First Kill

Persuaded by Su Yun Tao, Yang Wudi felt an instant sense of relief. The two changed into their Martial Soul Hall uniforms and walked into a tavern in the center of the small town.

The air inside the tavern was incredibly thick. Su Yun Tao noticed that all the decorations were uniformly black; despite the clear sky outside, stepping inside brought an immediate sense of cold, suffocating darkness.

Su Yun Tao and Yang Wudi found a seat in the corner, and a waiter dressed in black with an indifferent expression walked over.

"What will you two have?"

Yang Wudi slapped several Gold Soul Coins onto the table. "Two glasses of Bloody Mary, and bring us a few side dishes."

The waiter took the coins, looking intrigued. "Are you sure?"

Yang Wudi replied with disdain, "I don't like wasting words."

A moment later, two glasses of murky liquid were served. The liquid was dark red and emitted a thick, pungent, fishy odor, as stinging as fresh blood.

Su Yun Tao knew that the so-called Bloody Mary was actually human blood. Rather than nauseate himself, he took a jar of strong liquor and some dried meat from his storage Soul Tool.

Before coming to Slaughter City, he had prepared a large supply of clean food and drink. Since water could not be stored for long, he had replaced it with strong liquor, and since fresh meals would spoil, he had brought dried meat and cured bacon instead.

"Little monster, aren't you going to drink?"

Su Yun Tao shook his head. "I don't want to disgust myself."

"Where did this greenhorn come from? Get back home!"

"Can't even stomach a glass of Bloody Mary and you dare to come here? Ha! Go home and find your mother to nurse!"

All sorts of filthy insults reached Su Yun Tao's ears, but he seemed completely unaffected. In his eyes, these villains who weren't even qualified to enter Slaughter City weren't worth a second thought.

"Old Yang, let's just eat. No need to pay these scumbags any mind."

As soon as these words left his mouth, the desperate thugs in the tavern flew into a rage. A burly man instantly drew a machete and swung it with all his might at Su Yun Tao's back.

Su Yun Tao remained calm and composed. He picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table and flicked them lightly. To the man's horror, the chopstick pierced his throat, carrying a spray of filthy blood as it pinned him to the tavern wall.

Su Yun Tao picked up his wine cup and drained it in one gulp. His stomach was churning, but he maintained his composure through sheer willpower. Although he felt no moral burden, killing for the first time was still difficult to process calmly.

Seeing this, Yang Wudi ate and drank in silence; he could tell that Su Yun Tao was undergoing a form of self-baptism.

At this moment, there were eighteen people in the tavern, including the waiter and the two of them.

Looking at the calm Su Yun Tao, who had his back turned to them, the group of outlaws felt something else besides fear.

"Kill him!" These outlaws were all ruthless individuals. In their eyes, having insulted Su Yun Tao, they had no way back; they had to seize the moment and finish him off to have any chance of survival.

Su Yun Tao looked at the seventeen people drawing various weapons, his brow furrowing slightly.

Immediately after, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black—five spirit rings lit up.

Accompanied by a thunderous wolf howl, not one of the seventeen thugs was spared; all of them died in terror at the hands of Su Yun Tao.

In that brief instant, having killed eighteen people, Su Yun Tao's eyes turned slightly red, but he quickly shifted his focus, using his powerful mental regulation to return to normal.

Su Yun Tao began to devour the food on the table with a hint of greed. Although the act of killing hadn't consumed much energy, his inner turmoil had been intense, so he ate heavily to replenish his energy and accelerate the calming of his mind.

The waiter in the tavern did not panic at the sight of a dozen corpses. She was as calm as Su Yun Tao, seemingly accustomed to the sight of bodies littering the floor.

A long while later, Su Yun Tao finished the last piece of dried meat and the final drop of liquor in the jar.

"Lead the way."

The waiter laughed. "You think killing a few people is enough to enter Slaughter City? You didn't even dare to drink a glass of Bloody Mary; I'm afraid you'll wet your pants once you enter, ha!"

Su Yun Tao smiled faintly, suddenly rose, and grabbed the waiter by the throat.

The waiter struggled desperately, but how could she be a match for Su Yun Tao? As time passed, her face turned purple, and her struggles grew weaker.

"You should be grateful that I never wish to kill the innocent! And I especially dislike laying hands on women!"

The insolent female waiter was tossed onto the floor by Su Yun Tao.

"Cough, cough!" The waiter clutched her throat, trying her best to lower her voice.

She looked at Su Yun Tao as if he were a demon; she had experienced the taste of death firsthand at his hands.

"Kill, kill, kill..." The female waiter coughed frantically, her survival instinct driving her to reveal the entrance to Slaughter City.

In truth, he no longer needed her. With his spiritual power fully unleashed, Su Yun Tao had already detected the anomaly behind the bar.

He approached the counter and tapped it lightly. To the waiter's ghost-like expression, the bar cracked from top to bottom and shattered, revealing the entrance hidden beneath.

Su Yun Tao looked back at Yang Wudi, then leaped into the pitch-black entrance. Yang Wudi held his Soul Breaking Spear, guarding the rear in the tavern, and only after receiving a clear signal from Su Yun Tao did he leap into the entrance of Slaughter City.

When that familiar figure appeared in Yang Wudi's field of vision again, Su Yun Tao was standing on a vast open ground, with several armored corpses lying at his feet.

"Old Yang, let's go!" Su Yun Tao smiled slightly and strode forward.

"Sigh! Once we go in, the only way out is through Hell Road!" Yang Wudi sighed as he followed Su Yun Tao's pace.

"Welcome to Slaughter City!" A young woman wearing a black veil said indifferently in front of the gates of Slaughter City, flanked by two rows of Death Knights in black armor.

Su Yun Tao nodded, not bothering to converse further with the Black-Veiled Woman, and strode forward.

"You two! Where are your waist tokens?"

Su Yun Tao asked, "What waist tokens?"

"At the entrance to our Slaughter City, a group of knights gives newcomers waist tokens."

Su Yun Tao's expression turned strange as he pointed to the corpses in the distance. "Are those the knights you speak of?"

The Black-Veiled Woman looked in the direction Su Yun Tao pointed, only to see a group of knights lying neatly on the ground.

"Insolent!" The surrounding Death Knights were enraged, surrounding Yang Wudi and Su Yun Tao.

A cold sneer appeared on the corner of Yang Wudi's mouth as he released his Spirit Douluo-level pressure, forcing these so-called knights to their knees one by one.