Chapter 300: Dealing with the Sea God's Heart

Body Sect, atop the summit of the main peak of Thunderclap Gorge.

This is the highest point of the entire Thunderclap Gorge, surrounded by lightning and filled with deep snow, and there seems to be no sign of life around.

Since his great battle with Qian Renxue, Yang Xiong has sat alone at this highest spot, enduring the assaults of lightning and the covering of white snow.

But Yang Xiong cares not at all; he seems utterly ethereal, his mind exceedingly clear.

Since defeating Qian Renxue, the assessment reward has appeared in Yang Xiong's mind.

"Yang Xiong, Asura Nine Examinations, Fourth Examination: defeat the Angel God's Inheritor; assessment task completed; reward Asura Affinity +10%, total Affinity 50%."

When his Asura Affinity truly reaches fifty percent, Yang Xiong finds his body and martial soul gradually changing, as if becoming more attuned to the Asura Demon Sword; his martial soul seems to shift toward some mysterious direction, and even his body is transforming.

Originally, Yang Xiong wielded the Asura Demon Sword by sheer brute force, accompanied by his own killing aura; but now, when he lifts the Asura Demon Sword again, it feels as if he and the sword are about to merge, the sword becoming like his own martial soul, establishing a certain connection between them.

Yang Xiong knows very well that the so‑called Asura Affinity refers to the compatibility between his martial soul and the Asura God, which only gradually develops upon completing the assessment.

Thus it is evident that when Yang Xiong restrained himself against Qian Renxue at Liang Yue Shan, that is what the Asura God wishes to see.

And since his Asura Affinity reached fifty percent, Yang Xiong's combat power seems to have increased, and his killing aura has become even more pure.

This pure killing aura contains no evil thoughts, appearing utterly pure; the biggest difference is that Yang Xiong originally encountered the Luosha Shen's thought, which clearly harbored a hint of madness and an evil attribute.

Although the Asura God and the Luosha Shen are both gods of slaughter, and even the Evil God King counts as a slaughter god, their auras differ completely, like the fundamental origins of the world.

When the Asura Affinity reached fifty percent, the red light the Asura God once emitted now becomes strikingly clear.

When Yang Xiong met the Asura God that time, the Asura God clearly displayed nine sword techniques, but previously Yang Xiong could never comprehend them, not even see them clearly.

Only when truly in a desperate situation, when Qian Renxue used the Angel's Judgment, did he understand the gap in the source of this power and what a true Asura God is.

Although the Angel God shines brilliantly, representing the realization of justice, justice is not intrigue nor the so‑called sanctity and light; it is also slaughter. Only by wielding the Angel Holy Sword and cutting down all worldly evil can true light exist.

The Asura God is somewhat similar; although its origin differs, it also possesses the power of slaughter, as well as the powers of judgment and decree.

Yang Xiong gradually begins to understand the meaning of those nine Asura God sword moves; though simple, they are activated by the Asura God's primordial power, representing the most just, relentless, and perfect order in the world.

The Asura God's Asura Nine Forms are clearly unlike the Sea God's Golden Thirteen Halberds in the original work; the Sea God's Golden Thirteen Halberds symbolize the Vastness of the ocean and the pure power of the Sea God.

The Asura God's Asura Nine Forms are all killing techniques, with no control or defensive skills, and they bear some resemblance to the Shura Method that Yang Xiong has mastered.

Yang Xiong believes that if he can master these Asura Nine Forms, he can truly stand shoulder to shoulder with deities using mortal strength, and truly achieve god‑slaying.

After an unknown length of time, Yang Xiong finally descended from the summit of Leiting Jiufeng.

Waiting to greet Yang Xiong are Long Gong and She Po, both looking rather anxious.

"May I see the Sect Leader? After returning to the sect, the Sect Leader was on the summit; is there any problem with the battle against Qian Renxue?"

Yang Xiong smiled: "This time my battle with Qian Renxue was quite rewarding; my strength should have improved somewhat, so it seems time to seek my Ninth Soul Ring."

Long Gong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sect Leader, the Jialing Pass battlefield has been very tense lately; our Body Sect has also suffered many casualties."

"According to the frontline reports, the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Empire have been fighting continuously for over ten days, both sides suffering heavy losses, and now each is seeking variables."

"Emperor Xue Ye has already sent a letter, hoping you, Sect Leader, can also go to the front; you will be directly appointed as Frontline Grand President."

Yang Xiong thought carefully before speaking: "Senior Long Gong, now is not the time for me to go to the front; if I rashly appear there, Qian Daoliu and Qian Renxue might also show up at Jialing Pass, and the situation would truly become unmanageable."

Yang Xiong knows very well that with his own strength, plus the Asura Demon Sword in hand, even relying on the power of a Divine Artifact—whether Bibidong or Jin E Douluo—would likely be unable to stop him.

When the Spirit Empire faces life‑or‑death, Qian Daoliu will certainly appear, and I currently lack confidence in defeating him, so I do not intend to go to the front.

Especially as Long Gong said, both sides are now locked in a massive stalemate, with Jialing Pass like a huge grinding stone, continuously crushing personnel from both sides.

Moreover, Yang Xiong does not intend to bully ordinary people with the power of a Divine Artifact; otherwise it would be meaningless.

After all, given the current situation, once Qian Renxue reaches Level 99, she can immediately become the new Angel God, and with her talent, she may be the first to ascend to godhood in this world.

If Qian Renxue becomes a god then, and I have no means, the outcome of everything will become uncertain.

Yang Xiong thought for a moment before speaking: "Senior Long Gong, please arrange for personnel to notify the Jialing Pass front line, and have Ning Rongrong, Oscar, Yang Wei, Qin Shuang, Ning Fengzhi, Shui Bing'er, and Huo Wu all return; I have matters to discuss with them."

Long Gong was startled by this: "Sect Leader, this may not be good; they are all currently fighting at Jialing Pass, and if the seven of them leave simultaneously, the loss to the Heaven Dou army could be enormous, and without their help, the Heaven Dou Empire might even collapse."

Yang Xiong shook his head: "The Jialing Pass situation should be fine for now; in terms of the number of Title Douluo, the Heaven Dou Empire still holds a certain advantage, and the seven of Ning Rongrong have not reached Title Douluo rank, so they cannot truly affect the battle."

"Moreover, the matter is urgent; I need them back immediately to carry out my next arrangement, which is also beneficial for them."

Yang Xiong now finds the Jialing Pass battlefield oddly strange; both sides seem to be fighting enthusiastically, yet no real injuries occur, and at least no Title Douluo have fallen.

Especially according to the reports, Tang San and Bibidong have fought several times, the sides are evenly matched, and Tang San even grows stronger with each battle, having gone from being weaker than Bibidong at first to now handling it with ease.

Tang San's biggest change is his Blue Silver Grass, which has become extremely ferocious and dark, delivering extremely high lethality against ordinary personnel.

Now Yang Xiong begins to suspect whether Tang San has also been noticed by some deity; otherwise, given Tang San's character, he would not undertake uncertain actions.

Otherwise, on the Jialing Pass battlefield, the Heaven Dou Empire would have two more Title Douluo; with Tang San's intellect, they could certainly devise a way to use the numerical advantage of Title Douluo to encircle the Spirit Empire.

It should be noted that the Spirit Empire has only eleven Title Douluo, while the Heaven Dou Empire has thirteen, plus the assistance of Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong; this gap in top‑tier strength is not easy to compensate.

If Tang San and his allies gamble on the front line, they could employ a Tian Ji horse‑racing strategy to eliminate the Spirit Empire's elites, not to mention the Heaven Dou Empire also has Dugu Bo as a massive killing weapon.

Yang Xiong feels that whether it's Bibidong or Tang San, both seem to let the situation become a stalemate, allowing casualties on both sides.

One should know that in terms of battlefield strength, the current Heaven Dou Empire is far stronger than in the original work, with far more Title Douluo.

Allowing massive casualties resembles the method by which Bibidong ascended to godhood in the original, i. e., using endless slaughter and killing aura to finally break through the Soul Grandmaster's ultimate level.

Long Gong was about to say something, especially to comment on Emperor Xue Ye's attitude, but Yang Xiong waved his hand and rejected him outright.

"Senior Long Gong, just arrange it immediately; if Ning Rongrong and the others return, my confidence will increase. As for battlefield arrangements, have personnel go directly to Ning Zong Zhu and Elder Lin Gong; they will handle it."

"As for the Heaven Dou Empire, don't interfere too much for now; we are assisting them, not becoming their vassals."

Long Gong, seeing Yang Xiong's unusual persistence, said nothing more; Yang's strength now far exceeds Long Gong's, and although Yang Xiong usually appears easygoing, when he makes a decision he is absolute and allows no dissent.

Yang Xiong now stared intently at the newly emerged assessment content in his mind.

"Yang Xiong, Asura Nine Examinations, Fifth Examination: find a new master for the Sea God's Heart; the candidate must obtain the Sea God's Heart's approval, assessment time limit one year, failure results in eradication."

Yang Xiong finds this Asura God assessment particularly odd; this stage seems unrelated to the Asura God itself—how could the Asura God leave such an assessment behind?

However, Yang Xiong thought that the upcoming assessments all concern choices, so it makes a bit of sense.

The Sea God is theoretically a subordinate of the Asura God; perhaps the Asura God wants to establish his own cadre before ascending, and in some sense the Sea God may be even more important than the Asura God.

It should be known that in the original work Tang San, although he obtained the dual divine Inheritance of the Sea God and Asura God, always referred to himself as the Sea God on Douluo Star; this is probably not only about the original Sea God Trials, but also about trying to absorb Douluo Star's faith power.

Yang Xiong had already made plans for this new candidate, but just hopes not to be disappointed.

(End of chapter)