A silver-blue streak of lightning flashed through the battlefield as Ye Yu's figure darted about like a phantom. His Thunderous Hell Prison Spear rose and fell with precision, taking the lives of one Fallen Spirit Master after another.
Hu Liena watched in astonishment.
After swiftly eliminating the attackers in front of him, Ye Yu turned, flashing to Hu Liena's side. As if taking a casual stroll, he effortlessly finished off a few Fallen Spirit Masters she had yet to deal with.
"Thank you," she said. "With so many Fallen Spirit Masters, I would've had trouble dealing with them all alone."
Ye Yu was genuinely curious why Hu Liena would help him, but on the surface, he simply smiled and thanked her politely.
Hearing his words, a faint blush appeared on Hu Liena's pretty face. She knew Ye Yu was merely being courteous. Judging by how he had just fought, even without her help, he could have easily wiped them out.
Still, witnessing Ye Yu's strength, Hu Liena became increasingly curious about his background.
The Thunderous Hell Prison Spear in Ye Yu's hands—Hu Liena couldn't recall any Martial Soul quite like it. Could this person, known only as "4396", be a genius from some hidden clan? Or was he an exceptionally talented Spirit Master from among the commoners?
Her thoughts swirled.
Meanwhile, having just finished off the last of the Fallen Spirit Masters, Ye Yu turned away and once again summoned his External Spirit Bone: Demon Willow Fluff, covertly planting it into each corpse. The Spirit Bone quickly began devouring their remaining Spirit Power, flesh, and soul.
Seeing him do this again, Hu Liena couldn't hold back any longer.
"4396… What's your real name? And which faction are you from?"
"You know, consuming the corpses of Spirit Masters is something only Evil Spirit Masters do, right?"
"I don't feel like you're one of them."
"You're doing this through your Spirit Bone, aren't you?"
"But you'd best stop."
"Taking shortcuts by absorbing flesh and souls may grant quick power, but it comes at a cost. It could reduce your future cultivation ceiling. Worse, you may not be able to turn back—eventually becoming a true Evil Spirit Master."
Ye Yu chuckled inwardly at her warning but didn't stop his actions.
As he embedded the Demon Willow Fluff into another corpse, he turned and calmly replied:
"My name is An Lan, just an ordinary civilian Spirit Master."
"You're right—I am using a Spirit Bone to devour these corpses."
"I also know that absorbing flesh and souls to increase Spirit Power might affect my future potential."
"But I've already found a way to resolve that issue."
"As for whether doing this makes me an Evil Spirit Master…"
"That depends not on the method, but the intent."
"Any power, any method—it all depends on how it's used."
"Good or evil isn't about the thing itself, but about the person wielding it."
"I've had this Spirit Bone for a long time. But until now, I've only used it to devour soul beasts—never people."
"It was only because the Slaughter City is full of criminals who were banished from the outside world that I decided to use it here to cultivate."
"These Fallen Spirit Masters are beyond redemption. Killing them is enacting justice."
"As for devouring their remains? That's just making use of waste."
"I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
"As long as I can stay true to myself outside this place, that's all that matters."
Hu Liena was momentarily at a loss for words.
Because… Ye Yu wasn't wrong.
In the outside world, killing to cultivate was undoubtedly the mark of an Evil Spirit Master, to be eradicated on sight.
But in Slaughter City, those who ended up here were already condemned criminals.
Killing them—was upholding justice.
As long as An Lan could stay true to himself after leaving this place, then… what crime had he committed?
In the end, it really was as he said:
A thing isn't inherently good or evil—it all depends on the one who uses it.
That logic… made sense.
After all, her teacher Bibi Dong's Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul also carried dark, violent traits.
"Oh right—what's your name, then?"
Ye Yu looked at her with mock curiosity, pretending not to recognize her.
"Hu Liena," she answered with a deep breath.
"This place is dangerous. As far as I can tell, we might be the only normal people here."
"I hope we can be friends. Watch each other's backs. Survive together."
"And leave this city alive."
——
In a blink, more than half a year passed.
Over that time, Ye Yu had achieved 88 consecutive victories in the Hell Slaughter Arena.
Truthfully, if Ye Yu wanted to, he could've entered the arena every single day and long ago reached the 100-win mark.
But Slaughter City was filled with degenerate Spirit Masters—few, if any, still retained their sanity.
Outside of the death battles in the arena, Ye Yu continued his personal studies and cultivation:
Researching the mechanics of self-generated Spirit Rings, and how to extend their ring age
"Exploring how life force and Spirit Power, drawn from the Martial Soul Fusion Skill —Charm Demon Body, could accelerate the materialization of a Martial Soul and nurture its intelligence."
Comparing results to Luo San Pao, to accelerate the Blue Silver Jade Tree Martial Soul's full materialization and spiritual awakening
Training in the Inner Core Technique, perfecting the Mysterious Jade Body, and refining his self-created spirit abiliy: Dominating Heaven, which fused Spirit Power with spiritual force
But despite his discipline, Ye Yu was still human.
And humans are social creatures.
No matter how much he could endure loneliness, unless he shut himself off completely to cultivate, he would still crave someone to talk to—for his own psychological health.
Especially in a place like Slaughter City, where bloodshed was constant.
Even if Ye Yu felt no guilt killing these scum, killing was still killing.
Over time, the mental burden—the killing intent and malice—would accumulate.
To keep it in check, he found himself spending more time with Hu Liena—chatting, playing games…
(And no, not that kind of game.)
They played things like Go and Chess.
And through this time spent together, the two naturally grew close.
Ye Yu recalled how, in the original timeline, Hu Liena nearly failed the third trial of the Hell Road—the Inner Demon Trial—and had to rely on Tang San's help.
Thinking about it, Ye Yu decided to slow down his pace and wait for her.
So he reduced how often he participated in the Hell Slaughter Arena.
From once a day, to once every few days.
That was why, even after all this time, he was still at 88 victories.