Heroes' Prison

Chapter 807 - 766: Dao Feng’s Shocking Return!!

Huang Yi cut a piece of steak with the dinner knife, put it into his mouth, and asked while chewing, "So you came here to find his sword marks?"

"Yes!" Dao Feng nodded, touched the two golden war blades on the table, and said softly, "But this ancient castle is too large. I’ve searched every building, every stone pillar, every flower bed, and every brick, even dug three feet into the ground, but still couldn’t find where Philips practiced his sword technique. Later, I found a chronicle about Philips, which recorded that Philips was bestowed the name ’No Sword’; he was a swordsman without a sword."

Huang Yi immediately frowned and said, "If he doesn’t have a sword, doesn’t that mean he wouldn’t practice sword techniques at all? How are you going to find his sword marks?"

Dao Feng shook his head and said, "That’s just a superficial illusion. Only the Sword Emperor truly achieved the realm of ’No Sword’. Philips couldn’t have truly been without a sword; it’s just that his sword must be extraordinary, and no one could guess it. The essence of sword technique is to strike unexpectedly, to reveal the sword when everyone believes he wouldn’t draw it. The reason we couldn’t find his sword or his sword marks is that we didn’t guess the timing of his sword drawing."

"Have you guessed it now?" Huang Yi put down the wine glass and asked.

"I think I might have guessed it." Dao Feng said, smiling slightly at the candle flames on the dining table, "There are two times most unexpected for practicing sword techniques. One is while sleeping, but I haven’t found any sword marks in his room. So, he must have practiced sword techniques while dining. I specifically arranged this place to resemble the way Philips had it back then, with candlelight, dining amidst a sinister and terrifying atmosphere, to ponder the ambiance and mood he had while dining, to guess how he practiced sword techniques during meals. As expected, some clues emerged as I pondered."

"Oh? What clues?" Huang Yi suddenly became interested.

"Look, over there!" Dao Feng said, pointing at a spot on the table nearby.

Huang Yi turned his head and immediately saw three scratch marks on that spot. Due to the long passage of time, the scratch marks were filled with black dust, looking like black wounds in the flickering candlelight.

Dao Feng’s eyes sparkled brightly, staring at the three scratch marks on the table, and said, "This dining table is made of Demonic Iron Tree, which is impervious to swords and guns. Only Advanced Holy Domain Experts could make marks on it. Philips was an Advanced Holy Domain Expert back then, so these marks were likely made by him during meals."

Huang Yi cut another piece of steak and put it into his mouth, saying, "You’re saying he practiced sword techniques while dining? But how did he use a sword during meals?"

"Aren’t you holding a knife in your hand?" Dao Feng replied.

Huang Yi looked down and immediately saw the dinner knife in his hand.

In the flickering candlelight, the knife was reflecting a bright gleam, stained with beef juices.

It was indeed a knife!

A knife most easily overlooked!

"Are you saying he used a dinner knife to practice sword techniques?" Huang Yi played with the dinner knife in his hand and asked incredulously.

Dao Feng nodded, "Yes, sword technique does not depend on the type of knife used. Whether it’s a war blade, a pig slaughtering knife, or a dinner knife, they’re all just tools. It’s nothing to wield sword techniques with a war blade, but if one could perform equally powerful sword techniques with a dinner knife, that would be a true master. After the Sword Emperor’s divine enthronement, he even abandoned swords altogether, achieving the realm of ’No Sword’. I think Philips practiced sword techniques with a dinner knife while dining, and the marks on this dining table are the traces of his practice back then."

Huang Yi put down the dinner knife and picked up the five sheepskin scrolls to compare them with the three marks on the table.

However, no matter how he compared them, the sword marks on the dining table and those on the five sheepskin scrolls were different. He still couldn’t identify which scroll contained the real sword technique.

Dao Feng shook his head with a helpless smile, "I compared them, but it’s useless. The marks are too few to make a comparison. Unless I know the sequence in which these three sword marks were made, I can’t deduce which sheepskin scroll is the real sword technique."

"Let me help you see!" Huang Yi said, immediately using his divine skill, Eye of Time!

History suddenly rewound before his eyes, revealing secrets buried in the river of time step by step.

"Exactly how many years ago did Philips live in this ancient castle?" Huang Yi asked while staring at the three marks.

Dao Feng immediately looked at Huang Yi with curiosity, seemingly not expecting Huang Yi to have a way. He then promptly spat out a number, "Philips’s era in this ancient castle was around two thousand one hundred and fifty years ago."

Huang Yi immediately rewound history back to two thousand one hundred and fifty years ago.

Instantly, the three marks disappeared from view.

This indicated that his Eye of Time had gone too far back in history.

He adjusted the history ten years closer.

Suddenly, the three marks appeared, much fresher than they were now, as if they had just been made.

Huang Yi slowed time down to a month-by-month basis, unraveling the scene where the three marks emerged...

Philips was already a deceased figure; his Eye of Time couldn’t display the person’s image, only show the marks on this table.

Thus, using the method he previously employed on the giant eye on the deserted island to search for the mysterious python, he spent about two minutes finding the exact second those three marks appeared.

The three marks appeared almost simultaneously, demonstrating the speed of the owner’s sword technique, nearly too fast for the naked eye.

However, Huang Yi’s sharp eyesight allowed him to deduce after just two glances, "The one on top appeared first, then the one on the left, and the remaining mark appeared last."

"You actually figured it out!" Dao Feng expressed slight surprise, then immediately locked his gaze on the three sword marks, his palm moving slightly, seemingly calculating something.

After a while, Dao Feng suddenly smiled slightly and picked up one of the sheepskin scrolls on the table excitedly, "I’ve deduced it! It’s this one!"

"Then go on, try it!" Huang Yi picked up the dinner knife again and put the last piece of steak into his mouth.

Dao Feng took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, as if making a firm decision.

He had only one chance; if he deduced wrongly, he would not obtain the Sword Emperor’s sword technique inheritance and would only have the Sword Emperor’s weapon! His future potential would be greatly diminished.

Finally, Dao Feng opened his eyes, a flash of determination and color gleaming in them, and his hand trembled slightly.

At this moment, time seemed to come to a standstill!

In the flickering candlelight, amidst the sounds of Huang Yi chewing, and the howling night wind from outside, a silent choice was taking place.

Suddenly, the other four sheepskin scrolls on the table all dissipated into flying ash!

While the sheepskin scroll in Dao Feng’s hand remained intact!

Not only that, but the sword lines on the sheepskin scroll in Dao Feng’s hand flew out suddenly, turning into substantive light and merging into Dao Feng’s body!

After the last sword mark was absorbed by Dao Feng, a vast and distant voice suddenly rang out between heaven and earth—

"[System announcement]: [Sword Emperor] has obtained the complete inheritance of the God Sealer, becoming the first player to receive the complete divine inheritance, awarding public prestige 1000 points, and obtaining [Unique Achievement]—[Successor of Sword Emperor], China National Honor Value +1"

This announcement spread to the entire world, into the ears of all Chinese players, and to those players invading Hero’s Continent!

This super-first-class master, who had retired for a long time, has once again caused such a huge stir!

He appeared once more in the sight of world people through this announcement!

"The Sword Emperor is full of deterrence even in retirement. It would be great if he could join the national war!" At this time, countless Chinese players were eagerly anticipating Dao Feng, whose experience is older than Huang Yi’s, having been the world’s number one in the first two years of The Second World.

When this legendary figure returns, his momentum alone would be enough to shock all invaders!

"Luckily, the Sword Emperor hasn’t returned; otherwise, our national war would be difficult to fight!" At this time, in Chibi City occupied by the invading army on Hero’s Continent, the U.S. super-first-class master Dante turned to another super-first-class master, Kid, and said.

...

"Dao Feng, congratulations on obtaining the complete inheritance of the Sword Emperor." Huang Yi congratulated as well, noting that as long as Dao Feng’s level increased, he would once again potentially be the world’s number one.

"Thanks to your help, otherwise, I wouldn’t know when I could find the real sword technique sheepskin scroll." Dao Feng expressed his gratitude and then touched the two war blades, saying, "I am far from fully exhibiting their actual effects now. As I level up in the future, the inheritance effects will become more apparent. There have been more than thirty individuals in history who received the Sword Emperor’s inheritance, but not one of them reached the Sword Emperor’s level back then, including the owner of this castle, Philips. I have a long road ahead."

At this time, Huang Yi finally finished his dinner as well.

He put down the dinner knife, took out a napkin to wipe his mouth, and looked seriously at Dao Feng, "Now, we should talk about serious matters. Do you know why I came to find you?"

Dao Feng nodded: "You want me to join the Hero Legion and participate in the national war, right?"

"Yes, you’ve been in seclusion for too long; it’s time to return! All across the Land of Heroes, countless people are waiting for you!" Huang Yi earnestly looked at Dao Feng, his eyes reflecting two flickering candlelight flames.

"I’ve already joined the war." Dao Feng said and took out a cloth, gently wiping one of the war blades.

"Already joined? What do you mean?" Huang Yi frowned and asked, puzzled.

Dao Feng smiled slightly and slowly revealed, "Actually, Gentleman is another identity of mine."

"What? You are Gentleman?!" Huang Yi immediately stood up from his seat!

Dao Feng nodded noncommittally, "To be accurate, Gentleman is my Divine Embryo, but it has not yet been cultivated; its power is not even half of my main body’s."

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The following text is not charged:

Many readers might have guessed it already, actually Gentleman is indeed Dao Feng. The insight of the readers is the sharpest; many foreshadowing couldn’t be hidden from the readers’ eyes.

This book has many similar clues, some buried for up to two million words, which will be gradually unveiled later on.

Some hints are written very superficially, such as the very beginning with Thunder God and Lei Shen in this book. From the names, you could easily see it. At the time of writing, it was intentional that each time Thunder God was mentioned, the protagonist would log off and encounter Lei Shen.

Writing like this was to make readers associate Thunder God and Lei Shen together.

Some readers have scolded me, saying that anyone could see that Thunder God is Lei Shen, so why couldn’t the protagonist figure it out?

This is actually a perspective confusion problem; the writing style is from a God’s perspective, where readers can know all information, but from the protagonist’s perspective, he is a character on the board, limited by the information he knows. Just by looking at Thunder God and Lei Shen’s names won’t let him suspect any connection between them.

A new volume begins, titled with five characters—Sword Dragon Slayer.

You should know what these five characters mean. Indeed, all the super-first-class masters of Hero’s Continent will appear, fighting side by side.

With more characters, the narrative gets increasingly challenging to write, but I strive to write it well.

Lastly, I ask for some monthly tickets and recommendation tickets! (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast recommendation and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com)