In the Slaughter City—
As long as one participates in deathmatches within the Hell Slaughter Arena, each battle allows the elimination of nine fallen Spirit Masters. With the use of the External Spirit Bone – Demon Willow Fluff, Ye Yu could devour their Spirit Power, life force, and even their souls.
As Ye Yu's cultivation increased, the age of the Demon Willow Fluff Mother Bone also steadily rose. This increase didn't just mean more Demon Willow Fluff clones could be created—it also meant that its efficiency in converting devoured souls into pure soul power had significantly improved.
Compared to spirit beasts, the souls of humans were undoubtedly stronger. Thus, the Demon Willow Fluff could extract a much higher quantity of refined soul power from human targets, which in turn greatly accelerated Ye Yu's spiritual power growth. This spiritual enhancement further improved his control over Spirit Power, his self-created abilities, Spirit Ring abilities, and Spirit Bone abilities.
If he achieved a hundred consecutive victories in the Hell Slaughter Arena, Ye Yu could slay nine hundred powerful fallen Spirit Masters. Not only would his cultivation improve drastically, but his spiritual power would as well!
Moreover, Ye Yu was particularly intrigued by the River of Blood on the Hell Road. Once he entered the Road, he planned to use the Demon Willow Fluff to devour large quantities of the river's blood. That blood would undoubtedly convert into vast life force, which could help improve his physical constitution—and with that, raise the age of his eighth Spirit Ring. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt
Additionally, the Hell Road housed two mutated beasts: the Dark Golden Three-Headed Bat King and the Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent.
Among them, the inner core of the Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent might potentially help his girlfriend Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul evolve further.
In short, Ye Yu came to a conclusion:
The Slaughter City was a treasure trove tailor-made for him.
With this in mind, Ye Yu made a decision:
"I'll head to the Slaughter City for a year of training!"
Inside the Dugu Mansion—
Before leaving, Ye Yu found Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and Ning Rongrong training together in the courtyard using the Tang Sect techniques.
"I might be away for about a year," Ye Yu said calmly.
Dugu Yan looked a little reluctant. "Ah Yu, you're leaving again?"
"Where are you going this time?"
Ye Yu smiled. "The Slaughter City."
"It's a very dangerous place, so I won't be bringing you along. But for me, it's not dangerous at all—in fact, it's a land of opportunity. There's a treasure there waiting for me to claim. When I return, I'll give you all a surprise!"
After speaking, Ye Yu turned to Ning Rongrong and said, "Rongrong, do you have some time now? I need you to accompany me to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. I know about the Slaughter City, but I don't know its exact location. I want to ask Uncle Ning."
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up. "Of course I do! Let's go back to the clan together!"
She quickly walked to Ye Yu's side, her noble and delicate face full of joy as she took his arm affectionately.
Ye Yu glanced over at Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Zhu Zhuqing, and Huo Wu, and smiled. "Yan-yan, Lingling, Zhuqing, Huo Wu—I'll be taking Rongrong with me for now."
With that, he scooped Ning Rongrong up in a princess carry, transformed into a bolt of thunder, and soared into the sky.
Watching Ye Yu's figure disappear into the horizon, Huo Wu's elegant face filled with admiration and longing.
Since acknowledging Ye Yu as her master, she had only grown more in awe of him. His talents, intelligence, and methods surpassed anything she had imagined.
Ye Yu didn't just discover how to evolve Martial Souls—he had developed multiple powerful self-created Spirit Abilities, pioneered Spirit Power compression, and pushed his power quality beyond his peers at the same rank. He even proposed and achieved the revolutionary concept of Spirit Core condensation.
Even before becoming a Titled Douluo, he could already fly unaided, and had even fused with a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast's bloodline, manifesting a Spirit Ring with an age beyond 100,000 years.
Such a person—capable, bold, and brilliant—was the only one worthy of being the man Huo Wu gave her heart to. Compared to Ye Yu, Feng Xiaotian wasn't even qualified to carry his shoes.
Ye Yu carried Ning Rongrong in a streak of lightning across the sky, quickly arriving at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Seeing his dramatically changed appearance, Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo were all stunned. If not for Ning Rongrong confirming it, and Ye Yu summoning his unique Blue Silver Jade Tree Martial Soul, they might not have believed it.
"Uncle Ning! Grandpa Sword! Grandpa Bone!" Ye Yu greeted them politely.
Invited inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Ye Yu explained his purpose.
"Uncle Ning, I came here to ask for your guidance."
"I came across mention of the Slaughter City while reading. I've heard that if one can survive its trials, they can acquire a Domain. I'd like to go there for training—but I don't know where it is."
"I figured you, with your vast knowledge, must know. If even you don't know where it is, then probably no one else on the continent does."
Ning Fengzhi's expression shifted. As one of the most learned men on the continent—due to a lifetime of reading and the clan's vast library—he did in fact know the Slaughter City's location.
"Little Yu," he said gravely, "I do know where the Slaughter City is. But I must warn you, it's not a place for the faint of heart."
"They say Spirit Masters who enter the Slaughter City lose the ability to use Spirit Abilities. That levels the playing field significantly. Combined with its bloodthirsty culture, even a Titled Douluo might not make it out alive."
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Ye Yu smiled and replied confidently:
"Don't worry, Uncle Ning. The Slaughter City may be dangerous to others—but not to me."
"Because my strength… isn't limited to Spirit Abilities alone."
To prove his point, Ye Yu activated his External Spirit Bone – Thunderous Hell Prison Spear.
He reached behind his back and pulled the spear from the top of his spine. Then, he retrieved the helmet he once wore during his battles as An Lan in the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena and put it on.
The moment they saw the spear and helmet, Ning Fengzhi's eyes widened in shock.
"Little Yu… You were that prodigy An Lan in the Heaven Dou Arena?!"
Unknown to Ning Fengzhi, Ning Rongrong had kept many of Ye Yu's secrets hidden—his Mysterious Heaven Skill, Tang Sect techniques, and even the true identities of Xiao Wu and Ah Yin.