Chapter 108: What Are You Pretending If You Can

After Li Xuan entered the secret passage, he immediately took out several lanterns made from Starfire Fruit, activated them, and in an instant the entire passage was filled with light.

As the dazzling light illuminated the whole corridor, Li Xuan, using the glow, curiously surveyed the tunnel ahead; the tunnel was narrow and long, and although the Starfire Fruit's radiance was strong, it could not reach the far end.

Both sides of the tunnel were walls hewn by hand, bare and without any murals, only marks left from the excavation; since there was no valuable information, Li Xuan withdrew his gaze.

Then Li Xuan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sensed the toxin level in the air; unsurprisingly, the tunnel's air contained even more toxins, and they were more intense.

In other words, the closer one gets to the City of Slaughter, the richer and more aggressive the airborne toxins become.

"A normal person here would go mad in less than two days, let alone those who have lived in the City of Slaughter for a while; perhaps drinking Bloody Mary could alleviate these toxin symptoms," Li Xuan said after sensing the surrounding air, furrowing his brows and pondering.

The thought of encountering those madmen in the future made Li Xuan's head throb.

But having come this far, there was no turning back, so Li Xuan could only carry the lantern and continue forward along the tunnel.

After an uncertain amount of walking, a voice suddenly echoed from all directions.

"Welcome to the City of Slaughter, the capital of Hell, a world steeped in killing; here you can obtain anything, but the price is your life."

Listening to the hoarse, icy voice, Li Xuan merely smiled and shook his head; such a childish charade at the gate of the City of Slaughter shows how strong the Slaughter King's twisted taste is.

Li Xuan did not stop, kept walking forward, and after a short while a bend suddenly appeared.

After the turn, a massive bronze gate stood before him.

The bronze gate ahead was three meters tall, its surface covered in a thick green patina, looking as if it had stood for ages.

The gate's surface bore simple yet grand carvings; having already reached the City of Slaughter with nothing urgent to attend to, Li Xuan decided to pause and examine the pattern closely.

After careful observation and analysis, Li Xuan thought the design resembled a mural depicting humans sacrificing a special bat.

His first thought was the Dark Golden San Tou bat from the Hell Slaughter Arena, and the gate's illustration likely recorded that creature.

"Will there be a little brother behind the bronze gate?" Li Xuan wondered, then slowly pushed the gate open.

"Creak…" A friction sound followed as the gate slowly opened.

Upon opening the gate, a squad of heavy infantry clad entirely in black armor greeted him; these well‑equipped troops wielded heavy swords, their bodies encased in black plate, with even their faces exposed.

The black‑armored soldiers stood on both sides, upright and poised, as if awaiting Li Xuan's arrival.

Li Xuan thought for a moment, stepped out of the tunnel, and stood in the midst of the black‑armored troops.

Suddenly, a black‑armored knight on horseback leisurely approached Li Xuan, pointing a long lance, and a cold Killing Qi surged toward him.

"You have violated the rules…" the voice was cold and hoarse, full of oppression.

However, Li Xuan paid no mind to the fellow; in the original, this guy seemed to be called some Terror Knight, never even faced Tang San, and his combat ability was indeed rather weak.

"What's the matter? Did the entrance to the City of Slaughter get burned clean by me?" Li Xuan raised an indifferent eyebrow and asked the black‑armored rider. He hadn't done many things out of line, so the black knight was probably referring to this incident.

"The Xuexing Jiuguan and twenty‑three properties of the town were incinerated; your flame is unique—ordinary water can't extinguish it. In the end, the Slaughter King himself intervened, preventing the town's total destruction. So are you challenging the authority of the City of Slaughter?" The black‑armored rider's voice turned angry, and he retracted his lance, preparing to strike Li Xuan.

"What a pity, I didn't burn the whole town down," Li Xuan sighed, speaking with a hint of helplessness.

"Enough talk. Since you broke the rules, you must be punished—defeat me to earn the right to enter the City of Slaughter, otherwise… die!" The black‑armored knight said coldly to Li Xuan. Seeing that Li Xuan paid him no heed, his anger flared, reason vanished, and now he only wanted to kill Li Xuan.

"Can't we use soul skills here?" Li Xuan blinked and asked.

"Yes?" The black‑armored knight was taken aback; he hadn't expected Li Xuan to ask him a question, so he answered reflexively.

"You can't even use soul skills, so why are you putting on a show for me!" Li Xuan's aura surged dramatically; his eyes, filled with Killing Qi, stared at the black‑armored knight, soul power roiling around him. He moved, appearing before the knight, and slammed his palm onto the knight's chest.

A Burning Heart Seal, the size of a palm, appeared on the black‑armored knight's chest.

In the next second, before the knight could react, his breath caught, he fell from his warhorse, clutching his chest and rolling on the ground in pain.

In the City of Slaughter, the stronger the airborne toxins, the stronger Li Xuan's Burning Heart Divine Flame becomes; combined with the Burning Heart Seal, it can eliminate enemies at least thirty levels higher within the City of Slaughter! The black‑armored knight was clearly below level 50, so Li Xuan could easily defeat him.

However, this is the City of Slaughter, and Li Xuan did not intend to kill the black‑armored knight.

Though the City of Slaughter is full of madmen, Li Xuan did not plan to become a lunatic like the others.

Li Xuan waved his hand, extinguished the Burning Heart Divine Flame inside the knight's body, then stepped over the kneeling black‑armored knight and headed back toward the City of Slaughter.

"Wait… wait!" the black‑armored knight shouted, blocking Li Xuan.

"What? Still want to test my ability?" Li Xuan halted, turned around, and asked the black‑armored knight with a smile.

At this moment, the knight's helmet had fallen off, revealing a snarling middle‑aged face; his gaze at Li Xuan now held a hint of terror—fear of the unknown.

Li Xuan's ability was truly bizarre; the knight felt nothing yet fell victim to Li Xuan's power—such an ability is the most terrifying!

"No, you passed my test; you now have the qualification to enter the City of Slaughter. Here is your identification token— with this token, you can survive in the City of Slaughter." The black‑armored knight took a black Token from his chest and tossed it to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan caught the Token and examined it.

The Token was entirely black, palm‑sized and heavy; Li Xuan didn't know what material it was made of. Its front bore a skull, and the back displayed four digits.

"6013"

"Didn't draw a consecutive number, not very lucky," Li Xuan said helplessly, shaking his head, then still slipped the Token into his pocket, since it would have many uses later.

Li Xuan glanced at the black‑armored knight lying on the ground and the surrounding black‑armored troops that had cleared a path, smiled, shook his head, stepped over the knight, and proceeded inside.

(End of Chapter)