"Hierarchy of Angels"

"All right, one last question."

Huo Yuhao nodded, accepting Qian Daoliu's explanation, then said, "Da Jiao—the Starlight Unicorn that guided me into the Spirit Realm—gestured for me to absorb the Soul Ring you produced. It even said outright, 'Your Spirit Eye Martial Soul will evolve into something that surpasses the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul.' What did that mean? What connection is there between the Spirit Eye and the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul?"

Qian Daoliu smiled faintly. "That requires an explanation starting with the hierarchy of angels. However, this system is far too complicated, and I will explain it to you gradually in the future. For now, you only need to know one thing: the image of the Spirit Eye is the closest thing to a Seraphim. It is a Martial Soul only one step away from the true form of a mythological creature. As your Martial Soul continues to merge with different powers and grow stronger, you will draw ever closer to the noble and incomparable form of the Seraphim."

Huo Yuhao keenly noticed that whenever Qian Daoliu mentioned angels, his tone became distinctly more reverent and solemn. Even his form of address had changed from "you" to the more respectful "Your."

Perhaps realizing that Huo Yuhao had not heard enough, Qian Daoliu paused before continuing. "Angel Martial Souls are a broad category, and there are still distinctions of rank among them. Qian Nixiu, the third Hall Master of Spirit Hall, once published an article titled 'Hierarchy of Angels,' which divided Angel Martial Souls into three ranks and nine orders—the hierarchy of angels."

"In 'Hierarchy of Angels,' angels are divided into upper, middle, and lower ranks. The upper three orders are the Holy Hierarchy: Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. The middle three orders are the Hierarchy of the Son: Dominions, Virtues, and Powers. The lower three orders are the Hierarchy of the Holy Spirit: Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. The higher an angel's rank, the further its form departs from the human shape."

"That is the true reason Da Jiao said that the Spirit Eye Martial Soul has the potential to evolve beyond the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. The Six-Winged Angel—or rather, the Holy Angel Martial Soul—has had its upper limit fixed from the moment it takes on a human form. They exist as bridges of communication between the Mother of All Souls and mortals. It was precisely because of this that the Spirit Hall of old could—"

Qian Daoliu suddenly stopped halfway through, as though reminiscing about something, before continuing. "The true form of a Seraphim is a massive golden Vertical Pupil, with six pairs of enormous wings burning with Golden Flame behind it. That is the true Six-Winged Angel. The Six-Winged Angels people often speak of can, in essence, only be called Three-Winged Angels. But none of that means much anymore. Among the Angel Martial Souls passed down on Douluo Continent today, Archangels have likely long since ceased to exist. Perhaps only the most ordinary Angel Martial Souls still remain in the world."

By this point, Qian Daoliu's tone carried obvious wistfulness. After listening to his account, Huo Yuhao's doubts were mostly dispelled.

After chatting idly with Qian Daoliu for a while longer, Huo Yuhao stopped talking and seized every moment to cultivate. He had only recently broken through to level eleven, so he still needed to stabilize his cultivation.

The night passed without incident. Only when the sky slowly began to pale did Huo Yuhao emerge from cultivation. Though his talent had improved somewhat over the past few years through dietary supplements and fortunate encounters, he was still far behind those true Heavenly Prides. It was difficult for him even to catch a glimpse of their backs. A full night of cultivation had only barely allowed him to stabilize his realm.

Still, Huo Yuhao took it in stride. Cultivation speed was all relative. He could not compare to freaks like Brother Long, who had reached level fifty in his teens and might challenge the Soul Saint realm before turning twenty. But compared with the self who had only just awakened Soul Power in the past, if he had once traveled on two legs, then now, even if he had not boarded an Earth Dragon Carriage, he was at least riding in a four-legged horse-drawn carriage.

Being content brought happiness—or rather, having something was better than having nothing. That was one of Huo Yuhao's notably optimistic principles in life.

After resting peacefully at home for several days and preparing many different delicious dishes for Huo Yun'er, Huo Yuhao had also packed up nearly everything that needed to be taken from the house. The combination of Soul Guidance Heat Lamps and glazed tiles worked exceptionally well, allowing the spices in Huo Yuhao's possession to be cultivated reliably. Though Huo Yuhao did not know that this was actually a technique known as greenhouse cultivation, he had indeed figured out something similar in order to secure a stable source of spices.

After setting a mere level-two Soul Guidance Cannonball to detonate on a timer, Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er finished preparing and walked out through the back gate of the residence in plain sight. The blast of a Soul Guidance Cannonball was simply too distinctive, immediately drawing away everyone watching the rear entrance. Many of the factions keeping watch cursed inwardly. Which faction was so unruly that it had actually used a Soul Guidance Cannonball to blow up the gate? Were they planning to monopolize the wealth inside this residence?!

Huo Yuhao naturally could not be bothered to understand the petty scheming between the residence's former owner and the various factions of Star Luo City. After using a level-two Soul Guidance Cannonball to blast his own front gate into the sky, Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er found it as easy to leave the house as if they were heading into the countryside for an outing.

After walking to the gates of Star Luo City, they found an Earth Dragon Carriage already waiting there, seemingly having arrived early for them. Huo Yuhao boarded the carriage directly, exchanged verification with the driver, and only set off on the journey to Shrek Academy after confirming everything was correct.

In truth, an Earth Dragon Carriage was not much faster than a horse-drawn carriage, yet renting one cost more than triple the price. Renting a horse-drawn carriage from Star Luo to Shrek Academy cost less than one Gold Soul Coin, while renting an Earth Dragon Carriage to Shrek cost at least three Gold Soul Coins. It also came with many additional expenses that horse-drawn carriages did not have.

Under normal circumstances, Huo Yuhao would never spend even a single coin on an Earth Dragon Carriage. He would not even pay for an ordinary horse-drawn carriage, since both of them were actually slower than running on his own two legs. To him, they were nothing but a waste of money.

However, considering that his mother was not a Soul Master and had always suffered from poor health, Huo Yuhao made the decision without hesitation and rented an Earth Dragon Carriage renowned for its stability and safety. After all, the creatures that pulled Earth Dragon Carriages were always Earth Dragons—production-type Soul Beasts with formidable Endurance and relatively gentle temperaments.

Although the vast majority of Earth Dragons pulling these carriages had only pitiful ten-year cultivation, they were still ten-year Soul Beasts, not something ordinary horses could compare to. Even a ten-year Wind Baboon could spit out a white beam of light in one breath! Unless a bandit group had Soul Masters among them—or were desperate with hunger—no one was willing to rob someone riding in an Earth Dragon Carriage.

"Hierarchy of Angels" was originally written by Dionysius, an early medieval Middle Eastern scholar. It established the three ranks and nine orders of angels, from Angels to Seraphim—the hierarchy of angels. The theory of the three ranks and nine orders was recognized by early Christians. In the sixth century, Pope Gregory I wrote in Commentary on the Gospels: "Those who take angels as their example will draw close to the realm of God." This was called the Angel Imitation Theory, and it amounted to the Church's recognition of "Hierarchy of Angels."

However, after 745, the Church largely abandoned its recognition of "Hierarchy of Angels." Today, neither the Church nor angelology discusses the theory of nine orders. Still, the nine-order theory works wonderfully in literary works no matter how it is used, so the Angel Martial Souls here will continue to follow the theory of nine orders.