Chapter 39 - Pillars of the Saint Court (1) (Patreon)

The advantage of the Celestial Spirit Mantra was that it allowed the cultivator to advance pretty fast during certain Layers of the Mantra.

Like this one, which would allow Hun Tiandi to reach the peak of the Spirit King Realm, most probably, and then he would need around half a year to stabilize his foundation to reach the Spirit Emperor Realm.

Now that he had reached the 5th Layer in the Celestial Spirit Mantra and was Conferred as the Holy Son, he knew that Bibi Dong would send him out on some mission. Not like he was against, it was better than sitting around.

In his first life, he spent many centuries without leaving his cultivation chamber, which made his life rather boring and dull. When he was younger, he was far more adventurous, though the later days found him spending most of his time sitting around and cultivating.

Though if his clansmen and subordinates were more competent, then perhaps he wouldn't need to spend time dealing with these useless things. 

And as expected, when he exited the cultivation chamber, there was a note that Bibi Dong was awaiting him in the Supreme Pontiff Palace. The reason for the note was that, within the Douluo Consecration Palace, now called the War God Temple, there were no servants.

This was like a forbidden ground to anyone who wasn't a member.

Only the members of the War God Temple could enter. This rule was something that was taken from the Douluo Consecration Hall of the Spirit Hall, as there was no need for the servants in these sacred halls.

He stood up as he went to meet with Bibi Dong, noticing that the Hall was rather quiet today... 

Aside from the Worship Elders, only Qian Renxue had the privilege of living here, but as the relationship between her and her mother repaired over the early years of her life, she also spent a lot of time in the Supreme Pontiff Palace.

***

Imperial Douluo Saint Court, Eastsea Village

Eastsea Village was a very small village located in the former territory of the Skysea County ruled by the Guang Family, which was recently deposed by the Spirit Hall, and its territory was incorporated into the Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

Not like the commoners really cared about that, because for them, it was only a change of one overlord for another. Most of them didn't really think that many things would change, but it was a wrong assumption.

Not long after the conquest of the Skysea County, the Spirit Hall sent out several members of their clergy to establish a Sacred Spirit Temple in the Eastsea Village. Normally, the Sacred Spirit Temples would be built in the Great Cities of the continent, but the Eastsea Village was a very special place.

Its main feature is its port, which serves as a nexus for traveling the seas and exploiting the resources of the ocean. The village had a population of only something around three thousand people, and it was rather poor.

When the Guang Counts were in charge of the country, everything that was brought out of the ocean went straight to the Count's coffers, while the villagers received nothing in return, and thus the village was very poor, and its people even more so.

For the Imperial Douluo Saint Court, the Eastsea Village was of paramount importance because it was their sole and single port and their only chance at building a navy and accessing the ocean.

Thus, the Spirit Hall decided to construct a Sacred Spirit Temple, and the Imperial Douluo Saint Court sent here their entire garrison of the Knights Templar and one Tilted Douluo to protect the village.

Hun Tiandi walked through the streets of the Eastsea Village as he looked around and searched for his target. 

His current mission was to meet with Wu Zhangkong and to convince him to become Marshal of the Knights Templar Army. He wasn't really thrilled at the idea, but it was an order from the Supreme Pontiff herself, and there wasn't anyone more suitable for the task.

Not to mention, even Qian Daoliu went to meet with some of the old recluses to recruit people for the position of the Imperial Censor and Director of the Doutian Ministry. Of course, he wasn't here alone as he came to this place together with Sang Mandeok and also Qian Renxue, who wanted to see the sea.

Qian Renxue was already nearing the Spirit Rank 30, and she needed just a small push to reach the Rank 30 and become a Spirit Elder. Right now, Qian Daoliu was already pondering how to evolve Renxue's Martial Soul for it to obtain the Ultimate Attributes.

If her Seraphim Martial Soul evolved once or twice and obtained the Ultimate Attributes, then it would be a great boon for Qian Renxue, as she would not only experience a surge in power, but it would be much easier to start comprehending Laws once she reached the Limit Douluo.

That was the reason why the Martial Souls with the Ultimate Attributes were so valuable, because if one had such a Martial Soul, then at the Limit Douluo, Spirit Master's progression when it came to comprehension of Laws would be much smoother and faster.

The Ultimate Attributes were very important for the later stages of cultivation, especially for the Godhood. Unfortunately, evolving the God-Level Martial Souls was something that was much easier said than done. 

Hun Tiandi wanted to evolve his own Martial Soul, the Bloodviolet Seven-Star Fiend Sword, which was a God-Level Martial Soul with Slaughter Ultimate Attribute, so it was even one level above that of the Seraphim Martial Soul, which lacked the Ultimate Attributes.

As much as he pondered over the possibility of the evolution of the Martial Soul, he found only one viable way of evolving the Bloodviolet Seven-Star Fiend Sword Martial Soul.

He would need to find similarly attributed Divine Tools or Artifacts that were above the Divine Tools and use them as the evolution materials for the Bloodviolet Seven-Star Fiend Sword, which would force the evolution of the Bloodviolet Seven-Star Fiend Sword.

The Martial Souls of Ultimate Attributes had Laws in them, allowing one to comprehend them.

And even if the Martial Soul was without the Law Fragment like that of the Ultimate Martial Soul, just the attributes of the Martial Soul were already enough to influence Spirit Masters towards a certain direction in their cultivation journey.

Hun Tiandi took Qian Rexue to the port of the Eastsea Village, as she was curious about the ocean and Oceanic Spirit Beasts that lived in the Oceans. The Oceans of the Douluo Planet were full of powerful Spirit Beasts that were untouched by human hands.

Due to the enviroment, the Spirit Masters didn't have the means of hunting Spirit Beasts in the ocean, because it was their natural habitat and they were also much stronger in the oceans.

Anyone in the Spirit Hall knew that the Oceans were actually the most dangerous regions of the entire planet, and nobody knew how many powerful Spirit Beasts lived in that place.

There were even rumors that the Oceanic Spirit Beast had a Spirit Beast that reached 1 million years in terms of cultivation, which was a rather frightening thought.

Either way, it was known that there were many more Great Beasts in the Oceans than there were in the entire continent. The number of the Great Beasts, meaning the Spirit Beasts that had more than 200,000 years of cultivation base and usually had passed their tribulation period twice, was far higher than that of the continent. 

Right now, as the first thing after arriving at the Eastsea Village, Hun Tiandi went to find Wu Zhangkong, who was supposed to be in the small Temple that belonged to Spirit Hall. His fianceé wwas one of the Scholars of the Spirit Hall.

So hopefully the conversation would proceed without many complications, and he could achieve his goal. There were not many people suitable to be the leader of the Knights Templar Army, and the requirements for the Marshals for the future armies were pretty strict.

At the same time, it was clear that it must be someone with deep ties to the Spirit Hall and Imperial Douluo Saint Court. Otherwise, it would be the problem of questionable loyalty and priorities.

Wu Zhangkong was a peak Soul Douluo and a very talented swordsman. Apparently, he awakened a very rare Tool-Type Martial Soul, Skyfrost Sword, with very strong Attributes of Frost and Ice, and even his aptitude for swordsmanship was top-notch.

Hun Tiandi found it rather ironic that many Spirit Masters who awakened some kind of Tool-Type Martial Soul, be it swords, spears, or anything else, were absolutely useless in using the tool.

Many of the Spirit Masters with the sword-like Martial Soul had zero talent in swordsmanship and could never unleash the true power of their Martial Soul, or others were just sword users and used the sword like waving a stick.

No depth, no meaning.

Just nothing.

Wu Zhangkong was different.

And he had potential to become Hyper Douluo... perhaps even Limit Douluo if he had acess to some of the best resources of the Spirit Hall. Searching for talent in that age was pretty hard, and talented people were rare.

"We are going to meet with Wu Zhangkong and then we can have a stroll through the village, okey?"

He primarily looked at Qian Renxue, who nodded as they went to meet with their target.

During the past few days, the position of Director of the Department of State Affairs was already filled by Salas. He was previously the Platinum Archbishop of the Grand Cathedral in the Heaven Dou Empire and was nearing the Titled Douluo.

Not to mention, he was a very good bureaucrat and was natural in the administrative work, so he was best suited for the position. While the position of the Chancellor was vacant, there was talk that Hun Tiandi was wanted to take the position. 

It wasn't just a random proposition but rather a calculated move from the side of the Elders.

Among the higher-ups of the Spirit Hall, it wasn't any secret that the creation of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court and the current rise of the Spirit Hall were primarily Hun Tiandi's achievements.

Despite his "young age", his vision was beyond his years, and he was best suited for the position of the Chancellor, who would advise the Hierarch and also make the crucial decisions on behalf of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

For the position of the Imperial Censor and Head of the Doutian Ministry, Qian Daoliu departed to meet some of his old friends and rivals. Either he would fight with them and succeed, or he would fail, and it would be for naught.

Nevertheless, they soon arrived at the small Martial Soul Temple that was located in the center of the Eastsea Village, where the current personnel of the Spirit Hall were staying. 

It wasn't luxurious or anything by any standards, as it was just an ordinary Martial Soul Temple that could be found across countless villages scattered around the Douluo Continent, even in the territory of the Star Luo Empire, where their influence was at its weakest.

As they arrived in front of the Martial Soul Temple, the person of interest was already waiting for them as Hun Tiandi saw Wu Zhangkong. 

Wu Zhangkong stood at a staggering height of over 1.9 meters with a pair of lanky arms and a thin waist. He wears white trousers that accentuate his long legs. His thin looks, brightly lit eyes, well-set nose, and thin lips give off an image of height and intelligence. The mass of hair is swept to the back of his head.

His pupils are yellow, which matches well with his blue hair, and the resulting combination gives off a strange vibe. His face was expressionless, and his gaze icy. He appeared as someone truly powerful, and his mere appearance inflicts frostiness onto others to a great effect.

With his Spiritual Realm, Hun Tiandi was able to sense that the man in front of them was only one tiny step away from reaching the Titled Douluo... which was rather fascinating considering the fact that he was not even thirty years old.

Reaching the Titled Douluo before the age of thirty was already considered a continent-shaking achievement in the current enviroment of the Douluo Continent, where cultivation wasn't a developed concept.

Prior to Hun Tiandi's creation of cultivation methods, people were just absorbing Spirit Energy from the Heaven and Earth and calling it a day. Something that he considered blasphemous because in the Dou Qi Continent, even the lowest of the loose cultivators were not cultivating like this.

It was terrible.

"Welcome to our humble temple, Your Holiness."

Wu Zhangkong was informed of the arrival of the Holy Son of Spirit Hall and the Imperial Douluo Saint Court, as well as the purpose of the visit. He knew that the Imperial Douluo Saint Court wanted him to lead the entire Army.

Even before, the Spirit Hall was tempting him with the position of the Grandmaster of the Knights Templar.

Now it has changed to the position of Marshall of the Knights Templar Army.

"Thank you for the welcome, but to not waste any time, is there any place where we can have a private discussion?"

Hun Tiandi didn't like to waste any time, so he directly asked Wu Zhangkong for a private space while sending Qian Renxue to Sang Mandeok to take her around the Eastsea Village, as they had more important topics to discuss. 

With that, he followed after the Wu Zhangkong to the private area of the Martial Soul Temple for a more private discussion about the matters that Hun Tiandi wanted to discuss with the man.

"I won't waste the time of either of us. I am here on behalf of Sacred Hierarch, and my mission is the negotiation of the conditions of Sir Zhangkong taking the mantle of the Marshall of the Templar Knight Army."

Hun Tiandi said outright, because he didn't plan to waste any more time in this engagement, nor was it in his best interest. He didn't really know what was going on in Bibi Dong's head when she sent him, and he wasn't someone actually skilled in these kinds of matters.

Negotiations weren't really his forte.

He never had to negotiate with anyone in his first life.

When he wanted something, he would just send a decree, and he would get it. If he didn't get it, then he would kill those who dared to defy him, and next time, there would be nobody who would dare disobey his orders.

But he guessed that it wouldn't be that bad to prepare for the position of the Sacred Hierarch in the future. As the Sovereign of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court, it wouldn't hurt to have some capabilities in negotiation and play a gracious ruler.

"And before you refuse, Her Holiness the Hierarch is willing to make a significant concession on our part if you take the position of the Marhsall and also give you enough resources to cultivate straight to the Super Douluo Spirit Rank 95."

There was rather uncomfortable silence in the room as Hun Tiandi was rahter surprised that he didn't reject outright.

"What of the corrupt elements?"

Hearing the question made Hun Tiandi grimace a little, because it wasn't like the Spirit Hall was without any corruption or bad subjects that were abusing their power for personal gains.

It was rahter normal, because such people would be in most of the factions, nothing was really exceptional under this iron-clad rule. The important thing was how to deal with it, and since the re-establishment of the Holy Inquisition, it was being dealt with by.

The process wasn't really the fastest, but it was brutal and bloody.

"The agenda would be taken over by Imperial Censorate, and everyone who breaks the rule of Spirit Hall or Saint Court would be dealt even more harshly than before. I heard that Grand Worship convinced Romario Traviola to become the Imperial Censor."

As soon as he said that, even Wu Zhangkong's eyes narrowed, hearing that, because the name was pretty famous in certain parts of the Douluo Continent. Romario Traviola was a Titled Douluo, who was very famous for his Judgements on the corrupt and depraved. 

There were not many people who were better suited for the position of the Imperial Censor like him, because the Imperial Censorate would be overseeing the Holy Inquisition, Doutian Ministry, and other affiliated branches tasked with various very important tasks for the continual existence of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

Romaria Traviola was someone who possessed a very specific Martial Soul called Asura, which enabled him to embody the concept of Judgment. When he was fighting against someone who was morally corrupt or had a lot of evil Karma, his power would skyrocket.

The downside of his Martial Soul was that he was also being constrained by the Laws of Judgment, and it was impossible for him not to act when he felt someone had too many of the Karmic Sins.

This wasn't the first time that Hun Tiandi heard of the concept of Karma on the Douluo Continent, but it was the first time that he saw it developed to such depths.

He could imagine that it could be problematic in some situations, but at the same time, the Imperial Censorate needed someone who would be morally uncorruptible and couldn't be swayed by material benefits.

The Imperial Censor would have a lot of power in his hands.

Arguably, it would be the most powerful branch of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court after the War God Temple, and it would incorporate the Doutian Ministry, which was a very special and powerful organization that needed to be overseen by someone who could be trusted with such power and had the capabilities to manage it properly.