Chapter 246: Tang Chen
After an intense battle with the King of Slaughter, Yang Potian gradually gained the upper hand by using his true martial spirit form. Despite his opponent wielding the Asura Demonic Sword, the King of Slaughter's strength and speed simply couldn't compare to his.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the King of Slaughter was defeated. Since Yang Potian lacked the Seagod Trident and Seagod's Light, he wouldn't be able to awaken Tang Chen, nor did he want to.
Although the King of Slaughter could wield the Clear Sky Hammer, he seemed unable to access its soul ring abilities and instead relied mainly on the Asura Demonic Sword.
The King of Slaughter's face grew even more savage as he summoned his blood-red Clear Sky Hammer once more. Nine soul rings appeared around him, and then, in an instant, all nine detonated in a desperate, all-out attack.
With the nine soul rings exploding, the Clear Sky Hammer grew to a mountainous size, crashing toward Yang Potian. A powerful suction force emanated from the hammer, trying to lock Yang Potian in place.
Yang Potian gritted his teeth. This was the life-risking blow of a level ninety-nine Ultimate Douluo, a master of the Clear Sky Hammer like Tang Chen—a foe not to be underestimated.
Yang Potian's Soul-Piercing Spear began absorbing the energy from all eight of his soul rings, concentrating their power into his ninth ring in a fusion technique unique to his clan. The fused energy of the ninth soul ring activated his most powerful ninth soul skill: Sun Piercer.
A massive golden spear materialized, seemingly capable of piercing anything in its path. Simultaneously, the six soul rings on his true martial spirit glowed, channeling boundless power into the enormous spear, making it radiate with a brilliant light.
Yang Potian released his ultimate strike. The Soul-Piercing Spear shot forward in a straight line, shattering the gigantic Clear Sky Hammer and piercing through the King of Slaughter's body.
This was Yang Potian's all-out attack, leaving no room for mercy—it was a life-or-death blow. Killing an Ultimate Douluo was no easy feat.
With this earth-shattering strike, the spear pierced the King of Slaughter's chest, pinning him to the ground. He was on the brink of death, his breaths shallow and weak.
Yang Potian glanced at the fallen King of Slaughter and fed him a medicinal pill; he wasn't ready to let him die just yet—he had questions that needed answers.
But suddenly, the King of Slaughter's body began to convulse. A massive blood-red bat burst out of him, its body radiating a powerful blood aura, its nine heads shrieking, emitting waves of energy that seemed to threaten to tear the space apart. This was clearly the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King.
The Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King released a red beam aimed directly at Yang Potian's head, then rushed at him, attempting to take over his body.
However, Yang Potian was prepared for this move. His body glowed with golden light, protecting him with layers of metal essence energy, especially around his head.
At the same time, his sixth soul ring flashed, activating his newly acquired soul skill: Inferno Prison. The space around them ignited into a fiery hell, evaporating the blood-red aura and causing the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King to scream in agony.
The bat king raged, "Human! You anticipated this!"
Yang Potian looked up at the blood-red bat in the sky. "Beast is beast. No matter how strong you are, a bat is still afraid of fire. I prepared this move just for you."
"You took over Tang Chen's body, and now you're trying the same trick on me? How naive."
But the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King sneered in defiance. "Human, though you may have prepared, you're still mortal. There's a vast gulf between mortals and gods; you can never surpass Tang Chen!"
With that, the bat king transformed into a massive red sword, aiming at Yang Potian's forehead, intending to use Asura's divine power to possess him.
Yang Potian's sixth soul ring flashed again, transforming his right hand into a blazing dragon claw. Flames enveloped the claw as he grabbed the blood-red sword, stopping it in its tracks.
This was Yang Potian's sixth true martial spirit soul skill: Flaming Dragon Claw.
Grasping the red sword, Yang Potian's flames burned away its bloody aura until it reverted to the form of a giant bat. Yang Potian's claw latched onto the bat's body.
Sensing danger, the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King pleaded, "Slaughter God, spare me! I can offer you many things—I can even give you the entire City of Slaughter!"
Yang Potian responded coldly, "All I want to know is whether you serve the Asura God or the Rakshasa God. Or perhaps you serve both, as a double agent?"
The bat king's enormous eyes filled with shock, realizing that Yang Potian knew his deepest secret.
Yang Potian, understanding everything from his gaze, focused his power into his dragon claw and tore the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King apart.
With that final strike, the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King fell dead, leaving behind a massive blood-red soul ring with four golden edges—indicating it was a four-hundred-thousand-year spirit beast.
Yang Potian sighed as he looked at the soul ring. "They say there are no spirit beasts in the City of Slaughter, yet here you are—a rare four-hundred-thousand-year mental-type spirit beast."
After a moment's thought, he decided to absorb the soul ring.
The Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King's real age might not have been four hundred thousand years; rather, he likely achieved this level by continuously inhabiting successive Kings of Slaughter, accumulating blood and energy over countless years.
The bat king's parasitic and mind-control abilities were extremely tempting, powerful enough to even control Tang Chen. These abilities were akin to divine powers.
Yang Potian arranged a small toxic formation around himself, regained some strength, and began to absorb the soul ring.
The absorption took over a day. When it was finished, Yang Potian's soul power remained at level ninety-nine, the barrier to level one hundred still as vast as ever.
From the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King's body, he also found a blood-red skull bone—a rare and deeply powerful mental-type skull bone, which he'd long desired.
However, as he absorbed it, a red shadow emerged from within—a blood-red, nine-headed bat appeared in his mind, laughing. "Slaughter God, you've fallen for my trap. With blood and energy, I can regenerate indefinitely. Your body is now mine!"
But in Yang Potian's mind, a giant golden figure appeared, holding the Soul-Piercing Spear. "You're just a dead bat. Without a body, how do you expect to take mine?"
The golden figure's brilliance surged, unleashing all three of Yang Potian's domains: the white Slaughter God Domain, the golden Soul-Piercing Domain, and the black Gravity Domain. The combined force crushed the bat king's red energy.
Then, the golden figure thrust the Soul-Piercing Spear toward the bat, seeming to pierce through heaven and earth.
The bat king struggled, letting out miserable cries. "Slaughter God, I can't believe you held back this much! I won't accept this!"
As a bodiless soul, the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King was swiftly destroyed, while Yang Potian's spiritual and soul power surged again.
After absorbing the skull bone, Yang Potian's strength and spiritual power reached a new pinnacle. He now viewed the world with the clarity of a level ninety-nine Ultimate Douluo, feeling a distance as immense as a chasm from godhood.
Despite this power, the path to level one hundred remained elusive, as if it were an insurmountable wall. No wonder Seagod needed a thousand years and the devotion of all sea creatures to become a god.
The Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King had been an extraordinary mental-type beast, granting Yang Potian four formidable skills.
His seventh soul ring skill: Martial Spirit True Form, amplifying his attack, defense, and mental power while absorbing the blood of nearby beings to restore himself. This skill also included the attribute of "Blood Prison."
Blood Prison could create an independent space where Yang Potian's power increased significantly, while opponents' soul skills and power weakened.
The first skull bone skill: Crimson Control, allowing him to control others' minds, turning them into slaves who obey his commands. It also allowed him to access their memories.
The second skull bone skill: Crimson Wave, emitting an energy similar to a sonic wave with both offensive and detection abilities. It functioned as a single-target and group mental attack skill.
Satisfied with these abilities, Yang Potian felt he'd strengthened his mental power significantly, and the skull bone filled a critical gap, leveling the field against other Ultimate Douluos.
Judging by these skills, the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King must have used them to control the entire City of Slaughter, a power that now belonged to him.
Yang Potian looked at Tang Chen's body on the ground and at the Asura Demonic Sword embedded in the earth—his greatest trophies from the City of Slaughter.
Without hesitation, he activated the first skull bone skill, Crimson Control, releasing a red beam from his eyes that penetrated Tang Chen's mind.
Though Tang Chen was an Ultimate Douluo, his years under control had weakened his mind and spirit, making him easy prey.
Yang Potian closed his eyes, exploring Tang Chen's memories, learning about his skills, the rise of the Clear Sky Sect, and his creation of new soul techniques. Tang Chen had truly been the first genius of the Douluo Continent.
After a day of deep exploration, Yang Potian obtained what he sought: the Great Xu Mi Hammer and Clear Sky Nine Absolutes—the heart of the Clear Sky Sect's knowledge.
Having achieved his goal, Yang Potian stabbed Tang Chen's head with his spear, ending his life.
A threat like Tang Chen, already a peerless master, could not be left alive. If Bo Saixi or someone else were to restore him, it would bring endless trouble.
Tang Chen's body was a treasure trove: all his bones were over sixty thousand years old, with four over eighty thousand, and even one at a hundred thousand—a value far exceeding anything Yang Potian had acquired before.
(End of Chapter)
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