Chapter 1239


    The theft of both the Soul Calming Gong and the Divine Whip was a matter of utmost gravity.


    Such an incident had never urred before since the establishment of the prison in Yannopolis’ Outer


    City.


    That very night, teams of cultivators d in armor arrived at the prison cell.


    The underground prison of Yannopolis’ Outer City had never been this lively.


    There was an envoy standing guard outside every prison cell.


    The flickering torches illuminated the otherwise dark and gloomy cells.


    Among the muscr cultivators, a tall young man d in a loose robe stepped out.


    In a world that idolized muscr men, this slender man would have typically faced ostracism. However,


    the surrounding cultivators regarded him with respect and admiration.


    Clearly, he was their leader.


    The man clumsily made his way toward the remains of the prison guard.


    After ncing at the bug corpses scattered on the ground, he began chugging from a bottle of wine.


    Jonathan frowned. He had seen people like this in the outside world.


    From an outsider’s perspective, the man appeared to be nothing more than a mere alcoholic. Despite


    his disheveled appearance and dependence on alcohol, he possessed amanding presence that


    could control the armored cultivators of the Outer City.


    The respect and cautiousness disyed by the surrounding cultivators affirmed his reputation as a


    heartless and resolute individual.


    After finishing the alcohol, the man shook the empty bottle and burped in satisfaction.


    “The prison guard was devoured by bugs, so the culprit must be a descendant of the witch race. Who


    did this?”


    The man nced at Jonathan before approaching the prison cell, raising his hand in a subtle gesture.


    As if responding to an invisiblemand, the sturdy bars of the cell quivered before crumbling into fine


    dust.


    Pointing at Jonathan, the man’s voice slurred slightly as he spoke slowly. “You… Ha! It’s not you.”


    He then turned to Sterio. “Be honest with me. Why did you kill our prison guard?”


    “To be free,” Sterio replied nonchntly.


    “I’ve heard of a rule that exists here—if a prisoner manages to win thirty consecutive fights, they can


    earn their freedom.”


    The man gave Sterio a smile and nodded. “Yes, there is such a rule. However, I still don’t understand


    why you’d kill my guard.”


    Sterio pointed toward the three storage bags lying on the ground and responded, “When I told him I


    wanted to register my name, he attacked me instead, intending to take my life.”


    Hearing that, the man quickly squatted down to check the three storage bags.


    They had stolen the storage bags from their deceased owners and didn’t mark the bags with their


    spiritual senses. As a result, the bags were now unimed and without an owner.


    The man examined the stolen storage bags using his spiritual sense, confirming the contents within.


    However, upon discovering that the bags did not contain anything of value, he discarded them with a


    disappointed expression.


    “You don’t even have any alcohol. No wonder you can’t even afford to bribe a mere prison guard.”


    Rising to his feet, the man held Sterio’s chin.


    At the very same time, the man gripped Sterio’s right hand with his left hand.


    The dagger came to a stop an inch before the man’s belly. No matter how much force Sterio exerted,


    he failed to stab the dagger into the man’s stomach.


    ck dots appeared underneath Sterio’s skin, indicating that the parasites were ready to burst out.


    Right when Jonathan thought he would see the man getting devoured by a massive wave of parasites,


    he heard Sterio moan out loud.


    The man tightly gripped Sterio’s wrist, crushing his energy field barrier.


    Sterio needed his spiritual energy to activate the parasites. With the energy field blocked, the


    parasites in Sterio’s body ceased their hatching process, unable to ess the necessary spiritual


    energy.


    The most horrifying thing was, Sterio was using his body to feed the parasites. He relied on his


    spiritual energy to iste and suppress them, but with his energy field sealed off, he was unable to


    maintain control. If the seal remained for too long, the parasite eggs would grow active and start


    consuming him instead.


    Sterio had always known that the day woulde when he would sumb to the devastating


    bacsh of the parasites he had willingly nurtured within his own body.


    Yet, when that day finally arrived, an overwhelming fear gripped him entirely.


    “You killed my subordinate, so it’s only fair that you offer me an equivalentpensation. What do you


    say?”


    The man burst out chuckling before shoving Sterio to the ground.


    Free from the suppression, Sterio finally regained control of his spiritual energy.


    Wasting no time, Sterio swiftly assumed a cross-legged position on the ground, channeling his


    spiritual energy to deal with the hatching parasites within his body.


    One by one, small ck parasites, no bigger than grains, crawled out of Sterio’s body, their numbers


    seemingly endless.


    These parasites which had hatched earlier would feed on his blood essence, posing a grave threat to


    his well-being if they weren’t expelled from his body.


    The man looked amused as he stared at an obviously flustered Sterio.


    Reeking of alcohol, he stepped closer to Jonathan and said in a low voice, “I am aware that you hail


    from the outside world, but it matters little to me. If you bow down to me and be my loyal servants,


    I might consider sparing your lives.”


    At that moment, Seboxia slowly materialized in Jonathan’s consciousness field.


    “Jonathan, be extra careful with this man. When he took action earlier, I couldn’t detect any spiritual


    energy or other forms of energy. In fact, I didn’t sense anything in him that could restrain the formation


    of the prison. There could only be two possibilities. First, he possesses an ability that allows him to


    transcend the rules. Second…”


    Before Seboxia could finish, Jonathan’s spiritual sense materialized beside him.


    “It might be because of his pure physical strength?” he asked Seboxia calmly.


    Hearing that, Seboxia nodded.


    “That’s exactly what I was going to say. If that’s the case, then the man’s power is truly terrifying.”


    “Am I his match?” Jonathan asked yet again.


    “If we are talking about physical strength alone, then no, you are not his match. You’d be crushed by


    him,” Seboxia replied without hesitation, not saving Jonathan any face. “Even I have to be cautious of


    him in this small world, let alone you. The saying ‘One cultivator is capable of annihting ten enemies


    in one go’ has long existed in the cultivator world. However, did you know that though it is difficult for


    someone with pure physical strength to advance to the next level, they would be unstoppable if


    they were to enter the Great Pryncyp with pure strength.”


    The conversation in the consciousness field happened in an instant.


    Although they exchanged a wealth of information, in reality, less than a second had psed.


    The man was still waiting for Jonathan’s answer.


    However, Jonathan merely gave him a smile.


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    “I have a carefree nature and am capable of anything. However, I am also stubborn and refuse to


    submit to anyone.”


    The man was initially surprised to hear Jonathan’s response, but he quickly burst outughing.


    “Oh, that’s interesting. I’ve been here for five years, and anyone in this prison to whom I’ve made a


    request has never refused me. If you desire freedom, I can grant it to you. Tomorrow, I’ll arrange for


    you to participate in the arena fights. I’m curious to see the extent of your capabilities that have made


    you so arrogant.”