The arena at the center of the City of Sin was like a gargantuan funnel, sunken deep into the earth's crust.
Jiang Li leaned against the mouth of the dark preparation tunnel, her hand gripping the Mirror of Profound Inquiry, which had now lost its luster. Behind her, Cang Yaochen's state was precarious, his aura fluctuating wildly.
"How long can you hold?" Jiang Li turned her head, her voice dropped to a whisper.
Cang Yaochen opened his eyes. "As long as I don't tap into the origin of my Divinity, I can last until sunset. But the death-qi in this city is too heavy; my body is struggling to endure it."
"Then we end this quickly." Jiang Li turned around, facing the raw iron portcullis at the end of the tunnel as it began its slow, heavy ascent.
As the iron chains shrieked, a tidal wave of roars erupted from the spectator stands.
"For today's first bout, we have our two new 'distinguished guests' against the 'Hellhound' and its Butchers!"
High above the stands, a massive shadow loomed over a throne. It was the ruler of the City of Sin—the Ghost King. He was encased in heavy, pitch-black armor, idly twirling a long, slender needle that shimmered with a ghostly, frigid blue light.
The Nine Abyss Soul-Settling Needle.
Cang Yaochen stared at the needle, and the Asura Persona within him let out a faint, resonant hum.
BOOM!
The massive gates on the opposite side of the arena slammed open, and a hound the size of a small mountain lunged out, roaring. Its three heads spat toxic mist, frost, and searing flames respectively, a heavy iron collar clamped around its neck. Behind it, several puppet Butchers wielding heavy poleaxes fanned out in silence.
"Suanni, out for some fresh air."
Jiang Li tapped the red jade pendant at her waist. A flash of red light followed, and the Suanni landed firmly on the ground. Though it had reduced its size to only two meters in height, its aura of a Sacred Beast made the Hellhound instinctively recoil half a step.
"Monk Cang, the Butchers are yours. The dog belongs to me."
Before her voice had even faded, Jiang Li transformed into a scarlet blurred shadow. She channeled her Radiant Realm Turbid Qi into her legs.
The Heart-Piercing Crossbow snapped repeatedly during her advance, pinning three short bolts into the eye sockets of the Hellhound's central head. The hound shrieked in agony as toxic mist billowed out. Jiang Li executed a mid-air pivot, her toes tapping off a Butcher's poleaxe, gliding toward the Hellhound's flank like a swallow returning to its nest.
On the other side, Cang Yaochen looked at the puppet Butchers and simply extended his right hand.
[System Offline... Instinct taking over...]
A fragmented directive flashed deep within his sea of consciousness. Like a ghost, he threaded through the gaps between the poleaxes, every palm strike he delivered landing with a heavy, muffled thud.
The first Butcher's chest plate collapsed inward, and the figure flew backward like a sack of crushed mud. Cang Yaochen seized the opportunity to snatch the heavy poleaxe. With a backhanded swing, the iron blade—weighing hundreds of pounds—felt as light as a feather in his grip.
CRACK!
The sound of shattering bones was clearly audible amidst the cacophony of the arena. Cang Yaochen's gaze grew colder and colder. The blood-red scales on his face emerged bit by bit during the slaughter; the killing was awakening his erased memories.
He remembered himself, standing alone, slaughtering his way into the Divine Domain, his halberd splitting the nine heavens asunder.
"ROAR—!"
The Hellhound was completely enraged by Jiang Li, and flames and frost simultaneously swept across the field. Jiang Li rolled through the wall of fire, a corner of her red robes scorched black. Gritting her teeth, the Mirror of Profound Inquiry in her hand suddenly emitted a blinding glare.
"Lin Yuan, I borrow your remnant soul!"
Within the mirror, that wisp of Lin Yuan's soul sensed Jiang Li's call and actually transformed into a pitch-black sword shadow, attaching itself to the final long bolt of the Heart-Piercing Crossbow.
SQUELCH!
The black arrow tore through the Hellhound's throat, pinning its mountain-like carcass firmly to an arena stone pillar.
The stands fell into a momentary silence before erupting into even more frantic screaming.
Cang Yaochen tossed aside the now-twisted poleaxe. Stepping over the scattered limbs and broken armor, he walked to the center of the arena. He looked up at the Ghost King on the throne, his fingernails unconsciously sharpening into blades.
"The needle. Give it to me."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it struck everyone's eardrums like a heavy hammer.
The Ghost King sat above, his eyes narrowing behind his faceplate. He had lived a long time and seen countless vicious men, but a killing intent like this—seeping from the very marrow, enough to make the soul shudder—he had only felt once before, during the great catastrophe ten thousand years ago.
"Interesting." The Ghost King slowly stood up, stabbing the Nine Abyss Soul-Settling Needle into his armrest. "If you want the needle, let's see if you can withstand my 'Soul-Leads Bell.' And... little girl with the mirror, you have a scent of 'evil' on you that makes me quite nostalgic."
Jiang Li returned to Cang Yaochen's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
"It's good that you're nostalgic." Jiang Li wiped the blood from her cheek, her eyes fierce. "Because in a moment, I'm going to make you 'nostalgic' for the feeling of being dead."
The ground of the arena began to tremble violently as countless vengeful spirits crawled out from the cracks in the earth—the very foundation of the Ghost King's rule over the City of Sin.