"Defeat me, and you can enter the City of Slaughter." The deep voice sounded extremely cold, seemingly not coming from a human. The speaker was the black-armored knight seated on his horse.
Qian Xunji didn't look at him, but instead focused his gaze on what lay behind them. What he saw was a black city. The thick black walls were extremely wide; it truly was a city, and above it hung a purple moon. The moon was very low, seemingly less than five hundred meters above the ground. Looking further up, everything was black, like the night itself.
"Are you sure?" Qian Xunji sneered.
The black-armored knight's voice remained cold, devoid of any human warmth. "Defeat me, and you will have the qualification to enter the City of Slaughter." The
black-armored knight slowly raised his long lance, and the black-armored warriors on either side of Qian Xunji slowly retreated, clearing a space.
"I am the Dread Knight Scott."
The warhorse suddenly accelerated, and the black-armored knight, exuding a chilling aura, charged straight at Qian Xunji.
A chilling aura permeated the air, and a chilling killing intent swept over them.
Qian Xunji frowned, as if sensing something, and then smiled faintly, saying, "Law suppression? That's perfect." Qian Xunji suddenly recalled the description of the Slaughter City recorded by the Spirit Hall.
The Slaughter City was the most peculiar place on the Douluo Continent, a melting pot of all sorts of people, a lawless and mysterious gray area, completely unrelated to the Soul Master factions. Here, strength reigned supreme; whoever came here, their fists spoke. Status and symbols were worthless; it was a sinful, lost paradise, an isolated underground world divided into an inner and outer city. Survival within it meant living in a world of slaughter, where there were no moral standards—a 'Shangri-La' that abnormal people could not accept or tolerate, a haven for fugitives.
It has existed for over a thousand years, a legendary domain left behind by a powerful Soul Master after breaking through to level 100. Here, the power of Soul Masters is suppressed by the laws, all Soul Master skills cannot be developed, and people can only survive by instinct and their own strength, with Soul Power serving as the source of power. Sects and factions are meaningless here; they are completely unrelated to Soul Master factions, and their existence neither strengthens nor weakens external forces.
Qian Xunji drew his ancient black sword, golden Soul Power surging into it. The ancient black sword hummed, seemingly drawn by Qian Xunji's aura, almost slipping from his grasp. As his strength increased, Qian Xunji's understanding of the sword's way deepened, and he had already grasped the rudiments of sword intent. Sword techniques were entirely at Qian Xunji's command; in other words, the sword was the embodiment of Qian Xunji's will.
Boom—
The warhorse neighed mournfully, its massive charge abruptly halted. A heavy lance, four meters long, soared into the air and flew far away.
The Dread Knight Scott was no longer on his horse; like his lance, he had been sent flying by the immense sword energy. His warhorse had been torn to shreds, vanishing without a trace.
The Dread Knight Scott slowly rose from the ground. The armor on his right hand, where he had gripped his lance, was completely shattered and scattered, as was the armor on his entire right arm. The muscles and bones of his right arm had also broken off.
Qian Xunji walked forward step by step, stopping in front of the Dread Knight Scott. He looked down at him with a meaningful gaze.
At this moment, the Dread Knight Scott's helmet had fallen off, revealing a狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) middle-aged face. His eyes held a hint of terror as he looked at Qian Xunji. Clearly, he hadn't expected the young man's attack to be so powerful and terrifying. Seeing Qian Xunji's meaningful gaze, he knew he was about to die, and slowly closed his eyes.
However, after a long while, there was no movement. Scott opened his eyes. Qian Xunji was already far away. He quickly asked, "You're not going to kill me?"
Qian Xunji replied, "You've followed the rules. I have no reason to kill you."
Scott knew he wouldn't have fared so well with anyone else, so he quickly tossed a black plaque to Qian Xunji, who caught it. The plaque was engraved with a skull and a number: 8848.
"This is your proof of entry into the City of Slaughter. Please enter; someone will guide you at the city gate," Scott said.
Qian Xunji was speechless. This number looked exactly like an advertisement he'd seen in his past life.
Clutching the plaque, Qian Xunji strode forward, gazing up at the purple moon. He thought to himself: City of Slaughter, here I come.
Watching Qian Xunji's retreating figure, Scott drew his sword and swung it down, severing his completely shattered right arm. Crimson blood splattered onto the black earth. The stench of blood filled the air.
The dark city gate exuded an oppressive atmosphere, and above the massive gate hung the four large characters: City of Slaughter.
Two rows of black-armored warriors stood silently before the gate. Before Qian Xunji could show his identification token, a woman veiled in black emerged.
"Welcome to the City of Slaughter," the woman said in a pleasant voice. She stepped aside before Qian Xunji and gestured for him to enter.
Entering the city, Qian Xunji was greeted by a world of blue and purple. The streetlights lining the streets emitted only these two colors. To his surprise, there were quite a few people here, and no one seemed to notice him, an outsider. Aside from the overall darkness, at first glance, it appeared no different from any other city.
"I am your guide. You can ask me anything you don't understand. I will answer all your questions within twelve hours. After twelve hours, this will be your home. You will officially become a member of the City of Slaughter."
"What are the rules here?" Qian Xunji asked.
The girl in black veil calmly said, "The rule here is that there are no rules. As a member of the City of Slaughter, you can do anything here. Even a Title Douluo from the outside world would be weakened here because their soul skills would disappear. And under the rule of the King of Slaughter, we have nothing to fear. In the City of Slaughter, as long as you have enough ability, you can do anything you want. But I must remind you. Precisely because there are no rules here, you may face deadly danger at any time. In a sense, this is a paradise of sin."
"A paradise of sin?"
"Yes. Many people come here because they cannot survive in the outside world and have no choice but to enter. After arriving here, they no longer need to worry about being hunted down. Every member of the City of Slaughter is protected by the City of Slaughter."
Qian Xunji didn't care about the protection claim. Since he could come here by force, it meant that any strong person could. Even without soul skills, he still had soul power. A Title Douluo was still the strongest among the strong here. Are the sinners here really safe?