"Reunion" at the End of Hell, Tang San's Final Madness

Slaughter City, at the end of the Hell Road.

The air here was as thick as congealed blood, and beneath one's feet lay churning, scorching magma. The atmosphere was saturated with the stench of sulfur and death. Tang San could no longer remember how he had made it this far; three of his Eight Spider Lances were broken, and the remaining ones were covered in fine, dense cracks. Every step he took was accompanied by piercing, agonizing pain.

"Yu Tianyu..." he whispered hoarsely. Every syllable felt as though his throat were being sliced by a blade.

Before heading to Slaughter City, he had trained by charging against the force of a waterfall, his soul power becoming volatile and cold under the drive of his hatred. He had believed that this year of hellish training would grant him the qualifications for revenge, but when he saw the figure standing at the exit ahead, the suppressed fear in the depths of his heart crawled up once more like a venomous snake.

Yu Tianyu was dressed in a black and gold robe, his back turned to Tang San, a faint golden halo circling his body. In this filthy, blood-soaked hell, he appeared remarkably holy, yet ironic. On the ground beside him was a long sword emitting a chilling glow, and his right hand was toying with a transparent glass bottle.

Inside the bottle, a mass of pink mist constantly shifted its form, vaguely morphing into the shape of a whimpering little rabbit.

"You've finally arrived, Third Brother." Yu Tianyu turned around, a gentle smile gracing his handsome face, but in Tang San's eyes, that smile was more hideous than any demon in hell. "You're a bit slower than I anticipated. It seems those 'little pets' on the Hell Road caused you quite a bit of trouble."

Tang San stopped in his tracks. His blood-red eyes stared fixedly at the glass bottle in Yu Tianyu's hand, and his entire body began to tremble violently. He had sworn in his heart that he would save Xiao Wu, and for that, he had been willing to risk his life under the watchful gaze of his father, Tang Hao.

"Give... give Xiao Wu... back to me!" Tang San roared. The afterimage of the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand condensed once more. Although it was merely a manifestation of soul power—his true weapon having long been shattered by Yu Tianyu—it carried the desperate, tragic momentum of someone seeking mutual destruction.

"Give her back to you?" Yu Tianyu chuckled softly, his fingers gently stroking the bottle. "Third Brother, you are still so naive. After staying in Slaughter City for so long, have you still not learned? The weak have no room to bargain."

He tossed the glass bottle into the air and caught it steadily, his tone turning playful. "However, considering how hard you worked to cross the Hell Road, I'll give you a chance. See the exit ahead? As long as you can walk past me, I will return this 'Soul Origin' to you."

No sooner had Yu Tianyu finished speaking than a crushing pressure erupted instantly. It was an absolute suppression that transcended levels; the tyrannical aura of Dragon Slayer Magic intertwined with the extreme killing intent of the Killing God Domain, transforming into an invisible giant dragon that looked down upon a lowly ant.

"Ah!!"

Tang San let out a shrill roar. He did not hesitate, his entire body turning into a blood-red shadow as he charged forward.

"Mysterious Heaven Skill, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"

His figure transformed into streaks of afterimages on the narrow stone bridge, and his hidden weapon technique, Thousand Hand Asura, was pushed to its limit. Countless Bone Piercing Nails and Shadowless Needles whistled through the air with piercing shrieks, sealing off every possible retreat for Yu Tianyu from his blind spots.

However, Yu Tianyu did not move a single step. He watched these hidden weapons—which appeared exquisite and peerless in the eyes of mortals—with indifference. In his deep violet dragon eyes, these attacks were comically slow.

"Fire Dragon's—Roar!"

Yu Tianyu took a deep breath and then unleashed it in a violent burst. The crimson dragon flames were like a destructive torrent, instantly swallowing all the hidden weapons. Those poison needles, forged from refined iron, could not even withstand a single second under the high temperature of the dragon flames before vaporizing into nothingness.

The remaining force of the dragon flames did not diminish, slamming heavily into the afterimage of Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer.

"Bang!"

Tang San was sent flying backward, sliding dozens of meters across the stone bridge before barely managing to steady himself. His arms were scorched pitch-black, and blood dripped from between his fingers into the magma below.

"Is that all you've got?" Yu Tianyu walked over slowly, every step landing like a blow to Tang San's heart. "You keep saying you want to save her, but in your current state, you can't even protect yourself."

He walked up to Tang San, bent down, and looked at him with a gaze of pity. "Third Brother, do you know? Before Xiao Wu died, she was still begging me to spare you. She said that as long as I let you go, she was willing to sacrifice herself."

"Shut up! Shut up!!" Tang San had completely lost his mind. He swung his fists wildly, only to have his wrist easily gripped by Yu Tianyu.

Yu Tianyu leaned close to Tang San's ear, his voice as low as a devil's: "However, I refused. I told her that I wanted her to watch with her own eyes how her beloved Third Brother would turn into a dog that only knows how to wag its tail and beg for mercy in the depths of despair."

Yu Tianyu kicked Tang San, sending him flying to the edge of the exit's light curtain, and then, right before his eyes, slowly raised the glass bottle.

"No! Don't!" Tang San tried desperately to crawl over, but his severely injured body allowed him only to writhe on the ground.

A cruel arc hooked the corners of Yu Tianyu's mouth as his five fingers suddenly tightened.

"Crack!"

The glass bottle shattered.

The mass of pink mist instantly lost its vessel and dissipated rapidly in the air. At the very last moment of its dissolution, the mist seemed to manifest Xiao Wu's tragic, beautiful smiling face, silently mouthing two words to Tang San: "Third Brother..."

"No!!!"

Tang San let out the most desperate, miserable wail of his life. His heart shattered completely at this moment.

Following the dissipation of the pink mist, an eerie red light soared into the sky from Yu Tianyu's body. It was the power of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast, forcibly plundered by his tyrannical Dragon Slayer Magic.

"What a truly wonderful taste." Yu Tianyu closed his eyes, wearing an expression of pure enjoyment.

Tang San stared blankly ahead, his eyes having lost all luster. The pride and hope he once possessed had been crushed to pieces by Yu Tianyu's own hands at the end of the Hell Road.

"It's not over yet."

Yu Tianyu suddenly appeared before Tang San, one hand clamping down on the crown of his head.

"The Killing God Domain—how could someone like you deserve to possess such a fine thing?"

A terrifying suction force erupted from Yu Tianyu's palm. The Killing God origin, which was currently condensing on the Hell Road, was forcibly intercepted by him and extracted, thread by thread, from Tang San's soul. It was the agony of having one's soul torn apart, but Tang San could not even scream.

"From this day on, you are no longer the genius in the spotlight, no longer the hope of the Clear Sky Sect." Yu Tianyu's voice was like an oracle, pronouncing Tang San's fate. "You are merely a witness, living in the shadows, watching me ascend to the throne of a god."

Yu Tianyu tossed Tang San into the light curtain of the exit.

"Get lost, back to your Shrek. Live out your pathetic life there."

The light curtain swallowed Tang San's body.

Outside the exit of the Hell Road, the cold wind bit fiercely.

Yu Tianyu stood on the mountain peak, overlooking Slaughter City beneath his feet, his eyes filled with indifference. Behind him, a petite figure slowly approached. She wore an exquisite white dress and a custom-made collar around her neck; her eyes were clear, yet filled with a blind dependence on Yu Tianyu.

"Brother Yu," Xiao Wu called out softly.

Yes, everything that had just occurred was merely a top-tier illusion created by Yu Tianyu using his mental power. For him now, toying with a person whose mind had collapsed was as easy as turning over his hand.

Yu Tianyu turned back and patted Xiao Wu's head. "Let's go. Next stop, Sea God Island. I want to see if that so-called god can withstand my Dragon Slaying Fire."

That night, Soul Land lost a hero and gained a madman. And a true god was rising from the blood and fire, stepping upon the spine of Tang San.