"Just take me straight to the Hell Slaughter Arena!"
Lu Xuan bluntly interrupted the Black Veil Woman's long-winded introduction.
He had no interest in standing here listening to Slaughter City's boring rules.
The Black Veil Woman froze briefly, not expecting Lu Xuan to have such a clear goal.
After all, most people who entered this place had committed heinous crimes outside.
They had no intention of ever leaving.
But she soon reined in her emotions, her gaze returning to the stillness of stagnant water.
She seemed accustomed to impatient newcomers like Lu Xuan.
"All right. This is the outer city. The Hell Slaughter Arena is in the inner city. Follow me."
Meanwhile, in the deepest reaches of Slaughter City.
Inside the towering palace shrouded year-round in dark red blood mist.
A breathtaking struggle was unfolding.
"Damn it! What's wrong with you, you rotten sword?!"
The King of Slaughter's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead.
His pale, withered hands gripped a blood-red longsword radiating an endless aura of slaughter.
On closer inspection, the sword's patterns and aura were exactly like those of Lu Xuan's Asura God Sword Martial Soul!
But this was the genuine Super Divine Artifact-the Asura God Sword!
Lu Xuan's Martial Soul was essentially a replica of the Asura God Sword.
It was not as powerful as the original, but it had all the abilities it should.
And just moments ago, this Super Divine Artifact, which had remained dormant in the King of Slaughter's hands, seemed to have received some powerful summons.
The blade trembled violently, erupting with dazzling bloody light, trying to fly off through the air beyond his control.
Only by exerting all his strength did the King of Slaughter barely manage to hold it back.
"I'm your master now! Stop it!" the King of Slaughter roared through gritted teeth.
He had no idea what had gone wrong with the Asura God Sword.
But by rights, he should have been fully capable of using it.
Although he was the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King parasitizing this body.
This body had genuinely passed eight of the Asura Nine Trials back then.
And he could inherit everything this body possessed.
He had been using it perfectly well for over a decade. Surely it couldn't suddenly stop letting him use it?
Asura God Sword: Ptooey! You impostor! I only let you use me these past few years out of respect for that body. I'm off to find my boss's successor!
"Clang!"
A clear, piercing sword cry suddenly rang out!
An incomparably brilliant blood-red sword light erupted from the Asura God Sword's blade.
Carrying supreme divine might that could sever all things, it swept straight across the King of Slaughter's wrist.
"Splurt!"
The King of Slaughter's hand, still gripping the hilt, was severed clean off at the wrist.
Blood sprayed wildly.
The Asura God Sword smashed through the palace dome with a crash, turning into a streak of light that shot straight into the sky.
It flew clear out of the great hall.
Asura God Sword: I'm gonna fly higher!
"Hiss!" The King of Slaughter frowned, enduring the excruciating pain as he clutched his severed wrist, which kept spraying blood.
Then the dark red blood flowing out transformed into countless bloody threads, forcibly pulling the fallen hand back.
It reattached to his wrist.
"Fuck! If I didn't think this sword was still useful, it would've already earned itself a death sentence!"
The King of Slaughter stared at the shattered dome, shock and fury showing in his eyes.
Elsewhere.
Lu Xuan was following the Black Veil Woman through the gloomy streets toward the Hell Slaughter Arena.
Suddenly, a shrill whistle tore through the air above Lu Xuan's head.
"Clang!"
An incomparably sharp sword cry echoed through the air.
"What is that?"
Lu Xuan looked up.
He saw a blood-red longsword radiating a terrifying aura.
It hovered silently above Lu Xuan's head, reining in its aura.
Seeming to notice Lu Xuan's attention, it even circled merrily around him with remarkable intelligence.
It scattered flecks of blood-colored light.
"This is... the real Asura God Sword!"
Lu Xuan recognized it at a glance. After all, its resemblance to his Martial Soul was nearly 99.999 percent.
If he couldn't even recognize this, would his Martial Soul run away from home?
Lu Xuan instinctively reached out, wanting to grasp its hilt.
But the Asura God Sword mischievously darted upward, refusing to let him touch it.
It simply insisted on following above his head.
Asura God Sword: Hands off! I'm just here to take a look at the new guy my boss has taken a liking to!
Seeing this, Lu Xuan could only helplessly let it follow above his head.
Still, wouldn't the Asura God Sword's behavior earn him the King of Slaughter's resentment?
The current King of Slaughter was that Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King, after all!
The Black Veil Woman, however, was another matter.
Panic now showed in her previously unruffled eyes.
As an envoy at the King of Slaughter's side, how could she fail to recognize that the sword hovering above Lu Xuan's head was the King of Slaughter's own sword?
The Black Veil Woman said nothing, merely quickening her pace in silence.
This child was far too strange.
After they passed through the oppressive streets, an extremely unusual cone-shaped building appeared before Lu Xuan.
The building's surface seemed dark red, like settled blood.
A thick stench of blood hit him in the face.
"Up ahead is the Hell Slaughter Arena, the very heart of Slaughter City!" The Black Veil Woman's calm voice came from behind her veil.
"Then can I sign up to compete right now?" Lu Xuan asked the woman ahead of him.
"Yes. You only need to register with your identity token. Once ten people have gathered, a match can begin," the Black Veil Woman said with a nod.
"There are no restrictions on entering, but if you want to win, you must kill all nine of the other contestants competing alongside you!"
"As long as you win one hundred matches here, you will qualify to challenge Hell Road. If you succeed, you can leave Slaughter City alive."
Lu Xuan already had a plan in mind.
Since Slaughter City only sealed the Soul Skills of Martial Souls without restricting the circulation of Soul Power.
Then couldn't he simply use Soul Tools?
As for his Soul Bone, it was far too conspicuous. Keeping it as a trump card was a good decision.
The metals he had purchased earlier, along with his Engraving Knife, were all stored in his storage Soul Tool.
He could spend some time outfitting himself with a full loadout of level 6 Soul Tools.
A fully equipped Level 6 Soul Engineer would be practically invincible here!
Next, Lu Xuan's goal was to find a place to stay.
As for the Black Veil Woman's earlier advice against a newcomer like him moving around the inner city.
He subconsciously tuned it out.
He had also found his temporary lodging, quite close to the Hell Slaughter Arena.
What? You wanted to know what price Lu Xuan paid for the house?
Perhaps it was the previous resident's head!
Before you continue