Why Aren't You Laughing? Did You Laugh Your Head Off?

Qian Renxue's face looked as though she had stepped out of a comic. Paired with her nonchalant tone and swift, decisive violence, the contrast left everyone in the tavern frozen.

The waiter was closest and had also been splattered all over his face. Anger showed on his face. "Boss! Boss! Someone's causing trouble!"

A scar-faced brute slapped the table and sneered. "You're just drinking blood. Why be so fussy?"

"Haha, little girl, want something fresh? Come lick mine!"

"Beauty, I like that fiery temper!"

"What skill is there in a sneak attack? If you've got the guts, come have a real fight with me in bed!"

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) turned toward the patrons and their varied reactions, his golden eyes utterly cold.

Cheng Ran: Xiao Xue, did you hear what they said?

Qian Renxue: I did.

Cheng Ran: Mercy to your enemies is cruelty to yourself. Not one person who makes it here hasn't earned their death.

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) flung the Bloody Mary in his hand at the brute laughing the hardest.

The dark red liquid splashed across the brute's face.

The brute froze for an instant.

The next instant, five Soul Rings abruptly lit up beneath Qian Renxue's feet.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black-they shone dazzlingly in the dim tavern.

The Angel Blade formed in his palm, its platinum gleam flashing through the dim tavern.

It was like a bolt of lightning cleaving the darkness.

The raucous laughter cut off.

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) looked at the corpse of yet another decapitated brute. "Laugh. Why aren't you laughing? Did you laugh your head off?"

He then looked all around, before looking around sixteen more times. "Why isn't anyone laughing? Boring. None of you have a sense of humor!"

Only Qian Renxue offered enthusiastic support in his mind. "...Haha, haha, your joke was so funny, Lord Evil God."

Cheng Ran: "...Xiao Xue, you really don't have to."

The tavern instantly erupted into chaos.

Some drew blades, some backed away, and some tried to rush for the door.

But Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) moved far faster than they could react.

He activated his first Soul Skill, Angel Assault, his body becoming a blur as he crossed half the tavern in an instant.

The Angel Blade spun in his hand, every arc claiming a life.

Someone attacked from behind. His second Soul Skill, Angel Defense, activated, and a golden shield of light appeared out of thin air. The instant it blocked the blade, he slashed backward and slit the attacker's throat.

Using the newly created movement technique, Angel Saint Step, in skillful combination with his Soul Skills, he flitted through the tavern. Wherever the blade's light passed, no one survived.

It took only a few minutes from beginning to end.

Of the twenty-three patrons and three waiters in the tavern, not one remained alive.

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) stood amid the corpses and flicked the blood from his blade. The Angel Blade dissipated.

Clusters of white light that only they could see entered the body, sending their Soul Power surging upward.

Cheng Ran: Tsk, too weak. That wasn't satisfying, and so little experience.

Qian Renxue: Lord Evil God, these few moments have already matched a month of my seated cultivation.

Cheng Ran: O-fucking-kay, here's your body back.

Qian Renxue regained control of her body and took a deep breath.

Cheng Ran: Under the bar. Smash it open.

Qian Renxue walked over to the bar and discovered a hollow space beneath it.

She stamped down, collapsing the floor and revealing the pitch-black entrance to a tunnel.

Qian Renxue jumped inside and saw a dark passage extending downward, its depths invisible.

She followed the passage, a cold, sinister aura permeating the air.

At first, it was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person. After another thousand-odd steps, it suddenly opened up.

An icy voice rang out. "Slaughter City lies ahead. Halt, visitor. Set foot here, and all your desires may be fulfilled. The only stake required is your life."

At the end of the passage lay an open space.

A group of knights appeared before her, all clad in black armor, their faces completely concealed by helmets.

Their leader sat astride a tall warhorse, which was also covered in thick black armor.

He held a lance and looked down at Qian Renxue.

"You have broken the rules," his voice came from beneath his helmet, cold and chilling. "Then you must accept punishment. Defeat me, and you will qualify to enter Slaughter City."

"I am Terror Knight Scott."

Qian Renxue looked him over.

His Soul Power fluctuations were around Level 50.

Most importantly, she discovered that Soul Skills could not be used in this area, but Soul Bone Skills could.

But in Cheng Ran's eyes, this Terror Knight was fundamentally no different from the patrons in the tavern earlier.

Cheng Ran: An elite mob. Want to handle him yourself, or should I?

Qian Renxue: I'll do it myself.

Qian Renxue darted forward, the Angel Blade forming in her palm.

Scott thrust his lance at her, its tip tearing through the air straight toward her chest.

Qian Renxue sidestepped, the lance tip brushing past the hem of her clothes.

At the same time, her hand had already caught the shaft. Using a light touch to redirect its tremendous force, she pressed down and twisted.

Crack.

The lance snapped in two at the middle.

The Angel Saint Seizure I, Qian Renxue, created really works well!

Before Scott could react, Qian Renxue had already closed in and struck his breastplate with her palm.

Bang.

Scott and his horse slid backward several dozen feet, his breastplate caved in and blood pouring from his mouth.

He tumbled from the saddle and dropped to one knee. Struggling to raise his head, he fell silent for a few seconds before holding out an Identity Card to Qian Renxue.

"This is your proof of identity in Slaughter City. Please enter. Someone will receive you at the city gate."

Qian Renxue took the Identity Card and looked it over.

Number: 8567.

She put the Identity Card away and walked ahead.

A pitch-black city gate appeared before her, with the words "Slaughter City" hanging high above the enormous entrance.

Two rows of black-armored warriors stood silently before it.

A figure slowly emerged from inside the gate.

It was a woman in a black veil, her figure graceful and curvaceous, her voice pleasant and melodious.

"Welcome to Slaughter City."

Qian Renxue probed with her Spiritual Power. The face behind the black veil was lovely, but her eyes held a trace of deathly stillness that did not belong to the living.

The black-veiled woman said, "You may ask me about anything you do not understand. For twenty-four hours, I will answer all your questions. This is where you will live."

The black-veiled woman led Qian Renxue through the city gate.

A black city unfolded before her.

The thick black city walls were extremely broad, and a purple moon hung above the city.

The instant she stepped through the gate, she felt more clearly that the power of the Soul Rings within her had dimmed completely, and her sense of her Soul Skills had vanished.

But the Soul Power within her circulated as usual, flowing without cease.

Her Soul Bones' power remained unaffected. She could still fly, heal herself, and use the Angel Blade.

The Angel Cultivation Technique she had just created and comprehended depended even less on Soul Rings.

At the same time, another sensation surged up.

The killing intent permeating the city surged toward her from every direction, like countless needles boring into the gaps between her bones.

If ordinary people stayed too long, their minds would gradually be worn away until they became walking corpses.

But the moment the killing intent touched Qian Renxue's Soul Power, it was like snow falling into a furnace.

Angel Soul Power inherently possessed the power to purify and dissolve, naturally suppressing all evil energy.

The killing intent dissolved on contact with Angel Soul Power. The pure energy remaining after purification fed back into her, merging into her meridians and nourishing her Soul Power.

Others grew madder the longer they stayed in Slaughter City. Qian Renxue grew stronger.

Cheng Ran: How does it feel?

Qian Renxue: Wonderful. This place's killing intent seems to be feeding me of its own accord.

Cheng Ran: The Angel Martial Soul's most fundamental trait is purifying evil. The Angel Domain can negate all negative energy, including killing intent and death energy. It naturally counters the Divine Slaughter's Domain.

Slaughter City is filled with killing intent and evil accumulated over a thousand years. For others, it's hell. For you, it's a heaven-sent purification ground.

Cheng Ran: Every sinner you kill means another portion of evil purified by the Angel Martial Soul. Stopping slaughter with slaughter, cleansing sin through purification-this is the Angel God's core principle.

One of the Angel Nine Trials is called "Judge the Three Evils." The Angel God wields the Angel Holy Sword to pass judgment on evil, and the ninth Soul Skill, "Great Angel Judgment," follows this very path.

Every sinner you slay in Slaughter City will deepen your understanding of judgment. Nowhere is better suited than Slaughter City for you to level up.