Chapter 98: The Poisoned River and the Hammer's Judgment
Dark Blue Silver True Body—activated.
Tang San's entire body began to undergo a dramatic transformation.
Half blood-red, half blue-gold.
Even his hair split evenly between the two colors. It was an eerie, powerful sight.
This transformation stemmed from the evolution of his Blue Silver Grass martial soul.
Corrupted by the influence of the Asura God and the endless slaughter of the Slaughter City, the Blue Silver Grass mutated into the fearsome Dark Blue Silver Martial Soul.
The blood aura emanating from the King of Slaughter was no ordinary pressure.
It was a domain.
And only a domain could resist another.
As Tang San's Dark Blue Silver Domain clashed with the overbearing blood domain of the King of Slaughter, countless dark blue silver vines sprang up from the Hell Road, growing wildly in the air like a dense undersea forest. They slithered through the surging blood river and quietly wrapped around the King of Slaughter's feet, coiling upward.
Before the King of Slaughter could react, the vines yanked him downward.
Too fast.
So fast that even a demigod-level foe like the King of Slaughter was caught off guard.
But sheer restraint was not enough.
The Shura Demon Sword slashed out.
A crimson arc carved through the air, slicing through the vines with merciless precision.
As the severed vines rained down, the King of Slaughter lunged once more.
Tang San narrowed his eyes and countered with the Clear Sky Hammer, soul rings gleaming one after another.
Boom—!
A deafening blast shook the Hell Road.
Energy waves rippled in every direction, threatening to tear the realm apart.
Both figures were thrown back by the collision, landing several meters apart.
Tang San gasped, blood trickling from his lips, his body trembling from the impact.
Even with his current strength approaching the peak of Douluo, the King of Slaughter—wielding a divine weapon like the Shura Demon Sword—remained a fearsome opponent.
"I told you… you are no match for me," the King of Slaughter sneered, wings spreading as crimson light radiated from his body.
Yet, instead of demoralizing Tang San, the words planted a seed of suspicion.
If the King of Slaughter had such an overwhelming advantage, why hadn't he killed him already? Why wait on the Hell Road? Why spare him back in Slaughter City?
There was something wrong here.
Tang San's sharp eyes glinted.
There's a deeper reason behind this.
"If I don't leave, you'll kill me?" Tang San said coldly.
The King of Slaughter's momentum faltered.
In the next instant, he released a surge of killing intent to cover his slip.
But Tang San pressed on, his voice calm and cutting:
"You're the whetstone chosen by the Asura God."
Silence.
Everything made sense now.
The Asura God wanted a worthy successor—someone not just strong, but refined through blood and fire.
And who better to temper that successor than the King of Slaughter?
But the Asura God also shackled him.
Bound by divine edict, the King of Slaughter could not kill Tang San—only fight him to the brink.
The goal was not death. It was evolution.
The Shura Demon Sword was the final trial. And the King of Slaughter was the final sacrifice.
Upon hearing the truth, the King of Slaughter lowered his head.
Even his vast killing aura wavered.
"You're lucky," he muttered.
Strange crimson patterns wriggled across his face as if alive.
"Hand over the Shura Demon Sword," Tang San said, expression unyielding.
Not out of mercy—but because he feared what might happen if the cornered King chose to defy fate.
The King of Slaughter laughed bitterly.
"It's not that easy."
"This sword is bound to me through multiple divine trials. Only my death can free it."
"Then we fight," Tang San declared.
He raised the Clear Sky Hammer once more, not noticing the flicker of hesitation in the King of Slaughter's eyes.
Fight.
The King of Slaughter blurred into a red streak—then faltered.
His form reappeared, staggering, crashing to the Hell Road, nearly tumbling into the blood river below.
"You…"
He looked down in horror.
His hands were wrapped in black mist, and the poison rapidly spread across his body.
"When… when did you poison me!?" he roared.
"We never even touched!"
Realization struck like lightning.
"The blood river…"
Tang San stepped forward, cold light in his eyes, hammer in hand.
"You know why I spoke so much just now?"
"I was buying time."
"When I first entered the Hell Road, I dissolved the Snow Swan Kiss into the river."
"Now that it's taken effect—" Tang San's eyes narrowed, "—I don't even need to fight you. Your death is inevitable."
Snow Swan Kiss—the deadliest of the immortal herbs.
Its poison had no cure.
Even a near-god like the King of Slaughter could only barely suppress it—and only for a short time, given enough preparation.
Tang San gave him none.
The King of Slaughter let out a bitter laugh.
"You're vicious."
"No choice. You're too strong," Tang San replied coolly.
With a flash of grim determination, he raised the Clear Sky Hammer high and brought it down.
Chaos Cloak Hammer Technique!
The King of Slaughter, weakened and poisoned, had no strength left to resist.