"Ugh… ah!"
Tang Chen stared at Bai Mu with eyes wide open, fury and unwillingness blazing within them. His breathing was ragged, yet he was utterly helpless.
He knew Bai Mu was right.
Putting aside whether his shattered body could still support the Great Sumeru Hammer, the inverted Slaughter God Domain alone was enough to suppress his spirit rings completely.
And then—
Just as Bai Mu believed the battle was over and was about to end everything, a cold, majestic voice echoed across the entirety of Slaughter City:
[The competition for the position of Slaughter King and the final battle for the Asura God's inheritance has begun. The victor shall seize everything from the defeated and advance to the Ninth Trial of the Asura God!]
As the voice faded, a pillar of blood-red light descended from the heavens, enveloping Tang Chen before spreading outward across the city.
Sensing danger, Bai Mu instantly activated Detect and retreated to Zygarde's side with Extreme Speed.
"Asura God…"
His gaze turned solemn.
Within the bloody radiance, Tang Chen's injuries began to recover at a visible pace.
The descending light attempted to reconstitute the Slaughter God Domain and reverse the inverted Domain back to its original state. Yet after a long struggle, it found that the inverted Domain remained completely unmoved.
Moments later, the bloody light exploded and dispersed.
The Slaughter God Domain vanished as though it had never existed.
"So he intervened… and just dissolved the Domain outright to test me?"
Bai Mu narrowed his eyes.
Beneath Tang Chen's body, nine concealed spirit rings slowly surfaced.
"…Unbelievable. You really had to stick your hand in this, huh?" Bai Mu said coldly, glancing toward the sky.
"If you wanted to test me, you could've done it directly. Do you really think I'm easy to push around?"
"Asura…"
Tang Chen's expression was complicated as the madness within him receded.
He could guess the god's intention clearly: the Asura God wanted to use him to judge whether Bai Mu was worthy of inheriting the divine position.
In other words—
He was nothing more than a stepping stone.
"Use me as a stepping stone?" Tang Chen's eyes hardened.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
Even if it meant burning everything he had left, even if it meant mutual destruction—
He would drag Bai Mu down with him!
"Boy—go to hell!"
Tang Chen roared as he discarded the sword and grasped his old companion, the Clear Sky Hammer. His body shot into the sky.
As he raised the hammer, an enormous phantom of the Clear Sky Hammer manifested behind him.
Spirit power surged wildly.
All nine spirit rings detonated at once.
Even the Spirit Bones throughout his body began to glow with a dangerous, explosive light.
"Great Sumeru Hammer—Ring Explosion!"
"Profound Truth—Bone Explosion!"
Nine spirit rings erupted simultaneously. The resulting energy blast obliterated the palace in an instant.
That terrifying power was enough to shatter all of Slaughter City—now completely unprotected—into fragments.
Even a god would be gravely injured by such a strike!
"Damn it—should've used Sandstorm!"
Bai Mu's expression changed completely. He no longer dared to underestimate the attack.
"Order True Body!"
The seventh spirit ring beneath him flared brilliantly.
Dazzling green light enveloped both Zygardes as they rose into the air and fused into one.
Streams of emerald light poured from Bai Mu's body, wrapping around him as he moved to the center.
When the radiance faded—
Zygarde, Complete Form, stood revealed.
Its towering body—over ten meters tall—resembled a colossal war machine capable of holding up the world itself.
"Gigantamax!"
Yet even then, Bai Mu did not feel secure enough.
The spirit core within him blazed. Red-violet power flooded Zygarde from within, and the giant expanded once more.
In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a titan over seventy meters tall.
Standing there, it seemed capable of trampling the entire Slaughter City into dust.
"No matter what—die for me!"
Tang Chen's body burned with self-destructive crimson light as he descended, clutching the Clear Sky Hammer.
The massive hammer phantom carried an aura of world-ending annihilation as it smashed downward.
All killing intent focused into a single, final strike.
"Max Guard!"
Bai Mu roared.
Zygarde condensed an enormous energy barrier—denser and stronger than anything before—directly in front of him.
It carried the ultimate Gigantamax power combined with the authority of Order itself.
Even if Zygarde attacked it at full strength, the damage would be reduced to a fraction.
Boom—!
The shockwave from the nine-ring explosion slammed into Max Guard with a thunderous roar that shook heaven and earth.
Buzz—!
Terrifying energy rippled outward.
Slaughter City quaked violently. Vast chasms tore open in the ground, countless buildings collapsed—
Yet the barrier remained unshaken.
The power of Order stood absolute.
"Ugh… ah!"
With the Ring and Bone Explosion complete, Tang Chen's spirit power was utterly exhausted. His muscles and bones shattered as he fell like a broken puppet into the ruins, unable to move.
"A pity. A tragedy. A lament."
Bai Mu walked out of the smoke slowly, his gaze filled with a trace of respect.
"Since you could unleash such an attack, I'll acknowledge you."
He raised his hand, and the Asura Demon Sword embedded in the ground flew into his grasp.
"If you'd used this sword earlier, you might truly have broken my defense."
Holding the blade and feeling the divine Asura power within it, a confident smile curved his lips.
"Cough… cough…"
Tang Chen spat blood, staring at Bai Mu as death closed in.
With both rings and bones destroyed, he no longer had the slightest power to resist.
"Little Tang… Little Tang…" Bai Mu sighed softly, looking down at him.
"To be honest, I'm actually a bit reluctant to kill you."
"You were on the brink of godhood. If you'd lived, you could've been a useful pillar one day."
"What a shame… you're too strong. I can't control you right now."
"So—"
Bai Mu's eyes turned icy.
The Asura Demon Sword flashed.
A single sword qi fell.
Tang Chen's body shattered, his life extinguished completely.
Yet the soul that had once been eroded was drawn out by Bai Mu's raised hand, preserved and wrapped in dense Power of Faith.
"That's fine," Bai Mu said calmly.
"If I ever want to resurrect you in the future, you can serve me then."
He stored Tang Chen's soul within a spirit tool, then turned back and walked toward the shattered throne.
Holding the Asura Demon Sword, he sat down slowly.
His gaze swept indifferently across the devastated Slaughter City.
After that eruption, less than one percent of its population remained.
—
Meanwhile, within the Asura God Temple in the God Realm—
"Hahaha! I've finally found a suitable successor!"
The Asura God laughed loudly, excitement overflowing.
"This little fellow is terrifyingly strong—even Tang Chen couldn't stand against him!"
"And he's already begun to sense the Power of Faith."
"I must act quickly," the god muttered, eyes blazing.
"I can't let him forge his own divine path."
Last time, the Rakshasa God had interfered, costing him a perfect candidate.
This time—
He would not miss.
"As for Tang San?" the Asura God scoffed.
"I merely guided his soul in passing. We were never that close."