Chapter 274: Sword Douluo Breaks Through to Level 98
Yang Xiong and his two companions spent a full month in the City of Slaughter.
During this month, Sword Douluo sat motionless in front of the Shura Demon Sword, his eyes tightly shut, as if trying to comprehend the terrifying sword energy emanating from the sword.
Around the Shura Demon Sword, the Seven Killing Sword hovered, faintly opposing the Shura Demon Sword.
Recently, Yang Wudi either participated in the Hell Slaughter Arena matches or focused on researching poisons. With his strength, he thrived in the City of Slaughter. His Soul-Breaking Spear became even more formidable, radiating killing intent.
Yang Xiong had handled matters in the City of Slaughter. He had successfully won over the enforcers, balancing both kindness and authority. Now, only Yang Xiong controlled the Slaughter Domain. Especially with the Shura Demon Sword in his possession, he was like a ruler in the City of Slaughter.
As for the fallen ones, Yang Xiong had divided the city into different zones. The Inner City, once lawless, was now organized into several districts with varying rules. District A was like the old lawless city, District B had some restrictions on slaughter, and District C resembled heaven...
To live in these areas required both strength and contribution, as well as absolute loyalty.
After Yang Xiong's arrangements, the people in the City of Slaughter seemed to see a glimpse of hope, no longer blindly or madly pursuing destruction.
During his work, Yang Xiong also discovered that the so-called fallen ones included talented individuals from various professions, some even considered geniuses.
Though they had caused great harm to the Douluo Continent, in the City of Slaughter, they could gain Bloody Mary through their contributions, aside from slaughtering.
For instance, many blacksmiths in the City of Slaughter were tasked with forging a sheath for the Shura Demon Sword out of Heavenly Meteor Copper, a rare metal plundered from the Tiandou Empire. The result was impressive.
This Heavenly Meteor Copper was one of the world's most precious and rare metals. Using it to forge a sword sheath effectively blocked killing intent, even blocking soul power and mental energy.
Yang Xiong, pleased, exempted these blacksmiths from their contributions for three years, allowing them to work in specific areas without needing to contribute Bloody Mary or participate in the Hell Slaughter Arena.
...
Under Yang Xiong's management, the City of Slaughter no longer felt as chaotic as before, and it became more orderly.
Another goal of Yang Xiong's actions was to complete the second trial of the Shura God's Nine Trials.
"The second trial of the Shura Nine Trials: Take control of the City of Slaughter and eliminate the evil thoughts within it. Time limit: one year. Failure results in obliteration."
Recently, Yang Xiong had carefully investigated the evil thoughts in the City of Slaughter, which had two main causes.
One reason was the influence of the Rakshasa God. It seemed that there was some trace of the Rakshasa God's divine will within the Blood River of the City of Slaughter.
The other reason was that the City of Slaughter itself absorbed the evil thoughts of ordinary people. Just like when the Hell Slaughter Arena was opened, not only did it absorb people's blood and soul power, but it also absorbed their souls. Each person's soul contained a great deal of evil thoughts, which originally would have been suppressed within the killing intent of the Shura God, but they were tainted by the Rakshasa God.
This caused the people in the City of Slaughter to gradually descend into madness. Even Bloody Mary, which was supposed to help, had been tainted by the Rakshasa God, turning people into wild beasts.
To solve these two problems, one had to eliminate the Rakshasa God's influence and figure out a way to bring order to the City of Slaughter.
...
Sword Douluo had sat in front of the Shura Demon Sword for a full month.
During this time, Sword Douluo neither ate nor drank, remaining perfectly still, as if resembling a dead tree.
Especially as the Seven Killing Sword constantly clashed with the Shura Demon Sword, the Seven Killing Sword seemed insignificant under the pressure of the Shura Demon Sword, as if a mortal facing a god.
However, Sword Douluo seemed to be carefully sensing every bit of sword energy coming from the Shura Demon Sword, and countless sword scars appeared on his body.
These were the result of Sword Douluo's clash with the Shura Demon Sword. The sword was much stronger than Sword Douluo had imagined, especially its terrifying sword energy, which even Sword Douluo couldn't match.
Yet, at this moment, Sword Douluo was deeply immersed in his task. His entire life had been dedicated to the pursuit of swordsmanship, and the Shura Demon Sword, being a divine sword, was far above the soul masters of Douluo Continent in terms of rank.
The Seven Killing Sword, known for its unyielding spirit, was beginning to take on a slight blood-red hue, as if it had been tainted by the clash with the Shura Demon Sword.
One day, Sword Douluo's aura seemed to reach its peak. After countless defeats, he once again picked up his sword and stood up.
When Sword Douluo opened his eyes, they seemed to shoot out beams of sword light, as if a mortal gazing at a god.
At this moment, the Seven Killing Sword exuded endless killing intent, as if it had been reborn.
Sword Douluo's soul power surged dramatically, and he seemed to have broken through a barrier. Even Yang Xiong could feel the sword intent in his body being drawn toward Sword Douluo.
Finally, Sword Douluo's soul power broke through to Level 98, reaching the highest realm the Seven Killing Sword had ever achieved.
Both Yang Wudi and Yang Xiong were extremely pleased and celebrated Sword Douluo's breakthrough.
"Teacher, congratulations! You've finally reached Level 98!"
Given Sword Douluo's talent and opportunities, it was nearly impossible for him to reach Level 98 without a 100,000-year soul ring or soul bone.
But at this moment, it seemed that he had broken through the limitations of his body, all thanks to Sword Douluo's comprehension of the sword and his obsession with it.
Sword Douluo smiled slightly. "Xiong, thank you for letting me observe the Shura Demon Sword. My whole life has been devoted to the way of the sword. Only after seeing the Shura Demon Sword did I realize that the path of the sword has no limits, and I also realized my own inadequacies."
Yang Xiong quickly responded, "Teacher, you've been pursuing the way of the sword your whole life. Even without the Shura Demon Sword, reaching Level 98 would have been inevitable."
Sword Douluo shook his head. "I've pursued the way of the sword, but my body training is lacking. My body and the Seven Killing Sword's martial soul could only support me until Level 97. Reaching Level 98 is beyond my expectations."
"It's a bit of a shame. Even though I know I'm on the path to greatness, I'm afraid I'll never be able to break through to Level 99."
Yang Xiong didn't know how to comfort him.
Yang Wudi, on the other hand, looked at Sword Douluo enviously. "Sword Douluo, stop saying such things. Since becoming a Title Douluo, my soul power hasn't made any progress. I'll probably only ever reach Level 95 in my lifetime."
"You're already one of the top fighters on the continent. Apart from Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen, no one else can surpass you."
Sword Douluo fell silent for a moment before smiling. "Old Mountain Goat, it seems I've been too obsessed. I didn't realize that, when it comes to soul master cultivation, you understand it more thoroughly than I do."
After their conversation, Sword Douluo finally spoke. "Xiong, Old Mountain Goat, we've been in the City of Slaughter for a while now. I need to return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Do you want to come with me?"
Yang Wudi nodded. "I'm also thinking about going back. While the City of Slaughter is great, I'm still an ordinary person. There are things to handle with the Broken One Clan, and with the Spirit Empire eyeing us, I don't have the time to stay here forever."
Yang Xiong thought for a moment before replying. "Teacher, Old Mountain Goat, you can go ahead. I still have a few things to handle in the City of Slaughter. I may return later than you."
Sword Douluo nodded. "Alright. Even though you can now use the Shura Demon Sword, your swordsmanship and combat skills still need improvement. Perhaps you should study the Shura Demon Sword more seriously."
...
After some discussion, Yang Xiong sent Sword Douluo and Yang Wudi off.
Yang Xiong then sheathed the Shura Demon Sword and headed to the Hell Slaughter Arena.
In the Hell Slaughter Arena, Yang Xiong used the Shura Demon Sword and the Slaughter Domain to carefully examine the entire arena's environment.
The Hell Slaughter Arena was a massive formation, and only the Shura Demon Sword was the true key to activating it.
After expelling everyone from the arena, Yang Xiong quickly condensed his Slaughter Domain within it, eventually forming a massive blood-red bat-like figure. The entire arena then seemed to split open, like an abyss.
Yang Xiong didn't bother with anything else and leaped directly into the abyss.
He felt a sense of weightlessness, and when he awoke again, he was on the Road to Hell.
This was Yang Xiong's second time on the Road to Hell. The small, ancient altar was still there, but without the sacrificial blood from the Hell Slaughter Arena, the place felt rather mundane, without the killing intent or eerie atmosphere of his first visit.
Yang Xiong inserted the Shura Demon Sword into a gap in the altar, and the altar slowly began to descend, eventually sinking into the Blood River.
Even Yang Xiong's body was slowly being covered by the Blood River, as if he was back in the same situation as last time.
However, as the altar continued to descend, visibility in the Blood River increased, and it seemed to land on a large platform.
Yang Xiong gripped the Shura Demon Sword tightly and stared at the figure of a woman that appeared at the center of the altar.
The woman appeared tall and wore black clothing, exuding a strange black aura.
"Rakshasa God, I didn't expect you to be here in the Blood River."
(END CHAPTER)
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