The Holy Chronicles of Baator

[Trafford]

Several Days Later

After finishing everything at the Spirit Hall, I went with Bibi Dong to the Slaughter City to take the Asura God's Inheritance Test.

Asura God was the strongest God-King of the Douluo Divine Realm, who acted as the primary Enforcer of Douluo Divine Realm; his Spirit Rank was apparently a way above Rank 150.

It would be ideal if Bibi Dong could inherit his God Position and become the new Asura God. That would create a practically unshakable foundation for her and their cooperation. Especially the Longinus Dreizhen Orden would have another powerhouse among their ranks.

Soon enough, after several days of traveling, as I wanted to enjoy the scenery, we have arrived at Slaughter City.

Truth to be told, it looked like shit, and it was.

Slaughter City is a place where there are no laws. It is a place where murder, rape, stealing, and all sorts of criminal activities occur. As long as you have the ability, you can do whatever you want.

Slaughter City is a black city with a purple moon hanging right over it with a dark sky. The city is divided into inner and outer cities. The inner city is a genuinely lawless place. In the outer city, casual murder is not allowed. Only those who have survived the Hell Slaughter Arena have the qualifications to live in the inner city.

"So inside the city, you can't use your spirit master abilities?"

I asked Bibi Dong as we observed Slaughter City from a distance.

"No, only your physical strength and instincts. You can also use Spirit Power as a source of strength, but not any abilities of your martial spirits or spirit rings. It was created by Asura God to serve as a testing ground to find his inheritor, so the entire city is just one huge test."

Of course, I wasn't a Spirit Master, and my strength has already reached 1st-Class God according to the classification of the Douluo.

"So... that means I can kill everyone here?"

I asked with a bloodthirsty grin.

This city was full of criminals, murderers, rapists, terrorists, or evil spirit masters across the entire Douluo Continent. In truth, I would be doing this Continent and Spirit Hall a great service.

"Yes. It would be faster that way. Based on available information, the city is ruled by Slaughter King, Limit Douluo Rank 99, and there should be one or two Titled Douluos serving him. Our target is the Hell Road, which is the first trail of the Asura God; it is located at the Hell Slaughter Arena."

Explained Bibi Dong to me as I used my senses to scan the area.

Actually, this city was just a city, and the thing that prevented Soul Masters from using their abilities was some kind of Domain that enveloped the entire area around the city, which was probably created by the Asura God.

In the Slaughter City, only a small part was truly "indestructible", and that was the Hell Road, which was personally constructed by the Asura God that he infused with his Immortal Qi, making it "indestructible" anyone below his power.

"This place has more than 20,000 people... it will be a good test for my new ability."

I said as I spread my 12 Wings, my 4 horns and tail appeared, and I targeted everyone under the Titled Douluo Level of Power.

[Devour]

Suddenly a black wave of energy rushed out of my body, as I used Devour Ability that was powered by the Law of Devour, and it swept across the entity city, as every person suddenly fell to the ground... dead.

[Converting Spirit Power to the Demonic Energy.]

[Demonic Energy increased by 1 Point.]

1 Point of Energy for beings of Law was around 10,000. I was surprised by how small gain from Devouring more than 20,000 people from which almost all were at or above Spirit Elder.

But that was understandable... their energy wasn't pure and dense enough.

"Only two people remained alive. One of them should be Slaughter King, and another should be Captain of his Enforcer Team."

I said as I flew down next to the Bibi Dong, and we walked to the city.

In front of the city, two people were waiting or rather looking around...

One of them was a man, covered in black knight armor with a lance, while another was one tall and slim man wearing a scarlet coat with a pale face and blood-red eyes. Interestingly, he had one pair of leathery wings, and his power was at the Limit Douluo; he should be the Slaughter King.

I instantly used Devour on the knight, and he dropped to the ground dead, but the increase in power was minuscule.

Now that I was at the Apocalypse-Class, with the usage of Laws directly, nobody under the same level could resist my power, and even using it on living targets from a distance was no problem, as long as they were significantly weaker than me.

Bibi Dong stood behind me and cautiously looked at the Slaughter King before she relaxed as I was with her, so she was in no danger.

"How did God descent into the Mortal Plane?"

He asked calmly, not fitting the situation he was in.

I didn't bother answering him as it was unnecessary; I instantly appeared behind him and pierced his heart with my hand as I used Devour on him.

[Foreign Energy Detected.]

[Energy identified as Law of Slaughter.]

[Devouring Law of Slaughter.]

[Comprehension of the Law of Slaughter is at 10%.]

I was shocked that something as good as this would come from Devouring the Slaughter King. Appearetnly as Inheritor for Asura God or should-be Inheritor, he got something good and that was some comprehension of Laws.

Probably all Inheritors would get something like this.

I then searched his withered corpse to find the most beautiful sword that I have ever seen.

It was a blood-colored sword with an extremely oppressive aura that even I felt threatened by a great deal.

"Empyrean Grade."

 

[Trafford]

'He was corrupted... by god that was at least if not stronger than me, meaning at least 1st-Class God of Spirit Rank 121+.'

I thought as I observed the corpse of Tang Chen and the weird black energy that was still in his body until the energy went to my body.

[Unknown Energy is trying to corrupt the host.]

I heard Architect's voice in my head as I used the Laws of Devour to absorb the energy.

[Unknown Energy Devoured.]

[Demonic Energy Reserved increased by 4 Units.]

This was better than all mortals in Slaughter City, but that was understandable, as this energy belonged to an entity on the same level as me; even though it was very little of it, it still gave me a lot of benefits.

"Come, we need to complete the Hell Road so you can initiate Inheritance Trail."

I said as Bibi Dong followed me to Slaughter City.

"Don't forget to send some people here to clean this place up... they should have hoarded a lot of treasures during its existence."

Slaughter City existed more than 100,000 apparently, so the number of things it hoarded should be enormous, not including personal possession of its residents. Some of them were very, very rich people. It would be a shame to leave everything here just gathering dust.

It would be suitable for Bibi Dong to take it, and it was somewhat of a gift from me.

As we walked the desolate streets of the Slaughter City, we have arrived at the Hell Slaughter Arena, where the entrance to Hell Road was located, and it was opened already...

"Here, take this. This should protect you in case you get attacked by that god during your trial."

I said to Bibi Dong while I passed her Magic Seal, as she nodded and entered the Hell Road, which closed immediately after she entered.

I sat cross-legged in the Slaughter Arena and started comprehending the Law of Slaughter. This place is basically saturated in the killing intent, and Laws were easier to comprehend in areas, where they were strong.

Meaning, Slaughter Arena was the best place to comprehend the Law of Slaughter.

I have been comprehending Law of Slaughter for several hours, and my comprehension rate quickly reached 14%.

Law of Slaughter, contrary to the Law of Devour, was combat-oriented and gave a massive boost to my offensive capabilities.

***

Unknown POV

It has been a long time since I have descended onto the mortal plane of the Douluo Planet.

I only went down here because my Successor was killed... unfortunately for him, being corrupted by Rakshasha Goddes made him unable to inherit my God Position.

The girl who entered Hell Road seemed to have good potential to make a suitable successor.

But what interested me more right now was the foreigner that came with her.

It was a very long time since I encountered one, and all of them were extremely strong... but were needed.

To traverse the dark, cold depths of the Void between Universes and even survive encounters with Void Beasts was an achievement on its own.

'He already started comprehending Law of Slaughter on his own... his power system must be attuned to it, but even then, comprehension of Laws without any outside help is astounding, and his speed is tremendous.'

I thought as I observed a crimson-silver-haired man who was comprehending the Law of Slaughter at tremendous speed.

Gods of Douluo Divine Realm also comprehended Laws, but that was not the correct term to say.

God's Position was basically a special condensation of Laws that gave its user, or its host, for better terms, control over the Laws themselves. In my case, my God Position gave me Laws of Slaughter, Murder, Order and special Authority of Judgement.

If I pass my God Position to a new successor and he would become a new Asura God, then I would also lose access to the Laws in the God Position.

Due to that, I have spent millennials comprehending those Laws on my own, making them my own, as other God-Kings did. Having a God Position greatly lessened the required effort to comprehend Laws; it made everything easier.

Though Authority cannot be obtained from it.

'Hmm... Universal Law is still silent about this one, meaning his presence here didn't endanger the existence of the Shao Universe or any other Dimensional Realm within the Universe. Suppose I pass the God Position to Successor. In that case, it may be dangerous for me, as God-King without God Realm or Anchored to any, probably the Universal Law would choose to dispose of me, unless...'

I thought in my head about several possible outcomes.

The Universal Law is the origin of everything in the Shao Universe and also where everything originates from, including the Multidimensional Space. It's beyond the normal 3-Dimensional universe of mortals, with the Universal Law being above the rules of every multi-dimensional universe and with them being only parts of it. The Universal Law is formless, it cannot be seen or touched, and it's considered an irreversible existence in the Douluo Dalu Universe and is what balances the entire universe.

The Universal Law is hostile to all thing that it considers a threat; it will destroy all God-Kings that is not in a God-Realm or with a positioning anchor to a God Realm.

'Maybe in another Universe, I could reach a higher level of power. My level and understanding are high enough to the point where I can forge my own power system rather easily, something that cannot be done here due to Universal Law. Hmm... I could imitate his power system and combine it with mine to create a new path. Also, from what I know, Divine Power is one of most common energy types in existence right behind Qi and Magical Power.'

I thought, and soon I decided on the next course of action.

I went to the man and slowly revealed my presence until he opened his eyes and looked at me with a calm yet wary expression.

"Hello, a foreigner. I am Asura, the Asura God of this Realm."

 

[Trafford]

POV MC

I knew that the man before me was a god when I opened my eyes.

It was clear as the sky.

He was a bit slender and rather tall, with long silver hair and blood-red eyes that gave the feeling like they pierced through your soul. While he didn't radiate any kind of power, he had around him a substantive murderous aura condensed into an icy atmosphere, and the whole body is wrapped in the dark red magic pattern.

"Hello, a foreigner. I am Asura, the Asura God of this Realm."

Okey, this was surprising and yet something that I have awaited to happen. It was just a matter of time until some God noticed my existence here, especially after I had become Being of Law.

"I have waited when someone from up there will notice my existence."

I stated plainly as Asura nodded.

"Do you want some tea?"

I asked him as I conjured one small tea table and two mats to sit on. Then I started brewing tea.

"It would be nice."

He sat opposite me.

"Now, what is the reason for you to descent to the mortal plane?"

I asked as I gave him a cup of my best tea.

"It was a very long time since I have encountered a foreigner to our Universe. Usually, they can't enter this Universe due to some special circumstances, but somehow another foreigner arrived, and this one arrived with the most unconventional method... two-way Universal Gate, meaning that this foreigner has a background far above what the current Universe can handle."

Stated Asura as he looked at me and sipped his tea.

In one sense, he was right.

In that one, he was right.

My backing was Longinus Dreizhen Orden, which had several people that could either wipe out everyone in this Universe or be considered an absolute threat to natives. Not counting Mercurius, who was Half-Step Great Old One, but there were Kaziklu Bey an Exarch, Deus Ex Machina whose true body was Autarch Realm Cultivator same as Exarch, Christof Lohengrin who was True Ancestor or Rot Spinne who was as strong as Lord-Class.

"So, what do you wish for?"

I asked directly, as I knew that he didn't come here to kill me or something or else I would be already dead, additionally, if he killed me, probably Mercurius could resurrect me, and they would come here for revenge for killing a member of the Orden.

So only logical conclusion was he wanted something from me.

"It is a good tea."

Asura said after a while as he looked at me.

"In this Universe, there is the absolute form of control in the so-called Universal Law. A God-King cannot survive without being tied to the God Position or the God Realm. Suppose we pass it to the Inheritor and decide to leave our Dimensional Layer. In that case, there is a high chance that the Universal Law would consider us a threat and decide to kill the God-King."

He said as I perked immediately.

This could be significantly used for my benefit.

"So you want the safe pass for my Universe, where you can live without fear of Universal Law killing you and perhaps to advance even further."

I stated as Asura nodded in agreement.

"Indeed."

"That is doable, but there is one major condition to it."

I said.

Allowing Asura to pass to the Astral Boundary Universe wasn't something impossible to do, but I want something in return.

"What condition?"

Asked Asura expressionlessly.

"You will join my faction in the Astral Boundary and become Elder of the Baator."

If I could gain Asura to become Elder of the Baator, then survival of my faction would be basically guaranteed, as someone on the Lord-Class would be the best trump card. Not even Warlock Imperial Courts had the active backing of their Warlock Emperor, as Six Warlock Emperors were in a deep slumber for a very long time, and they didn't awaken yet.

Having such a powerhouse backing Baator from the start would practically shelter our growth.

"What would I from the position of the Elder be required to do?"

He asked calmly, not much surprised by my condition.

"Basically nothing aside from protecting Baator, if someone invaded that our ordinary forces cannot handle. As you would be a Lord-Class Powerhouse, it would be best if we kept your existence of an utmost secret before we have enough strength. As an Enforcer of the Douluo Divine Realm, you can do the same thing in the Baator. Basically, Elders have a free hand on what to do; they are hidden guardians and protectors, and often they discuss and decide the most important matter of the Empire together with Emperor, who is currently me, but that is only on rare occasions if Senatorum Imperials can not decide something, or the decision required attention of Elders and Emperor directly."

Elders in Baator didn't really have many things to do, aside from training and getting stronger, as they were the final protectors of the Baator.

Zekram didn't have any official duties, and he spent all of his time training. Crom Cruach was the same, while Azrael spent some time in integrating Fallen Angels better into the Baator, but overall he was the same as Zekram and Crom Cruach.

"That seems fair. Must I remain in the Baator all the time, or can I go explore Universe on my own?"

Asked Asura after some time of consideration.

"Basically, you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't harm the interests of the Baator. Additional information will be provided as long as you become an Elder. Your only responsibility would be protecting Baator, and if you wish, you can perform additional duties you chose."

I stated.

Elders were free to live as hermits or to do some things they wished to do.

"Then, as long as you can provide me passage to your universe, I will join your faction, but I want information about Power Systems in your universe... not a conventional one."

Asura said, and I was overwhelmed by happiness.

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[Trafford]

I instantly knew what the term "not conventional knowledge" meant.

There were people who studied Cultivation Systems and Power Systems from a more scientific point of view and knew many things about them. I could effortlessly obtain those data from Kaziklu Bey or Mercurius and it would be a good trade to exchange them for Asura joining Baator.

"That is doable. I can predict that you will leave for the Astral Boundary when your Inheritor ascends as God."

I stated.

It would be good if Bibi Dong could ascend as God as soon as possible, so Asura would become the Elder of the Baator. With the time-lapse between the two Universes, it would be long centuries in the Astral Boundary before Asura will arrive.

"As soon as she Inherits my God Position, I will leave through the Universal Gate."

Said Asura to me.

"Last question. You should be aware of the fact that I am currently trying to find a way to perfectly create Artificial Spirit Souls, but the thing to achieve that is the Genome of the Primogenitor of them, the Dragon God. What can you tell me about that, I heard that there is the possibility of him returning?"

I asked.

"Dragon God was one of the ancient gods born very long ago, and as you already said, he is the originator of all Spirit Beasts. In ancient times, he rampaged through the Douluo Divine Realm as he wanted to create a new Divine Realm solely for the Spirit Beasts that would ascend as Gods. Due to my short-sightedness or foolishness, I killed him and divided his Godhood into two parts, namely Silver Dragon King and Golden Dragon King. This war was because Spirit Beasts were oppressed by humans, and it was supported by Human Gods, especially by the Five God-Kings. Only after a long time, we have realized that it was a grave mistake."

Humans in the mortal plane or planes under the Douluo Divine Realm were dependent on Spirit Beasts to advance. Without them, they won't be able to advance effectively. If they annihilate them, they would also cut their own path to Godhood. Something that the gods of the Douluo Divine Realm realized too late and probably Dragon God was too arrogant a fellow to reason with.

"Status of the Golden Dragon King is unknown, but I know that Silver Dragon King is alive and slumbering in the Star Duo Forest, protected by the strongest Spirit Beasts. You will find what you want up there. Your best chance to get what you want would be to help the Silver Dragon King absorb Golden Dragon King and become a new Dragon God. Golden Dragon King is mad and only cares about the destruction of everything and vengeance... Silver Dragon King should be probably more reasonable."

Said Asura after a short time, as I nodded and frowned at the same time.

"That seems doable. Fortunately, Silver Dragon King would be reasonable enough to negotiate."

I answered as we talked about various topics, mainly asking about this Universe and some notable factions and Gods, as the Asura was very knowledgeable about many things that happened in the Shao Universe.

"She has succeeded."

Stated Asura plainly after several hours, apparently Bibi Dong finished and passed the trials.

"Now the influence of the Rakshasha Goddes has been destroyed from my Inheritance Trial, that little girl is now the successor of the Asura God. Hopefully, she will ascend as God as soon as possible, so I can be freed from my duty."

He continued as I looked at the Hell Road, where Bibi Dong soon emerged from as Asura disappeared from the mortal plane.

"I take it that you have finished."

I stated as Bibi Dong nodded her head in agreement, proud that she became an Inheritor and Successor of the Asura God.

"Yes, I have obtained Deathgod Domain, and my Spirit Rank has reached 84, once again closer to the Titled Douluo."

She would be the youngest person to become Titled Douluo; with the tempo, it would take her maybe several years to reach Titled Douluo and another decade to reach the pinnacle, and then she could ascend as God.

"Asura God told me your deal with him... how lucky."

She said teasingly, as I was surprised to see such behavior in her this time.

"Yeh... his presence would be very beneficial to the Baator."

I answered as I stood up.

"Shall we go? This place is no longer of use to me."

I have already used all Slaughter Aura to boost up my comprehension rate of the Law of Slaughter, so staying in Slaughter City any longer would be totally useless at this point.

"After we return to the Spirit Hall, I will depart to the Star Dou Forest to settle some things. If the Project of Artificial Spirit Rings is successful, then humanity won't be dependent on the Spirit Beasts, and this conflict could be resolved. Asura God himself said that killing Dragon God was a mistake in certain parts. Additionally, inform Ajuka that he could start Project Spirit Ring Evolution."

I said as we walked out of Slaughter City.

"Spirit Ring Evolution?"

Titled her head, Bibi Dong, at this term.

"Another reason why humanity is dependent on Spirit Beasts is to obtain older Spirit Rings but to achieve that; you need to kill older Spirit Beasts to advance the age of the Spirit Ring. I have theorized that one could age his own Spirit Ring by using Divine Power on the Spirit Ring to age it. Ajuka has tested it by using Divine Crystal, and it seemed to work."

Ordinary Spirit Master wouldn't have a chance to use this method as it would require one of two possible ways.

One would be to find a Divine Crystal and use its Divine Power to age his Spirit Rings, but Divine Crystals were almost non-existent in the Douluo Planet or probably this entire Mortal Realm. Divine Crystals are a condensation of Divine Power or are created from refining the Power of Faith.


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[Trafford]

The second way was to get Divine Power from God, but that was even more problematic in a certain sense for the current generation of Spirit Masters, as this could be done only by Spirit Master who is worshipping a God that is still alive and want to pass some Divine Power to said worshipper for such purpose.

But this was not a problem for Spirit Hall currently. With the alliance with Baator, I could easily supply Low-Grade and Mid-Grade Divine Crystals to Spirit Hall. Most of the Divine Crystals that Baator nowadays had were made by the special method by refining the souls of mortals into Power of Faith and subsequently into the Divine Crystal.

These souls were obtained by Devils by entering into a contract with humans and other weak races. This method was very good and yielded countless Low-Grade Divine Crystals and even many Mid-Grade Crystals.

Unfortunately, as the souls of humans were too weak because they were just ordinary humans or occasionally some magicians, we cannot produce High-Grade Divine Crystals. That would be possible only in the Astral Boundary or...

Here.

Souls of the Spirit Masters were good and could be used as material.

"Dong'er, I will send some devils from Baator to collect the souls of Spirit Masters here so their souls could be made into the Divine Crystals."

I said as she nodded, not really minding me calling her in a more intimate way; additionally, she was several centuries younger than me, so it didn't feel weird... maybe a little bit.

***

Spirit Hall, several weeks later

I have stayed at the Spirit Hall much longer than I thought before departing for the Star Duo Forest. The main reason was I was engrossed with Ajuka in research, as we started an experiment with the Ageing of Spirit Ring with Divine Crystals.

Our test subjects were Bibi Dong and other Titled Douluos of three branches of the Spirit Hall.

The current Spirit Hall was very different from the past. Now entire restructualization of the organization was finished, supplemented by an especially bloody and brutal purge, conducted by Golden Crocodile Douluo, who was named Judgement Elder, and Holy Templar Order, who were helping him.

Hundreds of lesser clergy were executed by colluding with Heaven Dou Empire or Star Luo Empire, corruption, misusing their authority, hoarding resources for their own gain, and the list could go on.

Those who were killed were swiftly replaced by new priests. Now all clergy fell under the Ecclesiarchy Branch, which was responsible for spreading the influence of the Spirit Hall, worship of Angel Goddes, whom Qian Daoliu was inheritor and would be one god of Spirit Hall and also newly even worship of the Asura God as Bibi Dong would ascend as Asura God and a steady supply of the Power of Faith would be very good.

I even helped Golden Crocodile Douluo Jin Eyu rank up, and he became second Extreme Douluo of Spirit Rank 99; it would be good if he could obtain a God Position, but if not, then at least he would become a Wild God that would be a pillar of the Spirit Hall.

Holy Templar Order was successfully formed and was being trained by Custodians in Battle Formation and coordinated attacks.

While Custodes were only Ultimate-Class, aside from those in the Shao Universe right now that reached Legendary-Class, a Battle Formation of Custodians could easily kill even Satan-Class entity without any losses.

Custodians trained their entire life, all day when they were not on duty; that was the reason how they could achieve such perfect harmony and synergy in their battle formation. Additionally, they had the best equipment Empire could provide, ate the best food from the highest-ranked monsters and magical bests; Empire caught, enjoyed a supply of free magical rituals, potions, alchemy pills, healing, and basically everything one could imagine.

Of course, there was no free lunch in life, and when one becomes a member of the Adeptus Custodes, it is almost impossible to leave. If one wants to retire, it could be either for health issues that are of extreme importance. For other reasons, namely personal reasons, one needs permission from Captain-General and Emperor cumulatively, reason needs to be objective, and the member needs to have at least several centuries of service and significant merits for that.

That was the reason why many children of nobles that had practically no chance to inherit the title strived to become members of Adeptus Custodes and often even Heirs themselves that sought ways to improve their strength.

One of the Tribunes of the Adeptus Custodes aside from Sirzechs were Diehauser Belial, and Ruval Phenex, both of them were heirs to their respective houses, but in the end, they joined Custodians in the vision of more potential for growth, as their firstborn would inherit the title, as Custodians were allowed to marry and have families, though even there existed some conditions to it and main was to reach the rank of Praefect.

"I should be going to the Star Duo Forest. I have been here in the Shao Universe for around six months, meaning around 50 years have passed in the Astral Boundary... this time-lapse is problematic as hell; maybe Mercurius would have a method to deal with it."

I muttered to myself as I stood up in my room, where I have been comprehending the Law of Darklight, but my success was null, unfortunately.

Ajuka was currently doing his research as we were nearly done with the Project Spirit Ring Ageing, and Bibi Dong was attending her official duties as the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Throne of the Spirit Hall.

So I spread my wings and flew directly to the Star Duo Forest.


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[Trafford]

Star Duo Forest

Star Dou Forest is one of the Douluo Continent's most famous great spirit beast habitats. It's located southeast of Balak Kingdom.

Its area is huge, practically equal to Balak Kingdom's territory, spanning the border of the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire; within it, two fifth's of the area is in Heaven Dou Empire while the other three-fifths are in Star Luo Empire. It's an immense primeval forest; the forest's interior terrain is complicated, with wetlands, swamps, and so on.

The spirit beasts there are known for their viciousness and killing intent. The closer to the center of the forest, the more powerful the spirit beasts.

Inside the core area of the Star Dou Forest, there are many 100,000 Years Old and even older Spirit Beasts.

I watched the Star Dou Forest for a bit, before I entered, after casting several concealment spells on myself.

After I walked here for several hours, as I was not careful to not get lost, as this place was problematic to navigate in, I realized that I needed to find some guides. Thus I have decided to look for some 100,000 Years Old Spirit Beasts that could communicate and whom I could coerce or negotiate with to bring me to the core layer.

Of course, I could use my Spiritual Sense to scan the entire area of the Star Dou Forest, but that would probably cause Silver Dragon King to wake up and attack me instantly. Even when weakened significantly, it still had apparently a great deal of power, and I don't want unnecessary fights.

A peaceful solution to this would be best by coming into agreement with Di Tian, who was the current Beast God.

Fortunately, finding some 100,000 Years Old Spirit Beasts with my abilities wasn't that hard, and soon enough, I found two of them, close to the Inner Layer of the Star Dou Forest.

One of them was Sky Azure Bull Python. It had a head in the shape of a bull that is at least 4 meters in diameter, eyes the size of lanterns, and a dark cyan enormous snake body that is thicker than water barrels.

Another one was Titan Ape. It had black fur all over its body. The height of its shoulders at least outstripped seven meters. Not only was its body enormous, but all over its entire body was covered with muscles protruding like little hills.

I could instantly identify them, as I have copied the entire library of Spirit Hall inside Architect, so I was currently the most knowledgeable being in the entire Douluo Planet.

Both of them were 100,000 Years Old Spirit Beasts.

"Hello there."

I said as both of them instantly got into a combat stance as they looked at me warily.

"What do you want, non-human?"

Asked the Titan Ape, not surprisingly, they knew that I wasn't human, but alas, Spirit Beasts had far superior senses to humans and could discern that I am something else based on my scent alone.

"Show me the path to the Core Area of the Star Dou Forest, where I can find the Beast God. In return, I will give you something very good that will increase your strength tremendously."

I said as both Spirit Beasts looked at each other before looking back at me as they nodded in agreement.

"What is your name, non-human?"

Asked the Sky Azure Bull Python.

"Samiel Zentaur, and yours?"

I stated my code name.

"Da Ming."

Said Sky Azure Bull Python.

"Er Ming."

It was the name of the Titan Ape.

"Er Ming and Da Ming... are you brothers?"

I asked.

"Not through the blood, but we are as close as brothers in everything else."

Said, Da Ming.

"Hmm... let's keep going."

We kept going on for more than an hour until we stopped for a small pause.

"Why are you searching for the Beast God, Samiel Zentaur?"

Asked Er Ming as we were resting at the local lake.

"You could say that I am bringing salvation to the Spirit Beast species."

I chuckled as I said that, while both of them didn't say a word to retort it.

After resting for some time, we went to move once again, and I was using my aura to scare away other Spirit Beasts that even Er Ming and Da Ming found especially threatening.

Soon enough, we arrived at the entrance to the Core Layer.

"This is where we will stop. Inside the Core Area of the Forest, there are many Spirit Beast way above 100,000 Years of Age, so we will remain here."

Said Da Ming as he looked at the entrance to the Core Area, while I nodded and took out two Superior-Grade Divine Crystals.

"Take this as the token of my gratitude."

I said they both were shocked by this as they felt Divine Power inside the crystals as they quickly bowed and thanked me for that. Absorbing such crystal could tremendously increase their cultivation, probably even multiply it.

After entering the Core Area, I felt someone was watching me.

As the Apocalypse-Class, my senses were comparable to the Gods of this Universe, so feeling some Spirit Beasts that were still mortal was observing me was easy to find.

"Come out, Di Tian, I know that you are watching, and I mean no harm to you or to Spirit Beasts or to her."

I shouted as I released some of my aura, which was comparable to the 1st-Class God.

Soon enough Di Tian appeared out of the shadows.

In human form, he is a handsome middle-aged man in a black robe with golden lines who possesses black hair with one golden strand hanging, sharp deep golden pupil eyes, with an at least 2-meter height body and broad shoulders.

"What are you? You are certainly no God and no human or Spirit Beast."

***********************************************************


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[Trafford]

"You can say that I am a foreigner to your Universe. My race is called Devil."


I said as I showed him my true form; with my twelve wings fully spread, my two tails were dancing behind me and with my four horns sprouting proudly from my head.


I intentionally released my Aura, letting him feel my full power.


"What do you want with my Lord?"


Asked Di Tian warily, as he knew that he wasn't a match for me, but his duty ordered him to guard the Silver Dragon King.


"I came here to propose a deal... I don't mean any harm, and I bring the gift of my intention."


I took out a Divine Crystal and passed it to Di Tian, who froze on the spot as he caught it.


It wasn't an ordinary Divine Crystal but rather one of the few Monarch-Grade Divine Crystals that I had. Baator obtained quite a few of them, mainly by trading with Heaven, as they had countless of them, but unfortunately, they could not use Divine Crystals to enhance their strength as Yahweh placed numerous restrictions on his angels.


So they started trading secretly Divine Crystals with Baator for some resources. We had a ceasefire as peace was never officially signed, but they needed many more resources than Baator possessed. And we overpriced everything, as any proper Devil would in that situation. Unfortunately for Heaven, no other Pantheon wanted to trade with them, as all of them bore a great deal of hatred for Yahweh, and also, they could not let anybody find out that Yahweh died.


Because of that, I got some Monarch-Grade Divine Crystals; while they were mostly hidden in our Vault, deep within the dungeons of the Imperial Palace, I took some with me. Rest would be used by Hela when she reached the Mighty Stage God.


She was already a Pinnacle Greater God but lacked some things to advance aside from Divine Power, which she had in the form of Divine Crystals, and that was to upgrade her Divine Authority to a higher level.


Divine Crystals were peerless treasures in the entire Shao Universe, as Gods were scarce. In other Universes, even in the Astral Boundary, while not so rare, they were not so common; they were something in the middle.


Di Tian currently had a cultivation of 890,000 Years Old Spirit Beast, and he immediately absorbed the Monarch-Grade Divine Crystal, and his cultivation started rising at a tremendous speed and soon crossed 900,000 Yeard Old where he started undergoing a Tribulation, which he passed easily, and his cultivation still keeps climbing.


910,000 Years Old


930,000 Years Old


950,000 Years Old


970,000 Years Old


980,000 Years Old


990,000 Years Old


999,999 Years Old


Then he progresses slowed down a bit after his body exploded with enormous power, and he reverted to his original dragon form.


His entire body was covered with pitch-black scales, but it shone with dark purple colors within those dark clouds. It's more than 3 thousand meters in length.


Then even bigger clouds started gathering around him, and an enormous thunderbolt struck down at Di Tian.


I instantly sat cross-legged and started comprehending the Law of Lightning. Tribulations such as these were basically an amalgamation of various Laws, with the most dominant Law being the Law of Lightning.


It would be a shame to pass such a good opportunity to comprehend Laws, as the Law of Lightning was considered as the most destructive Element and would significantly increase my offensive capabilities.


[Law of Lightning has been detected. Comprehension of the Law of Lightning has reached 8%.]


I heard Architect's voice in my head as I kept comprehending the Law of Lightning as Di Tian was undergoing probably the most dangerous tribulation, as he was attempting to cross to be a 1 million Years Old Spirit Beast.


Soon enough, Di Tian's tribulation has ended, and my comprehension of the Law of Lightning has reached 11%, which was an exceptional result for such a short time. Alas, my talent was supreme thanks to baptism from the Underworld itself, and this place was extremely rich and suitable to comprehend the Law of Lightning.


And then he reached.


1,000,000 Years Old


After reaching 1,000,000 Years, Di Tian walked to me and bowed deeply, as I was surprised by his gesture.


"I thank Senior very much for granting me this opportunity."


He said sincerely, as it was all thanks to me he could reach such a high level of cultivation as I gave him Monarch-Grade Divine Crystal.


"The only thing I want is a drop of blood from the Dragon God; that is all I will ask. That will resolve all animosities between Spirit Beasts and Humans; additionally, after my partner becomes a God-King in the Divine Realm, I will guarantee you that Spirit Beasts could create their own Divine Realm and leave Douluo Planet for another planet."


I stated as Di Tian's eyes widened in shock hearing all of that.


"If I may ask, how do you wish to achieve all of that from one drop of the Dragon God's Blood?"


He asked skeptically.


"Artificial Spirit Souls that will replace real ones in the creation of Spirit Rings. Dragon God is the originator of all Spirit Beasts in the Douluo Dimension; with advanced genetical technology, I and my subordinate could create Artificial Spirit Souls with abilities as real ones, based on the genome of Dragon God. His blood is needed, or else the Artificial Spirit Souls won't be perfect and complete, which would cause humans once again to hunt spirit beasts. These Artificial Spirit Souls won't be alive, but they would be like clones without life or consciousness. In regard to aging Spirit Rings, that could be created by aging them with Divine Crystals and Divine Power which already has been solved."


I explained it all as Di Tian listened to all this and was processing it in wonder.


"If it is true, then it should work. I only ask one question, who is your associate among humans?"


He asked slowly.


"Bibi Dong."


***********************************************************


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[Trafford]

"So the young pontiff has regained complete control over the Spirit Hall... then it should be possible to achieve what you want with her help."

Commented Di Tian.

I had to admit that he was pretty smart to figure things out just by me stating the name of my associate. He instantly knew that with my strength, I would force every "disobedient element" to follow her orders, so the entire Spirit Hall has fallen directly under her control.

"Our organization places a great value on the development of certain factions in this Universe. Shall you agree to several of my conditions, my associates and I will help you in return for some resources and territory."

I said lightly as Di Tian started considering my words.

He could easily guess by my words that I wasn't native of this Universe, and that was okey; I never intended to hide it, and he would find about it sooner or later, as he had some inheritance from the Dragon God. Hence, his information about this Universe was very high.

Additionally, he could clearly see that Bibi Dong has got some outside help; if not, it wouldn't be possible for someone so young to reach such a high cultivation level and even get absolute control over the entire Spirit Hall.

"The final decision is up to the My Lord when she wakes up. Even then, it would be impossible to do so, as currently Golden Dragon King is sealed inside the Divine Realm, and my Lord would need to recover first and absorb Dragon God."

He stated as I nodded. Everything just needed some time.

Sooner or later, Bibi Dong would become the new Asura God, and then disposing of Golden Dragon King would be easy. Asura told me if I can reach consent with Silver Dragon King, other God-King won't prevent Silver Dragon King from absorbing Golden Dragon King to ascend as a new Dragon God. It would be beneficial for all parties.

"If everything goes according to the plan, then soon enough Spirit Beasts would have their own living space and even Divine Realm."

I said as Di Tian nodded and signed me to follow after him to meet his Lord.

We went to the central area of the Core Layer of the Star Dou Forest, where there were two females waiting for us already.

One of them had her entire body was covered in purple-black scales. She had a slender figure with perfect, round breasts and long legs. The upper part of her chest was bared to reveal her snowy white skin and a deep cleavage between her breasts. Her long purple-black hair hung down loosely behind her back and away from her body even without the wind blowing. Her exquisite face was exceedingly charming with her deep purple eyes. Her lips, on the other hand, were a bright purple. An ink-black scale on her forehead rippled with layers of purple radiance streaming forth to the top of her head. She was outstandingly beautiful, had light purple eyes, deep purple lips, purple hair, and a big round chest.

Another one had jade-green hair that flowed down behind her back, and her eyes were jade-green, too. Her figure was slender, and her light-green dress outlined it perfectly. Her snowy white and slender arms were exposed. The strangest thing was that she had a pair of wings behind her, which seemed to be sculpted from gems. This pair of wings was jade-green, and every feather looked extremely dazzling. The bright-green wings were filled with a captivating aura of life and made her look like a natural goddess.

"She is Zi Ji, one of the Great Fierce Beast, Abyss Demon Dragon."

He said as he looked at the purple-haired woman somewhat affectionately.

"And she is Bi Ji, also one of the Great Fierce Beast, Emerald Swan."

And he introduced another woman, and then it probably hit me; they were his mates. I then took out several Superior-Grade Divine Crystals and passed gave Divine Crystals to them.

"It is my pleasure, honored Ladies. Here please accept my small gift to commemorate our first meeting."

I greeted them as I gave them each 5 Superior-Grade Divine Crystals that should help them greatly promote their cultivation to higher levels.

"We thank Senior for his generousness."

Said Bi Ji for them as she gave a short bow as thanks.

They were aware that the Divine Crystals were priceless and the person who could give them away like nothing, should be really someone far out of their categories and most probably a God. As I controlled my aura, now I appeared like an ordinary mortal to those who saw me.

"Then shall we proceed?"

I asked as Di Tian nodded and we continued to the resting place of the Silver Dragon King.

***********************************************************


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[Trafford]

"My Lord is still sleeping, so you need to wake her up."

Said Di Tian as we came to the resting place of the Silver Dragon King, where she was slumbering.

I nodded my head and quickly located the precise place where the Silver Dragon King was sleeping.

'She is gravely injured. Even though she was originally a Quasi God-King Spirit Rank 149, right now, her power is greatly reduced; she is probably even weaker than me. Her injuries are pretty severe; she would need at least more than 20,000 years to recover, as she is very slowly recuperating.'

I thought in my head as I was analyzing the injuries of the Silver Dragon King. She was in a very deep slumber, so she could not detect me scanning her.

I took out a small vial of blood that was radiating an enormous amount of power and gave even me some pressure.

It was Blood Essence from Primordial Dragon from the Astral Boundary that I obtained from Kaziklu Bey exactly for this purpose. Primordial Dragons in the Astral Boundary were far stronger than Dragon God here.

In the Astral Boundary, Dragons were the strongest race. Though nobody knew how many powerhouses they had, as they were highly reclusive, it was confirmed that they had at least one Primogenitor, who was noted to be extremely close to becoming a half-step Great Old One.

Arcanists had a great relationship with Dragons and often traded treasures for knowledge with them.

Races in the Astral Boundary sometimes allied with each other or divided themselves based on their occupation, just like humans divided themselves based on their cultivation systems into Warlocks, Arcanists, and Knights.

Arcanists were allied with Dragons and secretly associated with the Devils of Baator as our path was extremely similar.

Knights were paths created by Arcanists, and they usually acted as servants for high-ranking Arcanists.

While Warlocks followed the mindset of cultivators in the cultivation of Universes and created their own dominion where they fought against each other for resources.

Elves in the Astral Boundary were divided by their sub-species into Dark Elves, (ordinary) Elves, High Elves, and the most powerful Silvermoon Elves. Elven Queen Cohinem was one of the Silvermoon Queens and the wife of the extremely mighty Silvermoon Elven King.

As I cast a special spell on the bottle and teleported it to the body of the Silver Dragon King and activated a magical spell that started draining Divine Power from the Monarch-Grade Divine Crystal and together with the blood of the Primordial Dragon started entering the mouth of the Silver Dragon King.

I could see that it had a great effect and Silver Dragon King started recuperating probably a hundred times faster compared to what it was before. I waited for several hours until I saw that the Silver Dragon King had recuperated around 20% of her injuries; it was a good result as her injuries were too severe for me to heal with one batch of resources.

The most problematic was the fact that most of them were caused by Asura God himself, meaning there were Laws in the game. Thus it was difficult to resolve in a short time or with a small number of precious resources.

I was sitting here and meditating and absorbing residual energy with Laws of Devour to increase my Demonic Energy Reserves, as this place was good for it, as energy density increased several times in this small area from since the Silver Dragon King started healing and waking up.

Soon enough, I was woken up by an enormous dragon roar that was heard across the entire Star Dou Forest, as all spirit beats prostrated themselves in the direction of the roar.

The Silver Dragon King has woken up.

Very soon, she arrived before me.

She had long silver hair, similar to Grayfia but hers were shinier and violet eyes with a mature look. She had exquisite beauty and an alluring figure. The most notable feature about her was a pair of silver-purplish dragon wings sprouting from her back and two silver horns on her head.

"I thank you, foreigner, for healing my injuries."

She said as she looked at me indifferently. Fortunately, she knew that I wasn't human, or she would have attacked me probably, though not that I feared here in this state, even if some injuries of her were healed by me.

"How long would it take for you to recuperate completely?"

I asked as we sat down.

"Several decades at most. That blood you gave me was of an even higher grade than the original Dragon God."

Stated Silver Dragon King.

"Also, what is your name, foreigner? I can feel the mighty aura of your and bearing of the monarch?"

She asked subsequently after.

"Zeoticus Gremory-Lucifer, Emperor of the Baator and Supreme Ruler of all Devils."

I said with a small bow.

"My name is Gu Yuena, Silver Dragon King and Ruler of the Spirit Beasts."

She introduced herself.

"It has been a very, very long time since a foreigner has entered this Realm. Especially stronger ones, so what is your goal what do you want here?"

Asked Gu Yuena.

"Cultivation Resources such as Immortal Herbs, precious ores, and metals, or human souls."

I stated plainly.

"I propose an agreement between three sides. Pactum Spiritus Imperialis, an agreement Soul-Geass between you, Pontiff of the Spirit Hall, and future Asura God and me as the third party. I had already told a Di Tian about this, but with these inventions, enmities between Spirit Beasts and Humans can be resolved."

I said as I explained things, in the same way, I have to Di Tian.

***********************************************************


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[Trafford]

"So in the end, the death of the Dragon God wasn't in vain."

Muttered Gu Yuena as she heard everything I said to her.

Dragon God, with his rampage, did severe damage to the Divine Realm of Douluo. "Indeed, the death of the Dragon God showed the resolve of the Spirit Beasts as species, and soon after, Asura realized that if Spirit Beasts were to be annihilated, it could easily cut a path of Spirit Masters, and he admitted that killing Dragon God was a mistake, or rather not allowing any Spirit Beasts to ascend as God was a mistake. Right now, the only thing I need to obtain is the original genome of the Dragon God, but that cannot be done right now; the only way to ascend as Dragon God is for one of the halves to devour each other."

I said to her as Gu Yuena nodded and looked at me.

"What about the Golden Dragon King?"

She asked me, as while she shared some sense of comradery with the Golden Dragon King, if ascending as Dragon God and preserving the lineage of the Spirit Beasts, one of them needed to die, it was perfectly acceptable.

"Based on what Asura said to me, Golden Dragon King was consumed by madness and is currently sealed within the Douluo Divine Realm. So after you recuperate, you can easily devour the Golden Dragon King and become a new Dragon God. After you give me the genome, I can create a perfectly Artificial Spirit Soul, and finally, there could be some form of peace between humanity and Spirit Beasts. Don't forget that Douluo Realm could be invaded any time..."

I stated as Silver Dragon King nodded grimly.

Before I came here, Mercurius warned me that Void Insects were sniffling around the Shao Universe.

Void Insects were serious trouble.

They were another carnage for countless Universes, just like Fiends of the Infinite Abyss.

Void Insects lived in the Void between Universes and were extremely powerful species, where even the weakest creature was comparable to the Grand-Class / Starry Sky Warlock. And those were just workers, Warrior Insects were at standardly at the Ultimate-Class, and they were just cannon fodder.

Usually, Void Insects behaved like Fiends and invaded Universes with high enough Energy Level for resources, but for them, the most precious resources were corpses of powerful beings so they could reproduce endlessly.

They were extremely troublesome to deal with, and usually, dealing with Void Insect Swarm required a lot of effort, and many sacrifices needed to be made in order to defeat single and sometimes weaker Swarm.

Gu Yuena, as the Silver Dragon King, inherited a lot of knowledge from the Dragon God and knew how much of a threat the Void Insect Swarm actually represented. The real threat was that every Swarm was under the command of the Hivemind, and each Hivemind was an Eternal Ranked powerhouse.

From inherent memories, she knew that the entire Shao Universe didn't have even a single Eternal Ranked powerhouse, so the presence of the Void Insect Swarm was a grave threat.

She could only hope that the Swarm that was around was one of the weaker Swarms, meaning its Hivemind would be in only the early stage of its ranks, and it won't have a large number of top-level bugs.

"I will focus on healing my injuries; I should be fully healed up within the next decades... afterward, we could sign the contract."

She said as I nodded.

"That seems fair, and at least give me a drop of your blood... while your genome won't be enough for the creation of perfect Artificla Spirit Souls, it should be enough to create an incomplete that would serve good for ten to twenty years."

Incomplete Artificial Spirit Souls had one great defect, which was their lifespan. They cannot be preserved for a longer period of time as their foundation is not stable enough for such a task.

She nodded and gave me several drops of her blood.

This will allow me and Ajuka to create incomplete Artificial Spirit Souls that, while not perfect, could replace Spirit Rings for Spirit Masters.

"I hope that you recuperate as soon as possible, Your Highness Gu Yuena, so we can complete our agreement."

I said to her as I prepared to leave the Star Dou Forest and go back to the Spirit Hall.

"I will, Your Majesty Lucifer, may our cooperation bring us great benefits."

She said with an elegant small bow.

I then teleported out from the Star Dou Forest.

***

3rd POV

Gu Yuena stared at the place where Lucifer had teleported out before she let out a long sigh.

"My Lord."

Sounded the voice of Di Tian, who knelt as he arrived before the Silver Dragon King.

"You have broken through... it shall not take a long before you can ascend as God, and with your age, it should be not a problem to reach pinnacle 1st-Class God or even Half-God King."

Stated Gu Yuena as she looked at Di Tian.

"It was thanks to Senior Lucifer; he gave me Divine Crystal with the energy of pinnacle 1st-Class God."

Answered Di Tian swiftly.

"He used the same on me to help me heal... he also said he had a great interest in collecting human souls, meaning he and his faction have a method on how to refine souls into the Divine Crystals."

Divine Crystals in Baator were mainly used in two ways. One of them was their usage in Arcanotechnology and the other in Mysticism Rituals to enhance physique.

Of course, only the wealthy and powerful could use Divine Crystals in such rituals to enhance their physique as it consumed a lot of Divine Crystals. Still, since Devils were good at harvesting souls, they had a stable income of Low-Grade and Mid-Grade Divine Crystals that could be used mainly by Ultimate-Class and Satan-Class beings to enhance their physiques.

Additionally, Dragons in Baator used Divine Crystals in their training as Divine Power was good for them to increase their strength.

***********************************************************


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[Trafford]

"What do you think about his proposal Di Tian?"

Asked Gu Yuena, her most loyal follower.

"It is good, and the agenda behind him is terrifying. If he truly wanted, he could call someone stronger than even Dragon God from his organization to force our compliance, so it would be good to remain friends with him, not that we will lose anything, but instead, we could gain a lot. Additionally, the fact that he already has some form of agreement with the Asura God is even more terrifying, that even Asura God is not willing to offend him over relatively outrageous demands from the point of view of gods."

Explained Di Tian, and he was basically correct.

The fact remained that even the most powerful god of the Douluo Divine Realm, the Asura God, didn't want to offend the foreigner, which meant he was aware that the organization behind him was terrifying to the extent that even he didn't want to become their enemy.

Organizations that could send their members with a larger amount of people across the Universe and even the Universe, such as Shao Universe, was an extremely frightening thought.

While Di Tian was unaware of it, Shao Universe had an extremely powerful seal around it, preventing anyone from the outside from entering it and requiring a terrifying entity to bypass that seal.

And yet someone arrived.

Additionally, she didn't have anything to lose from this deal; instead, it would only benefit her and Spirit Beats as a whole.

Also, she was wary of Void Insect scouts around the Shao Universe, as this could be a grave threat to the entire Shao Universe if the Void Insects somehow enter the Shao Universe.

"Go and organize all Spirit Beasts and focus on cultivation. We need to cultivate as many Spirit Beasts that could ascend as Gods as possible."

Ordered Gu Yuena as Di Tian bowed and left.

***

Sometime later

It was already around 3 years since I have arrived at the Shao Universe, as there were many things to do here. Around 300 years have passed in the Astral Boundary; hopefully, everything should be okey there.

Time Lapse between two Universes would adjust to 1:1 more the Universal Gate would be used. Ajuka and I have managed to create incomplete Artificial Spirit Souls; while their life expectancy was only several days or weeks, it was enough to need Spirit Masters currently.

Spirit Hall has also undergone tremendous development after two years of rapid advancement. Golden Crocodile Douluo Jin Eyu has reached Limit Doulou Level Spirit Rank 99, and Arch-Cardinal Dugu Bo has reached Spirit Rank 95, becoming another Hyper Douluo of the Spirit Hall.

Most importantly, Bibi Dong has reached Titled Douluo Level, as she was advancing at tremendous speed and currently was at Spirit Rank 94, only a step away from the Hyper Douluo Level, as her fast period of training has ended.

In the end, the relationship between Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong has mended over the years, as he acknowledged that under her leadership, the Spirit Hall has reached an immense high, as the number of Titled Douluos has increased significantly, and after dividing Spirit Hall into three Branches of Ecclesiarchy, Hall of Elder and Holy Templar Order all under control of the Holy Throne of Supreme Pontiff.

All branches worked together as one machine, making use of its immense influence and power.

I have also talked a Qian Daoliu and informed him about certain things that he needed to know, and also with Jin Eyu, as those two were basically guaranteed to ascend as Gods, creating a Pantheon of the Spirit Hall. Even now, Spirit Hall and all Churches had an additional God Statue that they worshipped and it belonged to the Asura God.

Qian Daoliu was guaranteed to ascend as the Angel God. At the same time, Jin Eyu would need to find a suitable God Position for himself if he didn't want to become a Wild God. Still, even those were needed, but someone of his potential would be a waste for him to become a Wild God.

Currently, aside from those two, there was only one Limit Douluo on the entire Douluo Planet named Bo Saixi, who was High Priestess of the Sea God.

The situation in the Sun Moon Continent is also developing well.

After two years, supported by the Hall of Elders, Spirit Hall has become a deeply rooted organization in the Sun Moon Kingdom, while on the surface, it isn't any kind of strong organization, but in the shadows, there were 5 Elders stationed there, together with three Cardinals on the surface acting as faces of the organization.

Now the Spirit Hall has started taking over important nobles in the Sun Moon Kingdom and gaining their allegiance.

After 20 Years, the Douluo Planet would recuperate enough to the point where it could once again hold Gods on it, and Spirit Energy Density would be rising, so during this period of time, Spirit Hall needed to develop as much as possible.

On the Douluo Continent, things were the same, as the political situation was mainly the same, just with the Spirit Hall was investing more time and resources into secretly subjugating smaller nations. Aside from two hegemons, Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou Empire, there existed many Kingdoms, Principalities, and Duchies independently from the two Empires, or some were vassals to one of the two Empires.

Usually, these nations, if you can call them like that, were weak and lacked any kind of higher-end powerhouses, only some kingdoms may have one Titled Douluo, but that was rather rare. This made them a perfect target for the Spirit Hall to subjugate in the shadows and secretly cultivate their soldiers into component armies that could be used against two Empires.

Currently, even though Spirit Hall was far ahead in terms of powerhouses, and with the addition of Spirit Technology and the creation of the Holy Templar Order gave them more confidence, the development time was still too short.

***********************************************************


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[Trafford]

But that was good; slowly but steadily, Spirit Hall has taken over every major Kingdom and Principality, while it started even obtaining loyalty from the prominent Generals of the Heaven Dou Empire and even some Clans from the Heaven Dou Empire.

During these years, the news that the Clear Sky Clan has been wiped out has shaken the entire continent, as several Titled Douluos have fallen without anyone noticing a single thing.

Seven Treasure Glaze Clan and Blue Dragon Lightning Clan have chosen to seclude themselves in their ancestral homes, fortified and gathering strength, while only the other 4 Clans remained active. Still, they lacked any Titled Douluo, so two of them willingly secretly joined Spirit Hall. In contrast, the other two already had a great influence from the Spirit Hall inside them.

After I with my entourage leave, I came into agreement with Bibi Dong that I would send some scientists and researchers to the Spirit Hall so they could help to research and perfect the Spirit Technology while also having here permanently stationed a squad of Adeptus Custodes that would oversee the Universal Gate under the watch of one Tribune.

Also, I will send some devils to start contracting mortals for their souls, so Baator can gather more Divine Crystals from the refinement of the Souls.

Meanwhile, the situation with Spirit Beasts was also getting better, as Spirit Beats stopped randomly attacking human territories, and Spirit Masters, or at least those from the Spirit Hall, stopped hunting them for Spirit Rings.

The Introducement of the Artificial Spirit Souls to the Douluo Continent and the construction of the Spirit Ascension Platform elevated Spirit Hall to new unprecedented heights.

Artificial Spirit Souls were instantly accepted by the heavy majority of Spirit Masters as a much safer and faster alternative to gaining the Spirit Ring. The only thing it required was money, but soon enough, after Gu Yuena ascended as the new Dragon God, Artificial Spirit Souls could be perfected, and their price would drop significantly, which would cause the end of hunting Spirit Beasts for Spirit Rings.

Only ones causing problems were Evil Spirit Masters, that gathered under one banner of some Hyper Douluo old fossil that escaped the pursuit of the Spirit Hall and wanted to rob one of the Cathedrals for the Artificial Spirit Souls, but instead, what awaited them were a bunch of Elders and several high-ranking members from the Holy Templar Order that captured them together and soon enough entire Evil Spirit Master organization was swiftly uprooted.

In the Douluo Contientn Spirit Hall was the only faction that hunted Evil Spirit Masters. They were something akin to Rogue Onis or Rogue Devils, people overwhelmed by their desires when they became a slave to them and were causing evil where they go, so Spirit Hall was relentlessly hunting them down, something that nations didn't care about because as nobles saw it, Evil Spirit Masters weren't their problem.

In the Empire, every Rogue Devil was instantly put down by the Executioners of the Execution Temple to prevent any kind of tragedy.

I stood in the middle of the Spirit Hall's Throne Room, as tomorrow I would be departing back to my Universe and be finally back home at the Baator. Tree centuries have passed up there, so many things have probably changed up there.

"What are you thinking about Zeoticus?"

Asked me, Bibi Dong, as she entered the Throne Room.

"I am happy to return home, even though for me it was just three years, for my family and friends, it was three centuries."

I sighed as I said that.

"Do you want to drink something?"

She asked as she took a bottle of some unknown liqueur.

"This is the most prestigious liquor from the Divine Realm; I found it in the vaults of the Spirit Hall."

She opened the bottle as we sat down in her garden in the inner courtyards.

I sipped a bit from it as she poured me the liquor, and it tasted heavenly and even had an effect on me.

"Damm... this thing is good."

I praise the liquor that Bibi Dong gave me.

Rarely some alcohol had some effect on me, as my physique could easily disperse negative aspects of drinking, meaning I could not get drunk, but strangely this alcohol had a great effect on me, which was a pleasant surprise as I had nothing like this in the Baator.

"I am glad that you like it."

She said as she poured me another cup of liquor.

I drank it happily, as due to our contract and membership in the Longinus Dreizhen Orden, there was zero chance that it would be poisoned as Tarot Cards that were fused with our souls forbade members of the Orden to act against each other in a harmful way.

*********************************************


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[Trafford]

"Dammed hell... my head hurts."

I opened my eyes as I cursed everything around as my head hurt more than being kicked by Golden Horden Abyssal King Fiend.

When I looked around, I realized that I wasn't in my room, but in an unfamiliar environment, but I quickly recognized it as Pope's Bedroom... which meant.

"Fuck."

I cursed when I saw naked Bibi Dong sleeping next to me, covered by a blanket.

'Not that my wives would be doing any drama from this, as she is indeed suitable to become my wife, but what happened was due to... either it was an accident or she wanted to seduce me for some other purpose, probably to secure even more support. Though it didn't matter right now... I will deal with it later.'

I thought in my head as I teleported out of the room and appeared far away, near the Universal Gate, where Diablo and Ajuka were already waiting for me.

Right now, I didn't want to deal with this, as I already could predict some embarrassing moments; thus, I have decided to act like a proper coward and just leave. In the end, the situation will resolve itself after the real motive of Bibi Dong's action comes to light.

"Your Imperial Majesty."

Both of them bowed as Custodians present knelt as they greeted me.

"Activate the Universal Gate."

I commanded as several Custodians exceptionally skilled in magic started activating the Universal Gate, as heavy Arcanotech Armored Vehicles lined up here in tens, all loaded full with countless precious resources, be it Astral Stones, precious ores and metals, herbs, and many others that were all collected by my forces and Spirit Hall for me during this period of three years.

Soon enough, the Universal Gate was activated, and I entered, leaving the Shao Universe, though I think that I would return here in the upcoming time soon.

***

Astral Boundary, Dimensional Gap, Underworld, Baator

When I entered the Underworld from the Universal Gate, I felt two things that happened. The first was that my Demonic Energy Reserves started expanding madly, as those 300 Years that passed here all returned to me at once.

The second was that my True Name was going to be given to me by the Underworld's World Will.

Soon enough, I felt the Will of the Underworld descend upon me as my entire body froze.

Already a very familiar feeling.

'Sythis'

'Sythis'

'Sythis'

Said now familiar creepy voice in my head belonging to the Will of the Underworld, exactly three times as always.

'Sythis - Mental Protection Passive Ability, that makes the mind shield impenetrable by anyone who isn't at least one realm higher than bearer and skilled in mental magic at Forbidden Level.'

That was my true name for the Legendary-Class and now even stronger power was being released by the Underworld's World Will as it was going to grant me my true name for the Apocalypse-Class.

'Archeron'

'Archeron'

'Archeron'

Said now familiar creepy voice in my head belonging to the Will of the Underworld once again, exactly three times as always.

'Archeron - Full Counter, while in the Underworld bearer of this True Name could reflect all magical attacks back at caster with doubles destructive power.'

Now, this was overpowered. While it once again was usable only in the Underworld, it was still OP ability if I could lure my attackers to the Underworld.

What I have noticed is that the majority of abilities of my True Names were effective only when I was physically present in the Underworld.

My theory was that, as my True Names are personally granted by the World Will of the Underworld, they are very strong compared to the Devils who awaken or obtain their True Names on their own, but their strength is directly connected to the strength of the Underworld as a whole.

Even though the Underworld was currently Grade 3 Plane, and based on my observation, it could be even higher, energy density and conditions are worse than in Grade 5 planes and are comparable to only Grade 6.

Reason for that?

Connection with Earth and subsequently with countless Dimensional Pantheon Worlds that are siphoning energy from the Underworld for their own Dimensions.

My solution?

Severe that connection and make Underworld its own Plane without connection to others. That would cause recovery of the Plane to Grade 3 within a few decades, but also cause traveling between Underworld and Earth would become extremely hard, and the entire Underworld will change to a proper Grade 3 Plane, including the suppression.

In Douluo Mortal Realm or even in the Astral Boundary, destructive power, for example of Super Devil which was in the Dimensional Gap around Large Continental to Asteroid Level would be lessened greatly. And only High-Class and above would be able to teleport in such a Plane and many others.

[Demonic Energy Reserves increased by 57 Units.]

While the increase of 57 Units for 300 may seem minimal, in truth, it was an astronomical increase, really benefitting my superior Level 9 Soul Aptitude.

'Analysis.'

[Name: Zeoticus Gremory-Lucifer

True Name: Dizmason (Devil Talent), Sythis (Mental Protection), Savant (Prideguard), Isaiah (Nirvana), Archeron (Full Counter)

Race: Trans-Devil-Fiend (Pure-Blood)

Bloodline: Gremory, Lucifer, Golden-Horned Fiend

Age: 341

-

Class: Apocalypse-Class

Lifeform Level: 2 - Tier 1

Soul Aptitude: Level 9 - Superior

Laws: Devour (100%), Darklight (38%), Slaughter (14%), Lightning (8%)

Demonic Energy: 302

Strength: 145

Agility: 131

Vitality: 120]

 

[Trafford]

Underworld, Baator, Anor Londo Capital, Imperial Palace - Sanctus Imperialis

"It is good to be home."

I said as I entered the Sancus Imperialis, where Custodians already welcomed me under the leadership of Tribunes Belial and Phenex.

"Father, welcome home."

Greeted me Sirzechs, whom I have noticed has got a lot stronger during past centuries, already reaching late stages of the Super Devil, really talented even if he didn't train a lot as he was basically managing my little Empire.

"You have gotten stronger... good."

I said as I nodded my head, and we entered the Sanctus Imperialis.

"Where is everyone?"

I asked my eldest son.

"Mother is in the garden, while Aunt Hela has reached Mighty Stage God a not long time ago and is currently training with her Divine Domains. Aunt Grayfia is attending to her duties as always. Hilda is currently stationed in Ishagard, and Sigmar has been given the order to pacify some advanced space-faring civilization in nearby Galaxy in Earth Plane as they have developed some interesting gene adjusting technology to produce a lot; of Mid-Class Genetic Warriors."

Summarized Sirzechs as I was surprised that Earth Plane had some civilization that was this powerful that it required the attention of Legion.

"We have started looking for resources in other galaxies in the Earth Plane?"

I asked.

Last time it was decided that Baator would stop space exploration, as we have plundered all Milky Way Galaxy and our gains weren't that good, as a proportion of precious ores was small from it.

"Yeh... Earth Plane has only several Galaxies, so Lord Admiral Orlock proposed it would be a waste to not at least explore them, and thus we started exploring them around a century ago. During that time, in some galaxy that was a bit far from the Milky Way, we found many precious resources, especially planets abundant with magical ores that would allow us exponentially increase our Fleets. Unfortunately, we have clashed with another powerful civilization that was exploring and is currently competing with us, called Evies, some mechanical life forms that have plenty of Mighty Stage Gods. If not for Aunt Hela, we would lose a lot, but she killed several of their high-ranking Mighty Stage Gods and even robbed their Divinities, so they are now more careful. Their technology is not as advanced as ours, so we have long reverse-engineered it and added it to our arsenal."

At the same time, I was surprised and not still within my expectations.

"Have you met their leader? Melvazoa? Or leader of their enemies Spirit Gods Resetoras?"

I asked as Sirzechs wasn't a bit surprised that I was already aware of them.

"We have not met them. Only some of their servants. Aunt Hela killed three Mighty Stage God Evies, namely Bebev Su, Gvardora, and Durmado, and their bodies are currently being researched by Architect so he could build himself a perfect Living Mechanical Body. Elder Azrael has successfully converted his path and reached Apocalypse-Class and slain some goddess called Chimune Chipaoti that serves Resetoras. They attempted to contact us and trick us into fighting Evies with them, but they just wanted to use Baator and our Empire for their squabble."

So Azrael finally broke through and even escaped his fate. This would significantly enhance the power of the Baator in the future.

To Architect, I didn't have a main consciousness with me, when I went to the Shao Universe, but rather a copy of it.

Fortunately, neither Spirit Gods nor Evies could move their full power, as it would then leave them vulnerable against each other, so that was exposed by our powerhouses and dealt them severe damages.

When Spirit Gods noticed that Hela had the power to kill three of Evie's Mighty Stage Gods, it meant that they deemed her a threat and, together with her entire Baator. But they wanted to use my wife to fight Evies so she could kill as many of them as possible and be killed by Evies then, or Spirit Gods would kill them. Fortunately, Azrael broke through and killed those bastards from Spirit Gods.

In terms of combat prowess, Hela was far superior to Great Red and many average beings on the same level, as she was Innate God and had Innate Divinity over Death, War, and Slaughter.

"Good, very good. Now your time as Acting Emperor has ended, and you can return to your duty as Tribune of the Adeptus Custodes."

Sirzechs bowed with a gleam as he was happy that he could spend his days leisurely without a deal with administrative duties and doing paperwork. It was like a heavenly sound to hear this from me.

"Also, call a meeting with all Lord Generals and Hela after she returns; we need to reform the military."

As he departed, I went to find Venelana as Hela was training and Grayfia was working.

I planned to implement major military changes, mainly cutting down the size of the army. Current Imperialis Militarum had 1 billion soldiers; I planned to cut it down to 100 million and in the next thousand years to 10 million.

The reason was simple.

It was better to focus on quality than quantity.

Unfortunately, till now, the state of Baator didn't really allow something like this.

When I ascended to the throne, the majority of Devils were either soldiers or in military-related occupations. Counted in, that all Nobles had private armies, numbering several million smallest, and when it all got together, overall, there were around 1 billion active soldiers in the Baator.

This was also a problem, as something like the demilitarization of soldiers cannot be done in bulk, as it would create great internal instability.

Thus, while Imperialis Militarum functioned in the form of Ten Armies, each numbering 100 million soldiers, only 10% of them were really cultivated to achieve High-Class. After the first demilitarization that would be carried out this year, I planned to carry out next after the next two hundred years and stabilize Imperialis Militarum at 10 Million, with each soldier being at least Grand-Class, which would be up to elite standards of the Astral Boundary mightiest factions.

 

[Trafford]

Currently, altogether Chthonian Empire had three Apocalypse-Class powerhouses and more than twenty of those at the Super Devil Class.

From 3 Apocalypse-Class, one was me, and the other was Hela; even though she was Mighty Stage God, her combat prowess was unrivaled. Among the Super Devil Class Powerhouses, 5 were of my Family, six if I counted in Zekram.

Due to the plan to prepare for the Astral Boundary, every resource found in Baator and acquired by Chthonian Empire was instantly used. When someone looks into our vaults and reserves, they are mostly empty, as most of the resources obtained are sued to cultivate soldiers or talented people that are citizens to become stronger.

The name Chthonian Empire wasn't something that I invited, but rather a nation that lived in Baator was called that by other factions, and I just took fancy onto that as for now, Chthonian Empire controlled the entire Underworld, formerly Baator, with the exception of territory belonging to the Izanami, but that would soon change, as I would dispatch Hela to deal with her.

After three hundred years of development, the situation in the Chthonian Empire has moved up drastically upwards. Now, all of the power was absolutely concentrated in the hands of the Imperial House of Lucifer and in the hands of its members. At the same time, the Nobles of Old were just a decoration of the past.

To perform even better, I have planned to implement some reforms to the Nobility. While the current system was good with TML, I have found it could be better, and I would present it at the next meeting of the Senatorum Imperialis.

The biggest flaw was that, even though TML and Commissariat were good at keeping Nobles in check by directly forcing them to manage their territories, not all Nobles were good at it naturally, and some territories were stagnating, and stagnation was something unacceptable in the Chthonian Empire.

I planned to make the Noble Position within the Chthonian Empire something dependent on personal strength, while Heads of Houses won't be ruling their territories themselves but rather chose a person or people to act as Governors of the Territory to manage it in the most effective way.

New Noble Positions would be Chthonian Elector Lord, a special Rank reserved only for Elders of the Baator and Chthonian Empire and their Houses. Then Chthonian High Lord, to be granted this title, Head of the House needs to achieve Super-Devil Class. Chthonian Lord, to be granted this title, Head of the House needs to achieve Satan-Class. Chthonian Viceroy, to be granted this title, Head of the House needs to achieve Legendary-Class and finally Chthonian Eques, to be granted this title, Head of the House needs to achieve Ultimate-Class.

This would make Chthonian Nobles to focuses entirely on getting stronger as competition would be fierce. Additionally, I will make a rule that there would be only a limited amount of Chthonian High Lords, and if all positions are full, then the only possible to achieve that rank would be to challenge someone and defeat him in combat.

I walked through the Imperial Palace Sanctus Imperialis, as I have finally arrived at the garden, where Vena was taking care of the flowers here.

Most of them were precious herbs collected across the entire Baator, or dimensional realms connected to the Draconic Deus, and some were from distant planets in the Earth Plane.

'Slap'

When Vena saw me, she instantly slapped me in full force. While it didn't hurt too much, she used her full power of Super Devil, so I still felt it as I didn't defend against it.

"Okey... maybe I deserve it..."

I said in a silent voice.

"Indeed... but I am happy that you are back."

She then hugged me tightly as I hugged her back.

"So, how were you doing?"

I asked as we sat down.

"Pretty well... even though it was sometimes lonely, but alas, that is something I need to get used to."

I nodded.

In the near future, I may comprehend laws for centuries, and soon enough, Vena may be the same, as she was already a Super Devil, and after hitting a peak of the Super-Devil Class, she could start comprehending Laws to achieve Apocalypse-Class.

"I took care of the IMC and often cooperated with the Military in conquest or with Ajuka in researching and manufacturing new tech."

IMC, short for the Interdimensional Manufacturing Corporation, was created by merging of all businesses I had before I became Chthonian Emperor; afterward, I passed it to Vena, as she was more talented and even more interested in business than me, so she managed it and made money.

Now Chthonian Empire and even the majority of Baator mostly used Divine Crystals or other types of energy Crystals as currency. Even though Soul Coins were still used, now only by commoners that didn't have access to the higher forms of currency.

"That is good. You have already reached Super Devil and soon would hit peak..."

I praised her as she looked at me.

"And you have reached Apocalypse-Class; we will have at least finally another advantage over those bastards from ExE Planet."

With my advancement, Empire could finally be more offensive in relation to the ExE. Before we could only attack when being attacked, as they had a far higher number of the Mighty Stage Gods, and some of those were extremely strong.

Chthonian Empire, which was situated in the Baator, could maximally dispatch Hela and only in direst situations. After Azrael broke through, then one of them could go out more often, but the second one needed to remain the Baator and guard the Chthonian Empire from dangers.

"Don't worry. Now that I have returned, I am not planning to leave for a very long time."

I said with a smile as I looked at my wife.

 

[Trafford]

After spending some time with Venelana, I went to find Grayfia, who was now as always attending her duties as High Chancellor.

I also needed for Grayfia to call for a meeting of the Senatorum Imperialis, so I could announce new reforms for the Imperialis Militarum and territorial management and nobility of the Empire.

Fortunately, Fia's office wasn't that far from the Imperial Palace.

I sneaked around, to not let anyone notice me; as I looked around, to see that Fia was working on something. Her office was neatly clean, with everything in its place.

"Hello, my dear wife."

I greeted her as she looked at me and nodded.

"Husband."

She responded calmly.

Contrary to Vena's reaction, Fia's was more typical, cold as always, but that was due to the fact that she was still in her 'work mode'.

"Could you please call the emergency meeting of the Senatorum Imperilis within 1 day?"

I asked.

With Fia, it was useless to talk about something intimate or not related to work right now, as she wouldn't pay attention to it, or she would scold me. Grayfia was always so serious when she was working, so it wouldn't do me any good to talk casually with her right now, which could be left after she returned home.

"About what?"

She asked.

"It is time to finish the reforms I have started. Now that the political power of the Nobles has been extinguished, I am going to reform the fundamental meaning of Nobility in the Chthonian Empire, as Nobles would get their titles depending on their strength. Also, TML System would be upgraded, as Nobles won't be managing their territories directly from now on, but rather their territories would be managed by qualified administrators and governors. At the same time, the base of the TML System would remain. This would greatly increase competition among Noble Houses to get stronger, which in turn would produce many more powerhouses for the Empire."

I explained as Fia nodded in agreement with my proposition.

After the formation of the Empire of Baator, or rather as it was now named Chthonian Empire, as Baator was a term for the Underworld, something like this would be impossible.

Even though the power of the Nobles was greatly weakened directly after the Great War, many houses still had deep roots, but now... after more than 400 years of development, these roots have been systematically cut out by the Execution Temple and Commissariat.

"Also, there is time to complete the military reform. We need to focus more on the quality than the quantity."

I said shortly after.

"Fia, what is the exact situation with the ExE?"

I asked as I sat down.

As High Chancellor of the Senatorum Imperialis, she was one of the best-informed people in the entire Empire.

"As we had two Apocalypse-Class entities and have caused great damage to the Evies and Etoulde, they have started to be wary of us, and currently in the Earth Plane, they are avoiding our Void Fleets. They cannot attack us, as our Arcanotech fortifications could severely injure even Supreme God, as we tested one of those on Resetoras, and he was nearly killed."

Said Grayfia proudly.

Even I was surprised to what levels has Arcanotech developed during these 300 Years that I was aways.

Arcanotech would be the greatest power in the Astral Boundary for the Baator.

If it could reach the level where we could fortify every strategic city with such fortification that could severely injure even the Great Step of Holy Spirit Warlocks and Supreme Gods, then it would be for the best.

Unfortunately, even after the three hundred years of collection of resources, only the Capital of Anor Londo and Gralea had such fortifications.

"Right now, as our Void Fleets are exploring the Earth Plane and its galaxies, there are often skirmishes with Fleets of Evies. Even though they are mechanical lifeforms, their technology is actually inferior to ours. Our ships have better protection and stronger firepower. However, they have more powerhouses on the Super Devil Level, so our forces are equal."

Stated Grayfia as I nodded.

After I connected back to the Architect, I already got everything that I needed to know about how to deal with Evies.

"Architect has a plan; I heard him say... what do you think about it?"

I asked as I looked at my wife.

"It could work if we could weaken Melvazoa by a great deal before that. If he managed to devour him, then practically controlling the rest of the Evies won't be any problem or absorbing them."

Architect had the plan to devour the source code of the leader of Evies, Melvazoa, and ascend as a completely new lifeform.

Based on his research, Evies were fascinating creatures; they were pure mechanical beings that had grasped the Path of God. As they were mechanical in nature, it meant somebody had created them, and by simple thinking, the answer is clear...

They were created by their sworn enemies, the Eotoulde, Spirit Gods.

In the end, they have evolved to a certain point, where they started devouring every resource they found and somehow grasped godhood. By my theory, they just found some Divine Sparks from deceased Spirit Gods and researched them.

One could say that Soul was a very broad term. After researching the Divine Sparks, depending on the Spark itself, I think one or several of them should have Divinity Over Souls, which should be able to create a Soul.

After the creation of the Soul, they could fuse with the artificial Soul and become real living beings. Afterward, fusing with the Divine Sparks to ascend as God was just a piece of cake.

After they evolved to that point, probably Spirit Gods have realized the threat that Evies represented and waged war on them, or Evies wanted to devour Spirit Gods for their Divine Spark to create even more Gods on their side.

And thus they waged war to this day.

But Evies were smarter... they started exploring starts for resources, and just like my Mechs, their cannon fodders were exactly like my mechs, meaning only some metals and energy source was needed to have a strong army.

 

[Trafford]

Several Days Later, Senatorum Imperialis

"Now I start the emergency meeting of the Senatorum Imperialis."

Said Grayfia.

Currently, more people were attending this meeting of the Senatorum Imperialis; aside from the members and Elders that occasionally participated, there were all High-Ranking members of all Military Branches and all Heads of Noble Houses.

"After several centuries of steady development, Chthonian Empire cannot stop progressing in its advancement. To boost up the production of the Empire and the efficiency of the government and power of the Empire, the Nobility of the Chthonian Empire shall be reformed. For the first thing, from today, Nobles won't be managing their territories directly, but rather they will be managed by qualified governors with appropriate administrative skills. At the same time, Noble Houses would formally rule their territories, and real governance would be left to professionals to maximize resources and development. Benefits from the production would remain as they are right now. Second thing, Noble Ranks shall be reformed and shall be given only based on the pure strength alone."

I announced with a powerful voice, as some people murmured, but many Nobles could already see something like this coming, so they patiently waited for my next words.

"From today, Nobility shall be the title of martial honor and strength, protectors of the Empire and strongest fighters. All existing Noble Ranks shall be abolished and shall be replaced with the following: Imperator for the Emperor and Imperial House, Elector Lord which shall be reserved for Houses of Elders of the Empire. Chthonian High Lord, to be granted this title, Head of the House needs to achieve Super-Devil Class. Chthonian Lord, to be granted this title, Head of the House needs to achieve Satan-Class. Chthonian Viceroy, to be granted this title, Head of the House needs to achieve Legendary-Class and finally Chthonian Eques, to be granted this title, Head of the House needs to achieve Ultimate-Class. Requirements for Class shall be increased with the entire progress of the Empire's strength. Also, there will be only 13 High Lords, and to replace the old, a new must defeat the old."

I stated as this brought a great shock to many who were present.

With a single sentence, many Noble Houses have been instantly demoted to the Chthonian Eques, while some to Viceroy and few to Lord.

Current High Lords were only Houses of Leviathan, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Valefor, Agares, Pheles, Noir, and Behemoth. As the only patriarch of those Houses has reached the Super Devil Class.

House of Lucifuge became an Elector Lord House.

Members of the Noble Houses were the strategic resource of the Empire due to their Bloodlines, which allowed them to get stronger faster and more efficiently compared to the Common Devils without; those with a strong concentration of bloodline even have an excellent chance to become an Apocalypse-Class, and finally, combat prowess of those with Clan Traits was far superior to those without at the same rank.

With this, Nobles would focus their entire attention on training and getting stronger to get more prestige and benefits and not lose face and not lose against their rivals. I have made it even possible that one may even lose its position as Noble if the House didn't produce powerhouses, and some other things must be fulfilled, but those who were present were scared shitless from that.

"Now that this is solved, the second decree. Active Militarization Reform Act. 1, after several centuries of development, our Imperialis Militarum could focus more on quality than quantity. Elites Armies of grand Empire across the Astral Boundary have no more than 10 million soldiers, so that should also be our goal, as the Chthonian Empire should have only that amount of soldiers, as it would be impossible to cultivate a higher number properly."

I stated as Hela looked a time and nodded, while Lord Generals of the Imperialis Militarum agreed with this decision.

"What shall be the standard strength of the soldier after the final reform?"

Asked one of the Lord Generals.

"After Militarization Reform Act. 1 Imperialis Miliotarum would have 100 million soldiers, and after 200 Years or so, we will activate Militarization Reform Act. 2 and stabilize the army at the 10,000,000. Our standard strength should be copying that of Dresden Arcane Empire Grand-Class with officers starting from the Ultimate-Class. That should be the same as the elite armies of the strongest Empire across the Astral Boundary; if we achieve this, our Armies would be far superior to those of Warlocks, where they are usually of Great Warlock Standart, and only elites legions are of Starry Sky Warlocks."

After resources started flowing from the Shao Universe's Douluo Plane, especially the Immortal Herbs that quickly became Magic Herbs, Empire's potion and pill production capabilities skyrocketed.

As I have bargained some alchemy inheritances from members of the Orden and obtained a lot from the Douluo Plane, with enough resources, another popular occupation has popped out in the Empire, Arcane Alchemist.

Currently, it has only two branches, Pill Refiner and Potion Maker.

With this and countless herbs that are now growing across the entire Baator, it won't be a problem to generate a large number of pills and potions that could help many individuals achieve Grand-Class in terms of physique and Energy Reserves.

"Right now, what our nation needs the most is to increase the number of the higher-end fighters and powerhouses and to cultivate at least several Apocalypse-Class individuals or its equivalent. Having three is not enough, even in the Dimensional Gap, not to mention in the Astral Boundary, where even Six Imperial Warlock Courts that had decided greatly have tens of Warlock Monarchs and several Holy Spirit Warlocks. Resources here are not enough here, but there is one place across the entire Dimensional Gap where there should be some things that would help some people to reach that level of power."

I stated plainly as some of them already realized what I was implying.

"If we conquer Evie Eoutlde and annihilate those two troublesome races, countless Divine Spark, God Corpses, and many other treasures would fall into our hands that would increase the advancement of Empire by entire centuries."

I said with a serious voice as the eyes of many sparked.

 

[Trafford]

"We have got information that two Regalzeva's Devastator Order members have been seen in the Andromeda Galaxy searching for something, namely his two underlings Durmado and Rugatimu. It means that their master is not far away, and this could be a good opportunity to make some traps and ambush them. We can kill those two at first and subsequently ambush and assassinate Regalzeva."

Stated Hela slowly.

"Durmado and Rugatimu are two very strong Mighty Stage Gods; taking them out would be a great loss for the Evies, and if we kill Regalzeva, it will weekend Evies by a great deal; perhaps it would boost up attacks from Etoulde on them, as right now Evies have upper hand in their war. With the loss of Regalzeva and his Devastator Order, the situation could change very quickly."

I said.

"Additionally, Regalzeva's Divine Spark should have at least some Laws of Destruction in it."

Siad Hela, as I was left shocked for a while.

God's Path of the Astral Boundary was specific in a way that Gods didn't comprehend Laws and their Divine Sparks didn't contain Laws, but rather alternate weaker version to them, which was called Divine Authority. That was the reason why Beings of Laws or Warlock that comprehended Laws were able to suppress and kill Gods of the same ranks easily.

I wonder how Regalzeva managed to incorporate Laws into his Divine Spark. Then no wonder that the three leaders of the Evies were so fearsome.

If leaders of the Etoulde did the same thing, then this would be even better loot for us.

Law of Destruction was of great use to my next progress; even though I was only a newly advanced Being of Law, I already had some glimpse of what should my Path to be to reach the Lord-Class.

"Prepare the Extradimensional Prison Formation; we will go after Evies in the Andromeda Galaxy. I, Hela, and I will contact Jade Emperor to join us."

I ordered as everyone nodded and left to prepare their things to do. At the same time, I went to the secluded room to contact Deus Ex Machina, alias Jade Emperor Okhwang.

"This is Samiel Zentaur, Deus Ex Machina are you there?"

I said to the Tarot Devil Card.

"Yes, what do you need? Have you reached Apocalypse-Class, and we can start the plan?"

Answered the voice of the Deus Ex Machina after a short time.

"I have, but right now, this is not the appropriate time for such action, though I can lay the basics of the formation in the next ten years. I am currently calling for something else. Do you know about Evies and Eoutlde and their situation with my Empire?"

I asked.

"Yes. You wish for me to join you on the hunt?"

He asked slowly.

"Indeed. We have a nice target; Regalzeva is probably a pinnacle Mighty Stage God. His death would greatly benefit my Empire, and I need to get my hands on his Divine Spark. If we kill him, you can keep all of his possession. As a Mighty Stage Gods that have roamed Dimensional Gap for untold Eras, he should have a lot of good things on his person that could help your Avatar greatly."

I expressed my reasons and even benefits for Okhwang for joining in.

His Avatar was True Immortal and Heavenly Being in his cultivation system, and his strength was currently no weaker than mine, perhaps more powerful. Our plan's success would be guaranteed with his help.

"Okey, send me the time and place where we would meet."

Reposted Deus Ex Machina after some time of pondering about that.

I understood that possession of someone like Regalzeva was tempting to his Avatar. Though in the eyes of his true body, what could have someone like Regalzeva precious to be used for someone as strong as him, but his Avatar in the Astral Boundary wasn't that strong, and it needed to reach the Ancestral Realm before it could be any use to him.

For me, the Divine Spark of Regalzeva was more precious as it contained Laws, and the corpse of Regalzeva could be used by Architect as a template for his final perfect Mechanical Living Body.

After finishing this, I went to Hela to inform her about the current situation, and also I needed to inform Azrael that he would need to be extra vigilant as he would be the only person on his level left in the Empire for the protection of our nation.

I found Hela right now in her office.

She rarely came here, as she tended to drop her work on adjutant and rather train or plan the next military actions.

"What has brought my dear husband here?"

Asked Hela as she sat on the chair and read a book?

What a weird thing from her.

"Jade Emperor has agreed to participate in this mission. We just need to plan other detail, and we can take Regalzeva out of the equation. That would leave Evies only with Seraselbes and Malvezoa..."

I said as I sat down on the opposite chair while Hela stood up and closed the book she was reading.

"With his death, the situation would be different as Etoulde would attack with more ferocity, but it also represents danger, as two races would view us with great suspicion and would surely try to attack us."

She told me as she went to the door, locked them, and sat on my lap.

"But right now, we have other things to solve..."

She whispered as she kissed me passionately...

 

[Trafford]

Andromeda Galaxy, Chthonian Empire 1st Fleet, Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship

Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Voidship was a monstrous behemoth that was around 50km in height, 60km in length, and 20km in width. It was actually a monster among Capital Ships, priding with firepower comparable to the Apocalypse-Class Devil.

After several centuries, Empire only had 3 such ships because scarce resources and other things limited their production, so it was tough to produce even a single Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship.

I was sitting at the commanding center of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship together with Hela and another guest, Okhwang, who joined us in this quest for death.

"So, what do we currently know about the location of the Rugatimu and Durmando?"

Asked Okhwang as he sipped his tea that I had personally brewed.

"They are searching for something in the Andromeda Galaxy. We don't know what they are searching for, but if Regalzeva sent two of his most powerful lackeys to search for something, then it must be really something precious. Those two are only a bit strong, Mighty Stage Gods, so Hela and I will deal with them and kill them as fast as possible. Their corpses and Divine Sparks would be of great use to the Empire."

I said the current course of action as Jade Emperor nodded and agreed. Hela was silent and just enjoyed my company as she was hugging me like a plushie.

Only three of us were in this room, aside from several Custodians.

Most of the Void Ships belonging to the Chthonian Empire didn't have a large crew, aside from some soldiers and specialists. Usually, ships were working solely on the A.I. and a few specialized devils under the leadership of the ship's captain.

"Activate scanners and search for those two bots."

I told the A.I. of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship and spent my time cuddling with Hela.

***

Several days later

"Your Majesty, the scans have found our target."

Said one of my Custodians as he woke me up from my slumber as I fell asleep after some time. Devils, among other races, could sleep for several days straight and even longer periods; for example, even Devil could enter hibernation.

"Activate engines to maximum and wake up Jade Emperor and Hela."

I ordered as the Custodian bowed deeply.

After that, I went to the commanding center and looked at the deep cold space before me.

"A.I., where are targets located?"

I asked about the Artificial Intelligence of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship. Each Voidship of the Chthonian Empire was armed with supreme Artificial Intelligence, created by Architect himself. However, they were not perfect A.I.s as they were not living ones, but their calculation abilities were unmatched.

[Request accepted. Targets designated as Durmado and Rugatimu are located at the Astrex Planet in the Arep System of Aqueria Star Cluster.]

Answered A.I. of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship.

"When will we arrive there?"

I asked the A.I.

[Approximate time of arrival is estimated to be 4 Hours and 24 Minutes.]

"Good, active battle protocols and send back notice that we have found Durmado and Rugatimu and are proceeding to ambush them and kill them."

[Information is being now relayed back to the Intelligence Department.]

Answered the A.I. of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship.

After four hours we arrived at the Astrex Planet which was located in the Arep System of the Aqueria Star Cluster.

It was an ordinary-looking desert world, not anything special, but apparently, there was something that attracted the attention of someone like Regalzeva.

"Activate Sealing Formation."

As I ordered that, suddenly, hundreds of the Voidships that were consisting of the 1st Fleet started activating certain devices and were surrounding the entire planet, thus creating an impenetrable formation that would act as a trap for anything that is on the planet.

Even to someone as strong as Regalzeva, it would take some time to break through the Sealing Formation created by hundreds of Voidships.

As the entire planet was sealed completely, I descended down to the planet together with Hela, while Okhwang remained in the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship; in case Regalzeva appeared sooner than predicted, he would at least stall him enough for Hela and me to arrive and support him in the fight.

"Those two bots are digging up something in the middle of the planet... they are already nearing the core of the Planet, and apparently there is some kind of structure there, man-made structure."

I stated as I received scans from the A.I. of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship.

It should be probably some kind of Inheritance site; there were a lot of them in the Astral Boundary, usually powerful existences constructed them, as they were about to die, so they constructed Inheritance sites.

Some of them were like tombs, filled with traps and treasures. Some of them were more complicated, like the one of the Devouring Magister, where I inherited Law Crystal from him. That one was still controlled by the remnant consciousness of the Devouring Magisters, and to obtain the Inheritance, one needed to pass the tests set up by the creator.

This one which Rugatimu and Durmado were digging up, was probably just a tomb, as I didn't sense any kind of energy fluctuations belonging to somebody else aside from Hela, Jade Emperor, or those two scraps of metal.

"Shall we wait or follow them?"

Asked Hela as we were flying top the place where those two started digging.

"Follow. They will probably suffer at least some injuries during the excavation and subsequent exploration of the Tomb. We can ambush and assassinate them during the exploration of the tomb."

I said, as soon we have arrived at the place where the entrance was located. I cast several stealth spells on both of us; with my usage of Laws quality of my magic was superior, and it was not possible for someone not skilled in magic to discover us.

Additionally, Rugatimu and Durmado were focused on excavation works.

 

[Trafford]

Hela and I entered the tunnel and just followed the past set by Rugatimu and Durmado before us.

After walking for more than half an hour, we have finally arrived at the underground temple that was located deep within the planet's inner shell, very close to the planetary core.

This temple looked very old, far older than the place where I have found Inheritance of the Devouring Magister.

"Be careful... there may be still some traps that those two didn't activate or managed to evade."

I warned Hela as she nodded.

This tomb could easily belong to some very strong Arcanists.

When Arcanists were building their tombs, they usually constructed them with as many traps as possible, as they wanted many people to accompany them in death, and most importantly, they really didn't want someone to get their hands on their inheritance too smoothly.

If this tomb really belonged to some strong Arcanists, then it could be really problematic.

We walked through the narrow tunnels and corridors of the tomb until we arrived at the enormous underground plaza, where I heard some sound like somebody was fighting.

After I looked more precisely, I noticed two mechanical figures were fighting against some monsters.

Both of the mechanical figures were five-meters tall humanoid mechanical lifeforms with three eyes.

"Hmm... this tomb isn't belonging to some Arcanist; if yes, then those monsters would be stronger. Either this is the tomb of some strong Warlock or God."

I stated as I observed Rugatimu and Durmado fighting several monsters, as they were getting injured by them.

"Prepare your strongest attacks. Soon enough, those two will unleash their strongest attacks to kill monsters; after that, we strike and kill them in one attack."

I said as Hela prepared her Necroswords.

My plan was to kill them in one hit; I didn't really want to fight them in prolonged combat.

As they were mechanical lifeforms, they could easily relay information back to Regalzeva. I needed them dead before they could warn him about something.

Regalzeva would for sure come and search for the killer of his two underlings.

After several more minutes, Rugatimu and Durmado used their strongest attack, which depleted most of the Divine Power to kill the never-ending swarm of monsters. After all of those monsters were killed, I noticed that their energy reserves were not even at 10% of the entire amount.

"Now."

I ordered Hela as she melted into the shadows and attacked Durmado and I teleported next to the Rugatimu and slashed with my Rosenkreutzs boosted up with the power of Laws and the severed head of the exhausted Rugatimu as Hela's Necroswords pierced through the core of Durmado.

Both of them were killed instantly.

Fortunately.

If not, it could greatly complicate things.

"Store the corpses; they would be of great use to Architect."

I said as Hela stored the corpses of Rugatimu and Drumado.

I looked around and scanned the area.

"This is not the tomb of the Arcanist, probably just some high-ranking warlock or perhaps God. At least there should be some nice amount of the Divine Crystals if it belonged to some God."

I thought.

If it belonged to some high-ranking warlock, then there may be some precious warlock methods; some of them could be adjusted to suit devils, though only those for the body refining warlocks, as their body methods are pretty suitable for tempering physique after some adjustments.

After searching this place for several minutes, I found hundreds of the Divine Crystals, some weapons, and other things that were useless to me. Only the Divine Crystals were of some use to me; aside from that, other things were trash.

Maybe some warlock methods could be tweaked to some extent to be suitable for common devils for body tempering.

"Come on; we are leaving... Regalzeva would soon notice that his two loyal bots have been killed and would come and search for their killer; we need to prepare some traps..."

I said to Hela as she nodded, and we left the planet and returned to the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship, where Okhwang was already waiting for us.

After I had boarded the ship, the entire voidfleet entered stealth mode and quietly waited for the Regalzeva to appear.

"What have you found there down there?"

Asked me Okhwang, as he was always curious about cultivation methods.

"Just some warlock methods... I wanted to say... I want an even higher level of alchemical knowledge. If possible, from other Universes if possible, for someone like you who have been reborn in countless cultivation Universes, you should have a lot of them."

I stated my request.

I needed as much alchemy knowledge as possible.

The current level of alchemy was shallow.

Even though I had to deal with Okhwang, that was just some basic level alchemy knowledge from the Astral Boundary.

"Possible, in exchange, I want you for your Empire to destabilize a few cultivation Universes after your little realms become a lot stronger."

So becoming a blade... not that I mind as that would be something that we would be doing for sure. Even now it was a common strategy of devils, corrupting human nations for a little bit of power, creating wars and conflicts, and destabilizing entire factions.

"I agree."

I said after some time of consideration.

"With the level of knowledge, you should have alchemy that would boost up your pill and potion level to extreme heights. With this, you could easily cultivate new legions of soldiers of much higher quality."

Answered Jade Emperor Okhwang.

 

[Trafford]

Several Hours Later

After waiting for several hours, Regalzeva has finally appeared above the orbit of the planet where Hela and I have killed his two underlings.

He looked pretty similar to them.

He is a seven-meter tall mechanical humanoid with five eyes in total, two on each side and one on his forehead that shines with gold. His body has a tint of black and purple with thick limbs.

All three of us waited in the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship.

"Shall we attack?"

Asked Okhwang as he looked at the Regalzeva as he was descending onto the planet.

"Not now; let him descend down, and after we activate the suppression formation and trap him at the planet, we could start."

I said as we waited until the Regalzeva descended down onto the planet, and I have given the order to activate the suppression sealing formation that enveloped the entire planet and sealed it off entirely as the three of us have descended down at the planet.

Now it was a perfect time to kill Regalzeva.

As none of us have bothered hiding our aura for Regalzeva to find us.

Soon enough, he found us and looked at us from the high.

"Devil, God, and Cultivator... what an interesting trio."

Said Regalzeva with a robotic voice as he looked at the three of us.

I gave the nod to Hela and Okhwang, who would be acting as close-quarter fighters, while I would be supporting them from the sides with my magic.

Hela attacked Regalzeva with her two necroswords, and Okhwang attacked with his katana. Both of those attacks were terrifyingly strong, but Regalzeva managed to defend against both of them as part of his left hand transformed into a huge shield.

Meanwhile, Hela and Okhwang created distance with Regalzeva, while I started bombarding him with Dark Light weaponry and binding him with Dark Light Chains, as Hela and Okhwang started attacking him once more.

I used the Law of Devour to constantly drain Regalzeva his energy through the Dark Light Chains, to weaken him even more, and give Hela and Okhwang an easier time in attacking him.

One must admit that Regalzeva was extremely strong to withstand constant attacks from Okhwang and Hela under my support and suppression of my spells.

Fortunately, after twenty minutes of the constant assault, he started showing signs of weakening, as, after several minutes, Hela managed to pierce his cores with her necrosword and Okhwang with his katana, while my Dark Light Chains drained all of his energy.

"Fascinating... he is still alive."

I said as I looked at the Regalzeva, who was on the verge of death and had suffered such injuries that it would kill even me easily, and he was still alive.

"He is a mechanical lifeform, so he could survive as long as his Divine Spark isn't destroyed. Most gods would die just like other races, but these robots are really fascinating creatures."

Said Jade Emperor Okhwang as he looked at the dying Regalzeva.

"Indeed, but they are just an inferior race, and soon all Evies would serve a greater purpose."

I laughed as I used seals on the cores of the Regalzeva and sent them into the Extradimensional Prison.

I wanted him alive, or rather I wanted his cores undamaged, which would mean that Regalzeva would survive, but Architect would devour him whole. I picked up the spatial ring, which was a precious thing in the Dimensional Gap, as most of the artifacts were destroyed or lost in the passage of time.

I also cannot extract his Divine Spark as that would probably kill him, which would damage the cores which Architect desperately needed.

With all of this, he could construct a perfect mechanical body, far superior to that of Evies.

"Here."

I threw the spatial ring to Okhwang, who caught it with a smile and scanned the content inside.

"Not bad."

He commented on his reward for helping kill Regalzeva.

"What now?"

Asked Okhwang as he was very well aware of the strength of Evie Etoulde, as both of their species were extremely strong with many Mighty Stage Gods. Especially their leaders were apparently very close to reaching Supreme God Stage.

"Nothing... we leave. Melvazoa will probably send somebody to investigate this as this could lead to great change in the war between Evies and Etouldes, with Regalzeva's death and also the death of his two underlings. Sooner or later, they will trace this to the Chthonian Empire or at least would be suspicious of us, but that doesn't matter. As soon as I reach the pinnacle of the Apocalypse-Class, I will slaughter them all. Then even Supreme Gods won't be my match."

I said as Okhwang nodded in agreement and we boarded the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship and left back for the Earth.

 

[Trafford]

Baator, Capital of the Chthonian Empire Anor Londo, Imperial Palace, Several Days Later

I was in my secluded place in the Sanctus Imperialis of Imperial Palace, where I was looking at the Divine Spark of the Regalzeva after the Architect did what he wanted with his body as he was constructing his perfect living mechanical body.

I got the Divine Spark sooner than I had expected and could now extract the Laws of Destruction from it.

I used the Laws of Devouring on the Divine Spark as I started extracting the Laws of Destruction.

[Laws are being absorbed.]

[Laws of Destruction have been detected.]

[Law Comprehension of Law of Destruction has reached 15%...28%...35%...47%...56%]

[Law Comprehension of Law of Destruction has reached 58%.]

I revealed a small smile as I had extracted a lot from it.

"No wonder Regalzeva was strong, and his attacks were far more destructive than normal Mighty Stage God's should be."

I muttered to myself as I grew stronger once again.

Now the only thing I needed to do, was to raise my Demonic Energy Reserves slowly. I have comprehended a lot of laws, and several of them were at somewhat a high comprehension rate. However, my Demonic Energy Reserves were still lagging behind.

Increasing them was hard at this stage; the natural way of getting older was way too slow for me; meditation could be of some use, but small, and then there were methods of artificial increasement of the Energy Reserves by using potions, pills, or other treasures.

"My comprehension of the Dark Light is at 43%, and Slaughter is at 14%. With the addition of Laws of Destruction and Devour, I should be able to easily reach Dimensional-Class after comprehending the Laws and mastering them to at least Advanced Mastery."

I have said as I was thinking about my future advancement.

"That would be the most suitable course of action indeed."

Said an elderly male voice as I turned around and saw an elderly man with white hair and beard, wearing a double-piece white suit with a vest, as he held a cane in his right hand.

"So you have finished construction of your body already?"

I asked a rhetorical question instead.

"As expected, it went according to the plan."

Said Architect as he nodded his head.

"Now that you have your body constructed... how strong are you currently?"

I asked as I looked at Architect, barely tablet o sense anything from him.

"Mighty Stage God of Innate God. I can perfectly control all of my energy and my combat prowess. To evolve even further, I will need to devour and assimilate all Evies."

Stated the Architect with great indifference.

I already expected something like this.

Architect embarged on the more evolutionary path, as to advance even further, he not only needed Divine Sparks but also assimilate beings of the same species or at least similar species.

"Excellent, now on the surface, show your strength as the pinnacle of the Greater God, and you can start to assume the position as General Matrix of the Mechanicum."

Architect nodded at this as it was something excepted.

"After Regalzeva's death, Evies would remain more on their planet and focus more on their ongoing war with Etouldes. This would give us unhindered progress on mining resources of the Earth Plane of its galaxies."

I said.

"I have already notified Lord High Admiral, and we are currently coordinating in progress. Within a few centuries, we should have mined all resources in the entire Earth Plane. By my calculations, if used currently, among other things, then we can expand our fleet to 100,000 Voidships, including several Space Fortresses of Phalanx-Class, and probably even reconstruct the Black Stone Fortress."

Stated Architect. Even though I was mainly copying blueprints of the Solar Federation Voidships, mine was way bigger and had more firepower and additional gadgets to them. So to construct even a single one, a lot of resources were needed.

In truth, Earth Plane wasn't that big; it housed only several tens of galaxies, and many of them were rather small and poor in resources, but it was still a treasure trove for the rapid expansion of the Empire.

"Excellent, always focus on recyclation of the resources and old tech. Pollution sucked in the Immaterius Universe, then who knows how would it look in the magical version."

I stated as Architect nodded.

Chthonian Empire was, how would one say it... eco-friendly.

For several reasons, mainly because I have seen in my past life entire planets get pretty fucked up by waste and garbage, and pollution destroyed them entirely. Also, I personally hated wasting up resources, so I preferred to recycle old tech, obsolete voidships, and so on.

With advanced Arcanotech, Empire could easily reach a recyclation rate of 100%.

 

[Trafford]

Several Decades Later, Baator, Capital of the Chthonian Empire Anor Londo, Imperial Palace

44 years have passed since the moment when I, together with Hela and Okhwang, have killed Regalzeva and his two lackeys. During these 19 years, Chthonian Empire has been steadily exploring galaxies in the Earth Plane, mining resources and constructing Voidships and other things, developing the Empire and the entirety of the Baator.

Interestingly, humans were once again going to wage war among themselves. Usually, Pantheons and supernatural factions had some unspoken agreement that they won't be meddling in conflicts of mortals.

But today, it was a bit different.

In past decades I have been negotiating with Amaterasu about our alliance, and after several years we have finally grown to some form of agreement.

In truth, I didn't really care about the Earth, as when the Dimensional Gap is destroyed, it will take with its the majority of the Earth Plane; additionally, it would attract the attention of the powerful existence of the Astral Boundary.

What I wanted was Izanami's Life, more precisely Underworld Command Sequence that was in her ownership. That would cause Shinto to lose their foothold in the Underworld or rather now in the Baator, but that was a small price, as right now, the entirety of the Baator was under the control of the Chthonian Empire.

Amaterasu agreed to my request, but in return, she wanted that we help Japan to not suffer any losses during the war that was coming, as humans would be waging another World War.

In my eyes, they were just playing around, but for them, it was a serious matter...

I have agreed and sent some experienced Executors from the Execution Temple to give some help to Japan, as Shinto was under the watchful eyes of other Pantheons to not meddle in this war, as during past centuries, Japan has been primarily led by Shinto Gods, as they started intervening in matters of mortals.

Shinto Priests had a high say in the politics of humans in Japan and had enormous influence. At the same time, Ancient Clans and Principal Clans that served Shinto were de facto leaders of Japan. At the same time, Emperor was just a figurehead, or rather he just dealt with trivial matters.

Usually, when mortals waged their wars, it was the greatest taboo for supernatural factions to intervene in them. What I ordered could be considered a violation of every tradition that was here for thousands of years in the existence of the Supernatural.

But with my strength and the strength of the Chthonian Empire as a whole, I didn't care.

Might makes right.

If you are strong, then you make laws and decide what is right and what is wrong.

Still, my job was only to ensure that Japan reaps benefits from the war, even though I could already predict how things would end from the current course of action, as my spies and agents have infiltrated every human power on Earth and extracted all necessary information.

What was troublesome was that Japan planned to attack China, which was the domain of Okhwang, who was my ally... but after I had explained the situation to him, he just told me that as long as I didn't cause destruction of the entire nation or extinction of its people, he wouldn't care.

Which was logical... why would he care for mortals, but it was instead a question of honor.

Of course, this entire war was a great thing, as many people will die, the more die, the better as we could harvest enormous amounts of Souls from them to refine those souls into the Divine Crystals.

And Divine Crystals are always of great use for the Devils. Nowadays, there are almost no opponents that would obstruct us in collecting souls, as one of the best constructors who was Hades already, no longer is among the living.

After this war ends, I can then send my people to bring me Izanami so I can extract her part of the Underworld Command Sequence, and afterward, with the entire Command Sequence, I can finally initiate the first part of my grand plan by severing the connection of Underworld with Earth and other planes.

With that, Underworld would recover, and it would grow more powerhouses.

***

Several Years Later

Everything went as expected.

World War II ended as expected, with Germany being defeated, while Japan was forced back from China back to its territory. After the defeat of its allies, Japan continued waging war against the USA, whom they crippled after a successful attack on Pearl Harbor, which was successfully done only thanks to the intervention of spies from the Execution Temple and Intelligence Department.

Several years later, after Japan secured hegemony over the Pacific Ocean, they were forced to end their war, as it put too much strain on their economy, and after they were forced out from mainland China, while they managed to keep some Islands they captured from other nations, it was not enough.

Most importantly, Amaterasu personally ordered Emperor to end the war, as she decided it was enough of the war and fighting.

Meanwhile, what I have noticed is that the time diversion between Astral Boundary Universe and Shao Universe was constantly changing, jumping from different conversions every year, but I already got info from Mercurius that within the next decades, it will stabilize at 1:1.

Resources from the Douluo Plane proved to be crucial for the fast development of the Chthonian Empire, especially the magical herbs by importing Immortal Herbs and various metals and ores; there were even entire ore veins planted around the Baator as a whole.

I was already preparing for my return to the Douluo Plane after the time rate stabilized at the 1:1 to check up on some things, especially on the development of the Spirit Hall and on Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena, as she was still healing and I was curious how she has healed up.

Additionally, I was thinking about inviting her to Longinus Dreizhen Orden.

She would be a good addition; also, it would mean that Bibi Dong would have a permanent helper in her home Universe.

 

[Trafford]

Several decades later...

Today was a day like any other day in the Chthonian Empire of the Baator Realm.

I was comprehending the Laws in the Imperial Palace, Sanctus Imperialis, as members of the Adeptus Custodes were guarding me until I felt my bloodline stirring up for some reason.

I remembered this feeling...

As a primogenitor of my bloodline after the Devouriong Bloodline Source of the Original Lucifer and Lilith, I could be said to be the origin of Devils, especially appliably to the Lucifer Bloodline, and now I felt that new Lucifer has been born in a far away Shao Universe.

"So in the end, she got pregnant with my child... apparently, I cannot avoid this anymore."

I have long ago told my wives that I had slept with Bibi Dong when I was drunk, Hela didn't care too much, but she told me she wanted to fight her, while Fia and Vena wanted to get to know her, as she could be considered as my unofficial wife.

I didn't really like dealing with such troublesome things, so I decided just to push that matter away and deal with it later.

Unfortunately, It came back to me.

Right now, the time-lapse between Shao Universe and Astral Boundary Universe has stabilized, and it is currently at a ratio of 1:1.

"Comprehension of the Law of Darklight has reached already a 49%. I will take a pause and go and visit Bibi Dong to resolve some matters."

I muttered to myself.

***

Shao Universe, Douluo Plane, Spirit Hall

Nothing much has changed from the day I was here.

Due to the constantly changing time-lapse between two universes, more than a year has passed since the first time I have set my foot on the Douluo Plane.

I have watched around and seen several Cardinals and even some Arch-Cardinals of the Ecclesiarchy that bowed slightly when they saw me. Each of them has gotten a lot stronger during this one year.

Currently, the Spirit Hall could really be considered a hegemon among mortals by mortal standards.

I have felt that Douluo Mortal Realm has already recovered, and soon the density of the Spirit Energy will be rising to new heights, meaning that Wild Gods will start popping here and there in the Spirit Hall.

Maybe some would ascend as real gods to the Douluo Divine Realm.

Currently, there are two people guaranteed with such a thing, Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu.

On my trip, I needed to meet with only those two to get the precise situations on the Douluo Planet.

Currently, I was headed to the Hall of Elders, where the strongest Titled Douluos resided and acted as the Spirit Hall's hidden force.

All of them were Spirit Rank 97 and Spirit Rank 98, with two at the Spirit Rank 99.

"Your Imperial Majesty Lucifer."

Greeted me Qian Daoliu, as he bowed slightly, together with another Spirit Rank 99 Limit Douluo, Jin Eyu, who seemed a bit different.

"Lord Qian, Lord Jin."

I greeted them in the same polite manner.

"I must congratulate you, Golden Crocodile Douzluo, for obtaining inheritance. Which one did you manage to snatch?"

I said with a smile.

"Golden Battle God, a 1st-Class God."

He answered with a polite smile.

Since the reformation of the Spirit Hall, many Elders of the Spirit Hall that were stuck at their Rank for a very long time not only got their combat prowess greatly enhanced by various Elixirs exported from the Baator, got their Battle Armors or condensed Spirit Cores, but many of them if not all, advanced in their Spirit Rank.

"Excellent, with this Spirit Hall factions will have one God-King and two 1st-Class Gods. This would give you a great deal of power within the Divine Realm and Council of the God-Kings."

Jin Eyu was a very rigid man who followed the high principles of justice and had very high morals. He was one of few that was, how would one say it... liked the fact that Qian Xun Ji was killed by Mercurius as he never liked him, even though he was the son of his best friend.

"Why have you decided to visit us, Your Majesty?"

Asked Qian Daoliu as we sat down around one table with tea already being prepared for us.

"You should be aware that Bibi Dong has given birth to a child?"

I asked as both of them nodded, and shortly afterward, they stopped in their tracks.

"It is..."

"Indeed, it is my daughter."

I stated expressionlessly, as both of them were surprised but not that much.

It was quite easy to guess who was the father of the child.

"I need to talk with Bibi Dong about some things and check up on my youngest daughter. I wonder how strong her talent will be... Spirit Awakening happens when one reaches 6 years or?"

I asked.

"Indeed six. Her talent will be for sure astonishing."

Stated Qian Daoliu.

"We will see; as long as it is just half of that of my eldest, then I would be satisfied. But talent isn't the most important thing... hard work, will, and determination outclasses it all. Talents I may create supreme one with just one trip to Imperial Treasury."

I said mildly.

Among my children, Sirzechs was the most talented and was already bordering the Apocalypse-Class, and soon his comprehension of the Law of Destruction will reach 50% after he successfully undergoes the Law Baptism; then it would be just a matter of time until he ascends as Being of Law.

Additionally, Sigmar also wasn't that far from it. Though his path will be far more filled with thorns, as his path was a mix of mine and Hela's innate godhood.

Fortunately, Architect's research on Regalzeva's Divine Spark gave a lot of information, so it should be okay.

After drinking my tea and some talk with Qian Daoliu and Jin Eyu about the development of the Spirit Hall, I departed to find Bibi Dong.

 

[Trafford]

Bibi Dong was spending her time with her, or rather our newly born daughter, in a nearby private courtyard of hers.

She looked at me as she held a baby in her arms before saying.

"How did you find out?"

She asked silently.

"Bloodline, my dear... bloodline. The moment she was born, my bloodline signaled to me that another descendant of mine have been born, so here I am. To deal with undealt things..."

I said quietly, as Bibi Dong's expression flattened, and I knew exactly what she was thinking about.

"You don't need to worry; I won't be taking your daughter from you. I just want to solve the relationship between the two of us and about what happened."

I remarked to settle her worries as I sat down next to her.

"Could I look at her?"

I asked as she nodded and gently passed me our daughter, that was still sleeping soundly.

"Have you named her?"

I asked.

"Yes, she will have the name Renxue."

Answered Bibi Dong shortly.

"Lucifer Renxue... not sounding too bad."

I said as I scanned my newly born daughter.

[Name: Lucifer Renxue

Race: Trans-Devil / Human Hybrid

Bloodline: Gremory, Lucifer

Age: 1 day

-

Spirit Rank: 0 (Mortal Stats)

Strength: 7 (Mortal Stats)

Agility: 8 (Mortal Stats)

Vitality: 24 (Mortal Stats)

-

Martial Spirit:

Spirit Scythe

Death Soul Devouring Spider Sovereign

-

Clan Trait:

Dark Light

The Devour

Holy Flame]

"Fascinating."

I muttered as I looked at the results. I already saw that which Martial Spirits she would awaken, and additionally, she inherited 3 Clan Traits. Unfortunately, due to her unique heritage, she didn't inherit Demonic Energy, but rather those Clan Traits seemed to be tied together with the Spirit Energy.

"She has inherited a lot from me... and even from you. Reaching Godhood shall be not a problem for her."

I said as Bibi Dong was shocked hearing this, and soon her shock turned to joy.

"What are her Martial Spirits? And what Clan Traits she inherited from you?"

Asked Bibi Dong excitedly. She was aware of the Clan Traits, as they were bloodline abilities of the Devil Nobility. In the Douluo Planet, there didn't exist, or rather maybe they did; the closest thing they had, was Clans that inherited Martial Spirits through the Bloodline of the Clan.

"Twin Spirits. One is Offensive Tool Spirit called Spirit Scythe, and the second is a Beast Spirit called Death Soul Devouring Spider Sovereign. From me, she inherited three Clan Traits, Holy Flame, Dark Light, and Devour. She is second among my children to inherit 3 Clan Traits, truly fascinating."

I answered as Bibin Dong's eyes widened in shock.

"Death Soul Devouring Spider Sovereign should be mutation fusion between two of my Martial Spirits, Death Spider Emperor and Soul Eater Spider Emperor."

She explained as I nodded.

"I will visit when I have time but try at least once or twice per year. Also, every year on the day of her birthday, bring her to Baator to stay for several weeks... Spirit Hall can govern itself for some time even without your intervention."

She nodded at that. I could visit maybe once or twice a year and stay for several weeks each visit, as I had my duties in the Empire, and there were a lot of schemes and plots that required my immediate attention.

Additionally, I wanted her to bring Renxue each year to Baator so she could stay there with me; when she grows older, she could stay there even for a more prolonged period of time. That way, she could get along with her siblings, as she was living in a different Universe compared to the rest of them.

"How the development of the Spirit Hall is going on?"

I asked as I held my daughter Renxue in my hands and talked with Bibi Dong.

"As expected, it is going well. Even with the innovation of the Imperfect Artificial Spirit Souls, we have greatly lessened dependence on the Spirit Beasts. The addition of the Spirit Technology greatly increased the strength of the Spirit Hall, and we have slowly started gaining control over Duchies, Principalities, and Kingdoms at the south of the Douluo Continent, where the Balak Kingdom and Spirit City are located."

Answered Bibi Dong with a proud expression as she talked about achievements done by the Spirit Hall.

"Holy Templar Order has become a famous force on the continent around half a year ago when I have deployed one of the Holy Armies to destroy Duchy which was ruled by Evil Spirit Masters, as they were hiding there for a long time as sleeper cells. Our progress in the Sun-Moon Continent is going well. Currently, we are controlling several key people in the Royal Family of the Sun Moon Kingdom. After several Elders from the Hall of Elders went there, things are going much smoother up there. When the Sun Moon Kingdom falls entirely under the control of the Spirit Hall, we can start conquering the entire continent. Several Titled Douluos from there, already joined the Spirit Hall after seeing the depth of our faction."

While the Sun Moon Continent had far more advanced technology compared to the Douluo Continent minus Spirit Hall, the number of high-end powerhouses was far too low compared to the Douzluo Continent.

Spirit Hall, before the reform, contained more than 25 Titled Douluos. Each of the Empires has a similar amount of Titled Doulos.

Even some random Kingdom in the Douluo Continent will have one Titled Douluo overseeing it. Even Clear Sky Clan had around 7 Titled Douluos in the Clan.

The martial level of the Douluo Continent was higher, and all Titled Douluos wanted to advance, extend their lifespan, enhance their combat prowess, and so on... the thing that Spirit Hall will give them in exchange for their eternal and undying loyalty.

"Excellent."

I commented on her progress, and truth to be told, I cannot wait to see how will this planet look twenty years later.

After Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena recovers enough, and Bibi Dong ascends as a new Asura God, a new Dragon God can ascend and the final part of the plan for this Realm could begin.

 

[Trafford]

Star Dou Forest

Several hours later, I arrived at the Star Dou Forest to check up on the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena and the rest of the Spirit Beasts and how they were doing.

As I walked through the areas of the Star Dou Forest, I noticed something interesting. One certain Spirit Beast that were preying on the other Spirit Beast with unique attributes, as it was touched by the Laws itself.

It is a black giant tiger, pure black all over, without a speck of another color. It is no less than eight meters long, bulging with muscle, maybe weighing more than half a tonne; it was clear that this one was still a very young specimen. The 'king' mark on his forehead is also black, but a different shade of black from its fur, a black as gloomy as mist. Its red eyes brim with viciousness, but the most peculiar feature is its tail. The tail is much longer compared to ordinary tiger-type Spirit Beasts; it greatly resembles a scorpion's tail formed from countless bone joints with a giant hook attached that is oriented upward, and it glints with a cold light.

It was a Dark Devilgod Tiger.

"What an irony."

I muttered to myself as I observed the Dark Devilgod Tiger.

I had some information about Dark Devilgod Tiger in my library. It was the very rare type of the Spirit Beats; in legends, it is a mutation that occurred as an evil god descended on the White Tiger, turning the White Tiger's light attribute into darkness attribute, producing black wings of corruption, as well as scorpion tail-like Devilgod Hook.

The Dark Devilgod Tiger possesses an extremely overbearing talent. However, it doesn't mature through cultivation, and its cultivation is extremely difficult.

It can rise in strength quickly only by devouring Spirit Beasts or human Spirit Masters' spirit power.

Consequently, no matter in what environment the Dark Devilgod Tiger appears, it immediately becomes the focus of indiscriminate hatred of local Spirit Beasts that would exterminate it before it grows strong enough to threaten their lives.

It was the perfect candidate as my familiar.

I planned to contract it and bring it back to the Astral Boundary, as it was currently very weak; because it was basically a youngling, I could easily convert its cultivation system to that of the Astral Boundary.

Its current strength was only around the Commander Level, which in terms of the Douluo Ranks would be Spirit Elder; from the scans, I have noticed that it was only several years old, which was good progress, genuinely befitting the name of its species.

In the Chthonian Empire, it would be able to feed freely on criminals and other offenders that are usually thrown to Dou Dou, so she can absorb them as their fertilizer; thanks to that, she has already grown to a Pinnacle of the Monarch Level, and her next evolution was nearing. Only some corpses on the Super Devil Class or its equivalent were needed for her to successfully evolve into a higher form.

Meanwhile, Isla, my cute little Wampus Cat, was still a long way from Leveling up, as she was too young, and now she had entered the slow phase of her growth.

I walked up to the Dark Devilgod Tiger that was feeding on the deceased Spirit Beast and released some of my aura as the Dark Devilgod Tiger froze in its tracks.

Like Monster and Magical Beasts in the Astral Boundary, Spirit Beasts were intelligent creatures, especially those with exceptional bloodlines. This Dark Devilgod Tiger had an extraordinary bloodline, so he was very intelligent and the moment he sensed my aura, he noticed that it was very similar to his own in the fundamental attributes, so he slowly came to me.

I took out some Divine Crystals and showed them to the Dark Devilgod Tiger; as his eyes shined as he saw the Divine Crystals. While he didn't know what they were, he knew that they were very beneficial for him, so he looked at them in wonder and lessened his guard against me.

"If you want these, you will need to become my familiar. Afterward, you can have as many of these as you want, and you can eat beings and monsters without being hunted by anyone."

I said to the Dark Devilgod Tiger.

I explained everything that would happen if the Dark Devilgod Tiger became familiar. It was all sound and clear, and with the intelligence of the Dark Devilgod Tiger, he quickly understood everything and agreed to become my Familiar.

"Good boy... you can now eat these."

I said as I petted his head and gave him some Divine Crystals to eat.

Afterward, the Dark Devilgod Tiger obediently followed me like a cub following its mother.

"Do you have a name?"

I asked as we walked through the Star Dou Forest.

Dark Devilgod Tiger only shook his head in denial.

"Then your name will be Heishen, meaning Black God."

I named my new familiar as Dark Devilgod Tiger, now named Heishen nodded his head happily, apparently satisfied with his new name.

"Greetings, Senior."

Said Di Tian as I arrived at the Core Area of the Star Dou Forest. He was a lot stronger compared to before, probably on the grasp of godhood, just a step away from becoming a Divine Beast.

He should have perfectly digested the residual energy of the Divine Crystals that I gave him.

"Hello there... I have made a new familiar."

I said as I pointed at the Dark Devilgod Tiger, which was obediently following me.

"I see that... congratulations."

Said Di Tian respectfully.

"How are things going on?"

I asked as I started petting the head of the Heishen the Dark Devilgod Tiger.

"My Lord is recuperating faster with the help from you; after one or two decades, she will be back to her full strength. Additionally, after fewer people are hunting Spirit Beasts, it is more peaceful here, and stronger Spirit Beasts are born and promoted."

He stated as I nodded in satisfaction.

"Good... very good."

 

[Trafford]

Baator, the Capital of the Chthonian Empire, sometime later

18 years since the birth of my daughter Renxue.

Several years later, Hela and Vena both gave birth to daughters.

Hela's daughter was named Sigurn, and Vena's Rias.

Renxue was 20 years old and had already reached Titled Douluo Spirit Rank 94 and was just a step away from becoming Hyper Douluo. Coupled with her fearsome Martial Spirits and superior mastery over the Clan Traits, she could fight against Sirzechs or Sigmar for more than ten minutes before being defeated.

My relationship with Bibi Dong changed as Renxue brought us closer and after some years, I started slowly courting her. She was a nice girl, and after spending some time, I have come to like her a lot.

Meanwhile, Renxue got along with her siblings well... at least some of them. She was calm, composed and intelligent, and extremely competitive. Similarly to Hilda and Sigurn, she was allergic to Sigmar's and Sirzech's stupidness.

Especially with Sigurn, as they were of similar age.

Though one could say she had a terrible relationship with Rias.

Terrible could be the wrong word... it was strong dislike, despisal bordering on hatred.

Rias was an anomaly among my children, or rather she was very similar in nature to many children of nobility. She was lazy, didn't train or practice, and wasted her time lazying around or just watching human pop culture tv series and anime.

This created great friction between her and Renxue, who, on the other side, was very diligent, hard-working, and was already at the level of Super Devil, as she was already a Titled Douluo. The same could be said about Sigurn, who had already reached Ultimate-Class and started building her career in the Imperialis Militarum.

In the end, I wasn't exactly the father of the year, as I didn't really spend much time with my children. I spent all of my time either attending my duties, training in seclusion, or sparring.

Aside from that, I only spent time with my children when they wanted to train with me or teach them something; it was the thing I could never say no. Apart from that, I rarely had free time, and I needed to spend time with my wives...

In the end, I never spent too much time with Rias, or rather almost none.

It was a great surprise to me that Sirzech's and Serafall's child was born.

It was a healthy baby boy named Abrasax Leviathan-Lucifer, who inherited 4 Clan Traits, a truly unique little rascal.

He was now only 10 years old and had already reached the pinnacle of the High-Class and soon would reach Grand-Class.

Now that I held 100% Command Sequence of the Underworld after Shinto Pantheon sold out Izanagi, Underworld was long ago renamed as Baator. It has started recovering Laws of the Astral Boundary, allowing people to reach Grand-Class and Legendary-Class, energy density was also rising, and the quality of the plane was rising.

It has recovered to a proper Grade 3 Plane and soon would reach Grade 2, as I connected it to the Shao Universe to siphon some energy from it. Then I could change the Baator to my image.

"Grandpa, grandpa... are you sleeping?"

Asked a low voice belonging to a little boy with colorful hair of red, silver, and black as he was shaking me.

"Nope... grandpa was just thinking about something. And that brings up a question, what are you doing here, little thing?"

I asked even though I already new an answer. He probably escaped somehow Custodians that were tasked with watching him and evaded Execturos of the Execution Temple... I don't know if I should feel worried or proud.

Probably bit from both of them.

"I was bored, all that magic theory is boring, and I wanted to watch father training with other Custodians. Additionally, great-grandpa Zekrem kicked me out of his office."

He said with stars appearing with his eyes. Probably he destroyed something in Zekram's office... things like that were often happening, as Abrasax was a little bundle of energy.

"Come, we are going to fight... show me how you have progressed."

I said as Abrasax nodded happily, and soon both of us appeared in the training yard, which was currently empty as I activated protection shields.

I just stood there while Abrasax took out a sword and got into a combat stance.

His combat style was a mix of mine and Sirzechs, though he leaned more into close combat than long-range combat or mid-range combat.

With just a look, I could calculate that he would coat his sword with Power of Destruction; it was katana of Monarch-Grade Secret Treasure, a scarce thing that I have found in some ruins in the Earth Plane's Andromeda Galaxy.

After he coated his sword with the Power of Destruction, he attacked me with a sword attack; although he was only ten years old, he was an excellent swordsman. I was delighted with his growth.

I easily dodged every one of his attacks, as, from my point of view, they were slow and weak, but Abrasax already achieved Adept-ranked Mastery in every one of his Clan Traits, while his mastery in the Power of Destruction was nearing the Master Rank, it was a wonderful achievement.

"Very good, you are becoming better and better at a faster rate..."

I said.

Seeing that my grandson was becoming already a Grand-Class and with such high mastery over his Clan Traits filled me with pride.

It almost overshadowed the sour feeling that I had one completely useless daughter that was a waste of space. At least due to Imperial Laws, she is getting zero resources, even though she is a Princess.

 

[Trafford]

Imperial Palace - Sanctus Imperialis, Throne Room

Today was an important day in the Chthonian Empire of the Baator. An important ceremony was held currently, where I would be awarding titles to my children, as even the youngest ones have reached the age where they could hold responsibility. Or rather, every one of my children was already technically titled, but this would be officially confirming the title or another form of reward or punishment. Additionally, they would be formally taking some responsibilities at members of the Imperial House.

Currently, the Throne Room was filled with only a small amount of people.

Only members of the Senatorum Imperialis, Elders of the Empire, and some other notable figures from those who were present.

I sat on my throne, flanked by several members of the Adeptus Custodes under the leadership of Diablo, in their pristine shining golden armor, while my wives were sitting behind me.

"Announcing Lucifer Renxue."

Shouted the ceremony master as I watched my daughter walking from another room as she knelt before me.

She has snow-white skin, slightly slender phoenix eyes, a face with somewhat stateliness had a rather beautiful person with a cold and indifferent face that exudes dignity. She inherited my royal purple eyes and that cold, calculating look on her face.

"Imperial Father."

She stated.

This ceremony was official business, so she couldn't call me as usually "dad".

"Lucifer Renxue for your hard work in developing the Spirit Hall in the Shao Universe, an immense talent that has been used to the maximum to reach Titled Douluo, which is equivalent to Super-Devil Class, and helping develop commerce and trade between Chthonian Empire and Spirit Hall, I confirm your title as the Imperial Princess and award you with the title of Chthonian Lord of the Empire. With this, you shall be awarded a fief within Baator that you will choose a proper administrator to manage in your stead. Additionally, for your achievement in cultivation, I award you with one Monarch Grade Divine Crystal, and you may choose any treasure within Imperial Vaults."

I stated with an authoritative voice as everyone clapped in congratulations.

Not many were surprised by this, as it was common knowledge that Renxue was very talented and hard-working, and she was one of my favorites. Sirzechs, Hilda, and Sigmar are already over 400 years old, so they won't be spending time with their old man... Sirzechs would often train with me, though.

"I humbly accept the decree of Your Imperial Majesty."

Said Renxue, and she bowed deeply and left slowly.

"Announcing Vali Lucifer."

Shouted the master of the ceremony as another person entered the room.

It was Rizevim's grandson Vali Lucifer. Born between a human woman and Razevan Lucifer, Rizevim's son, he was abused by his father greatly. He was born with Longinus Divine Dividing, which housed the soul of the Albion Gwider, one of the Heavenly Dragons.

After his mother died, he ran away from home before he was caught by members of the Execution Temple that brought him to the Imperial Capital Anor Londo, as he was on the verge of death.

Concurrently he was saved by Albion, who, with my help, turned him into Devil Dragonoid. Afterward, I took him as my own and brought him up as my own sun, like Sirzechs or Sigmar.

While Grayfia took the role of mother for him.

He was a handsome young man with light silver hair. He wore the standard military uniform of the Imperialis Militarum, signifying his rank as Colonel.

"Imperial Father."

He said as he knelt down.

After I took him in, he called me father.

"Vali Lucifer, for your achievements on the battlefield, bravery, and strength. For your courage and martial prowess, intelligence during strategy, and leadership skills you have shown in the siege of Gralea, I award you with the title of Imperial Prince Elect."

The moment I said that everyone's eyes widened in a deep shock, including Vali himself. Among the Imperial House, there were several Noble Titles, from highest to lowest, they were Imperial Ancestor (reserved for me), Imperator, Empress, Imperial Elder, Crown Prince, Imperial Prince Elect, Imperial Prince/Princess, Imperial Lord, and Imperial Noble.

Imperial Prince Elect was a very special title because it meant that the person bearing this title was second-in-line for the throne. Meaning if the Crown Prince became incapable to refused to become Emperor, the Imperial Prince Elect would become an Emperor.

In my eyes, both Sirzechs and Vali could ascend to the position of the Emperor, as in the end, the position was tied to my bloodline, and even though Vali wasn't my descendant, he was Lucifer, and in the end, he was still my son.

I made it in a way that only a person truly worthy could ascend as the Emperor of the Chthonian Empire. It was measured in martial prowess, leadership and administrative skills, ruling wisdom, and several other aspects.

Only someone with the title of the Crown Prince or Prince Elect could become an Emperor. Others were deemed to be not qualified. Sigmar had superior martial prowess in some regards even to Sirzechs but he lacked traits of the ruler such as patience and administrative abilities. Hilda was not suitable overall, as she was good at pure administrative work, but she often lacked the wisdom to see beyond some things; she was a very good office worker. Renxue was destined for other things.

"Now, quiet!"

I shouted as everyone stopped whispering, and all the attention returned to me.

"Next, for achieving astonishing martial prowess and recruiting Albion Gwider for the Empire, among other achievements, I award you with the additional title of the Chthonian Lord of the Empire. With this, you shall be awarded a fief within Baator that you will choose a proper administrator to manage in your stead. Also, I am naming you as the leader of the Khaos Brigade with your first mission is to hunt down and kill Euclid Lucifuge, the traitor, and his merry band of human magicians Nilrem."

I could see a single tear escaping his right eye before it evaporated as everyone held their breath.

 

[Trafford]

Khaos Brigade was the strongest, most fanatical, and radical troop in the Imperialis Militarum. They were worshipping the Emperor, or rather me, as Father of all Devils.

I was becoming a god in the eyes of the citizens of the Empire.

Different from other gods in the Draconic Deus.

But I can feel Faith Energy flowing to me even now.

I have found a method to refine it to a Demonic Energy and thus allowed a new religion devoted to me to be established.

Soldiers of the Imperialis Militarum long ago either worshipped me or admired me...

And Khaos Brigade was most fanatical.

Strongest.

All of them were at the Grand-Class.

After the second military reform that was carried out only several months before, the entire Imperialis Miltarum had only 10 Milion Soldiers.

Khaos Brigade had exactly 30,000 Soldiers.

And now they would be unleashing on some pests that were pestering the Empire.

Nilrem and Qlippoth. Both of them were basically created by Rizevim Livan Lucifer, my uncle, while Nilrem was consisting of magicians, martial artists, knights, or warriors banished from their factions or criminals.

There existed another faction that worked together with them called Hexennacht, which was led by an Ultimate-Class Witch named Walburga. They attempted to rob one of the transportation vehicles belonging to the Magisterium of Arcane.

Still, they didn't accept that it would be personally guarded by Magister Mephisto Pheles. The latter reached Super-Devil Class and could easily cast Forbidden-Tier Spells.

He caught Walburga and annihilated Hexennacht, and obtain information about Nilrem and Qlippoth.

They were good at hiding, as they operated only on Earth and in dimensional worlds or low-grade planes under the control of various Pantheons.

I tasked Vali with annihilating Nilrem; he was already a pinnacle Satan-Class. At the same time, Euclid Lucifuge was only Ultimate-Class, so it should be an easy quest.

"I will finish your Imperial Majesty's mission to me."

He bowed as he said.

"Announcing Sigurn Helasdottir Lucifer-Gremory."

Continued master of the ceremony after newly-named Prince Elect Vali Lucifer departed.

Sigurn wore a similar outfit to Hela when I first met her. She had shining emerald eyes with long pitch-black hair that was tied to a ponytail. She looked like a carbon copy of Hela, aside from her haircut.

"Imperial Father."

Said Sigurn as she knelt on one knee.

"While your achievements on the battlefield are lesser compared to your siblings, you have outclassed them in the area of innovation of the Imperialis Militarum training regime, attempting to build a warrior culture in the entire Chthonian Empire. I confirm your title as the Imperial Princess and award you with the title of Chthonian Eques."

I said as Sigurn bowed.

"I hereby thank Your Imperial Majesty."

She was only 17 years old and reached Ultimate-Class, later stages of it.

It was a good result, considering that she spent a lot of time realizing her dream of creating a warrior culture in the Chthonian Empire. Empire didn't have a specific culture but was rather a mix of several.

While many of them were, to a certain degree, militaristic and warrior in nature, it was nothing compared to the pure warrior culture that breeds superior warriors that are unparallel on the battlefield.

"Announcing Princess Rias Lucifer-Gremory."

Continued master of the ceremony.

Hearing that my most problematic child came, I frowned while Venelana looked sad at what was about to come.

Rias inherited Venelana's violet eyes and my long crimson hair. She was dressed as a typical high-born princess in a beautiful dress, contrary to how Hilda or Sigurn wore only a military uniform.

"Imperial Father."

Said Rias nervously as she knelt before me.

"My most problematic child. Contrary to your siblings, you have spent most of your time lazying around, hanging out with other wastes like yourself. Reaching only initial High-Class, having no achievements, no glory or anything to your name... living on the glory and power of the Imperial House. From today, you shall be stripped of your status as Imperial Princess, and you will be only considered as a collateral member of the Imperial House until you have proven yourself."

Contrary to when everyone was shocked when I named Vali as Prince Elect, now nobody of the present was even a bit surprised.

Only my daughter seemed frozen in shock as tears started flowing down her face, not managing to say a word.

"From tomorrow, you will present yourself in Execution Temple, and Grandmaster Valefor will take care of your training and assign you a mission, so you can become someone useful for the Empire. Now begone."

My voice boomed as two handmaidens went to Rias to help her stand up, as Custodians appeared beside them with their halberts on their troats.

"She will take care of herself, leave."

Rias's two handmaidens quickly nodded and hurriedly left the throne room.

Soon enough, even Rias stood up and left the throne room.

While some may see me as a cruel father, not even my children were an exception to the fundamental nature of the Chthonian Empire, and that was a pure meritocracy. Not even my descendants cannot live with the resources of the Empire and do nothing.

Right now, even though the Imperial House held almost all of the power in the Empire, it needed to be an example of perfection for others and, more importantly, to live by the rules I had installed onto others.

If not, it could lead to dissatisfaction among my subjects and could disrupt the feeling of unity I have been trying to create. Especially among powerful Noble Houses, even though they respect my strength and won't act against the interests of the Empire, they could still follow the examples of the Imperials, and if they see one of us is just living on privileges, more may attempt to do the same, and that would in turn cause destabilization and degradation of the entire system.

If the Emperor doesn't move, his subjects won't follow.

Because of this, the Imperial House needs to be the perfect embodiment of the ideals and values upon which the Chthonian Empire was established; there are no exemptions to this rule.

 

[Trafford]

3rd POV

One day later, an unnamed mountain range in the Baator

Execution Temple was located in the depths of the unnamed mountain range in Baator, hidden from the eyes of others.

Execution Temple headquarters was located deep underground, beneath the mountains. That was where their citadel was located.

Right now, two members of the Custodians brought Emperor's youngest daughter Rias Gremory to join the Execution Temple.

Both custodians who brought the Imperial House members here were of the Satan-Class, as this place was filled with ferocious monsters. Many of the monsters that roamed this place freely were of Monarch Level, which was equivalent to the Satan-Class.

Executioners of the Execution Temple thus trained even with entering their HQ safely by erasing their presence so monsters won't notice them.

Suddenly, as they waited there, with Rias being most nervous about what was going to happen after she was basically stripped of all her privileges, three members of the Execution Temple appeared out of the shadows.

All of them wore the standard black uniform of the Execution Temple that was similar to a priest gown, just with a cape covering their head together with metal masks protecting and hiding their faces.

All of them had perfectly suppressed their aura, but based on their masks, one could see that two of them were of Executioner Rank, and the third one was Senior Executioner. Meaning all of them were of Ultimate-Class at least.

Nobody said a word; Custodians just nodded at three Executioners before they left, as the Senior Executioner signaled Rias to follow behind them.

"From today, you will be a recruit of the Execution Temple. Although you have reached the initial High-Class, which was better than even Disciple Executioners, your combat prowess is lagging even behind that of a recruit. Your training will last for six months and starts from today when we arrive at the HQ. Grand Master Valefor will personally oversee your training as decreed by his Imperial Majesty. You have received Servant Class Card Peerage, right?"

Explained Senior Executioner to her as he stated his question at the end, to which she nodded her head nervously.

"Hmm... this would be useful."

Muttered Senior Executioner as they proceeded to enter the deeper into the mountain range while avoiding all high-level monsters that were basically everywhere.

While Rias was curious why Senior Executioner asked her that question. She got the Servant Class Card Peerage as a gift from her father a long time ago, when she wanted to collect her personal servants, and even prepared some suitable targets and how to obtain them.

***

Citadel of the Execution Temple, Entrance Hall

The entire place was dark, with the only light being at something that seemed like a reception where one Executioner of Novice Rank sitting and reading some book.

"Welcome, honorable Senior Executioner and Executioners. What can I do to help you?"

Asked Novice Executioner with an indifferent voice.

"One uniform for Recruit Executioner."

Stated Senior Executioner.

"It will be right away."

Answered Novice Executioner as he disappeared and soon appeared from the shadows, and passed him the uniform for Recruits.

"Here... wear this."

Ordered Senior Executioner as he passed the uniform to Rias, as she nodded and departed to the room, which was for changing clothes, that was near to the reception.

After several minutes Rias exited the change room clothed in the standard Recruit uniform.

"You will not be saying your name, only your number as Executioner. Your identity is of utmost secrecy in the Execution Temple, understand?"

Asked Senior Executioner as she nodded nervously.

"Excellent, now come; Grandmaster is already waiting."

He said.

Among the entire Execution Temple, only the identity of the Grandmaster was known among higher up of the Empire, only among members of the Senatorum Imperialis and some other Military leaders.

They soon entered the small room, where a man in a more luxurious version of the uniform was waiting as he was sitting cross-legged and meditating.

"Grandmaster."

Senior Executioner bowed as he left the room and closed the door.

"Rule number 1: During your time here, your previous identity doesn't exist. You are like any other executioner that entered this place, just a number... nothing more and nothing less."

Said Grandmaster Valefor in a stern voice as he looked at Rias.

"I understand, Grandmaster."

She said.

"Every day, you will train with a special batch of recruits, as you lack even elementary combat skills. Training starts at five in the morning, be late, and you will be harshly punished. Every person that is not a full-fledged Executioner lives in a shared dormitory. By the end of the week, I await that you will choose a weapon for yourself, and we will start weapon mastery training. For your Clan Trait, I will take the role of teacher. And be careful of this place and your competition... where everyone is equal and only might make right..."

Stated Grandmaster Valefor as she shuddered at the last part of the sentence.

Execution Temple was, in a certain way, a lawless place, at least for trainees. Deaths here were common, as it was an easy way to dispose of their competition and get more resources.

Nobody will do anything as long as you don't kill anybody in plain sight and dispose of the body. There were several cases where even noble descendants were killed this way. Especially when it was done among members of the younger generation.

And she knew that if somebody killed her in this way, her father wouldn't move a finger. She was aware that she was seen as a disgrace of the Imperial House. Even her own siblings scorned her, especially Hilda, Sigurn, and Renxue, while Sigmar ignored her for being weakling and not of any interest to him. At the same time, Sirzechs, even though he wanted for everyone to get along, he had many other duties and couldn't be her protector from other siblings every time.

"I understand, Grandmaster."

"Also, after one month, you will perform simple missions to earn points that could be exchanged for rewards that will greatly enhance your strength."

Stated Grandmaster Valefor as he returned to his meditation.