Deep within the Slaughter City, inside a blood-colored divine temple that exists between reality and the void.
Rows of spectral priests, projected from unknown origins and clad in heavy, intricate ceremonial robes, moved slowly before a divine statue. The statue was placed in the center of the altar, its gilded face and solemn expression radiating an intangible majesty. The torches in the priests' hands provided the only light within the dim hall, illuminating their stern faces and ornate attire.
However, at a certain moment during their prayers, the flames before the statue flickered violently in the darkness, as if responding to their devout supplications. When the swaying flames reached their peak, a pillar of blood-colored light erupted from the statue, shooting toward the heavens.
A massive figure, entirely encased in dark red magic patterns, slowly walked out from within the light pillar. Every step he took caused the colossal blood-colored divine temple to tremble. Dark red radiance swirled around his body, making it impossible to discern his appearance. One could only vaguely see that he wore armor covered in dark red magic patterns.
After the man in the magic pattern armor appeared, a screen of light manifested out of thin air, replaying the scene from the Hell Slaughter Arena where Bibi Dong was beating the Slaughter King.
Watching the familiar dark purple demon scythe in Bibi Dong's hand and sensing the familiar fluctuations emanating from her, the man in the magic pattern armor said coldly.
"Rakshasa, you really know how to pick a successor!"
The voice of this man, wrapped in dark red magic patterns, sounded like the clashing of metal, and with every word he uttered, the air seemed to grow a few degrees colder.
He then looked at the Slaughter King being pummeled by Bibi Dong—or more accurately, he was looking at Tang Chen, who was being parasitized and controlled by the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King—and said with disdain for his incompetence.
"What a disgrace."
He was Shura, the God of Slaughter, and one of the Five God Kings in the God Realm who oversaw slaughter, judgment, and law. This Slaughter City was the trial ground where he selected his successors.
Ordinarily, given his status, he would not easily manifest for such trivial mortal affairs. However, a successor snatched away by his arch-nemesis 'Rakshasa' was now beating his former successor—the current master of Slaughter City—within his own inheritance grounds. This was such a brutal and malicious act of intrusion that if he did not step in to manage it, he feared his reputation in the God Realm would be completely ruined.
Watching the Slaughter King struggle increasingly under Bibi Dong's violent onslaught, the Shura God cursed him as a waste. With a flick of his finger, a ray of blood-colored light shot out, flying toward the exterior of the blood-colored divine temple.
"Where you ultimately end up depends on your own fortune."
Finally, he gazed into the void, leaving behind words for an unknown recipient before departing. The Shura God's projection dissipated, and the blood-colored divine temple returned to its usual state.
On the other side, at the Hell Slaughter Arena.
The Slaughter King, whose abilities were completely countered by Bibi Dong, broke into a cold sweat as he saw the mad woman's next strike descending toward his forehead.
"Your Holiness the Pope, today's events were a lapse in my judgment, and I offer my apologies. Why don't we end this here?" The Slaughter King had lost his nerve and sought a truce.
But Bibi Dong had no intention of entertaining him, and she brought her scythe down regardless.
When stripped to the core, the Slaughter King was merely a trapped beast in this Slaughter City. Moreover, the city's rules functioned with or without him, and a new king would eventually emerge. He held little value to Bibi Dong; if he was to be cut down, so be it. She would not stop.
Seeing the Rakshasa Demon Scythe, imbued with the Supreme Evil Qi, continuing its rapid descent, the Slaughter King could not dodge in time. He gritted his teeth and prepared to raise his claws to block, but suddenly, a beam of blood-colored magic light erupted from the floor of the arena, striking the Slaughter King with lightning speed.
BOOM!
A silent roar echoed within the Slaughter King's heart. Struck by the magic light, his mind went blank for a moment, and then he seemed to be ignited. The blood-colored light flame on his body surged and flared, and a terrifying aura, far exceeding his previous state, erupted from him.
At the same time, his appearance began to change; compared to his previous bat-like form, he now possessed three parts more human characteristics.
The Slaughter King suddenly became extremely formidable, faintly exerting a sense of suppression and restraint upon Bibi Dong, which immediately put her on high alert.
What is happening? Why does he give me this feeling?!
Bibi Dong, who had yet to inherit the Rakshasa God position, had limited knowledge of the gods in the God Realm. She did not yet know that the Rakshasa divine power within her was wary of the Shura divine power awakening within the Slaughter King.
However, even though Bibi Dong did not know what had occurred, she knew that as long as she took advantage of the opponent's unstable state to cut him down, everything would be settled. Thus, Bibi Dong continued to swing her demon scythe with all her might, and this time, she utilized other abilities to ensure a decisive blow.
Soul Devouring Spider Emperor, possess!
Ink-green spiderweb patterns appeared on her forehead, and a layer of crystalline ink-green light spread across her body. Three pairs of ink-green spider legs emerged from her back, and her lower body was completely enveloped in the ink-green glow.
That was not all. After summoning her Martial Soul, the sixth black soul ring at her feet suddenly lit up.
She activated one of her most tyrannical single-target attack abilities, 'Eternal Creation'. Soul skill effect: physical defense is nullified, energy defense is reduced by fifty percent, and once it hits, the wound will spread endlessly, requiring soul power to resist until the victim's soul power is exhausted and they perish.
With the soul skill's enhancement, a layer of green blade-light manifested on the Rakshasa Demon Scythe, making the already sharp blade even more terrifying.
Seeing the demon scythe about to strike and the 'Slaughter King' on the verge of death, he moved.
With life-and-death danger imminent, the 'Slaughter King' instinctively raised his right hand. A blood-red giant sword, over two meters in length, appeared in his grip, and he blocked the downward trajectory of the Rakshasa Demon Scythe with a horizontal parry.
"CLANG—"
The giant sword collided with the demon scythe, emitting a hum. The blood-colored killing intent clashed with the ink-green blade-light, creating a fierce gale that added countless cracks to the Hell Slaughter Arena.
Bibi Dong was surprised to see her divine artifact, the Rakshasa Demon Scythe, blocked. She looked at the giant sword in the 'Slaughter King's' hand—the slender, massive blade covered in dark gold magic patterns appeared to be a divine artifact as well!
But before Bibi Dong could finish her surprise, the 'Slaughter King' made another move.
"ROAR—"
The 'Slaughter King' parried and pushed Bibi Dong away, gripped the hilt with both hands, flipped the blade toward her, and after a furious roar, slashed out with a violent strike.
A streak of blood-ink sword qi, carrying endless killing intent and resembling a heavenly condemnation, slashed wildly toward Bibi Dong.
Sensing the terrifying power of this strike, which was incomparable to the Slaughter King's previous attacks, Bibi Dong immediately dodged.
She evaded the blow, but the buildings and residents ten miles behind her suffered; everything touched by the blade was severed in two, leaving Bibi Dong deeply shaken.
Having missed his strike, the 'Slaughter King' seemed dissatisfied. After a roar, he brandished the blood-colored giant sword, flapped his wings, and transformed into a blood-colored sword shadow, slashing toward Bibi Dong once more.
The opponent's approach was swift. Seeing no room to dodge, Bibi Dong raised the Rakshasa Demon Scythe to meet him.
"CLANG—"
"SHING—"
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The two exchanged blows with sword and scythe, neither yielding, engaging in a fierce clash of weaponry. Countless blades of qi flew out, causing the already dilapidated arena beneath their feet to collapse completely.
"Clang—"
Bibi Dong once again met the Slaughter King's sword head-on, using the momentum to retreat and temporarily break free from his attack range.
She steadied her right hand, which held her scythe and was trembling slightly, while alarm bells rang in her heart. Things were different; upon clashing again, the Slaughter King had changed significantly. He was far more powerful than before.
Bibi Dong's arm bones were a pair of hundred thousand year soul bones originating from the Death Spider Emperor. Combined with the reinforcement her sixteen spirit rings provided to her body, and the fact that she was using the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor Martial Soul—which was more proficient in close-quarters combat—she was shocked to find herself shaking from the impact of the Slaughter King's strikes.
Although the Slaughter King was faring no better, it proved that his current strength made him a formidable rival capable of going toe-to-toe with her.
However, Bibi Dong had also confirmed one thing: the Slaughter King's current mental state was highly unstable. During their exchange just now, he had acted entirely like a wild beast, swinging his sword based purely on instinct.
The reality was exactly as Bibi Dong had sensed. The current Slaughter King was neither the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King nor Tang Chen; he was purely a monster controlled by bodily instincts.
To deal with Bibi Dong, the Shura God had used that streak of blood light to activate the Shura Power belonging to Tang Chen that lay dormant within the Slaughter King. However, this did not mean he would help Tang Chen break free from his shackles. He was a Law Enforcement God; how could he cheat for a trial-taker stuck on the eighth trial of his God Trial!
(Although the main reason was that given Tang Chen's current physical condition, it was impossible for him to inherit the Shura God position again, so the Shura God couldn't be bothered to care.)
While the Shura God had no intention of helping Tang Chen, the Shura divine power within the Slaughter King ultimately belonged to Tang Chen. Now that the divine power had revived, it had also helped Tang Chen regain a sliver of reason, creating the possibility for him to resist and eventually reclaim control of his body.
Right now, the two were locked in a full-scale struggle for dominance over the body, which caused his shell to enter a special, temporarily masterless state, acting purely on instinct. Once activated by Bibi Dong, he had become the combat machine he was now.
Watching the Slaughter King charge over with his sword once more, Bibi Dong swung her Demon Scythe, slashing more than a dozen fine, sharp strikes toward the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. By the time the Slaughter King swung his sword to disperse the dust, Bibi Dong was nowhere to be seen.
The opponent had grown stronger and lost his mind; not only was he difficult to fight, but there was no feedback to be gained, which was quite unpleasant. This caused Bibi Dong to lose her previous interest in hacking away at him. Thus, she left, leaving only a "Trash Cleaner" for Slaughter City, without taking a speck of dust with her.
"Roar—"
Unable to find his target, the Slaughter King let out a heaven-shaking roar. Finally, driven by the bloodthirsty instinct deep in his bones, he began to hunt down every other living creature he could find.
From this day on, the crazed residents of Slaughter City ushered in their darkest day. On this day, seventy percent of the city's already sparse population died directly in this hunt initiated by their King. The few who were lucky enough to escape the hunter lived in fear and trembling for some time afterward, playing a game of hide-and-seek until either Tang Chen or the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King overwhelmed the other and returned.
The matter between Bibi Dong and the Slaughter King had ended, but the journey through the Hell Road for Tang San and Huliena was far from over.
Originally, in this trial, Huliena was meant to be carried by Tang San to obtain the Slaughter God's Domain. But now, circumstances had changed. Before entering the Hell Road, Tang San had been dealt a heavy blow by the Slaughter King and was severely injured. Even with the powerful spirit skills of his mother's soul bone to mend his body, the toll on him was significant. What was even more troublesome was that his killing intent, having been stirred once, was becoming increasingly active.
Now, the two of them faced those difficult obstacles with even greater hardship.
In the first trial, the swarm of bats was manageable; relying on his hidden weapons—which were similar to those in his original timeline—combined with his Blue Silver Domain, Tang San didn't have much trouble. However, the big guy that followed, the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, gave Tang San some difficulty.
In the original timeline, they were able to temporarily pass by blowing up the three bat heads, but this time, Tang San gave the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King a chance to keep its "dog head."
During this head-exploding operation, because of the interference of his killing intent, Tang San's plan to explode all three heads in one go failed. After quickly blowing up two heads with his hammer and hidden weapons, his precision in controlling the hammer's return faltered. He missed by a hair's breadth and failed to destroy the third head, which gave the beast an opening.
The Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, having escaped death, immediately ascended, staying far away from Tang San to prevent him from trying again, while simultaneously commanding its minions to attack.
Tang San and Huliena naturally wanted to find another opportunity, but the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King simply refused to come down. Even if Tang San flew up, his flight ability was far inferior to that of a flying soul beast; he couldn't reach it!
The two could only endure the attacks of the bat swarm, moving forward slowly while trying to think of a solution.
After Huliena used her fox tails to hammer a few small bats to death, she retreated to Tang San's side and said.
"Tang Yin, this won't work! We have to find another way."
For the two of them to keep moving forward under such pressure was like drinking poison to quench thirst; sooner or later, something would go wrong. Tang San understood this, but his killing intent was rioting more and more severely, beginning to affect his movements, and he was truly struggling to keep up.
But the Child of Destiny is the Child of Destiny; in such a life-or-death crisis, there is always some quick wit. Tang San looked at Huliena, who was dodging and weaving nearby, his eyes lighting up as he said.
"Huliena, come here. Did your family prepare anything for you to save your life and pass the trial?"
Huliena was Bibi Dong's disciple and held a high status. Would Bibi Dong not provide some help when she came to a place like Slaughter City for training?
The answer to this question was, of course, she would. Bibi Dong didn't know Huliena would meet Tang San, and given Huliena's level of incompetence, how could she survive without help? Besides, if she had known in advance, she wouldn't have let Huliena come to this godforsaken place at all.
In the original timeline, Tang San carried Huliena through the trial, and Huliena didn't think of it. Now that Tang San was struggling, he took the initiative to mention it, and she remembered the items Bibi Dong had given her before she set off.
Taking advantage of a gap in blocking the bats, Huliena took a box from her Spatial Soul Tool and handed it to Tang San.
"This is what my family gave me. I don't really know how to use it; you figure it out."
Tang San opened it and took a look. His hand trembled, and his eyes lit up. Good heavens! As expected of Bibi Dong's disciple! She even had this kind of good stuff.
With this item, Tang San could responsibly say that the rest of the Hell Road could be cleared. --
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader