Douluo II in Deep Water and Scorching Fire, Tang San the Beast!

[Heavenly Screen Betting!]

[Yu Xiaogang bet his Martial Soul, Luo Sanpao, which contained a trace of Golden Sacred Dragon blood. If his bet succeeds, his Martial Soul can evolve into the God-Level Martial Soul, Golden Sacred Dragon!]

A notification from the Heavenly Screen rang through the Three Realms.

For a moment, everyone was dumbstruck.

"Holy shit, a successful bet turns a Trash Martial Soul into an SSS-Rank God-Level Martial Soul on the spot? Are you kidding me?"

"Rigged! This is rigged! Why does that useless Yu Xiaogang get to bet twice?"

"If his first bet succeeds, Yu Xiaogang becomes a Level 99 Limit Douluo on the spot. And the second one evolves his Martial Soul into a God-Level Martial Soul. Is he the Heavenly Screen's favorite nephew or something?"

When they saw the betting notification, nobody could sit still.

On the Comparison Arena—

[Ding! Yu Xiaogang went all in, betting his Martial Soul on you.]

Tang San shuddered as he heard the notification.

His eyes reddened with emotion. He raised his head and fixed Tang Wulin with a resolute stare.

"Teacher, that first comparison was an accident. Huo Yuhao had an unfair advantage."

"This time, I'll take you back to the top and win back everything you lost!"

[Ding! Wu Changkong went all in, betting his Two-Word Battle Armor on you.]

[Wu Changkong bet his Two-Word Battle Armor. If his bet succeeds, it can transform into Four-Word Battle Armor!]

Rumble!

In the Douluo III Era, during the time of the Peerless Dragon King, everyone went wild when Wu Changkong bet his Two-Word Battle Armor and the Heavenly Screen announced he could receive Four-Word Battle Armor if he won.

Battle Armor did not exist as a concept in Douluo I or Douluo II. But in Douluo III, it was the mightiest weapon of war.

In the right hands, Three-Word Battle Armor was enough to rival a peak Super Douluo.

Four-Word Battle Armor meant combat power at the Limit level, or even the Demigod level!

On the Heavenly Screen's Comparison Arena, Tang Wulin felt immense pressure all at once.

"Battle Armor... Teacher Wu even wagered his most precious Battle Armor!"

Tang Wulin had learned about Battle Armor when he was eleven. At a tournament when he was ten, he had seen Wu Changkong summon his Battle Armor to fight, raising his strength from that of a Six-Ring Soul Emperor to the level of a Soul Douluo.

It was, without question, Wu Changkong's most precious possession.

I never thought Teacher believed in me this much.

I can't lose. I can't lose. I absolutely can't lose!

With Teacher's Battle Armor riding on my shoulders, I absolutely can't lose!

Below the arena, Huo Yuhao looked up at Tang San and Tang Wulin as they grew serious, then turned a thoughtful gaze toward the Heavenly Screen.

The Heavenly Screen certainly had its methods. By letting their closest teachers place the bets, it made throwing the match impossible by any means.

Yu Xiaogang had wagered his Martial Soul. If he lost his Soul Power and then his Martial Soul, Tang San would be too ashamed to face him as his disciple.

Wu Changkong had wagered his most important Battle Armor for no other reason than to make Tang Wulin take his comparison with Tang San seriously and give it everything he had.

But could Tang Wulin really beat Tang San?

Ordinarily, Tang Wulin had a cultivation system two eras more advanced than Tang San's in Douluo III. His combat ability was stronger from the start—far stronger, even.

But Tang San had Hidden Weapons. In Douluo I, Hidden Weapons could even kill Titled Douluo, absurd as that was.

Since you helped me before, I'll make this comparison a little harder for Tang San.

A cold smile slowly curled Huo Yuhao's lips.

[The comparison officially... begins!]

The instant the comparison began, Huo Yuhao spoke right on cue. Tang San, about to use the Blue Silver Grass Formula, stopped in his tracks.

"Spirit Hall, what are you still standing around for?"

"Don't you know the future Sea God Tang San will destroy Spirit Hall?"

"Don't you know that after the selfish Tang San destroys Spirit Hall, no Soul Master will awaken Martial Souls for Commoners for free ever again?"

Those words set the Three Realms ablaze.

In the Douluo I Era—

"What? Spirit Hall will be destroyed? Ordinary people like us won't get free Martial Soul awakenings or free Soul Power tests anymore?"

"Tang San, how can you be so selfish?"

"I thought Tang San would become a good god for our era, that our lives would get so much better once he ascended. Now you're telling me that after enjoying Spirit Hall's free Martial Soul awakenings and tests himself, he casually destroys it? And our descendants won't get those benefits?"

It was not just Spirit Hall, now aware that Sea God Tang San would destroy it, that could not sit still. Every ordinary person in the Douluo I Era was up in arms too.

How many Soul Masters were there in the Douluo I Era? Fewer than a hundred thousand, surely. Out of a population in the tens of millions, they barely accounted for one in a thousand.

Spirit Hall's free Martial Soul awakenings and Soul Power tests had won the people's hearts. Those who became Soul Masters could even collect Gold Soul Coins to support their families. The money came from the Two Great Empires, but without Spirit Hall, would those empires have paid it willingly?

In the first part of "Douluo Continent," ordinary people lived happily. Soul Masters did not kill at will, nor did Evil Soul Masters run rampant, because Spirit Hall kept a stern watch over them. People still had hope—the hope of becoming Soul Masters—because Spirit Hall awakened Martial Souls and tested Soul Power for free.

But Douluo II was different.

In the Douluo II Era, Huo Yuhao's words broke countless people who had reached adulthood without ever receiving an awakening ceremony.

"Tang San, fuck your mother!"

In the Douluo III Era—

"What's going on in Douluo II? Aren't the Federation and the Spirit Pagoda responsible for awakening people's Martial Souls for free?"

Through the comments, people in the Douluo II Era learned that in Douluo I, Spirit Hall had kept Soul Masters from causing trouble and Evil Soul Masters from killing at will. Martial Soul awakenings were free, and those with Soul Power talent could even be recommended to academies as work-study students at no cost.

In the Douluo III Era, the Spirit Pagoda founded by Huo Yuhao, the Federation, and the empires all had policies providing free Martial Soul awakenings and Soul Power tests.

Those in Douluo II who had never had their Martial Souls awakened—not by adulthood, not even by old age—finally snapped.

For most of the Douluo II timeline, people were either at war with the Sun Moon Empire or hunting Evil Soul Masters. Nobody awakened Martial Souls for free. Awakening a Martial Soul cost money.

And as if that were not enough, Evil Soul Masters erupted into violence from time to time. The common people lived in deep water and scorching fire.

Even some with heaven-defying talent awakened their Martial Souls on their own and underwent possession, only to be mistaken for Evil Soul Masters. In the end, they actually became Evil Soul Masters and took furious revenge.

Douluo I exploded. Once its people learned that Tang San would destroy Spirit Hall and rob their descendants of any chance to rise in life, they exploded.

Douluo II erupted even more fiercely.

"You beast! Sea God Tang San, you animal! You destroyed Spirit Hall, so there's no one to awaken Martial Souls or test Soul Power for free, and not enough people to deal with Evil Soul Masters. You really are a fucking beast!"

[Douluo I, Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire: "Everyone, don't panic. The Sea God was born in my Heaven Dou Empire. I swear that from now on, my empire will awaken Martial Souls for free... Anyone in the Douluo II Era who never had their Martial Soul awakened, come to the Heaven Dou Empire. We'll make it up to you!"]

Seeing Xue Ye's comment, Huo Yuhao's lips slowly curled into a cold smile.

"Make it up to them? Like hell you will."

"Your Heaven Dou Empire backed Tang San in destroying Spirit Hall. Ten thousand years later, your empire split apart. There is no Heaven Dou Empire anymore."

Rumble!

Xue Ye spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Blegh!"

"Beast! Tang San, you beast!"

Meanwhile, on the Comparison Arena, Tang San was unsettled by Huo Yuhao's words. The Heavenly Screen comments flooding his mind were packed with the same four characters: "Tang San the beast." Tang Wulin closed in swiftly and sent him flying with a punch.

Pfft!

Tang San spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Bastard! Heavenly Screen, I want to report Huo Yuhao for interfering with my comparison!"