Heaven Dou Imperial Capital City, Heaven Dou Empire, Three Days Later
The Heaven Dou Empire was one of the two major Empires on the continent, with its territory spanning tens of millions of square kilometers. Its capital was the richest and biggest city in the entire Empire, so that it could be obviously seen with a plain eye.
This was the place where the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire was living and where many of the cultivator clans of the Heaven Dou Empire were stationed, together with the Imperial Nobility, or even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had their headquarters in the Heaven Dou Empire.
"So this is the Heaven Dou City..."
Among the group that arrived at the Heaven Dou Imperial Capital, only Tang Hailan showed some reaction because this was most probably the biggest city that she had seen, which was rather understandable.
The Heaven Dou City had a population of several tens of millions and was one of the biggest cities on the continent, with only a few places capable of rivalling it even a bit. At the same time, Zhang Peng and Fengi Li were rather unenthusiastic and looked forward to the Martial Spirit Awakening Ceremony.
Xuan Ziwen and Xu Tianzhen showed more fascination, but primarily because of the ancient appearance of the city, because for them it seemed like they had travelled through time itself.
Neither Hun Tiandi nor Jin Eyu cared even a bit about the Heaven Dou Empire or its capital because, in the great scheme of things, its strength and position were insignificant and just temporary.
In a few decades, the Empire, as well as its Imperial Nobility, Clans, and vassal states, would cease to exist and would be forgotten under the passage of time. They directly headed toward the Grand Cathedral of the Spirit Hall that was located within Heaven Dou City.
Currently, there were only two Grand Cathedrals of the Spirit Hall across the entire continent, one located here and another situated in Star Luo City, which was the Imperial Capital of the Star Luo Empire.
The Grand Cathedral of the Spirit Hall, located in Heaven Dou City, was a majestic piece of architecture, and it was also a colossal building that was capable of housing thousands of people if needed.
Hun Tiandi had already noticed that the person in charge of the Grand Cathedral was waiting for them, together with an entourage of the clergy and the Knights Templar stationed in the Cathedral.
Platinum Archbishop Salas, who was in charge of Heaven Dou Grand Cathedral, was an elderly looking man, dressed in primarily red robes, with short hair slicked backwards and a goatee beard of white color.
Next to him was a man whom Hun Tiandi knew rahter well, Cardinal She Long, the Snake Lance Douluo.
Since one of the reforms tasked the Titled Douluos to be stationed in the crucial branches of the Spirit Hall, and because Salas was still just a peak Spirit Rank 89 Soul Douluo, the Supreme Pontiff Palace was assigning one of the Cardinals to be stationed in the Cathedral.
The situation with the Star Luo Cathedral was the case. This was primarily because of not only protecting the critical interests of the Spirit Hall through its two Grand Cathedrals, but also because the Titled Douluos could handle tasks that nobody else could.
Though still... the guard duty within the Grand Cathedral was considered the most boring thing among the Titled Douluos of the Spirit Hall, because the sole thing that one could be doing the entire time was cultivating or training.
She Long spent most of the time by condensing his second Soul Core and training in the Celestial Spirit Mantra. As one of the early recipients of the Celestial Spirit Mantra when it was finished, he had already reached the 6th Layer and was now in the process of advancing to the 7th Layer.
But because he already got his 1st Soul Core some time ago, he would just correct the flaws in his Soul Core, refine his Spirit Energy, and move on to the 8th Layer of the Celestial Spirit Mantra.
Snake Lance Douluo She Long was around two meters tall, his slender body as straight and sharp as a javelin. He was wearing golden armor with snake patterns, and on his forehead, he had a golden snake tattoo or rune that was engraved on his skin.
"Welcome, Your Excellencies."
Salas gave both Hun Tiandi and Jin Eyu a deep bow, which was mimicked by the rest of the people, sans the Snake Lance Douluo. Salas greeted them politely, because even though he was Platinum Archbishop, his status was still too low in front of the Holy Son and the 2nd Worship Elder.
Platinum Archbishop was a very special rank within the clergy of the Spirit Hall, because there were only two Platinum Archbishops within the entire Spirit Hall, and they were the masters of the Grand Cathedrals.
Only the ones in charge of one of the Grand Cathedrals could attain the rank of Platinum Archbishop. At the same time, for the Platinum Archbishops, it was also very clear that these people had a guaranteed way to the Titled Douluo and perhaps even being named as a Cardinal.
"Your Excellency, 2nd Worship. Your Holiness."
She Long kept his greeting short, but the man was much more carefree than Platinum Bishop Salas.
"You deal with it, I am going to meditate."
With that being said, Golden Crocodile Douluo vanished from the place as he went to cultivate because he was very close to reaching another Transformation in his Spirit Energy...
Obviously, it won't push him past the boundary of Quasi-Demigod, but he would be much stronger compared to the others of the same rank. Coupled with the three Soul Cores and Nine Spirit Transformation, the combat prowess of the Titled Doulos has been increased several times over.
Hun Tiandi predicted that right now, they wouldn't be inferior to the Dou Saints of his old life... coupled with the Martial Souls and minus the World Suppression, they could be even stronger, perhaps?
It was rather hard to tell, because the World Suppression was something too severe on the people in this world, and the Titled Douluos were facing even stronger World Suppression, but what was most peculiar...
Everyone was extremely accustomed to it.
Which made Hun Tiandi ponder if it was World Suppression or...
Or perhaps the Laws of the World were far stronger than they were in the Dou Qi Continent.
"Thank you, Your Excellency Salas, for the welcome. As you can see, there are quite a few of us, so I would like to request your Excellency for some rooms and also to prepare the Spirit Awakening Ceremony for those three behind me."
Hun Tiandi stated as he then pointed at the three orphans that were standing behind him, only leaving Xu Tianzhan and Xuan Ziwen with nothing to do.
Xuan Ziwen was now already fully hooked on the ship of the Spirit Hall, because Hun Tiandi promised him unlimited resources and everything that he wanted, as long as he could spread the Soul Tools across the Douluo Continent.
Xu Tianzhen, meanwhile, decided to stick with Hun Tiandi because she was rather curious about how the Spirit Awakening Ceremony was conducted here, compared to the Sun Moon Empire, and what Martial Souls the three orphans would have.
Salas quickly prepared everything that they needed, as the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony would take place tomorrow, because the one overseeing the ceremony would be Golden Crocodile Douluo.
But he was right now in seclusion for a time, so they would wait a day until he was finished.
Until then, everyone was free to do what they wanted as Hun Tiandi went with Xuan Ziwen to the training field within the Grand Cathedral to test the prowess of some of the Soul Guidance Devices.
Xu Tianzhen and Tang Hailan's little group joined along the way, because Xu Tianzhen was babbling nonstop about the greatness of the Soul Tools. Something that was greatly disturbing one person in their group.
Tang Hailan.
Because of the Hidden Weapons.
The Hidden Weapons are weapons that are designed and created by the Tang Sect in order to assist in combat and to perform assassinations. Hidden Weapons are often used in combination with poisons in order to maximize their effect.
The strength, speed, and explosive power vary from weapon to weapon. Tang Sect's mechanical hidden weapons are mainly sorted according to power. Yet, not even the strongest Hidden Weapon, Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, was as strong as the strongest of the Soul Tools.
Tang Hailan planned to depend on the Hidden Weapons to serve as her foundation, but now, it seemed that with the addition of the Soul Tools, the Hidden Weapons would be made obsolete...
'Without the Hidden Weapons, it would be hard to revive the Tang Sect even with the Spirit Hall's help... I doubt that the old fossil would be keen on giving something for free...'
As Tang Hailan was thinking about the unfortunate fate of the Hidden Weapons, she observed Xuan Ziwen, the self-proclaimed Soul Engineer, how he prepared something that looked like a cannon?
Or perhaps with enough study, she could convert the Hidden Weapons into the Soul Tools and increase their combat prowess in that way. Through this way, she would be able to increase the power of the Hidden Weapons and keep them relevant in front of clearly far more superior Soul Tools.
"Soul Tools are divided into the three basic categories: Close-Combat Soul Tools, Long-Ranged Soul Tools, and Mounted Soul Tool Guidance Devices..."
Xuan Ziwen started explaining the various types of the Soul Tools and how exactly they were working, and what their purpose was. Obviously, these were just the Main Types of the Soul Guidance Devices, because there were also some minor types of the Soul Tools that did not fall into any category.
Close-Combat Soul Tools were used in close-quarters combat. These Soul Tools could use Spirit Energy to enable explosive attacks or defense. Comparatively, few Soul Tool Engineers use close combat devices. Most Soul Tool Engineers do not excel at long battles, so they are a bit timid to engage in close combat themselves.
Close-Combat Soul Tools have great power as it is proportional to the soul power you pour into it, but against battle Spirit Masters of a similar level, they will be hard-pressed. So, Close-Combat Soul Guidance Devices tend to be used more by Battle Spirit Division Spirit Masters.
Long-Ranged Soul Tools were used in long-ranged combat, and their function was similar to the long-ranged Spirit Skill. They used far more Spirit Energy than the Close-Combat Soul Tools, but were more powerful generally.
With good use, each device is like an additional Spirit Ability. Its destructive force is also powerful.
Mounted Soul Guidance Devices were something that was just being developed within the Sun Moon Empire, but they have tremendous destructive powers. They have special requirements for both material and use, though it doesn't typically require much Spirit Energy from the user.
Xuan Ziwen then aimed the cannon-like Soul Tool at one of the dummies that was made from a special material and was even wearing a suit of armor that should withstand the full power of the Spirit Sage.
The Soul Tool that Xuan Ziwen was using was a Class 7 Soul Tool that should have had the destructive prowess comparable to the Spirit Sage, so everyone was somewhat interested in how the armored dummy would fare against the Class 7 Soul Cannon.
Generally speaking, the Class 7 Soul Tools were powerful enoéugh to kill Spirit Sages, and if they were well constructed, they could do it with relative ease.
Both Hun Tiandi and Jin Eyu were interested in the power of the Soul Tools, because they couldn't ignore the progress.
Even though Jin Eyu leaned more toward the traditional Martial Soul Cultivation mixed with the Spirit Energy Cultivation introduced by Holy Son, he couldn't ignore the power of the Soul Tools, which could provide a crucial advantage toward the Spirit Master.
Obviously, the ones who cultivated the Celestial Spirit Mantra had powers that were far higher than they were compared to before. For example, Jin Eyu, who was previously at the Spirit Rank 98 with all of his might, could destroy a smaller town.
Even if he didn't advance to the Spirit Rank 99 and just practised the Celestial Spirit Mantra, he was strong enough to flatten an entire mountain range and also crack space a bit, but not that much because the Laws in the world were extremely strong.
Hun Tiandi thought that if not for the continual suppression of the world, then the old man wouldn't be weaker than the Dou Saint in his comparison. Obviously, the lack of many special abilities of the Dou Saint was due to the strict Laws of the World, as the Douluo Universe forbade many things that were common in the Dou Qi Continent.
Suddenly, the Spirit Sage dummy was blasted into the nothingness as a small explosion occurred on the training grounds of the Grand Cathedral.
"As you can see, this is the power of Class 7 Golden Lightning Cannon."
Everyone looked at the display of power in shock because nobody wanted to believe that something like this was possible with something that was built by humans. In the midst of Hun Tiandi and Jin Eyu, the threat of the Sun Moon Empire was re-evaluated, and the importance of the Soul Tools increased.
"Such power... this could be a real game-changer like the Spirit Energy Cultivation improvements..."
Hun Tiandi looked at the old Golden Crocodile in mild wonder, though, because the old man was one of the most traditional Martial Soul Masters and one who was a Body Soul Master who solely focused on achieving as strong a physique as possible.
"Yes... and this is just the Class 7 Soul Tool... according to that eccentric man, they yalos have Class 8 and Class 9 Soul Tools and even legendary Class 10 Soul Tools that are capable of matching Limit Douluos. If it's true, then the threat of the Sun Moon Empire and their Soul Tool Technology is even greater than the Clear Sky Clan."
Hun Tiandi stated that, in his opinion, with the artifacts like this, the threat of the Sun Moon Empire was terrifying. Especially if the powerful Soul Tools were paired with the powerful Titled Douluos...
"Hmm... are you sure that the man wants to defect to us?"
Jin Eyu asked sceptically as he observed the Titled Douluo from the Sun Moon Empire.
"Yes... Apparently, he offended several big nobles in the Mingdu, the capital of the Sun Moon Empire, and right now, the Sun Moon Empire is on the verge of internal collapse and continental-scale civil war, and even them, we are not including the Evil Spirit Masters that are stirring trouble... many at the Titled Douluo Realm."
As soon as Hun Tiandi said the last sentence, enormous pressure burst out of the Golden Crocodile Douluo as he unleashed the full might of the Limit Douluo who cultivated the Celestial Spirit Mantra to the peak.
'Well... this pressure is comparable to the 7-Star Dou Saint... when he reaches the peak of the Celestial Spirit Mantra it would be like 9-Star Dou Saint... well, due to the Laws of Universe, theyy would be still inferior beucse they wouldn't be able to break space here and teleport and use the Spatial Strength... perhaps only someone with Space Attributed Martial Soul could do it, but this is still a great progression we have made.'
One of the Hun Tiandi's primary agendas was to bring as many things from the Dou Qi Continent and Dou Cultivation System here as possible and merge them with the local cultivation system.
He was aware that due to the suppression by the World Laws, many things would be impossible, like the usage of Spatial Strength, which was something crucial for the Dou Participants.
Because his Soul Strength was intact from his previous life, he was able to interact freely with the World Laws and learned a few things.
1st, everyone who was deemed as mortal was forbidden to manipulate, control, or use Space or Time. This rule was almost absolute, and even if the peak 9-Star Dou Saint appeared out of nowhere on the Douluo Continent, they would not even be able to tear the space a bit.
Much less said about the creation of their own worlds or something more powerful.
Everything like that was forbidden.
2nd, due to the Laws of the World, everyone could come into contact with the Laws, only after reaching the Limit Douluo, while more talented individuals could achieve it at the Spirit Rank 98 Hyper Douluo.
Another thing was the lack of Lifespan among the Spirit Masters, but that was something that Hun Tiandi could resolve with the Celestial Spirit Mantra. Not entirely, though, but at least for the time being, the Titled Douluos won't have a problem living for a few thousand years.
But that wasn't really enough in his opinion, because compared to the Dou Saints, their Lifespan was still pretty short.
"Can you please calm down, Grandpa Crocodile? Everyone is about to faint..."
If not for Xuan Ziwen shielding everybody with some weird Soul Tool and him using his Spiritual Power, then everyone would be lying down unconscious. Perhaps even with a good number of injuries.
Pressure of Limit Douluo, who was now comparable to 7-Star Dou Saint, wasn't something that could be withstood by a bunch of people who were not even Spirit Masters or were too weak to do so.
As soon as Hun Tiandi said that, the pressure enveloping them disappeared as fast as it came.
"Sorry about that, youngers, but as you know, the Spirit Hall's ultimate mission is to eradicate the Evil Spirit Masters and guide those who have Evil Martial Soul onto the better path."
Jin Eyu scratched his head awkwardly as he said that.
Many among the higher-ups of the Spirit Hall had the Evil Martial Souls, which were called such due to their trait of having an Evil Attribute and the ability to devour Life Force or Souls.
Most notable examples were Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong herself, Ghost Douluo, Chrysanthemum Douluo to some degree, Platinum Archibishop Wu Yun, and even the 8th Worship Elder Dugu Bo could be termed as such due to the Ultimate Poison Attribute that he obtained after the evolution of his Martial Soul.
What was important were the people.