Chen Yi wore a dark, flexible suit, a nondescript gray cloak, and a hood covering most of his face. He trod through the dry dust of the wilderness, heading for a dark wooden door.
Skree—
A sharp, teeth-grinding sound pierced the silence. Soon, a fishy odor, impossible to describe, surged in like a tide, nearly overwhelming Chen Yi.
The tavern wasn't large, with a dozen rough wooden tables and benches. About twenty people were scattered inside. As Chen Yi pushed open the door, they all paused, hands and mouths stopping mid-action, eyes turning to stare at him. Those eyes, like ghostly flames in the darkness, were filled with cruel amusement.
Ignoring all of this, Chen Yi strode straight to the simple bar at the back.
Behind the counter, a tall, thin middle-aged man in a stained leather apron occasionally wiped a chipped wooden cup.
Chen Yi stood at the bar, gaze calm beneath his hood as he looked at the bartender.
"Open the passage—I want to enter Slaughter City."
After the life-and-death battles with Tai Tan and a spar with Feng Bailong, this was Chen Yi's final destination.
As his words fell, the tavern's atmosphere seemed to freeze.
The bartender paused, as if surprised someone would make such a direct request, then resumed wiping the cup.
"Pfft…"
"Heh heh…"
After a brief silence, low, mocking laughs filled with malice broke out, shattering the frozen air.
"Hey, did you hear that? This kid says he wants to go to Slaughter City?"
"His hair hasn't even grown out yet. Does he even know where it is?"
"Doesn't get it, does he?"
In the dim light, whispers of ridicule spread. A man in the corner put down his wine glass, looking Chen Yi up and down with greedy eyes, and licked his cracked lips.
"Good material…"
The bartender, recovered from his initial surprise, frowned, showing only indifference and annoyance toward Chen Yi. He said nothing, took another dirty cup, and wiped it as if Chen Yi's words were air.
Chen Yi ignored the laughter, his calm eyes fixed on the bartender, waiting for a reply.
When the man remained silent, Chen Yi sighed quietly, exhaling a cloudy breath.
Then—
Without warning, and without activating soul rings, the air around Chen Yi twisted and ionized. Fine arcs of violet-gold lightning flickered snake-like through the air, exploding with scalp-numbing force.
"What?!"
"Thunder and lightning?!"
"He…"
The cries were cut off. The fierce thunder not only made a show of force, but as Chen Yi raised his eyes, a purple thunder snake suddenly struck out toward those closest to him. Before they could even react, their bodies were instantly charred to ash—gone without a scream.
The bartender's pupils contracted sharply. He instinctively wanted to retreat, but everything happened too quickly. The destructive thunder engulfed him directly.
"No—!"
A short, wailing howl was drowned out by the thunder.
Chen Yi remained unmoved. Before him, a deep passage two meters wide had appeared, its edges glowing a deep red. A fishy wind and the stench of blood gushed from its depths, stirring the hem of his cloak.
Standing at the passage's mouth, Chen Yi muttered softly,
"The concrete and qualitative… it depends on this time."
Before his words faded, he leaped in, vanishing into the passage intertwined with red light and the fishy wind.
...
Corpses fell in the darkness, wind howling in his ears, the stench of blood and death growing ever stronger. He fell several dozen meters, landing heavily on solid ground.
Before him was a sloping passage stretching downward. A cold fishy wind blew from its depths, the wails of countless resentful souls gnawing at the mind.
Chen Yi's gaze was steady. Without hesitation, he strode forward. His footsteps echoed in the silent corridor.
He didn't know how long he walked before a cold, mechanical, lifeless voice resounded through the passage:
"Welcome to Slaughter City."
"This is the City of Hell, a world filled with slaughter."
"Here, you can obtain anything you desire. The price is your life."
As the voice faded, Chen Yi stepped fully out of the passage—only to find a group blocking his way.
A hundred knights, clad head-to-toe in black armor. One, especially tall, sat atop a black warhorse, wielding a nearly three-meter-long heavy black lance.
"You've broken the rules."
Chen Yi's calm gaze met the scarlet eyes of the black-armored knight; his tone was indifferent.
"So what?"
"I am the Knight of Terror, Scott."
The knight reported his name, slowly raising his heavy lance to point at Chen Yi.
"Slaughter City has its own iron rules. Those entering through the normal entrance must be checked. You have forced your way in and broken them."
"Rule-breakers must be punished. Defeat me and you will earn a token to enter Slaughter City. Otherwise… you will die here, feeding this place."
Chen Yi glanced at Scott and the deadly formation of black-armored knights behind him, his expression unchanged.
The next moment, Chen Yi's form blurred, leaving a faint afterimage. He shot directly toward Scott.
"How arrogant!"
Scott clearly hadn't expected such a direct attack—or that the target would be him, the leader. A murderous cry echoed from beneath his helmet as the warhorse charged, its hooves glowing darkly beneath it.
At the same time, Scott leveled his three-meter black lance, locking it onto Chen Yi's chest.
Facing this threatening charge, Chen Yi did not slow at all. As they passed, his fist struck the black-armored horse beneath Scott with a violent blow.
"Hah—!"
The majestic black warhorse screamed in pain, its massive body thrown sideways as if kicked by an invisible giant. Scott was hurled out of control, both sideways and backward.
Bang!
The heavy body crashed to the ground, skidding over ten meters. The sturdy black armor caved in, blood flowed from the horse's mouth and nose. It struggled, but could not get up.
"Cough… pfft!"
Scott struggled to sit up, a violent cough escaping from under his faceplate. Thick, dark red blood, mixed with fragments of viscera, spurted out, staining his chest armor.
Chen Yi didn't pursue, only watched Scott's struggles with indifference. He held out his hand and spat two words:
"Bring it."
After a few seconds, Scott was silent. He drew a black token from his belt and hurled it at Chen Yi.
The token was cold to the touch, bearing a number: 9527.
Pocketing the token, Chen Yi turned and walked toward the distant, ugly city silhouetted beneath the dark red sky.
…
Bonus chapter at 300 PS
Read atleast 100 chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode