In the Slaughter City, after the fall of the previous King of Slaughter, all his established rules were completely overturned by Tianlin.
The unluckiest person of all was the guy with 92 consecutive wins on the day Tianlin arrived. Unfortunately, he was on the blacklist, which made him the target of the Demon Spear Douluo. For his 93rd match, his opponents weren't the usual weaklings, but instead a group of tough fighters who had all achieved consecutive wins on their own merits.
This habitual cheater was immediately besieged by the other nine, and was decapitated in less than a minute. So close to a hundred consecutive wins, but it all fell apart because of Tianlin's arrival—bad luck indeed.
In the secret chamber of Spirit Hall, inside the Rakshasa secret realm, the Evil Sword Immortal, who barely escaped death with his undying body, had retreated into the Evil Spirit Pearl.
"I didn't expect that even after using my undying body, that boy could still injure me with a single sword. Truly worthy of being the inheritor of the God King—his strength and potential outstrip even Bibi Dong," the Evil Sword Immortal said angrily. For the time being, it could only focus on recovery, or else another encounter with Tianlin would be fatal.
"The Slaughter City has been taken, my cooperation with the Rakshasa God is hindered, and my current wounds make it impossible to create another Fallen Angel Douluo. Looks like absorbing evil thoughts through slaughter must be put on hold. My priority now is to help Bibi Dong become a god!"
As Tianlin had guessed, the Evil Sword Immortal's ultimate goal was to reach the God Realm. But the gate was completely controlled by the Asura God, and it was no match for him at present.
Only when a deity appears will the Asura God open the gate and guide them to ascend—a one-time opportunity.
Of all Spirit Hall, only two could become gods: Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue. But Qian Renxue's holy power was the direct counter to the Evil Sword Immortal. To follow her to the God Realm was pure fantasy. Thus, Bibi Dong was its only choice.
After all, it was created from Bibi Dong's evil thoughts. As long as it stayed hidden in the Evil Spirit Pearl, no one could find it.
The biggest problem now was Tianlin. His strength was overwhelming, and the Evil Sword Immortal worried Bibi Dong might not be his match. If Bibi Dong was ever slain by Tianlin, all its ambitions would vanish.
"Exposing Bibi Dong's secret won't work for now; I must find another way to draw out the darkness in her heart. Wait!"
Suddenly, inspiration struck the Evil Sword Immortal. It had almost forgotten—Bibi Dong's darkness wasn't only born from Qian Xunji; there was another key figure.
"Haha, now, this world is destined to be mine! Fuxi, Feipeng, Zhonglou, just you wait—though I don't know who you are, once I have all the power of this world, I'll invade yours and wipe you out!"
The Evil Sword Immortal was elated, but, lacking the memories of its past life, it had no idea those mighty beings had also left backup plans—plans that were now steadily growing.
…
Tianlin had successfully absorbed the four-hundred-thousand-year-old Blood Bat King soul bone, instantly breaking through to level 95.
The Bat King soul bone granted two powerful abilities:
The first, Blood Transformation, was the Bat King's signature skill—transforming all one's blood and becoming immune to physical attacks.
The second, Rebirth, had to be used with Blood Transformation. If struck by an energy attack while in that state, as long as any blood remained, the user could be reborn—the more blood left, the faster and healthier the resurrection. If only a drop or two was left, resurrection could take years and would result in a long period of weakness.
Overall, it was an excellent life-saving skill, and when combined with Extreme Curse Returns Yin and Yang, the effect was astonishing.
After absorbing the soul bone, Tianlin felt unsatisfied—this four hundred thousand soul bone had pushed his level to the peak of 95, and his state of enlightenment hadn't faded.
Thanks to days of intense battles, Tianlin had gained much experience from facing masters like Bibi Dong, Di Tian, Silver Dragon King, King of Slaughter, and the Evil Sword Immortal.
Fighting to improve was indeed the best way for a Sword Martial Soul soul master to break through—just like the original Sword Douluo, Chen Xin, who broke through after a life-and-death battle.
With the soul power accumulated from the four hundred thousand soul bone and his own insights, Tianlin felt that this time, he might be able to break through directly to level 96.
…
Meanwhile, on Seagod Island, Ning Rongrong and the others had completed the first three divine trials and were now at the crucial stage of the fourth.
On the sea, waves surged as several soul masters assisted the Demon Soul Great White Shark King, Xiao Bai, in a fierce battle against the Evil Demon Orca King.
This was the fourth trial, the Shark-Whale War—help the Demon Soul Great White Shark kill the Evil Demon Orca King.
Both were hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts, incredibly powerful. The Evil Demon Orca King, in particular, had almost beast-level combat power in the sea.
A head-on fight offered little chance of victory, so their main force was still the Demon Soul Great White Shark, Xiao Bai.
Originally, Xiao Bai was no match for the Orca King and was always suppressed. But today, Xiao Bai was fighting evenly and even gaining the upper hand.
The reason was Ning Rongrong.
"Nine Treasure Avatar, Nine Treasures Named: First, Strength. Second, Speed. Third, Soul. Fourth, Control. Fifth, Attack. Sixth, Boost!"
With the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's full support, Ning Rongrong empowered the Great White Shark. Now over level 80, with her eighth soul ring being a God-bestowed ring, and with the help of two top-grade immortal herbs and soul bones, Ning Rongrong had, like Tang San in the original, raised her God-bestowed ring to a hundred-thousand years.
Now, her comprehensive buffs had reached 90%. Such power was enough for Xiao Bai to surpass the Orca King—though the Orca King's body was tough, making a quick victory impossible, so the fight dragged on.
"Demon Whale Domain!"
"Demon Shark Domain!"
The two hundred-thousand-year sea beasts unleashed their domains, and their powers were locked in a stalemate.
"Everyone, now's the time! Focus your attacks on the Evil Demon Orca King, let's finish it in one blow!" shouted Xiao Bai.
"Okay! Seventh spirit skill, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Avatar!" Yu Tianheng transformed into a blue dragon and tightly wrapped around the Orca King.
However, his strength was far below the Orca King's—he couldn't hold it for long.
"Fifth spirit skill, Turtle God Impact!" The Shi brothers, each riding a Great White Shark, attacked both sides of the Orca King's head, leaving it dizzy.
"Seventh spirit skill, Jade Scaled Avatar!" Dugu Yan joined in, transforming into the Icefire Jade Scaled Serpent, helping restrain the Orca King.
The others assisted the Great White Shark group in holding off the orcas.
Everything was ready except for the final blow.
"Rongrong, now! Finish it with the treasure Xiao Tian gave you!" Yu Tianheng shouted.
Ning Rongrong nodded; to kill such a powerful Orca King, their own attacks weren't enough—they needed Tianlin's power.