"I've seen enough. These Evil Soul Masters have shown most of their tricks, and whatever they've got hidden won't make much difference."
Xu Yang observed as the victorious Evil Soul Masters below absorbed the soul power from the corpses around them, their expressions akin to addicts getting a fix. He stood up slowly and made his way to the front desk of the Hell Slaughter Arena. Lightly tapping the counter, he placed his token on the table and said to the scantily clad attendant, "Please register me for the next match."
The attendant glanced at Xu Yang, then silently collected the token and recorded his details before returning it to him.
Xu Yang slipped the token into his storage soul tool, turned, and headed toward the stage, waiting for his next opponents. Before long, nine others took the stage. Their eyes were blood-red, glinting like starved wolves as they locked onto Xu Yang. In their eyes, this newcomer was nothing more than a lamb to be slaughtered.
"So they really think I'm just prey."
A cold gleam flashed in Xu Yang's eyes as the thick Sun soul power coursed through his meridians. His Sun Martial Soul appeared, radiating dazzling golden light behind him, illuminating the entire Hell Slaughter Arena. Even the previously murky air seemed to clear in that instant.
The nine Evil Soul Masters were visibly stunned. No one in Slaughter City exuded such an aura of light. But their shock quickly turned into mocking grins. After all, element-type Tool Spirits relied heavily on soul skills, and without soul rings, they were as good as crippled.
Xu Yang's lips curled into a faint smile as twin Tang Blades made of refined steel appeared in his hands. With a sudden movement, he lunged at the nine attackers.
He didn't use his soul bone because exposing a soul bone in Slaughter City was extremely dangerous. While soul skills were prohibited, soul bone abilities were not. Possessing a soul bone could greatly amplify one's combat strength, but revealing one was like wearing a death warrant—drawing attention and sparking a bloodbath. Thus, soul bones were both a trump card and a death trap.
The nine opponents attacked from different angles, wielding various weapons. Xu Yang remained unnervingly calm. He activated Cloud Treading Step, his feet springing like coiled steel. In an instant, he was before one opponent.
In the next moment, his right-hand Tang Blade cleaved the man's head clean off. He'd chosen this more effortful approach rather than a simple throat slash because during his observations, he'd noticed that Evil Soul Masters often refused to die immediately from such injuries, instead choosing to perish alongside their attacker.
Simultaneously, his left hand unleashed a ripple of Sun soul power through the Tang Blade, sending several other enemies flying. His right-hand blade disappeared, replaced by a soul tool pistol, which he fired without hesitation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!...
After eight shots, only three remained standing—including Xu Yang. It wasn't mercy on his part; the survivors were all Soul Emperors and a Soul Sage, their heightened senses allowing them to react just in time to evade the bullets.
Though Xu Yang's soul power was somewhat lacking compared to them, his physical strength and mental fortitude far surpassed anyone present. Years of intentional body tempering and mental training, coupled with the absorption of two soul bones and the enhancement of two Immortal Herbs—Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower and Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew—had made him far stronger than the rest.
"Sure enough, a third-grade soul tool pistol's firepower is too weak. The bullet speed and impact just aren't enough."
Glancing at the pistol in his hand, Xu Yang sighed softly, deciding to upgrade it later. With a flick of his wrist, the pistol vanished, replaced once more by a Tang Blade. He turned his gaze to the three cautious survivors, his eyes flashing with killing intent, then shot forward like lightning.
Under the Sun Martial Soul's effect, the blade was wreathed in fiery red-gold flames. The sword techniques he'd learned from Chen Xin's Seven Kill Sword evolved into devastating blade strikes. His masterful blade movements disarmed the two Soul Emperors with ease, slicing off their heads.
However, his right shoulder was also slashed deeply by the Soul Sage's giant sword.
Xu Yang stamped his foot to create distance, glancing at the gash on his right shoulder. Thankfully, it was not deep—only cutting through skin and some muscle without touching bone or tendons, leaving his combat ability intact.
With his healing techniques, he could fully recover in two days at most. Still, he couldn't afford further injuries, especially ones that would impair his combat strength.
In Slaughter City, the most dangerous moment wasn't inside the Hell Slaughter Arena but during the vulnerable phase after victory, while exiting the arena. Xu Yang had already seen several Evil Soul Masters ambushed and killed for this reason within a single day.
As he retreated, the Soul Sage channeled vast amounts of soul power into his giant sword. With a forceful stomp, he leapt into the air and unleashed a mighty vertical slash. In life-and-death battles like this, flashy techniques were pointless; the simplest moves were often the deadliest.
Xu Yang's twin blades met the descending sword head-on, surging with Sun soul power.
Clang!
A metallic ring echoed as the Soul Sage was blasted backward, his arms trembling from the tremendous force transmitted through his blade. In the shocked gazes of the onlookers, the Soul Sage was completely overpowered by a mere Soul Ancestor.
Xu Yang's blades shimmered with radiant light, the blade aura blazing like the midday sun.
Though his movements seemed simple, they carried a profound precision—both swift and fatal. In the blink of an eye, Xu Yang's strikes left over a dozen wounds on the Soul Sage's body. His enemy wanted to evade, to counter, but his vision blurred and suddenly he felt his view drop as his body fell apart into dozens of pieces.
Before the Soul Sage's head rolled far, Xu Yang stomped on it, crushing it like an eggshell.
This brutal and ruthless method of combat drew a collective gasp from the spectators. While killings in the Hell Slaughter Arena were a daily occurrence, no one had ever chosen to dismember an opponent so thoroughly. In that moment, everyone understood—No. 9416 was a monster.
As the last Soul Sage fell, the soul power from the nine corpses surged toward Xu Yang's body. Without hesitation, he absorbed it all, refining it within himself. However, he could feel that more than 90% of the soul power was being siphoned away by the Hell Slaughter Arena itself.
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