In the Eternal Divine Hall of the God Realm, Huo Yuhao had organized a viewing party.
Attendees included the former Angel God Qian Han Yu, the former Rakshasa God, Huo Yuhao's soul spirit, the Star Dou Great Forest representative Di Tian, the God Realm's God of Life, the God of Destruction… and more.
A circular divine screen unfolded at the center of the round table; all the gods took their seats.
After a moment, Qian Renxue entered the hall and reported to Huo Yuhao: "Eternal God, the Black-Headed Great Chieftain has, per your instructions, been quickly stuffed into the jar."
Huo Yuhao nodded, motioned for Qian Renxue to sit, and said: "Good. Now let us enjoy the final act of this play."
Ever since Tang San entered the God Examination space to receive the divine inheritance, the Issa Fortress had been on full alert from top to bottom.
To the nobles who had been driven into this remote, desolate corner, Tang San was their last hope for a comeback. Only by protecting him until he ascended could they reclaim the continent and everything that belonged to them.
Fortunately, in the early days, the Douluo Federation—which now controlled the continent—seemed preoccupied with establishing its new regime and ignored this ragtag group hiding in the corner.
This gave them a sliver of hope: they could safely wait out the final phase of Tang San's ascension, then launch a counterattack under the command of a god and take back what was theirs.
But they did not wait for the Federation's conquest. Instead, a bizarre army marched here and surrounded them.
A sea of pitch-black figures—no trace of pale skin among them—raised banners: one depicted a black chimpanzee wielding a sickle; another showed a black chimpanzee holding the Clear Sky Hammer and Blue Silver Grass. The two flags echoed each other across the distance.
Upon reaching Issa Fortress, they immediately began constructing siege engines to prepare the assault.
Seeing this, Ning Fengzhi's alarm bells rang. He quickly warned Yu Xiaogang: "I don't know where these people came from, but they mean us harm."
Yu Xiaogang immediately ordered the defenders to prepare. Meanwhile, this unfamiliar army kept pouring onto the battlefield, forming a tide of black clouds threatening to crush the city.
"Sword Uncle, how strong are they?" Ning Fengzhi asked.
"I sense several auras in their ranks that surpass my own," Chen Xin replied gravely.
"This will be a brutal fight," Ning Fengzhi said, his expression heavy. "No matter who the enemy is, we must hold this fortress until Tang San ascends."
At the rear of the army, Great Chieftain Tang Xiao observed the layout of Issa Fortress.
Towering walls perched atop a majestic peak. High towers, battlements, staggered and precise—troops deployed at every point, leaving almost no defensive blind spots.
Historically, attacking such a fortress demanded a terrible price.
But Tang Xiao didn't care. "My Slaves are endless. Your impregnable fortress will fall sooner or later. Before my grand-nephew ascends, let's play a little game. Attack!"
At Tang Xiao's command, the Slave surged forward like a flood. Catapults far in the distance targeted the city, hurling massive stones. The city's defenders readied Xiaogang repeating crossbows, soul-guided cannons, and other weapons to slaughter the Slaves. Arrows and cannon fire felled one Slave after another.
Neither side's powerhouses committed in the first wave.
Ning Fengzhi observed the Slave army and witnessed a horrifying sight: a soldier on the walls poured boiling golden liquid onto a Slave scaling the wall with ropes. The Slave was drenched head to toe—yet instead of falling, it clung desperately to the rope and kept climbing until finally killed and dropped.
And this was merely routine for the attackers. The sight made Ning Fengzhi's scalp tingle.
"Something's wrong—terribly wrong. These enemies don't feel human. They feel like merciless machines."
Still, the coalition held firm in their belief: Hold until Tang San ascends.
The war raged on. In the central square of Issa Fortress—where Tang San had vanished—a spatial gate opened. From it emerged a bizarre figure clad in a green turtle-shell armor, crowned with a diadem, skin pitch-black, hair glowing green, radiating a sickly green light.
His expression was ice-cold. One hand gripped a glistening green sword sheath; the other held a verdant divine sword.
"Tang San… Tang San has returned! God Tang San has returned!" Ning Fengzhi cried out in excitement.
Tang San's return instantly skyrocketed the coalition's morale. Yu Xiaogang, seated on the alliance leader's throne, heard the news and stumbled over in a frenzy, heedless of everything.
"Xiao San, you're back—at last!" Yu Xiaogang's eyes brimbed with hot tears.
Gangzi's life had been nothing but suffering. All the grievances of half a lifetime were released in this moment. In his flat-headed mind, Tang San's ascension marked the turning point of his destiny.
Gangzi rushed to Tang San, grinning foolishly, waiting for Tang San to fulfill the promises once made.
The gathered alliance leaders all wore meaningful smiles.
In truth, they had waited for this moment far too long—and tolerated this pig-headed fool for far too long. The only reason they endured Gangzi was to set him up as the scapegoat for every failure of the alliance, then sell a favor to God-King Tang San.
The atmosphere turned eerie.
Suddenly, Tang San turned to Yu Xiaogang and said: "I'm back."
"Good, good! Xiao San, did you ascend?" Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, seeking confirmation.
"Yes. I am now the Asura God," Tang San replied, his voice frigid.
Yu Xiaogang seemed deaf to the tone. He clapped his hands and laughed idiotically: "My disciple has finally become a god! Wonderful! Your master has waited so bitterly for this day."
Just as Yu Xiaogang prepared to recount his pain of losing his martial soul and soul power—and demand repayment for his mentorship—Tang San suddenly asked:
"Only I returned here after passing the final God Examination and ascending. So, where do you think my father, Tang Hao, went?"
"Huh?" Yu Xiaogang froze, confused by the question. Instinctively, he asked: "Where?"
"I killed him. To ascend, I, Tang San, killed my own father. Hahahahahahaha…!" Tang San laughed maniacally.
Hearing this, the alliance leaders instantly realized something was wrong. Tang San was supposed to be obsessed with his reputation—how could he openly admit such an unfilial act, even if true?
But Yu Xiaogang was ecstatic: *Tang Hao is dead? Then doesn't that make me Tang San's one and only father figure—the one he must now honor and obey?*
"You seem pretty happy to hear I killed my own father," Tang San said with a mocking drawl.
"N-no, no, that's not it!" Yu Xiaogang hurriedly denied, but the corners of his mouth curled upward so hard even an AK couldn't keep them down.
"Do you know why I'm telling you—this, and telling everyone?" Tang San asked mysteriously.
The moment the words left his mouth, the air at the scene froze.
"W… why?" Yu Xiaogang was stunned; he hadn't even considered the question.
*Schlick!*
The answer was a blade of pure resolve piercing straight through his heart.
Yu Xiaogang stared in shock at the sword, then looked up at Tang San in disbelief.
"Why? Because I'm done!" Tang San's face twisted into something terrifying, a cruel smile splitting it wide.
"Xiao San… you—!" Yu Xiaogang choked out.
Tang San yanked out the Asura Divine Sword and coldly watched Yu Xiaogang's body collapse to the ground, life slowly draining away.
"You think this is the end?"
Tang San extended a hand and unleashed divine power, resurrecting the dead Yu Xiaogang.
In the pool of blood, Yu Xiaogang's body twitched. The next moment, wearing an expression of existential doubt, he looked at Tang San and said, "I'm… still alive? Was I dreaming? Xiao San, you're such a filial person—how could you kill your master? I mean—"
*Schlick!*
Another swing. A chunk of Yu Xiaogang's shoulder was sliced clean off; blood gushed like a fountain.
Gangzi's face froze for a split second, then he let out a wretched, piercing wail.
Amid the agony, Yu Xiaogang struggled to look at Tang San: "Xiao San, why… why…?"
"I'm etching the unforgettable pain into you, Gangzi. You're not dreaming."
With that, Tang San brought the blade down again, severing Yu Xiaogang's other arm.
"AAAAAHHHHHH—!"
Yu Xiaogang howled in torment.
"You're my teacher? Hahahahaha—no, you're not. You never taught me anything. You never gave me a single benefit. You're just a parasite who wanted to ride on my head and reap the rewards!"
Tang San sneered at the armless Gangzi writhing in the blood like a worm. "You only saw the glory of me inheriting a divine throne. You never saw what I had to endure to claim it!"
"To ascend, I suffered seventy-two death trials from the Asura God. But that wasn't even the worst part. The Asura God Examination actually…"
Tang San's eyes grew increasingly deranged.
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang was utterly terrified. He squirmed desperately in the blood.
"Now that I'm a god, are you going to blackmail me in the name of 'master'? Demand I restore your martial soul, boost your cultivation, and finally drag you to the God Realm to inherit a divine throne and wield divine authority? Hahahahahaha…"
"I'm telling you—to ascend, I killed my own father. You're just a nominal 'master.' Why the hell should I respect you?"
One swing. Yu Xiaogang's head rolled across the ground, dead beyond dead.
"Gangzi, you didn't think this was over, did you? I endured seventy-two different deaths—mental devastation on top of physical."
Tang San's icy gaze fixed on the corpse. "I've been broken on a spiritual level."
The next moment, green divine power swept over. Yu Xiaogang's body restored itself once more. He stared at Tang San, face ashen.
Tang San stepped slowly toward him. Yu Xiaogang, kneeling in the blood, scrambled backward in panic.
"No—don't kill me, Xiao San, don't kill me! I'm your teacher! Aren't you afraid of Douluo Continent's moral condemnation?"
At those words, Tang San stopped. Then he burst into mocking laughter:
"Hahahahahahahaha…"
"Gangzi, in my heart, you were never my teacher. You're just a maggot in my eyes—worthless, obstructive trash. But do you know why you've lived this long?
Because you stole the title of 'teacher' and rode on my face. And I… I needed to maintain my image. I needed to wear a tailcoat, to present a radiant, flawless image to Douluo Continent and preserve my faith among the people."
"So I couldn't have stains on me. That's why I, Tang San, tolerated a maggot like you. But now it's different. I don't care anymore."
Tang San let out a manic laugh. "When I wore the tailcoat, you could still call yourself my teacher and extort me. But when I take off the tailcoat, Gangzi—remember your place. You're just a maggot. A stinking, wriggling maggot."
With that, Tang San raised the Asura Demon Sword. The blade danced like a storm, carving into Yu Xiaogang's flesh. When Tang San finally sheathed it, chunks of meat sloughed off in bloody slabs.
All that remained was a blood-soaked skeleton.
Terrifyingly, Gangzi was still alive.
"Hahahahahahahaha…!"
Tang San laughed with pure, cathartic joy. "Yes—this is what I've always wanted. To be my true self."
Gangzi's skeleton collapsed. His breath ceased.
The next moment—resurrected again.
After dying three times, Gangzi was utterly broken. He stared at Tang San in horror, scrambling backward, pleading:
"Xiao San—no, Tang San—no no no, Your Majesty Asura God, I was wrong! Don't kill me, don't kill me!"
Tang San approached like a cat toying with a mouse. Yu Xiaogang kept retreating, begging nonstop.
Finally, he tripped and fell at the edge of a massive latrine pit.
These dry toilets in Issa Fortress were strategic assets—their contents heated into molten "golden juice" to pour on attackers as a city defense weapon.
At the same time, Tang San sensed a malevolent divine power outside the fortress.
A power he knew well.
"So Bibi Dong still ascended after all," Tang San murmured.
Truth be told, compared to killing Bibi Dong, Tang San wanted to spend more time tormenting Yu Xiaogang.
But fate had other plans. If Bibi Dong was here, then Qian Renxue had likely ascended too. His Asura God position wasn't a supreme god—just a first-class god. Against the Spirit Hall's dual gods, the odds were grim.
Tang San had long lost the will to live. His Asura God throne didn't even belong to him. What meaning was there in continuing? To keep benefiting those ten bastards and that whore Xiao Wu?
But if he had to die, he'd be damned if he let this parasite Gangzi profit.
Time was running out.
He'd use whatever power remained in his future to properly torment this worm.
Tang San stared at the massive latrine pit—reeking of filth, crawling with countless maggots—and his eyes lit up with an idea.
He turned coldly to Yu Xiaogang and said:
"Gangzi, I told you—you're a maggot. And maggots belong in maggot places."