10 Years Later, Spirit City, Douluo Consecration Hall
Within the tranquility of the Douluo Consecration Hall, where not many people dared to tread, a young teen was sitting cross-legged as he was cultivating while the Spirit Energy was happily swirling around him.
Ten years have passed rather fast for Hun Tiandi, but for him, who lived for several thousand years in his past life, it wasn't much of a passage of time. For him, ten years was barely any significant push forward, but here, in the Douluo Continent, it was a considerable amount of time due to the Spirit Masters's not really long lifespans.
In the Dou Qi Continent, where the Dou Qi Practitioners could live for many centuries and at the later stages, many, many millennia, a few years were indeed nothing.
Over the past ten years, Hun Tiandi has grown a lot. His long red hair flows down to his back, and he appears to be in his past life. This is rather good because he liked the looks of his past life very much.
During the past ten years, what he was mostly doing was spending his time on the cultivation and reaching the higher Spirit Ranks. However, what was problematic for Hun Tiandi was that he often lacked any suitable Spirit Beast to become the Spirit Ring for his primary Martial Soul, the Bloodviolet Seven Star Fiend Sword.
Much less is being said about Hao Yue because the Austin Griffin Martial Soul behaved like it had its own mind, and he couldn't even add the Spirit Rings to it. Instead, the last time they were in the Great Star Dou Forst, Hao Yue ran off somewhere until he found a very old Light-Attributed Spirit Beast, which then Hun Tiandi killed.
After Hun Tiandi killed that Spirit Beast, Hao Yue devoured the corpse of the Spirit Beast and underwent some sort of evolution, or what, and grew another head.
This was a rather most curious development because after he grew a second head, Hao Yue now possessed strength comparable to the Spirit Rank 19 Spirit Master and could use two elements, Fire and Light.
Hun Tiandi theorized that the more heads he obtained, the stronger he would become and the more elements he would be able to use in combat. The Austin Griffin Martial Soul was rather picky when it came to the Spirit Beasts that it chose to advance further, and it took several years for Hao Yue to find it right now.
It was called Divine Eagle, a very powerful Wind-Attributed, and he repeated this process, though this time, he needed to ask one of the Hyper Douluos of the Douluo Consecration Hall to help him because the Divine Eagle that Hao Yue wanted to devour was more than 80,000 Years Old.
Even though Hun Tiandi considered himself a bit of a tradition breaker, as he broke the common sense related to the absorption of the Spirit Rings and the maximum age they could be.
But what Austin Griffin was doing was entirely off the charts. Even the first Spirit Beast it chose to eat was older than fifteen thousand, and the second one was still 80,000 Years Old.
He himself managed to reach just the Spirit Rank 45 after ten years of cultivation because, like his Austin Griffin Martial Soul, he struggled to find a suitable Spirit Beast to become the Spirit Rings for the Bloodviolet Seven Star Fiend Sword.
Another problem that he faced, was problems and blessings. At the same time, the further he progressed in the cultivation ranks, the more he understood the Spirit Energy Cultivation System and was able to refine its workings.
Hun Tiandi always found that the Spirit Masters were rather weak based on their Spirit Energy alone and was constantly researching methods for the Spirit Master to become much stronger with their Spirit Energy alone and without interference from their Martial Souls.
Due to this, he was constantly making certain adjustments to the Spirit Ranks on his very own person and creating his own personalized Cultivation Manual because... well, even those things were unknown on the Douluo Continent.
People of the Douluo Continent just increased the Spirit Energy from the environment, and that was all. This was considerably the most primitive method of increasing the Spirit Ranks because there was no finesse or grace in doing that.
And it was also no wonder why even the Spirit Energy of the Titled Douluo felt so underwhelming... But Hun Tiandi managed to improve the methods of absorbing the Spirit Energy and also purify the Spirit Energy as he was absorbing it.
Even though he was just a Spirit Ancestor, he knew that without his Martial Souls and just his Combat Techniques and Spirit Energy alone, he would be able to easily fight even a peak Spirit King at the Spirit Rank 59.
He titled the first Spirit Energy Cultivation Method as "Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual" which was based on several cultivation methods from the Dou Qi Continent.
The Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual wasn't something that was finished because to finish the cultivation technique properly, he would need to reach the Titled Douluo, Limit Titled Douluo at the Spirit Rank 99.
He also predicted that he would need to reach the God Rank to complete the circle at the same time.
Still, the Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual attracted the attention of several Worship Elders from the Douluo Consecration Hall because, like the discovery of the Soul Cores; the Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual would revolutionize how the Spirit Masters functioned on the Douluo Continent.
Because the Spirit Masters were absorbing the Spirit Energy from the environment, they also absorbed a lot of impurities and other stuff that wasn't really needed, and on the contrary, it was harmful to their being.
This was contrary to the practices of the Dou Qi Practitioners, who, while doing the same thing, would first use their cultivation method to refine the Dou Qi from the environment and absorb it only in its pure form, which would then result in far greater results.
Hun Tiandi predicted that if any Spirit Master used this, then their power would increase by around 30% to 40%. Obviously, for the Titled Douluos, the effects would be lowered to some degree, but that was mainly due to the effect of the Soul Core, which was doing something similar. Even the Titled Douluous should have increased in their power.
Since the time when he gained the first two Spirit Rings, Hun Tiandi obtained another two Spirit Rings, both of which gave him very powerful Spirit Skills.
His 3rd Spirit Ring was obtained from the Poisonbite Giant Spider, another of the Spider-type Spirit Beasts that lived in the Star Dou Forest. The concrete specimen was on the top of everything mutated one, so even though the Spirit Beast was around 30,000 Years Old, its power was far above that.
From that Spirit Beast, he obtained a Spirit Skill called Fel Chaos Slash, which directly correlated with his very first Spirit Skill. This particular Spirit Skill worked only with the simultaneous usage of the 1st Spirit Skill Fel and created a straightforward straight-line slash attack.
With just a light swing of the Bloodviolet Seven Star Fiend Sword, it is capable of easily splitting apart earth, soil, and rocks. Overall, it was an extremely powerful Spirit Skill because it could reach a very high degree of destructive power, depending on the amount of Spirit Energy that he used.
And he also found that he could use the Nihility Devouring Flame to bolster up the power of the Fel Chaos Slash by combining the Fel and Nihility Devouring Flame to create the Fel Flame, because both of them had very similar properties.
Hun Tiandi once killed the Spirit Emperor with this combination, someone who was twenty Spirit Ranks higher than him.
As he was pondering over his progress in the cultivation for the past decade, he was disturbed in his cultivation season by someone barging into his room and making mess...
There were not many people in the Douluo Consecration Hall in the first place because while, due to the success of the Soul Cores, many of the Spirit Hall Cardinals got promotions in their Spirit Ranks; they decided to remain in the Supreme Pontiff Palace because, for the time being there was no replacement for them at that place.
And the number of people who would barge into his room without a care in the world, and that person was most obviously Qian Renxue. It has been ten years since she was born to the Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong, and as the granddaughter of the Grand Worship Elder Qian Daoliu, she enjoyed a really superior position within the Spirit Hall.
Qian Renxue was born with probably only a bit less frightening talent than he, which was rather surprising. He knew that if someone like her were born with the Hun Clan, she would either die as a child or become the next leader.
It could be either of the two things...
Like a flip of a coin.
She was born with the Qian Family's Martial Soul, the Seraphim, and during her Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony, she achieved the same result as him. She exceeded the limits of the Innate Full Spirit Power and reached the Spirit Rank 20, and became a Spirit Grandmaster right upon awakening.
This was like a blessing for the Spirit Hall because they had two extremely powerful members of the younger generation with tremendous potential to reach Godhood, even though, in this regard, Hun Tiandi and Qian Renxue's changes were a bit higher.
One could say that she was destined to reach Godhood because there was a God Position for her to inherit.
"Why are you here, Xue'er? Shouldn't you be training under Grandfather Qian?"
They essentially grew up together, and Hun Tiandi always felt a bit weird when he looked at Qian Renxue, mainly due to his past memories. They were so similar in almost everything...
Before the environment of the Clan took her as she wasn't strong enough... neither was he at the moment.
For Qian Renxue, Hun Tiandi was like an older brother, even though they were not related by blood. When she wanted to hide from the teachers, she would always come to him, or when she was bored and just wanted to play.
And it was rather often because she was a very mischievous child... and a pretty spoiled one.
She already had her grandfather completely wrapped around her fighter, and even he himself had to admit that he was easily swayed to her whims and ideas as she wished. The only person who could actually be strict with her was her mother, Bibi Dong.
"It's boring there... he is constantly telling something about Spirit Energy and how to manipulate it, and we read books..."
Even though she was a genius, one that was far outshining many other geniuses across the Douluo Continent, she was still a child, and lengthy lectures on the fundamental nature of the Spirit Energy were very boring for her.
"Well... that's the new addition to the curriculum, but once you master it, you would become much more stronger..."
When Hun Tiandi started making the additions to the Spirit Energy Cultivation System, the Spirit Hall immediately started implementing the changes, and certain people were allowed to cultivate using the Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual, usually the disciples of the Titled Douluos and core of the Spirit Hall.
Qian Renxue was also obviously using the Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual, and it was much harder than just sitting cross-legged and absorbing the Spirit Energy from the environment like everyone was doing previously.
Not... cultivation using the Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual became much harder, and even the increase of the Spirit Ranks was now more arduous. However, the effects were far more than evident.
Cultivating the Spirit Energy using the Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual was more challenging than the old method because the Spirit Master must follow a rather complicated process when he was absorbing the Spirit Energy from the environment in order to raise his own Spirit Rank.
Yet the power that the Spirit Masters obtained this way was undeniable and they were far superior to the average Spirit Masters. The Spirit Hall already tested the effects of the Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual on a few Spirit Masters and Spirit Grandmasters and let them refine their Spirit Ranks and Spirit Energy using the Spirit Essence Cultivation Manual, and the results were indeed very surprising.
Hun Tiandi heard that even the Titled Douluos were itching for the time when the whole cultivation method would be completed so they could use it. Though it may take a long time before he reaches the Titled Douluo, he had already anticipated that he would be as strong as the Average Titled Douluo around the Soul Doulu Ranks.
Obviously, this was compared to the Titled Douluos that had only created their Soul Cores but not cultivated through any proper Spirit Energy Cultivation methods.
"But that's boring... let's go over to the city!"
She immediately proposed, because like him, she too was confined to the inner halls of the Spirit Palace for most of the time. For the best, it was decided that her existence was to be hidden for as long as possible, just like his own.
Aside from the Worship Elders and Cardinals of the Spirit Hall, nobody really knew that somebody like him existed within the Spirit Hall. However, he knew that Platinum Bishops of the two Grand Cathedrals and High Abbots of the Abbeys were informed about him and his status within the Spirit Hall.
This was mainly a precaution from someone spreading the news about his talent and powers, which could then lead to possible assassinations. While the Spirit Hall was powerful, they also had a lot of enemies, and many people would be glad to see them gone.
It was the same with Qian Renxue.
"But only for a few hours. I need to return to cultivating, and you need to return to the lecture."
Hearing that, he agreed, Renxue immediately happily nodded her head because they would be going to the city, so she was very thrilled about the outing. Being confined to the Douluo Consecration Hall for most of her time or the Supreme Pontiff Palace was boring.
However, she understood that it was also for her own protection because she had very high talent, and if someone from the outside learned of her, then it was highly possible that they would try to assassinate her before she grew.
Fortunately, Spirit City was very safe. With the recent power-ups over the past decade, the power of the Spirit Hall has increased tremendously. The sheer number of Hyper Douluos at and above Spirit Rank 95 has doubled, and they have twenty more Average Titled Douluos.
And most importantly...
The Spirit Hall had two Limit Douluos at the Spirit Rank 99, and another three Hyper Douluos at the Spirit Rank 98 that were not really that far from reaching the Limit Douluo, and all of them were stationed in the Spirit City.
So, Hun Tiandi knew that any possible attack in the Spirit City was suicidal and would be thwarted even sooner than it started. Not to mention, one of the Hyper Douluos at the Spirit Rank 98 was Dugu Bo, who was constantly surveying the entire city through the Snakes and Serpent-type animals and Spirit Beasts that were all around the city.
Nothing that took place here would escape his attention. Dugu Bo was officially an Eight Worship Elder of the Douluo Consecration Hall of the Spirit Hall after he became the Hyper Douluo.
It seemed that after his poison problem was resolved and he became a Poison Master, he didn't face any bottlenecks. His Spirit Rank steadily reached the peak of the Hyper Douluo after condensing two Poison-Attributed Soul Cores.
***
Spirit City, Market District, Several Hours Later
Around two hours later, Hun Tiandi took Qian Renxue, as he promised, down to the city as they left the Spirit Palace and headed towards the Marker District of the Spirit City. He brought with him a lot of money because he knew that Renxue was rather a big spender...
And she was best at spending the money of other people.
Fortunately, as one of the primary owners of the Celestial Trade Chamber of Commerce, which appeared as an affiliated organization under the wider structure of the Spirit Hall, he had far more than enough money.
Because of everything that the Celestial Trade Chamber of Commerce was selling and how much revenue it was generating, even though Hun Tiandi was intentionally taking only a small part of the money, he was still filthy rich with so many coins that he would barely spend them.
Not to mention, everything that he needed was provided to him for free by the Spirit Hall, so in fact, he even didn't have many things to spend his money on. Hun Tiandi was holding Qian Renxue by her right hand so she wouldn't run off somewhere because Spirit City was crowded with people.
The Spirit City was the capital of the continent for the Spirit City.
Because this was the headquarters of the Spirit Hall, Spirit City also became the center for all Spirit Masters across the continent. In the Spirit City, almost every third person was a Spirit Master, and the highest concentration of Spirit Masters was in the entire continent.
Due to the sheer number of people, he needed to keep an eye on Renxue so she didn't wander off because she was very curious, and they rarely go out of the palace, so she was almost bolting up with excitement from being in the Market District.
"Come on and always be close... There are too many people here."
Hun Tiandi said as they were striding through the busy streets of the Market District of the Spirit City, which was enormous already. While Spirit City wasn't the biggest city on the Douluo Continent, it had a population of around half a million or so.