Heroes' Prison

Chapter 913 - 862: No Heavenly Phenomenon

"What strange occurrence?" Qin Shiyu stared intently at Huang Yi and grabbed his arm.

Huang Yi took a deep breath and said, "I just saw, quite unintentionally, that the one ranked above Eiffel is Sharp Sword!"

Qin Shiyu frowned, seemingly confused, and replied, "What’s the issue with that?"

Huang Yi tilted his head back to gaze at the empty sky and said ominously, "Sharp Sword ranking above Eiffel indicates that he has also reached Level 200. Yet, he has no Heavenly Phenomenon!"

Qin Shiyu finally understood. She immediately raised her head to look at the sky. Sure enough, all directions were calm and tranquil, with only Eiffel’s Heavenly Phenomenon marking his ascension to the Heavenly Realm—nothing else was present.

Unwilling to believe it, she personally opened the Level Leaderboard and searched for Sharp Sword’s name!

Soon, Sharp Sword’s ranking appeared, and sure enough, he was listed directly above Eiffel, his Level also being 200!

"This... this is just unbelievable!" Qin Shiyu’s astonishment was palpable.

Huang Yi spoke gravely, "Every single person ascending to the Heavenly Realm is guaranteed to trigger a Heavenly Phenomenon. Even if they’re inside a secret realm, the phenomenon will appear above their continent in some form—it is always observable. Earlier today when I logged in, Sharp Sword was Level 199. I didn’t log off at any point, and now he’s Level 200. If there had been a phenomenon, I would not have missed it. Yet, not a single trace of it appeared. This strange occurrence—I’m encountering it for the first time."

Qin Shiyu mulled over his words briefly, then said, "Could it be that Sharp Sword ascended to the Heavenly Realm at some point in the past but lowered his Level, and today merely adjusted it back to Level 200? You yourself have the ability to lower your Level, right?"

Huang Yi shook his head decisively and replied, "For someone like Sharp Sword, someone of his stature, his ascension to the Heavenly Realm would at least trigger a Demigod-Level Heavenly Phenomenon observable worldwide. If he had ascended in the past, there should have been a prior occurrence of such a phenomenon. The entire world would have taken notice. But up until now, every known Demigod-Level Heavenly Phenomenon has a confirmed owner. And the mysterious, owner-less phenomena are all below Demigod-Level, which doesn’t match Sharp Sword’s strength. So this explanation doesn’t make sense either."

"Then have you come up with any other possible explanation?" Qin Shiyu asked instinctively.

Huang Yi squinted his eyes and stared at the expansive sky, speaking solemnly, "I thought of Dao Feng. Gentleman is Dao Feng’s Divine Embryo, currently at Level 198. I don’t know if a Divine Embryo’s ascension to the Heavenly Realm would trigger a Heavenly Phenomenon."

"What?" Qin Shiyu was visibly startled, seemingly catching onto Huang Yi’s inference. She exclaimed in disbelief, "Are you suggesting Sharp Sword is someone else’s Divine Embryo?"

"It’s possible!" Huang Yi nodded, his expression heavy. "However, I don’t know whether a Divine Embryo ascends to the Heavenly Realm without triggering a phenomenon. We’ll only find out the answer when Gentleman reaches the Heavenly Realm. If Divine Embryos don’t trigger phenomena, then this theory holds some weight. But that would make Sharp Sword unbelievably terrifying. A super-first master, a peerless figure who’s won the Best Individual Award—only to turn out to be a mere Divine Embryo? Then just how powerful must the true form of this mysterious master, hidden for years, be? I can’t even begin to fathom his level of strength."

"But isn’t it true that Divine Embryos cannot participate in award ceremonies?" Qin Shiyu pointed out another concern.

Huang Yi nodded, his brows furrowed in doubt. "That’s another issue I find perplexing. Yet, our understanding of how dual identities are judged in award ceremonies is purely speculative. Perhaps individuals with dual identities aren’t prohibited from participating in ceremonies. Instead, they simply cannot appear alongside their true form simultaneously. People with dual identities can switch between them freely. For instance, I can use the name Big Baddie right now or switch to Instakill. If I chose to remain as Big Baddie all the way from the moment I acquired that identity, then upon being nominated for an award ceremony, it wouldn’t be Instakill being nominated but Big Baddie instead. Likewise, Dao Feng might choose for his true form to operate under the name Gentleman and have his Divine Embryo act as Dao Feng. This way, all of his illustrious achievements would be attributed to Gentleman’s name instead. That’s just a hypothesis though; the specific rules are known only to the Era of Corporation."

At that moment, Qin Shiyu seemed to remember something and interjected, "Speaking of the Era of Corporation, I’ve recalled something. At the award ceremony during the martial gathering, Era of Corporation’s CEO, Huang Huapeng, patted Sharp Sword on the shoulder as though they were old acquaintances. Could Sharp Sword possibly be tied to the Era of Corporation? If he’s part of the corporation, his ability to hide his identity wouldn’t be so surprising."

"That’s plausible!" Huang Yi nodded. "But all of this is just our guesswork. Whether Sharp Sword is a Divine Embryo remains uncertain. If he isn’t, then the alternative explanation is equally astonishing, though I can’t confirm it yet." Huang Yi’s tone became significantly more solemn. "Ultimately, Sharp Sword remains extraordinarily enigmatic—perhaps the most secretive individual among all super-first masters. Moreover, he’s the first person to use the Golden Ring to complete a Rare Quest. I’m only the second. He’s likely met Mr. Huang Sha from the Era of Corporation more times than I have."

"Then isn’t that good for us? He’s already agreed to join our national war effort. The stronger he is, the greater our chances of victory! And aren’t you just as secretive?" Qin Shiyu’s beautiful eyes locked onto Huang Yi, offering comfort.

"That’s true," Huang Yi admitted. "In my strategic plans for the national war, Sharp Sword is a pivotal figure. His performance going forward will greatly impact our battle tactics." After speaking, Huang Yi resumed his journey with Qin Shiyu, teleporting back to the Tower of Pantheons, putting this matter aside for the moment.

...

On the Central Continent, the sun gradually descended, casting golden light across the vastest of lands.

Huang Yi exited his classroom and walked the familiar road back to his residence.

Only his Formation Class was yet to be completed. He had already mastered two other key courses—Internal Refinement and Equipment Smelting. Now, all his equipment had been integrated into his body, leaving only a hollow frame externally. Even those with Treasure-sniffing Ability could no longer perceive his gear.

As for Formation Class, he had nearly mastered it. Huang Yi had remarkable learning skills, and combined with Dragon Spike’s exceptionally detailed manual, the coursework didn’t present much difficulty.

Just then, Huang Yi received a message. He opened it and immediately smiled.

The message was from the crew of the Cloud Sail Battleship he boarded upon arriving at the Central Continent. They had departed with the Tidal Calling Siren Princess to scour the seas for Divine Artifact Fragments of the Pillar of Sea God and had now returned, docking at Canglan Port—the same port they first arrived at on the Central Continent.

Huang Yi hurried to the teleportation circle and transported himself to Canglan Port as quickly as possible. Heading straight for the docks, he navigated through countless ships and eventually located his Cloud Sail Battleship, boarding it directly.

"God of Slaughter, you’ve arrived!" On the deck, the graceful Tidal Calling Siren Princess gazed out at the distant ocean, speaking in an elegant tone. At that moment, a thin water veil surrounded her, condensing but not dispersing. This veil obstructed external view, making her appear perfectly invisible.

"Hmm? You’ve grown stronger!" Huang Yi stared at the Siren Princess, sensing her overwhelming Heavenly Realm aura, slightly taken aback.

When she left last time, the Siren Princess was only at Primary Heavenly Realm level. But now, upon her return, her aura was far more intense, signifying Intermediate Heavenly Realm tier.

"That’s correct!" The Siren Princess offered a dignified smile. With a flick of her hand, she displayed a faintly glowing, fist-sized Luminous Pearl.

This pearl was none other than the precious Water Pearl that Huang Yi had obtained by slaying the Deep Sea Demon Flesh!

Caressing the Water Pearl with her delicate fingers, the Siren Princess remarked, "Thanks to this pearl, we gained immense advantages at sea. Using its power, I hunted Heavenly Realm experts stronger than myself, absorbing their Essence of Life and reaching my current Intermediate level."

"And what did you achieve during this period?" Huang Yi asked expectantly.

"Here, this is what we’ve obtained!" The Siren Princess flicked her wrist and revealed a long magic wand!

The wand was exquisite beyond description, its crystalline form utterly pure, with perfectly smooth edges refracting breathtaking light under the sunset’s golden hues.

The wand looked nothing like a weapon and more like an intricate piece of art—a priceless treasure so magnificent that anyone who saw it would undoubtedly be struck by its beauty.

But Huang Yi immediately perceived that the wand exuded an imposing aura imbued with Divine Power, unmistakably wielding the force of a Divine Artifact, far superior to Epic Equipment.

Holding the wand, the Siren Princess explained, "This wand was obtained after I killed a Chieftain of the shark tribe at the Heavenly Realm level. Its materials include fragments of the Pillar of Sea God. Beyond that, I acquired more than a dozen smaller artifact fragments, all of which I fused into this wand."

"Do you have any idea how many fragments remain of the Pillar of Sea God artifact?" Huang Yi asked thoughtfully.

"Probably very few—perhaps almost none," the Siren Princess replied, pausing as if recalling something. "Oh, during this expedition, something strange happened several times. On five occasions, I clearly sensed Divine Artifact fragments, but by the time I arrived, the fragments were gone, seemingly taken by someone else ahead of me. If it weren’t for this, I would’ve collected even more fragments!"

——

Today, there’s only one Chapter since I haven’t yet figured out how to lay out certain foreshadowing details. These Chapters are almost entirely dedicated to setting up plot points—the last bit of groundwork for this volume. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read on m.qidian.com.)