Chapter 146: Hell Slaughter Arena
Soon, the woman in black explained the general situation and rules of the City of Slaughter. From her words, it was clear that she held the King of Slaughter in great admiration. The King of Slaughter was the supreme being in this city.
Hearing this, Yang Xiong's expression suddenly turned serious. "Have you ever seen the real face of the King of Slaughter, or do you know how the King of Slaughter began his cultivation?"
The woman in black was taken aback. "I'm not sure about that. However, investigating the King of Slaughter's past is a death sentence in the City of Slaughter. The King of Slaughter has ruled here for countless years, and no one knows when he first became the King."
Yang Xiong couldn't help but smile. "That's interesting. To rule the City of Slaughter, you must at least be a Title Douluo-level expert. But as you just said, there are no soul beasts in the City of Slaughter. So where did the King of Slaughter's soul rings come from?"
Yang Xiong himself was well aware that the King of Slaughter was Tang Chen, but from Tang Chen's appearance, it seemed that he had been the King of Slaughter for several generations. Could there be a succession of this position? Surely, Tang Chen wasn't the first to lead the City of Slaughter?
The woman in black twitched her lips again. In the City of Slaughter, no one dared to joke about the King, but here this young man seemed to be questioning everything.
Yang Xiong didn't dwell on it. "Lead the way, then. Take me to the Hell Slaughter Arena."
The woman in black was shocked. "You've just arrived in the City of Slaughter, and you haven't even entered the inner city yet. You want to go to the Hell Slaughter Arena now?"
"Do you know that there's only a 10% chance of survival in the Hell Slaughter Arena? The battles are incredibly brutal. You're still in your novice protection period, so you are absolutely safe for the next 24 hours. But if you go to the Hell Slaughter Arena, your protection period will be over."
"And according to the rules of the City of Slaughter, each person only needs to participate in one Hell Slaughter Arena match per year to stay in the City of Slaughter. You still have a lot of time to adjust to the environment here."
Yang Xiong's face turned grim. "Rules? I remember the biggest rule of the City of Slaughter is that there are no rules. Here, it's all about killing, and only the strong are respected."
After some communication, the woman in black led Yang Xiong towards the heart of the City of Slaughter.
Yang Xiong put on a silver mask that covered half of his face. In the City of Slaughter, no one used their real name, and no one revealed their true face, since everyone around them was an enemy.
The City of Slaughter was divided into the inner city and the outer city, with differences in environment and many other aspects. The Hell Slaughter Arena was a massive fighting arena.
From what Yang Xiong observed, the people from the outer city were relatively weaker. These people didn't need to participate in the Hell Slaughter Arena battles. As long as they contributed two Bloody Marys a month, they could live in the City of Slaughter.
Once inside the inner city, Yang Xiong could clearly feel that the people here were much stronger. Each one radiated an aura of killing intent. Clearly, these were people who had survived the Hell Slaughter Arena battles.
To survive in the inner city, one had to participate in at least one Hell Slaughter Arena battle per year.
The entire wall of the inner city was black. Yang Xiong and the woman in black walked for half an hour before arriving at the Hell Slaughter Arena.
As they walked through the inner city, it felt as though countless eyes were watching them. It was clear that Yang Xiong, as a newcomer, was the prey in everyone's eyes.
Especially as they walked through the streets, it seemed like there was constant fighting around them. There was no trust between people here, and everyone appeared ruthless. In the City of Slaughter, there were no teams, only lone wolves.
When they arrived at the Hell Slaughter Arena, Yang Xiong could sense the intense smell of blood in the air. It felt as though a red mist was enveloping the entire arena.
The arena resembled the ancient Roman Colosseum, surrounded by people. The center of the arena was where the battles took place. Each match required ten participants, but only one person could survive.
In other words, in the entire City of Slaughter, everyone was drenched in blood, especially those who had been here the longest — they must have lived on top of countless bones.
Yang Xiong entered the Hell Slaughter Arena without hesitation, paying the entry fee, which was one Bloody Mary. He pulled the Bloody Mary from the tavern earlier and handed it over.
Soon, Yang Xiong was arranged for the match. There were already a few people in the arena, seemingly waiting for the battle to begin.
The audience in the Hell Slaughter Arena was packed. Everyone was sitting at a distance, but they all seemed incredibly excited and crazed.
This was not a normal world. It was a world without order, without rules, a world filled with slaughter. Everyone here was just prey.
Since entering the City of Slaughter, Yang Xiong felt his blood beginning to boil. Especially after entering the Hell Slaughter Arena, the cheers of the crowd around him seemed to stimulate his body and soul. It felt like every battle with soul beasts, as if awakening his most primal desires.
It was at this moment that Yang Xiong understood the true horror of the City of Slaughter. The air was thick with what seemed like a slow-acting poison, similar to the Bloody Mary.
No wonder, in the original story, both Hu Liena and Tang San had absorbed top-grade head soul bones before entering the City of Slaughter. It seemed that only the effects of the soul bones allowed them to maintain clarity.
Yang Xiong had also considered absorbing a head soul bone before entering the City of Slaughter. Unfortunately, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect didn't have any top-tier head soul bones. Even the head soul bone of the spiritual illusion that appeared in the original story wasn't of a high enough grade for his taste.
Of course, Yang Xiong had his own preparations. The growth potential of his Body Martial Soul was his real trump card. Toxins might cause him to lose himself, but under the stimulation of the toxins, his martial soul and body would only grow stronger.
After all, the most famous experts with Body Martial Souls after ten thousand years were all experts in poison. This showed how well the Body Martial Soul could handle toxins. Yang Xiong had even considered absorbing a top-tier poison attribute soul ring. Unfortunately, this conflicted with his plans, and he had never encountered a top-tier poison soul beast in the Soul Beast Forest.
The number of people on the arena gradually increased, and everyone kept their distance from each other, seemingly wary of one another.
An hour later, the arena was finally filled with ten participants. It was clear that none of them were weaklings.
Once the participants were in place, the match officially began. There were no judges, only an announcer, as the Hell Slaughter Arena had no rules. Any method could be used, and the match would only end when nine people were dead.
As soon as the match began, no one made any rash moves. In this ten-to-one death elimination match, striking early would reveal one's strength and waste energy, which would make one a target for the others.
Yang Xiong clearly felt many eyes on him. His appearance and aura were vastly different from the people of the City of Slaughter. Being new to the city, he was relatively clean and showed no signs of battle scars, which made him stand out. Especially when he had introduced himself as a participant in the first match.
At that moment, a burly middle-aged man with a brutish appearance shouted, "This life-and-death match isn't something a kid like you should be participating in. I'll take care of you first!"
The middle-aged man summoned his weapon — a massive axe — and rushed towards Yang Xiong. His attack was incredibly strong, clearly at least Soul Sect level.
Yang Xiong sneered. "If you want to die, then I'll oblige."
Yang Xiong stood firm with his long sword in hand, waiting from a distance.
As the man swung the axe toward him, Yang Xiong's smile grew colder. He struck with his sword.
Just as the sword and axe were about to collide, Yang Xiong's speed suddenly increased. The tip of his sword gently tapped the axe. Despite the axe's ferocity, it seemed to be redirected by his sword's light touch, losing control completely.
A mere Soul Sect was no match for Yang Xiong. His strength and abilities far exceeded theirs.
When the axe was deflected, Yang Xiong surged forward and struck the middle-aged man's neck.
The middle-aged man was shocked, unable to believe that this young kid could attack so quickly, especially with such speed and power.
But the middle-aged man, who had experienced many battles, blocked Yang Xiong's sword with the handle of his axe.
However, Yang Xiong feinted with the sword and quickly grasped the axe handle with his left hand. Then, with his right hand, he swung the sword, severing the middle-aged man's hand.
Before the man could scream in pain, Yang Xiong's sword spun again and cleanly severed the man's head.
With the first death on the arena, the audience erupted in cheers. The entire Hell Slaughter Arena seemed to come alive, and even Yang Xiong felt a surge of excitement, as if his blood was boiling.
Seeing Yang Xiong easily kill one participant, the others quickly changed their expressions. Three of them rushed toward Yang Xiong, including a middle-aged man with a giant hammer, an elderly man wielding a sword, and a middle-aged woman with a short blade.
As the three neared Yang Xiong, the woman with the short blade unexpectedly threw her weapon at the middle-aged man with the hammer, rather than at Yang Xiong.
The man with the hammer was unable to dodge, and the short blade pierced his back.
The woman snorted, "Daring to expose your back to me, it seems my reputation as Bamboo Leaf Green isn't loud enough."
As Yang Xiong and the elderly man with the sword were about to clash, the elderly man's sword became incredibly fast, even creating a sword flower. It seemed this man had some skill with his sword.
But in the world of swordsmanship, no one surpassed Yang Xiong's teacher, Sword Douluo.
The elderly man's sword flower was beautiful, but Yang Xiong simply blocked it with a horizontal sword strike, snapping the flower apart.
Before the elderly man could react, Yang Xiong's sword pressed down, deflecting the old man's sword, and then he made several quick strikes, forcing the elderly man's sword into a helpless spin. It was as though the old man's sword was no longer under his control.
Before the elderly man could regain his balance, Yang Xiong used his sword to strike at the man's arm.
As the elderly man cried out in pain, Yang Xiong swung his sword with all his might, slicing him in half. Blood splattered everywhere, and the man's innards spilled onto the ground.
As the battle on the arena raged on, the other participants began to fight. With multiple people targeting Yang Xiong, the rest fought their own battles. Some, like the middle-aged woman, struck unexpectedly, while others clashed head-on with their weapons. The entire arena became a massive melee.
(END CHAPTER)
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