For instance, Li Lin's father, the former [Pingyang Earl], was a sixth-rank martial artist, but his official position was fifth-rank.
Therefore, in official documents, he was labeled as standard sixth rank, virtual fifth rank.
This means having the strength of the sixth rank, but wielding the authority of the fifth rank.
And Li Lin, he is just a solitary virtual eighth rank, with the implication that he hasn't even entered the ranking, yet he commands eighth-rank real power.
But in this world that reveres personal power, this kind of vanity is, in a sense, also a kind of public execution.
Without corresponding strength, you don't dare to speak loudly, can't suppress people, and can only eat at the children's table!
So, in name, Li Lin controls an Anti-theft Bureau in an alley, with over a hundred subordinates, yet none of these seasoned veterans actually take him seriously.
