In the City of Slaughter, on the Hell Road, ever since Yang Xiong had leapt into the River of Blood, the entire City of Slaughter seemed to fall into complete silence. The Hell Road had stopped collapsing, and even the River of Blood appeared eerily calm.
At that moment, a hand suddenly reached out from the wall at the riverbank. The hand was completely blood-red, covered with strange markings, looking utterly terrifying.
It dug into the wall with raw force, gouging out five deep holes despite the wall's hardness.
Immediately afterward, another hand emerged from the River of Blood, gripping the stone wall just as firmly.
With both hands climbing the stone wall, a blood-red figure slowly emerged from the river.
The person's entire body was dyed crimson, strange markings covering every inch of skin, even the hair had turned blood-red. His eyes glowed with an unnatural red light.
It was Yang Xiong. He had no idea how long he had been in the River of Blood. All he knew was that he had relied on sheer willpower and his instinct to survive, enduring the unbearable pain, until his body carried him out of the river.
At this moment, Yang Xiong looked like a peerless ferocious beast. Clinging to the stone wall, he advanced step by step toward a gate of light.
When he passed through the gate, he felt as though he had been sucked into a whirlpool. His willpower collapsed in an instant, and he fell unconscious once again.
In the God Realm, inside a vast blood-red temple.
At the center stood a massive throne, upon which sat a blood-red giant.
The giant's scarlet eyes gazed at an image projected on the table before him. In the image, a crimson figure was struggling to climb, as if breaking through some ultimate limit.
A rare smile appeared on the blood giant's face. "Interesting… I never thought such a Martial Spirit existed in this world. And to think someone would use the River of Blood I left behind to break through… this kid has guts, and more importantly, he succeeded."
"Unfortunately, he's far too weak for now. But if he grows… perhaps he might surprise me."
…
When Yang Xiong awoke again, he was already lying in a lush forest. The long-lost presence of life around him felt refreshing and pleasant.
He felt like a man who had narrowly escaped death. The River of Blood's pain was beyond imagination, as if both body and soul were melting away. He was fortunate to have endured, and even more fortunate to have absorbed the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor soul bone and the Xuanming Armor external soul bone,without them, he might not have survived.
He vaguely recalled that in the last moment of climbing out of the Hell Road, he had seen a colossal palace and a blood-red figure.
In that instant, his soul felt like it was about to shatter, as if a mortal were facing a god.
He even sensed that his Martial Spirit had formed a faint connection to that divine presence.
Inspecting his body, he saw no major changes,except that his once-black hair was now entirely blood-red.
It also struck him that he was naked, his clothes likely dissolved by the River of Blood. Yet, strangely, his soul tools were unharmed, suggesting that the river was far from ordinary.
He quickly changed into new clothes,thankfully without anyone having seen him unclothed.
When he summoned his Martial Spirit, his whole body turned blood-red, with white markings spreading across his skin.
He was overjoyed,only upon summoning his Martial Spirit did he truly realize how much he had changed.
His strength, speed, attack, and defense had all improved greatly, far surpassing even the silver-level awakening he had achieved after the Ice and Fire Body Tempering.
Normally, a silver-level awakening would roughly double his strength and attack, but now his power had tripled.
Yang Xiong was ecstatic,this gamble had been worth it. His Martial Spirit had finally achieved a gold-level awakening.
He now believed that his talent was no weaker than anyone else's, and that his Martial Spirit might rival,if not surpass,true god-level spirits.
The white markings covering his body radiated a white light, and under this light, all nearby life,plants, animals, insects, and fish,trembled, suppressed by his presence.
This was killing intent made manifest, forming a domain.
It was the Killing God Domain, the result of two years in the City of Slaughter and surviving the Hell Road.
Within this domain, his strength could increase by 20%, while his enemies' would be suppressed by 10%.
Unlike other Killing Gods, Yang Xiong's Martial Spirit had greater growth potential. As his soul power increased, both the boost to himself and the suppression of enemies would become stronger.
Examining his domain more closely, he found it strange. Normally, people like Hu Liena or Tang San had white bat-shaped markings as their domain's symbol.
His domain, however, spread as white markings across his whole body, with hints of some deeper change.
Realizing this, Yang Xiong's heart leapt with excitement.
For others, this was a talent domain. But for his Martial Spirit, the domain seemed completely fused with it,meaning that when he reached the Soul Sage stage and used Martial Spirit True Body, his domain would be even stronger, possibly evolving again.
Most soul masters could only fully use their talent domains at the Soul Sage stage, but for him, both killing intent and domain were already integrated into his Martial Spirit and body, allowing easier growth.
He recalled that in the original story, Qian Renxue's Angel Domain's power doubled when she used her Martial Spirit True Body,only then was it its true form.
Yang Xiong felt he was similar. With his gold-level awakening, his domain was part of both his Martial Spirit and body.
He also discovered an important fact,using his domain consumed almost no soul power, as if it was an innate ability of his Martial Spirit.
Laughing aloud, Yang Xiong realized that after this tempering and awakening, his soul power had reached level 58. His strength had greatly increased, likely due to his constant absorption of power-type spirit rings.
His spiritual power had also grown, reaching the peak of the Mysterious Realm, the third stage of the Purple Demon Eye.
He named his Martial Spirit the Body of Shura. After this tempering, his muscles appeared leaner, but every fiber was stronger than before.
After organizing his thoughts, Yang Xiong prepared to leave.
His mind felt unusually violent, his killing intent threatening to erupt at any moment. He needed a safe and quiet place to control it.
Dressing in black, he traveled through the forest, moving mainly at night to return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
During the day, he dug holes to hide, as sunlight was uncomfortable after years in the City of Slaughter's darkness. His eyes and body both needed time to adapt.
He also wanted to avoid meeting people,his current appearance and killing intent made him seem more like a beast than a man.
Whenever he felt close to losing control, he submerged himself in water,yet even then, the river or stream would quickly turn blood-red.
Two years in the City of Slaughter had filled his body and soul with killing intent, down to the blood in his veins. Even a glance carried murderous intent.
After more than ten days, he finally returned to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The sect members were shocked. Yang Xiong had always been low-profile but upright, yet now, in black robes with his head covered and exuding a terrifying aura, he looked nothing like a good man.
Yang Xiong did not explain much. Restraining his killing intent, he produced a token. "I'm Yang Xiong. Take me to see the Sect Master."
Recognizing the token, the guard personally led him to Ning Fengzhi's office.
Inside were Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, and Ning Rongrong.
Ning Fengzhi was overjoyed. "Xiong, you finally returned from the City of Slaughter!"
Yang Xiong nodded, his face showing both pain and ferocity, still suppressing his killing intent.
Ning Rongrong rushed forward to hug him. "Brother Xiong, you're back! Don't you dare sneak off again!"
Sword Douluo barked, "Rongrong, stop! Don't get close to him,he's dangerous right now!"
He stepped in front of her, his expression serious. "Yang Xiong, your killing intent is too strong. Fresh from the City of Slaughter, you can't control it yet,you shouldn't be near others."
Yang Xiong nodded. "Sword Teacher, I feel like I'm about to explode. I need a quiet, safe place now, or I'll lose control and hurt someone."
Sword Douluo said, "With me here, it's fine. Don't suppress your killing intent,let it out so I can figure out how to help you control it."
Relieved, Yang Xiong released his killing intent.
In an instant, his body turned blood-red, white light bursting from him. The entire room shook.
Sword Douluo unleashed a terrifying azure aura,his Seven Kill Domain,and the two domains clashed.
Bone Douluo and Ning Fengzhi were stunned. "The Killing God Domain!"
Sword Douluo tapped Yang Xiong's forehead with two fingers, and Yang Xiong felt as if a sword had pierced his soul. His killing intent was instantly suppressed, and blood trickled from his lips.
When the pressure faded, Yang Xiong collapsed to the floor, drenched in sweat, utterly drained.
Ning Fengzhi quickly summoned his Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. "Eight Treasure True Body!"
Light poured into Yang Xiong, rapidly restoring his body and soul power.
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