Chapter 159: The Evil in Humanity, Entering the Battlefield
As the blood flowed into the cups, more than half of the people who had been following Han Li and his group quietly dispersed. Only a few remained, watching coldly from a distance but making no move to approach.
Once the cups were filled, Han Li lifted his gaze to the veiled woman.
"Can we go in now?"
"Of course. Please, follow me."
The veiled woman glanced briefly at the half dead man in Han Li's grip, confirming that he was still breathing. Without the slightest concern for whether he had truly volunteered, she turned and led the way.
Han Li signaled to the others with his eyes before following behind her.
Good. Since no one opposed this method, it would be even easier to proceed the same way in the future.
As long as someone died, the King of Slaughter wouldn't care about the details. And as for the means, Han Li hadn't broken any rules, had he?
The interior of the Hell Slaughter Arena was even more crude than it appeared from the outside.
The outer area consisted of tiered spectator stands stretching upward, while below lay a massive open space over a hundred meters in diameter, resembling a gladiatorial arena.
At the moment, the number of spectators was neither sparse nor overwhelming. About half of the seats were occupied, but few people sat together most deliberately kept their distance from one another.
In the massive battlefield below, the air was filled with agonized screams.
Of the ten participants, six were already corpses. Another, missing both legs, writhed on the ground in pain. The remaining three were still locked in a desperate struggle for survival.
"The stands are a no kill zone. You may watch freely from here," the veiled woman explained. Then, turning to Han Li with respectful eyes, she asked, "I still don't know your number."
Han Li tossed the half dead man to the ground. Without hesitation, he pulled the token from the man's pocket and handed over his own as well.
The veiled woman accepted them gracefully and gestured for a nearby black armored guard to retrieve the Bloody Marys. Then she turned and left.
By now, several spectators had taken notice of Han Li's arrival.
However, the moment they recognized the man lying at Han Li's feet, a sense of familiarity crossed their expressions, and they quickly averted their gazes, refocusing on the match below. Still, their subtle glances did not escape Han Li's observation.
"It seems your arrival has given them a new idea," Dugu Bo remarked, glancing at the frozen man beneath Han Li's foot. He smirked and turned to Han Li.
"You underestimate these people," Han Li replied, amused. "It's not that they didn't think of it before I'm certainly not the first to do this. The difference is in the purpose. Most of the stronger fighters here don't care about leaving. Their goal is simply to survive. They don't need to go to such lengths."
"They only fight the bare minimum necessary to stay alive. That's why they never bothered with this approach."
"See those two in the northwest corner? And over there, southeast?" Han Li casually pointed. "Notice how they're completely unfazed?"
Dugu Bo followed Han Li's directions and spotted the individuals he had mentioned.
Sure enough, each of them was surrounded by a group of flatterers, their eyes filled with admiration and submission.
As soon as those people noticed Han Li and Dugu Bo looking their way, some of their underlings shot venomous glares in their direction, even making throat slitting gestures as a provocation.
"Yan jie, Bing'er, when you enter the arena later, avoid those individuals. Leave them to me, Grandpa, and Xiu'er," Han Li said, turning toward Dugu Yan and Shui Bing'er, whose faces were slightly flushed not from embarrassment, but from the gruesome battle playing out below.
"Understood. We'll be careful."
Dugu Yan and Shui Bing'er nodded without hesitation.
With their soul skills sealed, they weren't weak, but they certainly weren't at the same level as the other three.
"We'll go through several rounds. I'll point out other targets for you later. Let Grandpa and I handle the stronger ones your focus should be on safety first."
Han Li's tone was calm but firm.
He and Dugu Bo had already discussed this in secret.
The strongest individuals in the Hell Slaughter Arena were at best Soul Douluo level. Even if someone had hidden tricks up their sleeve, it would be difficult for them to escape the spiritual detection of Han Li and Dugu Bo.
Furthermore, Han Li planned to consult his "good son" later to scan everyone in the arena and eliminate any potential surprises.
The others all nodded in agreement. There was no need to argue after all, their purpose here was different from the others. Unlike the permanent residents of this city, combat training was merely a side benefit. Their true goal was to increase their soul power and win.
Just as Han Li finished speaking, the match in the arena reached its conclusion.
Only one man remained standing.
His right arm hung limp at his side, nearly useless, swinging slightly with each step he took. Even as a Soul Master, it was clear he would need at least three months of recovery to regain full function.
But instead of stopping, he staggered toward the last remaining opponent the man on the ground who had lost both legs and was barely clinging to life.
Moving with caution, he refrained from approaching directly. Instead, he picked up two weapons from the corpses around him, channeled his soul power into his off hand, and hurled them at the fallen opponent.
As the weapons closed in, the legless man ceased his pained wailing.
Gritting his teeth, he slammed his hands against the ground, using the recoil to propel himself toward the standing man.
The first weapon missed its mark.
But the second
Schlick!
The blade pierced his abdomen, causing blood to spill freely.
Yet, as if unfazed, the bloodied man grinned wildly, revealing a mouth full of sharp, gleaming teeth.
Then, he burst into manic laughter.
Using the last of his strength, he lunged forward and clamped down on the standing man's shoulder.
"You want to kill me? Then let's go to hell together."
Before Dugu Yan and the others could even process what was happening, the man on the ground detonated all of his remaining soul power.
Boom!
Blood and flesh splattered across the arena.
The standing man was sent flying by the shockwave, crashing into the outer boundary of the battlefield.
However
Both of his arms were gone.
Severed cleanly at the shoulders.
And his left leg was little more than a mangled mess, with exposed bone jutting out grotesquely.
As the blood flowed into the cups, the spectators' cheers and whistles grew even more intense.
"Damn, that was satisfying! Zhang San really had guts, dragging Zhang Quan down with him at the last moment. Haha, once he gets out of there, don't any of you dare fight me for him I'm going to gut that bastard myself."
"You? Who the hell do you think you are? Zhang Quan is mine! If you don't like it, come down here and settle it."
"Fight, fight! Hell, why don't you both just sign up for the next match? Whoever survives, I'll personally help you 'escape' this place. How about that? Hahaha!"
"You idiots just talk big but never actually fight. Hey, tell me, if Zhang Quan makes it out alive, will there be enough of his blood for a few cups of Bloody Mary? Maybe we can each get half a cup?"
"Zhang Quan alone won't be enough, but once he gets out, it'll be a different story. Want to work together?"
"Work together? Ha! You just want to use me as your ticket to more Bloody Marys. Get lost! Don't think I don't know what you did to the guy you came in with."
Amid the overwhelming shouts, no one cared whether the victor lived or died. They only cared about what they could gain from it.
The cruelty of human nature was on full display, laid bare in front of the group like a festering wound.
"So… this is the City of Slaughter?" Shui Bing'er murmured, her voice barely audible. She felt that these people's hearts were even colder than her own ice element.
"This is the City of Slaughter," the veiled woman, who had just returned, unexpectedly responded.
Unlike Shui Bing'er's reaction, the veiled woman had a faint smile on her lips. She gazed at the blood in the arena with something akin to reverence, as if witnessing something sacred.
Han Li took the token she handed him and tucked it back into his robe, not showing any particular emotion toward her unsolicited remark.
It was good for the others to realize the rules of survival in this place as soon as possible.
"Your match will begin in ten minutes," the veiled woman added, remaining nearby.
Since Han Li was the only one who had taken action so far, the others were still under the newcomer protection period. She needed to stay and continue her assigned duty.
Han Li responded with a quiet "Mhm," then sat down and closed his eyes, appearing to rest before the battle.
The others also took seats nearby, but unlike Han Li, they did not close their eyes. Instead, they remained alert, scanning their surroundings while standing guard.
None of them would place their lives in the hands of the so called "rules" of the City of Slaughter.
Although everything they had seen so far indicated that these rules were universally obeyed, they themselves had already broken a rule upon entering. Rules only restrained the weak.
Having just witnessed Zhang San's self detonation, they instinctively maintained a heightened level of vigilance toward everyone here except each other.
A life in this place was worth little more than a few cups of Bloody Mary.
As for Han Li, he wasn't actually resting. Instead, he was engaged in mental communication with his "good son."
To be precise, he hadn't just started this conversation since arriving in the outer town, the Dimensional Consciousness had already appeared in his spiritual space.
"How is it? Can you filter and modify the absorption of life energy and soul imprints here?" Han Li asked, sitting on a high backed chair within his mental domain, gazing at the small glowing orb in his left hand.
"My dear father, it is possible," the orb flickered, its glow pulsating with an unmistakable hint of concern. "However, ever since you arrived, I have noticed that the gaze of the God Realm has scarcely left you."
"Don't worry about it. I have my own plans," Han Li reassured it. "Use your abilities to alter the rules for me and my people adjust the absorption rate to a fifty fifty split."
After a moment of consideration, he decided against taking the full amount.
"As you wish."
The small orb bounced lightly in his palm before vanishing.
Han Li withdrew from his spiritual space but did not immediately open his eyes. Instead, he continued to sense the surrounding rules.
Under the Dimensional Consciousness' influence, the oppressive force he had felt upon entering the city gradually weakened, and the rules shifted accordingly.
He took this opportunity to study the changes.
His purpose in coming here was twofold: first, to test things out, and second, to quickly strengthen his foundation.
Originally, the rules allowed him to absorb only thirty percent, with seventy percent going to the City of Slaughter an unacceptable split.
As the fluctuations in the rules diminished, Han Li finally opened his eyes and glanced around.
Hah! What a joke. Turns out, their thirty seventy split was actually a discounted rate.
Judging by the rules attached to the others in this city, most of them were only allowed to keep five percent.
As expected, the God of Asura was as greedy as ever. Han Li scoffed inwardly.
"It's your turn, honored guest."
The veiled woman's voice drifted into Han Li's ears, serving as a reminder.
"Mhm."
Han Li stood up, his gaze shifting to the arena. The next match was already beginning, and one contestant had already taken the field.
"Wait for me. This won't take long," he said casually to his companions, ignoring the scrutinizing gazes from the audience.
Then, with a flick of his toe, he sent the barely alive man at his feet flying into the arena.
At the same time, he leaped forward, stepping onto the man's body midair and using it as a platform to propel himself downward.
As he descended, he soared over the heads of several spectators before landing gracefully inside the battlefield.
The arena floor was unexpectedly solid. Despite the force of his impact, not a single stone was displaced.
The unfortunate man beneath him, however, coughed up another mouthful of blood upon impact. His token slipped from his grip and rolled toward the center of the field.
As it struck the ground, the sound of metal clinking against stone echoed through the arena, momentarily silencing the bloodthirsty spectators.
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