Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were dumbfounded: Slaughter City was gone?

Three months later.

The same small town, the same tavern, and the same man and woman coming to visit.

What differed was that the tavern was deserted. Only a faint, foul stench remained, bearing witness to what had once happened here.

"Where's the guide?"

The visitors were none other than Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Dai Mubai's appearance had changed greatly from two years ago. A scar marked his face, and he looked much more weathered.

He surveyed his surroundings, utterly puzzled.

The tavern was still as it had been when Tang San came, the gaping hole clearly visible.

"Could something have happened?"

Dai Mubai muttered to himself, "That shouldn't be. Tang San was driven out. He shouldn't have come here. What could have happened to Slaughter City?"

For some reason, Zhu Zhuqing kept her distance from Dai Mubai and sighed.

"Since we're already here, won't we find out if we go down?"

The past two years had not been easy for her and Dai Mubai.

During the tournament, the Shrek Seven Devils had not encountered the Star Dou Empire's imperial academy, nor had they truly settled who was stronger against Zhu Zhuyun and Dai Weisi.

After the tournament ended, the two returned to the Star Dou Empire and inevitably clashed with Zhu Zhuyun and Dai Weisi.

However, to shine in the tournament, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had used a forbidden art, burning their own potential to forcibly increase their Soul Power. The price was that their Soul Power would not increase at all for the following year, and its growth would slow afterward as well.

During that time, their lives could only be described as bitter beyond words.

Dai Mubai once again felt the terror of being dominated by his elder brother. Without Immortal Herbs, and having burned his potential, he had already fallen far behind Dai Weisi.

Had their performance in the tournament not been decent, they would probably have long since been expelled from their families or met an unnatural death.

"Then let's do as you say and go down."

Gloom hung between Dai Mubai's brows as he looked at Zhu Zhuqing. She sighed helplessly and jumped down first. Only after a while did Dai Mubai jump down after her.

The moment they landed, they found a scene of devastation inside. Corpses crawling with maggots lay everywhere along the road, with no one to tend to them.

Slaughter City, once so frenzied and noisy, had now become a city of death, utterly silent.

"What's going on?!"

Dai Mubai's eyes widened. He could not believe what he was seeing.

Apart from the truly extraordinary rewards of the Soul Master Tournament, he had dared to burn his potential because he had plans of his own.

Since he could not increase his Soul Power, he would use every possible means to improve his combat abilities.

Thus, Dai Mubai had set his sights on Slaughter City.

After all, the Asura God was very casual about choosing a successor. Anyone with the Divine Slaughter's Domain would do.

Even if his Soul Power could not increase, Dai Mubai could still train in other areas. Coupled with having lived two lives and his experience of once becoming a god, he had ample confidence that he and Zhu Zhuqing could obtain the Divine Slaughter's Domain together.

That was right. This was Dai Mubai's true plan.

He intended to inherit the Asura God's divine position through this method and become a God King.

But now that Slaughter City had been destroyed, all of Dai Mubai's calculations had burst like bubbles, reduced to empty talk.

Zhu Zhuqing's face turned ashen, and she sighed.

"It looks like we're too late. Tang San has already destroyed this entire place."

At those words, Dai Mubai flew into a rage.

"N-no way! Tang San was driven out! How could he have come back to destroy Slaughter City?"

"How is that possible!"

After roaring, Dai Mubai calmed down slightly, his heart filling instead with hatred for Tang San.

"You're right, though. Only Tang San has Immortal Herbs, and only he could destroy this place."

"That bastard! He must have realized he could no longer become a God King after being driven out of Shrek, so he decided to destroy this place and stop anyone else from becoming the Asura God!"

"How despicable!"

Watching the seemingly crazed Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. Instead, she frowned as though pondering something.

"Tang San..."

An unusual gleam flashed through Zhu Zhuqing's eyes as she turned Tang San's name over on her tongue.

Meanwhile, in Spirit City.

Unaware that the two were talking about him, Tang San was preparing to set out after receiving a summons from the Pope.

The moment he stepped outside, Hu Liena blocked the doorway.

"What is it?"

Tang San raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say you wanted to beat me head-on just once? Why are you here instead of training hard?"

"What, do you want to go back crying again?"

At his words, Hu Liena blushed and shot Tang San a fierce glare before saying, "Be careful."

"I... became Teacher's disciple before you, after all. Although Teacher hasn't said it outright, I can feel undercurrents surging across the entire continent lately."

"You're from the Clear Sky Sect, after all... If that time really comes, you must put your own safety first. Understand?"

Smiling, Tang San patted Hu Liena's head. Given her loyalty to Spirit Hall, the fact that she could say these things to him was enough to show how important Tang San was to her.

"What about you?"

Caught off guard by his question, Hu Liena froze for a moment, then bit her lip.

"Hmph, none of your business."

"Teacher saved my life. As long as you don't kill her, everything else is negotiable."

Tang San nodded, taking her meaning.

Still, not killing her was one thing. There were plenty of choices when it came to how to deal with her.

Without chatting with Hu Liena any longer, Tang San walked straight out and headed toward the Pontiff Hall.

Inside the Pontiff Hall, Bibi Dong was already standing in the center of the hall. At the sight of Tang San arriving, a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Xiao San, how has your cultivation been lately?"

Tang San immediately answered, "Not bad. I'm already at rank fifty-five."

In two years, he had successfully reached rank fifty-five. The potential of the four Immortal Herbs was gradually being unleashed. Like the God King Tang's, Tang San's fifth Soul Skill was the Blue Silver Overlord Spear, obtained when his Blue Silver Grass awakened into the Blue Silver Emperor.

Hearing this, Bibi Dong smiled in satisfaction and stroked Tang San's face, though her gaze seemed to be looking at someone else.

"Not bad. Constantly immersing yourself in cultivation won't do much good for improving your strength."

"I have a mission for you. Next, you will go to the Heaven Dou Empire and serve as a guest retainer to its crown prince. Follow all her arrangements. Understood?"

At her words, Tang San's heart tightened, but his expression did not change in the slightest.

"I understand."

Seeing Tang San agree, Bibi Dong said nothing more and waved him out of the Pontiff Hall.

At the entrance to the Pontiff Hall, Tang San gazed at the distant sky, countless thoughts running through his mind.

It seems Bibi Dong is about to make her move.

It's also just the right time to meet Qian Renxue.

With his own thoughts in mind, Tang San set off for the Heaven Dou Empire together with Yue Guan.