As for what Tang San said in the original work—that Yu Xiaogang told him any Soul Master who awakened the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul would have innate rank 20 soul power—that's something to take with a grain of salt, not to be taken seriously.
If every member of the Angel Clan truly had innate rank 20 soul power, then the Douluo Continent would have long been ruled by the Qian family.
Moreover, if Qian Xunji had such talent back when he was over sixty years old, how could he have been hammered down by Tang Hao? Yu Xiaogang didn't even know that some Ten-thousand-year soul rings contained the remnant consciousness of soul beasts—what did Yu Xiaogang know?
The Angel God's inheritance had no place for outsiders, but the Asura God's inheritance and the Sea God's inheritance could both be inherited by Soul Masters who originally had no connection to these two gods.
Although the original work didn't explain it in detail, in Mu Yang's view, the Killing God Domain was the key to unlocking the Asura God Trials; and to inherit the Sea God's position, the first step was obtaining the Sea God's Heart—also known as the national treasure of the Heaven Dou Empire, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.
Without strength on par with Qian Daoliu, Mu Yang couldn't openly prevent Qian Renxue from ascending to godhood, nor could he stop Bibi Dong from inheriting the Rakshasa God's position—otherwise, he wouldn't be able to withstand the retaliation of Qian Daoliu, the current half-god.
If both of them became gods while he remained a mortal, it would be obvious that the Douluo Continent would fall under the rule of the Spirit Hall.
His only shortcut to godhood before these two was to take the same path as them—becoming a god by inheriting a divine position.
Without relying on tricks, even a twin martial soul Soul Master couldn't inherit two divine positions. And honestly, one divine position was enough.
Therefore, between the Asura God's inheritance and the Sea God's inheritance, he had to choose one.
The Asura God was a supreme God-King, while the Sea God was a first-rank God. Did he even need to think about which one to choose? The Slaughter City was a place he had to go.
At the same time, securing the position early would prevent Tang "Buddha" from taking advantage of it.
As long as Tang San's transmigration wasn't something orchestrated by the Asura God-King, and there was no special connection between them—if the Asura God's successor hadn't already been predetermined like the Angel God's—then Mu Yang was set on claiming the Asura God's position!
However, heading to the Slaughter City and obtaining the Killing God Domain came with certain risks.
The real danger wasn't passing through the Hell Road or earning a hundred consecutive victories in the Hell Slaughter Arena, which was a prerequisite for entering the Hell Road—it was the King of Slaughter himself.
Without a doubt, the King of Slaughter, who regarded the Slaughter City as his personal domain, wouldn't want Soul Masters gaining the Killing God Domain, allowing them to enter and leave the Slaughter City freely while being unaffected by the domain's suppression.
Mu Yang wasn't sure how Tang Hao and Bibi Dong dealt with this issue in the past, but he knew that if Tang San and Hu Liena hadn't had a Killing God backing them in the original story, they might not have safely obtained the Killing God Domain—they would have at least faced additional obstacles.
Even if the Slaughter City had rules set by the Asura God-King that the King of Slaughter couldn't violate—meaning he had to act according to the rules and couldn't attack directly—what about outside the Slaughter City? Would it still count as breaking the rules then?
Without a Killing God backing him, Mu Yang figured that as soon as he stepped into the Hell Road, the King of Slaughter might set up an ambush outside.
To be safe, he could go to the Slaughter City, but he had to prepare countermeasures against the King of Slaughter. He didn't need to defeat him, but he had to at least be able to escape.
Fortunately, while the King of Slaughter was once the so-called "Unrivaled on Land" Tang Chen, he had long since been parasitized by the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King, preventing him from displaying the full strength of an Ultimate Douluo or even a half-god.
Judging from how the King of Slaughter had to be wary of Tang Hao in the original story, and based on his later displayed strength, Mu Yang estimated that the King of Slaughter's power was at most on par with Qianjun, Jiangmo, or Chen Xin.
At present, Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er were nowhere near being his match. Even with their battle armor stacked on top of their martial soul fusion technique, they could barely hold their own against a weak Titled Douluo like She Long.
However, once they advanced to six rings and became Soul Emperors, upgrading their Iceflame Battle Armor and Ice Phoenix Battle Armor into proper Two-Word Battle Armor, they would at least be able to escape from the King of Slaughter.
A six-ring Soul Emperor wearing Two-Word Battle Armor could fight at the level of an eight-ring Soul Douluo. With their foundations and profound techniques, even as newly advanced Soul Emperors, their combat strength would be top-tier among non-Titled Douluos.
Moreover, martial soul fusion techniques weren't soul skills, meaning they wouldn't be suppressed by the King of Slaughter's domain, which restricted soul skill usage.
With that as their base, adding the boost from their fusion technique, they would have at least the combat power of a rank 95 Titled Douluo. With that level of strength, the King of Slaughter definitely wouldn't be able to keep them there.
As for the Sea God's inheritance...?
Mu Yang glanced at Shui Bing'er, who was resting her head on his shoulder.
Although ice was not the same as water, the two were closely related. With Shui Bing'er's talent and potential, she should be able to catch Poseidon's attention.
He would inherit Asura, and Shui Bing'er would inherit the Sea God—perfectly cutting off Tang "Buddha's" path to godhood.
Unlike the preliminary round, where multiple arenas hosted matches simultaneously, the advancement round had only one competition venue—the Royal Knights' Grand Training Field.
The Grand Training Field had been remodeled, with a circular competition area drawn at the center, spanning 100 meters in diameter. Compared to the preliminary round's arenas, this space was much larger, allowing participants to better showcase their strength.
After all, team battles were chaotic, and in smaller arenas, many details were hard to observe. However, in the advancement round's individual elimination format, strengths and weaknesses were much easier to distinguish.
On the northern side of the Grand Training Field, a temporary VIP stand had been built, serving as both the guest and referee seating.
However, there were far fewer VIPs watching the advancement round compared to the preliminaries.
Looking over the first row of the VIP stand, apart from Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, Dugu Bo, and Huo Lie, most of the seats behind them were occupied by high-ranking generals of the Heaven Dou Empire, along with a few heavyweight figures such as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, Prince Xue Xing, and several red-clothed bishops from Spirit Hall.
The high-ranking officials of the Heaven Dou Spirit Temple had been nearly wiped out by Tang Hao, with only a few survivors who had not been present at the temple at the time. To prevent Tang Hao from launching another attack, Spirit Hall had temporarily refrained from sending personnel to rebuild it, opting to wait until the situation settled.
As a result, in this year's tournament, the number of Spirit Hall representatives among the VIP spectators for the advancement round was significantly lower than in previous years.
Of course, even if there were only a handful of Spirit Hall members left in Heaven Dou City, they still had to be brought in as judges.
This was not merely because of Spirit Hall's influence but also due to its role as a co-organizer of the tournament. As an official co-host, Spirit Hall had the right to participate in judging, ensuring fairness and impartiality in the competition.
With more than half an hour remaining until the scheduled start time, the participating teams arrived at the arena one after another.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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