A terrifying reward! Tang Chen makes the list!

[Reward: one chance at resurrection]

[Reward recipient: Qian Daoliu]

Silence.

Utter silence.

The entire Douluo Continent fell into a deathly hush.

Every living being stared at the Sky Ranking List, dumbstruck and horrified.

R-resurrection?

Wasn't this reward far too heaven-defying?

Although it didn't directly increase his strength, it could bring him back from the dead. That was countless times more precious than a direct boost in strength!

Was it because everyone on the list was a peerless powerhouse that they weren't being rewarded with greater strength?

Instead, they were being given chances at resurrection?

That made sense. Peerless powerhouses already stood at the pinnacle of the continent. Almost no one could kill them.

Increasing their strength wasn't as important to them, so their rewards had become resurrection instead.

The Worship Hall.

The instant Qian Daoliu saw the reward, he froze.

Even his body was trembling.

No one else could understand how he felt.

Only he knew that, in the near future, opening the Angel God's Ninth Trial for Qian Renxue would require him, the Angel God's high priest, to sacrifice his life.

Now, with a chance at resurrection as his reward, he could continue living in this world instead of leaving Qian Renxue all alone.

His granddaughter had grown up without a father, and her mother hated her to the bone—she would have been better off without one. Her grandfather was the only person she had in this world.

If he died, how lonely would his granddaughter be?

"Wonderful, wonderful. Now I won't have to die, and Xiao Xue won't be left all alone..."

Tears of excitement filled Qian Daoliu's eyes as he bowed deeply to the Sky Ranking List.

He simply didn't know yet that his granddaughter had already fallen into the river of love.

Even if he were gone, Qian Renxue wouldn't be lonely.

Sea God Island.

Bo Saixi stared blankly at the Sky Ranking List, lost in a daze.

"Could the Sky Ranking List be tailoring its rewards to each recipient's circumstances?

"Chen regained his sanity and had his life extended by three years.

"And now Qian Daoliu has received a chance at resurrection. For a high priest who must sacrifice their life to open a god's Ninth Trial, this is undoubtedly a gift from heaven..."

Her hand unconsciously pressed against the soft swell of her chest.

"Will my reward be resurrection too?"

Heaven Dou City, by the River.

Long Yichen looked at the Sky Ranking List's reward and cast an unobtrusive glance at Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue still didn't know that inheriting the Angel Godhood would one day require her grandfather's life as a sacrifice.

Now that he had received a chance at resurrection, everything would be fine.

The Sky Ranking List trembled slightly, and a wisp of golden light flew out, descending into Spirit City.

Under the gazes of Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others, the golden light merged into Qian Daoliu's body.

Qian Daoliu felt no change in his body. Puzzled, he closed his eyes and examined himself internally, but found nothing unusual.

He shook his head at Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others.

"Nothing has changed in particular. Perhaps it will only take effect when I truly need it."

Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others nodded at his words. Saying nothing more, they looked up at the sky.

The reward remained for a minute before disappearing, and new words slowly emerged.

Countless living beings across the Douluo Continent suddenly perked up.

"Ninth place is coming!"

"I wonder who it'll be? I'm really curious to see who could be stronger than a demigod like Qian Daoliu!"

Under everyone's expectant gazes, the new words fully appeared.

[TOP9: Tang Chen]

[Introduction: the Clear Sky Sect's sect master two generations ago, a rank-99 Peerless Douluo who created Soul Skills such as the Great Sumeru Hammer and the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes. The Asura God's inheritor, he unfortunately failed due to interference from the Rakshasa God. Possessed by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King, he became the King of Slaughter of Slaughter City. Now restored to sanity, his strength has reached the demigod level.]

[Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer]

[Spirit Rings: black, black, black, black, black, black, red, red, red]

[Combat power: 105]

At the sight, countless living beings across the Douluo Continent were stunned.

"The Asura God's inheritor?"

"Tang Chen is a god's inheritor?!!"

"Heavens! Gods really exist in this world! I always thought they were just false legends!"

"What a pity. Tang Chen's inheritance was disrupted, causing him to fail to inherit the godhood."

"..."

In the Star Dou Great Forest, Bibi Dong's pupils abruptly contracted.

"Interference from the Rakshasa God?"

Her expression darkened slightly. She was the Rakshasa God's inheritor herself and knew a certain amount about him.

In her eyes, this Rakshasa God was no good. If she had to describe him, he was an "evil god."

"Unfortunately, there's no turning back for me now." Bibi Dong clenched her fists.

At the Clear Sky Sect, deafening cheers erupted throughout the entire sect.

Everyone, Tang Xiao included, had tears brimming in their eyes, overwhelmed with excitement.

"The grand sect master made the list!!"

"But with the grand sect master's strength, why is he only ninth? Are there Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent even stronger than him?"

Qian Daoliu gazed at the familiar name on the Sky Ranking List.

"Tang Chen is indeed stronger than me, so it makes sense for him to rank above me. But when he detonates all nine rings with his Great Sumeru Hammer, its power far exceeds my ninth Soul Skill. Why is his combat power only five points higher?"

Confusion appeared on Qian Daoliu's face.

He knew very well how powerful Tang Chen's simultaneous detonation of all nine rings was.

At that moment, Tang Chen was still on his way to Sea God Island.

He stood at the bow with his hands behind his back, gazing at the Sky Ranking List. His hands unconsciously clenched, and disbelief filled his face:

"Ninth? I'm only ninth?"

"My ultimate technique, the Great Sumeru Hammer, far surpasses Qian Daoliu's ninth Soul Skill when I detonate all nine rings. Why is my combat power only five points higher than his?"

"Could it be..."

Tang Chen suddenly realized something, and his expression shifted slightly.

"Could it be because, although my Great Sumeru Hammer is astonishingly powerful after Ring Detonation, I can only use it once within a short period, and I can't retract it? If the enemy dodges, it has no effect at all. No matter how powerful it is, it's useless if it doesn't hit."

He gave a bitter chuckle. "So that really is the reason? I knew about this flaw from the moment I created this Soul Skill.

"It's a Soul Skill for staking my life, putting everything on a single throw. It works well enough against ordinary Soul Masters.

"But once I encounter a Soul Master on my own level, they can easily dodge it, or at least stall until the amplification from Ring Detonation wears off.

"Unless they're a strength-type fighter like me and lack speed, I won't be able to hit them. Otherwise, Ring Detonation becomes useless."

He shook his head helplessly.

"Only someone as straightforward as Qian Daoliu would choose to take it head-on."

Heaven Dou City, by the river.

Long Yichen looked at Tang Chen's combat power on the Sky Ranking List.

"These combat power values really carry some weight. A demigod-level powerhouse like Tang Chen could easily destroy a city, yet his combat power is only a hundred and five."

He sank into thought. I wonder how high my combat power is now? A million? Ten million? Or even over a hundred million?

He had never gone all out, so he didn't know how powerful his strongest attack could be now.

On just his third day after arriving on the Douluo Continent, a single blast of Heat Vision had sliced the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena's enormous, sturdy dragon body in half, even though she had reached the God King level. She hadn't had the slightest chance to fight back and had been killed instantly.

Now, a year had passed, and his combat power had skyrocketed by who knew how many times.

"I remember that, in terms of the Douluo Continent's power scale, a First-Level God supposedly has the power to destroy a planet in one strike. And a God King is far stronger than a First-Level God."

Long Yichen pondered. A God King's combat power should exceed a hundred thousand, right?

Hiss! Just that simple calculation puts my combat power on course to exceed a hundred million, and that's still a conservative estimate.

He couldn't help clenching his fists in excitement.

"I'll leave it to the Sky Ranking List's precise calculations to find out exactly how high my combat power is!"