Changes Over Five Years

Five years later.

Before they knew it, Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun had spent five years in the Inner City of the City of Slaughter. It was also their sixth year since arriving in the City of Slaughter.

Over those five years, the siblings had won ninety-nine matches in the Hell Slaughter Arena, establishing a formidable reputation throughout the City of Slaughter.

Ming Lunyu was respectfully called the Confucian Yama King, while Ma Hongjun earned the nickname Rakshasa Ghost Phoenix.

However, Ma Hongjun despised the nickname, thinking it sounded awful. Rakshasa and ghost—both were so gloomy and sinister. Because of that, she had hunted down Fallen who called her that in the streets. Naturally, this only further cemented her title as the Rakshasa Ghost Phoenix.

Ming Lunyu said that it was already impressive enough for the people in the City of Slaughter to come up with a catchy nickname. Expecting more was simply making things difficult for them.

Over the past five years, aside from competing, the siblings had shut themselves indoors to cultivate. Of course, their main focus had been body tempering, and their Soul Power had still not increased much.

Their physical fitness was now comparable to that of six-ringed Soul Emperors, yet their Soul Power Levels had only just broken through level thirty-five...

Though perhaps "only just" was a little excessive. After all, reaching level thirty at the age of twelve was absolutely terrifying among their peers.

And their physical strength was more than merely terrifying. It was practically monstrous.

Although their physical fitness was only at the Soul Emperor level, both were exceptionally perceptive geniuses. Having endured countless life-and-death battles, their combat instincts and fighting techniques had reached the pinnacle of perfection. This allowed them to defeat even opponents with stronger physiques, using exquisite skill to overcome great strength with little effort.

Logically speaking, the higher one ranked in the Hell Slaughter Arena, the harder it became to find opponents, since contestants could only compete against people with similar rankings.

Yet the siblings' competition progress had not slowed by much.

That was because, later on, Ming Lunyu noticed this problem and began grabbing people off the streets to fill the matches.

Under the joint efforts of the Confucian Yama King and the Rakshasa Ghost Phoenix, great batches of Fallen had been forced into the Hell Slaughter Arena.

After all, participating meant there was still a chance of surviving. Refusing meant those two living devils would scatter you on the spot.

This also made the pair notoriously fearsome. Now, even if Ming Lunyu slept in the middle of the street, no Fallen would dare approach him.

But Ming Lunyu also knew that his actions had long drawn the attention of the City of Slaughter's officials, who had remained hidden in the shadows.

Several times, he had sensed an unseen gaze watching him.

Ming Lunyu guessed that it might be the so-called King of Slaughter.

But he did not care in the slightest.

After all, worrying was useless. If the King of Slaughter wanted to harm him, he likely would not have the slightest chance to fight back. Besides, while his actions were unrestrained, they were entirely within the City of Slaughter's lawless order. The King of Slaughter would not come looking for trouble with him without reason.

After grabbing another batch of people and throwing them into the Hell Slaughter Arena, Ming Lunyu found an empty corner, put on a black robe, and stealthily returned to the Wooden Cabin where they lived.

Although he was already unrivaled in the City of Slaughter, he still habitually remained vigilant. It was a habit he had formed over the years.

Upon reaching the Wooden Cabin, he first knocked several times in a particular rhythm before pushing open the door and swiftly closing it behind him.

Every day before leaving, the two would agree on a secret signal. They had to verify it before entering, and it changed every day. That was what it meant to be cautious.

"Brother, you're back!"

The young girl's lively voice rang out.

Over the past five years, both of their bodies had developed rapidly.

Ming Lunyu had grown to a height of one meter eighty, with ape-like arms, a lean waist, and a well-proportioned, powerful physique.

Ma Hongjun had grown to one meter sixty-five. Her figure was slender and graceful, her features stunning. Her waist-length crimson hair cascaded behind her back, with several strands woven into braids as decoration. Her entire being radiated a youthful vitality that even the City of Slaughter could not conceal.

"What are you doing?" Ming Lunyu asked casually with a smile.

Ma Hongjun sat on the edge of the bed, delicately working with a small brush in her hand.

"I'm doing my nails."

As Ming Lunyu took off his black robe and folded it, he searched for food.

"Oh, let me admire them once you're done."

"Okay~"

Doing her nails was a little hobby Ma Hongjun had picked up two years ago. After all, in an environment as oppressive and bloody as the City of Slaughter, anyone normal would eventually develop psychological problems if they did nothing but kill and cultivate. That was when one needed little hobbies to relieve the pressure.

Then, one day two years ago, as they were returning from the Hell Slaughter Arena, Ming Lunyu had found a woman's manicure by the roadside rather novel and instinctively looked at it a few more times. Ma Hongjun had immediately started a conversation and diverted his attention.

After that, Ma Hongjun developed an interest in manicures. At the same time, her style of dress became bolder.

Although Ma Hongjun claimed it was for ease of movement, Ming Lunyu always felt that the truth probably had something to do with him.

Does Xiao Jun have some kind of misunderstanding about me? he wondered.

"Brother~"

A soft, sweet call interrupted Ming Lunyu's wandering thoughts.

He turned and met a pair of bright, beautiful eyes.

"Can you help me do my toenails?"

Holding a small glass bottle of nail polish, Ma Hongjun tapped it with her nails, click, click, click. Her smile carried a hint of allure.

Ming Lunyu sighed inwardly.

In truth, he understood Ma Hongjun's feelings. The two had grown up together, and it was only natural that Ming Lunyu felt that way about her too.

But they were only twelve years old. Some things could wait a few more years.

Ma Hongjun understood that as well, so she always stopped at just the right point.

"Sure, I'm coming."

Ming Lunyu sat beside Ma Hongjun, skillfully took the little bottle from her, and began.

In no time, Ming Lunyu had finished. He was even faster than Ma Hongjun herself.

One could imagine just how practiced he was.

"So pretty! As expected of Brother!" Ma Hongjun's cute toes wiggled playfully. The bright red nail polish adorned her fair jade-like feet like rubies set in white jade, complementing each other perfectly.

"Brother, how much longer until we can take part in the final match?" Ma Hongjun asked.

A flicker of excitement crossed Ming Lunyu's eyes. "Soon. I caught another batch and threw them in. If nothing goes wrong, we can have the final match tomorrow and open the Hell Road."

Ma Hongjun was equally thrilled upon hearing that.

"That's wonderful, we can finally... sob..."

Tears of joy streamed down her face.

The two six-year-old children had first suffered the destruction of their village and the death of Grandpa. Then they encountered a vicious enemy, narrowly avoided being devoured by Evil Soul Masters, only to be brought by chance into another hell.

Now, after enduring untold hardships and countless life-and-death crises, they had finally grown from immature children into powerful individuals capable of standing on their own.

And tomorrow, after finishing the final match, they could enter the Hell Road. Once they passed through it, they could return to the outside world they had longed for day and night.

That world was not without ugliness, but compared to the hellish City of Slaughter, it was practically heaven.

Ha, it was rather interesting when one thought about it. Wasn't the City of Slaughter also a besieged city? The Fallen desperately wanted to enter and enjoy the freedom to do whatever they pleased, while the two of them, even after reaching the pinnacle of the City of Slaughter, only wanted to leave.

Perhaps it was because, despite struggling through the City of Slaughter for so many years, neither of them had been tainted by its depravity and indulgence. From beginning to end, they had retained hearts that yearned for the light.