Heroes' Prison

Chapter 564 - 545 The Moment That Captures The World’s Attention

"Could it be related to the Sand Thief King?" Qin Shiyu’s eyes swiveled as he suddenly ventured a guess.

"Correct!" Huang Yi nodded, the long-absent figure of the Sand Thief King materializing in his mind.

In the past, the figure of the Sand Thief King had seemed so towering and vast, unshakable. But as he advanced, the Sand Thief King was no longer an invincible expert out of his reach. Once he acquired the title of Martial Saint, at least his status would be on par with the Sand Thief King, both being Advanced Holy Domain Experts.

What remained were merely gaps in level, attributes, talent, and skills; the disparity in their strengths was no longer as vast as it had been before.

Huang Yi stroked his chin, musing, "Now, the preparatory work for the Heart of Religion is in its final stages, and we’ll soon be able to establish a religion. However, I also want to found a nation, just like Dragon Spike establishing an empire. To create a nation, one needs the Imperial Jade Seal, and these are hard to come by, only bosses with emperor status drop them. The Sand Thief King, having been the emperor of Desolate Sands for several eras, fits the bill perfectly."

As Huang Yi spoke, his gaze filled with depth, staring out the window and gazing at the vast starry sky: "Furthermore, I’ve always been deeply interested in that Golden Holy Dragon’s treasure spot. What exactly is inside that Level Two Hundred Treasure Room? Why would the Golden Holy Dragon design such a trap to attract those with Dragon Clan bloodlines and absorb their blood? Previously, my level wasn’t high enough, and I couldn’t enter. But now, with the additional skills attached to my jewelry set, I can temporarily rise to Level Two Hundred, and I can even release criminals of the Heavenly Realm level, which allows me to finally enter and see for myself the last treasure room."

The secret of the Golden Holy Dragon’s treasure had been lingering in Huang Yi’s heart for a long time. Among the Three Great Top Dragon Clans, it far exceeded the White Dragon Clan and Sea Dragon Clan, which had considerable connections to Huang Yi. Among the Ten Great Deity Sealers in the history of The Second World, one was from the Golden Holy Dragon clan. Huang Yi had previously noticed something unusual about that treasure but lacked the capability to investigate; now that his level had significantly increased, he could finally unveil that layer of mystery.

"Big brother, you’re so busy!" Xiao Chunzi pressed her little face against Huang Yi’s stomach and sighed. She was the player who had accompanied Huang Yi the longest, being his companion since birth. Yet while she spent her days carefree, Huang Yi was always busy with many matters.

Huang Yi smiled slightly and held Xiao Chunzi in his arms, saying, "Yes, I’ve got a very busy matter awaiting me. I reached Level One Hundred and Twenty just yesterday, but I still haven’t decided which Race to evolve into!"

Last night, he had advanced to Level One Hundred and Twenty, allowing his race to undergo an evolution, and Nefalem’s Bloodline gained another new talent and skill. However, regarding evolution, he was still considering his options, given that he was unable to absorb the blood of that Mysterious Python and needed to switch targets.

"[System Prompt]: The final round of the award ceremony for the martial contest is now commencing. As a winner, please teleport to the ceremony venue promptly."

Just then, the System announced the start of the award ceremony, which also marked the closure of the martial contest. Awards would be given to Huang Yi and Miyamoto Musashi, as well as their backing teams, and they were also expected to give speeches.

Immediately, Huang Yi and the two others chose to teleport, and in a blink, they found themselves in the Second Dimension space of the award ceremony.

At this moment, almost all the players worldwide were still recovering from the shock of the just-concluded team finals when they teleported to this two-dimensional ceremony space. The commentators from various countries also shifted their focus from the team competition to recapping the martial contest.

Soon, the male and female hosts took to the central stage, sweeping their gaze across the crowd, and proclaimed with robust voices, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final award ceremony of this martial contest... "

After delivering an opening address in Chinese and English, the two universal languages, the host immediately got to the point: "Coming up next is the team competition award ceremony! During this martial contest, the Heroes’ Guild stood out, with their team formed not too long ago, nowhere near as established as the veteran teams. However, their rise was as formidable as Mr. Slaughter, conquering all challenges, and ultimately claiming the crown of the team championship. The Martial Arts Guild also performed well, especially with the impressive showing from Zhitian Shi in the recent final. Now, please welcome all the players from both teams on stage!"

Immediately, a thousand players from the Heroes’ Guild and the Martial Arts Guild received a System Prompt, and they teleported without delay.

In an instant, the central area of the stage was filled with two new groups of people, representing the Martial Arts Guild and the Heroes’ Guild, with the two team leaders at the foremost positions.

At this moment, all eyes in the venue were on these thousand individuals, especially the five hundred members of the Heroes’ Guild. Among these five hundred, some were students, such as Vice Hall Master Mirror Broken of the Hero Guild’s Assassins’ Hall, and Xiao Chunzi, who were still in school. Their school principals, teachers, and even the mayors of their cities were proudly watching them from the audience. Once the evening celebration concluded, these members would be stars, and their cities would hold grand welcoming ceremonies, with mayors even delivering televised speeches.

"Next, we invite Mr. Huang Huapeng, the CEO of the Era Corporation, to present awards to both teams!" As the host’s voice faded, a familiar figure instantly teleported to the scene, unmistakably Mr. Huang Huapeng, the CEO of the Era Corporation.

Guided by the ceremony hostess, Mr. Huang Huapeng soon approached Miyamoto Musashi to begin the presentation of the runner-up award.

At this time, Miyamoto Musashi’s expression maintained his usual friendly image, always wearing a faint smile on his face, seemingly unaffected by the outcome of the team battle. Whether he was internally frustrated or disappointed, no one knew.

Mr. Huang Huapeng came before Miyamoto Musashi, nodded slightly, and then took a box from the tray held by the hostess next to him, handing it to him.

The runner-up award was merely symbolic—a D-level Energy Stone for each team member, making up a total of five hundred. These were given to Miyamoto Musashi for him to distribute privately.

"Thank you!" Miyamoto Musashi accepted the box solemnly, politely thanking him in Chinese. Although Era Corporation and governments worldwide maintained a distance, its founder, Mr. Huang Huayi, its current president, Mr. Huang Sha, and the CEO, Mr. Huang Huapeng, were all Chinese.

After presenting the award to Miyamoto Musashi, Mr. Huang Huapeng approached Huang Yi. Finally, he wore a gratified smile, couldn’t help but pat his shoulder, and said kindly, "Mr. Slaughter, we meet again. Last time I presented you with the individual runner-up award; this time it’s the championship. You’ve done brilliantly. Congratulations to you and your team!"

Then, Mr. Huang Huapeng took out a box from the tray held by the ceremony hostess and handed it to Huang Yi.

Inside the box were five hundred storage rings, named after the Heroes’ Guild, one for each of the five hundred members. These storage rings had a small amount of attributes and were precious, equivalent to having an extra piece of equipment, albeit with less attribute bonus than real equipment. This award was exclusively for the team battle champions, something not even the individual champion Miyamoto Musashi had received.

Next, Mr. Huang Huapeng began to present the second reward. He looked over the Heroes’ Guild behind Huang Yi and waved his hand.

In an instant, five hundred orbs of light burst forth from his hands, merging into each member of the Heroes’ Guild, subsequently raising their level by one. Huang Yi also went from Level 120 to 121.

Lastly, Mr. Huang Huapeng presented the final reward. He took a glittering medal from the tray held by the ceremony hostess, which bore a portrait of Huang Yi himself!

Mr. Huang Huapeng solemnly pinned the medal to Huang Yi’s chest, signifying him as the world’s sole Martial Saint!

This title was reserved for the team leader of the group champions, corresponding to the Martial Emperor title of the individual competition!

Huang Yi couldn’t resist touching the medal on his chest, feeling the power within. He was now even more formidable. This title, which could only be obtained by the team champion’s leader, reflected the team’s nature, and among the five attribute bonuses it provided, three were particularly useful to him.

The first attribute was a Status Level increase of +1. This allowed Huang Yi to have a significant advantage when facing non-heroic characters of the same level and not fear those one status level higher—at least, there was no disparity in terms of status level.

The second attribute reduced the All Attributes of the ten enemies with the highest Attack Power by 20% when multiple enemies attacked him, lasting until the battle ended. This attribute was designed to enhance the group combat capabilities of the team champions, but it perfectly complemented Huang Yi’s Class Talent—Legal Protection. His Legal Protection Talent limited damage to the attacks of the ten people who dealt the most damage to him, which was his reliance when confronting swarm tactics. With this attribute from the Martial Saint title, his ability would be even more outstanding.

The third attribute added 10% Holy damage to his normal attacks; in team status, the normal attacks of all team members received an additional 2% Holy damage. After awakening to Nefalem’s Bloodline, Huang Yi’s normal attacks had already included 20% Darkness-based damage and 10% Holy damage. With this Martial Saint title, both types of top-level damage would be 20%!

With this, the awarding segment concluded. Of course, the Heroes’ Guild and the Martial Arts Guild had yet another prize: direct nomination for the best team award at the next annual festival. There were a hundred spots for contenders, but only ten nominations, securing two of them in advance.

"Now, let us invite Mr. Slaughter, the team champion leader, and the individual champion, Miyamoto Musashi, to say a few words!"(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)