"Master, does this cave truly lead to Slaughter City?"
Standing at the edge of the shattered bar, Tang San stared down into the abyss of the cave entrance. His eyes were a mixture of grim determination and a trace of reluctance.
Since childhood, he had spent nearly every waking moment cultivating under Lin Mu's guidance. The prospect of spending two years alone in the "Capital of Massacre" was a daunting weight to carry.
Noticing his disciple's hesitation, Lin Mu placed a firm hand on his shoulder and spoke softly, "Two years from today, I will be right here waiting for you."
"Yes, Master."
Without another word of doubt, Tang San leaped into the hole. The shadows swallowed him instantly as he plummeted into the endless dark.
The fall didn't last long. After a drop of several meters, his feet hit solid ground. Although the darkness was absolute, his Purple Demon Eye allowed him to perceive his surroundings with perfect clarity.
He found himself in a long, downward-sloping tunnel. A bone-chilling aura, thick with the scent of old blood, drifted toward him.
As he began to walk, a cold, ethereal voice resonated from the walls:
"Welcome to Slaughter City. This is the Capital of Massacre, a world forged in carnage. Here, you may obtain anything your heart desires, but the price is your life."
Meanwhile, Lin Mu had already left the tavern behind.
While Tang San worked toward obtaining the Deathgod Domain, Lin Mu had two primary objectives: first, to collect his remaining Soul Bones; and second, to condense his remaining Soul Cores.
His immediate target was a left leg Soul Bone, which needed to be at least 100,000 years old. With Lin Mu's current strength, hunting a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast was a trivial task.
He was confident he could even contend with Di Tian if pushed. He hadn't even unleashed his full power against the Clear Sky Sect elders; an ordinary beast would fall to a single skill.
However, Lin Mu found the idea of mindless hunting wasteful. For every 100,000-year-old beast currently alive, many more must have died of natural causes or old injuries over the millennia. Their Soul Bones would still exist, preserved in the secret hoards of the forest. He planned to strike a deal with the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King.
When he had fought Xiong Jun previously, he'd felt that Di Tian hadn't truly exerted himself to save his subordinate. It felt almost as if Di Tian had allowed the Bear Lord to fall. There had to be a reason for such caution, and Lin Mu intended to find out at the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Inside the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, within the Crown Prince's private chambers, Qian Renxue stood by the window. She gazed toward the horizon, her teeth gritted in a display of uncharacteristic resentment.
"That bastard..." she hissed. "He promised to help me secure the Heaven Dou Empire!"
She had thought Lin Mu had finally decided to be cooperative, but instead, he had vanished without a single word. If she hadn't overheard the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's team mentioning it, she wouldn't have even known he had taken his disciple on a training expedition.
He hadn't even sent a message. Had he planned this "disappearing act" the moment he agreed to help her?
The Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo stood in the shadows, carefully ignoring their young master's outburst. She had been in a foul mood for weeks, and they knew better than to draw her fire.
Normally she was composed, but the long absence of Lin Mu seemed to be fraying her nerves.
"Grandpa says he's already broken through to the Titled Douluo level," Qian Renxue muttered to herself. "How does he cultivate so fast?"
Even with her Innate Level 20 Soul Power, Lin Mu was widening the gap between them. Had she not chosen this undercover mission, her progress might have mirrored his, but she refused to abandon her years of infiltration now. Only by completing this task could she enter her own divine inheritance with a clear mind.
According to her grandfather, the God watching over Lin Mu was immensely powerful, likely far surpassing the Angel God. Even if she succeeded her inheritance, she might still be weaker than him.
The thought of being at Lin Mu's mercy in the future filled her with a strange mix of indignation and a flicker of something she didn't want to name.
Lin Mu soon reached the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest. He bypassed the outer areas and headed straight for the habitat of the Emerald Swan.
It didn't take long for the forest guardians to detect the intruder. A swarm of high-level Soul Beasts rushed him, creating a cacophony of roars and snapping branches.
Lin Mu's gaze sharpened. He didn't summon a weapon; he simply released his sheer pressure. The terrifying aura hit the charging beasts like a physical wall, forcing them back. They didn't flee, but they stopped their advance, trembling in the presence of a predator they couldn't understand.
Just as Lin Mu prepared to escalate, a graceful, emerald-green figure manifested in the air. It was Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan. She stared at Lin Mu with her pure, gem-like eyes, sensing a strange familiarity. Because Lin Mu was currently wearing the Thunder Atlas Armor, she didn't recognize him immediately.
"Human," she said, her voice melodic yet cautious. "Why are you here?"
"Don't worry, I'm not here to kill your people," Lin Mu stated plainly. He saw no reason to hide his identity, especially since he was here to find Di Tian; hiding his identity would be pointless.
Recognizing the voice and the arrogance, Bi Ji's eyes turned cold. "You... you are the one who took our kin. You dare show your face here after killing Xiong Jun?"
As she prepared to channel her power, a massive shadow loomed over the clearing. Di Tian appeared, placing a calming hand on Bi Ji's shoulder to stop her. He knew Bi Ji was a healer, not a combatant; she was no match for the man standing before them.
After all, Bi Ji wasn't skilled in combat and was considerably weaker than Xiong Jun.
Lin Mu, having absorbed Xiong Jun's soul ring, had undergone a transformation, making him significantly stronger than Xiong Jun.
Di Tian stared intently at Lin Mu, his golden eyes reflecting a complex array of emotions. "Human, you have already claimed Xiong Jun's Soul Ring. What more could you possibly want from the Star Dou Great Forest?"
"I'm not here for a Soul Ring this time," Lin Mu replied without hesitation. "I've come for a Soul Bone."
Hearing that Lin Mu had come to obtain the spirit bone, Bi Ji's eyes grew even more hostile. Humans were indeed insatiable; even reaching the Title Douluo level wasn't enough.
Di Tian, however, remained unnervingly calm, as if he had expected this request. "If you seek a Soul Bone, why did you come here? An Emerald Swan's bone would be of little use to a Soul Master like you."
Bi Ji looked at Di Tian in confusion. 'Why is he talking to this man instead of killing him?' Had this human truly grown so powerful in two years that even the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian, was hesitant to strike?