The Douluo Continent, in the far west, is a desolate basin shrouded year-round in dark red mist. This is the infamous forbidden land—the City of Slaughter—a place that both terrifies and beckons countless soul masters who yearn to break through amidst blood and fire.
At the entrance of the basin, distorted spatial ripples shimmered as several figures stepped out. The two in the lead, possessing profound and deep auras, were none other than the Clear Sky Sect Master Tang Wei and his son, Tang Hao.
Following behind them were several young disciples carefully cultivated by the Clear Sky Sect. Each had sharp eyes, carrying the fierce courage of a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, yet they could not hide a trace of nervousness when facing the unknown.
"This is the City of Slaughter." Tang Wei's voice was low, his gaze sweeping over the deathly silent basin before him with a hint of gravity. "The rules here are special; soul power circulation is sluggish, and soul skills are almost impossible to cast. One can only survive using the most primitive killing instincts, combat techniques, and willpower."
There are no laws within the city, only one iron rule—the strong are respected, and the fittest survive. Your journey here is to see blood and temper your will, not to pursue the hollow fame of a 'hundred victories.' Remember, do not drown in the slaughter and lose your true self!"
"Yes, Sect Master (Father)!" the disciples replied in unison. Tang Hao gripped his Clear Sky Hammer even tighter, his eyes burning with battle intent. He craved true life and death battles to hone his hammer intent and solidify the foundation for his rapid advancement.
The continent is now unified, and the general atmosphere leans toward peace. Unless it is a "life and death arena" in the Great Soul Arena, most fights stop at the point. Even the "life and death arena" is merely for amusement; if one side has a major background, they will rarely encounter a truly evenly matched opponent to fight to the death (after all, such people usually have major backgrounds as well).
Therefore, for a genius like Tang Hao, even going to the life and death arena of the Great Soul Arena would just be bullying the weak, providing no real improvement. The City of Slaughter is different; because of the rules of the City of Slaughter, the guys there are not weak in combat power and are not afraid of death, making it a good place for training.
Yu Yunyao and other outstanding disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect were also once brought by Yu Yuanzhen to the City of Slaughter to see blood. Of course, he would never let his disciples stay in the City of Slaughter for too long or insist on getting 100 consecutive victories, as this has a huge impact on a young soul master's temperament and easily turns them into a pervert. Tang Hao is the same.
Regardless, both Yu Yuanchen and Tang Chen are gods, and they left behind god-level means to shield the rules of the City of Slaughter. The City of Slaughter is merely a place for the younger generation to see blood.
Speaking of which, it must be mentioned that the City of Slaughter was not established by the Asura God on the surface, but by a second-level deity under his command, the God of Slaughter. It is just that the Asura God can turn this place into his own inheritance site at any time to pass down his legacy.
It is also for this reason that the first-generation Angel God dared to use the City of Slaughter as a prison for Martial Soul Hall to lock up evil soul masters (otherwise, would a first-level god be brain-dead enough to use a God King's inheritance site as a prison?).
As for the Slaughter God's Domain, just kidding. If Tang Hao wanted a domain, he could just ask Tang Chen for one. It is just that he chose to walk his own path, wanting to comprehend his own domain before referencing Tang Chen's.
Tang Wei nodded slightly and took out a token with an ancient design, pitch-black all over, with a giant hammer pattern engraved on the surface, and quietly injected soul power into it. The token glowed slightly, emitting a layer of soft yet inviolable light that enveloped everyone.
This is the "Biyi Token" specifically refined by Tang Chen, containing his divine power. Although its grade is only a level 3 divine artifact, it is enough to allow the holder to retain a certain degree of soul skill casting ability and the confidence to retreat at any time under the rule suppression of the City of Slaughter, just in case. Of course, unless necessary, Tang Wei would not use it easily; the true essence of training lies in breaking through under pressure.
The group stepped into the distorted spatial entrance, and the thick scent of blood and the crazy will to kill rushed toward them, as if they had instantly fallen into an endless hell.
Just as Tang Hao and the others entered the City of Slaughter, Yu Yuanchen, who was in seclusion deep within the secret realm of the Purple Blazing Dragon City, felt his mind stir slightly.
"So that kid Tang Hao went to the City of Slaughter." Yu Yuanchen slowly opened his eyes, chaos swirling in his pupils as if he could pierce through endless space and land on that land shrouded in dark red mist.
For this kid whom he had watched grow up, Yu Yuanchen held him in high regard. Unlike the original work, this kid's temperament and talent were now top-tier, and he was the future hope of the Clear Sky Sect. Precisely because of this, he would not let Tang Hao repeat the mistakes of the "original work."
"Asura... will you let go of this 'fine material'?" A cold arc curled at the corner of Yu Yuanchen's mouth. He knew well the methods of the Asura God King in the original work, who loved to lay out schemes in the dark and search for chess pieces.
With Tang Hao's aptitude, entering a place filled with the law of slaughter like the City of Slaughter at this time was simply a perfect candidate for a "priest" delivered to his doorstep. With no Tang Chen around to intervene, the Asura God King was highly likely to take the opportunity to plant a dark hand, using the inheritance of a god position as bait to turn Tang Hao into a sacrifice for the "Tang San" who might appear in the future.
Moreover, Tang Chen clearly had not told the younger generation about the affairs of the God Realm. If a God King were to offer them an inheritance, Tang Hao, not knowing the inside story, would naturally not refuse.
If this were to happen, once Tang Hao accepted the Asura God trials, the matter would be set in stone. Even as a God King, it would be difficult for Yu Yuanchen to forcibly interfere with a normal inheritance selection of another God King. Otherwise, it would be a public challenge to the foundation of the God Realm's inheritance system, contradicting his stance of advocating the "Path of Divine Spark" as a supplement rather than a replacement. It would be very easy for God Kings like Goodness and Evil to seize the handle and attack him for attempting to subvert the order of the God Realm.
"I absolutely cannot let him succeed." Yu Yuanchen's thoughts raced. A strand of divine sense, condensed to the extreme and containing the artistic conception of creation and guidance from the Yuan Chen Divine Spark, silently crossed the void and attached itself to an inconspicuous accessory Tang Hao was carrying.
This strand of divine sense was extremely subtle and did not possess any offensive nature. It would only be triggered when it sensed that law power of the same or higher level was attempting to infect Tang Hao's soul origin.
City of Slaughter, Hell Slaughter Arena.
This is the core of the City of Slaughter and the gathering place of sin and madness. Countless bloody battles are staged here every day; the winner lives, and the loser dies. It is simple and cruel.
Tang Hao stood on the cold black stone arena. Opposite him remained only one Soul Douluo-level evil soul master with scarlet eyes, a body covered in scars, and a fierce aura. Several corpses already lay beside him. Around them were deafening, crazy shouts and curses.
"Kid, you look like a disciple from a big family. What, you've lived a good life for too long and dare to come to the Hell Arena to die? Grandpa will use your skull as a wine cup today!" The evil soul master licked his dry lips, a sickly green light flickering on the bone blade in his hand.
Tang Hao remained expressionless, only slowly raising the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand. Here, soul skills were greatly suppressed, but the Martial Soul Origin and physical strength remained. What he needed to adapt to was this combat method that aimed purely at slaughter and used every means possible, as well as the crazy killing intent that eroded his mind at every moment.
"Die!" The evil soul master shrieked, his figure turning into a ghost. The bone blade whistled piercingly, stabbing straight at Tang Hao's throat with astonishing speed!
If it were an ordinary Soul Emperor, under the suppression of the rules here, they probably wouldn't even have time to react. But Tang Hao was different! Although he could not cast high-level soul skills like the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, his strong physique, tempered over years, and his understanding of the most original "force" of the Clear Sky Hammer were not greatly affected!
He shifted his feet, his body tilted slightly, dodging the bone blade by a hair's breadth. At the same time, the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand swept across with an unadorned horizontal strike! There was no soul power glow, only power and speed pure to the extreme, and that hammer intent that pressed forward with indomitable will, crushing everything!
"Bang!"
Amidst the heavy muffled sound, the evil soul master was actually sent stumbling back by the hammer, clear cracking sounds coming from his chest bones, his eyes filled with disbelief! He did not expect that this seemingly young Soul Emperor would have such terrifying physical strength and combat awareness!
Tang Hao did not let up, the Clear Sky Hammer turning into a blur of hammer shadows, smashing down like a storm! Each hammer strike was heavy and powerful, containing the terrifying strength to collapse mountains and split rocks. He abandoned all flashy techniques, leaving only the most direct and effective attack—smash!
The evil soul master could initially maneuver with strange footwork, but he was soon completely suppressed by Tang Hao's seemingly endless, violent offensive. The bone blade was smashed away, his protective soul power was shaken apart, and finally, he was hit hard on the head by a heavy hammer, red and white matter splattering everywhere, dying on the spot!
"The winner of this match, Clear Sky!" the referee's cold voice rang out.
Tang Hao leaned on his hammer, panting slightly, his body covered in the enemy's blood, but his eyes grew sharper. A dozen consecutive high-intensity life and death battles made his combat techniques more proficient and his understanding of slaughter deeper.
He felt that something was gestating in his body, producing a wonderful resonance with the law of slaughter permeating the surroundings.
In the corner of the stands, Tang Wei, who had hidden his figure, nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction in his eyes. Hao'er's progress was visible to the naked eye.
However, just as Tang Hao was immersed in his combat insights, at the moment when his mind was most in tune with the laws of the City of Slaughter, a sudden change occurred!
A strand of divine power, extremely subtle yet carrying supreme majesty and the aura of judgment, like an invisible spider web, silently pierced through the void, attempting to entangle Tang Hao's soul.
It attempted to guide his insights on slaughter toward a specific direction, full of order and restraint—that was the path to condensing the "Slaughter God's Domain"! Once successful, it would be equivalent to being branded with the Asura God trials!
The owner of this divine sense had a cultivation level far exceeding that of ordinary gods, carrying a hint of law authority that only a God King possessed! It was the dark hand cast across space by the Asura God King!
At this critical moment, the strand of Yuan Chen divine sense attached to Tang Hao's accessory suddenly activated!
There was no earth-shattering collision, no bombardment of law torrents. Yu Yuanchen's divine sense, like the most precise scalpel, accurately cut off the influence of that strand of Asura divine sense on Tang Hao's soul origin. At the same time, it simulated the fluctuations of Tang Hao's own aura, isolating the influence of external factors on his understanding of the law of slaughter.
In this way, it could preserve the true meaning of slaughter that Tang Hao had realized from life and death battles—that domineering and resolute spirit of pressing forward and destroying everything—while cleverly avoiding the "Slaughter God's Domain" framework set by the Asura God King, which carried a strong personal style, and instead guiding it to combine with the "force" and "crushing" origin of his own Clear Sky Hammer.
The whole process happened in a flash, silent and soundless. The Asura divine sense secretly left in the City of Slaughter seemed to detect a trace of abnormality, but upon careful investigation, it only felt that the killing aura on Tang Hao was boiling, and he was condensing some kind of powerful domain.
But it seemed to deviate slightly from what was expected, though the general direction was correct, so it assumed the kid was gifted and the domain he realized was slightly mutated, and did not delve further, quietly fading away. After all, he could not interfere too much directly to avoid leaving obvious traces; after all, Tang Hao also had a background.
On the Arena, Tang Hao was completely unaware of this. He only felt a thunderous tremor in his mind as his comprehension of slaughter and the will of his Clear Sky Hammer merged seamlessly. A brand-new Dark Red Halo, filled with an aura of destruction and ruin, suddenly expanded from beneath his feet!
Wherever the halo passed, the slaughter thoughts permeating the Air seemed to be summoned by a king, surging into it frantically. This made the color of the halo grow deeper, with fine black Thunder flickering faintly at its edges! A heart-palpitating pressure spread out, as if it could suppress all resistance and shatter every obstacle!
"Is this... my domain?" Tang Hao felt the power within the domain—both familiar (slaughter) and unfamiliar (perfectly compatible with the Clear Sky Hammer)—and an indescribable excitement surged in his heart. He could sense that while this domain shared similarities with his Grandfather Tang Chen's Clear Sky Domain, it was far more violent and focused on extreme attack and destruction, making it a match made in heaven for his Clear Sky Hammer!
"I shall call you the Clear Sky Slaughter Domain!" Tang Hao let out a low shout. The Domain Power retracted, but the aura around his body became increasingly condensed and terrifying, as if he were a god of slaughter who had just awakened.
Hidden in the shadows, Tang Wei felt the pure and domineering domain aura on his son and revealed a look of pleasant surprise. This domain differed from Tang Chen's Clear Sky Domain primarily in its control over the force field; by incorporating the Law of slaughter, it focused more on the unique, wild dominance of the Clear Sky Hammer. It seemed that Hao'er had also carved out his own path.
In the God Realm, at the Asura God Temple.
On the throne, the Asura God King slowly opened his scarlet eyes, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.
"Tang Hao... has actually comprehended a domain on his own? Although it contains the true essence of slaughter, it is closer to the origin of power and differs from the core of the Slaughter God's Domain... Is this due to the kid's talent, or..." He tapped his Fingertip lightly against the armrest of the throne, a trace of doubt flashing through his mind. Just now, when he was guiding from afar, he seemed to sense a faint interference that was different from the Law of slaughter, but it vanished in an instant, leaving no trace when he tried to Investigate carefully.
"Yu Yuanchen..." A cold light flashed and vanished in the eyes of the Asura God King. The first person he suspected was that newly ascended Yuan Chen God King, who always played by his own rules.
"Forget it. Since it did not become the Slaughter God's Domain and the kid has someone secretly looking after him, if I were to alert the enemy now, I fear there would be no chance in the future." The Asura God King suppressed his displeasure and closed his eyes once more. The chess game had only just begun; there was no need to rush to Place a Piece.
In Purple Blazing Dragon City, Yu Yuanchen sensed that strand of Asura's Divine Sense retreating, as well as Tang Hao's successful condensation of his own unique Clear Sky Slaughter Domain, and the Corner of his Mouth finally curled into a satisfied smile.
"Eat the candy coating, throw the cannonball back. Asura, I will accept this 'generous gift' on behalf of this kid. As for your schemes, you had better save them for someone else."
He had successfully neutralized the Asura God King's hidden hand, allowing Tang Hao to gain valuable Training and a domain while avoiding being tied to Asura's chariot. He had also left no evidence behind, maintaining a facade of calm.
"However, after this incident, Asura will surely be even more vigilant. The coming game of chess will likely be even more covert and dangerous." Yu Yuanchen's gaze was Deep as he sank back into his cultivation. Strength is always the cornerstone for countering all conspiracies.
Meanwhile, in the City of Slaughter, Tang Hao, having successfully comprehended his domain, felt his fighting spirit soar even higher as he continued his bloody Training. He knew nothing of the clash in the shadows, feeling only that his path was becoming increasingly clear. What kind of power would erupt from the combination of the Clear Sky Hammer and the slaughter domain? He looked forward to it immensely.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan