After forming her future ambitions, Bibi Dong wasted no time. As the dust storm caused by Tang Hao's self-detonation began to settle, she swiftly made her way toward the explosion's epicenter. What she found was a deep crater, with cracks spider-webbing across the ground, littered with fragments of stone. As expected, there were no remains; Tang Hao's body had been completely obliterated by the force of the explosion.
But in the center of the crater, three glowing spirit bones remained.
One emitted a silver-blue light, another glowed with a yellow-brown hue, and the last shone with a blood-red radiance.
"Three spirit bones, one of which is likely a 100,000-year-old bone. Quite the reward," Bibi Dong muttered, her beautiful face breaking into a faint smile.
She descended into the crater and, with a wave of her hand, summoned her immense spirit power. The three spirit bones were drawn to her and quickly stored in her spatial storage device.
With Tang Hao's most valuable assets now in her possession, it was time to pursue her true target: Tang San and Yu Xiaogang. Turning in the direction they had fled, Bibi Dong could sense their path leading toward the infamous City of Slaughter. But before chasing them down, she made sure to tend to the injured Shadow Leopard Douluo, ensuring he was stable before continuing her pursuit.
Meanwhile, as Tang Hao fought to delay Bibi Dong, Tang San, and Yu Xiaogang used their spirit energy to travel swiftly. Before long, they reached the Hell Town, the gateway to the City of Slaughter. Following Tang Hao's instructions, Tang San quickly found the town's infamous tavern and pushed open the door.
Creak.
The tavern's door groaned as it swung open, revealing a dark, oppressive interior. The air inside was thick with a foul, bloody stench that chilled the bones.
At the sound of the door, the eyes of every patron in the tavern turned toward them. The crowd was rough, clearly made up of outlaws and killers. Each figure radiated an aura of malice and bloodlust, their appearances as menacing as their spirits—scarred faces, bald heads, and hulking frames. These were not people to be trifled with.
A bartender dressed in black approached Tang San and Yu Xiaogang. His tone was flat and indifferent. "What can I get you two?"
"We want to enter the City of Slaughter," Tang San replied bluntly.
At these words, the entire tavern erupted into mocking laughter.
"What? This little brat wants to enter the City of Slaughter? Ha! You haven't even grown a full beard yet, and you think you can make it in there? We've never set foot inside, and you should crawl back to your mommy!" a burly man sneered.
"Yeah, right! Go home and drink your milk, kid! You'll get yourself killed!" another patron jeered.
"Get lost with your old man, boy! You don't belong here!" one more added, laughing cruelly.
The taunts struck a nerve in Tang San. Already seething from his father's sacrifice to hold off Spirit Hall, the mockery about his mother and the assumption that Yu Xiaogang was his father cut deep. The insults fanned the flames of his already simmering rage.
Remembering his father's last words, urging him to be ruthless if he wanted to survive in the City of Slaughter, Tang San's cold fury boiled over. Without hesitation, he unleashed his Blue Silver Grass spirit. In an instant, thick vines lashed out like venomous snakes, wrapping around the mocking patrons with lightning speed.
Before they could even react, Tang San had drawn his Zhuge Crossbow from his storage device. With cold efficiency, he pulled the trigger repeatedly, sending a storm of arrows into the restrained patrons.
Arrows whistled through the air, and in moments, the tavern floor was soaked in blood. A dozen bodies lay crumpled on the ground, their blood pooling beneath them.
The tavern fell deathly silent.
The bartender and remaining patrons stared in shock, their faces pale as they watched the carnage unfold. Who was this boy? What kind of terrifying weapon was that, and how could he take down so many with such precision and speed?
Tang San's icy gaze scanned the room, his crossbow still raised. "I'll say it again: I'm entering the City of Slaughter. Open the way."
Faced with Tang San's lethal display, the bartender, now trembling and sweating profusely, nodded frantically. Gone was his earlier calm demeanor; the young man standing before him was not to be trifled with.
"S-Sir... the way is over here..." he stammered, leading Tang San and Yu Xiaogang to the back of the tavern.
The bartender pressed a hidden button behind the bar, and with a grinding sound, a section of the floor slid open, revealing a dark passage leading underground—the entrance to the City of Slaughter.
Without a word, Tang San grabbed Yu Xiaogang and, with a final glance at the fearful patrons, the two of them leaped into the abyss.
The descent was long, and they fell for what felt like dozens of meters before finally landing on solid ground. But this wasn't the City of Slaughter yet. The passage they found themselves in was pitch black, but with his Purple Demon Eyes, Tang San could see everything.
Ahead of them was a narrow, downward-sloping tunnel. If they followed it, they would finally reach the City of Slaughter.
"We need to keep moving," Tang San said to Yu Xiaogang as they pressed forward through the tunnel.
At the end of the passage, the space opened up, revealing a vast clearing. Tang San took in the eerie sight of dry, twisted trees scattered across the barren landscape. Under the strange purple glow of a full moon, the grass beneath their feet seemed to crackle with death.
And there, in the distance, a hundred-strong army of knights waited, each one clad in pitch-black armor. They sat atop enormous black warhorses, wielding heavy swords, while the commander at the front held a gleaming knight's lance.
Their path to the City of Slaughter had been prepared.