The Asura God departed. Though he worried about the Evil Sword Immortal, he also trusted his successor. The God Realm of the future no longer needed his meddling—he was just a retired old man now.
Tianlin descended onto the islet in the middle of the lake and circulated his cultivation. He had one more task: to materialize the Demon Sword, freeing it from its martial-soul form to become an ultra-divine weapon like the Suppressing-Demon Sword. Only then could the two blades be fused.
With Tianlin's current level, he was certain he could accomplish it.
The Demon Sword floated in midair as nine soul rings slowly merged into its blade. Once the power of the nine rings was fully absorbed, the sword would leave Tianlin's body and gradually return to its strongest state.
…
Like him, Ning Rongrong was also in arduous cultivation. On the way back to Sea God Island, she hunted a high-level sea soul beast, pushing her soul power from level 89 to 90. She then received a Sea God–bestowed soul ring as the ninth ring for her Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
She passed the Eighth Trial smoothly. Next, Ning Rongrong hunted two more sea soul beasts to replenish the Ice and Snow Maiden's rings and increase her own soul power. With the quantity from the three rings gained after attaining Title rank as a boost, her soul power had reached level 94. The Ice and Snow Maiden now had three red and five black rings; the Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had two yellow, one purple, four black, and two red—she could be counted among the foremost powerhouses of the age.
As Tianlin predicted, the Ninth Trial was indeed to slay the Deep Sea Demon Whale King and undergo the Seven Emotions test, inheriting the Sea God's divinity.
After returning to Sea God Island, the Sea God's remnant spirit appeared and taught Ning Rongrong the Golden Thirteen Halberds. With the martial arts foundation Tianlin had given her, she learned extremely fast.
Now, Ning Rongrong cultivated her soul power beneath the Sea God's Light while meticulously studying the Golden Thirteen Halberds. The Sea God told her she must wait until her soul power broke through to level 95 and she had perfectly mastered the first three forms of the Thirteen Halberds before challenging the Deep Sea Demon Whale King.
With an ultra-divine weapon, the Snow Demon and talismans Tianlin gave her, her odds were actually quite good.
Watching the tireless Ning Rongrong training day and night, Bo Saixi nodded in relief. "This child's progress is astonishing. Tang Chen, it seems we'll be meeting again soon."
Suddenly, Bo Saixi felt a shudder in her heart, a surge of intense unease. Her gaze turned toward the continent. "Tang Chen? Why do I sense Tang Chen's aura? No, that's not right—there's something different. Could it be the Bat King?"
She had noticed back then that Tang Chen's soul was missing pieces—likely because the Bat King had possessed him for so many years and devoured much of it, leaving Tang Chen so weak before his death.
Though the Bat King was dead and Tang Chen's life was at its end, she hadn't dwelled on it. But now, it seemed very likely that the missing part of Tang Chen's soul had been used by someone.
This was the Evil Sword Immortal's contingency. The Bat King had been resurrected. Back when he controlled the Slaughter City for so many years, he had already obtained the Bat King's blood.
The soul bone the Bat King gave Tianlin contained an extremely powerful ability: rebirth from a drop of blood. Naturally, the original body also had this ability. So even though Tianlin slew the Bat King, the single drop of blood left with the Evil Sword Immortal ceaselessly reshaped its body. After so many years, the Bat King had fully revived.
Greedy by nature and fond of drinking blood, he aligned perfectly with the sins of Greed and Gluttony.
The Evil Sword Immortal then used flesh and blood absorbed from the Worship Hall elders to manufacture a new body, infused the portion of Tang Chen's soul that the Bat King had devoured along with the power of Original Sin, and recreated a new "Tang Chen" with Tang Chen's appearance and martial soul.
Even his soul power—combined from the offerings of several grand worshipers, the Bat King, and the soul power of soul masters provided by Xue Beng—had reached level 99. But the will within the body was entirely the Bat King's. Without Tang Chen's soul to resist, the Bat King's control over this new body was even more perfect.
The city massacre that day occurred because the Bat King, masquerading as Tang Chen, paid a visit to the Clear Sky Sect, which was why Tang Xiao and the rest didn't go to the Heaven Dou palace to demand accountability.
Otherwise, the Clear Sky Sect—always presenting itself as a righteous sect—would have rebelled alongside the three Education Committee members just to preserve its image. After all, the attackers weren't Bibi Dong but the Seven-Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Even if they lost, as long as they surrendered quickly, they might not be annihilated.
Up to now, the Seven-Treasure Glazed Tile Sect only killed on the battlefield and had never killed any who surrendered. The Clear Sky Sect likely wouldn't be an exception. Because of the old betrayal, good days would surely be over—but avoiding extermination would be blessing enough.
…
Before the walls of Binghai City, Yu Tianheng led his army to knock at the gates. Xue Beng awaited them as if he had long expected this.
"Hmph. Traitors and rebels, you've finally come," Xue Beng said coldly as he looked down at the army below.
"We won't shoulder that slander. Xue Beng, neither my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan nor the Seven-Treasure Glazed Tile Sect ever joined your Heaven Dou court—we merely cooperated. So the word 'subject' doesn't apply to us, much less 'traitor.' No one fits that word better than you," Yu Tianheng said angrily. "Xue Beng, continent-wide contention should be decided by ability, but you've turned the butcher's blade on innocent civilians. You are the continent's greatest villain, and you killed Education Committee members who treated me with great kindness. Publicly and privately, I will tear you to pieces today."
"Haven't you advanced to Title rank? I, Yu Tianheng, challenge you now. Do you dare accept?"
Tianheng wanted a duel with Xue Beng. He was confident—in his eyes, Xue Beng was a half-baked Title Douluo he could easily defeat.
After yesterday's battle, Xue Beng no longer had the confidence he once did. He had thought that after breaking through to Title, he would be among the world's top experts. He hadn't expected to fight Mo Shenji to a near draw, which showed him how weak his practical combat ability was.
Yu Tianheng was unlike the three Education Committee members—he was in his prime, brimming with vigor, and possessed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, hailed as the world's number one beast martial soul. Xue Beng knew he wasn't a match.
"Hmph. Yu Tianheng, no need to provoke me. I am the Heaven Dou Emperor, precious beyond measure. How could I duel a brute like you? If you want to kill me, come up and do it."
"Then wait for me. Soul Master Corps, breach the city," Yu Tianheng ordered. He had brought a total of four hundred thousand troops. But because of Xue Beng's prior atrocities, fully one hundred fifty thousand were already dispersed to aid civilians across the cities; only two hundred fifty thousand remained at his command.
With so few, taking Binghai City was nearly impossible—Heaven Dou's elite had gathered there, with the famed commander Ge Long directing the defense.
What Yu Tianheng could rely on was the advantage of soul masters.
The first soul master battalion he sent out numbered fewer than fifty, but they were true elites. Formed in seven-person cells, they revealed their identity: the Seven-Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's strongest fusion battalion. However, each squad's lead soul master had been replaced by Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan members. With their clan's attack power, breaching the walls would be much easier.