From the Slaughter King's perspective, Xu Yang stood no chance of surviving the Path of Hell—not because he lacked combat ability, but because his spirit power was insufficient. As a mere quasi–Spirit King, Xu Yang shouldn't have the strength to endure both the Dark Golden Three-Headed Bat King and the Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent.
He had already offered the best option. If Xu Yang didn't know what was good for him, then let him die on the Path of Hell.
As for the heavy losses from opening the Path of Hell and thinning the number of evil soul masters in Slaughter City—he could simply order his soldiers to lure more fallen ones to replenish the ranks. That had never been a problem.
A thick blood-red mist began to radiate outward from the Slaughter King's body, and the overwhelming pressure was so intense that Xu Yang felt as if he couldn't breathe. He quickly released his Sun Martial Soul, allowing it to hover over his head and rain down golden light that condensed into a protective barrier to shield him.
Then he focused his senses on the red mist. It wasn't aimed at him—but at the audience of the Hell Slaughter Arena. He could feel that this blood mist was hundreds of times more toxic than the usual miasma of Slaughter City, so potent it would absolutely affect a person's nervous system.
Sure enough, within a few breaths, the red mist had filled the entire arena. The once rowdy and frenzied evil soul masters turned vacant and eerily silent.
And then the nightmare began.
They suddenly began to scratch at their faces and bodies, clawing themselves apart as if it were some kind of euphoric experience. They showed expressions of pleasure—worse than any drug-addicted self-mutilator.
These weren't ordinary people—they were soul masters, many of them strong ones. Their claws split flesh, snapped bone. Some even tore out their own hearts in their final moments, holding them up in front of their eyes to "inspect" them.
Even though Xu Yang had mentally prepared himself, he still felt his stomach churn and his face go pale.
In under three minutes, no one in the Hell Slaughter Arena was left alive.
Blood pooled across the floor, flowing like it had a will of its own, converging into tiny streams that poured into near-invisible channels along the viewing stands—all leading to the center of the arena.
Xu Yang's face was pale, and he forcefully suppressed the nausea in his gut. The horror of what he was witnessing was beyond words. But he had to accept it—because only through this gruesome blood ritual could the Path of Hell be opened.
Once the blood finished converging, a giant bat sigil appeared at the center of the arena beneath his feet.
"Good luck in the Path of Hell, brat."
With the Slaughter King's cold voice, the blood-red bat symbol began to spin, transforming into a crimson vortex. The next moment, Xu Yang felt the ground vanish beneath his feet and his body plummet downward, all sensation cut off from the world.
But even in that state, Xu Yang could sense that the killing intent around him began to concentrate, as if instinctively protecting him.
Feeling this, Xu Yang guided his Sun Soul Power to the surface of his body, forming a secondary layer of defense in case of unseen dangers.
He had no idea how long he fell, but eventually—after a hard jolt—he landed on solid ground. He crouched slightly to steady himself, then began observing his surroundings.
He stood atop a five-meter-wide platform. All around him was pitch-black, nothing but endless abyss.
But Xu Yang's sharpened senses could still pick up the overwhelming stench of blood.
Ahead of him was a narrow path—barely wide enough for two people to walk shoulder-to-shoulder.
The air was still thick with red mist—not as concentrated as what the Slaughter King had released, but still over ten times more toxic than the normal atmosphere of Slaughter City.
Xu Yang couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. If not for his current immunity to all poisons, he would've immediately fallen into a hallucination and plummeted into the blood pool below the moment he landed.
If that had happened, forget clearing the trial—he'd have died instantly.
"The hardest part is over. Now… it's the Dark Golden Three-Headed Bat King and the Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent."
He murmured to himself as the Sun Golden Eyes—hidden for nearly two years—flared open in his eyes.
In that instant, the world became crystal clear. Even though the mist affected visibility, he could still clearly see the massive, slumbering three-headed bat clinging upside down to the cliff wall, and the countless blood-colored bats beside it. Far below, he pierced through the darkness to glimpse the ocean-like blood pool beneath him.
"As long as I can see it... good."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Xu Yang took half an hour to regulate his breath and adjust to his peak state. Only then did he begin running down the narrow path. Barely twenty minutes later, and 5,000 meters into his journey, the giant bat suddenly awoke.
Its three heads shrieked like an infant's wail, and it lunged at him.
At the same time, countless blood-red bats erupted from the surrounding cliff walls, trailing behind the Dark Golden Three-Headed Bat King as they swarmed toward Xu Yang.
"Everything I saved—the trump cards, the resources—they were all for this moment!"
Xu Yang remained calm. Two soul tool pistols appeared in his hands, and while sprinting, he opened fire on the Bat King. As for the smaller bats, he had other plans for them.
The Bat King had clearly never seen a soul tool like this before. Sensing only weak energy fluctuations from the incoming fire, it didn't dodge—choosing to tank the hits instead.
That was a grave mistake.
The Explosive Flame Rounds landed precisely on two of its three heads and detonated with brutal force, instantly blowing off large portions of both. If not for the Bat King's soul beast instincts kicking in—instantly using its splitting ability to divide into countless Dark Golden Bat clones—that volley would've killed it outright.
Even so, the loss of two heads reduced its strength by more than half.
"Screee!!"
The Bat King was both terrified and enraged—fearful of Xu Yang's weapon, furious that he had been ambushed. In the end, its fury won out. The remaining head let out a shrill cry, and the surrounding bat swarm responded with echoing infant-like wails as they dove straight for Xu Yang.
If this had been an ordinary champion of the Hell Slaughter Arena, they'd have no option but to run for their lives on such a narrow road.
But Xu Yang was different.
He had not one, but multiple trump cards saved for this very trial.
The Flame Control Arm Bone on his right arm ignited, and golden light flashed in his eyes. Without expending much soul power, he conjured a tiny wisp of Sun True Fire.
The reason the cost was so low was because he was conserving every ounce of soul power for the battle with the Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent. And on this Path of Hell, even this small flame was more than enough.
Because Xu Yang had realized—
The entire hellish tunnel was filled with highly combustible soul power–infused red mist.
And Sun True Fire?
It was the perfect matchstick.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin