Chapter 122 – 139. Asura God: Don't Forget Your Place
Tang Hao remembered that he had been heading toward Spirit City. He planned to slaughter his way into Spirit Hall; however many Title Douluo they had, he would kill as many as came, frighten them into submission, and avenge the elders and disciples of the Clear Sky Sect who had died, to comfort his father and the others in heaven. (A level-90 Contra boasting about storming Spirit Hall—where did Tang Hao get such confidence? From killing. Whom he killed to gain it, see the previous chapters.)
Yet somehow, in a daze, he found himself walking through a blood-colored corridor.
He walked along that crimson passageway. On either side, beyond the edges, yawned bottomless abysses. At the corridor's end stood a grand and shadowed palace.
Something within the palace seemed to be calling him. Tang Hao left the corridor and entered the great hall, where a lone figure stood in the center with his back turned.
Hands clasped behind his back, his entire body was shrouded in a mist of blood-red fog.
Tang Hao looked at the man's back for only a moment before recognizing him.
The Asura God. Though in his previous life he had never met this deity personally, his son Tang San was the Asura God, and the aura he sensed now was very similar to Little San's.
Recognizing him, Tang Hao immediately dropped to his knees in fawning submission.
"Tang Hao greets the exalted god."
The Asura God turned, his gaze chilling. "You have good eyes, Tang Hao. I am the Asura God."
Once Tang Hao had confirmed his identity, his expression became even more obsequious. "May this humble one ask what business the exalted god has with Tang Hao?"
Could it be that Asura God knew he was going to attack Spirit Hall, and had come to give him an even bigger cheat…? Tang Hao thought with rising excitement.
The Asura God descended step by step, oppressive with every footfall, until he stood before Tang Hao and slowly raised his hand.
Suddenly—
A slap crashed across Tang Hao's face, sending him spinning a full three hundred and sixty-five degrees through the air before he hit the floor.
Clutching his swelling cheek, Tang Hao lay there stunned, utterly confused. The Asura God spat on his face.
"Don't forget your place! If not for my support behind you, you'd have died at Sky Valley Ridge long ago. You think you're that great? You think the power you displayed was your own? You're nothing but trash—morally bankrupt scum. If not for the Great Child, why would I ever need a waste like you?"
"You, just because you, a mere Contra, managed to kill a few Title Douluo, you think you're invincible? You want to storm Spirit Hall now? Haven't you caused me enough trouble already?"
"In order to prop you up, I've gone so far that the Divine Realm Council noticed. I've even been stripped of my Law Enforcement title. This is all your fault, you piece of garbage, you beast!" Another slap smashed Tang Hao back to the floor.
"And now you want to borrow more power from me to vent your anger on Spirit Hall? Are you not satisfied with the mess you've already created for me?" A third slap crashed into his face.
"Just look at yourself. With that pointy mouth and monkey cheeks, you should take a piss in a pot and look at your reflection! You're utterly improper—drop those crazy delusions and honestly fulfill your role as the Great Child's protector!"
With every curse, the Asura God slapped him once. By the time he finished, Tang Hao's head was spinning. He was so dazed he barely knew where he was.
After a long while, Tang Hao finally came back to his senses and understood why the Asura God had summoned him.
Because the Asura God had powered up his cheat too much, he'd been caught and punished. Tang Hao's heart clenched. How can this be? I was still in the middle of hammering the Clear Sky Sect—swinging my "filial-son hammer," it hurt me deep inside! I had just prepared to hammer Spirit Hall from top to bottom, and now you tell me the cheat is gone?
A flurry of curses filled his mind.
Another slap from the Asura God knocked him flat. "Now you understand, right? Because of you, I can no longer casually intervene in the lower realm. I must reclaim the divine power in your Killing God Domain. From now on, I can't help you lightly. Remember this, Tang Hao—don't stir up trouble. Do your job as protector properly. Understood?"
"Understood, understood," Tang Hao said, covering his swollen face, nodding eagerly and fawning.
With that, the Asura God began withdrawing his power from Tang Hao. "The Divine Realm Council is monitoring me. Until Tang San formally accepts my inheritance, I won't have any legitimate reason to help you. From here on, you're on your own. If anything happens to the Great Child under your watch, I'll come for you first."
Tang Hao vowed repeatedly, "Rest easy, Asura God. I won't disappoint you. Little San is my child too—how could I let anything happen to him!" Even with his face so swollen it was almost unrecognizable, the flattery still showed.
"However…" Tang Hao ventured, "my ninth ring is still missing. Could you perhaps arrange one for me? Maybe a god-bestowed spirit ring… a hundred-thousand-year one would be enough."
Another heavy palm landed across his face.
"You dare ask me for a god-bestowed ring? Have you even seen your own reflection, you pointy-mouthed monkey-cheeked thing? Dream on. Go find it yourself."
"Yes, yes," Tang Hao said, clutching his face, still trying to smile.
Then, before his eyes, the Asura God vanished. The towering temple dissolved as well, and the ground beneath Tang Hao disappeared, as though he were falling into a bottomless abyss.
He jerked awake, drenched in sweat, muttering, "Was… was I dreaming?"
He reached up to touch his face. His old features were grotesquely swollen, tingling with pain—that sensation told him this was no dream.
Still unwilling to believe, he activated his Killing God Domain. What he found was that it had truly been reduced to a normal Killing God Domain. It still boosted his strength, but nothing like before.
The change left him furious and heartsick. Stretching out his arms, he beat his chest and howled like a wounded baboon.
After venting, reality returned. He now faced a serious question: Should I still go to Spirit Hall for vengeance?
Before, divine power had filled him with endless confidence. Now that the god could no longer help, a level-90 Contra storming Spirit Hall… would that not just be walking in to die?
The Tang Hao who had prepared to soar suddenly shrank back into his shell.
And yet, the rage and grievance in his heart demanded an outlet.
Helpless, Tang Hao could only carry Tang San and wander along the outer fringes of Spirit Hall's influence, targeting smaller branches. There, he destroyed minor Spirit Hall outposts whenever he could, venting his anger as long as he did not attract the attention of their true powerhouses.
(END CHAPTER)
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