Chapter 296: Disposal of the Sea God's Heart
At the peak of the Thunder Gorge's main mountain, the highest point of the entire Thunder Gorge.
This place is the highest point of the entire Thunder Gorge, surrounded by lightning, and filled with snow, with seemingly no signs of life around.
Since the battle with Qian Renxue, Yang Xiong had been sitting alone at this highest point, enduring the attacks of the lightning and the covering snow.
But Yang Xiong cared little for all of this, his entire being seemed incredibly ethereal, and his mind was exceptionally clear.
Since defeating Qian Renxue, the reward for the trial appeared in Yang Xiong's mind.
"Yang Xiong, the fourth trial of the Shura Nine Trials, defeat the Angel God's heir, trial task completed, reward: Shura affinity +10%, total affinity 50%."
When the Shura affinity reached 50%, Yang Xiong noticed that his body and martial soul were gradually changing. It seemed that his connection with the Shura Demon Sword had become more intimate, and his martial soul seemed to be shifting in a mysterious direction. Even his body was changing.
At first, Yang Xiong had taken up the Shura Demon Sword with his immense brute strength, along with his aura of slaughter, but now, when he grasped the Shura Demon Sword again, it felt as if his entire being was merging with the sword. The Shura Demon Sword felt like his martial soul, and there was a new connection between them.
Yang Xiong knew very well that the so-called Shura affinity must refer to the degree of compatibility between his martial soul and the Shura God. This was something that gradually formed when completing the trial.
This explained why, when he hesitated during the battle with Qian Renxue at the Two Mountains, it was something the Shura God had been happy to see.
Since reaching 50% Shura affinity, in addition to his combat power growing stronger, his slaughter aura had also become purer.
This pure slaughter aura did not contain any evil thoughts. It was incredibly pure. The biggest difference was that when Yang Xiong encountered the Shura God's will, that will clearly contained a trace of madness, along with an evil attribute.
Although the Shura God and the Angel God were both gods of slaughter, and even the Evil God King could be considered a god of slaughter, there was a completely different distinction in their auras, just like the origin of the world.
When the Shura affinity reached 50%, the red light from the Shura God became incredibly clear.
When Yang Xiong met the Shura God back then, the Shura God had clearly used nine sword techniques, but previously, Yang Xiong had never been able to understand them, and he couldn't even clearly see them.
Only when he was in a real deadlock, at the moment when Qian Renxue unleashed the Angel's Judgment, did he finally understand the gap in the origin of this power. That was when he truly understood what the Shura God was.
Although the Angel God shone with radiant light and represented the realization of justice, justice was not about conspiracies or supposed holiness and light. It was also about slaughter, and only by wielding the Angel's Holy Sword, and cutting down all evil in the world, could there be true light.
The Shura God was similar in some ways. Although there was a difference in origin, it also possessed the power of slaughter, the power of judgment, and the power of execution.
Yang Xiong began to gradually understand the meaning of the nine sword techniques of the Shura God. Although the sword moves seemed simple, they were initiated with the Shura God's fundamental power, representing the world's most just, unstoppable, and perfect order.
The Shura Nine Styles of the Shura God were clearly different from the Sea God's Golden Thirteen Tridents in the original story. The Sea God's Golden Thirteen Tridents represented the vastness of the sea, embodying pure Sea God power.
But the Shura God's Shura Nine Styles were all killing moves, with no controlling or defensive techniques, and were somewhat similar to the Shura Law that Yang Xiong had mastered.
Yang Xiong believed that if he could master the Shura Nine Styles, he would be able to truly use mortal strength to match the gods, and even truly accomplish god-killing.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he finally descended from the peaks of the Nine Thunder Peaks.
Waiting for him were Long Gong and She Po, both looking rather anxious.
"Greetings, Sect Master. Since your return to the sect, you've been at the mountaintop. Was there any issue with your battle with Qian Renxue?"
Yang Xiong smiled. "This battle with Qian Renxue has been quite rewarding, and my strength should have improved. It seems it's time to look for my ninth soul ring."
Long Gong then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sect Master, the battlefield at Jialing Pass has been extremely tense recently, and our Body Sect has also suffered many casualties."
"According to the frontline reports, the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Hall Empire have been fighting for over ten days, both sides suffering heavy losses. Now, both sides are looking for a turning point."
"Emperor Xue Ye has already sent word, hoping that Sect Master can go to the frontline. He will appoint you as the supreme commander of the frontline."
Yang Xiong thought for a moment before speaking. "Senior Long Gong, now is not the right time for me to go to the frontline. If I suddenly appear, Qian Daoliu and Qian Renxue will likely show up at the Jialing Pass battlefield. At that time, the situation would become uncontrollable."
Yang Xiong knew very well that with his strength, along with the Shura Demon Sword in hand, relying on the power of the divine weapon, neither Bibi Dong nor Jin E Douluo could stop him.
When the Spirit Hall Empire's survival was at stake, Qian Daoliu would definitely appear, but Yang Xiong still didn't have the confidence to defeat Qian Daoliu, so he had no plans to go to the frontline yet.
Especially since, as Long Gong had said, both sides were now engaged in a huge tug-of-war, with Jialing Pass acting like a giant millstone, continuously grinding down the forces of both sides.
Also, Yang Xiong didn't want to use the power of the divine weapon to bully ordinary people, as that would be meaningless.
Given the current situation, as long as Qian Renxue reached level 99, she could become the new Angel God. With her talent, she would probably be the first person in the world to ascend to godhood.
If Qian Renxue succeeded in becoming a god, and Yang Xiong had no means to stop her, the outcome would become uncertain.
Yang Xiong thought for a moment before speaking. "Senior Long Gong, please arrange for someone to inform the Jialing Pass frontline and have Ning Rongrong, Oscar, Yang Wei, Qin Shuang, Feng Xiaotian, Shui Bing'er, and Huo Wu all return. I need to speak with them."
Long Gong was surprised by this. "Sect Master, this might not be a good idea. They are all currently fighting at Jialing Pass. If all seven of them leave at the same time, it would greatly impact the losses of the Heaven Dou army. Without their help, the Heaven Dou Empire might collapse."
Yang Xiong shook his head. "The situation at Jialing Pass should be fine for now. In terms of Title Douluos, the Heaven Dou Empire still has an advantage. Ning Rongrong and the others haven't reached Title Douluo level yet, so they won't be able to truly affect the battlefield."
"Moreover, this is of great importance. I need them to return immediately for my next plans. It will also be beneficial for them."
Yang Xiong found the situation at the Jialing Pass battlefield quite strange. It seemed that both sides were enjoying the battle, yet neither had truly sustained any critical losses, at least no Title Douluos had fallen.
Especially since, according to reports, Tang San and Bibi Dong had fought multiple times and were completely evenly matched. In fact, Tang San seemed to be growing stronger with each battle, going from weaker than Bibi Dong to now being able to fight on par.
One of the biggest changes in Tang San was his Blue Silver Grass, which had become incredibly fierce and dark, causing great harm to ordinary personnel.
Now Yang Xiong began to suspect that perhaps some god had taken an interest in Tang San. Otherwise, given Tang San's personality, he wouldn't be doing things without certainty.
If that were the case, at the Jialing Pass battlefield, the Heaven Dou Empire had two more Title Douluos than before. With Tang San's intelligence, he could surely find a way to leverage the advantage of the Title Douluos and encircle the Spirit Hall Empire's experts.
The Spirit Hall Empire only had eleven Title Douluos, while the Heaven Dou Empire had thirteen, with the added support from Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong. This gap in top-tier strength was hard to fill.
If Tang San and the others risked everything on the frontlines, they could use the "Tian Ji's Horse Racing" method to decimate the Spirit Hall Empire's experts. Not to mention that the Heaven Dou Empire also had the deadly weapon that was Dugu Bo.
Yang Xiong felt as if both Bibi Dong and Tang San were allowing the situation to become more desperate, letting the casualties of both sides pile up.
Considering the battlefield strength, the Heaven Dou Empire was much stronger than in the original story, with many more Title Douluos.
Allowing for so many deaths almost seemed like the method Bibi Dong used to ascend to godhood in the original story, relying on endless slaughter and killing intent to break through to the final level of soul mastery.
Long Gong wanted to say something, especially regarding Emperor Xue Ye's attitude, but was directly waved off by Yang Xiong.
"Senior Long Gong, please arrange it immediately. Once Ning Rongrong and the others return, I will have a better chance. As for the battlefield arrangements, have the personnel contact Sect Master Ning and Elder Lin Gong. They will handle it."
"As for the Heaven Dou Empire, let's not worry about that too much for now. We are assisting the Heaven Dou Empire, not being their vassal."
Long Gong saw Yang Xiong's firm resolve and said no more. Now, the Yang family's strength was far superior to his, and although Yang Xiong appeared easygoing, when he made a decision, he was always resolute, not allowing anyone to question him.
At this moment, Yang Xiong stared intently at the new trial contents that appeared in his mind.
"Yang Xiong, the fifth trial of the Shura Nine Trials, find a new master for the Sea God's Heart. This person must gain the Sea God's Heart's approval. Trial period: one year. Failure will result in erasure."
Yang Xiong found this trial about the Sea God's Heart particularly strange. It seemed unrelated to the Shura God himself. Why would the Shura God leave such a trial?
However, Yang Xiong thought that since the following trials were all about choices, it made some sense.
The Sea God should theoretically be an underling of the Shura God. Could it be that the Shura God wanted to establish his own faction before becoming a god? In some ways, the Sea God might be more important than the Shura God.
After all, although Tang San had gained both the Sea God and Shura God inheritances in the original story, he had always claimed to be the Sea God on Douluo Star. This was likely not just due to the Sea God's trials but also because he wanted to absorb Douluo Star's belief power.
Yang Xiong had already planned for this new candidate. He just hoped it wouldn't disappoint him.
(END CHAPTER)
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