Chapter 38 - Spirit Developments (Patreon)

The last one would be the Department of Imperial Censorate, or just simply the Censorate, which would take the role of the Intelligence Branch and Enforcement Branch of the Spirit Hall, as it would accommodate most of the people of the former Burial Agency.

Department of Imperial Censorate would answer directly to the Elder Council, which was technically the highest body of the entire Imperial Douluo Saint Court; however, during normal times, it would answer to the Hierarch of the Court.

Within the Imperial Censorate would also be a very special branch called the Doutian Ministry, which would incorporate the Assembly of the Eight Sacraments and Hun Tiandi's future Hall of Souls, which he wanted to create.

The existence of the Doutian Ministry would be known only to the members of the Hierarchy Council and Elders of the Spirit Hall and Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

The purpose of the Douluo Ministry would be to fight against the threats that represent an existential threat to the very existence of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court and the whole Douluo Planet.

Meanwhile, the Hall of Souls would be tasked with collecting Souls of very heaven-defying geniuses and other talents from the enemy camps as materials to refine them and increase the power of the core members of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court through the specific Soul Rituals.

Overall, the Imperial Censorate could be considered the second strongest branch of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court after the War God Temple. Though, they would have much higher numbers, because the War God Temple was only for the Titled Douluos and nobody else.

"Then I agree, but what about the Douluo Consecration Hall? This title of War God seems to be too grand."

According to the proposal, the Douluo Consecration Hall would also be partially separated from the Spirit Hall and instead would become the organization tasked with protecting the entire Imperial Douluo Saint Court and nurturing the Titled Douluos.

The name, though?

War God Temple.

It was actually Hun Tiandi's name.

Because he wanted something grand and mighty that would attract attention and also have a meaning.

As the Titled Douluos of the War God Temple would be the real War Gods.

Everyone needed to be at least Spirit Rank 98 Hyper Douluos who cultivated Celestial Spirit Mantra to the 9th Layer, preferably passed beyond the 5th Spirit Transformation of the 9th Layer.

War God Temple would be the Consecration Hall for the entire Court, not just for the Spirit Hall.

All the War God Temple's members would receive the Court's resources to continue to elevate ourselves. When the Court encounters danger, the War God Temple members will be assigned to deal with it. They will have a high level of freedom and could move freely and do what they wanted as long as they protected the interests of the Court.

Moreover, all the members would belong to the military, and as such, they all bear military ranks. This was done because in times of crises or war, they would also be required to take to the battlefield.

At the same time, they would need to study the military strategy and everything related to it so that they would be skilled commanders or at least, they would have some idea about commanding the war.

"Normally, I would agree, but we need to be more seen and to cultivate more Titled Douluos. All of us are aware of the threat beyond our continent, but who says that once we unify the Douluo and Sun Moon, there won't be other threats? You have all acess to the Secret Records of the Record Hall..."

The underlying in Bibi Dong's words was clear, and everyone who reached the rank of Cardinal or became a Titled Douluos was aware of certain things that were recorded in the Records Hall.

Some were personally added there by the Angel Goddess.

The existence of other worlds and dimensions, some of which could be extremely hostile, may attempt to invade the Douluo Planet at the very first opportunity. Contrary to some of the members of Spirit Hall, Hun Tiandi wasn't surprised even a tiny bit.

In his past life, the existence of the other Worlds was something that was widely known and accepted.

"Then it's decided."

The highest ruling body of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court would be the Sacred Council, which consisted of several people across the entire Imperial Douluo Saint Court. 

First, all Limit Douluos had a seat at the table, regardless of whether they held an official position within the Court or were focused solely on their cultivation in the War God Temple. It was also decided that they could delegate it to a single delegate regarding the Limit Douluos of the War God Temple.

Secondly, there was a seat for the Hierarch of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court as the head of the government and Executive Branch, Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall as the leader of the Religious Branch, Imperial Censor of the Censorate, and Minister of the Doutian Ministry, then there was also a seat for the High Marshall of the Court's Armies.

There was also a possibility of some seats being added in the future, or there was also a possibility that one person could hold more than one position, like Bibi Dong, who was the Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall and also the current Hierarch of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

Which was done out of necessity rather than choice.

In the future, the Supreme Pontiff position would be held by someone who had a real disposition of a Priest. Even Bibi Dong admitted that she didn't have the predisposition for the Supreme Pontiff position if it was valued according to the standards of the old Spirit Hall.

She was a ruler and warrior, not a priest who spent most of his time praying to the Gods.

"We need suitable people for the positions of Chancellor, Director of the State Affairs, Imperial Censor, and also the Head of the Doutian Ministry."

Most of the other positions were already decided, especially among the most important ones, the ones that Bibi Dong, now named, was undecided about. Xuan Ziwen would lead the Soul Tool Research Center, as it was a clear choice that there was nobody better suited for the role.

"Hmm... it would take some time to find people who are well-suited for these positions, as we are not looking just for the strongest Spirit Masters, but also for the other qualities, while maintaining the requirement for the cultivation realms."

There were some really strict requirements for the people in these positions.

They needed to have not only appropriate strength, but also skills, knowledge, and experience to lead their branches of the Court and do their work as they should.

***

Supreme Pontiff Palace, Five Days Later

Five days later, after the foundation of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court, another very important ceremony was taking place within the Supreme Pontiff Palace.

Investiture of the Holy Son of Spirit Hall and Imperial Douluo Saint Court, which was one of the most important positions within the Spirit Hall, and also subsequently the Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

Compared to the traditional Empires and Kingdoms, the Imperial Douluo Saint Court didn't have the noble titles like Prince, King, or Emperor, or anything similar. Instead, there were other positions like that of the Elders and so on.

Bibi Dong also planned to abolish the traditional nobility and lean more toward the concept of the cultivation clans. Within the Imperial Douluo Saint Court, there was no need for the nobles or anyone with power aside from the direct members of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

Much less is said about the corrupt old nobiltiy that was the reason for the decline of the Heaven Dou Empire and the terrible internal situation of the Star Luo Empire. At the same time, the concept of the cultivation clans that shared hereditary Martial Souls, Attributes, or Affinities was, on the other hand, welcomed.

Through selective inbreeding and eugenics, one could practically create a more powerful and more talented generation of Spirit Masters. In the current Douluo, the concept of the Cultivation Clans existed, but it wasn't really that much developed.

There were many Bloodlines that had Inheritable Martial Souls or Inheritable Attributes, which allowed the Spirit Master to inherit the very same Martial Soul or to Awaken Martial Soul with the same Attributes as everyone in the Bloodline.

The Qian Family was such a Cultivation Clan, so was the Chen Family of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, so was the Blue Lighting Tyrant Dragon Clan, or the Clear Sky Clan. In the future, under the rule of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court, this would be the sole presence of the nobles in the Court.

The next thing that came on the topic was his Investiture as the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall and Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

Because Hun Tiandi didn't want any obscene ceremony filled with opulence and drama, his Investiture was done only in front of the Elders of Spirit Hall and Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

He got ordained by Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong personally, who also gave him the Holy Son's Token that represented his identity as he was officially placed into the position. Being the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall and Imperial Douluo Saint Court meant that he was next to become Supreme Pontiff and Sacred Hierarch of Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

Though if the Spirit Hall was returning to its roots, then he was more interested in the position of Sacred Hierarch.

Either way, he knew that the Imperial Douluo Saint Court would be created from the people of the Spirit Hall, so in the future, both Spirit Hall and Imperial Douluo Saint Court would become one and the same.

For the advancement of his goals and power, he wasn't interested in the position of the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall. He could see that with the current trend and development of the events, Spirit Hall would become a true religious organization.

Worshipping the Gods, Ancestors, and Immortals, while helping the populace and conducting the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony across the entire Imperial Douluo Saint Court. The real power would slowly transition from the Supreme Pontiff to that of Sacred Hierarch, and in a few decades, perhaps someone like Qian Daoliu would be Supreme Pontiff once again.

Qian Daoliu was a true priest in every sense. 

Hun Tiandi could tell that the old man was truly disinterested in "mortal affairs", as he liked to call it, and focused solely on worshipping the Angel Goddess and living according to the tenets of the Angel Goddess.

As soon as he got the token of the Holy Son, Hun Tiandi retreated for further cultivation as he felt that he could reach the 5th Layer of the Celestial Spirit Mantra pretty soon after some time in seclusion, which should also allow him to increase his Spirit Rank in one go.

Reaching the 5th Layer of the Celestial Spirit Mantra meant that he would be able to transform his Spirit Energy into the Solid State.

Depending on the various factors, like the strength of body, talent, potential, and quality of the Spirit Energy, a Spirit Master could increase the capacity of Spirit Energy minimally by 100% and maximally by 500%.

Obviously, he was aiming for the highest possible increase, because it would make his reserves five times bigger. And more Spirit Energy meant that he could fight longer and use more Spirit Skills during the fight. 

This would be another tremendous growth in his combat prowess.

The announcement of the formation of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court would certainly be shocking for the two great Empires, because the name was everything they needed to know about the future ambitions of the Spirit Hall. 

This was also the scenario that Bibi Dong wanted.

She wanted them to fight, she wanted them to clash against the forces of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court, and she wanted it to last. Because that way, the Imperial Douluo Saint Court would be forged in blood and fire, through the steel and spirit.

It would have a deep foundation while also having troops that went through the baptism of blood, which was something far more valuable. The Imperial Douluo Saint Court needed to undergo a baptism of blood, and the unification of the Douluo Continent needed to be built on the corpses of their opponents.

In the long run, when the true dangers from the outside emerge, they will baptize nations and civilizations in blood. Right now, what the Imperial Douluo Saint Court needed was time to consolidate its power and establish new Military forces.

Right now, the entire military was the Knights Templar Army, which was still leaderless, and Hun Tiandi was tasked with convincing Wu Zhangkong to take the mantle of Marshall of the Knights Templar Army.

The Ministry of War already acted very quickly and started building another army, the one that would be named the Holy Angel Army, but it would take some time. Just the basic training of the troops would take around one year, much less being said about the slow introduction of Soul Guidance Devices that would come to be.

One headache after another was coming, and someone would need to deal with it. 

The Holy Angel Army would be composed of the former Spirit Guard Army, but they would need to find some elite Spirit Masters for the Holy Angel Army, which would take some time. 

As the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall and Imperial Douluo Saint Court, he got an official residence at the Douluo Consecration Hall with a small courtyard. It wasn't a big change, because he was spending most of the time there either way, but at least he got better resources for the Spirit Gathering Array.

The density of the Spirit Energy in the place was much higher right now.

He sat down in his courtyard as he started practicing the Celestial Spirit Mantra. Hun Tiandi focused on the Spirit Cyclone in his Dantian, which circulated the Spirit Energy throughout his body, creating a permanent rotation of Spirit Energy.

After Spirit Master reached the 3rd Layer of the Celestial Spirit Mantra, he could create this Spirit Cyclone, which would increase the regeneration speed of the Spirit Energy by 20%, which was a pretty high number.

When the Spirit Master reached the 4th Layer, they would undergo the Energy Liquidification, when their Spirit Energy would turn into a Liquid state from the previous gaseous state.

Spirit Ancestor that reached the 4th Layer of the Celestial Spirit Mantra had more Spirit Energy than most peak Spirit Kings at the Spirit Rank 59.

Even though Hun Tiandi was de facto the creator of the Spirit Energy Cultivation System, he was still very cautious when he was cultivating. Compared to the cultivation on the Dou Qi Continent, there were too many variables with the Spirit Energy Cultivation, as it wasn't tested through the passage of time.

Still, he was determined to reach the 5th Layer of the Celestial Spirit Mantra, the Spirit Solidification Layer. During the Solidification of the Spirit Energy, the Spirit Energy in the Spirit Master's body would transform from the Liquid State into the Solid State.

Normally, such stages of cultivation, where the Spirit Energy was undergoing such drastic change, would be more apart by at least one or two great realms, but Hun Tiandi needed to prepare for the future realms in the Celestial Spirit Mantra.

Without the Solidified Spirit Energy, it would be nigh impossible to advance further through the Celestial Spirit Mantra, and it would be entirely impossible to undergo the latter process, as the requirements on the Spirit Energy were tremendous.

For example, without the tremendous amount of pure high-quality Spirit Energy, it would be impossible to reach the 6th Layer, the Body Transformation, the 7th Layer, the Soul Revolution, and the 8th Layer, the Blood Essence Forging.

Hun Tiandi sat cross-legged in his cultivation chamber as he started the process of solidifying his Spirit Energy from its previous Liquid state. It was a lengthy process, but it was very similar to the Dou Grandmaster Realm in the Dou Qi Cultivation.

In the Dou Grandmaster Realm, the Dou Qi within the Dou Qi cyclone transforms from a liquid to a solid state, forming irregular rhombus-shaped crystals known as Dou Crystals. Dou Qi can be released from the body and can be used to cover weapons, enhancing their attack power.

Hun Tiandi used the experiences with the Dou Grandmaster in mind, so for him, reaching the stage was rather straightforward, as he was already halfway done in three hours.

For him, who had an incredibly profound understanding of the Dou Qi Cultivation, which was used as the basis for the Celestial Spirit Mantra and improvements of the Spirit Energy Cultivation, advancing through the stages of the Celestial Spirit Mantra was pretty easy.

Hun Tiandi, unlike the rest of the Spirit Masters who didn't have acess to his notes, or rather, the Complete Version of the Celestial Spirit Mantra, would need to figure out their own way and paths to reach the higher Layers in the Celestial Spirit Mantra.

The Complete Version of the Celestial Spirit Mantra was a special version that not only contained the Layers, Description, and basic instructions on how to reach them... but it also contained insight, notes, and Hun Tiandi's personal notes on the Celestial Spirit Mantra.

The complete version of the Celestial Spirit Mantra was given only to the Tilted Douluos of the Spirit Hall and now the Imperial Douluo Saint Court. The Celestial Spirit Mantra was the priceless treasure of the Spirit Hall...

Especially the Complete Version that contained all the notes and tricks.

Another two hours later, the entire process was complete, and his Spirit Energy was completely solidified. Hun Tiandi smiled lightly as he felt that his Spirit Energy reserves had increased fivefold, exactly as he had planned.

Reaching the 5th Layer of the Celestial Spirit Mantra would allow him to have combat prowess against lower-ranked Spirit Saints. He would need to practice for some time to stabilize his power and prepare for his breakthrough to the higher Spirit Ranks.