Asura God King (Vote for Monthly Tickets)

After the King of Slaughter left, the fallen still did not stop shouting.

Together, they shouted the King of Slaughter's title toward the place where he had flown away, their eyes blazing with fervor.

Seeing this, Jiang Mingyang quietly left. With the King of Slaughter there, the fallen no longer needed a new God of Slaughter.

Jiang Mingyang had just walked out of the Hell Slaughter Arena when an extraordinarily beautiful maid hurried over. "Tricky Sword King, the great King of Slaughter sent me to tell you that he hopes you'll begin your trial on Hell Road tomorrow."

Hearing this, Jiang Mingyang sighed inwardly. Before the King of Slaughter arrived, everyone called me God of Slaughter. Now they're calling me Tricky Sword King. The new generation really does replace the old!

Without hesitation, Jiang Mingyang told the King of Slaughter's messenger, "Tomorrow it is! I'll enter Hell Road tomorrow."

The King of Slaughter's maid promptly replied, "Very well, Tricky Sword King. I won't disturb you any longer!" She then hurried away.

Back at his lodging, Jiang Mingyang began turning the situation over in his mind, worried yet excited.

What concerned him most was how much strength Tang Chen still had left to fight the Dark Gold Hell Three-Headed Bat King.

If the two were barely evenly matched, Jiang Mingyang thought he might even have a chance to destroy the Dark Gold Hell Three-Headed Bat King's true body.

After all, if they were evenly matched, the Dark Gold Hell Three-Headed Bat King would have neither the strength nor the attention to spare to protect its true body.

In that case, Jiang Mingyang's chance of making it through would be practically one hundred percent.

If Tang Chen was at a severe disadvantage, today's events suggested he could still control his body for a time. Jiang Mingyang only had to seize that window, and the difficulty would plummet.

As for Tang Chen having the upper hand, that was unlikely.

After all, without Tang San's arrival, Tang Chen in the original story would have been firmly suppressed.

Jiang Mingyang feared the final possibility most of all. It was why, even after seeing Tang Chen so full of righteous spirit today, he kept reminding himself to be ready to face the Dark Gold Hell Three-Headed Bat King at any moment.

What if the victor could gain everything belonging to the one it devoured? If so, the righteous King of Slaughter he had seen today could still be the Dark Gold Hell Three-Headed Bat King.

Jiang Mingyang thought that unlikely, though. The King of Slaughter whom Tang San and Hu Liena faced in the original story had not possessed a trace of righteous spirit.

After considering the possibilities, Jiang Mingyang decided Tang Chen was most likely at a disadvantage but could control his body for brief periods.

The King of Slaughter's haste in sending a maid to tell him to attempt Hell Road tomorrow pointed to exactly that.

If the Dark Gold Hell Three-Headed Bat King were fully in control, it would not be in a hurry.

Only Tang Chen, whose oil was nearly spent and whose lamp was about to go out, would be anxious. He would hope Jiang Mingyang could pass through Hell Road and then help him in return.

Before long, Jiang Mingyang grew excited again.

He had two reasons, though they could also be considered one.

First, if he remembered correctly, Tang Chen was no longer qualified to inherit the Asura God King's godhood.

After all, Tang Chen had been corrupted.

Could the Asura God King cheat and help Tang Chen cleanse that corruption? Jiang Mingyang thought it unlikely.

The Asura God King had helped Tang San cheat in the original story, but only after Tang San had unquestionably qualified to inherit his godhood.

Tang Chen was different. He had been corrupted. Even if he inherited the Asura godhood, he would probably lack the ability to fulfill the Asura God King's duties.

For that reason alone, the two God Kings, Goodness and Evil, could not possibly let the Asura God King run off.

As for the other reason, once Jiang Mingyang passed the trial, he would gain the Slaughter Domain and, in essence, qualify to inherit the Asura godhood. Add in his current age...

In short, Jiang Mingyang felt he had a very good chance of inheriting the Asura God King's godhood, and the thought thrilled him.

But soon, doubt crept in.

After all, later installments of Douluo suggested the Asura God had brought Tang San over, whereas the first portrayed his crossing as pure chance.

If... if the Asura God brought Tang San over, then none of this matters. Wouldn't Tang San have a guaranteed place as God King? No one else would stand much of a chance.

But Jiang Mingyang thought that unlikely. A guaranteed place as God King was a bit too... At most, Tang San had been marked for observation. There should still be plenty of opportunity... probably!

If Tang San had crossed over by chance, Jiang Mingyang felt this attempt was all but certain to succeed.

Besides, he did not think he could trust everything in the original story.

As his memories grew clearer, Jiang Mingyang noticed many contradictions in it. For example:

While Tang San was in Slaughter City, the Slaughter Envoy had told him things suggesting that the Asura God might once have been a person from Douluo Continent, and that Slaughter City was a domain he had left behind after breaking through level one hundred.

Yet according to Legend of the Divine Realm, a Douluo Continent side story, the Creation God had turned into five seeds after creating the Divine Realm: Goodness, Evil, Life, Destruction, and Asura.

Those seeds later grew into the Divine Realm's five supreme gods. So had the Asura God come from Douluo Continent, or had he grown from a seed?

...And beyond that, there seemed to be far too many retconned details...

While Jiang Mingyang wrestled with doubts and second thoughts...

In the Divine Realm

Purple divine light suffused a palace. Above the entrance to its towering hall, purple lightning flickered across a plaque engraved with the word "Asura," while righteous killing intent soared out and took the shape of a divine dragon.

Compared with the other palaces in the Divine Realm, it was plain at a glance that this palace's master held immense authority, even among the gods.

And in the Divine Realm, authority meant power...

Inside the Divine Temple stood a handsome god with a commanding presence, a stern expression, and no hint of a smile. Clad in purple-black divine armor, he cut an imposing figure. He was the renowned Asura God King, who governed the order of slaughter.

Yet today, even he felt an unusual sense of anticipation... His once-in-a-century chance to survey the lower realms had arrived.

As a God King of the Divine Realm, the Asura God King had carried out his duties diligently since his birth.

But in his heart, he longed for freedom. He wanted to leave the Douluo God Realm, witness finer worlds and other paths of cultivation, and discover greater power and higher realms.

In short, the Asura God King had wanted to run off for a long time.

But as the God King who governed the order of slaughter, he was indispensable to the Divine Realm and bore an enormous responsibility.

His sense of duty was strong enough that he knew he should not abandon his post without permission.

Thus, the Asura God King had long hoped for a successor who could take over his work...

Ordinarily, he could immediately sense when someone passed a trial at the site of his Godhood Inheritance.

But the Asura God King knew very well that those who reached such a site were not necessarily the best people on their continents.

Finding a site of Godhood Inheritance required a great deal of luck, after all.

The gods had no choice but to hide their Godhood Inheritance sites under the Divine Realm's rules, lest they disrupt the lives of ordinary inhabitants.

He could monitor the lower realms through the Divine Realm's center at any time to seek a suitable successor, but doing so would inevitably interfere with his work.

So, needing a successor yet bound by his sense of duty, the Asura God King disciplined himself to survey the worlds once every hundred years, hoping to find the heir he sought.

Five Elements Continent, Four Symbols Continent, Three Origins Continent... Douluo Continent...

When his search reached Douluo Continent, the Asura God King paid particular attention.

After all, that candidate of his seemed to have been corrupted and rejected by the Asura Demon Sword...

One reason for his attention was that he saw tremendous potential in this world. If anyone capable of inheriting the Asura God King's position emerged, they were very likely to come from Douluo Continent.

The second was that the Rakshasa God had gone to great lengths to ruin the Asura God King's Godhood Inheritance site on Douluo Continent.

The Asura God King was not one to complain.

Since his own Godhood Inheritance site had been ruined, the Rakshasa God would not have an easy time of it either. There was no need for the Rakshasa God's inheritance site in the lower realms to continue existing.

If he found a successor, he would naturally have that successor destroy it. If he could not... Hmph... A God King never lacks friends among the First-Level Gods...

And the Godhood Inheritances of those First-Level Gods were relatively easy to complete, so finding successors for them was relatively easy too... At worst, he could ask someone for a favor!

When King Lan Hao met the Grand Ancestor again

Remembering their past acquaintance, the Grand Ancestor granted King Lan Hao a lofty title and entrusted him with important duties.

Deeply moved, King Lan Hao bowed and said, "Tang San has drifted through half his life, regretting only that he never met a worthy lord. If Your Majesty will not cast me aside, Tang San will become your subject, serve you loyally, and face ten thousand deaths without hesitation."

The Grand Ancestor was delighted. "You are a divine general among mortals. With your aid, I shall be a tiger with wings."

"Strange Tales of King Lan Hao"