Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology

"The little demon pays respects to the Heavenly Master!"

Qing Jie, along with a group of Great Saints, knelt and bowed toward Song Lin.

Their image was utterly wretched, their demeanor profoundly servile.

It was hard to believe that this was the once-arrogant Demon Clan of the Legend Sect.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qing Jie felt deep humiliation but had no choice but to submit.

"Do you know your crimes?"

Song Lin bellowed, his voice cold and commanding.

For some reason, looking at Qing Jie reminded Song Lin of the demonized version of Qingchen.

Perhaps both were adept at eliciting pity for themselves, though Song Lin wouldn't allow this one to bask in self-pity for long.

"The little demon knows its crimes are unforgivable. However, I beseech the Heavenly Master to have mercy on the lower-ranking demons. They were coerced by the higher-ups. Sparing them would also serve as an example for other demons."

At this moment, Qing Jie dared to bargain.

His implication was that there were still two other demon factions in the world. If the others saw there was a path forward, future conquests might be smoother.

"Oh? You intend to bargain with me?" Song Lin's gaze sharpened, and the stern gazes of the surrounding immortals fell upon Qing Jie, exerting immense pressure.

"I wouldn't dare. How could a small demon like me dare to bargain? If it earns the Heavenly Master's forgiveness, I'm willing to guard the foot of Kunlun Mountain for millennia."

"You? Hahaha!!"

Song Lin laughed heartily, and the surrounding immortals erupted into roars of laughter.

Not far away, an elderly man with white hair shouted, "Qing Lion of Harmonization, take a look at this!"

Following Yuanbo's gaze, Qing Jie's eyes fixed on three towering figures outside the great hall.

Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be the three great leaders of the Demon Islands: Qing Lion, Sea Rakshasa, and the Nine-tailed Sword Dragon.

"Big brother? No, something's wrong!"

These were clearly in their Yin Soul forms, devoid of spiritual wisdom; they seemed to have been refined into Ghost Kings?

"These three are sufficient to guard the mountain's foot. What use could you possibly serve?" Song Lin asked.

Qing Jie realized he didn't even qualify to guard the gate anymore. His complexion paled dramatically.

The thought of bargaining vanished entirely; he could only submit to humanity's arrangements.

After the demons offered their tribute, it was Emperor Wu Yi of Xia Country's turn to present his report.

"North to the Great Desert, south to the Horizon, west to the Ridges, and east to the Seas. The former territories of Wu Country have been fully restored, totaling 80 million square kilometers."

The unit of kilometers was a measurement proposed by Song Lin first; the populace found it practical and widely adopted it.

"One city with a population in the tens of millions, four cities with populations exceeding one million, and a total populace exceeding 210 million."

With over 80 million square kilometers but only 210 million people, one could imagine how sparsely populated the mortal world had become.

Once the mortal world finished its report, next came Shi Yinhua.

"Within the Ancestral Court, there are five Harmonization-level cultivators: Heavenly Master, Heavenly Mechanism, Chiyou, Divine Turtle, and Lingying. Primordial Spirit cultivators include Taihua, Yuanbo, Wu Chen, Zhonghuang Prince, Zhengxin, Heavenly Slaughter, Earth Evil, Jianxin, the Pig Clan Chief, the Dog Clan Chief, the Hairtail Clan Chief…"

Due to years of warfare, many broke through to Primordial Spirit on the battlefield, leaving the reserves of Primordial Spirit experts at a high point. Crossing tribulation levels? That is another story altogether.

"Seventy-eight have crossed tribulations, four hundred seventy-five have reached Purple Mansion, three thousand seven hundred have achieved Core Formation, twenty-seven thousand two hundred and five are at Divine Establishment, and over twenty thousand remain at Qi Refinement."

Subordinate forces had suffered heavy losses, with many destroyed both in form and spirit, making it impossible to convert them into Yin Gods.

Following that, Yuanbo, representing the Yin God Earth Deities, stepped forward to deliver his report.

"Most Yin God Earth Deity titles have yet to be implemented; we are awaiting the Heavenly Master's decree."

Now, the conferral of titles no longer required the Heavenly Master Seal, as the Ancestral Court's ruler carried the divine mandate in their words.

"Very well."

Song Lin rose to his feet and gazed at the assembled crowd.

The time had come for restructuring. The first matter to address was that of faith. The Ancestral Court could no longer worship the Three Mao Heavenly Master.

Of course, the Taoist sects below could continue worshiping their Grandmaster without issue.

But officially, such worship would be prohibited.

With this in mind, Song Lin declared, "From this day forward, the Donghua Taoist Alliance shall be elevated to the Donghua Ancestral Court. From now on, it will be referred to as the 'Ancestral Court.' Beneath the Ancestral Court will be the Taoist sects. The alliance system is hereby abolished."

Song Lin conjured a pure gold, cloud-patterned seal in midair, inscribed with the words "Eastern King Seal."

This was a modified version of the Nine Elders Immortal Capital Seal.

"Immortals, receive my decree!"

"The Master of the Ancestral Court shall be Eastern King Song Lin. The central Ancestral Court is divided into two academies: Civil and Martial. The Civil Academy shall be led by Heavenly Mechanism, titled Taiyi Jinhua Destiny Emperor. The Martial Academy shall be led by Chiyou, titled Emperor of the North Pole Exorcism Demon."

"We accept the decree!"

Golden talismans appeared in midair and descended near the two appointees.

Upon contact with the talisman, Heavenly Mechanism instantly felt a newfound ability within the unseen forces, granting him access to all information across the mountains and rivers—positions, salaries, and jurisdictions within the hierarchy.

Moreover, he could modify these elements to a certain extent.

Chiyou, on the other hand, gained the power to manipulate earthly energies and revoke authorities, such as those of Yin God Earth Deities. If any Yin God Earth Deity disobeyed his commands, they could face instant peril.

"The Civil Minister shall be renamed Yushu Prime Minister, to be held by Shi Yinhua, titled Zaiqian True Monarch. The Left Minister shall be renamed Left Vice Minister, to be held by Zhengxin, titled Taiming Guanghua True Monarch. The Right Vice Minister shall be Taihua, titled Taihua Ganling True Monarch."

"The Martial Minister shall be renamed Thunderbolt Capital Minister, to be held by Zhonghuang Prince, titled Wude Star Lord. The Thunderbolt Left Vice Minister shall be Xiangling, titled Tai Miao Chonghua Primordial Monarch, and the Right Vice Minister shall be Wu Chen, titled Eight Sceneries Primordial Mother."

Male officials were titled True Monarchs, while female officials were titled Primordial Monarchs.

Wu Chen's unique status as the ruler of the Eight Sceneries World earned her the Primordial Mother title.

"Yuanbo shall be titled Emperor Xia Yin, Primordial Heavenly Emperor, governing the affairs of the underworld."

"Lu Mingyang shall be titled Spirit Civic King of Xia Capital, Weiling True Monarch, overseeing all City Gods worldwide."

"Heavenly Slaughter shall be titled Spirit Origin Water Uncle, Spirit Origin True Monarch, overseeing all water bodies worldwide."

"Xiao Xuan shall be titled Taiyue True God, Tai Mountain True Monarch, overseeing all Mountain Gods worldwide."

"Pei Yu shall be titled Lady Miao Ling, Lingying Primordial Monarch, overseeing all spirits of stone, wood, iron, water, and flowers worldwide."

"The Divine Turtle shall be titled Emperor Jin Xuan, Demon Clan Grandmaster, assisting the Demon Emperor in governance of the Demon Clan worldwide."

The titles had been prearranged with the higher-ups. Initially, the intention was to crown the Divine Turtle as the Demon Emperor. However, it adamantly declined, stating that traces of the Xiezhi's presence had been located in the Great Desert and that it was still alive. It insisted on waiting for the Xiezhi to return and assume the Demon Emperor role.

"Gu Yuchan shall be titled Lei De True Monarch, … among the Five Thunder Department Spiritual Monarchs, … among the Twelve Thunder Department Generals, … among the Thirty-Six Thunder Department Messengers."

"Lu Yunsheng shall be titled Fire De True Monarch, Lu Yunqing shall be a Spiritual Monarch of the Fire Department, overseeing mortal flames, weaponry, and alchemy."

"Wang Ziyue shall be titled Bingde True Monarch, governing all weapons worldwide..."

"Yan Jiuge shall be titled Eight Sceneries Infinite Sword Master, Mysterious Sword Technique Monarch."

Positions for the prominent figures within each department, as well as their deputies, were all allocated.

Next came the array of honorary titles for various key mountains, rivers, valleys, seas, mortal guardians, and independent cultivators.

Though these bearers held no real power, their titles guaranteed a position in Kunlun.

These individuals naturally weren't granted True Monarch titles.

Song Lin's plan was to title Primordial Spirit cultivators as True Monarchs, Harmonization cultivators as Emperors, and Innate Divine Beings as Star Lords.

Even Shi Yinhua and the others, yet to achieve Primordial Spirit, were granted True Monarch titles. Their breakthroughs, however, were imminent due to the support of the Ancestral Court.

Beneath this tier, appointments would be based on merit.

Crossing tribulations typically resulted in titles such as Spirit Monarch, Divine Monarch, or other royal or deified designations.

At lower cultivation stages, titles like Protector, Spirit Official, Independent Immortal, General, or Heavenly Official were common.

Song Lin lacked the interest to invent names anymore. Titles defaulted to the cultivator's original Taoist name or rank.

Those without significant contributions were left to self-title based on previous standards.

Harmonization equated to immortals, Primordial Spirits to Earth Immortals, tribulation crossers to Human Immortals, Purple Mansion cultivators to Independent Immortals, Core Formation to Wandering Immortals, Divine Establishment to True Persons.

Even latecomers like Yangg Xiao and Jianxin received positions. Yangg Xiao was titled National Guardian God, while Jianxin was straightforwardly titled Xuanzong Immortal, revealing Song Lin's careless naming habits.

"That concludes the regulations for the Ancestral Court," Song Lin announced.

Since they had not yet unified the world, the stars, or acquired enough of the Great Dao, many titles remained purely formal, with no real authority. Not even Star Lords had been appointed.

True authority, of course, would come in time.

However, the granting of titles and promises could not wait indefinitely.

With increased territories, formal titles became essential; the subordinates would demand no less.

Of course, Song Lin tactfully refrained from assuming titles such as Great Emperor or Heavenly Emperor. Not even for himself did he adopt such lofty titles. Those could wait until after the Demon Clan was defeated.

Eastern King was his primary designation; perhaps in the future, he might adopt a title like Shenxiao Heavenly Emperor for external purposes.

But that was a matter for the days to come.

"Your humble minister pays respects to the Divine Lord!"

Divine Lord was now the universal title for the Master of the Heavenly Court.

The former members of the Donghua Taoist Alliance were ecstatic. Had they truly achieved immortality?

According to the Ancestral Court's divisions, those above Purple Mansion cultivation could reside in Kunlun's upper layers, enjoying the red water that rendered them immortal.

Core Formation and Divine Establishment cultivators, meanwhile, saw their lifespans extended by three to ten times.

"Rise. Return and reorganize your respective departments, appoint deputy officials, restore vitality, and prepare for the northern expedition to come."

"By your command!"

The Heavenly Court's structuring was complete, and the gods returned to their positions.

The future agenda was clear: start with the conquest of Moyu Country, locate the Xiezhi, and claim victory. Song Lin already had his eye on the Moyu Qilin as his future steed.