Both Yi Chen and Jin,
felt an unsettling sensation when facing off against Prophet Yuri, to put it colloquially, it was like their underwear was completely transparent to their opponent.
“Slaughter foreknowledge”
Yi Chen and Jin’s every attack, laced with killing intent, was foreseen in advance, regardless of speed, coverage range, or the perfection of their combined strikes, the rhythm of the entire battle was firmly in the hands of Yuri.
An important point to note,
the battle with Yuri was not crude and did not fit the description of a Butcher as others had labeled.
Yi Chen, accustomed to observing others, saw this particularly clearly,
even though there was an aura of blood around Yuri, and each move carried almost physically manifested bloodlust, the whole person seemed incredibly delicate—akin to a true “Main Doctor”.
So delicate that each slash appeared as if playing a piano, each cut into flesh was layered with precision,
Iron chains dragged a severed lower half back from a distance, reconnecting it to form a whole.
Yi Chen sat leaning against the wall, his gaze scrutinizing Yuri who stood in the center of the arena.
He did not at all resemble a Butcher but rather a musician. The Slaughter Knife he rested on the ground was like a bright red cello, having just completed a flawless performance.
“Let’s call it a day, you two have reached your limits. This old body of mine is sufficiently loosened up after a long time without activity, continuing would be excessive.
Come talk to me, one at a time, who’s first?”
As Yi Chen was about to get up,
the Red Lotus slowly unfurled in the distance, and the amputated Jin had remarkably regenerated completely. Except for a few ping-pong ball-sized tumors on his skin, there were no other abnormalities.
It must be said that cancer as an Attribute, combined with Jin’s Profession, achieved an effect greater than the sum of its parts, the regenerative ability was terrifying.
Jin walked over first, exchanging words with Yuri face to face.
Even with blood streaming from seven orifices, a smile beamed across his face; he rarely thanked anyone, it seemed he had found a direction in his recent training, almost as if he had found a new way to harness slaughter.
As he turned and walked back, he lightly patted Yi Chen’s shoulder, “Your turn, hurry up.”
Yi Chen, dragging his slightly aching body, had barely stood before Yuri when he felt himself sink into a mire of killing intent.
The other’s voice traveled through the killing intent directly into Yi Chen’s brain:
“No wonder back at Swan School, Desline was so sure you wouldn’t be directly parasitized by nightmares.
Now it seems her judgment was correct; the substance of death in your brain can completely thwart other pathogens from invading your mind.
If this level of death cannot keep the nightmare factors at bay, then few in Zion would stand a chance, and the city’s doom would only be a matter of time.
No wonder Desline values you so much. During the recent fight, the throwing Skill you displayed was Star Magic like hers, right?”
“Yes, although I haven’t started systematic Learning yet, it’s just been about throwing and recalling Skills.”
“Your control over your abilities and mastery over your physical form are unparalleled among the younger generation. But your growth has been so rapid, you’ve missed something critically important.
Even with Talent, this thing requires time and a significant cost to hone.
The gift I am giving you is the right to use the Duel Arena, a single but indefinite use, the maids will offer unlimited resources, stay until you grasp the called ‘quality’ of combat skills, and feel a change in the ‘essence’ of slaughter before you leave.
You should be able to understand what I mean by ‘essence’, given your intellect, right?”
“I think I understand… the only thing I don’t get is why Mr. Yuri would…”
“Offer such generous help to you?
You’re barely half a Cesimani, even half is an exaggeration. Seeing Desline’s attitude, she clearly wants to claim you for herself and might appoint you as a special faculty once you graduate from the academy.
As someone on Cesimani’s side, I indeed shouldn’t be concerned with you.
The reason is simple… Zion is about to fall apart, and as someone nurtured by the Organization, I want to do what I can to help talented youngsters like you grow, as a way to repay the Organization.”
“Prophet Yuri, have you foreseen something in advance?”
“It has nothing to do with my foreknowledge, just a simple intuition. The accelerated aging of the First Gentleman, the significant drop in Organization skin production, the deaths in Levinholm City, and the nightmare threat still lurking in the shadows.
All these signs combined make it difficult for me to hold any hope for the future, or to say I have never held such hope.”
“Alright, let’s not talk about this for now—given both of your capabilities, you’d be able to protect yourselves even in the case of an incident.”
Suddenly, Yuri stretched out his hand and sliced open the clothing Yi Chen had just stitched shut, gently touching the muscle layout underneath with his fingertips.
“Your skills might be lacking, but your control over your physical body is truly excellent, especially when absorbing impacts.
If I’m not mistaken, the tutor listed in your student profile is Qian Bosen, but the person who actually trained you should be that guy… Hogni Zede, who was forcefully guaranteed by Desline and not executed by the organization.”
“No wonder you resemble him so much, and no wonder you, an outsider, were invited by Beili to Cesimani. How about we make a trade?”
“Zede’s physical condition has always ranked at the top in my mind, and I very much agree with the decision to keep him. I have longed countless times to dissect him to perfect my servant mold.
But that guy won’t willingly come to me, and it is impossible to forcefully take him.
Your body is nearly as close to his as can be, so if you allow me to dissect and analyze you, assisting in completing a brand-new maid mold, as compensation, I’ll teach you some ‘skills’ to help you kill your enemies faster.
From the first time we met in Swan School, I could tell that you, young man, love to kill… you have even once engaged in an unrestrained massacre.”
As Yuri spoke such direct words, whether it was the face-to-face conversation or the infiltration of the urge to kill,
a small segment of Yi Chen’s brain, sealed off and yet to be unlocked, had its memory images violently pulled forth.
In a certain dilapidated area,
corpses lay everywhere, a mix of both bizarre creatures and humans,
Yi Chen, in Dead Man Makeup, was completely bathed in blood,
The trembles of a madness-ridden mind forcibly scattered this memory, pulling Yi Chen out of a discordant scene.
“Fine,” Yi Chen nodded in response, having regained his senses, “When do we start?”
“We’ll start after you leave the Duel Arena—no rush! You just had a breakthrough and need ample actual combat to stabilize your physical body.
Although the Nightmare Incident is no small matter, it still requires a catalyst and time to fully erupt. As long as the First Gentleman hasn’t died, given his connections with the Skin Market, he can still stabilize the situation.
Rest easy and do your own thing.”
In the end, Yuri’s fingers traced a full circle along Yi Chen’s abdominal muscles, licked his lips slightly, then seated himself back in his wheelchair, returning to a sealed state.
The Duel Arena was entirely at their disposal; they could go to an adjacent compartment to rest and sleep when tired, and three meals a day were provided.
Yuri, only adept at slaughter foreknowledge, once again miscalculated.
He had believed they would stay down there for at most a week, but as time passed day by day, he could hear the clanging of metal coming from below, without a hint of it diminishing.
It wasn’t until the tenth day,
that a close maid relayed information to Yuri: “Master, the number of maids has fallen below the designated limit, and if this continues it will affect our comprehensive surveillance of Zion, to the extent that we may need to call back many maids to accompany their practice.”
Yuri, who was drafting designs, crushed the compass in his hand.
“Are they still carrying out slaughter below?”
“No—they’ve just returned to the rest area. They’ll probably sleep for a bit and then continue tomorrow. From the looks of it, they seem completely engrossed and have no intention of leaving.”
“Notify me immediately when they wake up tomorrow! I’ll go down myself to drive them out!”
[Duel Arena Rest Area]
It was really just a small area similar to a sports locker room, with a long bench in the middle and a shower room that only provided cold water.
Jin, who was used to sleeping nude but had to at least open his clothing due to nightmares, sprawled with one leg draped and the other resting on the bench, and was soundly asleep.
Yi Chen sat leaning against a wall nearby, seemingly watching Jin but was actually reviewing the day’s training in his mind, his body twitching slightly as some sort of qualitative change was taking place.
Under the infiltration of the night, the clothing occasionally reflected a hint of yellow.