Slaughter City, inner core.
Under the guidance of the veiled girl in black, Dugu Feng stood before a peculiar black structure.
It was circular, dome-shaped, about fifty meters tall, greatly resembling the Great Spirit Arena. But unlike that grand venue, faint streaks of blood-red stained the darkness, pressing down on the heart.
"This is the Hell Killing Field. Once inside, you use your ID token to register. Each round has ten participants, and only one can walk out alive.
"If you don't fight but only spectate, you must contribute one cup of Bloody Mary.
"7603, will you fight? Or just watch?"
The girl quickly explained the rules and then glanced at him probing for his choice.
Dugu Feng smiled. "Not yet. Find me a safe place near the Hell Killing Field instead."
The veiled girl's eyes flickered with disdain. She had thought, with such thick killing intent on him, he'd rush into the slaughter.
But in the end? A coward. How did he even get this much killing aura?
"Follow me."
She led him along a street outside the Hell Killing Field for several hundred meters, then turned into an alley.
On either side of the alley stood only two houses, facing each other.
Unlike houses outside, these had no courtyards, just a single entrance door, the insides pitch black.
Pointing to the left, she said, "The owner died recently. It suits you fine. Anything better, you couldn't hold onto."
Dugu Feng entered. The space was about forty square meters, with a bathroom and bedroom. Almost like a one-bedroom flat in the outside world.
He glanced at the iron door—just a thin sheet of metal.
"Good. This will do."
"Final reminder, 7603. Newcomers have twelve hours of protection. After that, you're a true citizen of the Slaughter Path. This is the inner city. Any crime can happen. Take care of yourself."
Though she disdained his apparent cowardice, she still gave the reminder.
She had seen many like him, unaware newcomers seeking a hideout first, thinking they could prepare in advance.
But in the end, not one survived. Without ruthlessness, without offense, you couldn't live here!
With that, she left.
Dugu Feng paid it no mind.
The City of Slaughter? He knew it well. The true danger wasn't the ten-man battles of the Hell Killing Field…
…but the chaos outside, where rules didn't exist.
Tang San himself had once been ambushed by over a hundred people after leaving the field.
When someone built up a string of victories, who would let them continue unchallenged?
Here in the inner city, everyone was an enemy. You never knew who you'd face inside the arena, so killing strong contenders outside first was common.
And in a place so dark, to think there weren't local overlords? Impossible!
Inside the field was where victory was won. Outside was where survival was decided.
Before he fought, he needed to prepare.
Dugu Feng surveyed the room, then sat cross-legged.
His soul power was at rank twenty-three. The energy in his pill pearls had risen to thirty-nine.
He couldn't waste a moment of cultivation.
Soul skills were sealed, but soul power circulation was not.
Tang San's progress here had been slow, mostly because the very air was filled with toxins, so how could he keep absorbing it?
But Dugu Feng was born of poison! He feared none of this.
The first time he drank a Bloody Mary, he realized the poison here was mental, it was numbing, stimulating, and corroding the mind.
Similar to Jade Phosphor Crimson Poison!
Could this environment push his Jade Phosphor Snake poison to evolve?
As the heir of the Dugu Clan, his first five rings would all be from poisonous beasts, forging the ultimate Mixed Poison.
But like Little Snake, whose first three rings were all Jade Phosphor Serpents, evolution came through accumulation.
His second ability, Jade Phosphor Crimson Poison, was an advanced toxin—attacking the mind, invisible and tasteless, able to confuse and corrode.
When Dugu Feng had asked his father how it evolved, the answer had been: stimulation.
Mixing other toxins with the Jade Phosphor's venom pushed it further.
Dugu Shuo had birthed Crimson Poison at the Spirit Ancestor stage.
But here, in the City of Slaughter, the air itself brimmed with mental toxins.
If he could evolve his Crimson Poison early, it would shock his father.
Soul power circulated, and the energy in the air, toxins and all, was drawn into his body and pill pearls.
Dugu Feng's eyes lit up. This was no different from cultivation outside, just with more poison.
Excellent!
This was his perfect training ground.
Dugu Feng sank deeper into meditation.
Outside, in the alley, two thin shadows lurked, eyes flicking toward his room.
"Heh, another newcomer. Looks about fifteen, sixteen. Fresh meat. And good-looking too. Boss will love this one."
The scar-faced man's eyes glowed red. A tuft of gray wolf hair jutted from his scalp, his ears pointed. Clearly a wolf-type spirit. He licked his lips at the thought.
"What a pity. Once Boss takes him, we won't even get to play."
His monkey-faced partner smirked knowingly.
Thinking of Boss's twisted tastes, both men shivered. Yet a hint of anticipation gleamed in their eyes.
Boss's cruelty always drew a crowd.
Several hours passed.
The two exchanged a look and crept toward Dugu Feng's room.
His newcomer protection had expired. Time to strike.
They crept to the thin iron door.
The scarred wolf sneered. Think hiding here will save you? That flimsy sheet of iron will protect you?
His clawed hands slashed into the door.
With a savage pull—
The door ripped apart.