A peerless genius of his generation had become a monster who knew nothing but slaughter, trapped in the lightless City of Sin and ruling over Hell, unable to escape for decades.
How tragic. How pitiful.]
As the commentary appeared, the image on the Sky Screen rippled and twisted, then revealed a scene of sinister horror.
It was a black city where the sun never shone, and the air was thick with suffocating oppression and madness.
Deep inside a great hall, a tall man sat upon a throne built from heaps of white bones.
But he was no longer the dashing Clear Sky Sect Master he had once been.
His skin was a sickly pale, and his eyes were blood-red, without a trace of white, filled with savagery and a desire for destruction.
Most horrifying of all, a pair of enormous blood-red bat wings sprouted from his back. With every gentle flap, a bloody stench swept over them.
He held a cup of thick Bloody Mary in his hands, tipped his head back, and downed it in one gulp. Dark-red liquid trickled from the corner of his mouth, making him look all the more hideous.
"Kill! In this world, only slaughter is eternal!"
He rasped out a roar and casually waved his hand. A terrifying dark-red ripple spread out, and countless fallen souls below the hall trembled beneath its pressure, kneeling in worship.
The image flickered. A fragment from the depths of his memory appeared.
A heroic, black-haired man stood proudly atop a mountain peak, holding a giant hammer. He swore to the heavens that he would become a god and return to marry the woman in blue.
But the beautiful scene shattered in an instant, swallowed whole by that hideous blood-red bat.
A deathly silence fell.
The entire continent sank into a silence even more terrifying than before.
Clear Sky Sect, secluded grounds.
The teacups in several elders' hands fell to the ground and shattered.
"S-Sect Master?!"
The Second Elder pointed at the Sky Screen with a trembling finger, tears streaming down his face.
"That's the Old Sect Master?! How could he have become such a monster?!"
They had always believed Tang Chen had gone in search of a path to godhood. Even if he had failed, he should still be living freely somewhere in the world.
Who could have imagined that their revered "Invincible on Land" would become a bloodsucking monster infested by a bat?!
Shrek Academy.
Tang San felt his mind go "buzz," leaving it completely blank.
"Great-grandfather..."
Although he had never met him, the Clear Sky Sect's legacy had filled him with reverence for the ancestor who had brought glory to the sect.
That monster on the Sky Screen, drinking human blood with wings growing from his back, was actually the pride of the Clear Sky Sect?
"Rakshasa God..."
Tang San clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. "The Rakshasa God did this to him!"
Sea God Island, Sea God Hall.
"Clang—"
The scepter symbolizing the High Priest's authority slipped from Bo Saixi's grasp for the first time, striking the ground with a clear ring.
Tears had already filled Bo Saixi's beautiful face, a face that had never shown much emotion.
She covered her mouth, her delicate body trembling violently as she looked at the hideous monster on the Sky Screen, her heart torn to shreds.
"So... you never betrayed me..."
"So this is why you couldn't come back..."
"Tang Chen!!"
A heart-rending cry rang across Sea God Island, laden with endless grief.
Spirit Hall, Worship Hall.
As Qian Daoliu watched his old rival appear neither man nor ghost, the trace of resentment he had felt over Bo Saixi ranking above him vanished in an instant.
In its place came the desolation of a rabbit mourning the fox.
"Tang Chen, Tang Chen... We fought each other all our lives, yet I never imagined you'd meet such an end."
"Rakshasa God..."
Qian Daoliu's eyes darkened. He glanced toward the Papal Palace. "Isn't that the godhood Bibi Dong inherited?"
Suotuo City, teahouse.
"So this is the so-called 'divine inheritance'?"
Gu Yuena looked at the Sky Screen, the corners of her mouth curling into a scornful sneer.
"Asura God is useless, too. The Rakshasa God did this to his inheritor, and he didn't even intervene. He let that bat take over the inheritor's body."
In her eyes, this was nothing less than a disgrace to the Divine Realm.
"The Divine Realm has rules against gods directly interfering with the lower realm, especially when it involves a contest between two gods. Asura God may be a God King, but even he is bound by those rules."
Gu Yuan explained calmly. A glint flashed in his eyes.
"Still, this might be an opportunity for us."
"An opportunity?"
Gu Yuena turned to look at him.
"Though Tang Chen has been parasitized, he still possesses the purest Asura Divine Power. And... that Super Divine Artifact, the Asura Magic Sword, is in Slaughter City."
Gu Yuan tapped his fingers lightly on the table and spoke in a low voice.
"I have the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, and my body is incomparably strong.
"If I could visit Slaughter City, I could use that place to temper myself. Perhaps... I could even make a play for the Asura Sword."
"As for Tang Chen..."
Gu Yuan paused and sighed.
"If the opportunity arises, I'll use Sea God's Light or a power with the light attribute to awaken a sliver of his consciousness.
"It would be better to let him die with dignity as a human powerhouse than spend his life as a puppet."
"You want to go to that filthy place?"
Gu Yuena knitted her brows, clearly displeased by a place as steeped in depravity as Slaughter City.
"That's a plan for the future. There's no need to rush."
"There's no need to rush. Right now, the most important thing is the final top-ranked name."
Gu Yuan set down his teacup and gazed out the window.
At that moment, the heart-wrenching images of Tang Chen on the Sky Screen finally faded away.
The sinister, oppressive aura of blood was swept away, replaced by a brilliant golden light more exalted than any seen before!
The golden light was so dazzling that it outshone the sun, bathing the entire Douluo Continent in an air of holiness and majesty.
Everyone held their breath.
Yet they already knew what to expect.
Wasn't the person in first place the very Gu Yuan who had been exposed from the beginning?
That Gu Yuan was an absolute monster.
One soul in two bodies—was he even human?
[TOP 1: Gu Yuan]
The instant they saw this name, the entire continent fell silent. Then an uproar erupted, more violent than any that had come before!
"Gu Yuan? That Gu Yuan again?!"
"Just as I expected—it really is Gu Yuan!"
Before the crowd could finish their discussion, the detailed information panel that followed struck every single person like a thunderbolt from the highest heavens, shattering their worldview to pieces.
[Identity: Human/Golden Dragon King (one soul, two bodies)] [Bone age: 12] [Human body cultivation: Level 95 Power Attack System Super Douluo (quasi-divine physique)] [Golden Dragon King avatar cultivation: God King level (sealed in the forbidden grounds of the Divine Realm)] [Evaluation: His body dwells in the mortal world, while his soul holds divine authority. Bearing the Destruction Godhead in a mortal body, he may be divided between two realms, but he is one being. Once his two bodies unite, the Divine Realm will fall!]
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