Braving Hell Road (Please Vote)

Jiang Mingyang slowly entered the Hell Slaughter Arena, and the fanatical fallen followed him in, chanting in unison:

"New God of Slaughter! New God of Slaughter!"

Jiang Mingyang had barely entered the Hell Slaughter Arena when the King of Slaughter flew in. He radiated a pure, righteous killing intent.

Glancing at the fallen around them, the King of Slaughter nodded to Jiang Mingyang and said slowly, "Then let's begin!"

Thick red mist erupted from the King of Slaughter. In the blink of an eye, it spread throughout the Hell Slaughter Arena.

At the sight, the fallen seated in the stands grew unusually excited. They all wanted to see Hell Road open.

But they did not know their lives had reached their end.

Apart from the Gods of Slaughter and the King of Slaughter, no one had ever seen Hell Road open.

Because everyone who had seen it was dead.

Or rather, the fallen who had seen it had all become sacrifices for its opening.

The original work had made it perfectly clear that opening Hell Road required sacrifices—and that those sacrifices were the fallen.

Jiang Mingyang knew this, but he did not regret using them to open Hell Road.

For one thing, not a single one of these fallen was truly deserving of pity. If they died, they died.

For another, on the road to power, one general's glory was built on ten thousand bones. As long as it helped him grow stronger, Jiang Mingyang would not go soft.

How could there be no sacrifices on the road to royal dominion?

Everyone was, in truth, a meticulous self-interested soul. Jiang Mingyang was no exception.

Without realizing it, Jiang Mingyang had changed.

At the very least, the ordinary man he had been in his previous life would neither have done this nor dared to. Even if he had, he would certainly have felt regret and fear.

Under the red light, the fallen seemed half mad, clawing desperately at their faces, their bodies...

Skin peeled back and blood sprayed. Some even tore their own organs from their bodies. The fallen raged on until death finally stopped them.

Blood flowed across the Hell Slaughter Arena, pooling until it soaked Jiang Mingyang's shoes where he stood...

Blood streamed in every direction, slowly forming a crimson glow.

Then the glow rose and enveloped Jiang Mingyang completely. He gradually lost consciousness...

After an unknown stretch of time, a violent tremor brought all sensation rushing back.

The bloody light around him gradually faded, and Jiang Mingyang slowly came to his senses.

He rose and found himself on a circular platform roughly five meters in radius.

Magma surrounded the platform. Its only exit was a narrow path connected to it.

Seeing that it matched the original work's description, Jiang Mingyang set off down the path without hesitation.

After he had gone some distance, his eyes narrowed. It was those things—Blood Bats.

Each Blood Bat was about a foot long, with enormous wings that spread wider than a meter.

Jiang Mingyang did not hesitate. An attack formed from killing intent and sword energy gathered in an instant.

Countless swords took shape from his sword energy, each carrying the force of a Soul Grandmaster's all-out strike.

The sword energy shot toward the Blood Bats with a swish, swish, swish. They dodged by instinct.

But there were simply too many swords to evade. Flesh and blood scattered as the Blood Bats dropped one after another.

Unlike Tang San in the original work, who had been limited by his Martial Soul to attacking with Hidden Weapons, Jiang Mingyang possessed the Tianya Sword Martial Soul. That gave him an enormous advantage from the start.

Before going to Slaughter City, Jiang Mingyang had followed Qian Renxue's advice and trained extensively in sword energy to strengthen his attacks and gain another means of offense.

Sword energy was unlike an ordinary Soul Skill. It arose from a person's will and was, in theory, limitless.

The strength of its attacks depended on the wielder's sword intent, and sword intent... well, talent mattered a great deal.

Before long, Jiang Mingyang had wiped out the entire Blood Bat swarm.

He strode onward, silently cursing how absurd it was. Crossing Hell Road now was nothing like crossing it in the past!

At this point in time, crossing Hell Road meant facing the ten-thousand-year-level Dark Gold Hell Three-Headed Bat King without being able to use Soul Skills. That was tough!

And he still had to watch out for the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King.

Jiang Mingyang could not help marveling at the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King. It really was something!

Back then, Tang Chen had undertaken the Asura God King's trials at level ninety-nine. He had passed the first several with ease, only to be ruined the moment he faced the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King!

And Tang Chen had been level ninety-nine!

Of course, the Rakshasa God had surely played a part, but there was no denying the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King was formidable!

Jiang Mingyang began to speculate. Like the Evil Orca King in the sea, the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King was probably meant to be part of the Asura God King's trials.

In the original work, one of Tang Chen's trials seemed to require him to kill the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King, but he had been ambushed. In a head-on fight, the bat king certainly could not have beaten Tang Chen.

Like the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King in the ocean, the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King probably knew of the Asura God King's existence.

After all, the Asura Demon Sword should still be in the King of Slaughter's hands.

But the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King lacked the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's boldness. It only wanted to cling to Slaughter City and prey on the Asura God King's successors...

Hiss... It was only a Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King. If it knew Slaughter City was the Asura God King's inheritance ground, how did it dare sabotage the mighty Asura God King's legacy?

A newborn calf really doesn't fear the tiger!

But it probably isn't that simple. The Rakshasa God must have been backing it. The Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King didn't know much about the Divine Realm, and the Asura God King hadn't appeared in many years. And then... well!

Jiang Mingyang carefully recalled the original work. It seemed to have offered no particular explanation, glossing over the whole affair in a stroke.

After some thought, Jiang Mingyang put it aside. He was still on the road, after all!

Jiang Mingyang continued forward.

Ahead, beneath the narrow path, hung an enormous creature upside down. Against the faint red glow around it, the creature radiated dark gold light.

It was over four meters long, and two massive claws gripped the narrow path. Each claw measured more than a meter across, its sharp tips dug into the stone.

This was none other than the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King's underling, the Dark Gold Hell Three-Headed Bat King.

Jiang Mingyang narrowed his eyes...

In the Divine Realm, the Asura God King looked at the evil killing intent filling Slaughter City and narrowed his eyes as well...

One day, when I sit upon the throne, I will share my riches and honors with you all. —Jiang Mingyang