Chapter 55: A Land for Cultivation
In the core of the inner city of the City of Slaughter.
Under the guidance of the black-veiled girl, Dugu Feng stood before a peculiar black structure.
The building was circular, domed, about fifty meters tall, reminiscent of the Great Spirit Arena—if the latter had been shrouded in blood and darkness.
Within the black, faint crimson specks glimmered, giving the place a suffocating aura.
"This building is the Hell Slaughter Arena," the girl explained quickly. "Inside, you register using your identification token. Each match consists of ten contestants—only one comes out alive.
If you only wish to watch rather than participate, you'll need to contribute one cup of Bloody Mary.
Seven-six-zero-three, do you want to compete or simply watch?"
She looked inquisitively at Dugu Feng after finishing her introduction.
He smiled lightly. "Not for now. Help me find a place to stay—somewhere close to the arena but relatively safe."
A flash of disdain passed through the girl's eyes. With such heavy killing intent surrounding him, she had expected him to join the slaughter immediately—but he turned out to be a coward. So where had all that killing aura come from?
"Follow me then," she said curtly.
She led him along the street outside the arena for several hundred meters before turning into a narrow alleyway.
Dugu Feng observed his surroundings. The alley contained only two facing doors—no yards, no space, just a single entrance for each dark interior.
The girl pointed to the left. "The previous owner was killed not long ago. The size should suit you. You wouldn't be able to control a better place anyway."
Dugu Feng stepped inside. The interior spanned about forty square meters, divided into a small bedroom and a washroom—it resembled a modest one-bedroom apartment from the outside world.
He glanced at the door, noticing it was made of thin iron plating.
"Good enough. I'll take it," he said.
"One final reminder, Seven-Six-Zero-Three. Newcomers get twelve hours of protection. After that, you're a full citizen of the City of Slaughter. This is the inner city—any and every crime can happen here. Be careful."
Though she despised his apparent cowardice, she still felt obligated to warn him.
She had seen many like him—those who spent their first hours setting up defenses, thinking they could fend off the slaughter.
None of them survived. Those who lacked aggression and ruthlessness never did.
After leaving her warning, the girl turned and disappeared.
Dugu Feng paid her no mind.
If there was anyone familiar with slaughter, it was him. The true danger wasn't in the Hell Slaughter Arena, where groups of ten fought—it was outside, where killing held no rules.
Tang San, once leaving the arena after a victory streak, had faced a siege of over a hundred opponents.
For anyone achieving multiple wins, how could the others possibly stay idle?
In this inner city, everyone was an enemy. You never knew when opponents outside might become rivals inside.
Preemptively eliminating strong contenders outside the arena was a daily occurrence.
And in a place like this, Dugu Feng knew there had to be established gangs ruling the shadows.
Inside the arena, survival determined victory. Outside, survival determined existence.
Before entering the field, he had to prepare thoroughly.
Scanning the room carefully, Dugu Feng sat cross-legged on the floor.
His soul power was at level twenty-three, and his Dan Pearl's energy had reached thirty-nine points.
He had no intention of wasting time; cultivation came first.
Although soul skills couldn't be used here, circulating his soul power remained unrestricted.
Tang San's progress within the City of Slaughter had been slow because the air was filled with poison—poison he had to avoid.
But Dugu Feng thrived in poison.
From the very first sip of Bloody Mary, he had recognized the toxin—it was a mental poison, causing paralysis, hallucination, and corrosion of one's spirit.
It was similar to Jade Phosphor Crimson Venom.
Could training in this environment push his Jade Phosphor Serpent martial soul's toxin to evolve again?
As the Dugu family's young master, his first five spirit rings had to come from five different poison-type beasts, their toxins merging into hybrid venom.
But his serpent's first three rings had all been from Jade Scale Snakes, meant to refine and evolve his inherited toxins.
His second soul skill, Jade Phosphor Crimson Venom, was an evolution of the Jade Phosphor Violet Venom—colorless, odorless, aimed at the mind, capable of confusing, controlling, and eroding an enemy's consciousness.
He had once asked his father how to advance further without repeatedly hunting Jade Phosphor Snakes for rings.
His father, Dugu Shuo, had answered with a single word: stimulation.
By absorbing different poison sources for his next rings and then mixing them with Jade Phosphor Violet Venom, his internal toxins would grow complex enough to trigger evolution naturally.
Dugu Shuo had achieved Crimson Venom evolution at the Soul Sect stage through this method.
Now, standing in the City of Slaughter, surrounded by a world saturated with mental toxins, Dugu Feng's conditions were perfect.
If he could induce evolution early here, he would astonish even his father.
He circulated his soul power steadily, feeling energy flow into his body and Dan Pearl as the surrounding air was absorbed.
His eyes brightened. The cultivation pace was no different from outside—except filled with thicker venomous energy.
Excellent. Perfect.
This was his sacred ground for cultivation.
Closing his eyes, Dugu Feng entered deep meditation.
Outside, not far from his room, two shadowy figures watched silently from a dark alley.
"Heh, another rookie. Looks about fifteen, maybe sixteen. Pretty boy too—the boss loves them young," sneered one, a scarred man with blood-red eyes and a gray streak of wolf fur through his hair. His sharp ears betrayed a wolf-type martial soul.
Mentioning Dugu Feng made him lick his lips hungrily.
"Pity," the other one—a ratty-looking, sharp-faced man—grinned suggestively. "Once the boss gets him, we won't even get a turn."
Thinking of their leader's sadistic habits, both men shivered but then smirked.
The boss was brutal, yes, but his games were… entertaining. Watching him torment newcomers was always a treat.
Hours passed. Exchanging glances, they finally approached Dugu Feng's door.
The boy's protection period had expired. Time to strike.
They tread lightly, coming up to the thin iron door.
The wolf-souled man sneered. Did this rookie really think hiding behind that thin sheet of metal would save him?
He extended both hands—sharp claws flashing—and tore through the door in a single motion.
Metal screeched and then shattered to pieces.
(END CHAPTER)
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