Chapter 198: Tang San's Setback
While Yang Potian and his team were strategizing against the Evil Demon Orcas, significant events were unfolding on the Douluo Continent.
It had been three and a half years since the conclusion of the Soul Master Tournament. After two and a half years of intensive training, Tang San had finally met Tang Hao's rigorous expectations by mastering the 81 Strikes of the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique. His soul power had reached level 56, an impressive eleven-level increase since the tournament, putting his growth rate well above that in the original story, where Tang San was only level 60 by the age of 19. Here, at just 17, he was already considerably stronger.
Despite his accomplishments, Tang San's training in the Clear Sky Hammer had taken six months longer than in the original storyline. Although Tang Hao was satisfied with Tang San's progress, he felt Tang San was still lacking. To help him advance, Tang Hao decided to take Tang San to the City of Slaughter, aiming for him to acquire the Killing God Domain.
After various challenges, Tang San finally entered the City of Slaughter. However, he found the place drastically different from the one in the original story—its population had dwindled significantly. In fact, the Slaughter Arena at the city's center was barely functional due to the low numbers, and it was rare to see anyone participate in its fights, where nine out of ten participants typically met their end.
Years ago, when Yang Potian opened the path of Hell for himself, the Slaughter King sacrificed a significant portion of the city's population. It would take decades for the city to recover to its former state.
Despite Tang San's formidable combat skills, there simply weren't enough opponents available for him to participate in the required number of matches at the Slaughter Arena. Adding to his frustration, he hadn't encountered Hu Liena. She had visited the city about a year and a half earlier but, faced with a similarly depleted arena, the Slaughter King estimated it would take her seven to eight years to complete the trials. Ultimately, Bibi Dong intervened, negotiating with the Slaughter King to retrieve Hu Liena from the city.
When Tang Hao entered the City of Slaughter, he found Tang San's training progression far slower than he had anticipated—not due to any lack of skill but simply because no one was left to challenge him in the Slaughter Arena.
After assessing the situation, Tang Hao directly confronted the Slaughter King.
"Slaughter King," Tang Hao asked, "what happened here? Why has the population dwindled so drastically?"
The Slaughter King smirked. "You've walked the Path of Hell yourself, Killing God. You should know better than anyone why we're in this state."
Tang Hao's expression grew serious. "So there's been another Killing God? Why haven't I heard of anyone gaining the Killing God Domain?"
The Slaughter King chuckled knowingly. "The person who achieved it is someone you're familiar with, though he's now your enemy."
Tang Hao's face darkened. "Who gained the Killing God Domain? Was it someone from the Spirit Hall?"
The Slaughter King shook his head. "No, he's from your Clear Sky Clan's former allied clan, the Broken Clan. Though now it seems you're on less friendly terms."
Tang Hao's expression shifted, and a name sprang to mind, but he remained silent for a moment before finally asking, "How long before Hell's Road can be opened again?"
"You know how it's done. Under the current circumstances, it would take at least another five years," the Slaughter King replied with a faint smile. "Though I doubt you'd be willing to wait that long."
After contemplating this, Tang Hao decided it would be more efficient for Tang San to continue training outside rather than wasting time in the City of Slaughter. Another five years would not only give Tang San more experience but also improve his chances of success.
So, after one last battle with the Slaughter King, Tang Hao took Tang San and departed, redirecting his training regimen.
In his time in the City of Slaughter, Tang San missed his chance to acquire the Killing God Domain, as well as the opportunity to bond with Hu Liena. These missed connections were significant losses. Without experiencing life-and-death moments alongside Hu Liena in the City of Slaughter, he lost the subtle influence that could have softened her stance toward him. In the original story, Hu Liena's respect for Tang San was born out of their shared trials and her resulting willingness to trust him—something she otherwise rarely did, as ruthless as Bibi Dong herself.
Additionally, since Tang San hadn't undergone the second awakening of his Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, his appearance remained unchanged, making it far more challenging for him to disguise himself from Hu Liena or anyone else.
After leaving the City of Slaughter, Tang San intensified his training and, within a year, finally reached level 60. This milestone was achieved nearly a year and a half earlier than in the original story, possibly aided by the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng and the absence of time-consuming events like the bloodshed in the Slaughter City and etiquette training at Moon Pavilion.
But missing these key areas of training brought significant changes to Tang San.
First, without the Killing God Domain or the Blue Silver Emperor Domain from a second awakening, Tang San's chance of developing any kind of domain seemed slim—at least until he reached the Titled Douluo level.
Secondly, having skipped etiquette lessons at Moon Pavilion, Tang San's personality became more extreme, even a bit more obsessive. His mentality lacked the tempering those lessons would have provided, leaving him less refined.
When Tang San finally reached level 60, he immediately set out for the Star Dou Forest to reunite with Xiao Wu. When they met, both were overwhelmed with emotion, shedding tears and sharing all that had transpired since they'd been apart. With her help, Tang San obtained a 25,000-year-old soul ring, as Grandmaster had suggested. It was from a particularly powerful Jade Phosphor Serpent, and absorbing it greatly boosted his control abilities. Now, the poison aspect of his Blue Silver Grass was nearly unstoppable within the Soul Emperor level, and the Blue Silver Grass itself seemed to be trending towards becoming more toxin-oriented.
Tang San, born into the Tang Sect and deeply knowledgeable about poison, was very much at ease with this development. Poison was not only a tool he knew well but something he truly enjoyed using.
Unexpectedly, this 25,000-year Jade Phosphor Serpent also left behind a right arm bone. However, he decided not to absorb it for now, following Tang Hao's advice that the bone's lifespan was too low for his purposes and keeping it for future consideration.
According to Tang Hao's plan, the next step was for Tang San to return to the Clear Sky Clan. Yet, Tang Hao himself hadn't made the decision to sacrifice his right arm and leg, hesitating perhaps because he felt that Tang San and A-Yin, his wife, still needed him to watch over them.
As for Tang Sect, Tang San had nearly given up on it. The widespread circulation of hidden weapon blueprints made it difficult for the Tang Sect to secure new orders, and Titan, after losing his right hand, no longer possessed the skills of a master craftsman to produce high-grade hidden weapons. The current staff could only keep the Tang Sect barely afloat.
Meanwhile, Skybound Academy was thriving. Its staff and student body exceeded 2,000 people, including around 1,400 from the original four great clans, with additional students enrolled over three years. Though most of these students had relatively low spirit power levels, a handful of elite students had shown promise, finding their way into the various clans and providing some benefits.
At the academy's top levels, things had changed little. Yang Wudi and Niu Gao remained at level 92, although unexpectedly, Dugu Bo had broken through to level 93—a rare but welcome surprise. Even Yang Wushuang, training in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, had advanced to level 93, to the silent chagrin of Yang Wudi. Meanwhile, Niu Jinfeng had reached level 94, making her the second-strongest at the academy. Now, it was Niu Gao's turn to feel the pressure.
After decades as clan leaders, Yang Wudi and Niu Gao found themselves surpassed by their younger kin, which dimmed their spirits somewhat. Yang Zhentian continued his intense cultivation in seclusion, now at the peak of level 96 and hoping to push through to level 97.
With this atmosphere of advancement, the academy's high-ranking members seemed caught in an intense cultivation race. Each of them wanted to train and improve, especially after forming their spirit cores, seeing potential for further growth. Niu Gao was torn between encouraging Niu Jinfeng to have another child and pushing his son Niu Mang to cultivate, hoping for another titled Douluo in the family.
Meanwhile, Dugu Bo, observing his peers' fervor, was left to shake his head and decided to motivate his son Dugu Xin to train diligently as well.
Back on Seagod Island, Xiao Bai grew indignant at Yang Potian's remarks on spirit beast tribes, saying they were merely primitive clans. "How can you belittle us spirit beasts like that? In terms of fighting prowess, we spirit beasts are no weaker than humans!"
Yang Potian shrugged. "Tell me, Xiao Bai—between a spirit beast clan and a spirit master family of equal strength, which do you think would prevail?"
Xiao Bai fell silent. She knew the answer: in battle, spirit beasts would almost certainly lose against spirit masters of equal strength.
Yang Potian continued, "Spirit beast clans have their advantage in physical resilience and unity, but spirit master families possess far more. They have legacies, techniques, medicinal knowledge, and networks that allow them to grow and learn in ways spirit beast clans simply can't match. Take our Broken Clan, for example. We have passed down not only our spirit but also techniques, medicine-making knowledge, and alliances that provide advantages you spirit beasts don't have."
Yang Ping'an, listening to this, seemed to realize something. "Big Brother, are you planning to use poison against the Demon Orca Clan?"
Yang Potian nodded. "Demon orcas are bloodthirsty and have great physical endurance, but these strengths are also their weaknesses. Their violent nature means they're difficult to control. If we amplify that aggression with the right concoctions, they'll end up as little more than mad beasts. Killing a horde of frenzied monsters is much simpler—they'll probably start killing each other without us even attacking."
With that, Yang Potian took out a vial of Bloody Mary and another of Rainbow Venom, notorious for being deadly to demon orcas.
End of Chapter
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