"Your goal from start to finish has simply been to become a god, but you strayed onto the wrong path. Now you intend to wallow in the same mire as the Empire's Lapdogs?"
Chu Feng understood Tang Chen's basic temperament; although he was Tang San's ancestor, in the original story he had at least retained a shred of decency.
At least, that's what Chu Feng thought before meeting Tang Chen face-to-face—though he'd since abandoned that notion.
So his pointed question was meant to pin down Tang Chen's allegiance.
"It seems you know everything. Then you should realize: my great-grandson is already the mighty God King of the God Realm. He entrusted me with a vital mission, and I must see it through."
Tang Chen spoke plainly, laying bare his true thoughts.
His stance was now fully exposed—he stood in support of Tang San.
He spread his arms skyward, as though celebrating—or savoring—the moment.
At once the allied soldiers roared in unison: "Huh! Huh! Huh!"
Chu Feng seized the opening: "Mission? Heh. By my reckoning, the force under your command should be the Imperial Allied Army—so when did they become fiendish troops and demon Generals?"
He asked though he already knew; moments earlier he'd covertly surveyed the scene and sensed demonic qi roiling inside every soldier. Yang-accrual spots like the dantian and lungs were clogged with filth.
"Good question—only a clever man would raise it. Otherwise I'd never have let you swagger up to me. They are indeed fiendish troops and demon Generals, meticulously forged by my own hand—no ordinary cab-rank conscripts."
Tang Chen had clearly drifted from the mundane world too long; beneath his proud brow no secret could hide, and he spilled everything.
Thus he answered the earlier riddle: the soldiers had stepped aside because Tang Chen professed to "admire" Chu Feng.
Tang Chen coveted Chu Feng's power. Though he had no idea it was Sun God force, his lifelong pursuit of divine energy craved that very sensation.
Yet it was one-sided; Chu Feng had never agreed to follow his lead.
Chu Feng chuckled: "Forged? Living people can be forged?"
"Why not? Beneath us lie thousands of Common Bones; refine their Heaven-and-Earth Demonic Qi and you obtain power that ignores karma itself. I soak these soldiers in Blood Pools to speed absorption. Whoever survives becomes the masterpiece you see."
The more Tang Chen boasted, the wilder he became; the allied soldiers likewise surged with manic fervor.
No wonder this treacherous terrain could host tens of thousands in formation—demonic strength let them shrug off mortal agony.
And the illustrious Slaughter King of Slaughter City had now sunk to the Empire's lackey; the continent's former pinnacle bore a fresh title.
Chu Feng smiled again: "So what should I call you—General? Or Marshal?"
"Haha, amusing. But you must have some ulterior motive for asking."
Though Tang Chen—once hailed as the undefeated sovereign of the surface world—now lacked a few screws, his mind still turned; he offered no further truths.
Right after, his right hand produced the Asura God Sword, the Asura God's ultra-divine weapon granted upon passing the eighth Asura trial. Strictly speaking, Asura God scorned such arms; the blade merely certified succession to the God Position.
He flung the two-meter, blood-red sword; it struck the ground seven paces from Chu Feng, sinking halfway and splitting the earth. A seam gaped, gushing bloody, overpowering demonic qi. Under scarlet flashes, waves of heat surged.
Blood Pool!
A red purer than molten lava bubbled and gurgled like a throat choking on sobs.
Of course it was human blood; those pitiful marrow-washed souls had wrought this horror.
Surveying the thousand-square-meter crimson pond, Chu Feng's face turned icy. "So you know everything yet willingly serve as another's blade—your sins run deep."
"What do you mean? You intend to oppose me? Don't be foolish. I showed you my works as a warning—don't be ungrateful."
Murderous light flared in Tang Chen's eyes; as one, the allied soldiers leveled their halberds at Chu Feng, blades tilted downward—battle readiness declared.
Chu Feng turned his back on the Blood Pool and Tang Chen, facing the troops. Calmly he said, "You think I'm exchanging pleasantries?"
"What else? Were you deliberately pumping me for information just now?"
Realization dawned late; old scars ridged Tang Chen's whitening skin—anger stirred.
"Good—you see yourself clearly. Unlike you, I feel zero calling toward God King Tang's so-called mission. I came specifically to trample your 'great works'."
Chu Feng's specialty was ripping off façades, and against a foe already resolved to kill, blunt words beat veiled threats.
Tang Chen's grin vanished; blood-red patterns flared across his body. With a thought he recalled the Asura God Sword, leveling it at Chu Feng.
"You fancy yourself a hero? The natural order of Douluo Continent has changed; ignore the law of the jungle and you'll be ground to bone."
Tang Chen slashed out sword-qi; familiar Asura God Power erupted once more.
The allied soldiers shouted in chorus, tens of thousands of halberds stabbing forward—a majestic display.
Chu Feng remained unperturbed. Behind him unfurled a pair of golden Angel God wings. Don't forget: though Qian Renxue was absent, he still wielded Angel God abilities.
The instant that divine force emerged, the Asura sword-qi evaporated unseen, and more than half the Blood Pool's demonic qi was suppressed.
Three onlookers who had approached the allied square now arrived at its edge—delighted by the sight.
Zhu Zhuyun stood dumbstruck: "Angel God? But only the Qian line of Spirit Hall should possess that!"
Zhu Zhuqing, slightly more rational, said, "If he clashes head-on, it becomes a contest between Asura and Angel."
Only Ah Yin knew the full score: "His strength is far from reaching its ceiling—but for the moment…"
Besides them, the allied soldiers began to whisper, heedless of military discipline.
"We're the Empire's pride—do we truly take orders from that fiend? That man radiates the brilliance of an angel!"
"Fiend? He's our commander-in-chief; until His Majesty arrives, every order and action comes from him."
"Exactly—he's God King Tang's forebear; one day he'll descend as a god upon the world."
"Fools, still fretting? Our commander is Asura's chosen successor—strength rivaling a God King. He'll crush that Chu."
"Right! Tempered in the Blood Pool, we're top-tier demon soldiers—any fake god dies with ease."
"Under the escort of us tens of thousands, the commander must be invincible—an ant like that warrants no worry."
…
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