Slaughter City, Judgment's First Descent

Slaughter City, Judgment's First Descent

The air was thick and foul, reeking of rust and decay. Every breath felt like swallowing mud. The sky was eternally Dark Red, with no sun, moon, or stars—only an oppressive, suffocating blood-colored vault. Twisted, grotesque buildings of black stone stood piled chaotically across this forgotten land like the skeletons of rotting beasts. Madness, despair, and an indelible stench of blood permeated the air, while piercing screams from afar, hysterical roars, and the grating clash of weapons filled the ears.

This was Slaughter City. The legendary bloody purgatory, the place of exile for sinners, and the proving ground for the strong.

Ling Feng stood at the entrance to a narrow, filthy alley. His moon-white, gold-trimmed academy uniform had long since been put away, replaced by an unremarkable gray cloak. Its hood was pulled low, concealing most of his face and revealing only his hard-lined chin and a pair of calm golden eyes glimmering in the shadows. He had just passed through the "gate" hidden in the darkest corner of Heaven Dou City, paid a Bloody Mary, and been sent here by that strange old man.

God-Tier Choice triggered!

Entered Slaughter City. Main quest activated!

Option One: Keep a low profile. Conceal your strength, quietly accumulate victories, and wait for an opportunity to seek clues about the divine trial.
Reward: Improved aura concealment ability (temporary).
Risk: May miss crucial opportunities.

Option Two: Path of Judgment. Sweep through the Hell Slaughter Arena with thunderous methods, grow stronger through battle, and forge the prestige of judgment.
Reward: For every ten consecutive victories, Soul Power condensation +1%, resistance to killing intent increased.
Risk: Expose yourself too early and attract powerful enemies and the attention of the King of Slaughter.

Option Three: Seek allies. Contact local factions or outside challengers, such as Hu Liena, and form a temporary alliance.
Reward: Obtain a clue regarding the "Hell Road."
Risk: Betrayal by allies and becoming entangled in pointless conflicts.

The cold options surfaced in his mind. Ling Feng's gaze swept over the broad "main road" outside the alley, paved with Dark Red stone. There were few pedestrians on the street, and each hurried along with wary, vicious eyes, like hyenas moving through the darkness. The dangerous aura in the air was a hundred times denser than in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Keep a low profile? In a city where slaughter was the only law, keeping a low profile often meant being treated as easy prey. Allies? Hu Liena might be here, but looking for her now would only expose him. Besides, trust was the most extravagant thing in this place.

Only strength! Only absolute strength and cold judgment could carve a bloody path through this land of sin, deter the horde of fiends, and seize everything he wanted! Whether it was clues to the divine trial or the legendary Divine Slaughter's Domain!

"Option Two!" Ling Feng's will was as hard as iron, carrying unquestionable resolve.

Boom—!

An invisible yet tangible chill of killing intent burst forth from Ling Feng, no longer deliberately restrained, accompanied by the unique pressure of the Judgment Angel Martial Soul—a blend of holiness and destruction! Though his Soul Power Level remained at the peak of Level 34, the will of judgment from the depths of his soul and the ferocious, devouring aura brought by his newly fused God Devouring Spider Spear combined into a terrifying presence that made souls tremble!

It was like a drop of icy water falling into a boiling cauldron of oil!

Outside the alley, several fierce-looking Soul Masters who had been hurrying past abruptly stopped! Like frogs targeted by venomous snakes, every hair on their bodies stood on end as they turned toward the depths of the alley in utter horror! That terrifying pressure seemed like an invisible hand clamping around their throats, nearly leaving them unable to breathe! The cold golden eyes beneath the hood seemed capable of piercing through their very souls!

"A... a newcomer?"

"Wh-what a terrifying aura!"

"Run! This guy's a monster!"

Their faces went deathly pale. As if they had seen ghosts, they scrambled away from the mouth of the alley and did not dare cast another glance back.

Ling Feng withdrew his released aura as though sheathing an unsheathed sword. He stepped out of the dark alley and onto Slaughter City's Dark Red main street. His gray cloak swayed gently in the blood-scented breeze, his steps steady, like a king walking into his own domain. The greedy, malicious gazes hidden in the shadows of the surrounding buildings recoiled the instant they touched his figure, as though scorched by flames.

He needed no map. His instinctive attraction toward slaughter and sin, along with the Eye of Destiny's faint perception of a massive Energy Convergence Point, acted like an invisible pointer guiding him onward—the Hell Slaughter Arena!

The closer he came to the city center, the taller and more twisted the buildings became, while the bloody stench and frenzied clamor in the air grew ever more intense. Crude stalls began to appear on both sides of the road, selling inferior food, murky liquor, and... all manner of weapons and Soul Tool fragments stained with Dark Red marks. The eyes of both vendors and customers were filled with numbness, vigilance, and undisguised beastliness.

"Hey, pretty boy, you're new here! You've got such tender skin. Why don't you come play with me?" A hulking man over two meters tall, his body covered in knotted muscles and his face marked by a savage scar, blocked Ling Feng's path with several vicious-looking underlings. The scarred brute licked his lips, his eyes flashing with lust and cruelty. He had clearly taken Ling Feng for fresh prey he could toy with at will. The men behind him burst into malicious laughter.

Ling Feng did not slow his steps, nor did his gaze shift in the slightest, as though the figures before him were merely several annoying clumps of air.

"Courting death!" The scarred brute was thoroughly enraged by Ling Feng's disregard. With a feral grin, his palm, broad as a fan and wrapped in earthy yellow Soul Power, shot toward Ling Feng's shoulder with a howling gust! The men behind him simultaneously revealed their Martial Souls—fangs, sharp claws, poisonous stingers—and lunged forward on a foul wind! They clearly intended to tear this newcomer, who did not know his place, to pieces!

At the very instant the scarred brute's hand was about to touch the gray cloak!

Ling Feng moved!

He did not summon his Martial Soul or use a soul skill! He merely shifted sideways!

Fast! So fast that it surpassed the eye's ability to follow! It was as if he had vanished from his original spot for an instant!

The scarred brute's sure-hit claw tore viciously through empty air! With nowhere to vent his violent strength, his massive body staggered!

Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!

Almost at the same moment, three faint sounds of sharp weapons piercing flesh rang out!

Ling Feng appeared like a ghost three steps behind the scarred brute, his gait still steady, as though he had never paused. From the fingertips of his right hand, a strand of Dark Gold Soul Power silently slipped back into his sleeve like a spirit snake, without a trace of blood upon it.

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

The scarred brute's feral grin stiffened, replaced by disbelief, shock, and confusion. The three underlings who had lunged forward behind him stood frozen in place, as if immobilized by a spell.

The next second!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three heads, their expressions frozen and their eyes still holding savagery and astonishment, slid neatly from the necks of three headless corpses. They rolled across the Dark Red stone ground with dull thumps. At the severed necks, Dark Gold energy crazily eroded and devoured flesh and Soul Power like parasites clinging to bone. The wounds turned a bizarre metallic, charred black. There was no spurting blood, only the sizzling sound of corrosion!

"Urgh... hhk..." Only then did the scarred brute feel a hint of coldness at the side of his neck. He subconsciously raised a hand to touch it, and his fingers met something warm and sticky. Looking down, he saw that a Dark Gold line of blood, thin as a strand of hair yet circling his entire neck, had appeared at some unknown moment! The bloodline rapidly spread, devouring his life force!

"Im... possible..." Air leaked from his throat in ragged wheezes. His massive body crashed to the ground like a toppled mountain, twitched twice, and fell completely silent. Until his death, he never saw how his opponent had attacked.

The entire street instantly fell silent!

Every prying gaze, every ill-intentioned whisper, every stirring malice froze completely in that moment like flames doused with ice water! The figures hidden in the shadows were like ducks with their necks seized, not daring to breathe. As they stared at the gray-cloaked figure in the middle of the street, their eyes were filled with utmost terror!

An instant kill! Silent and unseen! No one had even seen how he attacked! The Dark Gold gleam that had flashed at his fingertips was like Death's scythe, reaping four lives of utter depravity in an instant!

Ling Feng acted as though he had merely brushed away a few specks of dust. Without even looking at the corpses on the ground, he continued forward. The hem of his gray cloak swept over the Dark Red stone ground without picking up a speck of dust. The surrounding crowd recoiled to either side in terror like a receding tide, forming a broad, empty passage before him that no one dared approach.

Amid the absolute silence, only his steady footsteps echoed, like a death knell striking against the heart of every onlooker.

Judgment had descended in the name of slaughter. The road to the Hell Slaughter Arena would be paved with corpses.