A single word-"Scram"-made Tang San shudder uncontrollably.
He had already been scarred by it.
Especially when faced with that look in Huo Yuhao's eyes, Tang San felt an indescribable sense of defeat and fear rise from the bottom of his heart.
Why had he come to Slaughter City?!
For some reason, Tang San felt that wherever he went, Huo Yuhao would appear like a ghost, targeting him at every turn.
Tang San simply could not figure out what he had done to offend him.
Was it really worth chasing him down to kill him?
It absolutely was, and this was only the beginning. Huo Yuhao planned to take very good care of Tang San in Slaughter City, making this journey of slaughter well worth his while.
"What are you staring at? Why haven't you scrammed yet?"
Huo Yuhao looked indifferently at Tang San's drastically changed expression and said coldly, "Don't think I won't recognize you just because you've changed your skin, Tang San!"
The moment those words fell.
Tang San and Hu Liena both shuddered.
What shocked Hu Liena was that the person she had been watching so often over the past month was actually Tang San of the Shrek Seven Devils from the Soul Master Tournament. How was that even possible?
Tang San, however, was even more terrified.
After awakening the Blue Silver Emperor, he no longer looked like the boy he had been during the Soul Master Tournament. Not only had his appearance changed, but he had deliberately concealed his origin aura in Slaughter City and had never once used the Blue Silver Grass martial soul that identified him.
How had Huo Yuhao recognized him?
The fear came from deep within.
It also stemmed from Huo Yuhao's mysteriousness. Tang San dared not hesitate any longer. Under the gazes of countless killers, he turned and headed straight for the outer city.
But just before Tang San left, his eyes turned exceptionally cold.
There was no need to think about it.
Huo Yuhao had, yet again and again and again and again, given him a reason to die.
"Yuhao!"
Only after Tang San left did Hu Liena come to her senses. She excitedly grabbed Huo Yuhao's arm, stars sparkling in her eyes. "Why did you come to Slaughter City too? Was it because of me?"
"I just happened to be passing through."
Huo Yuhao helplessly pulled free of Hu Liena's grasp and said calmly, "Train hard. Don't disappoint the Pope again."
Hu Liena: "..."
With that said.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the Black Veil Receptionist, signaling that she could continue leading him to the Hell Slaughter Arena.
A long while passed.
Only after Huo Yuhao left did Hu Liena snap out of her daze. She could not help muttering, "Liar! Then why did you help me? I know you don't like me, but you can't take away my right to like you."
Then Hu Liena quietly followed him.
A love-addled fool was still a love-addled fool.
Even the bloodshed of Slaughter City could not smother the stirrings of love in Hu Liena's heart.
Then again, who could blame her when her martial soul was a fox by nature? At least the person she liked now was Huo Yuhao, so she would not later become a traitor to Spirit Hall because of Tang San.
Being called love-addled in the future was better than being called an ungrateful wolf.
At that moment.
In a residence in Slaughter City.
The King of Slaughter slowly opened his eyes. Sensing the disturbance outside, a rare gleam appeared in his pupils, along with a trace of concern.
"This fellow's aura seems even more troublesome than those two!" As he spoke, the King of Slaughter kicked aside the Hell Messenger lying across his legs and stood up. In an instant, all the bloody energy throughout Slaughter City stirred, erupting with terrifying, surging power. "Get away! I'm no longer in the mood!"
The black-veiled maid trembled in fright.
She hurriedly knelt to one side.
Within Slaughter City, the King of Slaughter held absolute authority and was the sole ruler of this city of sin. His temper was also unpredictable. The black-veiled girl did not want to be wiped out just after arriving to serve him.
"Go! Notify the Slaughter Enforcement Squad."
The King of Slaughter gave the black-veiled girl a cold look, then ordered, "Leave those three completely alone, and make absolutely certain they are kept apart when lots are drawn for the Hell Slaughter Arena."
"Preferably, they'll fight among themselves in the outer city. It would be even better if one or two died. That way, even if those two come demanding an accounting, they won't be able to pin it on me."
At that thought, a bloodthirsty, sinister grin appeared on the King of Slaughter's face.
In Slaughter City.
Accompanied by the black-veiled guide, Huo Yuhao soon arrived outside the Hell Slaughter Arena.
"Are you certain you no longer need the twenty-four-hour protection period I granted you?" The black-veiled guide stared at Huo Yuhao in shock, confirming once again, "You want to enter the Hell Slaughter Arena and take the trial immediately?"
After all.
No fallen soul had ever entered Slaughter City, chosen to forgo protection, and gone straight into the Hell Slaughter Arena to participate in a trial. Even those two Slaughter Gods of years past had taken a long time to adapt to this place.
Who could have imagined that Huo Yuhao would need no adjustment period at all? Not only was he completely unaffected by Slaughter City's environment, but he even had the air of a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.
What a pity...
Such a handsome face might be buried here today.
No wonder Huo Yuhao was such a sucker for good looks.
This was Slaughter City. Even the black-veiled guide, steeped in the aura of slaughter, could not resist stealing a few extra glances at him. She even felt a regret that should never have arisen in her heart.
"Sign me up," Huo Yuhao said calmly.
"All right."
The black-veiled guide generally did not refuse a newcomer's requests. "Eight people have registered today. With you, we're only missing the last one. I've already explained the Hell Slaughter Arena's rules: ten people fight in each match, and only one can walk out alive."
"I hope I'll still see you in Slaughter City."
Only after making the arrangements did the black-veiled guide hand Huo Yuhao his Identity Token.
Huo Yuhao nodded, accepted the Identity Token without hesitation, then turned and entered the Hell Slaughter Arena.
The Hell Slaughter Arena was a black, conical building, broad at its base and tapering toward the top. It was built entirely from black stone, and its dim, gloomy interior had no decorations whatsoever.
At its center stood an enormous circular platform nearly a hundred meters in diameter. There were no railings or protective barriers around it, and the space between the platform and the stands was completely open.
The stands were also built from tiers of black stone, rising layer by layer around the entire circular platform. The Hell Slaughter Arena's overall layout resembled the enclosed Colosseum at Shrek Academy Ten Thousand Years Later.
As Huo Yuhao entered the Hell Slaughter Arena, the streets outside erupted into an uproar.
Hearing that a fallen soul had entered the Hell Slaughter Arena immediately upon arriving in Slaughter City, many of the city's fallen souls were stirred.
What reckless soul was bold enough to do that?
Before the final challenger had even registered, more and more fallen souls flooded into the Hell Slaughter Arena's stands after hearing the news. Among them were Hu Liena and Tang San, who had just left the city only to turn back.
Hu Liena had come after Huo Yuhao.
Tang San, meanwhile, had disguised himself and sneaked back in. His main purpose was to observe Huo Yuhao's true strength and fighting style in the Hell Slaughter Arena, preparing for any future need.
Likewise.
During Tang San's battles in the Hell Slaughter Arena over the past month, Hu Liena had watched from the stands several times. Presumably, she too was preparing for a possible confrontation.
Before long.
When the final fallen soul stepped into the Slaughter Trial Arena, the noise and chaos of the entire venue were abruptly cut off, as though seized by an invisible hand.
It was a man wrapped entirely in a black robe. Though his face could not be seen, every step he took seemed to land on the fallen souls' hearts, shaking those in the stands to their very cores.
"Ten... the Ten-Time Champion!"
Someone cried out the title in a trembling voice.