Chapter 154

After Yang Xiong seized the Ten‑Headed Blazing Sun Snake's Inner Core, he saw the Hell Road beginning to collapse and could no longer concern himself with it, so he sprinted forward at breakneck speed.

The farther he pressed on, the hotter it became, the nearer the Blood River grew, red mist began to billow, his entire body felt stimulated, his mind seemed to slip toward loss of control, and even visibility dropped dramatically.

After a full half hour, the Hell Road and Blood River were almost at the same level, the surrounding heat had surpassed that of ordinary flames, and a normal Soul King in such temperature would likely have his body baked.

Especially now, fully enveloped in the red mist, which seemed to harbor a deadly poison that could affect the mind, even far exceeding the mesmerizing power of the Enchanting Charm from Hu Liena's sibling's Martial Soul Fusion Technique.

At that moment, a white light appeared ahead like a traversing portal; Yang Xiong knew it marked the end of the Hell Road, and crossing that white beam would mean completing the trial and granting him the Killing God Domain.

Yet at that instant, Yang Xiong felt his body on the brink of losing control—though that was secondary—the real issue was his Body Soul Weapon, which seemed drawn to the Blood River, as if a connection existed between them.

At his current speed, reaching the light gate before the Hell Road fully collapsed should pose no problem, even though each step he takes causes the Hell Road behind him to begin collapsing.

The light gate drew nearer, shrinking from several hundred meters to just a few dozen meters.

Yet as Yang Xiong approached the light gate, the entire space began to tremble more violently, and the Hell Road's collapse accelerated, as if everything was tied to his distance from the gate.

At that moment, Yang Xiong felt a flicker of hesitation.

On this Hell Road, whether the red poisonous fog or the monsters, both were tremendous trials, especially in the final stretch, when one felt as if immersed in a sea of blood and demons, on the verge of losing control at any moment.

The red mist surged rapidly into Yang Xiong's body, even flooding his head, as if his entire form were being stimulated, his martial soul and spirit likewise provoked, as though he could lose himself at any instant.

When the light gate was only a few meters away, Yang Xiong halted, ignored the collapsing Hell Road, leapt forward, and plunged straight into the Blood River.

That was Yang Xiong's choice at that moment—a spur‑of‑the‑moment decision, perhaps after long deliberation, finally resolved in the last instant to take a desperate gamble.

By Yang Xiong's estimate, he had already undergone Ice Fire Tempering Body, especially after years of relentless body tempering and exposure to the Killing City and Hell Road's killing aura, making him feel his body was on the verge of breaking its limits.

Yet no matter how he cultivated or studied the killing aura, his martial soul seemed perpetually separated from breakthrough by a barrier.

This was the Body Soul Weapon Gold Level Awakening Yang Xiong constantly pursued; according to its rules, true awakening occurs only between life and death, testing the breakthrough of human willpower.

Over the years Yang Xiong had faced many dangers, the most perilous being his initial Ice Fire Tempering Body, when he truly felt a disregard for everything.

Now, looking at the Blood River, Yang Xiong wondered whether its poison was stronger than that of the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan, and whether its temperature exceeded the Yang Spring's heat within the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan.

He knew the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan was formed from the corpse of the Ice Fire Dragon King, its spring water capable of slaying Ten‑thousand Year Soul Beasts, and the Ice Fire Dragon King had been a God‑King‑level being in life.

As for his parents and lover, after his numerous arrangements they would be safe in the short term, and he had already secured a fallback for them.

At this moment Yang Xiong only wanted to fight with all his might, to break his own limits, to shatter the shackles of his talent.

Yang Xiong was fully aware that, whether compared with Tang San or Qian Renxue, he faced a huge disadvantage.

Tang San possessed dual martial souls; once he reached Title Douluo, he could use the Clear Sky Hammer to add Soul Rings for rapid advancement.

Qian Renxue's talent was unparalleled, and she also bore the Angel God's inheritance, allowing her to boost cultivation speed via the Divine Examination and the Angel God's inheritance site.

Though Yang Xiong considered his combat talent not inferior to theirs, after attaining Title Douluo his cultivation speed would inevitably lag behind, and aside from relentless effort there was no other way to close the gap.

As his martial soul was drawn by the Blood River, Yang Xiong sensed the river was the key to his breakthrough—a rare opportunity in the world, perhaps the most suitable place for body tempering anywhere.

Once Yang Xiong leapt into the Blood River, the Hell Road seemed to hit an instant bottleneck, and its prior collapse halted in that very moment.

Yet the Blood River was even more terrifying than Yang Xiong imagined; the moment he entered, his entire body felt as if it began to melt.

Even when Yang Xiong summoned his martial soul, turning his whole body silver, his skin melted instantly, and endless killing aura fused into his mind and marrow, as if confronting an unparalleled fierce beast.

His entire body instantly endured unbearable pain, even several of his soul bones seemed to melt, far more agonizing than his initial Ice Fire Tempering Body.

Even the silver giant in his mind was now engulfed by the sea of blood, and his entire spiritual world seemed on the brink of collapse.

Yang Xiong gritted his teeth, knowing he could not give up lightly, lest he truly die without a burial place and be turned into a pool of blood.

All his soul bones manifested, especially the Ten‑Thousand‑Year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone in his right leg, infusing endless life force throughout his body.

In that instant, his soul bones seemed to gain a new connection, hinting at a trend of fusion.

Especially the Xuanming Armor on his torso, which appeared to link all the bones of his body and limbs into a massive shell.

Amid the extreme agony, Yang Xiong's eyes shone with unparalleled resolve, even a fierce ferocity.

In a fleeting vision, Yang Xiong seemed to see a colossal blood‑red silhouette, ten thousand zhang tall like a sky‑supporting giant, treating life as mere ants and exuding a terrifying aura.

Yang Xiong even sensed a hint of disdain at the corner of the blood giant's mouth; the scene felt both real and illusory, and in that ultimate pain he gradually lost consciousness, relying solely on his physique to resist.

……

Below a waterfall somewhere in Fasinuo Xingsheng.

After a full year of hard training, Tang San's martial soul Clear Sky Hammer has become extremely smooth and circular in its use, even capable of employing the Chaotic Splitting Hammer Technique in reverse; when he unleashed the 99×81 strikes, the whole waterfall seemed about to be split apart, and the water droplets falling from it could not even reach the ground.

After attaining Soul King, Tang San has improved in every aspect; now Tang San has already reached level 54, and his body seems to have reached the limit of an ordinary Soul King.

Tang Hao, standing nearby, looked at Tang San with some satisfaction; this time Tang San's cultivation speed with the Clear Sky Hammer is faster than the training speed he had with the wooden hammer before, and the Chaotic Splitting Hammer Technique has now fully matured, definitely able to reach the level he himself had achieved back then.

Tang San emerged from the waterfall back to the ground, his face beaming with joy: "Father, I have finally completed your test again; what is the next test content?"

A rare smile appeared on Tang Hao's face: "Xiao San, your cultivation speed is faster than I imagined; it seems you are well suited to the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul."

"All these years, I had you train beneath the waterfall, actually to make you push your body to the limit."

"Yu Xiaogang and I have conducted numerous studies, especially my earlier duel with Bibidong in the Spirit Hall, which was actually to probe how she managed the dual‑martial‑soul cultivation."

"After our analysis and verification, the essence of dual‑martial‑soul cultivation is probably to refine the body's strength to the utmost."

Tang San was a bit puzzled: "Father, dual‑martial‑soul cultivation shouldn't be that simple, right? Although dual martial souls are rare, three have appeared in the past hundred years; in the history of Soul Grandmasters, dual martial souls shouldn't be that few, they couldn't have missed this point."

Tang Hao shook his head: "Xiao San, you're wrong on that. Soul Grandmaster cultivation has always been gradually discovered; whether it's the Spirit Hall or the Upper Three Sects, their research on Soul Grandmaster cultivation far surpasses that of ordinary civilians and minor sects, even far surpasses the Two Great Empires."

"Historically, Soul Kings rarely appeared during the Soul Master Competition, but in the last Soul Master Competition, the Spirit Hall not only produced one, but three of them, which shows that their research on martial soul cultivation has become even deeper."

"And you are only a mere seventeen, yet your soul power has already reached level 54, and you might even attain Soul Emperor within three years; this cultivation speed is unprecedented, even far surpassing my record of breaking through the Title Douluo."

Tang San was a bit confused: "Father, what exactly is the change in this cultivation process? Could it be that a new Meditation Method has emerged?"

Tang Hao said: "Not really; the cultivation methods in the Soul Master World haven't changed much over the years, what has truly changed is the cultivation approach."

"In the past, Soul Grandmaster cultivation focused mainly on Meditation, essentially neglecting physical training, but in recent years the Soul Master World has gradually begun to emphasize body conditioning; only a robust physique can meditate more quickly."

"Therefore I surmise that Bibidong overcomes the repulsive force of dual martial souls through a powerful physique; in my estimation, Bibidong's body training and refinement are absolutely outstanding, especially since she should also possess a full set of high‑age soul bones throughout her body."

"According to my estimate, Bibidong has at least three Ten‑Thousand‑Year soul bones, and her other soul bones are all at least fifty thousand years old; you should understand the function of soul bones, and this configuration even makes me feel unusually terrified."

Tang San, hearing this, couldn't help but swallow his saliva; he currently has only a Head Soul Bone and a Mantis Leg External Soul Bone, and a true top‑tier Ten‑Thousand‑Year soul bone is still far beyond his reach.

Tang Hao continued: "Normally you would cultivate Blue Silver Grass through Meditation, but in recent years I have had you focus entirely on training the Clear Sky Hammer and refining your physical qualities; yet your cultivation speed has not slowed, it has actually accelerated, which proves my hypothesis is completely correct."

Therefore, you must not absorb soul bones arbitrarily from now on; in the future, absorbing a soul bone should be at least 50,000 years old, and it's best to have several Ten‑Thousand‑Year Soul Bones. That should allow you to overcome the conflict of dual martial souls.

If even this cannot refine the dual martial souls to great attainment, then I don't know what to do.

Tang San hurriedly spoke: "Thank you, father. I will definitely work hard to train my body and will absolutely be able to overcome the conflict of dual martial souls, and will certainly reach the highest realm of a Soul Grandmaster."

Tang Hao's face finally showed a hint of satisfaction; in these past years he had poured great effort into Tang San.

Tang San seemed to recall something: "Father, my classmate Yang Xiong also desperately trained his body back then; could he have also studied this area?"

Tang Hao nodded: "The martial soul you mentioned, Yang Xiong's, is special and he is extremely concerned with training and honing his body. I think he must have also considered this, otherwise with only Innate Soul Power Level 6 he could never catch up to your cultivation speed."

Tang San remained silent for a long time before speaking: "Father, how should I train from now on?"

Tang Hao, upon hearing this, instantly became serious: "Xiao San, your combat awareness and soul power cultivation are both outstanding, but for a true strong one you still lack the most crucial element—that genuine test between life and death and blood."

At once, Tang Hao emitted endless killing aura, his whole form becoming a massive blood‑red silhouette. Tang San felt a chill run through his body, his soul power was completely suppressed, and his Spirit also trembled.

When Tang Hao withdrew the killing aura, Tang San gradually recovered.

"Xiao San, from now on I will take you to a special place. There will be lethal danger there, but it can also give you a tremendous boost. Only by truly undergoing the trial can you become a strong one."

(End of chapter)