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Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Inside a stone house, a shirtless, lean middle-aged man with a sinister face was indulging in pleasure with several scantily clad, alluring women.
Just as the lean man inside the room was about to reach the peak of his ecstasy, a panicked shout suddenly came from outside: "Report—Boss, something terrible has happened!"
The sudden shout outside startled the man so much that he nearly scared himself silly.
"Damn it!"
Cursing loudly, the furious lean man hastily pulled up his pants, ignoring the women beside him, and opened the stone door.
"What the hell are you yelling about?!"
Seeing that it was one of his trusted subordinates, Blood Dragon's anger slightly subsided, but he still glared at the man irritably.
If this subordinate hadn't been loyal to him since the outside world, following him faithfully for years, Blood Dragon might have just killed him and harvested a Bloody Mary.
"Boss, it's bad news. Brother Axe has been killed."
The subordinate spoke with an anxious expression.
"What? Blood Axe is dead? Who did it?"
Blood Dragon's expression immediately darkened as he looked at the subordinate with a menacing glare.
Though Blood Axe wasn't his blood brother, he had followed him for twenty years, one of the few loyal men he brought into Slaughter City when fleeing the outside world. With decent cultivation talent, Blood Axe had become one of his key lieutenants.
Now that one of his key men had been killed, this was absolutely unacceptable. How could he, Blood Dragon, continue to survive in this dog-eat-dog place called Slaughter City?
"It was the Great Demon!"
As one of the witnesses to Chu Chengzhou's "demonic sorcery," the subordinate spoke with eyes full of terror.
"The Great Demon?"
Upon hearing this, Blood Dragon furrowed his brow. He had been in Slaughter City for over two years and had never heard of such a ruthless individual.
"Boss, this Great Demon is new here."
The subordinate immediately began explaining everything about Chu Chengzhou to Blood Dragon.
"Hmph! I don't care where he came from. How dare he kill one of my men? Gather our forces—I'll chop him up myself!"
After listening to the report, Blood Dragon sneered, his face contorted with rage.
It wasn't that Blood Dragon was being loyal or hot-blooded. At his age, he long ago lost the fiery passion of youth. However, given what had happened, as the boss, he had no choice but to step up.
Regardless of how strong this Great Demon was, the only path before him was to fight head-on and eliminate the Great Demon to harvest Bloody Marys.
After all, Slaughter City was a place where the weak were devoured by the strong. Taking a step back wouldn't lead to a peaceful life—it would be an endless abyss. Any sign of weakness was unacceptable. Once you showed cowardice, you'd be eaten alive without even bones left.
One could only say, being a boss wasn't easy, was it?
Soon, Blood Dragon led dozens of his men in a fierce charge toward the Hell Slaughter Arena.
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Exiting the Hell Slaughter Arena, Chu Chengzhou prepared to find a place to stay within the city.
In the inner city of Slaughter City, basic necessities like food and water were free.
There were designated places in the city where anyone could collect these supplies for free.
Of course, they were limited to just enough to fill your stomach and quench your thirst.
If you wanted a higher quality of life, you needed the universal currency of Slaughter City: Bloody Mary—or, alternatively, precious soul bones.
Because the use of soul skills was restricted in Slaughter City but not soul bone skills, the value and utility of soul bones were far greater than in the outside world.
Housing worked similarly. All houses in the city were free, provided you could find an unoccupied one or seize it from its previous owner.
Chu Chengzhou, with his clean clothes and gentle demeanor, stood out starkly against the bloody and chaotic backdrop of Slaughter City. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was new.
Moreover, not every fallen soul master in the domain was well-informed. So, not long after leaving the Hell Slaughter Arena, Chu Chengzhou's handsome appearance attracted the lustful gazes of some individuals with peculiar tastes.
It must be said that perverts were far more common in Slaughter City than in the outside world—and most didn't bother hiding their depravity.
In the outside world, even if you encountered someone with unusual fetishes, they would only discreetly appraise you, rarely openly leering so as not to draw disdain from others.
But Slaughter City was different. It was a paradise for the fallen, filled with perverts who made no effort to conceal their nature.
It was like being in a world where everyone was insane. If you weren't insane, then in the eyes of others, you were the only sane person in a world of madness.
Of course, those lusting after Chu Chengzhou weren't all perverts with unique fetishes—some were simply seductive harlots.
Though the majority of fallen soul masters in the inner city were male, there were also females. After all, soul masters came in both genders, and young boys were particularly popular among seductive harlots.
As for those who lusted after his body—whether perverts or harlots—Chu Chengzhou showed no mercy, sending them all straight to heaven... or, more likely, hell.
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou's eyebrows twitched, and his gaze turned toward the distance.
Far ahead, there was some commotion. A crowd had gathered, and the sounds of fighting echoed continuously.
Immediately, Chu Chengzhou walked over.
Watching a spectacle was a natural instinct for humans—or, more accurately, for all intelligent beings. Chu Chengzhou was no exception.
"Little lady, don't be ungrateful. If you submit to me, Black Tiger, and become my wife, I'll make sure you live a life of luxury!"
A one-eyed brute calling himself "Black Tiger" addressed an orange-haired woman who was being surrounded and attacked by his underlings.
Hu Liena remained silent, her icy gaze fixed as she wielded her short sword, fending off the attackers.
At this moment, Hu Liena inwardly cursed her misfortune.
Slaughter City was a haven for the fallen, where the strong made no effort to hide their desires.
Her stunning appearance had drawn the lustful gazes of countless fallen soul masters ever since she entered the domain.
Ordinary fallen soul masters were no match for Hu Liena. With the skull bone skill, she could easily handle Soul Sages restricted from using soul skills in Slaughter City.
However, against Soul Douluos, she was clearly outmatched.
Her soul power was only at the Soul King level. Even with high-level soul bones, her strongest asset—her spiritual abilities—couldn't effectively threaten an eight-ring expert.
And the leader of the Black Tiger Gang, "Black Tiger," was one of the rare Soul Douluos among the fallen soul masters in Slaughter City.
She had originally intended to check the Hell Slaughter Arena to see if the "Great Demon" was Chu Chengzhou, but she hadn't expected to encounter Black Tiger, who lusted after her beauty along the way.
If Black Tiger weren't present, the Soul Emperor and Soul Sage fallen soul masters attacking her would have already been dealt with using her skull bone skill.
But now, she couldn't do that. Hu Liena knew that if she revealed the existence of her soul bone—one capable of allowing a Soul King to kill a Soul Emperor or even a Soul Sage—she would face endless pursuit.
Soul bones were already extremely valuable, let alone in a place like Slaughter City where soul skills were restricted.
Unless absolutely necessary, or unless she could eliminate all witnesses, she couldn't afford to reveal her skull bone skill.
As the saying goes, one pair of fists can't fight off four hands. Moreover, her opponents were all formidable. Despite possessing the powerful skull bone skill and being a spirit-type soul master with superior reaction speed, Hu Liena gradually found herself in an unfavorable position.
"Damn it, do I really have to expose my soul bone skill?"
Gritting her teeth, Hu Liena silently raged as she continued to fend off her attackers.
Just as Hu Liena prepared to activate her skull bone skill to temporarily resolve the crisis, two figures—a crimson-haired man and a black-clad woman—observed the battle from atop a stone roof about a hundred meters away.
"Dark Moon, she's about to collapse. Go help her! If the great Slaughter King blames us, we'll have a hard time explaining ourselves."
Seeing Hu Liena's precarious situation, the crimson-haired man addressed the black-clad woman.
"Blood Wing, we're among the strongest in the enforcement team. Why did the great Slaughter King send us to secretly protect her?"
The black-clad woman named "Dark Moon" asked the crimson-haired man in confusion.
"How should I know? But since this is the great Slaughter King's command, I'll carry it out unconditionally."
The crimson-haired man, Blood Wing, replied with a stern expression.
What they didn't know was that the reason the Killing God sent them to secretly protect Hu Liena was because he couldn't afford to offend her powerful backer.
When a certain teacher sent her disciple to train in Slaughter City, she paid a "friendly" visit to the local authority.
Even though Bibi Dong's strength was restricted due to the Rakshasa God's trial, she was still one of the top powerhouses on the continent.
Moreover, the Slaughter King couldn't compare to "Unrivaled on Land" Tang Chen. The Slaughter King was merely a soul beast's consciousness controlling a powerful human body, and whether he could unleash even ten percent of his strength was questionable. Naturally, he feared Bibi Dong greatly.
Even soul beasts knew that women were unreasonable, especially crazy ones.
To avoid any mishaps happening to Hu Liena in his territory, the ruler of Slaughter City had no choice but to assign two subordinates—both Soul Douluos capable of using soul skills—to secretly protect her.
"Alright."
The black-clad woman Dark Moon nodded, preparing to intervene on Hu Liena's behalf.
But just as she was about to take a step forward, she stopped.
It seemed she wouldn't need to act after all.
On the battlefield, Hu Liena, overwhelmed by multiple attackers, was in dire straits.
Just as she prepared to activate her skull bone skill to escape the predicament, a glimmer of golden light caught the corner of her eye. In an instant, the arrogant Black Tiger and two Soul Sages attacking her had their heads blown apart, splattering blood and brains everywhere.
The sudden turn of events startled the surrounding onlookers, who quickly dispersed to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Watching a spectacle was fine, but losing one's life over it wasn't worth it.
Then, three more streaks of golden light flashed, piercing through three of the remaining attackers. They collapsed instantly.
This time, Hu Liena saw clearly. After the three attackers were struck by the swift golden light, the streaks embedded themselves into the ground, leaving three finger-sized holes.
Clearly, the golden light retained significant residual force even after killing its targets.
With their leader decapitated and their comrades gruesomely slain, the two remaining attackers immediately abandoned their fight with Hu Liena and fled.
Unfortunately for them, they were too late. Two more streaks of golden light flashed, and they were instantly impaled through the chest.
In the blink of an eye, all her opponents were annihilated—even the disgusting one-eyed brute Black Tiger had his head blown apart. Hu Liena smiled faintly and turned to look in the direction the golden light had come from.
"Hmph! Hu Liena, do you have any self-awareness? Do you think coming to such a dangerous place as Slaughter City is a good idea?"
Putting away his Nine Heavens Mystic Bow, Chu Chengzhou scolded Hu Liena with an irritated expression.
At this moment, Chu Chengzhou inwardly sighed in relief.
He had never expected Hu Liena to be so reckless as to come to Slaughter City for training.
In the original story, if not for Tang San, even if Hu Liena managed to achieve a hundred consecutive victories in the Hell Slaughter Arena, she would never have survived the Hell Road.
If he hadn't come to Slaughter City, wouldn't this little fox have perished on the Hell Road?
Within Slaughter City, the Slaughter King might avoid letting Hu Liena face mortal danger out of fear of offending Bibi Dong. But the Hell Road was different. The Dark Golden Three-Headed Bat King and the Ten-Headed Sun Snake wouldn't show any fear of Bibi Dong.
If she failed to pass, no one would be able to save her.
"Hehe~, why are you here too?"
Facing Chu Chengzhou's scolding, Hu Liena didn't mind. Instead, she gave a sweet smile and ran up to him like a timid little girl, asking innocently.
The "Great Demon" was indeed her beloved Chu Chengzhou. At this moment, Hu Liena felt like the luckiest girl in the world. When she lacked security, fate had sent her hero directly to her.
Hmm, just short of riding a seven-colored cloud.
"Don't try to change the subject! Didn't your teacher warn you about the dangers of Slaughter City? Not even Soul Douluos can guarantee their survival here. What are you, a mere Soul King, doing here? Are you here to offer yourself up?"
Chu Chengzhou flicked Hu Liena's forehead, scolding her without restraint.
"But your soul power isn't even higher than mine, and you're still lecturing me?"
Rubbing her forehead, Hu Liena muttered quietly.
"Do you think you can compare to me?"
Chu Chengzhou raised his voice.
You, a measly Level 53 Soul King, dare compare yourself to me, a Level 54 Soul King?
That's right—Chu Chengzhou's soul power level had surpassed Hu Liena's.
It had been nearly four months since he advanced to the Soul King level. After consuming the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, his cultivation speed was already incredibly fast. Coupled with the Nine Breaths Qi Absorption Technique, his soul power skyrocketed like a rocket. In about half a month, he would likely advance to Level 55.
Moreover, even without using his martial soul, he could slaughter Soul Sages like chickens and defeat Soul Douluos without much effort. In the Killing God Domain, where soul skills were restricted, even She Long, a Titled Douluo, couldn't match him.
Could Hu Liena even compare to him? She truly had no self-awareness!
Upon hearing this, Hu Liena fell silent, feeling awkward.
Though she lacked self-awareness, she was well aware that her strength was nowhere near Chu Chengzhou's.
Moreover, after coming to Slaughter City, she realized how impulsive she had been. Becoming a Killing God wasn't easy—otherwise, there wouldn't be so few Killing Gods in the current era.
"Hmph! I'll deal with you later!"
After delivering a harsh warning, Chu Chengzhou began retrieving the three Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows he had fired earlier.
For a guaranteed one-hit kill, he had used Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows for the initial shots.
Of course, only the first three arrows were Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows. After eliminating one Soul Douluo and two Soul Sages, the subsequent waves of arrows were simple metal attribute soul-powered arrows.
Against opponents at most at the six-ring level—and restricted from using soul skills—his Nine Heavens Mystic Bow and soul-powered arrows were more than sufficient. There was no need to waste spirit-refined Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows.
And spirit-refined Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows were far too valuable to be used as disposable items.
Not long after retrieving the three Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrows, a clamor arose in the distance.
Turning his head, Chu Chengzhou saw a group of several dozen people led by a gaunt middle-aged man with a Soul Douluo's aura, charging fiercely toward them.
"Boss, that's the Great Demon!"
From over ten meters away, the Blood Dragon Gang's messenger pointed at Chu Chengzhou and informed his boss, Blood Dragon.
"You son of a bitch—you're the Great Demon who killed my men?"
Blood Dragon waved his right hand, signaling his men to stop, and glared at Chu Chengzhou with a menacing expression.
Hearing this, Chu Chengzhou narrowed his eyes. It seemed trouble was coming.
Without hesitation, Chu Chengzhou flipped his left hand, materializing his Nine Heavens Mystic Bow.
"If you don't want to die, get lost!"
Though he didn't know why this gaunt middle-aged man called him the Great Demon, nor whether he had truly killed any of his men, Chu Chengzhou had no intention of explaining or showing kindness. He issued a direct warning.
An Soul Douluo, several Soul Sages, and numerous five- and six-ring fallen soul masters—even in the outside world where soul skills weren't restricted, Chu Chengzhou didn't take them seriously, let alone in the Killing God Domain.
"Bloodthirsty Demon Snake, possess!"
Snorting coldly, Blood Dragon unleashed a crimson glow as his Bloodthirsty Demon Snake martial soul fused with his body. Then, he retrieved a blood-red spear from his storage-type soul-guided device.
"Men, follow me and chop him down!"
Pointing his blood-red spear at Chu Chengzhou, Blood Dragon issued the order to attack.
Middle-aged men disregarding martial ethics?
Forget Slaughter City—even in the outside world, not many soul masters adhered to martial ethics. If you could gang up, why fight one-on-one? What if you got injured?
Minor injuries were fine, but serious wounds could be fatal.
For the fallen soul masters in Slaughter City, aside from relying on their natural recovery abilities, the only means of healing was the rare treatment-type soul bone skill.
After all, there were no healing medicines or treatment-type soul skills in Slaughter City.
With their leader's command, and only two opponents, the advantage was theirs. His subordinates naturally didn't hesitate, activating their martial souls or drawing their weapons as they charged forward.
Seeing this, Chu Chengzhou wrapped his right arm around Hu Liena's waist and tapped the ground lightly. Activating his movement technique: Divine Light Dash, he moved with blinding speed, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as he appeared dozens of meters away.
After creating distance from the fallen soul masters, Chu Chengzhou's hand shimmered with golden light as he formed metallic soul-powered arrows.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The next moment, Chu Chengzhou unleashed his fifteen years of experience in being single, firing wave after wave of soul-powered arrows. The golden streaks shot out like a rainstorm.
Thud, thud, thud—
The dense barrage of soul-powered arrows rained down like hailstones, accompanied by the sound of blades piercing flesh. Blood blossomed as the members of the Blood Dragon Gang fell one by one.
In just a few seconds, before the Blood Dragon Gang could reach Chu Chengzhou and Hu Liena, dozens of gang members—ranging from Soul Sages to Soul Kings—collapsed into pools of blood. Only Blood Dragon remained, standing frozen in shock.
Boom—
The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground rang out. In his panic, Blood Dragon accidentally dropped his blood-red spear.
Stunned, Blood Dragon was utterly dumbfounded.
Despite decades of experience and having witnessed many intense battles, seeing dozens of his capable subordinates fall in a matter of seconds left him unable to accept the cruel reality before him.
Even in Slaughter City, where soul skills were restricted, how could a Titled Douluo possibly eliminate his entire group so quickly?
Whoosh—
Chu Chengzhou didn't hold back, firing another metal attribute soul-powered arrow at Blood Dragon.
"Hm! Soul Bone Skill: Golden Light Shield!"
At the critical moment, Blood Dragon snapped out of his shock. A golden glow erupted from his right arm as a transparent golden barrier formed around him.
Clang!
His right-arm soul bone skill didn't disappoint. The golden barrier successfully blocked Chu Chengzhou's soul-powered arrow.
The next second, Blood Dragon turned and fled without looking back.
As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. Blood Dragon understood this principle well. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fled to Slaughter City with his men when pursued by the Spirit Hall.
The same applied now. The gap in strength was insurmountable. He had no chance of victory. Subordinates could be replaced, but if he lost his life, it would truly be the end.
This "Great Demon" was too strong. Running was the only sensible option!
Failing to land a decisive blow, as his target's soul bone skill had blocked the arrow, Chu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow. A flash of golden light appeared in his hand as he materialized a Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow.
Drawing the bowstring taut, he released the arrow, which transformed into a streak of golden light and shot forward.
In an instant, the Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow crossed a hundred meters, striking Blood Dragon squarely in the back as he fled.
This time, the previously effective golden barrier couldn't withstand the attack. The spirit-refined arrowhead's powerful anti-armor properties pierced through the defensive soul bone skill, and a blossom of blood erupted as the sharp Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow pierced through Blood Dragon's chest from behind.
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