Standing in the spectator stands, Tianlin casually found a seat. It had been a long time since he'd watched such a frenzied slaughter. Perhaps he could glean something from the Slaughter Battles.
That was his initial thought, but the bloody scenes he'd imagined didn't materialize.
Of the ten people on the killing field, nine were practically useless—trembling, faces full of fear.
Some were even pale as ghosts, obviously from excessive blood loss.
This battle wasn't so much a Slaughter Battle as it was a massacre, with the remaining person easily butchering the other nine.
"Heh, wonder how today's fresh blood tastes. Let me try!" The last man licked his blade, which glowed green with obvious poison—his martial soul. So, at least there was no farcical scene of him poisoning himself.
"No, spare us, please!" Several people knelt, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Tianlin frowned. Something was off. Normally, anyone daring to enter the Hell Slaughter Arena would be prepared to die. Who would kneel before the fight even started?
Besides, what's the point of begging for mercy? In the Hell Slaughter Arena, there is only life and death—no victory or defeat.
As expected, the blood-blade soul master showed no mercy and slaughtered everyone.
"Contestant #9182, congratulations on your 92nd consecutive win in the Hell Slaughter Arena!" announced the manager.
"Even someone like this can win 92 times? Has the Slaughter City really fallen this far?" Tianlin was speechless. That blood-blade soul master was decent, but far from outstanding.
Back when Tianlin reached 70 consecutive wins here, even his weakest opponent was stronger than that guy.
He immediately realized someone was manipulating the arena. No wonder there were so few people in the outer city. If he was right, they were being forced by the King of Slaughter to compete.
These people lived in the outer city to avoid the Slaughter Battles, scraping by on Bloody Mary. Weak in combat, sickly from lack of sunlight and blood loss, their spirits were at rock bottom. Stepping into the arena was like serving themselves up as fodder.
The purpose was obvious: let people quickly reach 100 wins and earn the title of Slaughter God, so they could freely enter and exit Slaughter City.
In fact, it wasn't necessary to pass the Hell Road. Back then, the King of Slaughter invited both Tianlin and Hu Liena, after their 100 wins, to become Slaughter City guests, letting them come and go freely without the Hell Road trial.
So, 100 wins is the true key to Slaughter City—a rule set by the God of Asura.
"Seems that while the God of Asura's divine power here has been erased, his rules remain unbreakable, probably because the Asura Domain still exists," Tianlin muttered.
"You're absolutely right. As long as the Asura Domain remains, no one can break his rules. Without 100 wins, all soul rings are forever suppressed by the domain's power and can't be used." A deep voice sounded behind Tianlin.
He didn't turn around—he already knew who it was.
"King of Slaughter, you're here in person to greet me?"
It was indeed the King of Slaughter. After the black-veiled girl reported Tianlin's arrival, he rushed over.
"Heh, the Sword Asura returns to Slaughter City—I must give you a proper welcome," the King of Slaughter said, standing beside Tianlin. "But after that, please leave immediately. You're no longer welcome here."
"Ordering me to leave my own domain—aren't you a bit too optimistic?" Tianlin retorted.
"Your domain?" the King of Slaughter snapped. "This is my city! Don't think that just because you passed the Hell Road, you control Slaughter City!"
Tianlin turned, revealing the Asura Sword mark on his forehead. "You recognize this, don't you? I'm the inheritor of the God of Asura, the next Asura God. Slaughter City was created by the Asura God. So why can't I call it mine?"
"It's you people who are stirring trouble in my domain. You've even colluded with outsiders to expel the Asura God's divine sense, trying to steal the city. Not so easy."
"So, you're here to reclaim what's rightfully yours?" the King of Slaughter's gaze turned cold. He knew things wouldn't end peacefully.
Tianlin met his gaze without fear. "Of course. I won't let you abuse the power here any longer. King of Slaughter, I know why you rigged the 100-win Slaughter God titles—to let them acquire your Deathgod Domain and leave the city to do others' dirty work. But I'm curious: what has the Evil Sword Immortal offered you—or rather, the Rakshasa God—to make you cooperate?"
Whether it was the Fallen Angel incidents or the Slaughter Gods going to massacre villages, the Evil Sword Immortal was involved. But the Evil Sword Immortal, despite being strong, still needed to grow. He couldn't have expelled the Asura God's divine sense alone; he must have allied with another Slaughter City god—the Rakshasa God.
The King of Slaughter, once Tang Chen, had taken the Asura God's trial. But his body was possessed by the Blood-red Nine-headed Bat King, a pawn of the Rakshasa God. Now, all Asura power was gone, and the Bat King served the Rakshasa God, just as Tianlin expected.
The King of Slaughter was shocked.
How much does this Sword Asura know? The Evil Sword Immortal's partnership with the Rakshasa God is a secret—no one else knows, and I never told anyone!
"You're impressive—figuring out the truth by deduction. Not only strong, but wise, just like Ning Fengzhi, the most brilliant Seven Treasures Glazed Sect master. His descendant has clearly inherited that wisdom," said the King of Slaughter coldly, his killing intent rising. "But since you know so much, I don't need to receive you further. You won't leave Slaughter City alive!"