Douluo Dalu: Lucky Star

Credits: Lost4rt

"So eager, aren't you?"

Seeing Gu Yue take the initiative to attack, Han Li naturally wouldn't just stand idle. With a simple glance exchanged between them, he understood her intentions. Since she was so confident, Han Li couldn't afford to lag behind.

"Fate Chains."

Almost simultaneously as Gu Yue charged forward, the tenth soul ring, newly formed after Han Li's ascension, lit up above his head. Without any divine power fluctuations or discernible trajectory, a golden chain appeared out of nowhere, linking Asura, Evil, and Kindness. Though intangible, it visibly connected the three gods.

This soul ring, condensed with the power of fate, possessed a simple yet brutally effective ability: it bound the fates of Han Li's chosen targets together. The fate of the group would be determined by the weakest link among them, imposing a massive debuff from the perspective of fate itself—a truly broken skill.

As it happened, Asura, having lost his godhood and with his rules completely suppressed by Han Li, was currently the weakest link. Naturally, Evil and Kindness bore the brunt of this misfortune.

The moment the golden chain connected the three of them, Evil and Kindness felt their power plummet to a level comparable to Asura's. While their domains and supreme laws could still function, any debilitation in this situation was deadly.

Of course, Han Li didn't achieve this without cost. Activating this skill consumed over a third of his divine power. But for him, this was a minor issue. His divine core was fused with the Douluo Planet, and with the energy absorption rate of an evolving immortal body, his divine power began recovering rapidly. Within mere breaths, his reserves were replenishing at a staggering pace. He estimated it would take less than a minute to return to peak condition.

Thanks to the unique nature of his divine core, Han Li's divine power, consciousness, and physical body recovered simultaneously. As long as he wasn't instantly obliterated, he was invincible in a war of attrition. No matter how many years of cultivation his opponents had, the divine power limit of the God King realm was capped.

"Law Avatars."

Debuffs alone weren't enough—Han Li never underestimated his enemies, especially when they were the top combatants of this world. As he weakened his opponents, his eighth soul ring lit up. On either side of him, two humanoid avatars imbued with a distinct draconic aura appeared.

Before his ascension, his eighth soul skill had been somewhat underwhelming. However, after transcending to godhood, the laws had transformed the skill into something extraordinary. During his rise to divinity, Han Li deliberately used the Ice-Fire Blades to absorb Asura's and Rakshasa's powers. As a result, the fire blade inherited Asura's power, while the ice blade carried Rakshasa's.

Now, his eighth soul skill, Law Avatars, had evolved into pseudo-God King-level entities. Although they lacked godhood and required some degree of Han Li's control, they were undoubtedly the best allies he could summon.

"Two against five isn't fair, but four against five sounds much better, doesn't it?"

Han Li grinned at the three gods before him, his pristine white teeth making their spines tingle. Without waiting for instructions, the two avatars charged forward at incredible speed, each wielding a single-edged blade identical to Han Li's Ice-Fire Blades. One burned with fire and Asura's power, while the other glimmered with ice and Rakshasa's energy. Around them, miniature Asura and Rakshasa domains swirled.

Though the avatars were close-range combatants, that suited Han Li just fine. As the avatars relentlessly pressed the three gods, Han Li stayed at the rear, drawing his bowstring.

Above him, several of his remaining soul rings lit up.

Second Soul Skill: Soul-Piercing Arrow, enhanced with spatial and wind laws.

 Third Soul Skill: Variable Gravity Arrow, a combination of wind and earth laws.

 Fifth Soul Skill: Fate's Fifth Symphony.

He swiftly nocked arrows imbued with various laws and unleashed them at the three gods, perfectly coordinating with his avatars' assault.

For a brief moment, the battle reached a stalemate. No, overall, the advantage was still on Han Li's side. Within Han Li's domain, the five gods' divine power consumption was enormous. In contrast, Han Li and Gu Yue grew stronger—the latter bolstered by the domain's enhancements and the effects of her Silver Dragon Spear. Gu Yue single-handedly overwhelmed Life and Destruction, leaving them in dire straits.

As for Asura, Evil, and Kindness, they didn't dare use high-consumption skills because the Fate Chains were still active. Whenever one of them used a powerful ability, the others' divine power would inexplicably be drained to match, leaving them in a precarious situation. This forced the trio to tread carefully, struggling even against the two avatars.

Asura's face was livid. Han Li's avatars, imbued with powers that both aligned with and countered his own, relentlessly targeted him. Whether it was the same-source laws or opposing ones, every clash left him at a disadvantage—especially with the added effects of ice and fire laws.

Worse, he could feel the mounting frustration from Evil and Kindness behind him. Their attacks were largely redirected toward him, and he had no choice but to defend himself.

"This can't go on. His divine power recovery is too fast—we'll be dragged to death!"

With a burst of divine power from the Asura Demon Sword, Asura temporarily forced back the two avatars. He turned to Evil and Kindness, urgency in his gaze.

"What's your plan?"

Evil shattered the incoming arrows from Han Li, leaving the follow-up attacks for Kindness to handle as he spoke, his tone laced with irritation. He felt utterly stifled. From the start of the battle until now, they hadn't dared to use the power of their supreme artifacts, fearing that any attempt to harm Han Li would instead drag the three of them into an even more desperate situation.

"I'll unleash a burst of power to hold off his avatars. You two try to escape his domain and see if that breaks the connection between us."

Asura's eyes flashed with a ruthless glint as he continued, "If that doesn't work, we'll directly disable the God Realm's outer defenses and summon all the gods to join the battle. At the same time, send a small team to infiltrate Douluo Star and cause chaos there."

"This isn't the time to worry about the energy loss. If this grind continues, we'll be the ones to die."

Han Li's strength had far exceeded their expectations, and Asura realized they could no longer afford to exclude the other gods of the God Realm from the fight.

"Disable the shield? Do you even know what you're saying?" Evil's expression darkened dramatically. "Even if it's just for a moment, we'd lose at least ten thousand years' worth of accumulated energy. And aside from a handful of gods, most wouldn't even be able to withstand a single attack from Han Li. Do you want to bring about the destruction of the God Realm?"

"What's the point of hoarding all that energy?" Asura retorted sharply. "At most, it slightly expands the God Realm, but does it bring about any substantial transformation? How long has it been since our power changed?"

"Look at him." Asura pointed at Han Li, who was still leisurely drawing his bow and firing arrows. "How long has he been cultivating? Forget whether we can win by continuing this stalemate. Even if we do, can we take Douluo Star from him?"

"If we miss this chance and give him more time to grow, he'll eventually be able to defeat us all by himself, without any assistance. Another entity stronger than the Dragon God? Can we even handle that?"

"What's the point of expanding the God Realm's territory if it can't produce combat power comparable to ours? Instead of wasting resources, we should take a gamble. Besides, the first- and second-tier gods have already reached their limits. They might as well serve our plans and improve our odds of success."

"As long as we're alive, the God Realm won't fall. Conquering Douluo Star will even give us a chance to go further."

"It's either us or them. Think it over carefully."

Asura didn't wait for Evil's response. He flashed to Kindness's side, assisting her in fending off Han Li's attacks.

Evil stood rooted to the spot, contemplating for a long time before taking a deep breath, as if making a decision. He then joined the fray, defending against Han Li's assaults while engaging in a telepathic exchange with Kindness. Without Kindness's agreement, they couldn't combine their power to deactivate the God Realm's defensive shield.

Across from them, Han Li observed their actions with a faint smirk. Just moments ago, he had sensed a ripple in the laws of fate. It wasn't that he didn't want to finish them off quickly—he had been waiting.

When he ascended to the rank of God King, the laws of fate hinted at a path to becoming a Creator God. However, even after the battle began, that opportunity hadn't materialized, prompting his patience. Just now, as Asura and Evil conspired, Han Li finally detected the faint ripple he had been waiting for.

"Asura might truly be my lucky charm," Han Li mused, then intensified his attacks. He didn't fully understand the situation, but weakening his enemies was always the safest bet.

"Hey, you old dog Asura—take another arrow!"

Fate's Fifth Symphony activated once more. This time, the golden arrow was tinged with a streak of deep purple destruction energy, crackling like lightning as it tore through space, shooting straight toward Asura.

Crap.

Asura cursed inwardly but had no choice. At the cost of an additional 30% divine power expenditure, he summoned his Asura energy—one of the supreme laws—to counter the attack. He didn't dare use any other laws, unsure if they could fully block the strike without injury. At such a critical moment, he couldn't afford to take damage.