Heroes' Prison

Chapter 147 Revisiting Old Places, Times Have Changed

"[System Prompt]: Congratulations on clearing the 30th floor of the Tower of Pantheons’ solo room," the system announcement proclaimed. "Your completion time was 22 minutes and 01 second, breaking the world record. You will receive a substantial reward!"

After clearing the level, Huang Yi was surprised by an unexpected system prompt. He had thought it nearly impossible to break the world record. Even when he was around level 30, he could complete the challenge in just over 20 minutes. With his current time only shaving off a few minutes, it came as a shock that he had nevertheless set a new record.

It was not like a record set by Heavenly Dao; Heavenly Dao and Dao Feng were of similar strength. This meant that Huang Yi had broken the world record of someone with the same level of strength as the current Dao Feng!

That was something that should not have happened! Even with an orange weapon, he was still much weaker than Dao Feng and the others, not having awakened his War Soul, lacking a profession, and being 10 levels lower!

Huang Yi was baffled, and after much thought, he could only come up with one reason: Heavenly Dao had not taken the record seriously, casually playing once, breaking the record, and claiming the reward.

But the real reason was known only to Heavenly Dao himself.

Huang Yi quickly claimed his reward and teleported out, then replayed the level and broke the world record again.

The rewards from breaking the world record twice allowed him to level up once more and earned him two energy stones, along with a level 45 purple gear and a level 45 blue gear.

Now, he had set the records for the 10th, 20th, and 30th floors, all three times breaking records held by Heavenly Dao. This was probably the last time he would break a record for a while. The next record, on the 40th floor, called for an optimal level of 55, which would take a long time to reach, and by then, he would be up against a record set by Dao Feng!

Huang Yi packed up his rewards and teleported out.

"Brother Lei, look quick! Instakill has broken the world record again!"

"Didn’t he just break the record for the 20th floor a while back? How did he level up so fast?"

"He’s slapping Heavenly Dao in the face! Heavenly Dao set a world record not too long ago, and now it’s been smashed by him. This is the fourth time he’s broken Heavenly Dao’s world record! Now Thunder God is even more precarious; looks like the Best Newcomer Award is going to Instakill!"

"I’m really curious, how can these world records be so easy to break? It’s like eating or drinking, it can’t be possible, can it? Is there any trick to it?"

...

Once teleported out, Huang Yi heard the exclamations of other players in the teleportation field. It was nighttime, the prime time for players to challenge the Tower of Pantheons, and anyone breaking a world record would be quickly noticed.

Huang Yi shook his head slightly and quickly left the area. The record, in fact, was originally beyond his reach, but for some unknown reason, Heavenly Dao held back from fully completing the challenge, leaving him an opening. Even he found the break in the record somewhat bewildering.

However, this record was an important bargaining chip, greatly increasing his chances of earning the Best Newcomer Award and temporarily putting Thunder God behind him.

Heading for the gates of Hedun City, Huang Yi decided to immediately visit Bai Long Lake to see Little White Cat, and on the way, he would ask the White Dragon King for a drop of essence blood, to see if he could evolve into the powerful Bai Long Clan and learn the skill of External Incarnation.

As he walked along, he stumbled upon a street and momentarily paused, fixating on the second floor of a luxurious residential building. It was the home of a noble family, the former owner of his cat mother. It was there she had given birth to him on that night long ago, but because he was not a purebred Spirit Cat, he was cast out by the owner. Afterward, his mother carried him over mountains and across great distances, beginning their life wandering in the forest.

Looking back, it was a time of simple joy, but now, he was alone; his mother had returned to the Divine Realm, while Little White Cat remained at Bai Long Lake, absorbing the Holy Aura.

Huang Yi glanced at the window on the second floor and then walked out of Hedun City, his shadow elongating in the dim streetlights. He followed the same path his cat mother had once taken him on. Back then, he was just a defenseless kitten, unable to protect even himself, but now he had grown into a mighty Beast King, capable of protecting those he wished to safeguard. His growth over the course of a single month had been immense.

Huang Yi switched to his fastest Beast King Form and sped toward Bai Long Lake. He crossed streams, scaled mountains, and passed through territories of wild beasts. The pure moonlight, trickling through the leaves, illuminated his quickly moving figure just like a month before.

After some time, he arrived at a familiar place—Wind Forest Stronghold.

The stronghold was now in ruins, buildings destroyed and fences toppled. Deserted, it was eerily silent as the wind blew indifferently. Since the time he had caused havoc there, breaking the Respawn Point, killing a group of Half-Beastmen, and defeating Barbaric Hammer, the place had never recovered. Players stopped visiting, and soon it was forgotten, leaving only a few remaining Half-Beastmen holding out. However, when their chief, Lord Man Lie, went to hunt down Huang Yi, he never returned. After a while, the remaining Half-Beastmen left the sorrowful site, turning it into a wasteland.

Returning to the site, Huang Yi suddenly felt the transience of time. In just a month, so much had happened. If it hadn’t been for Chen Yuxi and her two companions, or if he had still been happily living with his cat mother and Little White Cat, Wind Forest Stronghold would have remained intact, bustling with the comings and goings of many. Everyone’s fate is intertwined with others, and seemingly unrelated people are bound by countless connections. Huang Yi’s future was also uncertain, and he wondered who he would meet and what stories would unfold next.

...

After several days of travel, Huang Yi finally reached Bai Long Lake again. The mist that once shrouded the lake was now much thinner, revealing vast expanses of water. It seemed that Little White Cat must have absorbed quite a lot of the Holy Aura, weakening its presence and dissipating the dense fog over the lake.

Huang Yi’s heart eased somewhat, and he made his way to the reed-covered ferry crossing at Bai Long Lake. The old man on the ferry was still there, quietly fishing under the moonlight.