"Asura God Trial!"
Wang Zhong clutched his left eye, sensing the information from the ferocious symbol, and his expression suddenly jolted.
This was evidently another deity, unlike the Sea God. This deity had not spread faith on the continent, nor had they clashed with the Spirit Hall.
Ashura was the divine artifact in the other party's hand, and she had recognized him.
"God of Slaughter! Asura! No wonder you chose me!"
"Named Asura, and using God of Slaughter as the code name for the examiner, the fundamental requirement to gain Asura God's recognition is a heart filled with killing intent. The killing intent emanating from that little fox since childhood was vast and immense, catching the eye of a deity."
Wang Zhong suppressed his brutality and killing intent, letting out a hoarse, wild laugh.
Deity position. After the Sea God's Nine Trials, he had received another divine trial, the Asura Nine Trials!
And the first trial of the Asura Nine Trials was something Wang Zhong had always desired: to condense the God of Slaughter Domain. It had to be said that Wang Zhong found this to be the most coincidental of coincidences.
"Asura God! I quite fancy this deity position!"
Crimson light flickered in his blood-red eyes. Wang Zhong now harbored another desire: to become a god!
This was the ultimate dream of every soul master on the continent, and he was no exception. He couldn't obtain the Sea God's position because of faith, but this Asura God's position, he was determined to have!
Anyone who dared to stop him would be killed!
"God of Slaughter Domain!"
Mulling over this term in his mind, Wang Zhong, combined with what Ashura had said earlier, began to gain some clarity.
"It must be painful! To maintain sanity amidst such terrifying killing intent, the torment is like being in a sea of molten fire. You could escape the suffering by simply leaving it."
"But it's as if unbreakable iron chains in the sea of fire bind you, making you unable to move, leaving you to endure."
"This is the price and truth of slaughter!"
...
"To condense the God of Slaughter Domain, completing a hundred challenges is merely a process of accumulating killing intent and solidifying it. The path through the Hell Slaughter Arena is to transform this killing intent into a rule-based domain."
"Your killing intent is too heavy, too dense, and too terrifying. It has exceeded the limits that the Hell Road can bear and transform."
...
"The price and truth of slaughter!" The crimson light in his eyes dimmed slightly. Wang Zhong took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.
"What is slaughter? It is plunder! It is brutality! It is cruelty! It is also evil!"
"Taking another's life, no matter the reason, is an act of evil!"
"But knowing it is evil, why continue... Because there are people and things in your heart that you wish to protect, that you cannot allow anyone to harm. For the sake of these existences, you are willing to commit evil!"
"Whether it's ten people, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand, a million, tens of millions, as long as they touch the existence you protect, they all deserve to die!"
"But after you have killed these ten people, a hundred... a million, tens of millions, do you still remember why you once raised the blade of slaughter?"
"Will you fall? Will you take pleasure in killing? Will you become addicted to it? Will there come a day when you raise your butcher's knife and savagely strike down those you should have protected!"
Wang Zhong's voice grew hoarse. Many figures surfaced in his mind: Hu Liena, Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, Dugu Yan, Hai Die, Xie Yue, Yan. These were the existences he could not allow others to harm or touch.
If one day, he became addicted to slaughter, would he kill them?
"No! No! No!"
"Never!"
Wang Zhong clenched his fists, the crimson light in his eyes fierce. He gritted his teeth so hard that blood began to spread.
"If I can even kill those who treat me with sincerity, what use is this heart of mine, Wang Zhong!"
He fiercely grabbed his chest with his right hand, feeling the strong, fiery heart beneath. Wang Zhong roared loudly.
"To restrain oneself amidst slaughter, to protect amidst bloodshed, this is the essence of Asura."
A simple sentence sent a shockwave through the entire Slaughter City.
Deep within the Slaughter City, a slumbering consciousness, or rather, the remnant soul of a deity, stirred. It sensed a different kind of aura.
It was the call of someone who had understood the essence of Asura divine power.
"Who is he?" Crimson, indifferent eyes cast from the darkness towards Wang Zhong. For a moment, his usually cold and ruthless gaze trembled.
"How astonishing, how terrifying the killing intent!"
"Such immense killing intent, why hasn't it transformed into Asura power? How can he still maintain his sanity within such killing intent?"
"This is the Asura God Trial! Strange, I haven't bestowed the Asura God Trial upon anyone other than Tang Chen!"
"Could it be..."
His red gaze shifted, focusing on the most central inner city of the Slaughter City, where a towering, ferocious, and bloody palace stood. Inside, a tall, heroic man clad in crimson armor was looking up, sensing something.
"As expected, it's the sword spirit of the Asura Divine Sword. She has bestowed the Asura God Trial upon him."
"You chose him?"
His red gaze, filled with inquiry, scrutinized Wang Zhong, as if trying to see through him, to understand what attracted her to him. But remarkably, he couldn't.
"Interesting! Someone even I cannot see through."
He chuckled lightly in the darkness. Having slept for countless years, he awaited a successor. Tang Chen was the best candidate, but now, he and his sword had a disagreement.
He, Asura God, chose Tang Chen, while his sword, the Asura Divine Sword, chose Wang Zhong!
"Little fox, release it."
Clutching his chest, where a relentlessly beating, fiery heart resided, Wang Zhong whispered softly in his Sea of Consciousness.
"Wang Zhong, what are you thinking? If I release it, this killing intent will crush you!" the little fox barked.
"Little fox, trust me!"
"If it were outside the Slaughter City, I would absolutely not dare to let you release it. But here, I believe I can withstand all your killing intent and brutality."
"Because there is a deity named Asura here. He will give me the best guidance!"
Wang Zhong slowly closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips, his tone in the Sea of Consciousness calm and confident.
"Asura God?" the little fox's suspicious voice sounded. In its era, it had never heard of such a deity among the gods.
"Little fox, I don't know what kind of being Asura God is, but whether he exists or not, I want to try."
"Not only do I want my own killing intent to transform into the God of Slaughter Domain, but I also want to transform the killing intent overflowing from you into a part of the God of Slaughter Domain!"
"I want to condense a God of Slaughter Domain that has never been formed since ancient times!"
The smile on Wang Zhong's lips slowly widened, confident and arrogant.
Since the God of Slaughter Domain is condensed from killing intent, the more killing intent there is, the stronger the domain will be? The answer is of course!
Killing intent is the cornerstone of the God of Slaughter Domain, and it is the origin of the gradual transformation towards Asura divine power.
"..."
"Alright!" The little fox in the Sea of Consciousness was silent for a while. After some thought, it decided to agree.
The reason it agreed was not because it believed Wang Zhong could maintain his sanity amidst its killing intent, but because it believed the tree spirit could purify everything!
If it came to that point, even if it had to destroy Wang Zhong's ambition to condense the God of Slaughter Domain, it would have to purify all the killing intent. At that time, it wouldn't have to try so hard to limit the overflow of killing intent to avoid harming Wang Zhong.
"Prepare!"
Hearing the little fox's serious voice from the Sea of Consciousness, Wang Zhong took a gentle breath, his entire being becoming incredibly relaxed.
"Open!"
In the Sea of Consciousness, the rotating ball of light in the sky suddenly, like a dam releasing floodwaters, burst open. Endless killing intent erupted from the sky, a torrent like a world-ending river of blood.
The killing intent had actually condensed into a tangible river of blood!
And at this very moment, Wang Zhong's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open. Crimson light surged within, his entire pair of eyes turning blood-red and ferocious. Fierce killing intent overwhelmed his sanity, causing him to burst into laughter.
"Heh heh, hahaha!"
"Ah hahaha!"
His laughter resounded throughout the entire Slaughter City. Surging like a river, the solidified blood-red killing intent erupted and spread from Wang Zhong as the center, breaking through all obstructions and enveloping the entire Slaughter City.
"This killing intent! How is this possible!" Asura God exclaimed.
"Who is it!" The Slaughter King jolted from his throne. This killing intent was so vast and overwhelming that it obscured the entire Slaughter City. Moreover, within this killing intent, he sensed a pure quality.
Pure killing intent, devoid of any impurities!
It was cleansing the Slaughter City! Washing away certain impurities! This realization made him tremble uncontrollably. If that guy were truly awakened, he would die!
Thinking of this possibility, two pairs of giant bat wings suddenly unfurled from his back, and he charged towards the source of the killing intent.