'Of course. I have already decided, Teacher. Ordinary training can no longer keep up with my progress. I need slaughter to stimulate myself.' Wu Ling looked straight at Bibi Dong, his gaze firm.
'...Very well. Then I will personally take you there.'
To be honest, Bibi Dong did not want Wu Ling to go. He was too important to the current Spirit Hall. Cultivation methods, elixirs, and the spirit tools sold by the Soulcraft Shop all came from Wu Ling, or more precisely, from Rose.
Whether in terms of Spirit Hall's economy or its overall strength, in just a few short years Wu Ling had raised the ceiling of the entire organization by nearly ten percent through his own power. This was something many Popes had failed to accomplish, and to Wu Ling, it was only the beginning.
In the eyes of many high-ranking members, Wu Ling's life was worth more than an ordinary Titled Sage's life, perhaps even more than two Titled Sages.
Bibi Dong believed that Wu Ling's strength would let him pass Hell Road in Slaughter City. But confidence did not erase risk. Since Wu Ling insisted, however, she could not force him to stay.
After spending half an hour quickly reading through the most important matters of the day, Bibi Dong stood up.
'Time is limited. Let us go.'
With Bibi Dong leading the way and Ghost carrying Wu Ling behind her, the three arrived at a town near dusk.
The moment they entered, a solemn atmosphere pressed down around Wu Ling. Of course, after experiencing the village tied to the Ghost Sword, this small amount of pressure could not affect him at all.
On the deserted road, a few drunken passersby had originally been wandering around. After seeing a beauty like Bibi Dong, they tried to approach her without thinking. But with a casual wave of her hand, those people died instantly, without even the chance to react. That act also made the people hiding in the shadows leave one after another, afraid they would be next.
'Go. From this point on, you need to walk by yourself.' Bibi Dong gave Wu Ling one final instruction. As for those dead men, she did not spare them a glance.
Wu Ling nodded, silently put on his mask, then took out a blade and fixed it at his waist.
First, he checked his surroundings. Then he walked straight toward a tavern. Based on his memory of the original story and Bibi Dong's reminders, Wu Ling knew this tavern was the first test for entering Slaughter City.
Wu Ling pushed open the door. Several gazes instantly focused on him. Nearly half the seats in the tavern were occupied. The people inside drank their own liquor without saying a word, making the place feel especially cold.
Through the upper half of Wu Ling's exceptionally young face, everyone saw skin that was too smooth and too youthful. Their eyes filled with disdain.
With skin like that, he was either truly a child or someone using disguise arts. Everyone who came here was a desperate criminal. They naturally looked down on children and on cowards who did not dare show their real faces. Still, the vigilance of outlaws kept them from acting rashly before confirming Wu Ling's strength.
Wu Ling ignored those gazes and slowly walked to the counter.
The bartender behind it looked at him coldly, then asked casually, 'What do you want?'
'I am going to Slaughter City. Will you open the door yourself, or should I open it personally?'
The bartender frowned slightly, but still pushed a cup filled with blood-red liquid in front of Wu Ling.
'Drink it, and you can enter.'
Wu Ling lifted the cup, looked at the poisoned human blood called Bloody Mary, then suddenly splashed it onto the bartender's face.
'Do you not understand what I said? I said, open the door.' Wu Ling did not discriminate against gatekeepers. But someone guarding the gate to a place like Slaughter City, and trying to make him drink poison besides, did not deserve his respect.
The Bloody Mary contained a powerful poison and was addictive like a drug. Once someone drank a single cup, it was almost impossible to quit. After poison accumulated in the body and the influence of Hell Road took hold, that person would eventually become a complete madman.
After Wu Ling splashed the bartender, before the man could flare up, a burly man with blood-red eyes and a face full of hard flesh stood.
'Hmph. I thought you were someone using disguise, but you really are just a brat. If you do not even dare drink a Bloody Mary, go home and nurse from your mother.'
'Too bad you will not get the chance. Since that cup was not enough, I will use you to make a Bloody Mary instead!'
In the eyes of the people here, anyone who did not dare drink a Bloody Mary had no right to enter Slaughter City. From Wu Ling's voice and his hands, they had roughly confirmed that he was a child, not someone wearing a disguise. And no matter how strong a child was, how strong could he be?
'Die, brat!' As he shouted, one white, two yellow, and one purple Spirit Ring appeared around the burly man. A stone axe with serrated edges appeared in his hand and chopped down toward Wu Ling's head.
Unfortunately for him, before the stone axe could fall, a flash of blade light passed. The man's expression froze, and the stone axe vanished. Wu Ling pushed outward with his sheath, and the man's body fell straight to the floor.
When the head struck the ground, the cut at the man's neck split completely open. Blood sprayed from the corpse's neck, and the spreading scent of blood made the people nearby, who had drunk Bloody Marys, begin to stir restlessly.
'Last time. Open the door.' Wu Ling spoke to the bartender in a calm tone. The man he had just killed seemed no more important to him than an ant he had casually crushed.
The bartender stared deeply at Wu Ling, but still pushed out another Bloody Mary. As Slaughter City's gatekeeper, what had he not seen? Did this naive child think killing one person was enough to enter Slaughter City?
'Drink it before you can enter. Otherwise...'
This time, Wu Ling did not wait for the bartender to finish. Understanding his choice, Wu Ling grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head into the counter.
Again and again. The bartender's head struck the counter until blood splattered everywhere, leaving him no room to resist. When Wu Ling saw that the man's blood was about to touch his hand, he tossed the bartender backward.
The bleeding bartender landed perfectly among the people who had just finished their Bloody Marys. Before he could say anything, the sight of fresh blood overwhelmed their last thread of reason. They lunged madly at the bartender and the corpse, tearing, biting, drinking, and devouring.
A scream rang out. The next instant, it fell silent. Either he was already dead, or his throat had been bitten through.
Wu Ling glanced over, then frowned in disgust. He could kill without hesitation, but seeing people tear a human body apart with their teeth, leaving organs scattered and blood splashed everywhere, still disgusted him.
He walked behind the counter and stared at the floor ahead. Having read the original story, he naturally knew this was the entrance to Slaughter City.
Wu Ling stepped down and shattered the disguised wooden boards. Without hesitation, he leapt inside. The moment he entered, he sensed a familiar fluctuation of Spirit Power emanating from outside.
'That was... Teacher?'
At the same time, in the castellan's manor at the center of Slaughter City, the Slaughter King, who had just finished bathing in fresh blood, was also startled by that Spirit Power fluctuation.
'A Deathgod has come?'