The Aftermath
Lying on their backs on the ground covered in pebbles and mud, Tang Hao, Tang Xiao, and Yu Xiaogang looked at the figure on the horizon, now just a Little Black, and let out a collective sigh of relief.
It feels so good to be alive!
As the sons of Titled Douluo, they were practically top-tier second-generation figures on the Douluo Continent, and they had never felt so close to death.
Even in the hellish city of "Slaughter City," filled with bloodshed and slaughter, Tang Hao had never felt so powerless.
Of the thirty-five years of his life, before today, the most vivid memory Tang Hao had was of the battle that was suddenly stopped three years ago.
It was because of that battle that a blue figure was deeply imprinted in his heart, and he could not forget it for Jiujiu.
But from today onward, Tang Hao had to admit that the black and gold armor and the dark, ferocious mask he had just seen would be etched into the depths of his soul like a meteorite falling from the sky, becoming Nightmare in his heart.
Looking across the Douluo Continent, no one can deny Tang Hao 'Tang Hao immense talent, so everyone takes his arrogance and domineering nature for granted.
However, this smooth life of a prodigy also created a flaw in Tang Hao's character.
Faced with setbacks, his resilience is even greater than that of ordinary people!
In the original timeline, Tang Hao's father, Tang Zhen, died first. Then, he was trampled underfoot by Qian Xunji. He only managed to turn the tables after Ah Yin sacrificed herself. After Qian Xunji's death, he was personally hunted down by Qian Daoliu, who was at Level 99. He escaped multiple times by using the Great Sumeru Hammer to detonate his Ring Detonation. Faced with the Spirit Hall's vengeful retaliatory attacks, his elder Tang Xiao, Tang Xiao, led the entire Clear Sky Sect into seclusion. This series of events and blows turned Tang Hao into a true walking corpse.
It's fair to say that if Tang San hadn't been a transmigrator Rebirth, but instead a normal newborn child, it would be questionable whether he could have grown and developed normally to the age of six Martial Soul Awakening.
Experiencing setbacks and frustrations can indeed make people feel depressed and want to escape reality. Indeed, many people exhibit alcoholism as a clinical symptom, numbing themselves with alcohol and living a life of debauchery.
Ordinary people can become numb because no one cares about their psychological changes.
But Tang Hao is different. He is the young sect master of the number one sect in the world, the Clear Sky Sect. He is the son of Tang Zhen, the "Heaven-Shaking Douluo", the grandson of Tang Chen, the "Wudi on Land", the youngest Titled Douluo in the Douluo Continent, and the universally recognized chosen one of heaven in the Douluo Continent. He was born standing on the finish line that 99% of people in this world dream of.
In everyone's mind, if Tang Hao were to become a drunkard who lived a life of debauchery and had to rely on his son, who was not even as tall as the stove, to take care of his daily life, people would only feel intense contempt and resentment towards him!
With a mindset like that, does Tang Hao deserve all those luxurious family backgrounds?
He despised Tang Hao's depravity and decadence, his waste of great talent and background. Unwilling to be an ordinary person, he went through countless setbacks and blows, climbing step by step, but still could not reach the strength and status that this self-destructive good-for-nothing drunkard could have easily obtained.
Today, Ling Yi arrived nearly ten years ahead of schedule, letting Tang Hao experience what despair and overwhelming power truly meant. Using the strength that Tang Hao was most proud of, Ling Yi crushed Tang Hao into the dust in the most ruthless and domineering way, and even incidentally knocked Tang Xiao, who was attacking at the same time, down right before his eyes.
This time, there was no Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to sacrifice for Tang Hao, no sudden power surge to kill him, only a "useless" Yu Xiaogang watching from the sidelines, witnessing the entire process of the two brothers being wantonly ravaged by Wu Wudi from the [Rakshasa Cult].
Leaving aside Ling Yi, who left refreshed and carefree, the three top-tier second-generation Douluo, whose spirits had been severely damaged, remained in a daze for quite some time. It wasn't until they heard footsteps approaching in the distance that Tang Xiao, whose injuries were relatively minor, finally came to his senses. He helped up the limp Tang Hao and ignored the dazed Yu Xiaogang beside him, walking step by step toward the forest beside the official road.
Tang Xiao's actions brought Yu Xiaogang back to his senses. Just as he was about to follow the two brothers, he suddenly realized that his lower body was cold and wet. His face changed drastically, turning red and then pale. After a moment's hesitation, he changed direction and headed towards the forest on the other side of the official road.
The small group, which had only temporarily joined together by chance, quietly dispersed at this moment.
More than ten days later, in the Pope's Palace Spirit City.
"[Rakshasa Cult]? Wu Wudi?"
As she murmured these two unfamiliar terms, Qian Xunji frowned, a hint of emotion flickering in her usually indifferent eyes.
In his hand was a coded note recording a conversation that took place a few days earlier within the Clear Sky Sect.
The two sides in the dialogue are Clear Sky Sect, the current sect leader of the Tang Zhen Sect and known as the "Clear Sky Twin Stars Heaven-Shaking Douluo," and the brothers Tang Xiao and Tang Hao, who have suddenly returned to the sect.
Besides the father and his two sons, other members of the Clear Sky Sect were also present at the scene, including Tang Zhen's cousins, the four clan leaders of the Four Single-Attribute Clans, the Healing System Soul Saint Xuan Baiyu, and several guest elders.
In summary, only three points on the note concerned Qian Xunji.
First, Tang Hao's Soul Power has reached level 80. This time, he returned to the sect in order to use the sect's power to hunt a high-age Soul Beast as his Eighth Soul Ring.
Once Tang Hao successfully acquires his Eighth Soul Ring, he will reach the Soul Douluo realm at the age of thirty-five, becoming the youngest Soul Douluo in thousands of years!
In this respect, even Tang Hao's grandfather Tang Chen, was younger than his grandson when he broke through to the Soul Douluo level.
Similarly, Qian Xunji's father, Qian Daoliu, was over thirty-five years old when he broke through to the Soul Douluo level.
In comparison, Tang Xiao, at fifty years old, has already reached level eighty-seven in Soul Power. With the resource support of the Clear Sky Sect, he will be able to break through to the Titled Douluo realm in at most five years. This is nothing in Qian Xunji's eyes.
After all, given Tang Xiao's aptitude, his ultimate achievement would only be a relatively high ranking in the Spirit Hall 'Worship Hall; whether he could even reach second place is another matter entirely.
Once you reach the Titled Douluo level, your Martial Soul aptitude is no longer the most important factor; comprehension is the key!
Soul Master who can reach the Titled Douluo all possess excellent Martial Soul aptitude. Even if their talent was slightly inferior when they first Martial Soul Awakening, their aptitude will eventually catch up with the average level of other Titled Douluo as their strength increases.
Aside from the news that Tang Hao was about to become Soul Douluo, the other two things that caught Qian Xunji's attention involved a force he had never heard of before—the Rakshasa Cult!
First, a member of the Rakshasa Cult named Wu Wudi defeated Tang Xiao level 87) and Tang Hao level 79) with his bare hands!
Qian Xunji asked himself, even he couldn't do that.
Moreover, the two brothers, Tang Xiao and Tang Hao, were defeated without any power to resist.
In Qian Xunji's mind, only three people in the world could achieve such strength.
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With this thought in mind, Qian Xunji's figure instantly disappeared from the Pope's Palace.
"[Rakshasa Cult]? Wu Wudi?"
Worship Hall, beneath a white jade Angel over ten meters tall, Qian Daoliu, whose appearance resembled that of Qian Xunji's brother, also frowned slightly.
Unlike Qian Xunji, who was concerned about Tang Hao becoming Soul Douluo at the age of thirty-five and the fact that the two brothers Tang Hao and Tang Xiao, were defeated by someone with their bare hands, Qian Daoliu was most concerned about a sentence on the note.
This is a casual remark made by Wu Wudi before leaving after defeating the Tang Hao brothers.
"The core tenets of my Rakshasa Cult are singular: whoever can kill the Rakshasa God becomes the new Rakshasa God!"
As he ran his fingers over the somewhat hastily written secret characters on the note, Qian Daoliu a low voice, his originally gentle gaze turning sharp.
Seeing the change in Qian Daoliu's aura, Qian Xunji said in a deep voice, "I have never heard you mention this [Rakshasa Cult]. I also asked Musos, and he said that there is no record of this sect in the Archives Tower."
Qian Daoliu raised his head, looked at his indifferent son, and the sharpness in his eyes softened again. He shook his head and said, "I haven't heard of it either."
After a pause, Qian Daoliu spoke again, saying, "But the Rakshasa God does indeed exist."
"That is a temple that is even older than our Qian Clan."
Legend has it that there are gods of good and gods of evil. The Angel God, whom our [Spirit Hall] worships, represents the benevolent god of light, while the Rakshasa God is the god of evil.
"So, the ' Slaughter City ' is the place where the Rakshasa God's divine will remains?" Qian Xunji continued thoughtfully, "Just like that ' Sea God Island ' overseas, is it the place where the Sea God's divine will remains?"
In response to Qian Xunji's words, Qian Daoliu first nodded, then shook his head.
Before Qian Xunji could ask again, Qian Daoliu slowly spoke, saying, "' Sea God Island ' is indeed the place where the Sea God's divine will remains, but ' Slaughter City ' is not the place where the Rakshasa God remains."
"As far as I know, there are two gods of evil in this world: the Asura God who is in charge of killing, and the Rakshasa God who is in charge of evil thoughts."
The "Slaughter City" is likely a relic left behind by these two when they transcended this world.
However, these two deities are not twins; rather, they are eternal enemies. The Asura God wields the purest killing energy, while the Rakshasa God wields the power of ultimate evil! Their powers are mutually restraining.
"If our Spirit Hall's records are accurate, seven ' Deathgod of Slaughter City ' over the past thousand years, and Tang Hao is the seventh!"
"And every ' Deathgod ' will receive a Innate Domain called the ' Deathgod Domain,' which is formed from pure killing energy."
"It is evident that the ' Slaughter City ' is likely the Asura God selecting those with the talent to inherit His divine will."
"It seems that the Rakshasa God has been defeated in his battle against the Asura God."
"And this is the fundamental reason why our Spirit Hall has never truly eradicated that filthy place in thousands of years."
As Qian Daoliu recounted one secret after another, Qian Xunji's furrowed brows remained unfurrowed, and an unprecedented sense of vexation arose in his heart for no apparent reason.
The three Peerless Douluo at Level 99 —his father Qian Daoliu, Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect, and Bo Saixi, the high priest of the overseas Sea God Island —are already insurmountable mountains looming over him.
Qian Xunji had some prior knowledge of the situation in the "Slaughter City," knowing it to be an ancient, corrupt city that should not be disturbed.
Now, having learned from her father, Qian Xunji, that the Asura God is choosing a successor, she is only more certain of the importance of that place.
However, the sudden appearance of the Rakshasa God was somewhat beyond Qian Xunji's expectations and control.
Under these circumstances, how much chance of success remains for the once-held ambition to truly develop the Spirit Hall into the number one, or even the Weiyi, power on the Douluo Continent?
Aside from the Rakshasa God, are there other places in this world where the divine thoughts of other deities remain? Are they also, like the Asura God, selecting gifted individuals who can inherit their divine thoughts?
Qian Xunji knew that the Angel God he worshipped had a test called the "Angel God Trial".
On the Spirit Hall side, Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji making various speculations because of the sudden appearance of the Rakshasa Cult. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the Clear Sky Sect, they were focusing more on Tang Hao's Eighth Soul Ring.
In Tang Zhen's words of comfort to Tang Hao, as long as Tang Hao improves his Soul Power and catches up with his grandfather Tang Chen step by step, he can definitely fight Wu Wudi again to get revenge.
According to the speculations of the Clear Sky Sect members, Wu Wudi, who was wearing a mask, was probably an older generation powerhouse similar in age to the former sect leader Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu of the Spirit Hall, and might even be older than the former two!
Under these circumstances, it's not too hard to accept that Tang Hao and Tang Xiao were defeated.
Under this explanation, even Tang Hao regained some of his spirits.
It's as if the two brothers were defeated by their grandfather, Tang Chen —it's perfectly acceptable. Especially since the two brothers haven't even reached their peak strength yet.
At the same time, after informing his father, Yu Yuanzhen, about the Rakshasa Cult, Wu Wudi, and the crushing defeat of the Tang brothers, Tang Xiao and Tang Hao, Yu Xiaogang left the Jade Dragon Mountain Range again.
This time, his chosen destination is ' Lingyun City '!
After determining Yu Xiaogang's destination by observing his direction of travel, Ling Yi, who had already returned to Lingyun City, quickly guessed what the other party was thinking.
With the help of the 5,700-year-old "Black Rat Snake Lizard Right Leg Bone" given to him by Yu Yuanzhen, and a pot of "Tenfold Tonic Soup", Yu Xiaogang finally mastered the eighth form of "Beast Martial Soul - Xingyi Fist Style I" - Dragon Lizard Shakes Its Armor to perfection.
With the Soul Power from the "Black Rat Snake Lizard Right Leg Bone," the vital energy from the "Tenfold Tonic Soup," and the surging Qi and Blood within his body, Yu Xiaogang forcefully pushed his Soul Power to level thirty.
After obtaining an 1800-year-old Soul Ring, Yu Xiaogang's Soul Power directly jumped to more than half of level 31.
Over the next two years, by spending lavishly and purchasing various cultivation materials at high prices, Yu Xiaogang's Soul Power progressed at an astonishing speed, soaring all the way to level 39, just one step away from level 40.
Unfortunately, compared to Tang Hao's near-breakthrough to level 80, Yu Xiaogang's level 40 seemed like an insurmountable chasm. No matter how hard he tried, he always felt powerless to reach it.
In this situation, after racking his brains to no avail, Yu Xiaogang realized that there was only one person in the world who could show him the way forward.