Chapter 1201

This price explained why so few people came; Lin Cheng frowned inwardly.

Getting an identity certificate costs 100 gold coins—100 gold coins could sustain a poor family for years.

No wonder Shicheng, one of the empire's three major economic cities, has such high living standards.

If that's the case, he'd have to raise the prices of his weapons and gear, or he'd be disrespecting the city's high-cost standards.

The staff led them inside the city hall; outside, few people were visible, and inside, even fewer.

After Lin Cheng paid the deposit for all three, the staff took them separately to complete their records, but a small error occurred during the self-declaration of origin.

"You are Lin Cheng, a blacksmith from Shicheng?" The reviewing officer carefully scrutinized the list in his hands, then looked at Lin Cheng, as if verifying something.

"What's wrong?" Lin Cheng asked, puzzled—hadn't he already given all this information?

The officer, as if deaf, asked again and again.

"Do you know the governors of Shicheng and Yongjicheng? If you do, name them, and state your surname."

"Uh, does this have anything to do with the identity certificate?" Lin Cheng didn't want to ask, but this had crossed into personal privacy.

"To be honest with you, you appear to be one of this year's empire's key talents—I'm asking these questions out of caution. If you are, I'll issue you a special talent identity certificate; if not, a standard one." The officer already knew Lin Cheng's appearance and basic details from the key talent list, and the man before him did resemble it.

But to be safe, he decided to ask a few more questions.

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you yet."

"Alright then—the governor of Shicheng is Brother Dongfang Hong, the governor of Yongjicheng is Lord Xuan Wuji, who is also commander of the Eternal Night Legion. My surname should be Tute, but by my generation, whether the Tute surname still matters is no longer heavy."

In Lin Cheng's memory, his grandfather had placed great importance on the Tute surname, but by his father's generation, after learning the Tute lineage had declined, his father almost stopped identifying as a member of the Tute family.

By Lin Cheng's generation, his father had told him once that their ancestors were from the Tute family—and that was it.

So in Lin Cheng's mind, even if his ancestors had been nobility, what did that have to do with him now?

He wasn't nobility.

"Congratulations, Mr. Lin Cheng Tute. I will issue you an imperial special talent identity certificate, granting you various privileges—such as 20% discounts on property and land purchases, and priority access within your professional field. For details, consult the Zaoshigong Society."

"That's it?" Lin Cheng was speechless.

He'd thought imperial special talent status meant something impressive—this was it?

Miss Qianhui's identity certificate, by contrast, was entirely standard.

She had repeatedly emphasized to the officer that she was a collateral descendant of the Imperial Capital's Gong family, but the officer said that even if she were a direct heir, the identity certificate system recognized only three categories: imperial special talent, military, or civilian.

Major families always went to great lengths to secure imperial special talent status for their important children—it was a mark of distinction; ordinary nobility? Not even worth considering.

The empire's annual quota for key talents was limited; even if not reviewed personally by Your Majesty, they were vetted by the Imperial Tutor. Whoever made the list was no ordinary person—they possessed genuine ability.

"It's so unfair! One day, I'll earn an imperial key talent certificate through my own strength!" Miss Qianhui clenched her fist, rallying herself.

Lin Cheng knew Miss Qianhui wasn't just talking—she truly intended to act—but something else was more urgent.

"Alright, alright, let's first find a place to eat and stay—the Zaoshigong Society can wait until tomorrow."

"On the way here, I think I saw a tavern with a rental notice—should we go check?" General Ji Xia suddenly suggested.

"You're sure it was a rental notice, not a hiring one?" Lin Cheng thought it worth a look.

"Impossible—I'm not that old or senile yet."

"Then let's go."

Following General Ji Xia's vague recollection (Zhao Li Hao), they searched for over an hour, finally locating the tavern with the rental notice just as night fully fell.

Before this, every other tavern they'd found had hiring notices—this nearly caused Lin Cheng and General Ji Xia to argue.

"I told you I wouldn't be wrong!" After finding the tavern, General Ji Xia beamed with pride, completely forgetting how many wrong turns they'd taken.

"You've got to be kidding! Wasn't that the exact road I said earlier? You insisted on taking another path—do you have any idea how I endured this past hour?" Dragged around by General Ji Xia and Miss Qianhui for a full hour of intense walking, his legs felt like they'd been broken.