Slaughter City.
Within the most magnificent building—the residence of the Slaughter King.
The modifications to the Clear Sky Formation were nearing completion, and Tang Chen pondered thoughtfully.
"If even this can't help Tang Hao obtain his ninth soul ring, then there's truly nothing more I can do!"
What kind of battle could possibly strip soul slots from a Martial Soul?
The stronger one became, the more inconceivable such a feat seemed.
According to his grandson's account, that Titled Douluo known as "Hao Tian's Bane" had paid the ultimate price to forcibly rip out his soul slots.
But this wasn't just a matter of life and death—the profundity involved was something no ordinary Titled Douluo could achieve.
Even if it were possible, it would require at least the level of a Limit Douluo!
"Ah..." Tang Chen couldn't help but sigh.
Would a powerhouse capable of stripping soul rings really be reduced to ashes by a mere Rank 95 Tang Hao?
Even now, it would be difficult for him to strip Tang Hao's soul slots—and that was with the use of divine power. Without it, such a feat would be utterly impossible.
Could this be the work of some schemer?
Tang Chen couldn't help but consider this possibility.
Having spent so much time in Slaughter City, Tang Chen had been locked in a battle of wits with the Scarlet Blood Nine-Headed Bat King. Back when he was undergoing the Asura God's trials, he had been stuck on the eighth trial due to interference from the Rakshasa God.
Even now, after passing the eighth trial, he had lost his qualification to become a god, reduced to a divine servant like Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi.
His soul rings had also undergone a complete transformation after the eighth trial, becoming eight black and one red.
However, his strength had advanced from the semi-divine realm to the quasi-divine realm. When resonating with the Asura God's divine artifact, he could even unleash power at the peak of the quasi-divine realm.
"But in the end, I am fated to never become a god!" Tang Chen lamented. It seemed he was no different from Qian Daoliu—destined to never win Bo Saixi's affection in this lifetime.
"Enough." Tang Chen walked back from the entrance to the cultivation chamber, sitting cross-legged in the central position of the Clear Sky Formation. It was time to expel the Scarlet Blood Nine-Headed Bat King from his body.
If you dare to parasitize me, Tang Chen, you will pay the price in blood. Today is the day the Scarlet Blood Nine-Headed Bat King meets its end—the final chapter of all these years.
With Tang Chen's participation, the entire Clear Sky Formation became even more harmonious, the final piece falling perfectly into place.
A human-shaped silhouette wielding the Clear Sky Hammer materialized.
The scarlet aura surrounding Tang Chen began to separate from his own soul power.
"Damn it!" Inside Tang Chen's body, the Scarlet Blood Nine-Headed Bat King, suppressed by the Asura God's divine power, grew restless. A violent crimson flame surged around it.
"Tang Chen, have you gone mad? Do you want to die? We are already fused—if you expel me, you won't live much longer either!"
"No, it seems you are unaware of the existence of immortal herbs," Tang Chen replied calmly to the bat king's outburst.
"What?"
The Nine-Headed Bat King was puzzled. Tang Chen explained, "The only one who will die is you! Now, get the hell out of my body, you damned beast!"
"Clear Sky Formation—activate!"
"Hummm—"
As the leader and creator of the Clear Sky Formation, Tang Chen understood its workings better than anyone. That was precisely why he was confident that, with his divine power and the formation, he could help Tang Hao obtain a new ninth soul ring—the red soul ring of the Scarlet Blood Nine-Headed Bat King.
The Nine-Headed Bat King's strength was inferior to the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, but its overall power was undoubtedly at the level of a Rank 97 or even Rank 98 Titled Douluo.
Even suppressed and weakened by the Asura God's divine power, this beast was not to be underestimated.
Feeling itself slowly being separated from Tang Chen's body and soul—with Tang Chen even severing a portion of his own soul to ensure its expulsion—the Nine-Headed Bat King realized that the old man was going all out. Judging by the formation's momentum, it would be forced out of Tang Chen's body and then killed.
Previously, Tang Chen had inexplicably regained his senses and dealt it a heavy blow.
Though it didn't know how Tang Chen had managed it, after years of studying the Asura and Rakshasa Gods' divine powers, it had carelessly allowed itself to be restrained by the Asura God's power.
Even so, the Scarlet Blood Nine-Headed Bat King remained convinced.
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—fortune always shifts in time."
It could bide its time, waiting for Tang Chen to grow old and weak, before rising again to reclaim its glory.
But not now. If it didn't fight back, it would be finished.
"Tang Chen, since you show no mercy, don't blame me for having no morals!" The Nine-Headed Bat King was furious. After all these years together, you're going to exterminate me?
Well, this Scarlet Blood Nine-Headed Bat King isn't some pushover either!
As Tang Chen sat cross-legged, a bloody crimson flame surged around him.
Sinister, chilling...
Even the four Titled Douluos from the Clear Sky School maintaining the formation couldn't help but frown.
While Tang Chen, the Clear Sky School, and the Nine-Headed Bat King were locked in their struggle...
At the Hell Killing Arena.
Several members of the Black Armored Knights enforcement team were observing the White Queen's hundred-man challenge from the viewing room.
Their expressions shifted like the weather in June—first calm, then shocked, and finally utterly astounded.
Especially the Black Armored Knight captain, a Titled Douluo himself. Only he understood just how terrifying and unbelievable the White Queen's current battle prowess was.
"Is the White Queen really a Titled Douluo?"
A question mark slowly formed in the Black Armored Captain's mind.
Under normal circumstances, a Titled Douluo without soul rings or soul skills would only be at the level of a Soul Douluo, capable of killing Soul Sages at best.
But now...
Something felt off.
The White Queen was absurdly, outrageously strong.
What shocked the Black Armored Captain the most was the overwhelming life force radiating from the White Queen.
This was definitely not the result of restored youth—the White Queen was genuinely very young.
In her teens or twenties?
The Black Armored Captain didn't even dare to dwell on those words in his mind.
Even he had some knowledge of the outside world.
It was said that the continent's youngest Titled Douluo, Tang Hao, was currently holed up in the Slaughter King's main hall, his soul slots severed by an enemy. The Slaughter King was now working to restore them.
He didn't know what the King planned to do, but the fact that the Slaughter King was Tang Chen, the former "Invincible on Land" of the Clear Sky School, was an open secret among the higher-ups.
It was incomprehensible.
No matter how talented, it was impossible to become a Titled Douluo before the age of thirty!
And yet, here was the White Queen, toying with three Soul Douluos and dozens of Soul Sages, Soul Emperors, and Soul Kings.
Even for a Titled Douluo, this would require at least the level of a Super Douluo.
This was simply too terrifying!
"Tsk—absolutely horrifying!"
Following the Black Armored Captain's gaze to the arena...
Nearly half the battlefield was dyed crimson with blood, the pungent scent of iron filling the air and evoking an instinctive revulsion.
Of the original hundred participants in the Hell Killing Arena, nearly half now lay on the ground, blood pooling beneath them, unable to rise.
Maintaining her White Queen form, Ning Rongrong flicked her rapier lightly, ending another life. As she withdrew the blade, blood trickled down its length before dripping to the ground with a soft patter.
With a flourish of her sword, Ning Rongrong turned to the remaining participants and taunted,
"How disappointing. Over a hundred of you, including several Soul Douluos, and yet you still can't defeat a delicate little girl like me after all this time. You're just pathetic!"