DD Spritual Sword [462-464] (Patreon)

Chapter 462: The Cheating Slaughter Battle—The King of Slaughter Appears

Standing in the spectator stands, Tianlin casually found a seat. It had been a long time since he'd watched such a frenzied slaughter. Perhaps he could glean something from the Slaughter Battles.

That was his initial thought, but the bloody scenes he'd imagined didn't materialize.

Of the ten people on the killing field, nine were practically useless—trembling, faces full of fear.

Some were even pale as ghosts, obviously from excessive blood loss.

This battle wasn't so much a Slaughter Battle as it was a massacre, with the remaining person easily butchering the other nine.

"Heh, wonder how today's fresh blood tastes. Let me try!" The last man licked his blade, which glowed green with obvious poison—his martial soul. So, at least there was no farcical scene of him poisoning himself.

"No, spare us, please!" Several people knelt, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Tianlin frowned. Something was off. Normally, anyone daring to enter the Hell Slaughter Arena would be prepared to die. Who would kneel before the fight even started?

Besides, what's the point of begging for mercy? In the Hell Slaughter Arena, there is only life and death—no victory or defeat.

As expected, the blood-blade soul master showed no mercy and slaughtered everyone.

"Contestant #9182, congratulations on your 92nd consecutive win in the Hell Slaughter Arena!" announced the manager.

"Even someone like this can win 92 times? Has the Slaughter City really fallen this far?" Tianlin was speechless. That blood-blade soul master was decent, but far from outstanding.

Back when Tianlin reached 70 consecutive wins here, even his weakest opponent was stronger than that guy.

He immediately realized someone was manipulating the arena. No wonder there were so few people in the outer city. If he was right, they were being forced by the King of Slaughter to compete.

These people lived in the outer city to avoid the Slaughter Battles, scraping by on Bloody Mary. Weak in combat, sickly from lack of sunlight and blood loss, their spirits were at rock bottom. Stepping into the arena was like serving themselves up as fodder.

The purpose was obvious: let people quickly reach 100 wins and earn the title of Slaughter God, so they could freely enter and exit Slaughter City.

In fact, it wasn't necessary to pass the Hell Road. Back then, the King of Slaughter invited both Tianlin and Hu Liena, after their 100 wins, to become Slaughter City guests, letting them come and go freely without the Hell Road trial.

So, 100 wins is the true key to Slaughter City—a rule set by the God of Asura.

"Seems that while the God of Asura's divine power here has been erased, his rules remain unbreakable, probably because the Asura Domain still exists," Tianlin muttered.

"You're absolutely right. As long as the Asura Domain remains, no one can break his rules. Without 100 wins, all soul rings are forever suppressed by the domain's power and can't be used." A deep voice sounded behind Tianlin.

He didn't turn around—he already knew who it was. 

"King of Slaughter, you're here in person to greet me?"

It was indeed the King of Slaughter. After the black-veiled girl reported Tianlin's arrival, he rushed over.

"Heh, the Sword Asura returns to Slaughter City—I must give you a proper welcome," the King of Slaughter said, standing beside Tianlin. "But after that, please leave immediately. You're no longer welcome here."

"Ordering me to leave my own domain—aren't you a bit too optimistic?" Tianlin retorted.

"Your domain?" the King of Slaughter snapped. "This is my city! Don't think that just because you passed the Hell Road, you control Slaughter City!"

Tianlin turned, revealing the Asura Sword mark on his forehead. "You recognize this, don't you? I'm the inheritor of the God of Asura, the next Asura God. Slaughter City was created by the Asura God. So why can't I call it mine?"

"It's you people who are stirring trouble in my domain. You've even colluded with outsiders to expel the Asura God's divine sense, trying to steal the city. Not so easy."

"So, you're here to reclaim what's rightfully yours?" the King of Slaughter's gaze turned cold. He knew things wouldn't end peacefully.

Tianlin met his gaze without fear. "Of course. I won't let you abuse the power here any longer. King of Slaughter, I know why you rigged the 100-win Slaughter God titles—to let them acquire your Deathgod Domain and leave the city to do others' dirty work. But I'm curious: what has the Evil Sword Immortal offered you—or rather, the Rakshasa God—to make you cooperate?"

Whether it was the Fallen Angel incidents or the Slaughter Gods going to massacre villages, the Evil Sword Immortal was involved. But the Evil Sword Immortal, despite being strong, still needed to grow. He couldn't have expelled the Asura God's divine sense alone; he must have allied with another Slaughter City god—the Rakshasa God.

The King of Slaughter, once Tang Chen, had taken the Asura God's trial. But his body was possessed by the Blood-red Nine-headed Bat King, a pawn of the Rakshasa God. Now, all Asura power was gone, and the Bat King served the Rakshasa God, just as Tianlin expected.

The King of Slaughter was shocked. 

How much does this Sword Asura know? The Evil Sword Immortal's partnership with the Rakshasa God is a secret—no one else knows, and I never told anyone!

"You're impressive—figuring out the truth by deduction. Not only strong, but wise, just like Ning Fengzhi, the most brilliant Seven Treasures Glazed Sect master. His descendant has clearly inherited that wisdom," said the King of Slaughter coldly, his killing intent rising. "But since you know so much, I don't need to receive you further. You won't leave Slaughter City alive!"

Chapter 463: The Evil Sword Immortal and the Rakshasa God

Seeing the King of Slaughter radiate killing intent, Tianlin knew he was serious about killing him.

But Tianlin, confident in his power, continued, "King of Slaughter, the one you usually deal with is the Fallen Angel, but for the first meetings, the Evil Sword Immortal must have sent someone important—was it Qian Xunji or Bibi Dong?"

Tianlin was sure that the new Evil Sword Immortal was born from the evil thoughts of Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong, so he'd have both their forms. Both could claim to control Spirit Hall and negotiate with Slaughter City.

The King of Slaughter, unaware they were both imposters, probably thought they were subordinates of the Evil Sword Immortal. The King of Slaughter and the Rakshasa God had different goals; only Spirit Hall's power could help the King achieve his aims.

Qian Xunji, a former Pope and son of the high priest, was believed dead, but no one had seen his body—devoured by Bibi Dong. So, he could claim to have faked his death. Bibi Dong, the current Pope and Rakshasa God's heir, was also perfect to represent Spirit Hall.

If Tianlin were in their shoes, he'd use both identities, meeting the King in turn to make it seem Spirit Hall genuinely wanted to cooperate.

"You even know that?" The King of Slaughter was stunned. He felt as if he had no secrets before Tianlin.

Tianlin smiled. "Let me guess: The Evil Sword Immortal had Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong negotiate for an expansion of Slaughter City. With your greedy Bat King nature, how could you be satisfied with the current city? And as slaughter grew, Slaughter City's population kept dropping. You filthy bat can barely drink Bloody Mary anymore, right?"

"And the Rakshasa God is different from other gods—he grows not through faith, but by absorbing evil thoughts. Sadly, the seven greatest sins are all controlled by the Seven Deadly Sins Gods, so he can't get much, and he can't beat them. So, after all these years, he hasn't become a God King."

"But the Evil Sword Immortal can bypass the Seven Sins Gods and directly absorb evil thoughts. That's why the Rakshasa God agreed to cooperate: He'd help Bibi Dong become a god, and in return, the Evil Sword Immortal would help him reach God King."

"You created those Slaughter Gods to massacre villages, to absorb evil thoughts—first using Rakshasa's power to provoke malice, then using the Evil Sword Immortal to kill and devour them. The first massacre was five years ago and left evidence because it was just a test. After confirming the Evil Sword Immortal's power, you started deeper collaboration. Am I right?"

Tianlin's calm narration left the King of Slaughter more and more shocked—it was as if Tianlin had witnessed it all firsthand.

"You know too much, Sword Asura." The King raised his hand. "Show yourselves!"

Suddenly, over a dozen figures charged into the arena—the Slaughter City Enforcement Team. Each had been granted the Deathgod Domain by the King of Slaughter and could use soul skills within Slaughter City.

All were at least Soul Douluo-level; the two leaders were Title Douluo.

One possessed the Bloodthirsty Demon Spear martial soul, a top-tier weapon similar to Yang Wudi's Breaking Soul Spear, but evil. He was likely the Enforcement Team's captain.

The other was yet another Fallen Angel Title Douluo. Since the previous one had been captured by the Golden Crocodile Douluo and was probably dead, this must be a new subordinate sent by the Evil Sword Immortal.

No wonder the black-veiled girl knew Tianlin had just reached Title Douluo—someone was passing messages from the outside.

"King of Slaughter, the Enforcement Team can only act against those trying to leave without the Slaughter God title. Using them against me is against the rules," Tianlin laughed.

"I make the rules now. Don't talk to me about fairness. I'm not a human soul master. As long as I can kill you, I don't care how!" the King declared. "All of you, attack!"

With his command, the dozen Soul Douluo lunged at Tianlin.

"Asura's Hell!" Tianlin's eyes flashed. Terrifying killing intent froze the attackers in place. He looked at the three Title Douluo. "King of Slaughter, don't send small fry to die. How about you three fight me together?"

"Follow me outside the city!" the King of Slaughter, face dark, led the way. He knew Tianlin's power from the Fallen Angel Douluo's report, but he hadn't expected him to be this strong so soon.

He knew fighting here would destroy Slaughter City, his Bloody Mary supply. He couldn't let that happen.

Tianlin also didn't want to ruin the city, so he followed. The four soon reached a forest—where Tianlin had arrived after passing the Hell Road.

"Jun Tianlin, those who reached this place in the past survived the Hell Road. But today, it'll be your grave." The King of Slaughter flipped his hand, revealing Tang Chen's Clear Sky Hammer.

Two yellow, two purple, four black, one red soul rings. Tianlin was surprised—the configuration was far below Qian Daoliu's. But then he realized Tang Chen had only passed seven Asura trials, and besides the Asura Sword, he'd gained no other rewards. He was already a Title Douluo before his god trial, so he didn't need god-granted rings.

God trial ring upgrades come all at once after passing all the tests—hence Tang Chen's ordinary configuration, with only one hundred-thousand-year ring.

But it proved Tang Chen's combat power was immense, or he couldn't have defeated Qian Daoliu with such rings.

"Heh, let's see how much of Tang Chen's power you, the Blood-red Nine-headed Bat King, can use." Tianlin eyed the three. Winning this battle directly could take days, but combat isn't just about strength—it's about strategy.

He drew the Demon Sword. "All three of you—come at me!"

Chapter 464: One Versus Three

As both sides squared off, Skydream Iceworm glanced at the three opponents. "A ninety-nine-level who can only use seventy or eighty percent of his power, a ninety-five, and a ninety-three. With that lineup, they dare provoke you, Xiao Tian? Summon two of your three gods—three vs. three and finish it quickly."

Skydream knew Tianlin had changed—before, he could barely sustain one god; two would exhaust him in five minutes. Now, one god was easy, two manageable, but three was still too much—besides, as gods grew stronger, summoning them consumed more soul power. Only as a Super Douluo could Tianlin summon all three, and only for a few minutes.

Tianlin shook his head. "No, I won't summon even one."

"Why? You need to finish this quickly!" Skydream urged.

Tianlin grinned grimly. "Because my Holy Emperor Mark senses the Evil Sword Immortal nearby."

Skydream saw that Tianlin had switched marks—now using the Holy Emperor Mark. Smart move: against the Evil Sword Immortal, the Holy Emperor Mark was more effective.

As soon as he switched, Tianlin sensed massive evil energy nearby.

He was thrilled—what luck! The Evil Sword Immortal was nearby. He could use this chance to settle things.

So, he needed to conserve power and not reveal too much strength. What worried Tianlin most about the Evil Sword Immortal was his caution.

Before maturing, the Evil Sword Immortal was extremely timid. If Tianlin summoned gods, not only would he tire himself, but the Evil Sword Immortal would be too scared to show himself. So Tianlin had to avoid showing overwhelming power. At this stage, the Evil Sword Immortal was not fully formed—this was the best time to kill him. If not for lacking the Demon-Suppressing Sword, he'd have a full chance of success.

The Bat King's eyes glowed red with killing intent. A ninety-four-level Title Douluo dared to fight three, including an Ultimate Douluo? Unbelievable arrogance.

"So cocky—even more than Tang Chen was."

Did Tianlin have a death wish?

"First soul skill—Demon Spear Soulchase!" The Demon Spear Douluo, the Enforcement Team leader, struck first—a ruthless killer aiming straight for Tianlin's heart.

Anywhere else, Tianlin wouldn't care—his body was armored with soul bones except for his heart and left leg.

But still, he wasn't worried. He switched his martial soul to the Holy Spirit Pearl.

"Second soul skill—True Essence Body Protection!"

Using earth-elemental techniques, Tianlin formed an unbreakable shield over his body. It was enough to compensate for missing soul bone armor.

Clang! 

The spear tip struck Tianlin's chest, not even breaking the skin.

The Douluo's face didn't change; he withdrew and stabbed at Tianlin's left leg. Tianlin silently praised him—his spear technique wasn't fancy, but he always targeted weaknesses, showing his experience as a killer.

Using Drunken Immortal Moonstep, Tianlin retreated, just as a black flame beam shot from above—the Fallen Angel Douluo's attack: demonic flame.

Like the regular Angel Martial Soul, the Fallen Angel also controlled fire, but of a more evil, hellish kind.

But neither sunfire, demonic flame, nor even extreme fire could harm Tianlin now. His Holy Spirit Pearl's third ring shone: "Third soul skill—Flame Shield!"

A red barrier surrounded him, reflecting the demonic flame straight back at the Demon Spear Douluo.

The Douluo tried to disperse the flame with his spear, but still got burned—the demonic flame wasn't something ordinary people could withstand.

Tianlin saw that while the Demon Spear Douluo's cultivation surpassed the Fallen Angel Douluo, his martial soul quality was slightly lower. Both were about equal overall. If Tianlin went all-out, he could defeat them in a few moves, but he had to be wary of the King of Slaughter's sneak attack—he hadn't struck yet.

"Fine—let's fight all three! Third soul skill—Inferno Hellfire!" Massive flames gathered in Tianlin's hands, forming a fireball hundreds of meters wide.

If it exploded, it could burn half the forest.

"Stop him!" the Bat King roared, activating the Clear Sky Avatar and swinging the hammer at Tianlin. If Tianlin unleashed the attack, they'd be badly hurt.

"Fell for it!" Tianlin smiled. The fireball crashed down—but onto himself. He wasn't about to destroy the forest and its many lives.

The Flame Shield's other ability was to absorb fire attacks to power up Tianlin's next attack. The fireball was absorbed and channeled into him.

His right fist blazed as he activated his soul bone armor, punching the Clear Sky Hammer.

"Fiery Heavy Fist—All Things to Ash!" Tianlin roared, striking the hammer.

Crack! Crack!

Cracks appeared on the hammer.

"What?!" The Bat King was shocked. This was Tang Chen's hammer—he couldn't use its full power, but it was still Ultimate Douluo-level. Yet Tianlin cracked it with his bare fist.

If not for absorbing the Fire Spirit Pearl earlier, they'd have been equal. But now, Tianlin's body was stronger than the average Ultimate Douluo, plus the Hellfire boost—his punch reached demigod level.

The Bat King could only use 70-80% of Tang Chen's power, making him one of the weakest among Ultimate Douluo—not a match for Tianlin now.

"You don't know Tang Chen's Ring Explosion? What a pity. Get lost!" Tianlin powered up, sending the King flying with a heavy blow, blood spraying.

Now that the Bat King and Tang Chen were one, damaging the hammer hurt the Bat King too.

Tianlin regretted the Bat King's lack of Ring Explosion, as it meant he couldn't challenge Tianlin. But if he did detonate, Tianlin's victory would be certain.

He also didn't use the Slaughter Domain—because Tianlin's Asura Hell was too high-level, and the King's domain would also hinder his teammates.

"Third soul skill—Heavenly Battle Aura!" Tianlin's Fire Spirit Pearl shone again, doubling his attack power.

The three were exasperated—another third soul skill? How many does he have?

Tianlin switched to the Demon Sword and attacked. With the King wounded, it was the perfect time to deal with the other two.

First target: Demon Spear Douluo.

"First soul skill—Frozen Snow!"

"Ninth soul skill—Demon Spear Overlord!"

Demon Spear Douluo used his strongest skill against Tianlin's weakest. But Tianlin held his ground, while the Douluo was frozen in place.

The difference in strength was clear.

"Eighth soul skill—Fallen Angel's Light!" At that moment, the Fallen Angel Douluo unleashed his eighth skill. He couldn't use his ninth, as it was also demonic flame, which was useless against Tianlin and would only strengthen him.

"Spiritual Disruption Domain!" Tianlin activated his simplest domain, which only caused attacks to miss.

"Fallen Angel Domain."

Unexpectedly, the Fallen Angel also had a domain, like Qian Renxue's Angel Domain, able to dissolve other powers. Back in the Star Dou Forest, Qian Renxue had nullified the Titan Giant Ape's gravity domain this way.

Now, Tianlin's Disruption Domain vanished, and the Fallen Angel's aim returned. A terrifying beam hit Tianlin head-on.

Seeing this, the Bat King's eyes lit up—not because he thought the beam could defeat Tianlin, but because it gave him an idea for how to win.