After seeing Tang San and the others off, Ling Chen returned to Scarface's residence.
Now that the door had been opened, Ling Chen had no reason to keep sleeping on the street.
The room wasn't luxurious, but at least it had a bed, a table, and chairs. It was far better than clinging to life in a dim corner.
"Phew~"
Ling Chen let out a long breath. The past few days had been like riding a roller coaster in front of the King of Hell—death-defying dips and turns!
Now that he could lock the door, he no longer had to live in fear. He could get some proper rest and relax his taut nerves.
He took a piece of cloth from his Soul Tool, dampened it with water, and wiped the blood from his face before lying down on the bed.
Exhaustion, drowsiness, emotional fatigue...
As Ling Chen closed his eyes and drifted into a dream, all of it gradually faded from his mind, gone without a trace.
He had no idea how long he slept. In the Slaughter City, where the sun and moon never traded places, the only way Ling Chen could estimate the time was by the reflection of the blood moon.
"Is it the second day already?"
Ling Chen wasn't sure, but it didn't matter.
After a good rest, he felt refreshed and in excellent shape. If saying he could take on ten opponents had been the wild boast of a madman, then now he was confident with a clear head.
Ling Chen sat cross-legged and sorted through the information he had recently gathered.
Tang San and the others were about to leave. According to the original plot, once Tang San got out, he would follow Tang Hao to Moonlight Pavilion and learn etiquette from Yue Hua, suppressing the killing intent within him.
After that, he would return to the Clear Sky Sect to acknowledge his ancestors and make the ten-year, three-part pact.
As for Hu Liena, after returning to Spirit Hall, she would recognize Tang San and Tang Yin's identities while pursuing Xiao Wu.
If nothing unexpected happened, once Ling Chen got out, both sides would try to recruit him and make him choose a side.
Xiao Wu's sacrifice would push their relationship to the point of no return. Then Bibi Dong would add fuel to the flames. When she destroyed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, she would also try to wipe out the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Xue Qinghe, whom Qian Renxue had impersonated, would stick his oar in and muddy the waters. Even just these events were more than a six-year-old could interfere with.
Of course, looting corpses was another matter...
If he sided with Spirit Hall, he would not only receive their full support, but could also grow rapidly by looting corpses.
After the two sects were destroyed, he would gain an abundance of pure Martial Soul Origin and countless Soul Rings, though the Soul Bones might not be his for the taking.
Still, that would be more than enough to send Ling Chen soaring ahead by leaps and bounds.
By then, he could also use the Golden Dragon Pillar's [Effect Three] to condense a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul—or even a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Once he grew powerful, he might even be able to contend with Sea God Tang San.
Unfortunately, Ling Chen ultimately couldn't change the final outcome. If he had transmigrated to Holy Soul Village in the same era as Tang San, he might have had a chance to defy fate and change his destiny.
But if he spent ten years growing stronger now, Tang San would probably already be in the Divine Realm.
If he sided with Tang San, he could use his connection to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and become a disciple of Sword Douluo Chen Xin, inheriting his swordsmanship.
That way, he could loot corpses without raising suspicion and find a way to save one of Chen Xin's arms. It was the best of both worlds.
As for looting corpses from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he would have to put in a little more thought.
The treasures of heaven and earth at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could transform Martial Souls, and they were all in Tang San's possession.
If Ling Chen could get his hands on the Blazing Sun Snake Core and trade it to Tang San, perhaps he could make his own Martial Soul evolve.
But that was for later. He already knew that Tang San would soon destroy the Slaughter City. Everyone inside was doomed either way, so Ling Chen had no qualms about sending them to their deaths early.
Rather than letting so much Martial Soul Origin go to waste here, he might as well use it to feed the Golden Dragon in the Golden Dragon Pillar.
A bold and utterly mad plan took shape in Ling Chen's mind—slaughter the entire city! Who would have thought such an idea could come from a six-year-old child?
It seemed insane, but carrying it out in the Slaughter City was still possible.
After all, no one here was a good person. They had all spilled blood at one time or another, so Ling Chen felt no particular qualms about slaughtering them.
He acted as soon as the thought came to him. Leaving his room, Ling Chen headed to the Hell Slaughter Arena to kill a few people and give his sword a taste of blood.
Unbeknownst to him, while Ling Chen had been sleeping, his title of Severed Limb Demon Child had already spread. Even the people in the Slaughter City's outer city knew of him.
Despite Ling Chen's fearsome reputation, there were still people who weren't afraid to step into the Hell Slaughter Arena.
Their fearlessness was certainly admirable, but it didn't mean their limbs could stand up to Ling Chen's Green Steel Sword.
In no time, severed limbs littered the arena, and nine Soul Masters fell.
Tang San and Hu Liena watched from the side. Though they had expected this, even they found it far too cruel.
Did he really have to kill them like this? Couldn't he at least give them a quick death?
Ling Chen's answer was simple: he swung his sword and severed a man's arm, weapon and all.
A kill was a kill. That made no difference to Ling Chen's ability to strip away Martial Soul Origin and Soul Rings.
Once their limbs were cut off, they were still alive and couldn't be stripped right away. Their Martial Soul Origin would therefore be concentrated in their torsos.
Not only was their Martial Soul Origin abundant, it was also quick to strip away.
After an hour, Ling Chen had racked up ten consecutive victories. By then, he was already exhausted.
Ling Chen left the arena, and Tang San took his place, beginning his Clear Sky Hammer whack-a-mole routine.
One smash, one corpse. Compared to the Severed Limb Demon Child's cruel methods, being crushed to death by a single hammer blow was the most painless way to go.
At the very least, they lost less blood than they did to Ling Chen's dismemberment, and they didn't have to endure a long wait for death.
Ling Chen also studied Tang San's hammer technique carefully. His movements were broad and forceful, his power steadily mounting, yet he never lost his balance.
"Strong!"
Ling Chen couldn't help admiring him. He felt he could only look up to Tang San's core strength.
The fight ended quickly. Before anyone could clear the bodies from the arena, Ling Chen had already stepped inside. How could he let those people handle the looting?
To avoid arousing suspicion, Ling Chen pointed at the bodies on the ground and made a throat-slitting gesture toward Tang San.
Tang San stared at him, completely baffled. He clearly had no idea what Ling Chen meant.
Did Ling Chen want to kill him? But hadn't they already agreed to work together yesterday? Was he going back on his word?
Tang San glared at Ling Chen, his expression darkening as he tightened his grip on the Clear Sky Hammer. Ling Chen, meanwhile, calmly used his Green Steel Sword to cut off the corpses' heads.
"Don't let your guard down! If you didn't smash them flat, you still need to watch out for them faking their deaths and ambushing you!"
Only then did Tang San understand. Ling Chen had been warning him, and his expression immediately brightened.
Ling Chen couldn't see Tang San's face through his mask, but he had sensed a trace of killing intent from him just moments ago. He didn't care, though. Looting corpses was what mattered.
Half an hour later, Ling Chen won two more consecutive matches and left.
Compared to killing people in the Hell Slaughter Arena, he preferred killing them in the inner city. Then he could loot their corpses openly, without needing to put on a show for the King of Slaughter.
Ling Chen couldn't be sure the King of Slaughter hadn't noticed things that Tang San and the others had missed.
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