Abundance's Gaze, Upheaval in the Divine Realm!

"Enough. Stop playing." Huo Yuhao tapped the table, pulling the fools frantically flooding their group chat on their Jade Abacuses back to their senses. "This is the Jade Abacus's first field trial. At the end of the week, organize your usage data and any problems you encountered, then send them to me."

"Don't worry, boss! We'll get it done!" Cao Jinxuan raised his hand first, grinning from ear to ear.

Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched.

He never worried about the girls; they were dependable. But the boys? Who knew what nonsense they would get up to with their Jade Abacuses? Their reports might turn out to be nothing but records of them flooding the group chat.

A week later, in a private room on the second floor of the Hearth's Home Flagship Store by Shrek City's east gate.

The warm, sweet scent of pastries mingled with the aroma of milk tea. Downstairs, customers packed the store; business was booming on its opening day.

Inside the private room, however, the atmosphere was cold as an ice cellar.

Huo Yuhao leaned back in his chair, turning his cup of milk tea between his fingertips. He calmly regarded Dai Huabin, whose face was livid, and Dai Yueheng, whose gaze was dark and cold.

"I've accepted the compensation, and I've heard your private apology." He set down his cup. His tone was even, but it left no room for negotiation. "Next week, you'll kneel before the Seven God Statue in front of the entire academy, recount every detail of how you hired someone to kill me, and publicly repent. Then we're done."

"Huo Yuhao! Don't push it!" Dai Huabin slammed the table and shot to his feet, eyes bloodshot and chest heaving. "The Duke's Mansion has already made a concession by compensating you, and you still dare demand that I kneel in public?!"

"Junior Huo, it's best to leave yourself a way out." Dai Yueheng spoke slowly. With a turn of his fingers, a Soul Bone appeared on the table, gleaming white and radiating powerful waves of Soul Power. "This is a Ten Thousand Year White Tiger torso bone. It may not be a perfect match for a Psychic Soul Master, but it's still worth a fortune. Add two Thousand-Year Soul Bones, and we'll double the materials as well. Settle this privately, and they're all yours."

Huo Yuhao's gaze swept over the Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, then returned to Dai Yueheng's face. He gave a soft laugh.

Was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone precious? Of course it was.

But to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, a former royal family with ten thousand years of history and its eyes on the Star Luo Empire's throne, treasures were the least valuable thing it had. Its reputation was worth the most.

The Xu Family's imperial house was already wary of the Dai Family, descendants of the former royal line. They would love nothing more than an excuse to sling mud at them.

Once Dai Huabin's hiring of a killer was publicly confirmed, the Duke's Mansion's standing would plunge to rock bottom. Its path to the throne would be cut off for good.

Huo Yuhao could see exactly what Dai Yueheng was calculating.

"There's no room for negotiation." Huo Yuhao rose, his tone firm as iron. "Either repent in public or go through the academy's official procedures. Those are your choices. Take your time deciding."

With that, he turned and left without another glance at the Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone on the table.

"Huo Yuhao! You dare humiliate me like this? I'll never let you off!" Dai Huabin screamed at his retreating back, his voice thick with venom.

"Idiot!" Dai Yueheng's temples throbbed with anger. He backhanded Dai Huabin across the face and cursed, "You can't accomplish a thing, but you're brilliant at ruining everything!"

He could not afford to think about fighting for the throne now. His first priority was protecting the Duke's Mansion's reputation.

If Dai Huabin kept making trouble, he would drag the entire family down with him.

Dai Yueheng swept out of the room, leaving Dai Huabin alone.

Dai Huabin clutched his cheek, venom almost spilling from his eyes.

"Why... why don't I have more power?" He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms and drew blood. "If I were strong enough to crush everything, what would Huo Yuhao be worth? I'd be a thousand times, ten thousand times stronger than him!"

His obsession surged through the air, almost tangible.

Suddenly, a heavy drowsiness swept over him. White flashed before Dai Huabin's eyes, and his consciousness plunged into a space of pure white.

He struggled to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was a face lowered toward him.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, with a smile of compassion for all living beings. A faint herbal fragrance lingered around the figure. Stranger still, They had six arms. Each hand held a strand of pale golden light that hung down around Them.

The Aeon of Abundance, Yaoshi.

"May all sentient beings obtain all that they seek."

The vast, ethereal voice echoed through the space, neither near nor far, as though carved directly into the depths of his soul.

Before Dai Huabin could react, a warm yet overbearing power surged into every limb and bone. His mismatched eyes turned an eerie green-gold. Fine cracks like bloodshot false eyes spread from their corners, while a dark golden tiger-stripe mark appeared between his brows and slowly writhed as if alive.

Dark golden patterns spread along the veins of his neck, arms, and calves. They clung to his skin, glowing with a gentle sheen.

Behind him, the phantom of the Evil-Eyed White Tiger appeared with a roar, but it had undergone a heaven-and-earth transformation:

It was far larger than the Evil-Eyed White Tiger, its torso powerful but its contours uncanny. Porcelain-white fur formed its base, covered in dark gilded patterns running from top to bottom. The markings began between its brows, followed its spine to the tip of its tail, and branched across its shoulders, back, and limbs. They rose and fell slightly with its breathing, as though alive.

The tiger's head had lost its mismatched evil eyes. In their place stood a pair of dark golden slit pupils, surrounded by pale gold down. Its fangs showed slightly, their tips gleaming translucent amber. Pale golden light drifted with each breath, carrying the faintest scent of plants.

"Merciful Medicine King, Ambrosial Arbor burgeons. Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, of one heart, ascend together to bliss."

"Merciful Medicine King, Ambrosial Arbor burgeons. Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, of one heart, ascend together to bliss."

The chant echoed again and again. Dai Huabin recited along without realizing it, his eyes wavering between madness and clarity until madness and malice swallowed them completely.

The Divine Realm, Sea God Temple.

Tang San stood in the center of the temple in deep blue divine robes. Looking at the miniature blue orb of Divine Sense before him, he nodded in satisfaction. "Mm... this avatar will do. I'll send it to Douluo Continent."

He had intended to use his turn on duty to send a wisp of Divine Sense to the lower realm: first to look after Tang Ya and the Tang Sect, and second to keep an eye on Huo Yuhao, that unpredictable variable.

He controlled the Divine Realm Center, after all. No one would be the wiser.

He flicked a finger, sending the little blue orb toward the Divine Realm Center. (I don't know exactly where one descends from the Divine Realm, but they all use the Center as a channel, so I'm treating it as the entrance. At this point, God King Tang can still control the Center.)

"Tang San! What are you doing?!"

Two figures suddenly appeared at the temple entrance. The God of Destruction wore purple-black divine robes, destructive power churning around him as he shouted.

The Goddess of Life stood beside him, her green dress swaying and surprise on her face.

Tang San's heart skipped a beat, but he betrayed nothing. Turning, he smiled. "Brother Destruction, Goddess of Life. Xiao Qi has been playing around in the lower realm, and I can't help worrying about her. I was going to send down a wisp of Divine Sense to watch over her. As a God Realm Enforcer, I know my limits. I would never interfere with the order of the lower realm."

"You'd better not." The God of Destruction frowned. He had already suspected Tang San of making one covert move after another lately, but he had no proof now. He turned his gaze toward Douluo Star to verify Tang San's words.

One look, and he froze.

What was he seeing?

The whole of Douluo Star had been sealed tight by nine distinct, overwhelming powers!

Trailblaze, Preservation, Destruction, Elation, Abundance, Nihility, The Hunt, The Permanence, Beauty, Remembrance—the powers of ten Paths had woven themselves into a net that wrapped the planet completely. Among them, the aura of The Hunt was still climbing, sharp and unstoppable.

The God of Destruction lost his composure. "Tang San! What on earth have you done?!"

Tang San paused, then hurriedly followed his gaze.

That one look left him dumbstruck too.

Nine powers outside the Divine Realm's system? He had nothing to do with this! How could he possibly pull off something on this scale?

"Brother Destruction, you can't go throwing accusations around." Tang San immediately shifted the blame, looking helpless. "You know the nature of my Divine Power. There isn't a trace of the Sea God or Asura God in any of these forces. But you and the Goddess of Life? That interwoven aura of life and destruction looks rather hard to separate from the two of you, doesn't it?"

The God of Destruction: "..."

There was no good answer to that.

Could he say they had just come by to watch the drama unfold? As if Tang San would believe him.

The Goddess of Life was stunned too. She blinked and silently complained, Can you believe this? We came out to check what he was up to, and somehow we became the story.

"Tang San, you give Life and me far too much credit." The God of Destruction laughed in exasperation and pointed at the web of light around the planet. "If we had that kind of power, we'd have had a child long ago. Would we be standing here wasting words on you? These forces don't belong to the Douluo God Realm's system at all!"

The Goddess of Life nodded furiously beside him. Exactly!

"Convene a full meeting of the Divine Realm immediately." The God of Destruction's expression turned grave. "Something has gone terribly wrong on Douluo Star. We need to get to the bottom of it at once!"

Shrek City, a private room on the second floor of the Hearth's Home Flagship Store.

"I feel incredible."

A sharp glint flashed through Dai Huabin's dark golden eyes. He stood, his bones cracking in a rapid series of pops as his Soul Power surged. It shot straight from level thirty-seven Soul Elder to level forty-three!

He flexed his fists, feeling the surging power within him, and a crazed smile curled his lips.

"Huo Yuhao... just wait." He licked his lips, malice filling his eyes. "Next time we meet, I'll make you kneel at my feet and beg for mercy!"

Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao had just left the House of the Hearth when the hair on his body suddenly stood on end. A powerful unease rose from the bottom of his heart.

The Heavenly Eye between his brows grew faintly warm, and his mental power spread of its own accord, but detected nothing unusual.

"What's going on?" Huo Yuhao stopped and frowned into the distance. "This ominous feeling... what is it?"

The setting sun stretched his shadow long across the ground.

The young man stood where he was, his eyes grave.

He had a vague intuition—

The peaceful days were probably coming to an end.

P.S. Excerpts from the Douluo Historical Records (incomplete)

According to the Douluo Xianzhou Empire, Divine Realm History, and Thousand-Star Travelogue, the one who received the gazes of the Reignbow Arbiter, the Skywanderer Lord, and the Lord of Eternal Joy was Huo Yuhao, the Lord commanding the Xianzhou. The one who received the gazes of the Reignbow Arbiter and the Lord of Nonbeing was Ye Guyi, the Ten-Lords Commission judge in charge of "Detention" and the second president of the Lionheart Club.

The Diviner Ning Tian received the gazes of the Heaven-Mending Arbiter and the Glimmer Lord. The Jade Martial General Gu Yuena received the gaze of the Dragon Arbiter. Long Aotian, leader of the Body Sect, received the gaze of the Annihilation Plagues Author.

Dai Huabin, an enemy of Lord Huo Yuhao, received the gaze of The Plagues Author.

To this day, we do not know whom the Lord of Clear Sight gazed upon.

—Douluo Xianzhou Empire · Cloud Knights · Destruction God King.