Tianshui Academy.
Inside the dean's office, Shui Yue'er, dressed in a water-blue long dress, was handling academy affairs.
"Dean Yue'er, long time no see."
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded, causing Shui Yue'er's pupils to tremble slightly.
She immediately looked up and saw Shui Wuhen standing in the room. She stood up. "Wuhen? When did you come back?"
"Just arrived not long ago."
Shui Wuhen walked over and sat down in front of her, casually asking, "Dean Yue'er, how has this past year been for you? Your strength should have improved again, right?"
Hearing this, a trace of bitterness appeared on Shui Yue'er's face. "The bottleneck of Spirit Douluo isn't so easy to break through. It requires opportunity. If I'm lucky, I might break through in the next second, but it's also possible that it could take several years."
Shui Yue'er's innate spirit power wasn't weak, close to rank eight, but she hadn't encountered many opportunities, which left her stuck at the peak of Spirit Saint even into middle age.
Although, given her age, breaking through to Spirit Douluo was inevitable, reaching Title Douluo within her lifetime was basically hopeless.
This was also the situation for most Spirit Douluo—they relied on age to reach that level. Heaven Dou Royal Academy had three Spirit Douluo, but they were all quite old.
"Forget it, let's not talk about that."
Shui Yue'er shook her head and looked at Shui Wuhen. "You came this time to find Bing'er, right?"
"Exactly, but it seems Bing'er isn't at Tianshui Academy, so I came to see you first."
Shui Wuhen nodded.
After the Elite Tournament ended, Shui Bing'er and the others had essentially graduated, but outstanding students like her usually remained connected to their academy. Many even chose to stay and become teachers.
"Heh, then you might be disappointed."
Shui Yue'er leaned back in her chair and spread her hands. "About half a year ago, Bing'er did come to me. With my help, she successfully hunted her sixth Spirit Ring, but after that, she disappeared. I don't know where she went now."
At this point, Shui Yue'er's gaze flickered slightly. Though she spoke simply, the hunting process had clearly not been easy.
The spirit beast Shui Bing'er chose was a fifty-thousand-year Ice Crystal Phoenix Bird. Even for her, she had to activate her Martial Soul True Body, and with Shui Bing'er's domain support, they only managed to defeat it after an intense battle.
It was also through that battle that Shui Yue'er realized just how powerful Shui Bing'er had become—especially after absorbing her sixth Spirit Ring, her strength was not much weaker than her own.
"I see."
Hearing this, Shui Wuhen lowered his head, thought for a moment, then stood up.
At the same time, he casually took out an exquisite jade bottle from his storage soul tool and placed it on Shui Yue'er's desk.
"Dean Yue'er, this is a pill I obtained by chance. It should be quite helpful for your breakthrough to Spirit Douluo."
After saying that, before Shui Yue'er could react, Shui Wuhen vanished instantly from the office. His speed was so fast that even Shui Yue'er, at the peak of Spirit Saint, didn't notice how he left.
After being stunned for a moment, Shui Yue'er frowned slightly and thought, "How long has it been? I can't even see through this kid's strength anymore."
Previously, although she had guessed that Shui Wuhen's combat power had surpassed hers, she could still see where his strength lay.
But just now, he clearly hadn't used any spirit skills—only relying on spirit power to move in a way that she, a level seventy-nine Spirit Saint, couldn't even perceive. That was terrifying.
She then thought of Shui Bing'er's rapid growth and chuckled. "Looks like these siblings have obtained some incredible opportunities."
After that, Shui Yue'er looked at the jade bottle left on the desk and opened it.
The next moment, a chill carrying a rich medicinal fragrance filled the entire room, causing every cell in her body to cry out in desire.
"This… this is…"
Meanwhile, Shui Wuhen had already left Tianshui Academy. What he gave Shui Yue'er was a pill he had recently refined using the corpse of a two-hundred-thousand-year Ice Dragon.
There were ten pills in the bottle. Although not as potent as the Ice Spirit Pills refined by the Tianmeng Iceworm, they were more than enough to help Shui Yue'er break through to Spirit Douluo.
Though Shui Yue'er spoke lightly, Shui Wuhen naturally understood the situation.
Shui Bing'er's fifth Spirit Ring was already a thirty-thousand-year Frost Emperor Swan. Her sixth Spirit Ring would only be higher—possibly forty or fifty thousand years, and from a top-tier spirit beast.
Even ordinary Spirit Douluo had to be cautious when facing such top-tier spirit beasts, let alone a Spirit Saint like Shui Yue'er.
Thus, giving her some pills was nothing in Shui Wuhen's eyes.
Creak—
Crossing most of the city, Shui Wuhen pushed open the gate of a small courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large, and its furnishings were simple, but a trace of nostalgia flashed in his eyes.
Because this was the property he had bought in Tianshui City—the place where he and his sister Shui Bing'er used to live.
As soon as he entered the hall, he saw a letter slightly covered in dust. Opening it, he began to read.
[My respected and dear brother, if you can see this letter, I will be very happy, because it means you returned safely.
It's just a pity I cannot greet you here in person, because I have most likely already entered the legendary Slaughter City for training.
Brother, there's no need to worry about my safety. I will come out alive. — Bing'er]
Closing the letter, Shui Wuhen's brows furrowed deeply. "Slaughter City… Bing'er actually went to such a place!"
He naturally knew about Slaughter City. It was a paradise of sin—a place where Spirit Hall imprisoned fallen ones and let them slaughter each other. It was also one of the most terrifying trial grounds for spirit masters.
Although almost all factions knew that successfully leaving Slaughter City would grant a top-tier domain—the Killing God Domain—and cause one's spirit power to surge afterward, very few were willing to send their geniuses there.
Because throughout history, only a handful of people had ever managed to walk out alive.
In a sense, Slaughter City was even more dangerous than the Extreme North.
"Bing'er was too impulsive."
After a moment, Shui Wuhen rubbed his forehead helplessly. He knew her purpose—to rapidly increase her strength and then rescue him. But Slaughter City was no ordinary place.
Under normal circumstances, Shui Wuhen would probably never go there in his lifetime. But now, he had no choice.
He walked into the courtyard and released Articuno.
Articuno quickly grew in size. Originally, it could only carry one person, but after enlarging several times, it could easily carry ten.
"Articuno, let's go."
Once Articuno finished transforming, Shui Wuhen mounted it.
"Wuu—"
The next moment, Articuno turned into a streak of icy-blue light, launching into the sky, accelerating again, and quickly disappearing.
Although the location of Slaughter City was mysterious, it wasn't a secret to those who sought it. In the notes of the fallen one Shui Wuhen had killed, there was a detailed description of its location.
After informing Articuno of the direction, Shui Wuhen took out Ice Spirit Pills from his soul tool and began refining them as quickly as possible.
Even though he was already very strong, he was heading to Slaughter City. The higher his spirit power, the better.
If he could wait until reaching Title Douluo before going, his safety would be completely guaranteed. After all, he had never heard of a Title Douluo entering Slaughter City.
Moreover, under Spirit Hall's strict suppression, fallen ones could never survive long enough to become Title Douluo—they would either be captured or forced into Slaughter City.
But nothing in this world was perfect. Level eighty-six would have to do. As long as Slaughter City wasn't a place that suppressed energy, he could still cultivate.
Waiting to reach Title Douluo outside would take too long—time he simply didn't have.
Every minute he delayed was another minute of danger for Shui Bing'er.
Soon, after refining the effect of the fiftieth pill, Articuno reached their destination.
"Wuhen, we've arrived."
Shui Wuhen immediately opened his eyes and looked down.
Below was a small town. It looked ordinary on the surface, but he could smell a faint scent of blood in the air.
"We go down. Be careful," Shui Wuhen reminded.
Articuno nodded slightly and descended into the town.
The moment they landed, Articuno shrank rapidly to sparrow size and perched on Shui Wuhen's shoulder.
Shui Wuhen entered a tavern in the center of the town, ignoring the strange gazes around him, and walked straight to the bartender.
"I want to enter Slaughter City."
"Slaughter City isn't a place just anyone can enter," the bartender said coldly.
But before he could continue mocking him, the sight before him made his pupils tremble.
Shui Wuhen released his spirit rings—eight in total—circling around him, declaring his identity.
Everyone in the tavern froze. Such a young man… yet already a top-tier Spirit Douluo?
"Gulp…"
The bartender swallowed. Reaching Spirit Douluo at such a young age couldn't be from normal cultivation. Just how many people had he killed?
Shui Wuhen's face was cold. "I'm in a hurry. I don't have time to waste. If you don't want to die, lead the way."
The bartender immediately forced a smile. "Haha, of course. A powerhouse like you naturally qualifies to enter Slaughter City."
After he said this, Shui Wuhen withdrew his aura, appearing like an ordinary youth again.
But the bartender, having just witnessed everything, wouldn't think so.
Together with several waiters, he moved the bar counter aside, revealing a large hole emitting a chilling wind.
Shui Wuhen probed downward with his spiritual power, soon showing a look of surprise.
Even with his current spiritual power—far surpassing most Title Douluo—he still couldn't discern what lay below.
He then turned to the people in the tavern. "You all, go in first!"
Some showed displeasure, but most were overjoyed. Wasn't entering Slaughter City their goal?
The next moment, most of them jumped down without hesitation.
The bartender and waiters had thoughts but didn't dare voice them. Offending a Spirit Douluo like him meant certain death.
Seeing no obvious traps, Shui Wuhen relaxed slightly. He then condensed an image with ice and showed it to them.
"Have you seen this girl?"
Upon seeing the image, the bartender and waiters were shocked.
Wasn't this the Ice-Blood Queen who had achieved ninety consecutive wins in the Killing Field recently?
After recovering, the bartender quickly replied, "She came here about half a year ago and entered Slaughter City!"
Shui Wuhen nodded slightly, then leapt into the dark hole.
He was ready to use defensive spirit skills, and with Articuno's Protect, no matter what danger lay below, he would have time to react.
Fortunately, things didn't go in the worst direction.
After falling a few meters, his feet touched the ground.
As he moved forward through the dark passage, he soon saw light ahead.
"Welcome to Slaughter City. This is the capital of hell, the world of slaughter.
Here, you can obtain everything you desire—but the price is your life!"
Hearing the voice, Shui Wuhen raised his brow. A show of intimidation right from the start?
But his spiritual power was strong enough, and with his 990,000-year head Spirit Bone, such mental attacks couldn't affect him.
The next moment, the view opened up.
A massive black city appeared before him, with a purple moon hanging above.
Not far away stood a squad of knights in heavy black armor.
And before them lay numerous corpses—the very people who had entered before Shui Wuhen.