The warhorse thundered forward, the black-armored knight radiating a brutal aura as he charged straight at Li Chang'an. A wave of icy killing intent surged in his wake.
"Well, you struck first. Now I can kill you with a clear conscience," Li Chang'an muttered to himself calmly as the knight rushed in.
And with that, he made the first move!
With a flick of his right hand, a pitch-black axe appeared in his grip. He pushed off the ground with the tips of his toes, using the momentum to launch himself like a human cannonball toward the black-armored knight.
If the surrounding soldiers had been paying attention, they would have noticed the two deep craters left where Li Chang'an's feet had pushed off—proof of the terrifying power behind that strike!
"Hmph!" The knight showed no fear. With all the lives he'd taken, how could he possibly be intimidated by Li Chang'an?
But the moment they collided, he realized—he had been dead wrong. The strength he had always prided himself on, the supposedly unbreakable shield he carried, were both utterly crushed by Li Chang'an's axe in an instant.
"Agh!!" The knight—man and horse alike—was launched into the air. His shield shattered into dust, and blood sprayed from his mouth mid-flight. By the time he hit the ground, he was already dead.
One swing. That was all it took. The sheer force was terrifying beyond belief.
'So this place really does have some strange laws at work'
Li Chang'an thought to himself, already starting to grasp the nature of the environment.
Martial souls could be summoned, but soul skills were disabled. Even soul power had limited usefulness.
"Kill him! He killed the captain—we're dead anyway if we don't!" someone among the black-armored soldiers shouted. Immediately, the rest prepared to attack, surrounding Li Chang'an.
"Fools," Li Chang'an muttered.
He surged into the midst of the soldiers like a wolf into a flock of sheep. With each swing of his axe, another black-armored warrior fell. Every second, someone screamed and died. It was a massacre.
In barely over a minute, the battlefield had fallen silent. Only Li Chang'an remained standing. Every other soldier lay lifeless on the ground.
"Phew… finally getting used to this," he said quietly to himself. "Even knowing these people were beyond redemption, killing so many at once still takes a toll."
Only because of his strong spiritual will could he remain mentally stable. Anyone else might have already crumbled under the pressure.
Endless slaughter breeds only endless madness. That's how some killers become addicted to killing.
After finishing off the soldiers, Li Chang'an turned toward the city. The City of Slaughter may have looked filthy, but here, there was no scheming—only strength determined one's worth.
Where there is light, there will always be darkness. The City of Slaughter existed for a reason. At least it could be monitored. If it were destroyed, that darkness would scatter—and what then?
There was only one answer: chaos. And the rise of uncontrollable forces—Evil Spirit Masters.
In that sense, when Tang San destroyed the City of Slaughter, he actually unleashed countless future disasters on the world.
As Li Chang'an walked into the city, these thoughts passed through his mind. And that's when he saw her. A slender woman in black gauze, standing at the city gate as if she'd been waiting for him.
"Welcome to the City of Slaughter," she said. Her voice was soft and melodic. She stepped forward, gave a slight bow, and held out a black number tag to him.
"This is your identification number while you're here. Please keep it with you."
"Thanks. Take me inside," Li Chang'an replied calmly, accepting the tag marked 12138.
"Of course, honored guest." Her voice was airy and pleasant. Though her veil hid her face, Li Chang'an could feel her gaze subtly sizing him up.
'Is she checking me out?'
Inside the city, the world was bathed in hues of blue and violet. Specially designed lights glowed in those two colors, casting an eerie glow over everything. Oddly enough, despite how strange it all looked, the city functioned like any normal urban area—just steeped in darkness.
What surprised him most was that no one paid attention to him, the newcomer. Life carried on as usual.
"I'll be your guide," the veiled girl said. "You may ask me anything you don't understand. For the next twelve hours, I will answer all your questions. After that, this city will become your new home, and you'll be officially recognized as one of us."
She led him deeper into the city as she spoke.
"I'm familiar with the rules here," Li Chang'an said. "Take me straight to the Hell Slaughter Arena."
The veiled girl paused, stunned. "Are you sure? Less than one in ten survive in there. It's the deadliest place in the City of Slaughter—and also the fastest way to reduce our population. Every resident is only required to enter it once per year. Survive one match, and you earn another year to live here."
But Li Chang'an met her gaze calmly and said, "I'm sure. Take me there—now."
"…Very well. Please follow me," she said after a moment's hesitation.
She walked with steady, measured steps, staying just half a pace ahead of him. Their destination was the Inner City, so they had quite a distance to cover.
Li Chang'an used the opportunity to study this so-called "paradise of sinners."
In the Outer City, the streets were lined with simple black stone houses. Occasionally, they passed makeshift eateries where people queued up for food. They looked only marginally better off than beggars. As for that "paradise of pleasure," there was no joy to be found.
The veiled girl's explanation was blunt. Evil came in tiers. Only the truly powerful got to indulge in luxuries. The weak? They didn't deserve it.
Li Chang'an didn't comment. He wasn't here to judge. He wasn't some holy crusader come to cleanse the world. He was just here to complete his mission.
The city was larger than he'd expected. After nearly half an hour of walking, they reached the wall separating the Outer and Inner Cities. Unlike the massive outer wall, this one stood only about ten meters tall.
Beyond it lay the Inner City.
The gates were wide open. No guards stood watch.
"The Inner City doesn't need guards," the veiled girl explained. "Anyone from the Outer City can enter—if they have the courage. Of course, once inside, they must be prepared to face whatever happens."
"You're new here," she continued, "so I'd recommend staying in the Outer City for a while. Get used to everything first. When we go in, please stay within five meters of me. Otherwise, I can't guarantee your safety."
But then Li Chang'an gave her a devilish grin.
"I don't need someone to protect me. But if you need protecting, I've got you. If you get hurt, I'll give you an injection—something thick, something sharp. Something that draws blood."
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T/N:
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