In Pandemonium, in a huge underground gymnasium.
Sanguis wielded his blood red glowing broadsword and fought Bollands and Gilbert. Han Shuo sat to one side, quietly watching the battle.
A thin mist of blood surrounded Sanguis. His skin seemed to be stained with blood and his eyes glowed like a pair of terrifying red flames. Gilbert and Bollands struggled, pushing with all their might, but they could barely withstand Sanguis's ferocious attacks.
Sanguis was born with the 'Body of Sanguis', an extremely rare type of body that was best suited for cultivating the Bloodgod Mantra, a subset of the Demonic Arts. After relentlessly training and cultivating, Sanguis had now reached an extremely deep level of Bloodgod Mantra. Sanguis was able to easily deflect Gilbert and Bolland's attacks and push them back by shooting bloody radiance from his broadsword.
Han Shuo had silently but closely watched the battle. When Gilbert and Bollands were pushed back so far that they had no room to retreat, Han Shuo finally intervened. He raised his hand and an enormous palm materialised out of nowhere, blocking the two sides and stopping their fight.
"Well done, Sanguis, you have reached the most advanced level of the Bloodgod Mantra," Han Shuo said as he nodded. He then turned to the rather disappointed Bollands and advised, "Progress in the Godslaying Devil Path requires constant bloodshed. Although you've reached the realm of Bloodlust, it seems that you're still lacking in the realm state. Bollands, there are times when you have been too calm. This makes it difficult for you to go berserk in battle and fall into a demonic trance state. If you can go into a controlled demonic trance in every battle, your strength will multiply. You must put more effort into this aspect.
Bollands put down his flying sword, bowed humbly to Han Shuo and asked, "Senior Brother, how do I get myself to fall into a demonic trance state during battle?"
"You must allow yourself to lose your rationality and go wild. This usually requires provocation from your opponent. However, you can practice going into the state yourself, or at least close to it. Try to imagine things that make you angry, and imagine your opponent as the person you hate the most. And try not to think too much when you fight - just fill your mind with the desire to slaughter," Han Shuo replied after thinking for a moment about his past experience of entering the Demon Trance.
"Gilbert, a major component of your demonic arts practice is the tempering of the soul. The other major component is your body, which I had forged in the same way I would forge a demonic weapon. In addition to cultivating the energy of darkness, you must also pay attention to these two aspects.
"Master, I have reached the Early-stage of the Highgod realm and my darkness divine energy is beginning to merge with my demonic energy. However, I still feel quite stuck. Is there another way to make the darkness energy merge better with my demonic energy?" asked Gilbert. He was the weakest of the three and most desperate to improve his strength.
"I have no experience to guide you in fusing these energies. You'll have to find out for yourself." The Demonic Arts that Han Shuo cultivated were of the orthodox school, not practised by Sanguis, Bollands or Gilbert.
Even though Han Shuo had two avatars cultivating the energy of death and destruction, he could not fuse it with the Demonic Yuan of his main body because the Demonic Yuan would reject those fundamental powers. Moreover, since the power of his demonic yuan was orders of magnitude greater than his divine energy, it would be extremely difficult to fuse those energies. Han Shuo only had experience in fusing two energies found in this universe, but not in fusing energies from different universes.
"Master, why don't you teach me one of these demonic arts? I have noticed that Bollands and Sanguis are progressing much faster than me by focusing their cultivation on one energy. Maybe if I focus my cultivation on just one energy, I can make much greater improvements," Gilbert said.
"That won't be necessary." Han Shuo shook his head and replied, "You have already reached the Early-stage of the Highgod realm in your cultivation of the Darkness energy. It would be a waste to throw away that power. Besides, you're not on the wrong path, you just need to get the hang of it. Han Hao cultivates in two energies just like you, and he has improved rapidly. Right, Han Hao will be here soon. You should ask him for some advice later. He would have more relevant experience to help you make breakthroughs.
From the pandemonium, Han Shuo could sense the souls of Han Jin and Han Tu as they built Han Hao's new underground palace. Han Shuo and Han Hao could easily sense each other's presence from their respective bases. Therefore, Han Shuo immediately knew that Han Hao was on his way to the Pandemonium using the underground tunnel connecting their bases.
Gilbert was delighted to hear this. He laughed out loud and said, "So it turns out that the little guy is also a dual cultivator! It's been a while since I've seen him. I wonder what he is like now.
Gilbert had known Han Hao for a long time. Centuries ago, Gilbert and Han Hao had murdered and plundered unsuspecting victims with Han Shuo in the Dark Forest of the Profound Continent. He had heard much about Han Hao's exploits and wanted to see how much Han Hao had grown in this hostile world called Elysium.
A gleam of excitement suddenly flashed across Sanguis's eyes when he heard that Han Hao would be there soon. Sanguis had long wanted to meet Han Hao and duel with him to test their strength, but he had never had the opportunity. And in the recent time, Sanguis had been painstakingly tempering himself and had made another giant leap in strength. He was at his best for a duel. This was the perfect opportunity Sanguis had been waiting for. So Sanguis immediately went to Han Shuo and asked, "master, I would like to challenge Han Hao to a duel!"
"Haha, sure, go ahead. Battles are the best way to discover your weaknesses. There is no need to hold back your power or give him any warning - just attack him immediately. You can even do a sneak attack. With me as the referee, it will be quite harmless," Han Shuo immediately agreed. Not only did he not show the slightest concern, but he also seemed very happy about it.
"Thank you, Master! This is fantastic!" Sanguis was elated, thinking that Han Shuo would not have allowed it.
Sanguis had always felt that no one but Han Shuo was stronger than him. Being a competitive young man, Sanguis had been eager to prove that he was stronger than Han Hao through a duel ever since he learned of Han Hao's existence and identity.
Time and again, Sanguis had come across credible rumours that Han Hao would be an exceptionally powerful opponent. However, instead of making Sanguis think twice, it only made him more eager to fight Han Hao. This was the opportunity he had been looking forward to for a long time, and he wasn't going to let it pass him by.
"He will be here soon. You can go all out as soon as he walks in," Han Shuo said with a grin to the incredibly excited Sanguis.
"Sanguis, do not hold back! If he can make someone like Polo kneel under his command, he must be more powerful than you. Attack with all your might," Bollands advised. He was also excited, as he had been looking forward to seeing Han Hao's power.
"Sanguis, Bollands and I are no match for you, but this little guy definitely is. This will be interesting. Let's see which of you is stronger!" laughed Gilbert as he and Bollands walked over to Han Shuo's side.
As Han Hao did not hide his footsteps or his aura, everyone in the gymnasium could hear him approaching and sense the faint killing intent that he emanated. They knew Han Hao was just outside the entrance of the gymnasium and they stared in his direction with anticipation and excitement.
***
"Master is inside," Zovic said quietly after leading Han Hao to the outside of the gymnasium.
Zovic was one of the few Fringedwellers who knew about Han Shuo and Han Hao's relationship. For many years, Zovic had been responsible for exchanging information with Han Hao's followers. He was well aware of the terrible deeds committed by the young man before him. And as a well-informed man, he knew that Han Hao undoubtedly commanded the greatest forces in the Fringe after Han Shuo, Tyre, Logue, Ossora and Wasir. And in some ways, the relentless and merciless Han Hao could even be considered a more terrifying figure than the Sovereigns.
The Fringe has always been a place where the strong are honoured. Therefore, even if Han Hao wasn't his master's son, he would still be treated with great respect.
When Han Hao came to the entrance of the gymnasium, he knitted his brows, turned to Scarlett and instructed, "Scarlett, stay here for a moment.
"Okay," Scarlett nodded. She was feeling rather nervous and shy, knowing that she was going to meet her 'father-in-law' with Han Hao.
A so-called sneak attack would be completely ineffective against Han Hao as his soul was simply too sensitive. He could sense the faint energy targeting him from inside the gymnasium before he even got close. Even though Sanguis had tried his best to hide his aura and energy, Han Hao could still sense that Sanguis's killing intent was focused on him.
Han Hao also sensed Han Shuo's presence in the gymnasium, and he reasoned that this person planning to ambush him was probably not an enemy. Not worrying about his own safety, he had asked Scarlett to wait outside so that she would not be affected by the aftershocks of their encounter. After all, she was only an Early-stage Highgod.
After hearing Scarlett's response, Han Hao took on an aggressive demeanour. A three metre long bone spear suddenly appeared from the palm of his right hand. The bone spear in Han Hao's grasp emitted a terrifying aura and a terrifying killing intent. This shocked Zovic. Confused and panicked, he shouted, "Young Master Han Hao, what are you doing?"
"Don't worry, someone wants to duel with me. It'll be fine," Han Hao explained before finally entering the gymnasium.
Immediately, the gymnasium was illuminated by an intense burst of blood-red light, as if a sun made of blood had appeared from nowhere, while an intense stench of blood flooded the gymnasium. Sanguis carrying his blood-stained broadsword and the sky filled with blood daggers began to descend on Han Hao.