The Foundation of an Imperial Court, the Celestial Star Divine Tree

The next day.

On the vast Sacrificial Plaza.

Li Youming and Jiu Shaoge, the two Temple Keepers, stood atop an immense altar erected overnight.

The altar stood forty-nine zhang high, with tier upon tier of steps rising from its base to its summit.

Li Youming stood at the top, with Jiu Shaoge one step behind him.

Both wore ceremonial finery, their expressions solemn.

Below the altar.

Li Deyang stood in an imperial robe and crown, his bearing majestic.

Behind him, the civil and military officials stretched back in four ranks, solemn and dignified.

On the other side stood the officials of Temple Keeper Hall. Dressed in Chief Priest robes of their respective ranks, they likewise formed four ranks extending into the distance, their presence no weaker than that of the civil and military officials.

Divine authority and imperial authority were as distinct as the Jing and Wei rivers, yet joined in harmony.

Farther away.

The armies of the Great Zhen Holy Dynasty stood in formation, their killing intent soaring into the sky.

Among them were the early Eight Desolations Army, Pagoda Army, and Mystic Yellow Army, as well as the Vast Sea Army, Immeasurable Army, Demon Extermination Army, Immortal Slaying Army, Four Pacification Army, and others established later.

In every army, both the commander and deputy commander were necessarily peak Great Saints.

Their senior generals were necessarily Saints as well.

Even mid- to upper-ranking officers needed Sub-Saint cultivation to hold their posts.

As for the most ordinary soldiers, they needed Ninth Order Ancestral Return Realm cultivation.

In the former Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty, such people had been called Kings, capable of sweeping across a region.

But in the Great Zhen Holy Dynasty of today, they were mere foot soldiers.

And recently—

Grand Marshal of Military Affairs Li Xiuwu had proposed