Another Kind of Genius

The guide led Ru Shenqi inside and over to the registration booth. There, after she had donated a goblet of Bloody Mary to a large bowl, she officially became a fighter of Slaughter City Arena.

The registrar explained, "Now that you've registered with your identification tile, wait for your match to begin. You cannot get into fights while you're waiting. Once you're called, you'll have to fight ten people at once. Whoever is the last one standing will be the victor."

Ru Shenqi nodded. "Okay."

Lastly, she was handed a small, gold-rimmed, black eye mask. "What's this for?"

The guide answered, "All competitors wear these masks for inconspicuousness."

"Eh? Uh, okay."

Finally, she parted with the guide, and headed towards the waiting wings. As she waited, a twelve year old with golden blonde hair and bright yellow eyes came up beside her. She could feel the heavy weight of his killing intent and shivered once.

"What's a little girl such as you doing here?"

"Same as you," she calmly responded.

He stared at her in shock. "Really?"

She put her hands on her hips and turned to face him. Cocking her head, she challenged, "Do you doubt me?"

"What's your spirit rank, xiao guniang?"

After grinning, she bragged, "I'm a seven year old, thirty seventh ranked, Spirit Elder."

His jaw dropped. "How is this possible?"

"I'm a monster," she said simply. "But aren't you still a child yourself?"

Suddenly, an amped up voice declared, "This next match will be interesting. Newcomer 5423 will be fighting seasoned veterans 7643, 2847, 1037, 4695, 1673, 2394, 4859, 5934, and 6328."

The boy looked to her. "Is this your match?"

Ru Shenqi hummed in the affirmative. Without waiting for a reply, she strode out to meet her opponents. Standing one zhang away from the center of the stage, she took in the appearances of her opponents. Their heights ranged from shorter to taller while their builds went from lean and skinny to muscular and bulky. Only two of the nine others were female. And all wore masks similar to hers. The opponents all gaped at her, unable to believe they'd be fighting someone so short. And until she spoke, they never would've guessed she was just a child.

"Can we begin now, Announcer?"

Even the Announcer was stunned. She stammered, "Y- yes of course. Begin!"

As the others prepared their spirit power, Ru Shenqi smirked. Luckily, I had to survive on my own before my spirit was awakened. I know how to fight, and dirty if I need to. If there really are no laws here, then we'll see how fast I can finish this.

What nobody knew, not even those from Vast Sea City Primary Academy or Hu Liena, was that Ru Shenqi had one last thing gifted to her from her late parents, beside the langgan stone. Hidden under the tight wrapping of her sleeve at her wrist, was a silver bracelet. Etched all around it, perfectly set in the center of the metal, was the design of a shining stars. Concealed within the bracelet was a thin, golden, needle-like wire.

Her eyes narrowed. With the influence of the Bloody Mary, she watched and waited for the perfect moment to strike. When all ten opponents had gotten dangerously close to her, she spun around, raised her arm, and pressed a button on the bracelet. The wire shot out, curling around 2847's neck. She yanked on the wire, digging into his neck and cutting his carotid arteries. Blood leaked from his neck as he collapsed. Ru Shenqi retracted the wire, spun around again, and let the wire loose once more. She felled 1673 in the same way. Eight times later, all of the opponents were bleeding out on the arena's floor while she stood standing. Only a few short minutes had passed, and the battle was already over. Her killing intent had surged, and her eyes were blood red.

The Announcer couldn't believe her eyes. She cleared her throated and declared, "5423 has won her first match here in Slaughter City Arena!"

Cheers went up from the awestruck spectators. Ru Shenqi couldn't care less. She simply wanted to pass the Slaughter City Arena challenge, become the champion, and walk the Hell Road to be able to leave. Turning around, she left the arena and walked back over to where the boy was still standing. He stared at her amazed.

"Are you sure you're only seven?"

She nodded. "I'm sure."

"Well, if I ever have to compete against you, I'll try my best to defeat you."

"And I you."

Then, she brushed past him and went to go find her guide. It wasn't too long before the young woman appeared at her side.

"Impressive. I didn't know you knew hidden weapons. A Death God before you came and used his hidden weapons to win."

"It's not the legendary hidden weapons that you might be thinking of," Ru Shenqi admitted. Hu Liena had told her about the infamous soul of the Shrek Seven Devils' team, Tang San, and his amazing display of hidden weaponry. "It's just something left for me so that I could protect myself."

"Still, you maneuver the wire with grace and mastery. How long have you had it?"

"Since my parents died. My mother gave it to me as she was dying." And my father left me the langgan stone.

The guide looked envious. But then, her usual composure returned.

"The victory will be added to your identification tile. Are you looking to participate in another match now, or will you wait until tomorrow? Since you've won a match, you're qualified to live in the Inner City now."

Ru Shenqi tilted her head curiously. "I can go straight into another match?"

The guide nodded. "Yes. As long as there is a crowd, and ten people are willing to fight, then you can fight."

"Okay, I'll sign up for another match."

She turned to leave, and the guide stared after her in shock. Just who is this little girl that she doesn't fear such gruesome behaviors such as these?

<><><>

As expected, Ru Shenqi won her next match. And the three after that. In one day alone, she had gained five victories, and her arena death count was already up to forty five.

Over the next month, she racked up more and more victories. Her victories numbered thirty nine, and her arena death count stood at three hundred and fifty one. She was usually followed afterwards, but was always able to out dodge and defeat them, thus making her actual Slaughter City death count way beyond her arena count. Her eyes were almost always red, due to the constant slaughter intent. But she remembered Hu Liena's words. Beware of the Bloody Mary. It's poisoned, so don't drink too much of it.

When she had been in Slaughter City for half a year, her victories numbered seventy one, rendering her arena count to six hundred and thirty nine kills. Her total Slaughter City kill count was one thousand, three hundred and eighty two. Since she was even more fearsome than the legendary Death God, Asura King, with an even more impressive battle record, she had gained her own title: Hell's Little Empress. She knew she had surpassed the great Asura King and smirked to herself.

If only Shrek Academy knows that I've been able to surpass their great Tang San.

<><><>

Meanwhile, the new Slaughter King sat on his throne, silently monitoring Ru Shenqi's performances. His jet black hair, tall height of 200 cm, and sharp features, combined with his blood red eyes, made him a very imposing figure indeed. After his predecessor, Tang Chen had left Slaughter City, he had taken over and now reigned supreme.

The guide who had introduced Ru Shenqi to Slaughter City had her head resting on his left thigh. She looked up at him.

"Slaughter King," she began. "Do you plan to let Hell's Little Empress challenge the Hell Road?"

"I cannot afford to offend the one who sent her here to us. Out of the three Death Gods alive right now, the one who sent her to us is Hell Emissary. With the backing of Spirit Empire, I dare not challenge her."

The young woman pouted. "Ten Death Gods came to be under the previous Slaughter King's rule. Are you really going to let another one emerge?"

He glared at her. "Do you dare to challenge me?"

She shrunk away as his eyes blazed even redder. Gulping, she quickly shook her head no. "O- of c- course n- not, Slaughter King."

"Good. Now, let's see about Hell's Little Empress's progress."

<><><>

A couple more months passed, and Ru Shenqi was preparing for her one hundredth round. She was patiently waiting in the wings when someone approached her. Suddenly, she spun around upon sensing the foreign presence. A smile spread across the other's lips. Her eyes widened.

"It's you."

Indeed, it was the twelve year old boy she had met her very first day in Slaughter City Arena.

He nodded. "Are you about to fight, Xiao Shen?"

Long ago, she had told him her nickname, not wanting to reveal her real name. He had, as such, provided her with a pseudonym in return.

She bobbed her head once. "Yes. Though, I'm not fighting you, Bai Huo¹白火 - literally translated as "White Fire" ."

"So I heard. I wish we could battle some time."

"If I succeed, then I'm going to challenge the Hell Road. If we see each other on Douluo Continent, then sure. I'll spar with you."

Ru Shenqi, thanks to her childish nature was able to suppress most of her slaughter intent. But there was still an inkling, a desire to kill anyone and anything. Her fingers flexed subconsciously. Her red eyes flicked to Bai Huo.

"Do you plan to stay in Slaughter City or return to Douluo Continent?"

He grinned and said, "I'll definitely follow Xiao Shen's leads. My victories are at sixty three. When I get one hundred, I'll challenge the Hell Road too."

She scoffed and joked, "See if you can make it to one hundred by the end of the year."

His grin grew even wider. "Challenge accepted."

Ru Shenqi shook her head, chuckling. "When you pass the Hell Road, come find me at Shrek Academy."

Then, the Announcer declared, "This is the moment we've all been waiting for! Hell's Little Empress will be joining her one hundredth fight! Can she win? Let's see!"

And on that note, Ru Shenqi stepped out onto the arena stage and approached her nine opponents. She could tell that the lowest was Spirit Emperor. But thanks to her street smarts and her golden wire, she knew this battle would be no problem.

"Is everyone ready?" the Announcer teased. "Begin!"