Asura God Descends and Grants Tang Chen a God's Trial? The Condition: Train in Slaughter City
On the Douluo Continent of this alternate spacetime, the Clear Sky Sect, thanks to Tang Chen's presence, had not declined and ultimately sealed its mountain to live in seclusion as it had in the original story.
Instead, with the four single-attribute clans at its core, it had gained quite a few families and sects unwilling to submit to Spirit Hall, who had attached themselves to the Clear Sky Sect instead.
"Yuehua, why did you suddenly decide to come home?
How is the Moonlight Pavilion you opened in Heaven Dou City doing? Has Xue Ye given you any trouble?"
On the steps leading up the Clear Sky Sect's main peak, Tang Xiao and Tang Yuehua climbed side by side, chatting in cheerful tones.
"Don't worry, Brother Xiao. My grandfather is the famous Clear Sky Douluo!
Who on the entire Douluo Continent would dare provoke me?"
Tang Yuehua proudly puffed out her chest and chuckled.
"As for why I came home?
That's because..."
Tang Yuehua kept him guessing instead of telling him outright, leaving Tang Xiao with no choice but to sigh helplessly.
Although Tang Yuehua's Soul Power was fixed at level 9, that was precisely why their ancestor Tang Chen cherished her all the more.
Tang Chen saw the limitations Tang Yuehua had been born with, and they pained him, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't resolve them.
Thus, even if Tang Yuehua could never become a Soul Master, Tang Chen's affection had raised her standing in the sect to a point where only one person stood above her.
Hehe, Brother Hao, I'll go home first and sound out Father and Grandfather.
As long as they're not too opposed, I'll wait at home for the good news that you're bringing Sister-in-law back!
Tang Yuehua chuckled happily to herself.
"Oh, right, Yuehua, Grandfather has been in a bad mood lately. When you see him, be on your best behavior and cheer him up."
Tang Xiao paused, then turned to Tang Yuehua with a worried expression.
"Huh? What's wrong with Grandfather?"
Tang Yuehua froze in surprise. In her memory, her grandfather Tang Chen was invincible.
Even Qian Daoliu of Spirit Hall had only managed to match Grandfather at best, and had been forced to hold his nose and acknowledge the Clear Sky Sect's equal standing with Spirit Hall in the Soul Master World.
But now Tang Xiao was telling her that something had put Grandfather in a bad mood?
"Here's what happened, Yuehua."
Tang Xiao sighed and sat down on a nearby rock.
"According to our maternal grandfather, something strange has been going on in Spirit City these past two years.
The Titled Douluo who used to leave Spirit City frequently have suddenly vanished, and fluctuations of Soul Power from breakthroughs at extremely high Soul Power Levels have often been felt in the city's central district.
There's also the fact that, since the current Pope Qian Xunji took his position, Spirit Hall's hard and soft power have grown explosively.
In the Soul Master World and among commoners, Qian Xunji has taken benefits from the two great empires and used them to bestow favors on commoners and commoner Soul Masters, winning more and more Soul Masters over to Spirit Hall.
More and more commoner children join Spirit Hall directly after awakening their Martial Souls at six and having their Soul Power tested.
The major sects and families across the Douluo Continent are getting less and less fresh blood. The major clans attached to our Clear Sky Sect have all felt it clearly as well.
And besides this soft power, which is constantly strengthening Spirit Hall's foundation and increasing the chances of future experts appearing,
Spirit Hall seems even more impressive in hard power. Over the years, its Soul Douluo have kept breaking through to level 90 Soul Power and becoming new Titled Douluo.
Take the extremely rare Mental Attribute Titled Douluo Yin Hongyue, for example. His Martial Soul is the Moon Pupil.
With a moon in his eyes, the power of his Mental Attribute Soul Skills doubles at night.
He broke through to Titled Douluo seven years ago, with the title Moon Pupil. His method of attack is extremely bizarre, yet few in the Soul Master World know about him.
Seven years have passed, and no one knows just how much Yin Hongyue's strength has improved.
Besides Yin Hongyue, among those whose information hasn't been concealed from the public, there are also Sea Turtle Douluo, Snow Devil Douluo, and others."
(PS: This Mental Attribute Titled Douluo appeared once in the original story, but he was a minor character who was killed by a backlash from Tang San. I'm bringing him out to write about him here.)
The more Tang Xiao spoke, the more troubled he looked, while Tang Yuehua's expression grew increasingly complicated as she listened.
"That's what Grandfather is worried about.
Spirit Hall is growing stronger and stronger, while our Clear Sky Sect, along with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and the other families and sects, large and small, have made almost no progress in strength.
If this continues, who knows if one day Spirit Hall will decide they're far stronger than us and launch a devastating attack against us?"
"Grandfather wants Brother Hao to return to the sect quickly, cultivate hard, and break through to Titled Douluo as soon as possible.
The sect has known Brother Hao's whereabouts for a long time, and Grandfather has already accepted him and A Zhu, the Soul Master with the Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul.
Yuehua, you've been closest to Brother Hao these past few years. I hope that the next time you see him, you'll tell him to stop wandering outside and return to the sect soon.
Only if everyone in our Tang family pulls together with one heart can we withstand Spirit Hall's threat."
Tang Xiao finished speaking with a solemn expression, but Tang Yuehua's gaze flickered as she listened. She gave an embarrassed smile and said,
"Brother Xiao, I don't think there's any need for things between us and Spirit Hall to get to the point where swords are drawn and bows are bent, is there?"
Tang Xiao couldn't help staring at her words. He hadn't expected his younger sister to think that way.
"Look, Brother Xiao, as long as Grandfather is here in the Clear Sky Sect, there's no way Spirit Hall can touch us.
Besides, Pope Qian Xunji is a good man. He's put a great deal of effort into keeping the continent and the Soul Master World peaceful and stable!"
Tang Yuehua stood up and spoke to Tang Xiao with a serious expression.
"The Pope would never be the kind of person to stir up war for his own selfish interests!"
Tang Xiao stared at her, looking her up and down in disbelief, as if he were meeting his sister for the first time.
"Yuehua, do you know what you're saying?"
Tang Xiao couldn't help raising his voice.
"That man Qian Xunji is definitely no good!"
But no matter how earnestly Tang Xiao went on to tell Tang Yuehua what a hypocrite Qian Xunji was and what he had done to harm the Upper Three Sects,
Tang Yuehua remained unmoved.
And all of this was simply because, decades ago, Tang Yuehua had accompanied Tang Hao and Tang Xiao to the Elite Competition and seen the heroic, spirited Qian Xunji.
Like many young women, including Liu Erlong, Tang Yuehua had developed special feelings for Qian Xunji.
Seeing that his words were going in one ear and out the other, Tang Xiao could only sigh helplessly in the end and silently lead her to the back of the main peak.
"Go to Slaughter City. If you pass my trial, you will have a chance to inherit my divine position!"
Tang Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes tightly shut, when a bloody mark suddenly appeared on his forehead.
Hearing those cold words in his mind, Tang Chen was stunned.
Only after quite a while did he come back to his senses.
"He just said he was the Asura God?
He wants me to go to Slaughter City for an assessment, and as long as I pass his trial, I might inherit his divine position?"