Hell Slaughter Arena

"Welcome to Slaughter City. This is the capital of hell, a world steeped in slaughter. Here, you can have anything you desire. The price is your life."

A cavalry unit appeared ahead of Tang Chen.

The man at its head wore blood-red armor.

He rode a chestnut horse, which was also clad in blood-red armor.

"You have broken the rules of Slaughter City." A cold voice that scarcely sounded human came from within the armor.

The speaker was the blood-red knight at the front.

Tang Chen paid him no mind. After all, he was only a gatekeeper for Slaughter City.

Tang Chen looked straight past him at the black city beyond.

Its thick black walls stretched wide. It really was a city, and a purple moon hung above it. The moon was so low it seemed less than five hundred meters from the ground. Higher still, everything was black, as though night filled the sky.

Seeing Tang Chen ignore him, the blood-red knight repeated in the same flat voice, "You have broken the rules of Slaughter City."

Tang Chen did not care. "So I have. What are you going to do about it?"

The knight's voice remained unchanged, as though he had not heard a word Tang Chen said.

"Then you must accept your punishment. Defeat me, and you may enter Slaughter City. Otherwise, die!"

Tang Chen picked at his ear. "Mm. More or less how I remembered it."

Then he said to the blood-red knight, "Come on!"

The knight raised his blood-red spear. The other riders scattered, clearing a space for their leader.

"I am Stankang, a Slaughter Knight. Prepare to die!"

Stankang spurred his horse forward, charging at Tang Chen with an overwhelming air of slaughter.

Tang Chen thought so little of him that he did not even summon his Martial Soul. He met Stankang's charge with his bare fist.

Boom!

Under the terrifying force of Tang Chen's punch, the warhorse was flattened like a pancake, while Stankang was sent flying.

He crashed to the ground, his fate unknown.

The other knights saw their leader knocked out and dared not approach. They could only watch Tang Chen walk toward Slaughter City.

Tang Chen took a numbered token from Stankang.

"1314."

Tang Chen was quite pleased with the number.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he strolled into Slaughter City like an old man out for a walk.

The pitch-black city gate felt oppressively forbidding. High above its massive doors hung four characters: Slaughter City.

As he approached, a woman dressed in black emerged from within.

She came forward at once. "Welcome to Slaughter City." She extended a hand, signaling the two armored guards at the entrance to open the gate.

Then she gestured for him to enter.

Tang Chen followed her into Slaughter City's outer district.

Inside, he found a world of blue and violet. The lamps hanging along both sides of the street gave off only those two colors of light.

There were plenty of people, but no one paid the newcomer any attention.

Apart from the gloom that shrouded everything, at first glance it seemed no different from an ordinary city.

"I am your guide. You may ask me about anything you do not understand. For the next twenty-four hours, I will answer all your questions. After that, this will be your home, and you will officially become a member of Slaughter City."

The woman in black explained this to Tang Chen.

Having read the original story, Tang Chen knew most things about Slaughter City, though what he knew concerned the city a century later.

"How can I leave Slaughter City?" he asked.

The woman in black was astonished.

"Why would you want to leave Slaughter City? You only just arrived."

Tang Chen had no intention of explaining. "Answer my question," he said coldly.

Daunted by his commanding manner, the woman nodded hurriedly. "Only a champion of the Hell Slaughter Arena earns the right to challenge Hell Road. You can leave Slaughter City only after passing through Hell Road."

Tang Chen nodded. It was exactly as he remembered.

The woman continued, "There is no currency in Slaughter City. All food and drink are provided free of charge, though they may be poisoned. Here, the dead are the most valuable. People measure their strength by the number of skulls they possess. The blood and skulls of opponents you kill yourself can be traded for other goods."

Tang Chen had heard enough of her chatter.

"Take me to the Hell Slaughter Arena," he said.

The woman in black paused. "Are you certain? Fewer than one in ten people who enter come out alive. It is also where Slaughter City loses the most people. Everyone is required to enter the Hell Slaughter Arena only once a year. Survive a single match, and you may live in Slaughter City for another year."

Tang Chen nodded and said nothing more.

The woman in black seemed to recognize his resolve.

"In that case, follow me." She nodded and headed farther into the city.

As they neared the inner district, all manner of monsters and fiends came crawling out.

A skeletal old man let out a strange, cackling laugh.

"What a tender little brat. Fresh Bloody Mary has arrived."

The hideous sight made Tang Chen's stomach turn.

He summoned the Clear Sky Hammer and flattened the old man with a single blow.

"Random killing is forbidden in Slaughter City's outer district," the woman in black told Tang Chen. "You are still under newcomer protection, so this mistake will be overlooked once. After that protection ends, another offense like this will be punished by the King of Slaughter."

Tang Chen curled his lip, unconcerned.

Who does the King of Slaughter think he is? The current King of Slaughter isn't possessed by the Bloody Nine-Headed Bat. Even with Divine Slaughter's Domain, he probably couldn't beat me unless he's a Titled Douluo above level ninety-six.

With that thought, Tang Chen cared even less about Slaughter City's rules.

Soon, they entered the inner district, and Tang Chen immediately sensed how different it was from the outer district.

The inner district brimmed with luxury and madness absent from the outer district. Its inhabitants had long since gone mad.

They were like a pack of wild beasts.

Following the woman in black, Tang Chen soon reached the heart of Slaughter City.

"Come. The Hell Slaughter Arena is just ahead—the heart of Slaughter City."