Chapter 278: Killing the Luosha Shen's Thought

At this moment, a massive throne stood at the center of the altar, and a woman in black sat upon it; her face could not be seen, yet she exuded a terrifying aura of deterrence.

She is a fragment of the Luosha Shen's thought, the most evil thought in the world, and likewise the mortal enemy of the Asura God and the Angel God.

The Luosha Shen gave a faint smile: "The world is unpredictable; I didn't expect a child to appear. Your talent is decent, and the Asura God's eye seems acceptable."

Yang Xiong's face showed a hint of doubt: "Senior Luosha Shen, I find it odd— isn't the Killing City the domain of the Asura God? Why are you here?"

The Luosha Shen snorted coldly: "Asura? We share the same origin, both gods of killing; there is no distinction of right and wrong. It's just that the Asura God is stronger, so he represents justice while I represent evil."

"Yet you, a mere participant of the Asura Nine Examinations' Second Trial, have already reached this place. It seems the Asura God values you, youngster. Know that your predecessor only arrived here at the Eighth Trial; he was too arrogant and too eager to reach the Hundred Level to become a god, and in the end he became my servant."

Yang Xiong was startled; he had known that Tang Chen fell during the Eighth Trial, but he did not expect the content of Tang Chen's Eighth Trial to be identical to his own. The Asura God had indeed set the difficulty that high.

Yang Xiong couldn't help but laugh: "Senior, I find it puzzling. Tang Chen's talent and strength are top‑tier, arguably the most astonishing genius in nearly a thousand years. Why, whether Asura or Luosha, could he never obtain the divine inheritance?"

The Luosha Shen let out a strange laugh: "For someone so young, you're quite clever; I'll tell you. Whether Asura or Luosha, there is no absolute duality in the world. The righteous side of killing is Asura, the opposite side is Luosha. To inherit Asura you must also pass Luosha's examinations; otherwise, how could I, as Luosha, be allowed to strike at his successor given the Asura God's status?"

Yang Xiong fell silent upon hearing this, perhaps finally finding an answer to a question he had long been unable to solve.

With the power of the Five Great God Kings of the Asura God Realm, even an evil God King might not be able to subdue the Luosha Shen. Moreover, if the Asura God truly intended to pass the Divine Position to Tang Chen, given his strength, it would be easy for Tang Chen to break free from the Luosha Shen's control.

In the original work, after the Luosha Shen passed on the Divine Position, the Asura God immediately did the same; the relationship between these two gods is far from simple, certainly not as antagonistic as it appears on the surface.

As for the claim that the Asura God cannot act against the Luosha Shen because of Divine Rule, that is nonsense.

The Asura God, as one of the Divine Realm Enforcers, and later Tang San, who broke the Asura God's law—who in the God Realm could ever punish him from start to finish?

Yang Xiong thought carefully: "Luosha Shen, if I recall correctly, you also have an inheritor. You already have one—why still entangle Tang Chen?"

"Moreover, though this place is strange, it is not the legendary Luosha Secret Realm; that is, this is not your true body, but merely a fragment of your thought. It is precisely because of that fragment that the Killing City has been infused with evil toxin, making it unavoidable for anyone."

The Luosha Shen covered his face and laughed loudly: "The Asura God did find a strange inheritor. You know quite a lot. Have you considered that the Killing City is not exclusive to the Asura God? It is merely the place where I and the Asura God select inheritors. Whoever wishes to inherit either the Asura God's or the Luosha Shen's Divine Position must pass the Killing City's trials."

Yang Xiong nodded: "I understand now. No wonder the host of the Killing City is the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King. The toxin emanating from the Killing City must contain both Asura power and Luosha power. No wonder my friend has studied it for so long without finding an antidote. This poison is probably akin to Spirit Poison, but of a higher grade than ordinary Soul Grandmasters', originating from the God Realm, from your divine souls."

The Luosha Shen smiled: "There are indeed clever people in this world, but how dare someone as clever as you return to the Blood River of the Killing City? Even Tang Chen is under my control, and you, who hasn't even attained the Title Douluo, still dare to come—truly courting death."

As the Luosha Shen's words faded, Yang Xiong felt a slight dizziness, as if both his body and his martial soul were losing control.

Especially, his martial soul changed in that instant: originally it had turned golden, covered with demonic patterns, and now it emitted a blood‑red glow—the evolved Killing God Domain, brimming with intense killing aura.

At the same time, faint black essences hid deep within the martial soul, spreading along the demonic patterns across his body, counterbalancing the shadows of the Killing Domain.

Yang Xiong gritted his teeth and looked at the Luosha Shen: "You've been scheming against me all along?"

The Luosha Shen sat on the throne with a hint of laziness.

"It's not that I plotted against you, little brat; you fell into the trap yourself. Back then you were Body Tempering in the Blood River of the Killing City. That river contained not only Asura power but also Luosha power, as well as the Deadly Poison of Bloody Mary. Though your body is strange, you were somehow immune to all poisons."

"But the poison of Bloody Mary comes from the God Realm; there is no toxin purer than that in the Blood River, so the poison you ingested is countless times stronger than Tang Chen's."

"Moreover, you have been arrogant from start to finish. Knowing that Tang Chen is possessed by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King, you still dared to carry that Bat King on your own body."

Yang Xiong felt a wave of dizziness; even gripping the sword sheath forged from Heavenly Outer Meteor Copper, he collapsed weakly onto the ground.

Yang Xiong stared intently at the Luosha Shen: "You knew I would return?"

The Luosha Shen laughed: "Only four people in this world possess the Killing God Domain. Tang Chen is already void, Tang Hao's decadent state is unappealing even to the Asura God, and Bibidong is already in my grasp."

"You alone have ambition, strategy, and courage, and even your martial soul has transformed. Do you say you will abandon the Asura God's inheritance? Would the Asura God abandon you as an inheritor?"

"Just obediently govern this Killing City; perhaps with your ambition, killing and evil will eventually spread across the entire Douluo Continent."

Yang Xiong gritted his teeth: "Luosha Shen, you think I'll let you slaughter me like Tang Chen? Even if I die, I won't follow Tang Chen's old path."

The Luosha Shen suddenly let out a maniacal laugh, filled with madness.

"Do you think you still have any leeway? Your greatest reliance is the Asura Demon Sword in your hand; do you really believe your strength allows you to wield it properly?"

A faint smile appeared at Yang Xiong's mouth; the previously unstable soul power steadied in an instant, the black essences vanished, and his martial soul transformed into a purely golden phantom, even the demonic patterns disappearing completely.

Yang Xiong rose, a hint of disdain in his eyes, showing no fear even when facing the Luosha Shen.

The Luosha Shen's face turned shocked: "Impossible. You have no toxin on you, not even the poison of Bloody Mary from before."

Yang Xiong couldn't help shaking his head: "Luosha Shen, or rather you are merely a fragment of the Luosha Shen's thought. You are trapped inside this Killing City and know nothing of the outside world."

"Indeed, I Body Tempered in the Blood River, and under the Deadly Poison my body grew stronger, but I later went to Sea God Island, where under the Sea God's Light and Tidal Body Forging, even the deepest toxins can be neutralized."

"Moreover, the me of then and the me of now are completely different; my martial soul has already broken its limits again. Earlier I was merely putting on a show, like a monkey act. Your intellect fell for it, and now I have the answer I sought."

The Luosha Shen roared in anger, reaching out with a massive black hand toward Yang Xiong, like a towering black colossus, seemingly enveloping the entire altar.

Yang Xiong's eyes showed disdain; gripping the hilt of the Asura Demon Sword, he drew it and struck the black silhouette with a single slash.

The slash seemed simple, yet it was infused with endless killing aura, like Asura itself.

This is a sword technique Yang Xiong conceived after mastering the Asura Demon Sword, drawn from boundless killing aura; only the Asura Demon Sword and the Killing God Domain can yield such a move, named 'Asura Judgment.'

With this move, the heavens and earth were cleaved by sword qi; even the Luosha Shen's thought, however formidable, was reduced to ash by the power of judgment in that instant.

The Luosha Shen's thought seemed unwilling: "How could this be? I, a true deity, being slain by a mere mortal? Wait for me; my true body will tear you to pieces."

Yang Xiong, seeing the Luosha Shen's resentment, couldn't help shaking his head.

"No wonder the Asura God is a God King while the Luosha Shen remains merely an ordinary deity. The Luosha Shen is pure killing and evil aura, and killing easily leads people down the dark path; the Asura God represents order, represents judgment, far surpassing ordinary killing."

As the fragment of the Luosha Shen's thought was slain by Yang Xiong, the Killing City's evil aura vanished without a trace, replaced by endless killing aura—the purest killing qi.

At the same time, a voice echoed in Yang Xiong's mind.

"Yang Xiong, Asura Nine Examinations Second Trial: Rebuild the Killing City, eliminate the evil thoughts within killing, assessment complete, reward Asura Affinity +10%, total affinity +25%."

Yang Xiong finally let out a sigh of relief; this ordeal was indeed extraordinarily perilous, and it was truly his first time confronting a deity.

Unfortunately, the Luosha Shen was left with only a fragment of thought, no Divine Artifact, and was completely suppressed by the Asura God's power, allowing Yang Xiong an easy victory.

(End of Chapter)