The other black-armored knights, having recovered from their shock, unleashed dazzling soul skills or wielded their melee weapons to stab Qian Yuelong and the other black-armored knight, showing no regard for their companions' lives.

Qian Yuelong muttered "So ruthless." With a slight thought, golden light enveloped Qian Yuelong and the black-armored knight. A lotus phantom, like a thousand-petaled lotus with other gradient colors, covered the two of them, repelling all the dazzling soul skills or sharp cold weapon attacks.

"Buzz—"

Beneath the black veil, hidden beneath soft bangs, golden feather patterns shimmered with brilliance.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qian Yuelong, who had passively covered her martial soul, made several more cuts on the black-armored knight's arm, increasing the rate of blood loss.

The black-armored knight, watching helplessly as much of his blood was wasted, remained silent.

The phantom lotus, radiating a holy golden light, seemed to purify the air itself, making the black-armored knights, accustomed to being bathed in the aura of slaughter and blood, extremely uncomfortable.

"Captain, this..."

Finding himself unable to break through the defenses and even struggling to breathe, the black-armored knight turned to look at his captain.

The captain, with a stern face, put away his martial spirit and raised his hand to make a gesture.

The black-armored knights, who had been relentlessly attacking the lotus phantom just a moment ago, simultaneously withdrew their offensive and spurred their demonic horned horses away from the two figures.

About a minute later, the dreamlike lotus phantom dissipated, revealing a companion whose aura had weakened considerably, and a black-robed figure holding a whole cup of freshly brewed Yellow Spring Dew.

"Is the city entry fee settled?"

With her hands sticky, Qian Yuelong held the wine cup without changing her expression and used her spiritual power to push the wine cup toward the captain on the warhorse.

After receiving the city entry fee, the captain turned to his two companions, who spurred their horses forward, dismounted, and helped their weakened companion to the back.

The other black-armored knights, like their captain, spurred their horses to stand on the left and right sides, leaving a half-meter-wide passage in the middle.

This means that Qian Yuelong has been tacitly allowed to proceed.

Unperturbed as she entered the city, Qian Yuelong took out a small water bottle from her soul tool in front of them, poured water on her hands to wash away the bloodstains, and finally took out a handkerchief to carefully wipe her slender fingers.

The black-armored knights: "..."

If you can't stand it now, won't you be even more unable to stand it after you go to the city?

The captain, who had been watching Qian Yuelong wash her hands for quite some time without her ever coming to him, was speechless.

He pulled out a black plaque engraved with a skull and numbered in red paint, and couldn't help but urge it aloud: "This is your proof of entry into the Killing City. After entering the city, someone will be there to guide newcomers at the city gate."

Finally, having washed the blood off her hands, Qian Yuelong destroyed the handkerchief with satisfaction, ruthlessly threw away the small water bottle, and finally moved her dignified legs, walking forward along the passage cleared by the black-armored knights. She took the token handed to her by the captain, entered the city, and disappeared into the fog that had somehow thickened.

......

The city gate was jet black, somber and oppressive, with hints of dark brown mixed in.

The four large black and red characters “City of Slaughter” are hung directly above the city gate, which is more than 30 meters high.

Two rows of black-armored knights, dressed no differently than those outside the city, stood silently guard inside the city.

"Welcome to the City of Slaughter."

A cheerful female voice drifted into my ears.

It sounded exactly like the voice Qian Yuelong heard in the tunnel.

She glanced to the side and saw a woman wearing a black veil and a black fishtail dress standing not far away, bowing slightly to her and making a "please" gesture.

Qian Yuelong twirled the black plaque in her hand and then tucked it into her sleeve.

The woman in the black dress led Qian Yuelong toward the city center.

"For the next twelve hours, I will be your guide and answer all your questions. After twelve hours, this will be where you live. You will officially become a member of the Killing City."

The streetlights hanging on both sides of the road cast a murky blue-purple light, and figures wearing cloaks huddled in the darkness.

It felt like stepping into a dirty and chaotic red-light district, where the ground, covered in black moss, even revealed unidentified bits of meat or pieces of grayish bone.

Violence, robbery, and killing are the rules of survival here.

Feeling the gazes of several people, Qian Yuelong hid herself in the shadow cast by her veil.

Those gazes seemed to be assessing the value of the goods, or perhaps judging which part of the food to start eating, causing a physiological discomfort.

"Please feel free to ask me anything else you'd like to ask."

The woman in the black dress seemed oblivious to the brutality unfolding on both sides of the road and in the shadowy corners, her gaze sweeping over the scene as calmly and indifferently as if she were looking at a leaf blown by the wind.

Qian Yuelong lowered her eyes and asked softly, "Where do the people in the City of Slaughter come from?"

"Them? They must be from all over the world. Many of them come here because they can't survive in the outside world, so they have no choice but to enter. Every member of the Killing City is protected by the Killing City."

“Those who are not recognized by the King of Slaughter cannot use their soul skills. Even titled Douluo will become weaker after coming here because their soul skills disappear. Of course, besides those who have nowhere else to turn, there are also those who have been expelled and are down on their luck, or those who want to purely seek the thrill of killing, and there are also... probably people like you.”

The woman in the black dress gazed at a few strands of black hair peeking playfully from under her veil, answering with a smile while a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes.

Possessing such pure power... how could she have black hair?

"But many people like you, once they come in, can't get out. This place becomes the final stage of their life's trials."

The words were both a warning and a veiled expression of schadenfreude, which was met with a curt "Oh" from Qian Yuelong, and that was the end of it.

Seeing that she had not stirred up Qian Yuelong's emotions, the woman in the black dress stopped talking, somewhat bored, and continued to introduce the rules and architecture of the Killing City to Qian Yuelong, finally stopping in front of the gate of an arched building.

"It's important to remind you that the rule in the Killing City is that strength reigns supreme. Everything can be determined by one's own strength, including the right to speak, the right to buy and sell, and the right to reside."

The woman in the black dress concealed the doubt in her eyes and stopped in front of the door of an arched building.

"This is a paradise of sin, where absolute power reigns supreme."

"Next, we will introduce you to the Hell Slaughter Field."

Unlike the large battle arenas set up in various parts of the continent, and unlike the spirit hall's venom-breeding style battle arenas.

In a chaotic battle where soul power levels are not differentiated, the only outcome for those who fail in the Hell Slaughter Arena is death.

To leave the Killing City, one must win 100 matches in the Hell Killing Arena to qualify for the Hell Road challenge. Passing through the Hell Road will allow one to leave the Killing City.

Every battle was a life-or-death struggle, completely different from the petty skirmishes outside the city gates.

This is not a battle that Qian Yuelong can end simply by showing mercy.

"...It's cruel, but there's nothing we can do about it. The battlefield is a game of life and death."

The woman in the black dress detected no pity or anger in Qian Yuelong's words.

She had expected this pampered young lady, who seemed to be from that place, to feel cruel and indignant, but to her surprise, she was calm, showing only a faint regret, without any fear whatsoever.

This is in stark contrast to the sheltered, pampered image she portrays in her profile.

The person in front of me is definitely not a simple character.

The woman in the black dress stared intently at the man in the black robe whose face was concealed.