A city forever shrouded in a dark red sky—the unforgivable Slaughter City. At its peak, the upside-down triangle-shaped building, lay the symbol of absolute power and death. The massive Slaughter King sat upon a throne of bones.
Yet his pale face was twitching uncontrollably, thin scarlet cracks appearing beneath the skin and rapidly spreading. His eyes bulged, bloodshot; a guttural, distorted sound issued from his throat, his figure becoming ferocious and terrifying to behold.
"Blood—!!!"
An anguished roar burst from the Slaughter King's mouth, its rage and pain carried by a sonic wave of ferocious intent and soul power that swept through the entire Slaughter City.
Countless residents—degenerates engaged in brawls or festivities—froze, glancing up in shock and suspicion at the inverted triangle, the city's symbol of death and terror. Their faces were filled with dread and confusion. What was that mad king scheming now?
"Damn—!!"
Immediately after, a voice—laced with disbelief and rage even sharper and more evil—seemed to boil from the depths of the Slaughter King's body.
"Even a god… can be this shameless?!"
But the fierce aura of the Crimson Bat King could not erupt for long and quickly waned, settling down. Tang Chen, now seated on the throne, trembled violently for a long time, then gradually calmed. The eternal crimson in his eyes ebbed like a tide, replaced by a long-lost clarity.
The peerless Douluo whom the outside world had believed hopelessly fallen—Tang Chen—now, due to outside intervention, was temporarily freed from the Crimson Bat King's possession and regained control of his body.
"Huff… huff..."
Tang Chen panted, utterly depleted with each breath. He could feel how his body, eroded for decades, was now riddled with holes and on the edge of collapse.
Raising a trembling hand, he stared at the shocking blood cracks on his skin, feeling the weakness passing through his body, conflict evident in his eyes.
"The power… of the Asura God…"
Memories surfaced—how he had once come here to take the Asura God's trials, determined to ascend to godhood. But in the eighth trial, he encountered the Rakshasa God's scheme and was possessed by the malevolent being. For decades, his body and spirit had been invaded and assimilated, leaving him perpetually exhausted and close to breaking.
Without the sudden aid of the Asura God's power, which stabilized his failing consciousness and body just in time, he would have become nothing more than a puppet and nourishment for the Crimson Bat King, and Tang Chen would have ceased to exist.
But the god's power brought only temporary peace, expelling most (but not all) of the bat demon's influence. The source of its malice remained entrenched in his body and soul, like maggots clinging to bone.
"I… never expected this…"
Tang Chen smiled bitterly, his gaze drifting toward a dim corner of the hall. There lay a huge, dark-red, eerie demonic sword resting quietly on the ground.
Complex emotion flickered in his eyes as he beheld the sword, but he quickly shook himself free of stray thoughts—the most urgent matter was to escape this wretched place and return to the outside world.
"Bo Saixi…"
Just the name brought a long-lost warmth back to his heart, soothing both his physical pain and mental exhaustion.
"First, check on the Clear Sky Sect… then go look for Bo Saixi."
Decision made, Tang Chen's heart was set. His bloodstained, tattered robe slipped off, turning to ash, revealing a worn gray outfit beneath. Though his complexion remained pallid, this garb restored a bit of his former Invincible Land aura.
Tang Chen moved swiftly, appearing above Slaughter City's ominous scarlet dome, hovering in the sky. Below, countless degenerates quaked in terror as the familiar and uncanny aura reappeared, all staring at the lone gray figure above.
None understood what had happened; all that mattered was that the "madman" seemed to have changed again, evoking a deeper level of fear.
Tang Chen glanced coldly down upon the city he'd "ruled" for decades, his eyes filled with killing intent. If he wished, it would not be hard to destroy this city and eradicate its corrupted denizens.
Yet the urge to kill passed in a flash. Tang Chen fell silent, then finally shook his head.
"It doesn't matter..."
He seemed to convince himself with a soft murmur.
"This City of Slaughter is, after all, the ultimate prison and refuge for the irredeemably fallen. If the city were destroyed, the uncontrollable madmen would roam the continent, causing turmoil and much greater disaster… Let it continue to exist..."
"At least it can serve to confine this trash."
Having decided, Tang Chen did not look back. With one last glance at the inverted triangle, his figure became a nearly invisible streak of gray light, vanishing in an instant through the spatial barrier above Slaughter City, and into the endless darkness.
Tang Chen… had returned.
…
At Grand Martial Academy Team's quarters in Heaven Dou City, a chess match was underway at mid-game atop a stone table: Chen Yi played black, the Grand elder played white. The two sat across from each other, the only sound the crisp clacks of chess pieces on the board.
Outside in the courtyard, the faint shouts and laughter of excited students could be heard. They had just won an easy victory over Godwind Academy in today's Soul Master Tournament group stage.
"That Feng Xiaotian finally seems to have realized his mistakes," the Grand elder said, calmly placing a white stone in the corner. "After his crushing defeat by you at Gale Canyon, he finally learned his lesson. He abandoned flashy but impractical combat skills and focused on improving his soul power."
"In just eight years, he rose from a Soul Elder to level 54 soul king. Not bad."
Chen Yi kept his eyes on the board, answering indifferently.
"He was born with full soul power—one of the top talents of the younger generation, unlike Bing'er, who was fixated on ultimate martial souls in the early stages. His achievements today are simply the result of his ability being fully realized—nothing particularly surprising."
Their tone was casual, as if discussing trivialities—not the fierce competition of soul masters. Beings of their level rarely showed up for such matches unless it affected deeper strategy; to them, these contests held little real interest.
As the elder was about to move, his normally serene eyes narrowed suddenly and his hand, holding a chess stone, paused. His sharp gaze turned outward, staring gravely into the distance beyond the courtyard.
"Hm?" Chen Yi noticed immediately and the peaceful look in his eyes vanished, replaced by sharpness. "What's wrong?"
The Grand Elder, Yuan Hua, slowly withdrew his gaze, frowning more deeply than ever.
"When I touched the Slaughter King, I left a spiritual mark for surveillance and early warning…"
Chen Yi raised his eyebrows, instantly grasping the situation. The Slaughter King—the body once controlled by the Crimson Bat King—something had happened!
"So…" Chen Yi's eyes turned cold, his voice frosty, "Something happened to that beast—or rather, to the body he had seized… Could it be that Tang Chen has awakened?"
The Grand Elder nodded slightly, confirming his guess.
"Regrettably, Tang Chen's mind has been temporarily freed from its bonds. Perhaps… he has already left Slaughter City."
Chen Yi fell momentarily silent, fingers tapping the cold edge of the chessboard. He picked up a piece, but instead of playing it, tapped it lightly against the board's rim with a crisp "tok tok" sound.
"A half-dead 'living corpse' on the verge of collapse…" None of this stirred any emotion in his voice. "Even if he's lucky enough to return, how much havoc can he possibly cause?"
He looked up at the Grand Elder, a cold, emotionless smile curling at his lips.
"Perfect. This time, we'll finish this in one stroke."