Douluo Dalu: Lucky Star

Credits: Neopolitansoso

The Five Divine Kings differ in power.

Although the five—Asura, Destruction, Life, Evil, and Good—are all members of the God Realm Committee, in practice, when important decisions are made, Evil and Good only need to reach a consensus to determine the direction of affairs.

Evil and Good represent the original divine essences of the God Realm and each holds two votes, while the other three gods have only one vote each. Thus, the God Realm is effectively under their control.

The decision to bestow divine positions on the Douluo Star was a collective agreement among the gods. They are also aware of the subsequent added quotas, and naturally, they have been observing Asura's recent actions. Since he has only been observing and not taking any action, they have refrained from intervening.

They clearly understand that Destruction and Asura are not on good terms. If Destruction learns of this matter, it will likely lead to another round of meaningless arguments, leaving them to deal with the noise once again.

For now, it seems Asura does have some plans, but at least he hasn't acted yet and has sought their opinions first.

"So, what do you want to say?"

Before Destruction could speak, Evil proactively posed the question.

"I want to pass on the Asura God position to him when he ascends to godhood."

Asura glanced at Destruction, a faint smile on his lips, and spoke calmly.

"Are you serious?"

Before Evil and Good could respond, Destruction's voice rang out, his expression visibly unsettled.

"Of course. I wouldn't joke about this. Besides, wasn't he originally one of my chosen successors? It's just that his pursuit of creating his divine position delayed things until now."

Asura's expression remained indifferent as he stated the well-known facts. Destruction glanced at him, opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately remained silent. The two had always been rivals, with inherent conflicts between their duties and principles.

In truth, Asura had long been seeking a successor. Unlike Destruction and Life, who are married and can harmonize their divine principles, Asura has always been alone. Because of his principles and duties, slaughter and judgment accompany him, and while his power grows stronger, his divine energy also gradually takes a toll on him. Though he has avoided any issues so far due to his immense strength, continuing this way is not without risks.

Finding a suitable successor would benefit both him and the God Realm. However, as an old rival, Destruction couldn't help feeling a bit bitter. He had never outright defeated Asura, and now the Asura God position was about to change hands.

As a solitary figure, it's clear Asura would leave the God Realm after passing on his position. He had expressed this intention before. Besides, it wasn't Destruction's place to oppose another's decision regarding their divine position.

"Are you planning to use your inheritance and his ascension opportunity to directly elevate him to the rank of God King?"

Evil and Good exchanged glances. Honestly, they couldn't find a reason to oppose the idea. Asura's departure would bring in a new Divine King-level combatant, while also eliminating the risks posed by Asura's divine energy. It seemed like a win-win situation.

"Yes, that's my intention. Moreover…"

Asura paused briefly as the other four gods refrained from objecting before continuing.

"I have additional considerations. You should still remember the individuals who entered my inheritance space with him, correct?"

The four gods nodded.

"Asura's divine energy is not easily mastered. Therefore, I plan to have the three women who participated in the divine trials alongside him also become inheritors."

"Let me finish."

Seeing the gods about to voice objections, Asura anticipated their reactions and interjected.

"The inheritance of our divine positions is not easily resolved. I don't want to risk frequently replacing successors due to an inability to master the power."

"You are all aware of Han Li's exceptional talent, growth, and unique qualities. As Evil previously mentioned, if given enough time, he has a high probability of becoming a Divine King-level entity—and a very significant one."

Asura glanced at Evil, who looked at the light screen and nodded, showing no disagreement. Han Li's extraordinary talent, especially while still in the mortal realm, was undeniable.

"Don't forget, after passing my trial, he transformed the originally designated Deathgod Domain into his own. I am fully confident in his ability to master Asura's divine power and become a qualified Asura God."

"But the most important point I must address is this: why did the Douluo plane undergo such changes? Why did the plane's consciousness awaken and bind itself to Han Li? To this day, we haven't found the answer."

As Asura spoke, he traced a line through the air with his finger, and the light screen expanded to display the Douluo Star in the universe.

At the center of the light screen, the rotating planet's outer layers were shown to be continuously absorbing cosmic energy and channeling it to its core.

"So far, the overall energy density of Douluo Star has already exceeded that of similar planets by more than tenfold. The increase has been slow, but there haven't yet been any geomorphological phenomena caused by this transformation."

"It's far stronger than we initially estimated. If Han Li continues to evolve after formally reaching the god level, his value and development potential might even rival that of the God Realm."

"You've all seen Han Li's methods. He is the master of Douluo Star—a figure not easily dealt with. So, if we want the God Realm to continue its advancement and take control of Douluo Star's plane from him, we need to demonstrate sufficient sincerity. This would also contribute to the long-term stability of the God Realm."

"And the Asura God position is the answer I propose. What do you think?"

Asura finished his statement in one breath and looked at the other four gods. This was indeed his genuine thought process. Since he had not yet stepped down, his priority remained the interests of the God Realm.

The central hub of the God Realm fell silent as the four gods bowed their heads, pondering Asura's words.

"Your actions don't seem to align with your stated intentions."

The rarely vocal God of Life was the first to speak this time.

"Yes, that was intentional."

Asura, unfazed by the questioning, readily admitted it.

"Do you suspect he's connected to the Dragon God? Or are you afraid he might become the next Dragon God?"

The God of Kindness spoke, and her words were startling.

"I'm not sure. Logically, Douluo shouldn't have developed plane consciousness. I had already chosen a successor, but Han Li appeared out of nowhere and disrupted everything. How else could this be explained?"

"I admire him, but I'm also cautious. While I haven't found any evidence of a connection between him and the Dragon God, that doesn't stop me from preparing safeguards."

"Ultimately, once he ascends to godhood, you'll need to judge him yourselves. I'm simply laying some groundwork in advance—a parting gift to the God Realm, so to speak."

Asura didn't hesitate, clearly having thought through everything.

"So you're dispersing the authority of the divine position among others?"

Evil looked at Asura's indifferent expression and, for the first time, found his rival to be truly far-sighted.

"Yes. If he's reliable, the compensation of a Divine King position would suffice. It won't hinder his cultivation and may even ease his burden in the early stages."

"If he proves problematic, even if he inherits the divine position, reclaiming full authority from the others will take time. This gives the God Realm a buffer. In the event of a conflict, the other three will become his weakness, limiting his ability to fully wield the Asura God's power."

"Besides, whether or not there's an issue, ascending to the God Realm will make it easy to discern. He won't have the chance to become the next Dragon God."

"If not for the value of Douluo Star and the challenges of handling future issues, given his temperament, he might become a mortal enemy. He could even forcibly break through his control and blockade of the planet—an outcome we cannot afford."

Red light flickered in Asura's eyes. If he had absolute authority, he wouldn't hesitate to take a more aggressive approach. This had always been his style—more extreme even than Destruction's.

"So this is why you accelerated the divine trials for those around him?"

Evil finally showed a look of realization. No wonder.

On the other side, Destruction's expression changed upon hearing this. He instinctively wanted to criticize Asura's methods but was stopped by the God of Life, who tugged his sleeve and signaled him to hold back.

His wife's intervention helped Destruction regain his composure. He cast a complicated look at Asura and closed his eyes. Truth be told if Asura hadn't provided such strong reasoning today—clearly acting in the God Realm's best interest—Destruction would have challenged him outright, as Asura's actions violated the very principles of his duty as an enforcer.

Evil, noticing their subtle exchange, gave an awkward smile. Thankfully, they were all reasonable enough to avoid a fight. Otherwise, he wouldn't know whose side to take.

"What if he refuses to hand over control of the plane?"

"In that case, I will address it when I meet him and agree on passing on the divine position. It's also a way to test his response."

"If he agrees, that would be ideal. If he refuses, I'll abandon the inheritance plan entirely. Even if he ascends, it will only be through the most basic laws, posing no threat to us."

"And does he truly think inheriting so many divine positions is easy? His connection to Douluo Star may allow him to stay in the mortal realm longer, but those around him won't have that luxury."

"Once their trials are completed, they can simply be ordered to ascend within a year."

Asura's tone was icy, and he stopped speaking after that. But the four gods understood his meaning perfectly. After all, they were no strangers to Asura's methods.

"Agreed."

After a long silence, voices gradually echoed through the God Realm's central hub.