The Underworld Cycle, a Clash with the Gods

The Northern Underworld Continent was home to all manner of Soul Beasts from Douluo Star's four continents, countless secret realms, and scattered islands.

Among them, dragon Soul Beasts were too numerous to count. After the Dragon God fell, many True Dragons and Dragon Kings died, and the dragon clans swiftly declined.

Only a few surviving bloodlines remained hidden, hoping to contact the Dragon God's two halves, the Silver Dragon King and the Golden Dragon King, and defeat the hypocritical gods of the Divine Realm.

Around Bei Mingyuan, however, lay a special barrier that blocked all prying eyes from the Divine Realm. It could shelter the dragons.

Pressed by circumstance and welcomed by Bei Mingyuan's warm hospitality, nearly every True Dragon entered the Northern Underworld Continent. There, they rested and multiplied, preparing for the coming war.

It was no exaggeration to say that Soul Beasts bearing Dragon King bloodlines were countless on the Northern Underworld Continent.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon of the Northern Underworld Continent ranked so highly because he descended from True Dragons, unlike a lesser dragon such as Yu Yuanzhen, who possessed only a trace of their bloodline.

With Bei Mingyuan presiding over the Northern Underworld Continent, humans and the Soul Beast Clan were not mortal enemies. On the contrary, they lived in harmony.

Drawing on the Underworld from his previous life, Bei Mingyuan had devised a method for cycling energy.

When Soul Beasts and Soul Masters died, they left behind Soul Rings if their cultivation exceeded a thousand years.

Those Soul Rings did not dissipate with their owners' deaths. Instead, a receiving device Bei Mingyuan had made stored them until the next destined person came along.

The souls of the dead were placed in a special space resembling the Underworld, where their memories were erased before they were reincarnated.

Soul Masters and Soul Beasts could be reborn as either kind. The process repeated, forming a perpetual cycle.

Of course, none of this could have worked without Bei Mingyuan's help. This law also allowed humans and Soul Beasts on the Northern Underworld Continent to live together in peace and good cheer. Some even married across the divide.

In effect, Bei Mingyuan had remade the entire continent into a world of his own, a world apart from Douluo Star.

As Yu Yuanzhen roared across the Bullet Comments, looking utterly unable to believe what he had heard, Di Huaiying, the Chancellor, could bear it no longer.

[Di Huaiying: Your name is Yu Yuanzhen, correct? I am Di Huaiying, Chancellor of the Northern Underworld Empire.

Frankly, I advise you not to be like Yu Xiaogang, a frog in a tiny kingdom proclaiming himself great because he thinks he has found the truth!

The world is vast. Don't imagine you are so strong that no one under heaven can defeat you. That is how a fool thinks!

Beyond Douluo Continent lies a far wider sky. Being a frog at the bottom of a well will get you nowhere.]

[Di Huaiying: And if you still refuse to accept it, once our two continents meet, I will petition His Majesty to arrange a sparring match between you and our Soul Masters. Then you will believe what I've said.]

At Di Huaiying's words, Yu Yuanzhen fell into thought.

He was not a stubborn man. He knew there was always someone stronger. He simply could not accept, all at once, that the Martial Soul he took such pride in ranked outside the top hundred.

Now that he had a chance to visit the Northern Underworld Continent and learn from it, he felt tempted.

For one thing, he wanted to see how strong the Northern Underworld Empire was.

For another, if its Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was powerful, he could bring him under his command and gain an ally.

Yes, even now, he naively believed his own Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was the strongest. Long Wei's words were merely an attempt to intimidate him.

[Yu Yuanzhen: Then you have my thanks, Lord Di. Please be sure to tell the North Nether Great Emperor. When the time comes, I would welcome the chance to learn from you.]

[Bei Mingxue: That will be easy enough. The Northern Underworld Empire welcomes all who come with goodwill.

We will honor our ancestors' teaching: if others do not attack us, we will not attack them. If they do, we will repay them a hundredfold!]

[Bei Mingxue: Those words are not only for you. They are for everyone on Douluo Continent!

If you sincerely come to learn and exchange knowledge, we will treat you with courtesy. But if anyone harbors other intentions, do not blame this Empress for showing no mercy and razing your Douluo Continent to the ground!]

The domineering words on the Sky Screen stunned everyone into silence.

Confidence and authority filled every line Bei Mingxue had written. In her eyes, those Title Douluo seemed not like mighty experts, but ants she could crush with a flick of her hand.

A moment later, a new name appeared on the Douluo Sky Screen: Qian Daoliu.

Ning Fengzhi and Yu Yuanzhen frowned at the sight. The younger generation might not know that name, but they knew it all too well.

Qian Xunji's father. Spirit Hall's strongest combatant. The Level 99 Limit Douluo hailed as invincible beneath the heavens: Qian Daoliu!

Inside Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong could not help turning toward the Worship Hall. She had not expected him to join the Sky Screen's live chat too.

[Qian Daoliu: North Nether Great Emperor, I am Qian Daoliu, a Consecration Elder of Spirit Hall. I have spoken up because there are a few things I would like to ask you.]

[Bei Mingxue: Oh? What would you like to ask?]

[Qian Daoliu: General Long Wei said that both Soul Beasts' Tribulation Lightning and the limits imposed by Soul Rings on Soul Masters were the work of Gods. Do you have evidence?]

[Bei Mingxue: Evidence? What sort of evidence do you want?]

[Qian Daoliu: It is not that I refuse to believe you. But slandering Gods without proof may bring divine punishment.]

[Bei Mingxue: Absurd. The Gods you speak of are nothing but false gods—cowards hiding in their so-called Divine Realm because the Dragon God frightened them.]

[Bei Mingxue: As for evidence... Heh. The Northern Underworld Empire has dealt with those so-called Gods firsthand!]

Everyone on Douluo Continent was shocked. They had never imagined the Northern Underworld Empire would make such a startling claim. It had actually dealt with Gods?

Qian Daoliu's eyes widened.

[Qian Daoliu: Impossible! The Gods reside far away in the Divine Realm. How could they have had anything to do with your Northern Underworld Continent?

To think the ruler of an empire would tell such an outrageous lie! How laughable!]

[Bei Mingxue: Laughable? You are the laughable one! No, not laughable—ignorant! Childish!

Tell me, what reason would this Empress have to deceive you?

Those so-called Gods are no mysterious beings. They are humans who transcended Level 100 and evolved into a higher order of life!]

[Bei Mingxue: Do you know how long the Northern Underworld Continent has existed?

A full two hundred thousand years! And the Northern Underworld Empire has stood for fifty thousand years!

To put it bluntly, when our empire was founded, your ancestors were still primitive people!

It is only natural that your so-called Gods could have dealt with us and that we would have records of it!

According to imperial records, the Northern Underworld Empire once came into conflict with a god wielding a Trident. As for how it ended...]

Bei Mingxue did not say how it ended, but judging by the Northern Underworld Empire's present strength, the god must have failed.