Chapter 398: Slaughter City
Slaughter City.
This so-called paradise for the fallen had now welcomed someone even more degenerate than its fallen inhabitants.
Walking into the ruined village ahead, Tang San kept scanning his surroundings.
This place was not only in poor condition—the very sky was dim. As he walked through the streets, he saw many emaciated people passing by.
"What kind of place is this?"
Tang San frowned slightly, his face tense and filled with suspicion.
Though he hadn't fully entered this place yet, just from the scene before him, it was clear that the danger here might be no less than that of the Extreme North.
Of course, that was only his opinion. If other soul masters were to judge, they would say the Extreme North was the most dangerous region on the entire Douluo Continent.
Because in the Extreme North, one not only had to guard against soul beast attacks, but also beware of the extreme cold. One careless moment, and the frigid weather could cause severe frostbite.
Most importantly, no one on the Douluo Continent knew what lay in the deepest part of the Extreme North—because not a single person who had entered it had ever returned alive.
With caution in his heart, Tang San moved forward step by step, until he saw a tavern.
The air inside the tavern was extremely stale, and all the décor was dark-colored, creating an eerie and shadowy atmosphere.
There were already quite a few fallen individuals inside, drinking and chatting. Tang San's arrival didn't draw much attention, since Slaughter City was a refuge for those fleeing from pursuit with no way out.
Douluo Continent was vast, and there were many people constantly on the run. As a result, even after all these years, the population of Slaughter City hadn't declined—it had grown instead.
After all, anyone entering Slaughter City who wanted to leave had to win a hundred matches in the inner city's Hell Slaughter Arena and survive the Road of Hell.
And in the past thousand years, only a handful had ever succeeded in passing the Road of Hell. This meant that nearly everyone who entered Slaughter City ended up dying within it.
That was why the Extreme North had earned its reputation as one of the most dangerous places on the continent.
After all, people had emerged alive from the Star Dou Forest and from Slaughter City—but from the deepest part of the Extreme North, not a single person had ever returned. As a result, from Title Douluo to ordinary soul masters, most would rather enter the other two locations than step foot into the Extreme North.
"What would you like?"
Just as Tang San found a free spot and sat down to try and gather some information, a cold-faced woman in black clothing walked over.
"What do you have here?"
Tang San frowned slightly. He was unfamiliar with this place and had no idea what they offered.
Hearing this, the woman cast a strange look at the young man in front of her, puzzled. Why did he act like he didn't know anything, even after coming here?
"We have everything—as long as you can afford it."
After a brief pause, she returned to her usual tone and gave a simple explanation.
This was the outskirts of Slaughter City. If one wanted to obtain anything here, they needed to pay with gold coins. After all, the supplies in this place had to be procured from outside.
"Just bring me something simple."
With that, Tang San took out ten gold soul coins and handed them over.
"Sir, ten gold soul coins won't get you much here."
Seeing the number of gold soul coins on the table, the woman in black showed a look of disdain. Looks like yet another broke pauper had shown up.
At this rate, how long would it take her to meet her performance quota?
That's right—this tavern had performance metrics, because it was directly under the control of Slaughter City. It was the only entrance into Slaughter City.
Whether it was the supplies needed below or the blood demanded above, they were all delivered through this passage.
Although Slaughter City didn't rely solely on this place for its economy, compared to other money-making operations, this one was undoubtedly the most legitimate. After all, Slaughter City's rules didn't apply here. If a powerful soul master ever came along and they couldn't hold out for support, they'd be wiped out on the spot.
Tang San didn't take her expression lightly either.
Damn it—how could prices in such a rundown place be this high? Did they really think this was Heaven Dou City or Spirit City?
Ten gold soul coins—not to mention just one—would be enough to support a family of three for a year. Yet here, in this godforsaken place, even ten gold soul coins couldn't buy anything? Who the hell was he supposed to complain to?
"Tang San, what the hell are you doing?"
At that moment, the black mist finally couldn't hold back and roared in anger, "Have you forgotten why you're here? What are you dawdling for? More and more of your opponents are becoming gods. If you keep delaying, you're as good as dead!"
As the first wisp of black mist in the universe, it couldn't be killed unless the entire universe was destroyed. So whether it was that so-called God King of Thunder or that ridiculously powerful woman, the black mist didn't care much.
Even in the worst-case scenario where it was defeated, it didn't matter. It couldn't die. At most, it would just end up imprisoned somewhere.
And for a being like it, time was the least valuable thing. It could afford to spend endless ages slowly recovering in a prison cell. The only reason it chose a waste like Tang San was to see whether it could recover early and launch an attack on the Divine Realm and the myriad worlds.
Hearing the black mist's angry reminder, Tang San instantly snapped back to his senses. Muttering a curse under his breath, he stood up and released his Clear Sky Hammer martial soul along with the eight soul rings beneath his feet.
Upon seeing this, the fallen patrons in the tavern all stood up with looks of shock and unease.
Damn—it turned out this kid was a Soul Douluo, and his martial soul was none other than the world's number one tool spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer!
Realizing the incoming threat, the crowd began cautiously retreating toward the exit.
They weren't stupid. They were just a bunch of Soul Elders and Soul Masters. Going head-to-head with a Clear Sky Hammer Soul Douluo? They didn't even know how to spell the word "death"!
"Trying to run?"
Noticing their intent, Tang San let out a cold laugh. His figure flashed rapidly, and in just a few swift moves, he finished them off.
Even if his talent and strength couldn't compare to Kong's, Tang San was not someone that a few pieces of trash could provoke.
With the interruption dealt with, Tang San then used the method granted by the black mist and devoured the souls and life force of those people.
[End of Chapter]