The Disgusting Mask of the Transformed Villian
The absolute moment Tai Tan violently unleashed his dark-tainted soul power, Bai He's dark eyes instantly widened to their absolute limits. A nine-ring Titled Douluo! The suffocating, corrupted pressure rolling off his old friend made the skin on his arms crawl with instinctive revulsion.
"Grandpa Tai Tan, please don't say that. Supporting my grand ascent is exactly what you should be doing," a smooth, composed voice echoed from the shadows.
A young man dressed in pure, pitch-black robes calmly stepped out from behind Tai Tan's towering figure. His pale face carried a perfectly crafted, gentle smile. At a casual glance, his refined features and clean posture gave him the distinct air of an elegant, scholarly young noble.
This was none other than the newly evolved Tang Chuan, who had successfully completed his third Rakshasa Divine Trial.
However, this passably handsome skin was not his natural form. He had specifically sacrificed a massive portion of his divine trial rewards to bargain with the Rakshasa God clone, explicitly buying this attractive mask to replace the hideous, muddy appearance he had been cursed with.
"Maternal Grand-Uncle, you might not recognize my current face, but you certainly know the name of my glorious sire: the Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao."
As the dark mist surrounding Tang Chuan grew visibly denser and more rancid, the knot of sheer panic twisting in Bai He's stomach tightened. The underlying aura radiating from this boy felt completely wrong.
Creak...
Before Bai He could voice his suspicions, the heavy wooden inner door of the main hall softly swung open. A breathtakingly beautiful young maiden with vibrant orange hair and striking golden eyes curiously peeked her head out.
"Grandpa? Who is making so much noise outside?"
Sensing the dense, suffocating atmosphere, a wave of deep confusion flashed across the girl's large golden eyes. Hearing his beloved granddaughter's voice, Bai He's breathing instantly turned erratic.
Something is wrong! This is entirely a trap!
As the former premier spymaster of the Clear Sky Sect, his tactical intuition and survival instincts screamed at him. The twisted creature standing before him wearing Tai Tan's skin was no longer the loyal, hot-tempered old gorilla he had known for decades. The man's soul had been thoroughly hollowed out and corrupted.
"Huh? Grandpa Tai Tan?" The young maiden, Bai Chenxiang, fully stepped out from behind the door upon recognizing the familiar elder. She blinked her golden eyes innocently, looking around the courtyard. "Did that annoying loudmouth Tai Long not tag along with you today?"
She stood quietly by the porch, remembering her grandfather's strict ancestral rule: When the clan elders are speaking business, children must stand back and keep their mouths shut.
The moment Bai Chenxiang mentioned the name of his own grandson, Tai Long, a sudden, violent flash of agonizing spiritual struggle rippled through Tai Tan's dark, mist-shrouded pupils. But before his original consciousness could even form a thought, a massive surge of pure, rancid Rakshasa malice flooded his brain, instantly drowning out the final embers of his humanity.
"You claim your father is Tang Hao?" Bai He demanded, forcing his face into a mask of absolute, unbothered calm despite the icy sweat dripping down his spine.
Tang Chuan maintained his impeccably polite, gentlemanly smile, bowing slightly. "Indeed. My name is Tang Chuan, and my father is the legendary Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao."
Suppressing the heavy wave of nausea rising in his throat, Bai He cast a freezing glance at the youth. "Where is your proof?"
A twisted, deeply unnatural smirk slowly stretched across Tang Chuan's lips. "This is my absolute proof. Behold my second twin martial soul—the Clear Sky Hammer!"
He thrust his right hand forward. In the center of his palm, a miniature, brutal iron warhammer materialized. However, instead of the magnificent, lightning-infused divine aura of the orthodox Clear Sky Sect, this hammer was entirely pitch-black, covered in weeping cracks that bled thick, foul-smelling dark purple mist.
Bai He took one look at the corrupted weapon and didn't even blink. "Take your leave, sir. From what my eyes can see, you are absolutely not a descendant of my sister's bloodline. You are a monster."
Turning smoothly on his heel, Bai He grabbed his robes, preparing to seal the inner fortress doors.
The Horrific Reality of the Corrupted Strength Clan
Seeing the old man flatly reject his grand authority, the handsome mask on Tang Chuan's face violently fractured, twisting into a grotesque, vein-popping expression of pure madness.
"Tai Tan... tell me, if these pathetic speed-demons refuse to willingly bow their heads and follow my divine banner, what do we normally do with them?" Tang Chuan's voice was no longer refined or gentle. It had transformed into a freezing, razor-sharp hiss that sounded like a thousand venomous serpents slithering over bone.
"The males shall be completely drained of their vital essence to serve as your divine blood food! The females shall be stripped naked and turned into your personal, broken camp prostitutes... exactly like my own ungrateful sons and clansmen who dared to oppose your supreme will!"
Tai Tan's voice was stiff, hollow, and utterly devoid of life. As he uttered those monstrous words, his facial muscles violently twitched in a brief, horrifying display of internal agony, but the black fog clamping his brain instantly wiped his expression blank once more. He had personally slaughtered his own family under Tang Chuan's command.
Bai He's eyes completely bugged out in sheer, unadulterated horror. A wave of apocalyptic fury instantly incinerated his caution. "Tai Tan... you absolute, ungodly beast!!!"
Watching Bai He's face warp with agonizing rage, Tang Chuan threw his head back, letting out a screech of pure, ecstatic delight.
"Hahaha!!! Maternal Grand-Uncle, do not look so angry! You are a powerful Rank 89 Spirit Douluo at the absolute peak of your craft. Your spiritual energy is highly refined. I promise I won't waste you; I am personally going to hollow out your brain and turn you into a perfect, mindless combat puppet, right alongside Tai Tan!"
His crimson-tinted gaze slowly drifted past the old man, locking directly onto the trembling form of Bai Chenxiang, who was frozen in sheer terror by the porch.
"As for my gorgeous little cousin, Xiangxiang... as her loving older brother, I will naturally take my sweet time personally breaking her mind and training her body to be the perfect, obedient toy! Hahahahaha!!!!"
Tang Chuan laughed like a raving lunatic, his arms spread wide as if the entire continent already knelt beneath his filth.
"You absolute piece of subhuman trash!!!"
Desperate Flight and Total Corruption
Unable to contain his wrath for another second, Bai He surged forward, intending to slap this degenerate's skull into absolute paste. But Tai Tan instantly stepped into his path, his Rank 92 Titled Douluo pressure locking Bai He down.
Realizing he couldn't win a direct clash while protecting his granddaughter, Bai He reached into his robes and violently launched a heavy, ten-centimeter black sphere straight into the heavens.
BOOM—!!!
An apocalyptic, thunderous detonation shattered the sky at an altitude of one hundred meters, sending a unique, high-frequency shockwave rippling across the entire Min Clan territory.
The absolute second the signal echoed, the hundreds of Min Clan members scattered across the fortress acted on pure, iron-clad protocol. Without packing a single possession, they transformed into streaks of high-speed light, scattering toward the four directions of the continent to preserve the clan's bloodline.
"Xiangxiang, we run!"
Bai He didn't waste a single millisecond. He scooped his terrified granddaughter into his arms. As a peak Rank 89 Spirit Douluo who specialized exclusively in absolute, pure velocity, his raw movement speed was completely superior to an ordinary Titled Douluo! He transformed into an invisible sonic boom, tearing toward the outer walls.
Yet, watching the old man flee, Tang Chuan didn't show a single trace of panic. He simply closed his eyes and whispered within his soul: 'Respected Lord Rakshasa... I believe it is time for you to assist your most loyal high priest.'
WOOSH—
An ocean of thick, suffocating black fog violently exploded from Tang Chuan's pores. The divine malice traveled at a speed that completely bypassed the laws of physics. In the briefest fraction of a blink, it materialized directly in front of the escaping Bai He, condensing into a massive, skeletal black hand that ruthlessly swatted them out of the sky.
CRACK!
The sickening sound of shattering bones echoed across the courtyard as the massive dark hand slammed Bai He and Bai Chenxiang brutally into the dirt, carving a massive crater into the earth.
Bang!
As the dust slowly cleared, Tang Chuan slowly strolled over to the broken, bleeding duo, his footsteps light and cheerful.
"Bai He, oh Bai He. You had the perfect golden opportunity to avoid all of this physical agony, yet you deliberately chose the wrong path."
Tang Chuan extended a pale, dark-veined finger, pressing it directly against Bai He's forehead. A massive, concentrated stream of rancid black Rakshasa energy violently drilled into the old man's skull. The broken bones in Bai He's body rapidly snapped back into place under the dark healing properties of the divine malice, but his eyes instantly glazed over into a hollow, milky white film. His independent soul was completely, thoroughly devoured and erased.
The old man stiffly scrambled to his feet, instantly dropping to his knees before the youth. "Bai He greets the Supreme Master."
Paralyzed on the ground with her limbs shattered and powerless, Bai Chenxiang could only watch in absolute, mind-destroying horror as her proud, loving grandfather was transformed into a soulless, walking corpse right before her eyes.
Looking up at the grinning, approaching Tang Chuan, a flash of absolute, unyielding determination ignited within her golden eyes. She refused to let this rancid monster touch her body. She refused to be turned into a broken, brainless toy.
Crunch.
Using the very last ounce of her physical strength, she violently clamped her teeth together, biting deeply into her own tongue to commit suicide to preserve her absolute purity. Crimson blood instantly overflowed from her lips, staining her beautiful pale chin.
"Tsk, trying to kill yourself? Not on my watch!" Tang Chuan sneered in disgust, his finger instantly lighting up with a dense glob of Rakshasa corruption. He knew that the moment his malice entered her core, even her corpse would become his perfect, completely obedient plaything.
The Arrival of the Divine Judgment
Tang Chuan's finger hovered bare millimeters away from Bai Chenxiang's forehead. He smiled, preparing to claim his prize.
Suddenly, the clone of the Rakshasa God residing inside his spiritual sea let out an absolutely blood-curdling, high-pitched screech of pure, unadulterated terror.
"RUN!!! RUN YOU FOOL!!! THAT UNGODLY MONSTER IS HERE!!!"
Tang Chuan's mind blanked out. Run? Run from what? Rakshasa, you are a literal God of the Divine Realm! Why are you screaming like a butchered pig?!
Before he could even process the deity's frantic warnings, a deep, infinitely majestic, and booming voice vibrated down from the absolute apex of the heavens, completely shattering the clouds for thousands of miles.
"Blood-Soul Fusion Technique—Divine Dragon Treads the Heavens (神龙踏天)!!!"
BOOM—!!!
An absolutely catastrophic, reality-crushing physical and spiritual pressure descended from the sky like a falling star. The sheer mass of the incoming gravity instantly pancaked Tai Tan and the newly puppeted Bai He flat against the dirt, their bones groaning under the weight.
Sensing the apocalyptic, world-ending power of the strike, Tang Chuan's survival instincts finally kicked into overdrive. He didn't care about brainwashing Bai Chenxiang anymore; he didn't even look back as he violently unleashed his dark spirit power to sprint away from the epicenter, completely abandoning his two Titled Douluo slaves.
But how could a petty Rank 65 Spirit Emperor ever hope to outrun a strike from Fu Ye?
The golden, dragon-shaped celestial foot descending from the sky had completely locked onto his spiritual signature. The space around Tang Chuan instantly solidified into solid iron, trapping his body mid-stride.
"DOWN YOU GO, YOU UTTER TRASH!!!"
CRASH—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!