Within the Seven-Layered Heavenly Palace of the Heavenly Court, in the main hall of the Human Department, Emperor Lord Houyuan Renzhao, head of the Human Department, was angered for the rarest of reasons.
The Heavenly Court governed the celestial vault, starry seas, sun, moon, mountains, and rivers of the Three Realms Great Thousand World. It oversaw the thirteen continents and four seas of the mortal world, its territory beyond measure and its living beings as countless as the sands of the Ganges.
Thus, the Heavenly Court divided its affairs among the Thirty-Six Departments, Seventy-Two Academies, and One Hundred and Eight Mansions, while the Seventy-Two Academies and One Hundred and Eight Mansions were in turn under the jurisdiction of the Thirty-Six Departments.
Of the Thirty-Six Departments, the Twelve Upper Departments held the highest status: the four battle departments of Wind, Thunder, Star, and Year; the five element departments of Water, Fire, Metal, Wood, and Earth; and the three talents departments of Heaven, Earth, and Human.
Among them, Wind, Thunder, Star, and Year administered heavenly might, heavenly punishment, battle, and conquest. The Star Department in particular governed every celestial star beneath the heavens save for the sun and moon; it could be said to possess immense power and profound foundations. The Five Elements Departments, meanwhile, separately governed the five elemental forces of the world. As the five elements were the roots of creation and the foundations of the world itself, their authority and standing were likewise immense.
Of the Heaven, Earth, and Human Departments, the Heaven Department oversaw the evaluations, promotions, punishments, and judgments of the Heavenly Court's heavenly officials and immortal clerks. The Earth and Human Departments oversaw the evaluations and punishments of mortal-world mountain gods, earth deities, water gods, and river earls.
Though the Heavenly Court nominally governed the thirteen