The Sixth-Ranked King of Slaughter! The Sigh of Invincible on Land!

(Bibi Dong artwork)

This time, what swept across the continent was more than mere gasps of shock.

It was a suffocating feeling rising from the depths of the soul, mixed with utter astonishment, horror, and the crushing weight of history's dust.

"Th-the King of Slaughter?! Tang Chen?!"

"The Clear Sky Sect's previous previous Sect Master?! The legendary 'Invincible on Land'?!"

"My heavens! He's actually still alive?! And... he became the king of the City of Slaughter?!"

"Level 99! A demigod! An Asura God inheritor! What kind of figure is this?!"

"Six thousand years! The reward duration has increased again! But what do 'fallen' and 'indulged' mean?"

After a brief deathly silence, the entire canyon erupted like a volcano struck by a massive boulder!

The roar of voices shot into the sky, nearly overturning the Pale Golden defensive barrier!

Countless eyes fixed themselves on the words "King of Slaughter Tang Chen," their gazes filled with disbelief.

This was a legendary name that had nearly existed only in the oral tales of the older generation of Soul Masters.

A symbol of an era's pinnacle of martial might, a legend that should have returned to dust with the passage of time...

Yet now, he had descended upon the world once more in such a bizarre and shocking manner!

And he stood at sixth place!

Clear Sky Sect, atop the snowy mountain, Thunder Hall.

Crash—!

The freshly poured cup of hot tea in Sect Master Tang Xiao's hand, which he had yet to drink,

suddenly slipped from his grasp and shattered across the white stone floor, scattering scalding tea and porcelain shards everywhere.

Yet he did not notice at all.

The Clear Sky Sect Master, who had always been as steady as a mountain and never showed his emotions,

stood frozen like a clay statue, his tiger eyes fixed on the Heavenly Ranking projection cast upon the hall's vaulted ceiling.

His pupils had contracted to their limit, and his lips trembled faintly beyond his control.

"Grand... Grandfather..."

Those two words seemed to drain all the strength from his body as they struggled out of his dry throat,

carrying a trembling that seemed to have crossed decades of time.

"It's Uncle! It really is Uncle Tang Chen!"

Second Elder shot to his feet. His wrinkled old face had turned red from overwhelming excitement, and even his beard shook violently.

"He... he's actually still alive! He's in the City of Slaughter!"

"Heaven bless our Clear Sky Sect! Heaven bless our Clear Sky Sect!"

Fourth Elder wept with excitement and slammed his hand against the armrest.

"As long as Uncle is alive, why would our Clear Sky Sect need to endure these past ten-odd years? Why would we be suppressed by Spirit Hall and suffer such humiliation?!"

"Invincible on Land... Back then, Uncle was unmatched across the world. Even Qian Daoliu, the Martial Soul Hall Grand Enshriner, had to fear him!"

A sharp light burst from Third Elder's eyes as he abruptly rose to his feet, his voice rising with excitement.

"If Uncle can return to the sect and wield the Clear Sky Hammer once more, our Clear Sky Sect will surely return to the continent's peak! King's Hall, Spirit Hall—both will be ground into dust beneath our Clear Sky Hammers!"

The gloom and frustration that had filled the entire Inner Hall after Tang Xiao's mere nineteenth-place ranking and the sect's repeated setbacks

were swept away by this sudden surge of ecstasy.

Every Elder's face shone with astonishing brilliance, as though they had suddenly seen a blazing sun that could dispel all darkness after an endless night.

Tang Chen!

To the Clear Sky Sect, this name was not merely that of a former Sect Master.

He was the spiritual totem of an era, the one who had forged the Clear Sky Hammer's reputation as the "number one Weapon Martial Soul in the world" to its greatest heights!

With him, the Clear Sky Sect had its Sea-Calming Divine Needle, as well as the confidence and foundation to sweep through all lands!

However, this torrent of ecstasy did not last long.

Second Elder was the first to calm down. Narrowing his eyes, he carefully reread Tang Chen's description on the Heavenly Ranking, word by word.

The more he read, the faster the excited flush faded from his face, replaced by growing shock and... unease.

"Wait..."

Second Elder's aged voice rang out, carrying a barely perceptible tremor as it interrupted everyone's fantasies.

"The Heavenly Ranking says... 'King of Slaughter'?

'Fallen under the erosion of the City of Slaughter's bloody malice'?

'Corrupted'? 'His mind affected by a parasite'? 'Indulged in blood and chaos'?"

Every word was like an icy blade stabbing viciously into hearts that had been burning hot moments ago.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly plunged from an erupting volcano into a frozen abyss.

"Corrupted... indulged..."

The wild joy on Fifth Elder's face completely froze before slowly turning into incredulous shock and faint anger.

"Uncle... how could he become like this? He is the pride of our Clear Sky Sect, a Peerless Douluo who stood tall beneath heaven, with an unyielding backbone!

How could... how could he willingly fall and become the king of that filthy, foul City of Slaughter? And indulge in wine and women, abandoning the sect without a care?"

"This... this is simply..."

Fourth Elder's voice also sank, full of anguish.

"How can our Clear Sky Sect retain any dignity? How will the world view our Clear Sky Sect?

Our former Sect Master actually became the fallen king of such a cesspit?"

A complex tide of disappointment, humiliation, anger, and profound incomprehension silently coiled around the hearts of every Clear Sky Sect leader like icy poisonous vines.

Just moments ago, they had regarded Tang Chen as their only hope of saving the sect and restoring its former glory.

But in the blink of an eye, the Heavenly Ranking's cold words had smeared that hope with a revolting stain of filth and betrayal.

The younger generation of Clear Sky Sect disciples standing at the edge of the hall, who had listened to everything, stared at one another with burning faces.

They had grown up hearing legendary stories of Ancestor Tang Chen's invincibility, regarding him as an idol to admire for life and a goal to strive toward.

But now, their idol had come crashing down and become the evil, fallen King of Slaughter?

The immense contrast left them feeling absurdly bewildered and unspeakably ashamed.

It was as though the sect's most sacred glory had been openly splashed with filthy mud.

Tang Xiao slowly closed his eyes, and his upright body swayed almost imperceptibly.

He knew better than anyone the peerless splendor Tang Chen had possessed in his youth, and at this moment, he felt more deeply than anyone the heart-rending pain and confusion.

Hope and despair, glory and humiliation—between lines of cold golden text, they had been ruthlessly churned together.

King's Canyon, at the edge of the arena.

Qian Daoliu stood with his hands behind his back, his snow-white hair fluttering faintly in the turbulent currents stirred by the Heavenly Ranking's pressure.

He gazed up at Tang Chen's name on the ranking, and an extraordinarily complicated light passed through his deep, starry eyes.

There was shock—he truly had not expected that this old friend, old rival, and lifelong enemy from back then was actually still alive, and living in such a way.

There was realization—no wonder the City of Slaughter's aura had grown increasingly strange and profound over the years. So he had been holding it down from within.

But more than anything, there was the deep sigh and sorrow of one who mourned another of his kind.

"Tang Chen..."