After that, Luo Chen stayed in the inner city for three days. He signed up for the Hell Slaughter Arena and gave himself the name Lock.
Contestants could sign up themselves or be challenged. A win extended their right to reside in the city by a year; a loss made the question of residency moot. Each match had nine contestants, and only one could walk out alive. There were no draws, no surrenders, and no referees to call a halt.
The registration office was a stone chamber beside the Hell Slaughter Arena. There was a table and a chair, and an old man sat behind the table with a ledger in front of him. The old man glanced up at Luo Chen without asking any questions, wrote the two characters for "Lock" in the ledger, and handed him an iron token.
"Third match tomorrow morning." After saying that, the old man lowered his head and continued reading his ledger.
Luo Chen took the iron token and left the chamber. A number was engraved on it: seventeen. It wasn't a contestant number, but a match number. This would be the Hell Slaughter Arena's seventeenth match. He returned to his lodgings, placed the token on the table, and sat on the edge of the bed. The Kongming Bead rested quietly between his brows, neither hot nor glowing. The seventh notch on the Pocket Watch was still flashing at the same frequency.
"You can't use Soul Skills," the Evil Emperor's voice spoke up. "Have you thought about how you'll fight?"
"I'm the one who can't use Soul Skills, not my Soul Beasts."
"..."
Luo Chen didn't answer again. His Martial Soul was a Gulu Ball. Although he couldn't use any of its Soul Ring Skills, its Martial Soul Origin remained, and that was