The Legend of Long Yao Shocks Qian Renxue!

Tang Chen stood alone above the sea of blood, the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand.

He raised the Clear Sky Hammer.

"Get out."

The hammer fell.

The sea of blood exploded.

The Nine-Headed Bat King's phantom took the blow, all nine heads twisting at once.

He tried to keep hold of Tang Chen's soul.

But the markings on the Clear Sky Hammer lit up one by one.

Violent power erupted in full.

Boom!

The hammer's radiance tore the Nine-Headed Bat King apart.

Black mist poured from Tang Chen's soul, turning into countless blood-colored bats that fled in every direction.

Tang Chen swung his hammer again.

The blood-colored bats burst apart one after another.

The hammer's radiance shattered the last bat head.

Tang Chen's awareness returned to his body.

He opened his eyes.

Two flashes of golden light crossed his gaze.

The Nine-Headed Bat King's presence had vanished completely.

The control that had plagued him for years was gone with him.

Tang Chen rose.

He looked at his hands and slowly clenched them.

At that moment,

his body belonged to him again.

His soul belonged to him again.

The feeling of being suppressed by an evil power had disappeared.

"I'm free."

Tang Chen spoke softly.

He looked up at the Heavenly Dao Golden Rankings in the sky.

"The Heavenly Dao Golden Rankings actually saved me from the Nine-Headed Bat King."

Tang Chen lowered his gaze to the Clear Sky Hammer.

The markings on it still shifted slowly.

After its quality improved, the domineering aura of the Number One Tool Martial Soul had grown even weightier.

Tang Chen could feel it clearly.

His Clear Sky Hammer had surpassed what it once was.

Not only had its Martial Soul Origin improved, but his bond with it had also grown closer.

"A Million-Year Soul Ring, and an improvement in my Martial Soul's quality."

Tang Chen reached back and touched the Golden Soul Ring behind him.

Immense power still flowed through his body.

Once he fully absorbed the Million-Year Soul Ring, his Soul Power was certain to rise further.

Tang Chen's gaze settled on the blood-red longsword in the distance.

It was the Asura Demon Sword.

It was also the vessel of inheritance for the Asura God Trial.

"Perhaps I can still continue the Ninth Trial of the Asura God Trial."

Tang Chen spoke slowly.

If he could purge the evil energy lingering within him and absorb the Million-Year Soul Ring, he might yet have a chance to resume his path to godhood.

Tang Chen put away the Clear Sky Hammer.

His figure vanished from before the throne.

Silence returned to Slaughter City.

But the city's ruler was no longer the King of Slaughter.

He was the returned Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Chen.

Heaven Dou City.

Inside a tavern.

People came and went beyond the window.

Inside, the tavern was unusually quiet.

Long Yao sat by the window, his fingers resting lightly on the table.

Across from him sat a woman in a platinum-colored dress.

Her golden hair fell to her waist.

Her delicate face held a hint of scrutiny.

She was Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue lifted her teacup but did not drink.

She watched Long Yao in silence for a moment before finally speaking.

"You said I have extraordinary potential and that we're fated to meet?"

"Yes."

Long Yao nodded.

Qian Renxue's gaze lingered on his face.

The man was almost unfairly handsome.

His black-and-gold robe accentuated his tall, straight figure.

His golden eyes were calm and deep.

Even seated in a tavern, he was impossible to overlook.

Qian Renxue gave a quiet snort inwardly.

He certainly is handsome.

Too bad he sounds like a fraud.

He claimed he'd lived for tens of thousands of years.

And that my ancestor was once his disciple.

How could any of that be true?

Qian Renxue looked at Long Yao and asked,

"Do you realize what you just said?"

"I do."

"You said you've lived for tens of thousands of years."

"To be precise, longer than that."

Long Yao remained calm.

Qian Renxue set down her teacup.

"And you said my ancestor was your disciple?"

"Qian Renhan did study under me."

Qian Renxue frowned slightly.

She had only wanted to confirm whether Long Yao was talking nonsense.

But he had been calm from beginning to end.

He did not seem to be lying or deliberately making fun of her.

Qian Renxue looked at Long Yao.

"The Qian Renhan you mean is Qian Renhan, the Angel God?"

"That's right."

Long Yao lifted his teacup and took a small sip.

Qian Renxue said nothing more.

She still did not believe him.

The legend of the Angel God had been passed down for countless ages.

Her ancestor Qian Renhan had inherited the Angel Godhood and watched over Spirit Hall through the long years.

But Qian Renxue had never heard that her ancestor had a master.

Still less had she heard that this master was alive today.

Long Yao looked out at the street.

His thoughts returned to a time long past.

Back then, Qian Renhan had not yet inherited the Angel Godhood.

She had trained under him for many years.

She was remarkably talented and quick to grasp what she learned.

But that girl had been restless from childhood.

During training, she liked to find excuses to get close to him.

After learning a secret art, her first thought had not been to consolidate her cultivation. It had been to find a way to pin him down.

"A rebellious disciple with designs on her master" suited her perfectly.

If he had not noticed in time back then,

that disciple might well have succeeded.

At the thought,

recollection entered Long Yao's eyes.

It had been so long since he had seen her.

He wondered how far his former disciple had progressed.

Long Yao drew his thoughts back to the present.

He looked at Qian Renxue across from him.

She did bear some resemblance to Qian Renhan.

Especially those golden eyes.

"You look a little like her,"

Long Yao said.

Qian Renxue's cheeks warmed slightly.

She had not expected him to say it so directly.

His gaze was too open.

He was not staring at her, yet he still made her feel ill at ease.

Qian Renxue looked away.

"Did you really know my ancestor?"

"I have no reason to lie to you."

"But what you're saying is absurd."

"Absurd doesn't mean false."

Long Yao set down his teacup.

Qian Renxue looked at him again.

As she studied his face, a sudden sense of familiarity stirred within her.

She had seen that face somewhere before.

Not in person.

In a painting.

Qian Renxue searched her memory.

The Angel Temple.

Deep within that towering hall were murals depicting generations of Angel Gods.

In the oldest mural,

Qian Renhan stood beneath golden divine light.

And beside her, there seemed to be a man in a black-and-gold robe.

His face looked remarkably like Long Yao's.

Qian Renxue's expression shifted slightly.

Had I really seen him before?

But that mural had existed for many years.

If Long Yao truly was her ancestor's master, then he had lived from that age until now.

The more Qian Renxue thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

Perhaps I remembered it wrong.

The figures in the mural were blurry to begin with.

She couldn't believe everything this man said based on a single mural.

Qian Renxue picked up her teacup.

"I have something else to do. I'll be leaving."

Long Yao didn't try to stop her.

"All right."

Qian Renxue stood up.

After taking a few steps, she stopped again.

"I'll go back to the Angel Temple and have a look."

Long Yao raised his eyes.

"As you wish."

Qian Renxue glanced at him, then turned and left the tavern.

She stepped outside.

Sunlight fell across her golden hair.

Qian Renxue looked back at the tavern.

The man was still sitting where she had left him.

He sat straight-backed and calm.

He hadn't followed her out.

Nor had he tried to explain further.

Qian Renxue looked away.

Could what he said be true?

She pushed the thought down as soon as it arose.

Her ancestor's master had lived for tens of thousands of years.

It was too absurd.

Qian Renxue quickened her pace and headed toward the Angel Temple.