At this moment, within the Slaughter City.
Inside the Hell Slaughter Arena—
"Slaughter King!"
"Slaughter King!"
"Slaughter King!"
All around, countless fallen Spirit Masters shouted with fanatic frenzy.
On the blood-soaked stage stood a young man of utterly ordinary appearance—Tang San—who had just completed one hundred consecutive victories in the Hell Slaughter Arena.
From above, the Slaughter King descended slowly. His tall, straight figure was clad in crimson armor, strange blood-colored sigils twisting across his face, giving him an eerie, otherworldly aura.
Landing at Tang San's side, the Slaughter King first raised his arm, quieting the frenzied Spirit Masters. Then he spoke slowly, voice resonant:
"I am pleased. The Slaughter City has once again birthed one who has achieved one hundred victories in the Hell Slaughter Arena, and thus obtained the right to enter the Hell Road."
"My people, cheer for the Hammer of Death!"
The crowd erupted once again, their frenzied shouts echoing Tang San's title within the Slaughter City—the Hammer of Death!
Because he had not awakened the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, Tang San's Martial Soul remained the ordinary Blue Silver Grass.
Within the Slaughter City, where Spirit Abilities could not be used, Tang San almost never summoned it.
Without Spirit Abilities, the combat strength of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was pathetically weak—utterly incomparable to the Clear Sky Hammer, with which he could unleash the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, and combine it with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track for deadly assaults.
Thus, throughout his battles in the Hell Slaughter Arena, Tang San primarily fought with the Clear Sky Hammer.
That was how he earned the moniker Hammer of Death.
When the atmosphere reached its peak, the Slaughter King, just as he had once done for Ye Yu, released a dense blood mist.
The Spirit Masters in the stands fell into madness, clawing at their own flesh until blood gushed down. Their life essence flowed through channels beneath the seats, gathering upon the arena floor to fill a vast scarlet bat-shaped array.
The next instant, a pillar of blood-red light shot skyward.
"Hammer of Death, step forward!"
With a smile that did not reach his eyes, the Slaughter King gestured.
Tang San entered the blood pillar and was instantly transported into the Hell Road.
But once Tang San vanished, the Slaughter King's expression darkened. He cursed inwardly:
Damn brat! No true strength, no Killing God backing you, and yet you dared to reject my recruitment.
If not for your Martial Soul being the Clear Sky Hammer, I would have killed you outright. But I fear that might agitate Tang Chen's lingering soul, causing unnecessary trouble.
Let's see how you survive the Hell Road!
"Hmph, count yourself lucky."
With a cold snort, he turned and left the arena, returning to the grim castle rebuilt beyond the Slaughter City.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm—
Within the Asura God Hall.
Because one day in the Divine Realm equaled one year in the mortal world, the Asura God could not constantly observe Douluo Continent, nor watch Tang San's every move.
But from time to time, he turned his gaze upon him.
Now, as Tang San completed his hundred victories and stepped into the Hell Road, the Asura God conjured a mirror of void light and shifted his attention toward Heaven Dou City.
What he saw made his brow furrow deeply.
Emperor Xue Ye lay gravely poisoned, his life nearing its end.
Qian Renxue had sealed the palace, preparing to ascend the throne upon his death.
The Asura God muttered, puzzled:
"What is going on? Why does the flow of events feel… different from the future I foresaw?"
Just as Tang San in Douluo Dalu II had glimpsed the birth of the new child of destiny, Huo Yuhao—so too could the Asura God, as a deity who had risen from Douluo Continent, glimpse the threads of fate.
After inheriting the position of Asura God and ascending, and with the authority of a God King, he too foresaw the birth of the continent's true child of destiny.
But unlike Tang San's case, this child of destiny was not a "son," but a daughter—none other than Qian Renxue.
If one set aside Tang San—this "demonic outsider" who had intruded from another world—
If there were no interference from him, nor meddling from the gods of the Divine Realm—
Qian Renxue would have undoubtedly ascended as the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, joined forces with Bibi Dong's Spirit Hall, and eventually unified the entire Douluo Continent.
Yet Bibi Dong's true goal was not simply continental unification.
It was vengeance—against the Qian Clan, against Spirit Hall itself, against the entire world.
Thus, in the end, Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong would have clashed.
Qian Renxue, who had spent decades disguised as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, severely lacked real combat experience. She would not have been Bibi Dong's match.
But just like in the original story, at the final moment, Bibi Dong would have softened.
Confronted with her feelings for her daughter, and already yearning for death, she would have allowed Qian Renxue to strike her down.
Dying in her daughter's arms, she would have smiled bitterly and revealed the truth before her end.
And after that, Qian Renxue—both Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire and Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall—would have led Douluo Continent into a new era.
What a protagonist's script!
This was the future foreseen by the Asura God.
But such an outcome did not align with his interests.
Even now, with the continent still divided and Spirit Hall not yet ascendant, the Slaughter City was already suffering. Few fallen Spirit Masters entered; its operations were difficult to sustain.
If Spirit Hall unified the land and ushered in an age of peace, the Slaughter City would wither. It might even collapse entirely.
And beyond that—while Qian Daoliu was a threat, the greater danger was Qian Renxue herself.
In the future, inheriting the Angel God position, she would spread her faith across the continent, attempting to ascend her divine rank.
Though she would not become a God King before ascending, in the distant future she would succeed—becoming the Angel God King, wielding the powers of judgment and verdict.
This authority directly infringed upon the Asura God's own dominion.
Faced with such a conflict of interest, the Asura God could not accept that future.
And so, when Tang San leapt from the cliff, the Asura God intervened.
He transported Tang San's soul into the body of Tang Hao and Ah Yin's child—a child who was fated to die.
Through this vessel, Tang San could disrupt Qian Renxue's destined future.
But Tang San proved… disappointingly lacking.
In the original story, despite the Asura God's many hidden aids, Tang San nearly failed against the god-level Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue.
The Asura God was forced to call upon the Sea God to "bend the rules."
Together, they convinced the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's deity and the Food God to choose Ning Rongrong and Oscar as inheritors, gifting them the ability to unleash a Spirit Fusion Ability.
This allowed them to resurrect Tang San.
Finally, the Asura God even bent divine law further, granting Tang San the unprecedented state of Dual God Unity, letting him wield both the Sea God's and Asura God's position.
Only then did Tang San manage to defeat Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue, seizing ultimate victory.
Of course, this came at great cost to the God of Destruction.
But one cannot deny—the Asura God's manipulation of Tang San against Qian Renxue was eerily similar to what happened ten thousand years later, when Tang San used his daughter Tang Wutong to manipulate Huo Yuhao.
Truly, the saying holds true: like father, like child.