, even after becoming the champion, hundreds of billions would have been enough.”

“Yup!” Wang Teng nodded. He finally understood what benefits the Star Rankings could give him.

What a surprise!
A pleasant surprise!

He wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t know how he got into the Star Rankings.

Back in the first elimination round, he asked his clones to enter four different zones because he merely wanted to collect more attributes!