After finishing his first bloody battle, Tian Lin casually found an empty house in the inner city to live in. People died here every day, so there were plenty of vacant rooms.
However, when he first moved in, he was constantly disturbed. After all, he looked too easy to bully—young, lacking murderous intent, and handsome.
The female fallen wanted to take him home and keep him, while the male fallen wanted to make him into their freshest Bloody Mary. Only after Tian Lin went on a killing spree—slaughtering nearly a hundred soul masters in one go—did things finally quiet down.
It was his first time killing so many people in a single day. To be honest, it didn't feel good, especially since his sudden increased killing intent became hard to control.
The air here was highly toxic and seemed to react to a person's murderous aura, driving them into madness. Only by drinking the equally poisonous Bloody Mary could one temporarily fight poison with poison.
But that was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst. The airborne toxin was neutralized, but the poison from the Bloody Mary built up inside, and when it erupted, the result would be uglier than those who died in the killing field today.
Now Tian Lin understood Dugu Bo's concerns. He'd be spending years here, and over time, he feared his body's poison resistance would be overwhelmed. The pearl Dugu Bo gave him could completely isolate the external toxins, letting him breathe filtered, fresh air.
"Thanks, old monster. I won't let your efforts go to waste."
Tian Lin sat cross-legged, trying to get a handle on his surging killing intent. At that moment, his Holy Spirit Domain activated on its own, helping him calm his mind.
"What an amazing feeling. Under the Holy Spirit Domain, my killing intent hasn't lessened at all, but it's fully contained and under my control, just like moving my arm." Tian Lin's mind became incredibly calm.
"What pure power of goodness! Xiao Tian, this Slaughter City is practically a training ground tailor-made for you. I discovered that your Demon Sword can absorb the battle will, resentment, and hatred of the dead here, speeding up your growth. But practicing like this for a long time could corrupt your mind, turning you into a bloodthirsty demon."
"Coincidentally, you also have a Holy Spirit Pearl, whose power of ultimate good is the nemesis of this city. It can dispel evil thoughts from your heart anytime, anywhere, helping you keep your original intentions. Together, these two will let your strength soar to a whole new level," Skydream Ice Silkworm said excitedly.
"Yes, and not only that—since I can open the Holy Spirit Domain, naturally I can also use my Demon Suppression Domain!" Tian Lin smiled.
The Demon Suppression Domain enveloped Tian Lin's room. He summoned his Demon Sword again—one yellow, two purple, two black and one red ring appeared.
"Heh, as expected of the innate domain born when the Demon Sword became a god-level martial soul. Even the domain left behind by the Asura God is suppressed by me. The range isn't large, but at least I can use soul skills in Slaughter City." Tian Lin smiled with satisfaction—one more ace up his sleeve.
Of course, unless it was a life-or-death crisis, he would never reveal the secret that he could use soul skills here. He planned to save this trump card for his assault on Hell Road. Otherwise, the whole city would turn against him.
…
Two months passed quickly. By now, Tian Lin had fully adapted to life in Slaughter City and already had a fourteen-win streak in the Hell Killing Fields. He killed almost every day, but his killing aura seemed unchanged, which puzzled people.
But to think it hadn't improved was impossible. It was like Tang San in the original, who, after refining himself in Slaughter City, went to Moon Pavilion for heart training, finally internalizing his terrifying killing aura, only unleashing it in battle.
With the power of ultimate good from the Holy Spirit Pearl, Tian Lin didn't seem to need that extra step. He could control both his killing intent and mind at will.
In recent days, an unexpected guest arrived in Slaughter City: Hu Liena. Tian Lin recalled that she did arrive around this time in the original story.
She had met Tian Lin already, but unlike the original, where Tang San changed his appearance, Tian Lin hadn't even worn a mask, so she was full of hostility toward him.
In the original, Hu Liena didn't recognize Tang San's disguised form, which allowed her to be attracted and fall for him.
But Tian Lin had always been her hated enemy. No matter how skilled or handsome he was, to her, he was someone who had to die. That's the power of first impressions. Plus, Tian Lin wouldn't fawn over her like a lovestruck puppy. How could she ever fall for her enemy? She was probably thinking about how to kill him here.
Looks like he wouldn't enjoy the treatment Tang San did, winning the affection of a beauty. Not that it mattered—he wasn't a lust-driven fool, and he had no real interest in Hu Liena. If she tried to kill him, he wouldn't hesitate to fight back—this was Slaughter City, after all.
Hu Liena was indeed strong. Her martial soul was a demon fox, not suited for physical attacks, so she always carried a short sword for defense.
Bibi Dong had likely taught her a set of self-created soul skills, which, combined with her sword, made her attacks deadly and aimed at vital points. She quickly racked up a winning streak, earning the nickname "Messenger of Hell."
Today was Tian Lin's fifteenth match, and his opponents were all Soul Sage-level powerhouses. Even if they couldn't use soul skills, their combat strength rivaled Soul Kings outside.
Tian Lin looked the least intimidating of everyone—his killing intent was so weak. Yet he received the most attention, all because of his swordsmanship.
The Seven Kill Sword techniques were simply too well-suited for Slaughter City.
To eliminate Tian Lin first, nine people pounced at him from nine directions. Tian Lin remained calm, using the Drunken Immortal Moonstep to dodge like a phantom, suddenly appearing behind a Soul Sage and shattering his heart with a palm strike.
If he could use soul skills, nine Soul Sages would pose a real threat. But the Douluo Continent's cultivation system was too extreme.
Most relied on soul skills their whole life. Once those were restricted, their strength dropped by more than eighty percent.
Soul power was important, but technique couldn't be neglected.
The goal of sword training is to strike the opponent. The strike that hits is real, but before that, there are countless feints.
Those feints are technique—the greater your skill, the less time is needed for feints.
For soul masters in Slaughter City, Seven Kill Swordsmanship was almost a dimensionality reduction attack.