The City of Slaughter, entrance to Hell Road.
Long Xingyu descended from the sky, landing on a circular platform.
Darkness surrounded him. Beneath his feet lay what seemed like a bottomless abyss, where blood could just barely be seen flowing.
Ahead, a narrow path less than half a meter wide stretched on and on toward the distance. The whole scene looked strangely eerie.
"What unusual blood energy! Its form is different, but its aura feels a lot like Ye Xiaolei's."
"No wonder my father-in-law repeatedly warned me to obtain the Divine Slaughter's Domain. It must have something to do with a divine throne!"
Long Xingyu's eyes lit up as he observed his surroundings with curiosity.
He wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, he carefully assessed the situation.
What caught his attention most was the fluctuation that seemed to come from a god. This sort of thing wasn't unfamiliar to him.
Since Lin Feng had unified the Holy Demon Continent, the human and Demon Races had begun to coexist, and Dream Paradise had been brought into the fold.
He had personally gone out to defeat the Spirit Dragon and Ye Xiaolei, but hadn't killed them. Instead, he had subdued them with a mixture of threats and inducements.
Afterward, he had the little girl serve as a "textbook" for the Holy Demon Federation, teaching ninth-rank powerhouses to recognize divine power.
That was how Long Xingyu could be certain at a glance. His interest grew, and after waiting a moment, he set off, stepping onto the so-called Hell Road.
"If this is a god's trial, trying to exploit loopholes could be risky."
"I won't use spiritual power for now. I'll explore with just the basics."
"And I'll hide my full strength while I'm at it, then catch that giant bat off guard. It should be getting here soon, too."
During his time in the City of Slaughter, the King of Slaughter hadn't been the only one watching him. Long Xingyu had been watching the King as well.
He had mostly confirmed that the latter wasn't human at all, but some kind of blood-drinking monster known in the Douluo world as a "Soul Beast."
The King had his eye on Long Xingyu's Divine Throne of Apocalypse and Slaughter, and had deliberately sped up his hundred consecutive victories. Now that the time was right, it was time to set a few schemes in motion.
As he thought this, Long Xingyu remained cautious.
He advanced, extending his spiritual energy outward.
He kept a constant watch on his surroundings, catching every subtle change.
At the same time, he unleashed a fierce killing intent to ward off the invading blood energy, minimizing the risks as much as possible.
Then a soul fluctuation came from far ahead. It carried the King of Slaughter's aura, putting him on high alert.
"Here he comes!"
Long Xingyu's expression turned cold as he drew the Holy Sword.
A vast swarm of bats surged out of the darkness, screeching as they bared their fangs and attacked.
There was no need to guess. This was the King of Slaughter testing him. There was no point holding back anymore, so Long Xingyu decisively released his light spiritual power.
Brilliant holy light, dazzling enough to sting the eyes, illuminated the entire area in an instant. The sacred power carried a scorching property and easily burned the blood-red bats to ash.
Long Xingyu didn't waver in the slightest.
His spiritual power took tangible form, holding his entire body aloft.
So even with the narrow path beneath him, he never lost his footing. His opponent's test had clearly failed.
"King of Slaughter, are you still not going to show yourself? Your little toys can't hurt me."
Long Xingyu remained calm as he continued forward.
With every step, the divine radiance intensified.
It carried a murderous aura, and even the Domain swirling around him couldn't interfere with its power.
"Hahaha, you really were hiding a way to use Soul Skills. I knew I was right."
"Let me guess, it has something to do with the thing inside you? Can you tell me what it is?"
Exposed, the King of Slaughter dropped the act and drifted out of the shadows, still controlling Tang Chen's body.
A savage, bloodthirsty smile stretched across his pale face. He believed that within Hell Road, no matter how powerful his target was, they couldn't defeat him.
"So that's it. You want this."
Long Xingyu fixed his gaze on the King and nodded in understanding.
He stood with his sword in hand, ready to attack, his aura surging with tremendous force.
Seeing this, the King of Slaughter realized he wouldn't get the information he wanted. He sneered disdainfully and released his own Soul Power.
A miasma filled with scarlet blood energy clashed against the brilliant holy light. A ninth-rank showdown seemed about to begin.
But just then, an immensely powerful rumble suddenly echoed through the entire space, shaking it as if an earthquake had struck.
Confusion and alarm appeared on the King of Slaughter's face, so certain of victory moments before. Down below, Long Xingyu, by contrast, wore a smile that showed he had everything under control.
"Too bad. Your scheme won't succeed."
"And it looks like my plan has already worked."
The City of Slaughter, a corner of the outer city.
Inside an unremarkable stone house, a violent spatial tremor erupted.
Wave after wave rippled outward from it, rapidly spreading until they soon reached the entire city.
The countless fallen who were barely clinging to life felt the disturbance around them in confusion. They assumed it was an earthquake and didn't panic much.
But the Black Knights under the King of Slaughter immediately sensed that something was wrong. Led by their Titled Douluo-level captain, they rushed toward the site.
In an instant, thousands of members of the patrol and Enforcement Squads surrounded the area around Long Xingyu's residence. Though they could use Soul Power, they were only on guard out of habit and didn't think the situation was especially dangerous.
"What exactly is going on?"
"Wait, this is Long Xingyu's house?"
"Strange. Didn't he enter Hell Road? How did he..."
The Black Knight Title Holder murmured, frowning as he cautiously probed ahead with his spiritual power.
Suddenly, he felt a terrifying killing intent growing in number. He hurriedly drew his mind back in alarm.
Before he could give his men an order, a rumbling explosion rang out amid the tremors. One hulking figure after another flew out of the collapsing ruins!
"Hahaha, we've finally descended into this world!"
"What rich blood energy. Just the scent I like."
"This is your fault. You made such a commotion, and now the natives have probably noticed us."
"So what? Didn't His Majesty say it himself? Once we're transported here, we attack at once and leave no one alive!"
The Fourth Pillar Necromancy Demon God, Samigina, and the Fifth Pillar Hell Demon God, Marbas, hovered at the front.
The other eighteen Demon Gods, all ninth-rank powerhouses, radiated terrifying pressure as they stood scattered behind them, chattering among themselves.
Compared to humanity's orderly nature, the Demon Race was born to chaos. Even with Demon God Emperor Lin Feng keeping them in check, their bloodlust still remained.
Now they had finally descended upon Douluo Continent. The battle intent they had been building up for so long swept across the area like a storm, even more intense than that of the fallen.
On the outskirts, the Black Knights stared in stunned confusion.
They couldn't understand where these killing gods had come from.
Not only could they use "Soul Skills" within the bounds of the City of Slaughter, but their abilities also contained such terrifying power.
It was as if not one of them was weaker than the King of Slaughter. The Black Knight Title Holder had that thought, and immediately broke into a cold sweat.
"Y-Your Excellencies, who are you?"
The scene was so horrifying that his mind went blank.
He hadn't even heard what Marbas had said. He simply stammered out the question in a daze.
The answer was simple enough. The Demon Gods released their spiritual power, their faces breaking into villainous grins.
"Hahaha, who we are isn't something an ant like you is qualified to know. Your strength is passable, so I'll take care of you myself!"
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