Heroes' Prison

Chapter 1043 - 987: The Feathered Race’s Past

Upon confirmation, Huang Yi couldn’t help but glance once more at the raised scapula behind the old man. To think that the once-mighty Feathered Race had devolved into such a state.

The Feathered Race was once a great sky race in The Second World. They were adorned with a pair of broad wings, covered in feathers, soaring across the vast skies.

They made the blue skies and white clouds their home, counted high mountains and cliffs as friends, and kept company with the cool breeze and sunshine. Their elegant flight silhouettes once filled the sky of The Second World. People on the ground would often lift their heads, enviously gazing at their soaring figures in the sky, like noble angels.

During the Primordial Era, the Feathered Race gave birth to a great God Sealer, the God of Faith, Johns!

His emergence made the Feathered Race flourish unprecedentedly, at one point becoming the most powerful race in The Second World, ruling the skies of The Second World, and even the mighty Dragon Clan had to lower their noble heads.

But after Johns was deified, the Feathered Race gradually declined. Having endured the Remote Antiquity and Ancient Eras, their race’s current state became dire, reduced to barely survive. From the Near Ancient Period onward, no Feathered Race member has appeared, and some even believe the Feathered Race to be extinct.

No one expected a degraded descendant to have been left in this isolated Peach Blossom Spring.

"Why do you say Johns caused the downfall of your Feathered Race?" Huang Yi asked in confusion.

The old man squinted his eyes, as if recalling tales passed down through generations, and slowly said, "Johns was once a member of our Chase Sun Clan, which was one of the strongest clans of the Feathered Race. In the ancient language of the Feathered Race, Johns’ name means ’light of the blazing sun,’ and indeed his life was as radiant as his name suggests. Other Feathered Race members are born in cave nests on steep cliffs or grand nests on the crowns of giant trees, and only after spending their childhood can they slowly start learning to fly. But Johns was born while his mother was soaring in the sky; he was born directly from the sky and fell straight toward the ground. Had it been any other Feathered Race infant, they would have surely died upon hitting the ground, yet he miraculously learned to fly before crashing, as though he was born for the skies, destined to be different."

As the old man spoke, a longing smile appeared on his face, his ancient gaze looking far into the sky, and he continued, "Like all Feathered Race of the Chase Sun Clan, Johns believed in the warmth of sunlight, never allowing the sun to set as he endlessly pursued it without stopping to rest, dining on the wind and drinking the rain, absorbing nature’s spiritual energy. For this, he circled the world time and again with the sun, his golden wings eternally reflecting the dazzling sunlight, becoming a sight of the world. Countless children would even sit at their doorsteps every morning, looking up as Johns and the morning sun rose together at the edge of the sky."

Huang Yi lay on the wicker chair, listening to the old man’s words while gazing at the blue skies and white clouds in the horizon. He seemed to see that golden figure chasing the sun, tirelessly skimming across the sky over and over again.

The old man spoke, closing his eyes, his voice becoming somewhat somber: "Johns, with a pure heart, chased the sun, simple-minded, yet therefore had a half-understood perception of the world. He knew nothing of life’s pain, degeneration, evil, slaughter, darkness, and other negative emotions, and had never even seen the night. As he aged and his knowledge expanded, his doubts grew deeper. Just then, Pain Cult Master Grohl the Regretful personally came to this world, spreading suffering, developing Demon Cult followers. To study the Demonic Path, Johns stopped chasing the light and turned to the Agony Demon Sect. The places he flew over no longer had warm sunlight, but were filled with suffering and death. People started to fear his figure soaring in the sky, and those children who once looked up at his flying form began hiding indoors, shutting windows and doors. From then on, he became the world’s enemy, creating many enmities and even implicating the entire Feathered Race."

The old man took a deep breath, slowly opened his eyes, and his tone was once again filled with strength: "Later, Johns comprehended the Mystery of the Demonic Path and finally turned back to righteousness, defecting from the Demon Clan and returning once more. By then, he had thoroughly understood the nature of the world, penetrating the truths of light and darkness, sacredness and evil. With his supreme strength, he united all clans within the Feathered Race, leading the entire Feathered Race to genuine prosperity, dominating the vast skies. That was the most glorious era for our Feathered Race, with the entire world under the shadow of our wings, and countless races bowed in allegiance to us."

Huang Yi heard this, rubbed his chin, and said softly, "As the saying goes, ’extreme things reverse,’ so the next thing should be the decline of the Feathered Race!"

"Indeed!" The old man nodded, regrettably saying, "Under Johns’ indulgence, the Feathered Race became increasingly arrogant, considering themselves superior to all other races, and all conflicts and contradictions were brutally suppressed. Later, Johns achieved Divine Enthronement and entered the Heaven Realm, leaving the Feathered Race without his protection, yet they still vainly attempted to continue their former glory. They maintained their previous arrogance and quickly became the target of all. The enemies that Johns made in the past, and those who had no choice but to submit to the Feathered Race under the circumstances, all united to resist them. To make matters worse, the Demon Clan retaliated against the Feathered Race with madness due to Johns’ betrayal. From then on, the Feathered Race declined from prosperity, falling from Heaven to Hell. It was like the ancient saying of the Feathered Race — ’the higher you fly, the harder you fall.’ Although there were some extraordinary figures among the Feathered Race later, none reached the level of Johns, and they couldn’t change the fate of the Feathered Race’s decline."

"What’s the direct relationship between this and the degeneration of your wings?" Huang Yi asked puzzledly, "Even if the race declined, your wings are grown on your bodies, you can use them at any time, how could they degenerate?"

"It’s not that simple!" The old man shook his head and said softly, "As the Feathered Race declined, they couldn’t even hold onto a small piece of sky anymore, like rats crossing the street, everyone shouted to beat them. Whenever someone discovered a flying member of the Feathered Race, they would all join forces to attack them. To hide, the Feathered Race had to take refuge in some remote mountain cliffs, flying in secluded ravines, competing with some birds for that little low altitude. The days of soaring in the sky and traveling the world were gone forever."

"If that were the case, the Feathered Race would only be unable to fly so high or far, it wouldn’t lead to wing degeneration, would it?" Huang Yi asked with a frown.

"This has to be traced back to the Oskan Empire." The old man squinted his eyes, his face tensed, "By the time of the Oskan Empire’s era, the Feathered Race had dramatically declined, with some clans even extinct, and the remaining tribesmen had retreated into high mountain valleys, rarely participating in external conflicts. But during the reign of the 47th ruler of the Oskan Empire, Emperor Aoxiong, the situation changed. Emperor Aoxiong ruled the country with martial force, waging wars extensively, and the world was engulfed in flames and smoke, impacting the Feathered Race as well. The remaining tribesmen of the Feathered Race were forced to be conscripted to fight for Emperor Aoxiong. Clans like the ’Chase Wind’ and ’Lightning Clan’ succumbed to Emperor Aoxiong, becoming his lackeys. But led by our ’Chase Sun Clan,’ some clans preserved the pride of their ancestors, refusing to submit even to death. They were ruthlessly clipped of their wings, deprived of their flight capability, and degraded to slaves, subject to humiliation."

"Later, Emperor Aoxiong suffered successive defeats, and the clans that submitted to him gradually died on the battlefield. The Feathered Race was left with mostly those crippled slaves whose wings had been clipped, but they were more miserable than death because their offspring had severe defects, with incomplete wings. Even if some fortunate ones grew complete wings, there were no tribesmen left to teach them how to fly. Consequently, these descendants gradually lost their ability to fly, and generation after generation, the wings of the Feathered Race slowly degenerated, becoming shorter, smaller, and more fragile. The feathers on their bodies fell off generation by generation, becoming thin until they were left with only skin, indistinguishable from ordinary people. Of course, there were always some tribesmen who couldn’t accept this and tried every possible method, with some even almost succeeding, but ultimately they couldn’t prevent the tragic fate of the Feathered Race."

The old man spoke, adjusting his posture, "Our ancestors were once a group of insufferable slaves. They fortunately escaped and found such an isolated place, and since then, they have stayed here generation after generation without ever leaving again. Their ability to fly has not returned. But in our ancient books, we were once the Chase Sun Clan among the Feathered Race, the clan with golden wings chasing the sun and light; the Chase Sun Clan that birthed the God Sealer, Johns; the proud Chase Sun Clan that never bowed its head..."

As he spoke, the old man’s voice trembled slightly. The protruding shoulder blades on his back quivered, seemingly fantasizing about soaring into the sky and chasing the sun like their ancestors.

"I see!" Huang Yi finally realized, with a slight sense of respect rising in his heart.

The Feathered Race had weathered countless storms and upheavals yet ultimately survived in such a tenacious manner, which was nothing short of a miracle.

"Young man." At this moment, the old man turned to Huang Yi and earnestly said, "I hope you won’t reveal this place to outsiders. We have been isolated from the outside world for too long and no longer wish to return or be disturbed by outsiders. Your discovery of this place shows that you are fated with us, and we won’t let you go back empty-handed. Some things left by our ancestors are of no use to us but may be useful to you. Among them, there are even some items related to Johns."