The same waiter who had served Lin Fan the Bloody Mary earlier quietly opened a hidden door behind him.
A passage revealed itself, filled with a thick, swirling crimson mist.
Even with Lin Fan's eyesight at level 97, nearly 98, he could only see about ten meters ahead.
"To think… killing over ten people was just the entrance test for the City of Slaughter. No wonder this place is called a city built only for killing."
Lin Fan had assumed the qualification was simply to drink the Bloody Mary, but apparently, massacring everyone in the tavern also counted. Perhaps this crude wooden shack, gathering such a group of people, had been deliberately arranged as a test by the City of Slaughter.
Regardless of the reason, what mattered was that he had passed. With only a day and a half left before the system deadline to enter the secret realm, Lin Fan couldn't afford delays.
The waiter, still holding the door open, smirked with faint disdain when Lin Fan hesitated:
"What's wrong? Don't dare step forward now? Where's the bravado you had when you slaughtered them just now?"
Lin Fan only responded with a cold sneer. Without a word, he blurred into motion, stepping into the crimson corridor filled with a suffocating, indescribable stench.
The passage sloped downward after dozens of steps, and after walking for nearly half an hour, his vision suddenly opened wide.
Before him stretched a world drenched in blood.
The very air shimmered red; the walls of the buildings were stained with dried blood; everything glowed faintly crimson.
Just as Lin Fan took his thousandth step forward, a chilling voice rang out from every direction:
"Welcome to the City of Slaughter. This is the capital of Hell, a world built on killing. Here, you can gain anything you desire. The price… is your life."
Lin Fan walked along a narrow road. On both sides stood rows of warriors clad in black armor, their faces hidden behind helmets, each gripping a massive greatsword.
At the center, atop a massive warhorse also clad in black armor, sat one man.
"I am the Dread Knight, Scott. You have broken the rules."
His voice was low, inhumanly cold, more like the sound of death itself than a man's speech.
But Lin Fan's eyes were fixed not on him, but beyond his back—
There, towering into view, was a dark crimson city, its walls impossibly wide and tall.
And above the city hung a blood-red moon, so low it seemed no more than five hundred meters overhead. Beyond that, the sky itself glowed a deep scarlet, like an endless shroud of blood.
"So what if I broke the rules?" Lin Fan asked indifferently.
The knight's voice remained as icy as ever:
"Then you must be punished. Defeat me, and you will earn the right to enter the City of Slaughter."
"Not kill you?" Lin Fan's tone was still calm.
In response, the knight slowly raised his massive lance. The black-armored warriors on both sides retreated, leaving a wide dueling space.
With a deafening snort, the warhorse charged, the knight's killing intent surging forward like a tidal wave.
Lin Fan didn't bother summoning spirit rings or abilities—he knew the rules of the City of Slaughter: no soul skills, no spirit abilities.
Instead, his hand tightened on his Sword of Slaughter.
In an instant, the knight's killing intent was obliterated, swallowed whole.
"Impossible… such killing aura… it doesn't belong outside the City of Slaughter!" Scott's eyes widened in shock. His warhorse faltered, its hooves striking the ground wildly, unable to approach.
Though spirit skills were forbidden, soul power remained. And Lin Fan's level-97 strength utterly dwarfed this knight's.
With a single swing of his Slaughter Sword, Lin Fan leapt forward and slashed down.
Boom!
"A Titled Douluo!" Scott roared, his armored arms trembling as his warhorse crashed to its knees under the pressure. His entire frame shook.
Lin Fan said coldly:
"Then feel it for yourself."
His blade flicked again.
Crash!
The warhorse screamed, the lance was flung high into the air, and both rider and mount were thrown aside. The beast collapsed in violent spasms, its neck snapped clean in the collision.
Scott staggered to his feet, his right arm's armor shattered, his face pale beneath his fallen helmet.
Lin Fan didn't even look at him. His gaze was fixed on the crimson moon above.
"City of Slaughter… I'm here."
Scott forced out a shaky shout:
"S-stop there!"
Lin Fan's eyes turned icy as he finally looked at him.
"Block me again, and I'll kill every single one of you."
Scott's face twisted, fear flickering in his gaze.
"No… you've already passed my trial. You are qualified to enter the City of Slaughter."
He took out a black plaque and offered it with trembling hands.
Lin Fan caught it casually. Engraved on it was a skull and the number: 9517.
"This is your proof of identity within the City. Proceed to the gates—you will be guided further inside."
Without another glance, Lin Fan strode toward the massive black-and-red gates.
They loomed high, oppressive, the characters City of Slaughter carved above.
Two rows of black-armored warriors flanked the entrance. Before Lin Fan could even show his plaque, a woman in a black veil stepped forward from within.
Her voice was soft, melodic, in stark contrast to the atmosphere:
"Welcome to the City of Slaughter."
She stepped aside gracefully, gesturing for him to enter.
Inside the gates, Lin Fan was met with a world cloaked in dark crimson light. Faint blood-red lamps lit the streets with a weak glow.
The veiled woman spoke gently:
"I am your guide. For the next twelve hours, you are under the protection of the newcomer's grace period. During this time, I will answer any questions you may have."
After twelve hours… this will be your home. From then on, you will be a true member of the City of Slaughter.