This was Slaughter City.
The stench of blood mingled with rust and rot, permeating every corner of the Hell Slaughter Arena.
The heavy black stone walls were splattered with dark brown bloodstains. Some had already congealed into scabs, while others still slowly dripped down through the cracks.
Ten figures fought savagely in the center of the arena. There was no radiance of Soul Skills, no clash of Soul Power—only the most primitive, brutal hand-to-hand combat. The wet sounds of blades piercing flesh, the sharp cracks of breaking bones, and the death wails of the dying formed Slaughter City's eternal refrain.
"Kill him! Kill him!"
A burly, bare-chested man roared, swinging a blood-soaked axe as he chopped toward a boy in the corner who looked no older than eleven or twelve.
The boy wore coarse clothes faded white from washing. He still held half of a half-eaten meat bun in his hand, and a guileless smile rested on his face. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary farm child who had wandered into hell by mistake.
Yet just as the axe was about to split his skull, the boy flicked his wrist, and the remaining half of the bun shot out like a cannonball, striking the burly man squarely between the brows.
"Bang—!"
With a dull boom, the man's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, spraying red and white matter across the ground.
The boy dusted the crumbs from his hands, pulled another steaming bun from his storage pouch, and took a huge bite. Mumbling through his mouthful, he said, "I told you not to interrupt me while I'm eating. You just wouldn't listen."
His name was Li Pu, and his martial soul was Bun Thunder.
He was a food-type soul master who should have been hiding behind his teammates