Douluo Dalu: Soul Heavenly Emperor

Spirit City, Spirit Hall, Douluo Consecration Hall - Douluo Continent

The Spirit City is a city that belongs to the Spirit Hall.

It is the capital city for the Spirit Hall, which was located at the border between two great Empires of the Douluo Continent.

The Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire. Obviously, the Spirit City was something akin to a city-state as neither of the Empire had any jurisdiction or authority over the Spirit City.

While the Spirit City wasn't the biggest city in the Douluo Continent, it was far from being some kind of small town, but it was still one of the most prosperous cities in the entire continent, aside from having the highest concentration of the Spirit Masters in the continent.

The Spirit Hall was the strongest faction in the entire Douluo Continent, and with the number of the Titled Douluos, it was also the faction with the highest number of the Douluos.

Especially when it comes to the Hyper Douluos, which are basically Titled Douluos and have reached the Spirit Rank 95 and higher.

The Spirit Hall was also the only faction in the Douluo Continent that was actively hunting down the Evil Spirit Masters. 

The Evil Spirit Masters are not only the Spirit Masters with Evil or Darkness element type Martial Soul, but they use a dark method to increase their strength. These dark methods are, for example, using the remains of an infant to cultivate, draining a Soul Master's body of their Soul Energy, sacrificing the blood of humans, etc.

These methods of training allow the Evil Spirit Masters to develop their Spirit Energy much faster than the normal Spirit Masters; even Spirit Beasts turned humans are not as fast. But it becomes harder for them to cultivate the higher Rank they reach. Also they are stronger than normal spirit masters at the same Cultivation Rank.

Most Evil Martial Souls aren't innately evil, and this is also the same for Spirit Masters. They're only categorized as Evil Sprit Masters due to the special evolutionary characteristics of their Martial Souls.

Due to the efforts of the Spirit Hall in combating the Evil Spirit Masters and hunting them down, the Spirit Hall commanded enormous prestige and power across the entire Douluo Continent. It was also the only faction that was supporting the low-ranked Spirit Masters with finance stipends and so on.

"It is time for the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony."

The man looked only 30 or 40 years old, very handsome, with a faint smile on his face. The calm and serene breath gives people a very comfortable feeling. He was tall but not sturdy, yet still had a powerful build that was clear from a plain look.

He was dressed in a plain gray robe, with long golden hair scattered behind his head, neatly combed. Although his clothes are so simple, he just stood there, giving people a feeling of holiness and worship, as the power he excluded couldn't be hidden no matter what.

"I am coming!"

Suddenly, a young voice shouted as a small, red-haired child appeared from the depths of the Douluo Consecration Hall. He had red eyes and a mark on his forehead in some symbol that was unknown to anyone, and nobody could really tell what the symbol meant.

The name of the boy was Hun Tiandi, who was found by the Qian Daoliu six years ago in a rather weird accident that many could tell was the will of the Angel Goddess. For that reason, he was brought up in the Douluo Consecration Hall and lived in the Douluo Consecration Hall since then. 

'With the addition of the boy, at least this place isn't that boring... soon enough, it seems that it would get even more lively...'

The Martial Soul Awakening will take place in the Supreme Pontiff Hall of the Spirit Hall. The one carrying out the ceremony would be the Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall herself, Bibi Dong.

For the past six years, Hun Tiandi lived in the Douluo Consecration Hall of the Spirit Hall, where the Worship Elders of the Spirit Hall were spending their time cultivating or practicing in silence. 

Just several months ago, the Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall gave birth to a daughter, Qian Renxue, after the death of the previous Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall. Hun Tiandi, from the moment he was brought to the Spirit Hall, was brought up either by the Qian Daoliu or Bibi Dong.

Even the ever-cold Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong, had taken linking to Hun Tiandi for whatever reason and let go of a lot of her hatred. Hun Tiandi was smart and knew that there was an amount of tension between the Supreme Pontiff Palace and Douluo Consecration Hall.

Still, he noticed that the Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong was rather good to him and that she just needed some affection and support. He never really dared to ask what was going on, but something was telling him that she went through a lot and didn't have it easy.

Because he couldn't practice the Spirit Energy Cultivation as he wasn't a Spirit Master, he was, for the time being, training in swordsmanship, and even the Spirit Hall Worship Elders were shocked by his heaven-defying talent for the way of the sword.

Many even suspected that the Martial Sword that he would awaken would be most probably a sword or some other Tool-Type Martial Soul. It would be rather fitting for him because Hun Tiandi's talent in swordsmanship was staggering; just after a few years of training in the path of the sword, his swordsmanship was already on par with some veteran swordsmen within the Spirit Hall.

The Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony was one of the most important occasions in the life of the Spirit Master and was always taking place when the person reached six years old.

"Now, place your hands on the altar and let the Spirit Energy flow into your body."

Hearing the words of the Qian Daoliu, Hun Tiandi did exactly as he was instructed and put down both of his hands on the Divine Altar of the Angel Goddess and felt weird energy penetrating into his body. 

Suddenly, he closed his eyes, and he felt rather a weird sensation of calmness. 

Out of nowhere, a longsword consisting of a jagged blade with a hook at the tip floated in front of him. Inside, the crossguard contained a round gem, and attached to the pommel of grip was a long skeletal lanyard.

In a split of second, all Titled Douluos that were observing the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony felt an overwhelming aura erupt from the pitch-black sword, and even the strongest of them, Qian Daoliu, who reached the Spirit Rank 99, Limit Doluluo Demi-God. 

He was one of the strongest Spirit Masters in the entire Douluo Continent and just one small step away from ascending to the Godhood. And yet, despite all of that, even he felt a direct threat from the sword. 

'Indeed, little monster... just the aura of that thing is enough to make me wary. Could it be related to the God?'

And when everyone thought that the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony had come to an end, a small creature appeared floating next to the Hun Tiandi. While at the first glance, it looked like an ordinary Spirit Beast Lizard of Fire Element, upon closer inspection, even Qian Daoliu felt dread just by looking at the Beast because his Seraphim Martial Soul was shaking in fear from the little lizard.

It was clear that whatever that detached Beast Martial Soul was, its origins were far more terrifying than even the 1st-Class God.

'Twin Martial Souls!'

During the Soul Awakening Ceremony, those who have two Soul Essences are known as having Twin Spirits or Twin Martial Souls. People with Twin Martial Souls usually have Innate Full Spirit Power and were destined to be powerful Spirit Masters.

The inheritance of Martial Souls usually comes from the parents. Generally speaking, the inheritance of Martial Souls is inherited from the relatively stronger parent.

But when the strength of the Martial Souls of the parents is almost the same, or even the same, it is randomly selected to inherit, and in this case, it is more likely to have a Martial Soul mutation and also a chance of Twin Martial Souls.

Not only did they had Twin Martial Souls, but he also possessed an unknown Divine-Level Bloodline, making him a very fearsome combination.

'Twin Martial Souls and Bloodline Awakening on the Divine Level.. for the first time in the history of the Douluo Continent, for the first time in countless millennia, somebody was born with Twin Martial Souls and also had Divine Bloodline. If he could reach Titled Douluo Realm, he would be unmatched; not only that... he is the greatest candidate to ascend to the Godhood for the past several millenias.'

As Qian Daoliu was lost in his thoughts, soon enough, another thing appeared around Hun Tiandi; this time, it was something akin to flame, but it was pitch black in color, and at the same time, it was giving off really dangerous vibes. 

If the sword before was giving off a dangerous and oppressive aura, the flame was giving off a feeling of doom and damnation. He could tell, though, that the flame wasn't the Martial Soul; it was the result of the Bloodline Awakening.

Bloodlines were rare within the Douluo Continent, and not many Spirit Masters had Bloodlines in their veins, which were much less powerful Bloodlines that could be of some use alone. Most commonly among the Soul Master, the Bloodline were used to pass down the Martial Souls.

Not only the Qian Daoliu but also several other Worship Elders of the Spirit Hall who were observing the developments were deeply shocked by what they saw. Even the Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall, who arrived only a few minutes after the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony started, was shocked by the sudden developments...

With the addition of the Hun Tiandi to the Spirit Hall, it would become an unshakable faction in the Douluo Continent. If the Bloodline and Martial Souls could be properly passed down, then the Spirit Hall would gain another major family in it and also most probably, another God worshipped by the Spirit Hall.

"You can open your eyes Tiandi."

The Holy Angel Douluo was the first one to recover from the stupor as he said to his ward with a smile, but most importantly, with excitement.

"How are you feeling?"

Hun Tiandi then summoned two Martial Souls back into his body, while the Black Flame that stemmed from his Bloodline resisted a bit, and even the black sword wasn't really happy about being sent back, but nevertheless, after a short struggle, they were summoned back.

Obviously, this didn't escape the attention of Holy Angel Douluo because Martial Souls with a certain degree of intelligence and wisdom were one of their kind's most powerful and rare. It seemed that both the Black Flame and Sword Martial Soul had a certain degree of intelligence and wisdom.

Meanwhile, the Lizard Martial Soul couldn't be uncommon at all, so it just remained crawling around Hun Tiandi for a moment as it observed everything curiously with its big eyes.

"Great!... And I feel rather powerful..."

Hun Tiandi said with a rather uncertain expression as he was feeling rather a weird feeling in his body when he was about to touch the Crystal Ball.

"Excellent... now touch that Crystal Ball."

As Hun Tiandi touched the Crystal Ball, a bright blue light shone from the Crystal Ball and illuminated the entire room. 

"Innate Full Spirit Power."

'The old era has come to an end, it seems... and the new world order is behind the door...'

Qian Daoliu wasn't that much surprised that Hun Tiandi had Innate Full Soul Power; he had Twin Martial Soul, something that was unseen at the Douluo Continent for God knows how long. 

So, seeing that Hun Tiandi had Innate Full Spirit Power didn't surprise any of the Titled Douluos of the Spirit Hall because something like this was only respectable. Many geniuses awakened Twin Martial Souls or awakened some powerful Martial Souls.

But the thing that happened next deeply shocked all of the Titled Douluos because the Crystal Ball that was in Hun Tiandi's hands started cracking until it cracked into countless crystalline fragments.

Suddenly, the Spirit Energy around Hun Tiandi started cracking, showing that he had reached the Spirit Rank of Level 20 Spirit Master.

Something like this has never happened in the modern history of the Douluo Continent, even in the records of the Spirit Hall, which has existed for millennia, didn't have a record for something like this.

"Spirit Rank Level 20... utterly fascinating."

Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong muttered almost at the same time when they saw what was happening before them. Several seconds later, Bibi Dong looked at the Qian Daoliu with complicated expression, before she looked away.

The current situation within the Spirit Hall could be only described as tense, and that would be rather a nice description. Bibi Dong was crowned the new Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall after the death of the previous one, who was the son of the Qian Daoliu, Qian Xunji.

"Genius of the Era... or probably of several of several Eras, we may even have a good chance in cultivating God."

Everyone could hear what Qian Daoliu said, and a cold shiver ran through their spines because the Spirit Hall had never given birth to God. It was a long-time wish of the Spirit Hall to cultivate someone to ascend to the Godhood.

Once the Spirit Hall gave birth to God, they would receive unpreceded benefits, and many of their members would have a good chance to reach the Limit Douluo with the help of God or obtain rare resources.

The prosperity of the Spirit Hall would reach heights that nobody even dared to dream about.

Nobody in the modern history of the Douluo Continent could even remember when it was the last time since somebody ascended to the Divine Realm and ascended to Godhood. Not even the Angel Inheritors of the Qian Family could ascend to the Godhood in countless generations. 

Within the long annals of the history of the Douluo Continent, there were many, many people who managed to reach the Spirit Rank 99 and become the so-called Demigod Spirit Master, but ascending to the Godhood was an entirely different thing. 

Vastly different matter. 

The final hurdle, separating mortals from Godhood, was something that was almost impossible to cross and become an eternal existence. 

***

Several days have passed since the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony that took place within the depths of the Spirit Hall's Spirit City, and Hun Tiandi managed to get a person with Twin Martial Soul and Full Innate Soul Power at Level 20.

At the age of six, such a thing was unheard of on the Douluo Continent.

After the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony, it was decided by the Spirit Hall's leadership that Hun Tiandi would be groomed for the position of the Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall because, with all of his predispositions, he was perfectly suited for it.

Not to mention, his existence represented some sort of compromise between the current Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong and the Grand Worship Elder of the Douluo Consecration Palace Qian Daoliu.

It was decided that the moment he was fifteen years old and at least Spirit King by that age with his speed, he would be proclaimed Holy Son of the Spirit Hall and next Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall.

Till then, his existence was known only to a very small number of people of the Spirit Hall, mainly the Douluo Consecration Hall and the Cardinals from the Supreme Pontiff Palace and a few other Titled Douluos. 

Some others knew about him living in the Douluo Consecration Hall, but nothing about his abilities or anything even remotely connected to that. Right now, Hun Tiandi, with his potential, was the best bet of the Spirit Hall to cultivate a God, so they needed to hide his existence for as long as possible.

Aside from that, Hun Tiandi's potential now greatly changed the stances of several Elders of the Douluo Consecration Hall, who decided that it was time for the Spirit Hall to extend their influence once again because they were sure to get someone who, if they reached Titled Douluo would be unmatched.

Especially with the Martial Souls that he had awakened. 

It left everyone shocked and baffled at their very own existence. 

It was decided that Hun Tiandi would be personally tutored by the Qian Daoliu, as he was practically the strongest Soul Master on the Douluo Continent. Unfortunately, there were not many Demigod-ranked Soul Masters with the Spirit Rank 99 on the Douluo Continent. 

For Qian Daoliu, the possibility of Hun Tiandi reaching Godhood didn't represent just the enormous potential for the Spirit Hall but also another thing, more personal ambition. If even Hun Tiandi ascended to the 1st-Class Godhood or reached the same level as the Angel Goddess, he could restore his lost potential.

Even though Qian Daoliu was Soul Master with the Spirit Rank 99 and was a Demigod, he got into the Rank mainly due to the help of the patron Goddess, the Angel Goddess, who gave him the power to reach that realm.

Due to that, his potential was already depleted, and his future path was severed. Only a God of the same power as the Angel Goddess or someone more powerful could restore his potential.

Or he could do the same effect with the help of some Divine Artifact, Divine Pill or something like that, but that was impossible to find on the Douluo Continent.