Of course, humans were not the only ones to receive arrivals from the past. Soul Beasts did too. After all, as the God of Games, Lin Huan was quite fair.
Right beside the territory of the Star Dou Great Forest, a brand-new floating island appeared, and an enormous eyeball descended upon it. It was none other than the 790,000-year-old Evil Emperor.
At the same time, a vast realm of ice and snow hovered beside the Star Dou Great Forest. Four rays of light descended upon it: the 690,000-year-old Snow Empress, the 390,000-year-old Ice Empress, the 200,000-year-old Ice Bear King, and the 300,000-year-old Titan Snow Demon King.
The Evil Emperor, Ice Empress, and Snow Empress were all newly created beings. Mainly, these Soul Beast habitats were short on inhabitants, so Lin Huan had used divine power to mold a few new beings.
Four Soul Beast habitats floated in the universe. The Sunset Forest was the smallest, consisting of almost nothing but an outer ring of jade phosphorus seven-absolute flowers and nine-absolute flowers, with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well inside. This, too, counted as a Soul Beast habitat.
The second smallest was the Star Dou Great Forest's Core Circle, while the second largest was the Evil Demon Forest. There was no helping it; this was all that remained of the Star Dou Great Forest. It was not even as large as the Evil Demon Forest Lin Huan had newly molded.
The largest was the Far North, larger than the current three land-based Soul Beast habitats combined. Humans had never cultivated the Far North; conditions there were too extreme, and the cost of development was too great.
Meanwhile, two golden pillars of light fell upon the Star Dou Great Forest, landing beside the Lake of Life. In an instant, Di Tian, Xiong Jun, the Myriad Demon King, and the others locked their gazes on them.
They all readied themselves to act. After all, this was the work of that God of Games. Since they did not yet know whether the arrivals were friends or foes, they naturally had to remain vigilant.
Soon, the pillars of light dispersed, revealing two figures. One was enormous, over ten meters in size, crimson all over, with three heads.
At the sight of this figure, the Ferocious Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest all froze, crying out in surprise.
"Scarlet King?!"
"Hm? Boss, were you the ones who resurrected me?"
The Scarlet King examined his newly restored self, all three pairs of eyes filled with surprise. Seeing their old friend return, everyone lowered their guard. Yet the appearance of the final figure sent a tremendous shock through them.
A Soul Beast resembling a little lion appeared before them, covered in golden fur and dragon scales. Her four claws were like a dragon's, her golden pupils were vertical slits, and a red Eye of Destiny sat on her forehead.
"Auspicious Beast!"
It was indeed the Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. However, she was no longer an Auspicious Beast. Her auspicious presence was gone, but her bloodline remained powerful.
Finally, there was the Holy Spirit Cult, which gained two more Limit Douluos: Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao.
Everyone who had descended here was bewildered, unable to understand why they had been resurrected, until the God of Games' voice rang out from above.
"Welcome, new players. Now, let us begin our first game."
Lin Huan snapped his fingers, and the many arrivals received knowledge of this era. Then an enormous wheel appeared in the sky.
"Now, let me explain the rules! A duel. The wheel will select factions, and you must send out powerful fighters who meet the requirements to fight. There will be three matches in total. The winners will receive rewards. As for the losers... heh heh. Now, let the draw begin."
Lin Huan wore a mask of merriment, everyone's eyes fixed on him. The fate of the losers implied by his words was clear. At the thought, everyone shuddered.
Soon, the view shifted to the wheel, which bore the names of countless factions.
Shrek, the Tang Sect, the Federation, the War God Temple, the Spirit Pagoda, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Clear Sky Sect, Star Dou, the Far North, the Star Luo Empire, and others.
The wheel soon began to spin. As they watched it turn, everyone's hearts rose into their throats. They held their breath, staring without blinking.
Under everyone's gaze, the pointer soon stopped on the words "Holy Spirit Cult." The instant the result appeared, everyone froze. The Holy Spirit Cult? Wasn't that the Evil Soul Master organization?
Having received the history of Douluo II and Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King, the members of Spirit Hall also learned of the Holy Spirit Cult's existence and could not help feeling disgusted.
"Fallen ones? The fallen ones of this era have actually grown this powerful? Did that fellow Tang San do nothing after Spirit Hall's destruction?"
When Qian Renxue learned that the Holy Spirit Cult had a full five Limit Douluos, she was dumbfounded, her eyes filled with disbelief. Qian Daoliu and the others were equally horrified.
Five whole Limit Douluos! Were they insane?! How many tens of millions had to fucking die to raise such an enormous group of Evil Soul Masters?! While everyone was reeling, the second draw began.
The wheel made another selection, drawing everyone's attention. Soon, it stopped on a faction.
[Holy Spirit Cult VS Spirit Hall]
The result shocked everyone present.
"Spirit Hall? The Spirit Hall from twenty thousand years ago?"
"My heavens! Even Spirit Hall has been resurrected!"
At the appearance of Spirit Hall's name, everyone's expressions were quite a sight. Lin Huan ignored their varied reactions, however, and spun the wheel to determine the duel format.
Youth match, middle-tier match, high-tier match, pinnacle match.
Four different options appeared. The wheel began spinning and finally stopped on the pinnacle match. At the same time, Lin Huan's announcement rang out.
"Now, the Spirit Hall and Holy Spirit Cult must each send out one Limit Douluo to duel!"
As his words fell, the members of Spirit Hall exchanged glances. Since they were fighting Evil Soul Masters, Qian Daoliu stepped forward without hesitation.
"Let this old man go. Bibi Dong and I are Spirit Hall's only two Limit Douluos. Besides, eradicating Evil Soul Masters has always been the Qian Family's duty."
"Big brother, stay safe."
"Grandpa, stay safe!"
The other Revered Elders and the little blonde girl, Qian Renxue, all voiced their concern. Qian Daoliu resolutely stepped into the golden pillar of light.
Meanwhile, on the Holy Spirit Cult's side, no one wanted to be the bird that stuck its head out. Having cultivated to the Limit Douluo level, they were naturally all shrewd old hands.
The Ghost Emperor looked at the God of Games in the sky, calculation flashing through his eyes. So this is the mighty power of a god? Once I use the Blood River God-Slaying Array to ascend, I'll definitely become a god. When that happened, he would establish his own kingdom of death.
A minute soon passed. Since no one from the Holy Spirit Cult stepped forward, the system began selecting someone automatically, finally locking onto one person.
[Angel Douluo VS Pluto Douluo] [Qian Daoliu VS Ha Luosa]
As the result appeared, everyone's attention focused on the battle. After all, this was a clash between Limit Douluos.
On the grand cosmic arena, Qian Daoliu stepped out of the pillar of light. His long golden hair flew behind him, his majestic golden eyes sharply studying the figure opposite him, who exuded the presence of death.
"Welcome to your first visit to the grand cosmic arena. Since Spirit Hall was so cooperative with the opening game, I, the God of Games, am specially sponsoring one Resurrection Coin."
Just as Qian Daoliu was gravely watching the powerful Pluto Douluo opposite him, the God of Games appeared beside him, wearing his mask of merriment.
Both Qian Daoliu and Ha Luosa looked over as Lin Huan sent a ray of golden light into the former.
A silver coin and several books immediately appeared in Qian Daoliu's hands. This was the Resurrection Coin.
"A Resurrection Coin? Can it resurrect the dead?"
Hearing the words "Resurrection Coin," several guesses flashed through his mind. After all, with a name like that, it surely could resurrect people.
"Correct. Simply hold the Resurrection Coin and pray devoutly to the God of Games for the person you wish to resurrect, and you can resurrect one being below god level. Anyone above god level costs extra. Of course, you can also resurrect yourself."
"These books contain knowledge from this era, with explanations of Soul Cores, mecha design, mecha manufacture, mecha maintenance, and forging."
"Your Martial Soul world has no knowledge of this era whatsoever. I, the God of Games, cannot bear unfairness. Consider these your beginner's gift pack."
Listening to the explanation, Qian Daoliu felt that this God of Games seemed quite approachable. Still, he could not neglect the respect due to him. After putting the items away, he immediately bowed and thanked him.
"Thank you, Your Holiness, God of Games."
Through their first close, face-to-face conversation, Qian Daoliu gained an understanding of this God of Games. Resurrecting everyone in Spirit Hall at will was unquestionably the work of a god.
"Now, both sides are ready!"
Having finished, Lin Huan flew above the arena and gazed at the two figures below. Qian Daoliu shed his former gentleness, his presence abruptly changing as killing intent swirled around him.
Against a fallen Evil Soul Master, especially one at the Limit Douluo level, he had nothing to say.
He could already sense the wailing of the wronged souls who had died at the Underworld Emperor's hands. The fury in his heart was like a volcano on the verge of eruption, about to pour forth.
There was also the matter of Soul Cores. Through the knowledge imparted to him, Qian Daoliu now understood their importance. He was at an absolute disadvantage in combat endurance and had to settle this quickly.
Meanwhile, the Underworld Emperor watched the God of Games, who made no further move. After a moment of silence, he posed a question.
"Your Holiness, God of Games, is he the only one who gets a Resurrection Coin?"
At this probing question, the many spectators turned their gazes toward Lin Huan, only to hear his irritated reply.
"He volunteered to fight. Your Holy Spirit Cult's participant was randomly picked by the AI, so it doesn't count. All right, begin!"
After announcing the start, he immediately took a seat in the luxurious chair above to watch, summoning his intelligent AI to ask a question.
"Yueyue's Mom, who do you think will win this fight?"
The next moment, an intelligent catgirl AI appeared, wearing a blue-and-white jacket, with white hair, cat ears, a cat tail, and blue eyes. She was precisely the intelligent AI he had created, Ying Yueyue!
"All right, let's open the panel and analyze this. To the east of the minimap is Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu, a demigod-level powerhouse. His Martial Soul is the god-grade Six-Winged Angel, possessing ultimate light and sacred attributes."
"He wields the divine artifact Angel Holy Sword and can also borrow Angel Divine Power. If he fights with explosive bursts, he'll have a very high chance of winning."
"Let's look to the west of the minimap. Pluto Douluo Ha Luosa, the Underworld Emperor, is a quasi-god-level powerhouse. His Martial Soul is the Netherworld Sword, and he forged the Underworld King Sword as his weapon. He has the death attribute."
"He possesses twelve puppets, an innate resurrection ability, and three Soul Cores. He has a better chance of winning a battle of attrition."
Listening to Ying Yueyue's analysis, Lin Huan leaned back in his seat and watched, while the little catgirl Ying Yueyue sat on the table analyzing the battle.
As the battle began, an incredibly terrifying presence erupted from Qian Daoliu. An enormous Angel Phantom appeared, spreading three pairs of wings.
Golden divine light blazed from his eyes. He grasped at empty space, taking hold of a platinum-colored longsword and drawing it out of the void.
"Great Angel God, please lend your mighty power to your faithful servant. I shall lead by example and eradicate all evil!"
Finishing his prayer, Qian Daoliu held the Angel Holy Sword before him, its blade reflecting his face.
Ha Luosa sensed something amiss. He felt a divine presence, and as he watched Qian Daoliu's power continue to rise, he immediately charged with his sword.
A gray longsword appeared in his hand. It was his Martial Soul, the Netherworld Sword. Apart from that, he also possessed a life-bound weapon he had forged himself, the Underworld King Sword.
His Soul Ring configuration of four black, four red, and one orange-gold immediately stunned everyone from Spirit Hall. It was the first time these country bumpkins from Douluo I had ever seen such a terrifying Soul Ring configuration.
They could not help breaking into a cold sweat for Qian Daoliu. Although his eight black and one red Soul Rings were powerful too, beside the Underworld Emperor's, they were a minor witch before a great witch.
"Die!"
Ha Luosa murmured and slashed at his opponent with his Martial Soul, wreathed in endless death Qi. The death sword Qi would wither every living thing it touched as it surged toward Qian Daoliu with unstoppable momentum.
The instant the death sword Qi drew near, brilliant golden light erupted from Qian Daoliu, and he slashed his sword.
The moment the platinum-colored blade touched the death sword Qi, it annihilated it. Divine power flowed around Qian Daoliu, the divine power of the Angel God.
Facing this immensely powerful Evil Soul Master, Qian Daoliu unleashed his full might from the outset.
"Angel Domain! Martial Soul Avatar!"
The next instant, a golden domain unfurled. Opening with both his Martial Soul Avatar and domain, he instantly enveloped Ha Luosa, endless sacred power of light surging in.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
Black fumes rose from Ha Luosa, his presence plummeting as utter horror appeared on his face.
"This legendary Six-Winged Angel actually counters me this thoroughly! Battle Armor! Domain, Underworld Rebirth!"
After his shock, seeing Qian Daoliu charging at him with sword raised, he dared not be careless. Armor condensed from the void around his body as a domain spread outward.
Only by overlapping his Battle Armor domain with his Martial Soul's Innate Domain could he barely withstand the Angel Domain.
At the same time, a full twelve skeletal warriors crawled out of hell. Every one of them possessed at least Titled Douluo-level strength, and some of the puppets even reached the Super Douluo level.
Under his control, the twelve puppets charged at Qian Daoliu, intending to wear him down. At the sight, Qian Daoliu flew high, sat cross-legged in midair, and closed his eyes. The ninth, red Soul Ring behind him immediately blazed with light.
An eerie Angel Phantom appeared behind him, a golden clock constantly turning where its heart should have been. Golden light covered the surrounding sky, locking down the area.
"Ninth Soul Skill..."