Chapter 36: The Impossible Rule

Following the tavern owner's pointed direction, Tang San walked forward steadily. Channeling his Soul Power, one yellow and one purple Soul Ring rose around him as he forcefully swung his Clear Sky Hammer downward.

With a thunderous crash, the wooden floor splintered apart, revealing a dark underground passage.

Seeing the entrance appear, Tang Hao turned to the Slaughter City-affiliated tavern owner. As if issuing a challenge, he waved his hand dismissively, sending all the patrons flying away without killing a single one—he would enter Slaughter City today without taking any lives.

Feeling provoked, the tavern owner gulped and forced himself to speak, "Y-you're openly defying Slaughter City's rules. Even if you enter, the Terror Knights will swarm you. You'll regret this." His voice lacked its usual arrogance, too afraid Tang Hao might kill him on the spot.

Normally, he could have temporarily sealed all Soul Masters' Soul Rings within the tavern using Slaughter City's power, restricting them to only their Martial Souls' most basic forms. But the owner was stunned—he found himself completely unable to activate the seal. Slaughter City's power seemed to reject his command. Otherwise, how could anyone just barge into Slaughter City so easily?

Tang Hao smirked coldly. He'd clearly sensed the tavern owner attempting to seal him, but what the man didn't know was that his God of Slaughter Domain could neutralize Slaughter City's restrictions.

Walking to Tang San's side, Tang Hao said, "Let's go. I'll accompany you."

"Father, weren't you worried about being detected by the Slaughter King?" Tang San had assumed his father would wait for him in the town.

"Hahaha, I can at least accompany you to the outer city. This underground passage is quite long." Tang Hao ruffled his son's hair affectionately. Though he rarely voiced it, he protected his child in his own way.

Without further hesitation, the two leaped into the dark opening, their bodies instantly swallowed by the inky blackness.

Plunging into darkness, Tang San's feet touched solid ground after falling just a few meters. Even without light, his Purple Demon Eyes allowed him to see everything clearly in the gloom.

Before them stretched a long, downward-sloping tunnel, its chilling air constantly brushing against Tang San's skin. Undeterred, he strode forward confidently.

After some time, Tang Hao warned, "Though you're not here like I was—to traverse the Road to Hell and obtain the God of Slaughter Domain—I should still prepare you. There are only two ways to survive in Slaughter City. First, you can submit two cups of blood monthly to the Slaughter Envoys, like paying a tax. Second, you can fight in the Hell Slaughter Arena—each victory exempts you from blood tribute for a year."

"Hell Slaughter Arena?"

Tang Hao nodded and said, "Indeed. If you don't submit blood, you're forced to participate in the Hell Slaughter Arena once a year. In the Hell Slaughter Arena, ten people engage in slaughter, and only the victor can walk out. Moreover, to obtain the God of Slaughter Domain, you must achieve one hundred consecutive victories in the Hell Slaughter Arena. And in each new match, the opponents you face must have participated in at least five fewer Hell Slaughter Arena matches than you. Unless the opponents' records can no longer meet this condition."

Tang Hao couldn't help but recount how he had fought his way through the masses back then, achieving one hundred consecutive victories in the slaughter arena before finally earning the qualification to enter the Road to Hell and obtain the God of Slaughter Domain.

However, upon hearing Tang Hao's words, Tang San came to an abrupt halt. In the darkness, his face wore an expression of stunned disbelief.

Tang San asked in astonishment, "Ten people per match, only one victor, requiring one hundred consecutive wins, and the opponents' win streaks must not be five fewer than yours??? Father, are you sure you haven't misremembered?"

Hearing his son's question, Tang Hao thought for a moment before replying firmly, "No mistake. Those are the rules. It took me roughly two years to complete the hundred victories."

Receiving Tang Hao's confirmation, Tang San blinked, his mind nearly exploding.

"Father, this is impossible. You couldn't possibly have achieved one hundred consecutive victories," Tang San stated with absolute certainty in his tone.

Thinking his son didn't believe him and was accusing him of boasting, Tang Hao retorted indignantly, "How is it impossible? If I hadn't achieved one hundred consecutive victories, how could I have passed through the Road to Hell to obtain the God of Slaughter Domain? How could I have left Slaughter City? Your father never brags."

There was no question of possibility—it had happened to him personally. His God of Slaughter Domain was the proof.

Tang San's expression turned serious as he explained, "Father, this isn't a matter of possibility or impossibility. It's a fundamental mathematical problem, just like how one plus one can never equal five."

"If we calculate according to the slaughter arena's rules, the first match leaves one out of ten—meaning you killed nine people. In the second match, your opponents would all have two consecutive wins, meaning they each killed nine people. If you achieve two consecutive wins, the total number of people killed by all of you would be ninety-nine. If the opponents in the third match also have two consecutive wins, then achieving three consecutive wins would require killing nine hundred and ninety-nine people."

"One hundred consecutive victories? How is that possible? Even if we count all the ordinary people in the entire Heaven Dou Empire, the numbers wouldn't add up. Not to mention, the number of Soul Masters in the Heaven Dou Empire is less than a million—how rare and precious they are."

Tang San's gaze grew grave as he continued, "Father, if we follow the rules set by Slaughter City, we would have needed to kill all dozen or so patrons in the tavern outside just for one person to enter. With such an elimination rate, the entire Heaven Dou Empire might not even see a hundred Soul Masters enter Slaughter City in a year. Even if there are other entrances, who in their right mind would want to enter a place like Slaughter City—a ghostly realm where you can enter but never leave?"

"Even if the Star Luo Empire has an entrance and their number of Soul Masters exceeds that of the Heaven Dou Empire, at most, only two or three hundred Soul Masters would enter Slaughter City in a year."

"The rules of this slaughter arena are fundamentally impossible."

After Tang San's explanation, Tang Hao was completely baffled. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Back when he was in Slaughter City, he hadn't cared about math or anything else—he just fought and killed his way through.

"Could it be that none of the opponents I faced were on winning streaks? Were they all newcomers? No, no, that can't be right. They all had victories recorded, and quite a few even had over ten consecutive wins before I killed them. But this doesn't add up at all." Tang Hao was utterly confused now. If he didn't possess the God of Slaughter Domain and extraordinary strength, he might have doubted his own memory, wondering if he'd been brainwashed.

"Could some of them have been local residents of Slaughter City?" Tang Hao suggested.

Tang San shook his head. "I don't believe Slaughter City could have such an exaggerated number of local Soul Masters. If your memory is correct, Father, then it means Slaughter City is hiding many secrets."

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