Douluo Dalu: Lucky Star

"Speaking of which, why have the gods of the Divine Realm all abandoned their physical bodies?"

Han Li glanced at Gu Yue as the topic arose. Previously, he had been preoccupied with the laws and had forgotten to ask about this.

"Because it's simpler."

Gu Yue's response was unexpected but made sense.

"Aside from the soul beasts and a select few special individuals, the physical bodies of humans are not very strong. Even in the Divine Realm, enhancing one's physical body isn't easy—it requires a lot of time and has various drawbacks."

"Moreover, the highest-ranking Divine Kings don't even have physical bodies; they are essentially pure energy beings. Since gods don't die as long as their divine souls remain intact, some began to emulate this approach."

"By skipping one of the more arduous steps in cultivation, their power grows more quickly. Bodies formed from divine power are also more convenient, leading more gods to adopt this method. Eventually, it became an unwritten rule."

For once, Gu Yue's face showed a hint of sarcasm.

"But they've forgotten—Lord Dragon God, the pinnacle of all gods, never abandoned his physical body. How could they dare?"

"Most of those fools are even smug about it, thinking they've found a shortcut in cultivation. Yet they fail to realize that by doing so, they've lost any chance of further advancement. Not that most of them were ever qualified to see the end of the road."

Wow, such strong words.

Han Li cast a sidelong glance at Gu Yue. It was the first time he had sensed such emotions from her. It seemed that her increased strength had also freed her emotional expression.

"You needn't worry," Gu Yue continued.

"The path you've chosen is correct. The boost this torso bone provides you may far exceed your imagination."

Gu Yue noticed his glance and toned down her expression, though she still exuded arrogance.

"Ah, yes, yes," Han Li replied nonchalantly, not taking her too seriously. He had always believed the Divine Realm's approach was flawed. He had painstakingly tempered his physical body along the way; abandoning it was out of the question. His education had ingrained in him the importance of not relying solely on one path, and he adhered to that principle.

Noticing his dismissive and slightly mischievous response, Gu Yue narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are we doing a practical test or just a simple one?"

Han Li met her gaze but couldn't discern her emotions.

"Are you sure your injuries won't affect your combat abilities?" he asked cautiously. With the plane's consciousness now awakened, he was confident in concealing some movements from the Divine Realm, preventing them from detecting Gu Yue's presence. However, he wasn't sure how much she had recovered.

Unlike those who had just inherited divinity and hadn't fully converted their spiritual energy into divine power, the two of them were in a league of their own. Even though one was severely injured and the other hadn't solidified a divine position, their combat power was undeniable. If they fought at full strength, the current Douluo Continent might not withstand it. A scenario where "even the Great Dao is obliterated" wasn't impossible. And who knew if pushing Gu Yue too hard would trigger her to split personalities as the Dragon God did?

Damn, Han Li thought, his reasoning made too much sense. If she did end up with a split personality, there might even be a "Na'er" to deal with. However, Han Li failed to notice Gu Yue's darkened expression as she watched his ever-changing demeanor. She could sense his poorly concealed emotions completely. Although she couldn't pinpoint what he was thinking, it was certainly not something polite.

"Just sparring. I'll control my strength. You focus on masking the divine energy fluctuations," Gu Yue said.

What had started as an offer to help him test himself had now become a genuine desire to beat him up.

"Do we have to fight? Maybe we could skip it and just do a simple test?"

Han Li suggested, already showing signs of backing out. He figured he could complete the test himself if he gritted his teeth—no need to trouble her.

"As allies, I need to assess your current strength," Gu Yue replied persistently, using an irrefutable excuse.

"How about a purely physical fight? Going all out would draw too much attention, and now's not the time for that. We could calculate the results based on the strength of your physical body. What do you think?"

Han Li proposed a compromise.

"Fine. That works too—it'll avoid unnecessary attention," Gu Yue agreed with a cold nod, thinking Han Li might not be able to fully conceal the commotion from their clash. But a physical fight suited her just fine. Compared to a battle of laws, being able to beat him black and blue with her own hands felt much more in line with her inheritance from the Dragon God. Though she hadn't inherited the Dragon God's physical talents, she was still unparalleled. Her bloodline's pride wouldn't allow her to back down—not even to Han Li.

As for Han Li's claim that his divine body was half a level stronger than his divine power, Gu Yue believed it. Her battle experience, stored in her inherited memories, could compensate for this difference in strength. Besides, when it came to humans versus dragons, even at the same level, their physical body strengths were vastly different. She was the Silver Dragon King, after all.

"If you're sure, why not expand this space? I can enhance the external environment. How about doing it here?"

Han Li's expression turned a bit strange. Was she really this bold? Perhaps she had forgotten that their divine power levels were nearly identical. Or maybe his earlier explanation had been too vague. The "half-a level" he referred to wasn't the soul master's cultivation half-level—it was the gap between first- and second-level gods. His current divine body strength was approaching that of a God King!

"Alright, no problem."

Seeing Han Li agree, Gu Yue didn't hesitate. With a wave of her right hand, the space she had constructed began to expand and stretch. Since Gu Yue had already started, Han Li saw no reason to argue. He cooperated, reinforcing the space and further concealing it from external observation.

It was clear that she wanted to hit him. The method Han Li used to construct the space had been learned from Gu Yue. After fully mastering the laws of space, and with the support of plane consciousness, he even finished his work slightly ahead of her. Gu Yue took a deep breath and accelerated her actions. In some areas, Han Li had indeed surpassed her. She also vaguely sensed that he was suppressing something deliberately.

And he was. Han Li was purposefully avoiding the suppression effect of the Ring Law on Gu Yue. Otherwise, even the space she constructed would be subject to debuff under his jurisdiction. It all depended on whether he wanted to enforce it.

"Done, right? Shall we begin?"

Gu Yue asked, stopping as the space became large enough to accommodate their battle. She looked over at Han Li.

"Of course, as you wish."

Han Li didn't dismiss his martial soul. Instead, he transformed it into dual blades and embedded them into the divine armor on his chest. Gu Yue frowned slightly but said nothing. In her eyes, Han Li's actions seemed to underestimate her. But she would make him draw his blades with her strength.

Han Li, on the other hand, frowned as well.

What? She wasn't going straight to her dragon form? That felt disrespectful. Well, if that's the case, he'd just have to hit her hard enough to force her true form out. He had already fought Qian Renxue—adding Gu Yue to the list wouldn't make much difference.

Without a word between them, as a faint breeze tousled their hair, both figures vanished from their starting positions.

In the center of the space, their bodies reappeared, their right arms colliding violently. Behind them, faint silver lights shimmered. It was clear that while they had agreed on close-quarters combat, at this level, the laws would inevitably come into play. The shimmering light and ripples behind them were evidence of their use of spatial power.

"No using space power—" ×2

The simultaneous declarations from both were cut short as they realized they'd said the same thing. Using space power would turn it into a tug-of-war instead of a test. Once aware of this, they both tacitly began setting restrictions. After several quick exchanges, their figures separated again.

"Aside from space power, you can loosen the restrictions. After all, this is a test," Han Li suggested, glancing at his armor and then at Gu Yue. A faint smile played on his lips. Even from those few simple clashes, Han Li had already gotten his answer. In her human form, Gu Yue's physical strength wasn't as great as his—especially since he was wearing armor. As this was merely a test, Han Li dropped his defenses entirely, forcing Gu Yue into a trade blows scenario. Without the added support of laws, the result was straightforward: all of Gu Yue's attacks landed on his armor, while he landed several heavy punches on her.

Looking at Gu Yue's subtly trembling body, Han Li wondered if she was shaking from pain or anger. Battle experience? Forget it. Unless she was willing to take hits for nothing, that strategy wasn't going to work—it was just shameless.

Then Han Li noticed Gu Yue raising her head, her expression blank. In the next second, a dragon's roar echoed, and a massive dragon claw, brimming with ferocity, swept toward him with unstoppable momentum. Beneath the claw, a rapidly spinning pale green sphere of wind energy had formed. Wait—was that a Rasengan? Also, wasn't this supposed to be a test of physical strength followed by resistance to laws? This crazy dragon lady wasn't playing by the rules.

Even as these thoughts flashed through his mind, Han Li didn't evade. With a twitch of his wings, pale green wind energy enveloped him. He stomped heavily on the ground and charged straight toward the dragon claw. Though he hadn't fully mastered the law of wind, that didn't stop him from using it roughly. And, in truth, his real purpose was still to test things.