Xiao Wu summoned the Asura God's Sword Scabbard. She saw that one of the ten slots on the scabbard lit up with a glowing green light. After absorbing the information from the Asura God's Sword Scabbard, Xiao Wu suddenly understood:
"So that's how it is."
"Only…" Xiao Wu looked at Tai Long, her pure eyes filled with regret. "Tai Long, from now on, you can only remain in this space with me forever. You won't be able to leave. Aren't you afraid? Don't you regret it?"
"No. On the contrary, this is something I've long wished for but could never obtain." Tai Long held Xiao Wu's hand, speaking with deep affection:
"A world without Xiao Wu, no matter how vast, would be dull and lifeless. A world with Xiao Wu, no matter how narrow or confined, is filled with warmth and happiness. Besides—"
Tai Long shifted the tone of his voice:
"Now I've become a complete man. I can finally bring you happiness, Xiao Wu. What could be more blissful than that?"
"Brother Tai Long~" Xiao Wu gazed at him with tender affection.
"Sister Xiao Wu~" Tai Long gazed back with equal feeling.
And so, inside the scabbard's inner space, Tai Long and Xiao Wu began cultivating their Martial Spirit Fusion Technique together.
—
Meanwhile, Tang San, having completed his divine trials, recalled how in his previous life his compatibility with the Asura God was less than fifty percent. In this life, however, he could obtain a Godhood with full affinity. His eyes shone, and once again the grand ambitions in his heart unfurled before him.
Tang San and Tang Hao sought out Yu Xiaogang. Tang San said:
"Teacher, I must return to complete my Asura God examination. The burden of the alliance, I now entrust to your shoulders."
Yu Xiaogang replied:
"That's no problem, Xiao San. I will safeguard this continent for you. It's just that—"
"Don't worry, Teacher. Once I become a god, I won't forget you. A God Emperor, at the very least—you can be assured, your disciple will secure such a title for you." Tang San said.
"That's wonderful, truly wonderful!" Yu Xiaogang chuckled awkwardly, entirely oblivious to the contemptuous look flashing in the eyes of Tang Hao and Tang San.
Soon after, Tang Hao, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and their children departed from the alliance assembly.
Before leaving, Tang Hao even spat in Yu Xiaogang's direction:
"A toad dreaming of eating swan meat. Just a rank 29 soul master, and he dares to dream of touching godhood? What a joke."
Tang San's face twisted into a cruel smile. He sneered:
"Don't worry, Father. I've already arranged Yu Xiaogang's end."
—
On the third day after Tang San's departure, Yu Xiaogang convened another alliance meeting. Sitting proudly at the head of the council, he looked down upon the leaders of all factions.
"The purpose of today's meeting," Yu Xiaogang declared, "is to show everyone something."
He ordered a servant to bring in a tray. On it lay a crossbow.
Ning Fengzhi looked at it and froze for a moment, then quickly realized what it was.
Although, in this lifetime, Tang San's mind had been preoccupied with Xiao Wu and thus he had not devoted himself to developing hidden weapons or expanding Tang Sect, he had nevertheless revealed his hidden weapon techniques during several competitions. Ning Fengzhi, who had closely observed the Shrek team, naturally associated this repeating crossbow with Tang San.
But the others were baffled.
"What is this thing?" Dai Tianfeng asked.
Yu Xiaogang casually picked up the crossbow and said:
"This is a weapon. Let's find someone to test it on."
Before long, Yu Xiaogang had a servant bring in a slave. This man had awakened his Martial Spirit in the Spirit Hall and possessed soul power. Originally, he should have been able to enroll in an academy and become a free soul master. But he had been forced into servitude by a noble family who coveted him.
Now, he had reached the strength of a level 31 Soul Elder—two levels higher than Yu Xiaogang himself.
Yu Xiaogang looked at the lowly slave with disdain:
"Next, I'll be testing this weapon. You, a wretched slave, will serve as my subject."
He raised the repeating crossbow and aimed.
No one present voiced any objection. To them, such lowborn people were beneath contempt—unworthy even of Martial Spirits. Only Spirit Hall considered them valuable. Whether he lived or died was irrelevant. What truly mattered was seeing the weapon's effectiveness.
The slave didn't know what this contraption was, but the instant he saw the crossbow, instinct told him it was dangerous. He released his Martial Spirit: a hummingbird. Three rings—white, yellow, and yellow—appeared around him. Unfortunately, as an agility-type soul master, he had little defensive ability. Still, his spirit's empowerment gave him a shred of confidence.
Yu Xiaogang fired.
A dense volley of bolts shot forth, riddling the slave like a sieve before he could even react.
He collapsed heavily to the floor.
The leaders around compared the weapon's power and quickly concluded that it could only threaten soul masters up to about Soul King level. It posed little danger to them. Yet one man saw things differently.
"Alliance Leader," Dai Tianfeng asked, "where did this weapon come from? And is it easy to produce?"
Yu Xiaogang proudly raised the crossbow:
"This weapon is the result of countless sleepless nights of painstaking research. It is a lethal armament I've developed. I call it the Xiao Gang Repeating Crossbow. As long as mineral resources are sufficient, it can be mass-produced and supplied to our armies."
Shamelessly, Yu Xiaogang had affixed his own name to this revolutionary weapon. In his mind, who was this 'Zhuge'? He had never even heard of such a person. Surely it must have been his beloved disciple Tang San tinkering aimlessly. But since Xiao San was too shy to name it after himself, Yu Xiaogang had graciously stepped in.
Better to keep the credit within the family! After all, Tang San could only invent such things because of his teacher's guidance.
Of course, the leaders didn't care about its name—only its value.
This was a weapon that allowed ordinary soldiers to threaten low-level soul masters.
On the Douluo Continent, Spirit Hall held the most soul masters. The alliance's advantage lay in its abundant resources and ability to mobilize millions of troops. With this crossbow, they could compensate for their lack of soul masters. If each soldier had one, the overwhelming advantage of Spirit Hall's soul master legions would be blunted.
"As expected of our Alliance Leader! With this weapon, once we equip our troops, the Spirit Hall armies will suffer greatly on the battlefield." Emperor Xue Ye exclaimed.
The hall immediately erupted into voices of praise. Yu Xiaogang basked in their admiration, floating on clouds of vanity.
He distributed the blueprints and declared:
"These schematics of the Xiao Gang Repeating Crossbow are now in your hands. Each faction must spare no effort to manufacture them. But remember—half of the crossbows produced must be handed over to the allied army (the Gang Clan Army)."
Thus, production began on a grand scale, and the crossbows were soon issued throughout the allied forces.
"Rise again, my Slaves!" Tang Xiao lifted the Rakshasa Demon Scythe and pried open one of the ancestral tombs of the Clear Sky Sect. Under the influence of the Rakshasa Domain, the dead buried in the ancestral grave stirred back to life.
From within that ink-black domain stretched out a dark hand, and little by little, a figure crawled forth.
His skin was dusky black, with long arms and short legs. He threw his head back and howled, stretching his ape-like arms, pounding his chest, and letting out a sharp baboon-like cry to vent his joy at rebirth.
After doing all this, he turned to Tang Xiao, knelt down, and said:
"Slaves Tang Ba pays respects to my master."
Tang Xiao nodded in satisfaction. Behind him, a crowd of the same dark-skinned, long-armed, short-legged Slaves had gathered.
Since the day Tang Xiao destroyed the Clear Sky Sect, he had never left its ancestral grounds. Instead, he fully exploited its remaining value.
One by one, he unearthed the graves of the sect's ancestors. Those Clear Sky predecessors who had not yet entered the cycle of reincarnation were revived as his Slaves.
Among them were Tang Zhe, Tang Kai, Tang Qi, Tang Po, Tang Mie, Tang Po (again), Tang Tian, and so on—nearly all of the Clear Sky Sect's heritage from its golden age, save Tang Chen himself, had been resurrected into his Slaves.
At present, counting himself, Tang Xiao possessed the foundations of a super sect. Yet he was still far from satisfied. Looking regretfully at the unopened tombs, he sighed:
"What a pity. The earliest of our forefathers have long reincarnated. Otherwise, if I could revive every ancestor of the Clear Sky Sect as Slaves, I could forge an even greater Slave legion."
After reviving the last of the ancestors that could still be raised, Tang Xiao climbed the high grounds of the Clear Sky Sect, assembled his Slaves army, and proclaimed:
"Slaves! Congratulations on resurrecting from hell as my Slaves. I know you carry resentment. The fall of the Clear Sky Sect was all because of Tang Hao and his son. Now you live again. You are my Slaves—born for me, dying for me. You are my slaves. And I shall lead you to vengeance against Tang Hao and Tang San!"
As he spoke, Tang Xiao brandished the Rakshasa Demon Scythe and let out a piercing baboon's cry.
Below, one by one, the Slaves of the Clear Sky Sect raised their Clear Sky Hammers, waving their overlong blackened arms and echoing his cry.
Thus, the ancestral grounds of the Clear Sky Sect resounded with unending baboon howls.
Now, with a formidable Slaves army at his command, Tang Xiao could finally enact the next stage of his plan. He pointed his Rakshasa Scythe toward the horizon and declared:
"Our next target—Slaughter City!"
The Slave legion traveled by night, avoiding great cities, villages, and towns, taking only wild mountain paths toward Slaughter City.
Perplexed, Tang Xiao asked aloud:
"Rakshasa God, the Soul-Devouring Hammer can absorb soul masters' powers and strengthen itself. It can also expand my Slaves army. Why do we avoid populated places?"
In his view, they should be unleashing a full Slaves Cataclysm across the continent, quickly growing stronger and enlarging their army.
The Rakshasa God replied coldly:
"Fool. Do you want revenge or not?"
Tang Xiao froze. "I do—of course I do!"
"Then hear the truth. The Spirit Hall is the domain of the Angel God. In the God Realm there is the Angel God, and in the mortal realm her successor. Her divine trials are nearing completion. The Angel Spirit has immense restraint against evil soul masters. You are still weak. If you step into Spirit Hall's sights now, forget vengeance—you'll be lucky to survive their pursuit."
"I see…" Tang Xiao's burning ambition cooled at the explanation. "So I must wait until I have enough strength, then wrest Douluo Continent's rule from Spirit Hall. I will turn this entire continent into my Slaves."
Thus, deliberately keeping a low profile, Tang Xiao led his legion unnoticed all the way to Slaughter City.
Even from its outskirts, Tang Xiao could feel the overwhelming concentration of sin within.
"I feel it. My Rakshasa Scythe is trembling. It craves the evil here. This place is paradise," Tang Xiao said.
The Rakshasa God was a deity of malice. Slaughter City contained the vast majority of Douluo Continent's evil—perfect soil for Rakshasa cultivation. Compared to it, the evil of the Clear Sky Sect was negligible, perhaps one-twentieth, and yet it had already greatly benefited Tang Xiao.
Lifting his scythe high, Tang Xiao cried:
"We have arrived—the land of evil, Slaughter City! Do you feel the hunger for sin? Hunt, my Slaves!"
The Slaves obeyed. Their short legs stomped upon the earth, their long ape-arms unfurled. Beating their chests like war drums, they roared savagely, then surged like a black tide toward the entrance of Slaughter City, summoning Clear Sky Hammers as they ran.
Inside a tavern at the entrance, several criminals were drinking Bloody Marys when the sound of drumbeats and savage roars echoed outside.
"What's going on out there?" a bald man grumbled, turning toward the door—only to be struck dumb.
Before him was the sight of a horde of black apes wielding hammers, charging straight in. Wherever they passed, hammers smashed down—one blow flattening one victim.
"Wha—what is this—" The bald man froze in terror, unable to move, before a Slaves crushed him with a Clear Sky Hammer.
Wherever the Slaves swept, the Rakshasa Domain spread like ink, enveloping corpses on the ground. Each body blackened under the corruption, and from behind rang Tang Xiao's sharp cry:
"Rise again, my Slaves!"
One by one, the corpses stood again, regaining awareness. They became Slaves—their skin coal-black. Unlike the Clear Sky-born Slaves with their long arms and short legs, these kept their original forms, only their skin was blackened.
The newly risen instantly joined the Slave legion, surging like a tide deeper into Slaughter City's inner sanctum.
The denizens of Slaughter City quickly realized an outside force had invaded, rallying their Hell Legions to resist Tang Xiao's Slaves.
A bloody war erupted within the city of slaughter.