Soul Land V: Rebirth of Tang San

It had received recognition from six figures: Unbreakable Sky Destruction Demon Emperor, Heavenly Thorough White Tiger Demon Emperor, Golden Gleaming Mammoth Great Demon Emperor, Sky Piercing Cloud Conquering Sword Saint Demon Emperor, Thousand Changes Luminous Celestial Spirit Emperor, and Indomitable Diamond Celestial Spirit Emperor. There were also six tokens of faith, leveling with Tang San from before. Almost all specialized in attack and defense, belonging to emperors.

However, besides the tokens, the runner-up's reward was no longer Purple Crystal Coins. Aside from the tokens, the tray was empty.

Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox said, "Please wait aside for now; there will be additional rewards given to you shortly."

The three contestants, led by staff members, stepped aside.

Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox's gaze shifted to Tang San and Pretty Girl, smiling as he spoke, "Both of you come up together. Your rewards will be presented at the same time."

This naturally referred to the rewards for Pretty Girl's two championships and Tang San's one.

The two stepped forward together, approaching Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox.

Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox looked at Pretty Girl and said with a smile, "I didn't expect the Peacock Demon Clan to rise again. Heavenly Fox commands fate, Peacock peeps into the skies. Once, our two clans guided the direction of Demon Monster Land. I am sincerely happy to see the resurrection of Heavenly Mechanism Feather. I look forward to you taking charge of Peacock, leading the Peacock Demon Clan to its former glory, and together with me, continue to guide the direction for both demon and sprite clans."

Pretty Girl bowed slightly in acknowledgment, "Thank you for your recognition."

Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox nodded at her, then turned his gaze back to Tang San. When he looked at Tang San again, a complex expression flickered across the eyes of this Dominator of Fate.

"I don't know why, but you give me a very special and elusive feeling. As the master of fate, I don't like this feeling. The advice I gave you earlier was not for you, but for her. Her destiny seems to be intertwined with yours, closely connected. If you have any problems, it would have a huge impact on her. But the future of the Ancestral Court needs her. Hence, whatever your destiny may be, I will not interfere; it's up to you to see to it yourself."

Tang San didn't speak but bowed slightly again in acknowledgment.

With this one, less talking was better. He had been as careful as possible, but this Great Demon Emperor, as the controller of fate, could still sense something from him. Tang San didn't want it to perceive anything, but some things were beyond his control.

Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox waved his hand, and the staff brought up two trays. Compared to the previous trays, these two were significantly larger.

On the trays shone an array of sparkling lights, the tokens of faith from various emperors.

Nine Great Demon Emperors, and seven Heavenly Spirit Emperors, the full recognition of sixteen emperors, were neatly arranged atop the trays. The difference was, there was one set before Tang San, while Pretty Girl had two full sets in front of her—a total of thirty-two tokens.

Feeling the energy fluctuations contained in each token, Pretty Girl suddenly turned to the Dominator of Fate, Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox, and asked, "Your Majesty, may I exchange these tokens for a favor of fate from you?"

Even before the thirty-two tokens, representing the collective recognition of the most powerful beings of their time, she still spoke without hesitation.

Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox, as if expecting her words, shook his head and said, "No. Fate must not be interfered with lightly, especially certain special destinies. Let everything be arranged by the heavens. Let fate take its own course."

Pretty Girl was about to say something more but realized she could no longer produce a sound.

Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox announced loudly, "Next, the final awards will be presented. Making it to the finals proves that your strength and luck are among the best, and you are the pillars of the future for the Ancestral Court. The Ancestral Court has specially selected ten divine tools to reward you. Observing is also a part of strength. Each of you may choose one that suits you. The champion will pick first, followed by the runner-up. Of course, Pretty Girl may choose first twice."

Yes, this was the ultimate reward, the selection of ten divine tools.

The reward for the champion was a divine tool, which all contestants had known beforehand, but the fact that the runner-ups also had a selection of divine tools available to them was an unexpected delight to the three runner-up teams present. Especially for the pair in the Nine Suns Holy Sword Duo, as there were two of them, meaning they could select two divine tools.

Of course, among the top ten divine tools, there were certainly stronger and weaker ones. Provided the champion had a keen enough eye, they would definitely pick the strongest divine tool. But there were ten divine tools! The champion could only choose three of them, leaving seven for them to choose from. Even if the individual runner-up chose first, they could still pick from among six, which didn't seem much less than the champion's reward.

Pretty Girl's ability to speak had been unsealed, but at this point, she also found herself unable to say anything more.

Tang San comforted her with a glance, understanding that what Pretty Girl just wanted to say was the hope that the Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox would bestow upon her the favor of destiny. Let alone whether the Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox was willing, Tang San himself wasn't keen on the idea. He appreciated Pretty Girl's good intentions, but if there were to be such a connection of fate between him and the Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox, it would not be easy to extricate himself from it.

Carts were wheeled onto the competition stage, with the top ten divine tools available for selection right there.

When it came to judging by appearances, Tang San wasn't worried at all. Even if all the emperors present had abilities in this regard, none could compare with his experience as the First-Generation God King! What fine thing hadn't he seen before?

The Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox said with a smile, "In a moment, you can observe these divine tools up close. I will not explain anything to you. Only after you have made your choices will I tell you what divine tools you've selected and their functions."

As he spoke, he waved his hand casually, and the red cloths covering the carts quietly disappeared, revealing the crystal covers beneath.

Yes, all the divine tools were enclosed under crystal covers and not directly exposed to the air. The aura of the items inside was also completely isolated by these crystal covers.

Meaning, they could only rely on their eyes to judge the divine tools; they couldn't use their abilities. They were not able to sense them at all.

Pretty Girl looked at the Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox, unable to help but say, "Your Highness, this doesn't seem quite fair to the champion."

Even though they had the privilege of choosing first, without any knowledge of the divine tools' abilities, nor the ability to sense their essence, this prerogative of choice was greatly diminished.

The Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox said with a smile, "Don't worry. Wait until I've finished."

"As the champion, and a double champion at that, you may select an additional item, but only for yourself. This means, you and your partner can pick a total of four items."

One more divine tool? Four divine tools in total. Hearing this, Pretty Girl fell silent. These were divine tools, not cabbages; an extra divine tool was indeed a much better reward, especially with the privilege of selecting first, which was almost fair. Naturally, the runner-up's reward was still quite impressive.

The Great Demon Emperor Heavenly Fox gestured with his hand for them to begin their observation of the divine tools.

At such a time, no one would hold back, and the champions and runner-ups together amounted to just five. They stepped forward to start from different positions, scrutinizing the divine tools.

Tang San had been quiet all along; this form of selection was very advantageous for them. Meaning, he and Pretty Girl would first choose four items, then Big Cat would choose one. The remaining five would only then be selected by the other two runner-up teams of the duo contest.

Approaching the crystal covers, Tang San scrutinized the first divine tool carefully.

The first divine tool looked very peculiar, resembling a funnel, made of metal, about the size of a palm, and appeared no different from an ordinary funnel, with no gemstones inlaid on it. With the crystal cover in the way, one naturally couldn't sense any aura from within.

Spiritual power was unable to penetrate the crystal cover either. Divine consciousness couldn't be employed since having divine consciousness meant one wasn't below deity level, and even the eligibility to participate would be revoked.