Chapter 268: Asura First Trial

After resting for a few days at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Yang Xiong mainly stayed with his parents; after being away from home for such a long time, only returning home truly relaxes him, and only at home is a true haven.

Yang Xiong also found time to meet his two masters alone; both the Sword Bone Douluo, upon seeing Yang Xiong's current condition, beamed with joy and full of comfort, after all he is their only disciple.

However, looking at the Sword Douluo teacher, he has recently been paying a lot of attention to elder brother Yang Wei, and it's unclear whether he wants to take another disciple with a sword martial soul.

After staying at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect for three days, Yang Xiong's party prepared to return to Thunderclap Gorge.

This time only Yang Xiong, Oscar, Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er were returning to Thunderclap Gorge; Ning Rongrong, Qin Shuang and Yang Wei planned to stay at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect for the time being.

Ning Rongrong is the sect's heir; having finally returned from training, according to Ning Fengzhi she is now to be formally appointed as Junior Sect Leader, while Qin Shuang, who grew up within the sect, will stay by Ning Rongrong's side to protect her.

As for elder brother Yang Wei, he has been staying with his parents every day lately, doing nothing besides cultivation.

When the five of Yang Xiong returned to the Body Sect, Thunderclap Gorge had already changed dramatically.

Although the sect's design was originally very meticulous, with all details well arranged, Yang Xiong had only stayed at the sect for a few months and left once the main framework was completed.

Now Thunderclap Gorge is unusually bustling; both the sect's internal defenses and the Body Academy's protections are very strict, and everyone is training diligently. The Body Sect is a rare place for quiet cultivation, especially with the outside world in such chaos; everyone wants to improve quickly, lest they become cannon fodder later.

When they arrived at the sect's main hall, everyone was on high alert.

Besides the Five Great Elders, all the deans of the Four Elemental Academy were present, along with some core sect personnel and key members of various families.

Yang Xiong did not hesitate and sat directly at the central seat of the sect.

Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er each returned to their parents; the three are all direct‑line members of the Elemental Academy.

The others breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Yang Xiong and his companions return safely; after all, Sea God Island is reputed as Devil Island, where going there is a matter of life and death.

After the five of Yang Xiong introduced their own situations, everyone present was stunned; they hadn't expected that in just a few years since leaving the sect, Yang Xiong's strength had increased so dramatically.

Especially Feng Xiaotian, Shui Bing'er and Huo Wu, who are now the strongest in their respective academies; at their ages, their futures are boundless.

Oscar sat in a front position; Oscar was originally appointed by Yang Xiong as the sect's Deputy Sect Master, and has now reached the Soul Douluo level, making his deputy position well deserved. Moreover, as a Food System practitioner, Oscar attaining Soul Douluo is a miracle in the Soul Master World.

The next several Great Elders and the deans of the Elemental Academy then presented the current state of the Body Sect.

Now all Five Great Elders of the Body Sect have become Title Douluo, and even Bai He and Yang Wudi are Title Douluo as well.

Moreover, in recent years the Soul Master World has been very turbulent; the Body Sect's interior is unusually strict, and everyone knows that their enemy, the Spirit Empire, seeks to unify the world, so the two sides will inevitably clash, prompting all sect members to train extremely hard.

The sect now has over two thousand Soul Masters; besides the original four great families, many students have graduated from the Body Academy over the past three years, and after graduating they gradually began serving the sect.

This is mainly because Yang Xiong left a massive amount of resources for the sect before departing, but all of it was handed over to Grand Elder Lin Gong for allocation.

After the basic information was communicated, Yang Wudi appeared hesitant, as if wanting to speak but holding back.

Yang Xiong was puzzled: "Lao Shan Yang, this isn't like you normally are; could it be that now you've cultivated to Title Douluo level, some unfinished matter has arisen?"

Yang Wudi glanced at the people around him, then gritted his teeth and said: "Sect Leader, I indeed have something. With the Spirit Empire acting so recklessly now, I wish to volunteer to go to the Heaven Dou Empire front lines to report the old blood‑sea grudge to the Spirit Hall."

Niu Gao, Bai He and Long Gong Meng Shu likewise showed hateful expressions, clearly despising the Spirit Empire.

The people of the Four Elemental Academy, however, were not as hostile; after all, they have no blood‑sea grudge against the Spirit Empire.

Up to now, due to Yang Xiong's original arrangement and Lin Gong's continued leadership over the past years, the Body Sect has developed in a conservative and stable manner, sending few personnel to fight the Spirit Empire, with only a small contingent at the front.

Yang Xiong glanced at the crowd, then a hint of helplessness appeared on his mouth: "I knew you Lao Shan Yang wanted to fight, but this great war has just begun; we may have to join a bit later, and I'm still waiting for someone to see their situation."

Yang Wudi asked in puzzlement: "Who else could be concerned about this battle?"

Yang Xiong laughed: "Having returned from Sea God Island, I've already been to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect; Ning Zong Zhu also plans to join the war against the Spirit Empire. You should know that if the Spirit Empire truly wins, they will likely launch a full‑scale extermination of our major sects."

"I am still waiting for Tang Xiao and Tang Hao; given their hatred toward the Spirit Empire, their participation in this war is inevitable. Our Body Sect, along with the Clear Sky Sect and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, need to jointly oppose the Spirit Empire, but the specifics of how to do so require further discussion; I cannot trust the Clear Sky Sect's people."

Yang Wudi's face showed some anger: "The Clear Sky Sect is just a bunch of rats; even if they have many experts, they're still just long‑time retreating turtles."

Yang Xiong said: "Now the Clear Sky Sect can no longer hide at will; since they've emerged, they've broken the old agreement with the Spirit Hall. Once the Spirit Hall defeats the Two Great Empires, they will be the first to cut down the Clear Sky Sect, so the Clear Sky Sect is now more urgent than us."

"Moreover, I also have some business with those people of the Clear Sky Sect; without them, the next act won't play out well, and I'm waiting for them to come to us."

"Don't worry, Lao Shan Yang, you'll have plenty of time in the future to avenge those of the Spirit Hall; you'll be able to kill to your heart's content. I'm afraid you'll kill so much you won't even want to kill yourself anymore."

Yang Wudi fell silent after hearing that, and the others' previously hostile expressions gradually calmed.

Yang Xiong then laughed: "Today, after several years, I return to the Body Sect, whose strength has greatly increased; that's a cause for great joy."

"Lao Shan Yang, later try to devise a better recipe, don't skimp on any herbs; these days the whole sect will stew Evil Demon Tiger Whales, which will be a benefit for everyone."

After speaking, two massive Evil Demon Tiger Whale carcasses appeared on Yang Xiong, each over twenty meters long; by weight they each exceed thirty tons, so the two total over sixty tons—enough to feed the sect's thousands for several days.

The Yi Wan Nian Evil Demon Tiger Whale, a top‑grade Soul Beast meat, is extremely rich in energy and a great tonic for Soul Masters.

Even though everyone present were High‑level Soul Masters and worldly, they did not expect Yang Xiong's generosity, bringing out such precious Evil Demon Tiger Whale to reward the whole sect.

……

In the following days, the Body Sect was unusually lively; everyone knew the Sect Leader's strength had greatly increased upon returning to the sect.

Now Yang Xiong is only Level 90 and hasn't obtained the Ninth Soul Ring, yet no one doubts he's the sect's strongest; when he was Level 70 he could already fight Title Douluo alone, and now he's reached Title Douluo level—no one can imagine how strong he truly is.

Especially after Yang Xiong displayed five Black and three Red Soul Rings, Yang Wudi and others were amazed; even as Title Douluo, they felt great pressure.

Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er further astonished everyone; among them only Feng Xiaotian was a Soul Emperor, the other two were Soul Kings.

Yet in these few short years, the three have all reached the Soul Douluo level, a talent and strength that can truly inspire.

Yang Xiong alone contemplated the sect's future development and his own.

Now Yang Xiong is Level 90, but in terms of power he is still far from the Deep Sea Demon Whale King.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King is a rare Water Attribute top‑grade Soul Beast; it is only a hair's breadth away from the million‑year level, regarded as the strongest Soul Beast in the world, even not weaker than the Black Dragon Di Tian in the Star Dou Great Forest.

To actually kill the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, one alone is insufficient; even if Yang Xiong gathers many, they still cannot slay it.

With its formidable strength and unique Water Attribute, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King is virtually invincible in the ocean; in a sense, it even surpasses Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi.

And Yang Xiong's only option now is to use a Divine Artifact, which might kill the Deep Sea Demon Whale King.

Since completing the Seventh of the Top‑Level Examinations, the blood‑red Eight‑pointed Star on Yang Xiong's forehead vanished, replaced by a blood‑red longsword, and new information has appeared in his mind.

This is new examination content, different from the Sea God Examination.

"Yang Xiong, Asura Nine Examinations First Trial: retrieve the Asura Demon Sword within one year; failure results in death."

Yang Xiong felt both excited and helpless.

Although Yang Xiong is very confident in his own strength, there remains a considerable gap compared to a true Limit Douluo.

The Asura Demon Sword is now in the Killing King's hands, that is, in Tang Chen's hands; although the Killing King cannot use soul skills, the power of Limit Douluo is still very daunting.

Of course, there is also something to be relieved about: Tang Chen's body is now occupied by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King, and the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King will not use Tang Chen's Self-Created Spirit Skills, let alone the Great Sumeru Hammer, so the strength will be greatly reduced.

Retrieving the Asura Demon Sword is only the First Trial; the subsequent assessments will only become harder and harder, and Yang Xiong is already a bit doubtful—by the time the final few examinations of the Asura Nine Examinations arrive, the difficulty will likely be truly god‑defying.

(End of chapter)