The Sunset Forest.
A black shadow darted through the tangled old trees.
Each movement brushed past the razor's edge of danger—barely evading the Spirit Beast's slashing claws behind her.
Ahead—
was the steep slope she had scouted beforehand.
Her speed did not slow.
Instead, it surged.
Like an arrow loosed from the string, her figure shot straight to the cliff's edge—
and plunged down the sheer face, body sliding tight against the slope as she fell at lightning speed.
The Spirit Beast behind her could not brake in time.
Its massive body lunged out over the ridge, exposing its fur-covered, unguarded underbelly.
Zheng!
A flash of cold light split the forest gloom.
The girl's sword struck like a viper, fierce and precise—
thrusting straight toward the beast's throat.
Puchi!
The muffled sound of steel rending hide and flesh,
mixed with the beast's strangled, warping howl.
The blade did not pause.
From neck to abdomen, it carved a single horrific red line.
Splash—!
A torrent of scalding blood, thick with entrails,
poured down like a waterfall—
drenching the girl from head to toe.
The hot, sticky stench filled the air.
Her clothes clung to her skin,
and blood-matted strands of hair stuck to her pale, calm face.
Then—
A white-robed figure appeared soundlessly atop the slope.
He looked down at the blood-soaked girl below.
His expression shifted—
from shock, to sorrow, to a quiet sigh.
"Rongrong…"
"As a Support-type Spirit Master, it is enough to have trained your sword to this level."
Ning Rongrong wiped her face with the back of her hand.
The blood only smeared wider—
but the stubborn fire in her expression burned clearer.
"Grandpa Sword, it's not enough."
"It's only been… less than two years."
"Yes," Chen Xin murmured,
closing his eyes slowly.
"Less than two years…"
As though he could not bear to watch the shocking transformation before him.
Who could have imagined—
In less than two years,
the once pampered princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had shed her silks and jewels,
replacing them with battle-worn garb stained red with blood.
Her once-delicate skin was roughened by wind and frost,
and her soft palms were now covered in thick calluses from the sword hilt.
Ning Rongrong took a long breath, steadying the turbulence in her blood.
Her gaze turned toward the depths of the forest.
Her figure flickered and vanished into the trees—toward her next training sport.
Her hand brushed against a relatively clean part of her collar, then tightly grasped the pendant hanging around her neck.
It was a small, clay-sculpted sword that was broken and then glued back together by her.
It was the token Li Zhexian had taken from her and discarded behind the mountain that she had secretly retrieved and cherished until now.
...
Spirit Hall.
Hu Liena knelt on both knees, head lowered.
"Teacher, your disciple has decided—to go to the Slaughter City."
The faint sound of gems clinking echoed through the vast hall—
growing closer.
Two finely crafted shoes—made from the tanned hide of some rare Spirit Beast—
appeared within her line of sight.
"You've truly thought it through?"
"The Slaughter City —
a paradise of sin, where none who enter return."
"Once you step inside, your Spirit Abilities are sealed.
Even a Titled Douluo views it as a place of certain death."
Hu Liena bit down on her lip until she tasted blood.
"I have thought it through.
"Only by surviving the Slaughter City…"
"Can I ever surpass—Li Zhexian!"
The moment that name was spoken,
the temperature in the grand hall dropped sharply.
Hu Liena's pupils contracted sharply.
She saw, beneath her teacher's scepter,
the white marble tiles cracking—
fine fractures spreading like a spider's web.
Hu Liena pressed her forehead lower,
until it nearly touched the icy floor.
"Li Zhexian…"
"His talent is too terrifying!"
"Though the world believes him dead—your disciple does not!"
"For my brother, for Yan, for the honor of Spirit Hall—
I will survive the Slaughter City!"
Bibi Dong said nothing.
A moment later, a lustrous Spirit Bone appeared before Hu Liena's downcast eyes.
"Absorb this first."
Hu Liena's eyes widened.
"Teacher! This is far too precious—your disciple can't possibly—"
Bibi Dong slowly turned away.
The hem of her immaculate white papal robe brushed across the floor,
leaving behind a faint purple stain.
"The Mind Condensing Wisdom Skull I prepared for you…"
"was the most compatible with your Martial Soul."
"But it was taken by Li Zhexian."
"This one may not be a Wisdom Skull,
yet its quality is no lesser."
"Take it. That is my order."
Hu Liena's hands trembled
as she accepted the gift—
treating it as though it were the rarest treasure in the world.
"Your disciple will not fail your expectations!"
Bibi Dong leaned back into her throne, resting her fair cheek on one hand, her expression both elegant and dangerous.
"If you truly encounter Li Zhexian…"
"Remember—do not engage him."
"You are not his match."
"Yes."
Hu Liena answered respectfully.
But as she lowered her head,
her fox-like eyes, gleaming under her lashes,
were filled with unwilling fire.
Li Zhexian…
She would never forget—
how that white-robed youth had kicked her from the stage in utter humiliation.
...
Within the Heaven Dou Empire.
A two-hundred-meter waterfall thundered down the cliffs,
the crashing sound stirring clouds of mist
that veiled the whole valley in shimmering haze.
In the midst of that roaring deluge—
a lone figure stood, lean and steady,
right at the waterfall's core.
In his hand,
a small hammer of black steel gleamed.
He struck upward,
against the sheer weight of the falling water.
Each blow he swung
sent the cascade recoiling several meters back,
as though the waterfall itself were forced to yield.
One strike—!
Then another—!
Hammer shadows roared and danced,
the air bursting with pressure and force!
Until—
the eighty-first blow fell.
"Break!!!"
His shout pierced the roar of the falls.
Boom——!!!
The colossal waterfall shuddered—
and for an instant,
it reversed its flow.
The entire torrent curled upward,
a pillar of water spearing into the clouds.
At the pool's edge stood a tall, broad man in coarse hemp robes,
his hands clasped behind his back.
A faint, rare smile softened his rugged features.
To force a two-hundred-meter waterfall into reverse—
not even he had achieved that at such a young age.
From the rebounding water,
a figure shot out like a fish leaping from the depths—
landing lightly on the shore.
It was Tang San.
Compared to two years ago,
his appearance had changed completely.
What was once an ordinary face
had grown sharp and defined.
His long hair shimmered faintly with a deep blue-black hue.
Yet Tang San knew—
It was not appearance that had changed most,
but power.
His Mysterious Heaven Skilll had reached the fifth level.
His Spirit Power had risen to Rank 51.
His Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique had reached perfection.
And his Blue Silver Grass had awakened—
into the Blue Silver Emperor, the sovereign of plant-type spirits.
Moreover,
he had fused the Clear Sky Hammer
with the hidden weapons of the Tang Sect.
Unless his opponent could counter hidden weapons
or teleport outright—
none could escape his strikes.
Compared to two years ago—
his strength had multiplied several times over.
But Tang Hao's smile slowly faded.
His sharp gaze locked on his son.
"So… you think yourself strong now?"
Tang San stayed silent.
But his clenched fists betrayed his restless heart.
In his mind,
a white-robed youth holding a sword still lingered—
Li Zhexian's shadow,
unforgettable.
Tang Hao tossed a rough outer robe toward him.
"What you lack is true life-and-death combat."
"Your practical skill is fine, you needn't belittle yourself."
"But you are still missing one thing—"
"the essence of battle."
As he spoke—
A chilling, evil aura erupted from Tang Hao's body.
Blood-red light gathered over his skin,
solidifying into crimson armor-like scales.
Tang San's entire body bristled.
"Killing intent… made manifest?!"
He was shaken to the core.
Never had he felt such suffocating, pure killing intent.
Tang Hao turned slowly,
the bloodlight crawling across his form like living flame—
a crimson specter of war.
He looked like a god of slaughter reborn.
"Xiao San," he said, voice deep as thunder.
"I'm taking you somewhere."
"A place that will temper your combat instincts—"
"and forge in you true killing intent."
"Remember this."
"Hold on to only one belief…"
"If you can walk out of there alive—"
"Then, and only then, will you have the right…"
"to stand against Li Zhexian."