Fragile Douluo! Natural Disasters and Human Calamities Strike Together! The Asura God Has No Need for Them!

Chen Tian's confident words rang through the void. Outside Huaxia Star's Federal Council Hall, Xuan Yuan Tian and the other councilors burst into laughter.

A comparison of living standards?

That was the very thing Huaxia Star feared least!

After all, in the earlier comparison of military strength, Huaxia Star had already revealed reserves that left Douluo Star choking on its dust.

And now, the Sky Screen was actually going to compare living standards on the two planets.

What was this if not a free point handed to them?

"Hahaha! Comparing living standards with our Huaxia Star? Victory is practically ours for the taking!"

Xuan Yuan Tian clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the Sky Screen, his face brimming with undisguised amusement.

To him, the prosperity that Douluo Star's kingdoms and nobles took such pride in could not withstand close scrutiny.

Even setting everything else aside, Huaxia Star's current grain output, industrial production capacity, and planet-wide social support system were enough to make Douluo Star's so-called prosperity pale in comparison.

Moreover, Huaxia Star had someone whose presence put every Federation councilor completely at ease.

At that thought, Xuan Yuan Tian turned toward a nearby figure dressed in splendid robes, his entire body gleaming with golden light.

"Still, we ought to hear what the experts think."

"Shen Nong, what do you say?"

At that moment, Shen Nong was stroking his beard, a leisurely smile on his face.

As an important figure on Huaxia Star, he had always been cautious and rarely passed judgment before the facts were revealed.

Yet this time, even he was full of confidence in Huaxia Star's living standards.

"According to last year's economic accounts, Huaxia Star's overall living standards and capacity for economic development are both at a very high level."

At this point, Shen Nong suddenly called toward Zhao Gongming.

"If I remember correctly, you were the one responsible for compiling last year's economic data, weren't you?"

"Zhao Gongming, tell us about it!"

As Shen Nong's voice rang out, everyone's eyes immediately converged on the gleaming golden figure.

Zhao Gongming, Huaxia Star's God of Wealth, oversaw important economic affairs and was one of the people within the Federation who best understood how the entire planet's economy operated.

In economic development, commercial trade, and resource allocation, Zhao Gongming's words carried tremendous weight.

Zhao Gongming lightly straightened his sleeves. The smile gradually faded from his face, replaced by a solemn, serious expression.

"Since you've all raised the question, I'll say a few words."

He swept his gaze over the Federation councilors present, his voice ringing out clearly.

"I, Zhao Gongming, stake my reputation on this: Huaxia Star's economic development and living standards can absolutely withstand the Sky Screen's scrutiny!"

"After all, I am the God of Wealth!"

As those final words fell, that familiar, confident smile returned to Zhao Gongming's face.

Laughter immediately erupted around him.

But no one doubted Zhao Gongming's judgment because of it.

After all, everyone knew this God of Wealth's temperament.

Though he usually wore a cheerful smile, if someone actually questioned his professional competence in economic matters, the consequences would be far less pleasant.

Besides, Zhao Gongming was not someone who liked to make empty claims.

Since he dared give his assurance before everyone, it meant Huaxia Star's economy and living standards truly had solid foundations behind them.

"With the God of Wealth's assurance, I can rest easy!"

"Hahaha! Looks like our Huaxia Star will be opening Douluo Star's eyes again this round!"

"What's there to worry about? Don't we know what we eat and where we live every day?"

For a while, laughter and cheerful voices filled the area outside the Federal Council Hall.

As news of the Sky Screen's comparison continued to spread, Huaxia Star's ordinary citizens also sprang into action.

Countless posts quickly appeared on the Virtual World Exchange Forum.

[Hahaha! I'll go first! I earn a decent income working just a few hours a day, and I can spend the rest of my time with my family. Life couldn't be more comfortable!]

[Stop showing off, person above! I just had a meal at the cafeteria today, and wow, meat and vegetables, all kinds of dishes, whatever you want to eat!]

[You think that's impressive? My company's revenue went up again this quarter! At this rate, we'll be able to expand production next year!]

[Wait, are our living standards on Huaxia Star really that incredible? Every day just feels ordinary to me. Nothing special.]

[That's because you're already used to it! A stable job, enough food, medical treatment when you're sick, education for your children-these things are everyday life to us, but that isn't necessarily true for other civilizations!]

The posts kept refreshing, one after another.

Some showed off lavishly laid tables, others displayed comfortable, tidy homes, and still others shared their shops' earnings and everyday lives.

In the eyes of Huaxia Star citizens, these seemingly ordinary scenes were merely part of life.

But when those scenes were reflected through the Sky Screen and gradually reached the eyes of Douluo Star's people, everything became entirely different.

Douluo Star.

In a remote little city, a farmer in ragged clothes crouched on a street corner, staring at the tables laden with food on the Sky Screen without speaking for a long time.

There was meat, vegetables, and steaming rice on those tables.

There were even exquisite dishes whose names he did not know.

Yet the ordinary people of Huaxia Star in those images seemed long accustomed to it all.

Some ate while chatting and laughing with their companions.

Some casually sent their tableware off to be washed after finishing their meals.

Others discussed where they would go to relax after work.

Their easy, carefree manner stung the farmer's eyes.

He lowered his head and glanced at the dry, hard flatbread held against his chest.

This was his family's food for the day.

He had toiled in the fields for an entire day for these few pieces of flatbread.

Yet even then, he could not be sure whether he would have a full meal tomorrow.

"So... people can live like that, too."

The farmer murmured to himself, his eyes reddening before he knew it.

Similar scenes were playing out in every corner of Douluo Star.

The ordinary people scrambling for their three daily meals, the lowly soul masters running everywhere to scrape together a living-all were drawn to the images on the Sky Screen.

For the first time, they realized so vividly that life could take another form.

They need not worry about food every day, lose everything to a single illness, or exhaust a lifetime's strength merely to survive.

For Huaxia Star citizens, these things were nothing more than utterly ordinary daily life.

But for countless people living at the bottom of Douluo Star's society, they seemed like dreams forever beyond reach!

"Such suffering!"

A white-haired old man gazed at the Sky Screen and could not help letting out a long sigh.

"This is the life we lead on Douluo Star!"

"We're all living, breathing people. Why can they live like that, while we have to give everything just to stay fed and clothed?"

At those words, many people nearby fell silent.

They wanted to argue, only to discover they had nothing to say.

Because what the Sky Screen displayed was no elusive divine miracle.

It was a series of scenes from real life.

And that made it all the more painful.

Then the voice from the Sky Screen rang out again.

[For the vast majority of ordinary people on Douluo Star, what they have is a fragile economic foundation and lives filled with uncertainty.]

[On the Douluo Continent in particular, kingdoms wage war without end, noble factions undermine one another, and natural disasters and human calamities occur frequently.]

[A single severe natural disaster is enough to displace a million people and even claim countless lives.]

[And once war breaks out, conflicts between soul master factions and the various kingdoms may plunge tens of millions into misery!]

[For ordinary people on the Douluo Continent, natural disasters and human calamities are often hardships they cannot escape throughout their lives!]

As the Sky Screen's voice fell silent, countless people on Douluo Star felt their hearts sink.

Then the images on the Sky Screen abruptly changed.

Tragedies that had occurred on the Douluo Continent in the past began unfolding before everyone's eyes, one after another.

Floods swept away villages, and people fled for their lives, clutching their last remaining food.

Droughts ravaged fields, turning crops that had promised a rich harvest into withered yellow wasteland.

Wars erupted between kingdoms, and wherever the armies passed, villages and towns were caught in the fighting, their once-peaceful lives reduced to ruins in an instant.

And amid those disasters, ordinary people were always the most helpless.

They had neither powerful soul power nor the strength to change the situation.

Faced with natural disasters, they could only pray for heaven's mercy.

Faced with the flames of war, they could only flee from place to place with their families in tow.

Some did not even have the chance to escape before falling victim to disaster.

Beyond that, the Sky Screen also exposed, one by one, soul masters' oppression of ordinary people and the nobles' monopoly over land and resources.

In some places, a single word from a noble could strip ordinary people of land they had painstakingly farmed for years.

And those commoners, with neither backing nor strength, were not even given a chance to plead their case.

They could only bow their heads and silently accept their fate.

After all, in the world of the Douluo Continent, where soul masters wielded immense power, defending their own rights had always been an extraordinarily difficult task for the weak.

The images on the Sky Screen continued to shift.

Watching those all-too-familiar scenes, the people of Douluo Star finally could bear it no longer.

"Damn it! Why is it like this?"

"We break our backs farming, only for a natural disaster to leave us without a single grain! Yet the noble lords still demand their taxes!"

"And those soul masters who use their soul power to bully commoners-they always stand high above us. When have they ever truly cared whether we lived or died?"

"So it isn't that we haven't worked hard enough. This world simply leaves us no way to live!"

Angry voices rose from cities everywhere.

Many low-ranking soul masters also fell silent.

They too lived on the Douluo Continent, and naturally knew that the things shown on the Sky Screen had not been fabricated out of thin air.

Even though soul masters possessed greater strength than ordinary people, that did not mean they could live secure lives.

Low-ranking soul masters without powerful backing still had to scramble for cultivation resources.

When danger struck, they were even more likely than ordinary people to become casualties of conflict.

Meanwhile, those who truly held power could often use their status and strength to shift the cost of disasters onto those weaker than themselves.

At that moment, the way countless people on Douluo Star looked at the Sky Screen gradually began to change.

Once, they had thought this way of life was simply how things ought to be.

But now, after seeing ordinary people on another planet lead entirely different lives, they finally realized that everything they had grown accustomed to might not be their only choice.

Yet in contrast to the ordinary people's grief and indignation, the kings and nobles attending the Divine Realm Alliance conference wore entirely different expressions.

Seeing the Sky Screen turn its spearhead toward them, these pampered dignitaries could no longer sit still.

"Outrageous!"

A noble dressed in luxurious robes abruptly rose, pointing at the Sky Screen as he unleashed a torrent of abuse.

"We nobles work tirelessly to govern our territories. Is it wrong for us to enjoy a few comforts?"

"How could natural disasters and human calamities possibly be within our control?"

"Can we really be blamed for everything just because those commoners live poorly?"

Another noble joined in with a cold snort.

"Exactly! We also exhaust our minds and bodies handling government affairs every day!"

"We merely take an occasional moment to rest and enjoy a few delicacies. Must the Sky Screen condemn us even for that?"

"Utter nonsense!"

For a while, the conference, which had still retained some dignity, became a place where the nobles rallied to one another's defense.

Every one of them brimmed with righteous indignation, as though the Sky Screen were the unreasonable party.

As for the commoners suffering in those images...

In their eyes, they were merely insignificant little people.

As long as their own lives remained unaffected, why concern themselves so much?

Watching this, even Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, who had been chosen by the Asura God, could not help frowning.

Tang San sighed inwardly.

What a loathsome bunch.

Although he had already decided to accept the Asura God's invitation, he had never imagined that this so-called Divine Realm Alliance conference would gather so many nobles who cared only about their own interests.

Could working with these people really accomplish the Divine Realm's plan?

Doubts could not help stirring in Tang San's heart.

He even vaguely felt that if the Divine Realm Alliance truly relied on this bunch to maintain order on Douluo Star, then even if the alliance was established, it might not resolve the Douluo Continent's real problems.

But before Tang San could ponder further, a voice filled with majesty abruptly descended from above.

"Living standards?"

"What do those amount to?"

In an instant, the noisy conference fell silent.

A blood-red light tore through space, and terrifying divine might swept over them.

The Asura God had descended!

He coldly surveyed the images on the Sky Screen, his face devoid of pity, as though those displaced commoners were merely a crowd of inconsequential beings.

Then, in a tone that took everything for granted, he slowly uttered the words that stunned everyone.

"The so-called common people are nothing more than expendables."

"What the Divine Realm needs is power that can sustain its rule."

"As for whether those mortals live or die, why should that matter?"

The words fell silent.

Tang San and Yu Xiaogang froze in place at the same time.

They stared at that blood-red figure high above them, feeling that everything they had always believed had, at this moment, suffered an unprecedented shock.