Chapter 495: Cowardice and Bravery (Two-in-One)

"Today, we will explain the deconstruction of Ice Element abilities." Deep in the dense jungle, Yan Jing stood draped in a long robe.

"I wouldn't say I excel at the Ice Element, but studying a Pathway outside our expertise is precisely the advantage of our Wizard Tribe. When you master ten thousand Pathways, it won't matter how deeply your opponent has walked down a single one—they will invariably find you a headache to deal with."

"Of course, we still need to start with the absolute basics. Therefore, we will first study one of the fundamental elements."

Around him sat a group of similarly robed figures. They stared at him unblinkingly, their faces filled with utter devotion.

Naturally, a few among them wore expressions that weren't quite so reverent.

"He's full of hot air."

Amid the crowd, Bing Yao curled her lip in disdain and muttered under her breath.

As a "former" member of the Ice Clan, the Pathway she walked was naturally Ice. Her supreme comprehension of the Ice Element was essentially an innate talent. Precisely because she understood this Pathway so profoundly, she absolutely refused to believe that Yan Jing could teach it to this bunch of foolish Wizards so quickly. "Keep your voice down," the "former" Slumber Clan man muttered around a yawn, rubbing his eyes.

"It's not like you haven't seen what he's capable of."

"But he still shouldn't call our element the most basic one," Bing Yao grumbled.

"Even for our Ice Clan, mastering the Ice Element requires constant contact with various types of ice day and night. From two months of age, we have to sleep on pillows of ice. Once weaned, we stop drinking water and consume ice instead. Only after over a decade of such tempering can one barely be considered to have reached the Entry Level."

Growing angrier the more she spoke, Bing Yao ground her teeth and glared at Yan Jing.

"I'd like to see just how far he can deconstruct Ice."

Unexpectedly, Yan Jing spoke up right at that moment.

"If I only lecture, you fools might not understand it deeply enough. As it happens, one of our new members excels in the Ice Pathway. We will have a brief spar, and I'll explain as we fight so you can comprehend."

"Bing Yao, stand up."

Bing Yao knew he had definitely overheard her, but she gritted her teeth and stood.

She simply refused to buy into his bluff.

In a real fight, even ten of her might not be his match.

But right now, this was her home turf.

Feeling everyone's eyes land on her, she bolstered her courage and spoke.

"My lord, how shall we spar?"

"You make a move," Yan Jing said, his expression placid.

"And I'll deconstruct it."

"It's that simple."

"...Alright."

Bing Yao silently appraised her own abilities.

She couldn't use anything too strong, lest Yan Jing use it as an excuse to punish her later.

But she couldn't use anything too weak either; she had to vent her frustration no matter what.

"Here goes."

She lightly raised her palm. A biting, freezing wind rose from her hand. Faint blue frost gradually seeped across the leaves of the surrounding dense forest as hexagonal snowflakes, each distinct in shape, slowly drifted down.

Frost spread in all directions from the soles of her feet.

Many of the physically weaker Wizards unconsciously wrapped their cloaks tighter around themselves, and the sound of sneezes began to echo.

Bing Yao's lips quirked up into a smirk.

Ice Realm.

Among the abilities she excelled at, the sheer power of this one didn't rank near the top; it could even be considered relatively weak.

However, its area of effect was exceptionally broad.

Given enough time, she could freeze a Domain dozens of kilometers across.

With such a massive scope, if Yan Jing tried to melt the ice and snow through other means, he would easily expose a flaw. The only way to melt it in a Soundless manner was through deconstruction.

This was exactly why she had chosen this ability.

"A decent ability."

Yan Jing raised his hand and tapped a snowflake with his fingertip. The ice crystal quietly dissipated, transforming into wisps of pure white runes that flowed in all directions. Seeing this, Bing Yao's eyelids twitched involuntarily.

"Everyone, pay attention."

Yan Jing's expression remained indifferent.

"Bing Yao has chosen a very good ability for this demonstration. For a large-scale ability like this, deconstruction must proceed from a single point to the entire surface. No matter how vast the range, the core essence remains identical; only then can the uniformity of the ability be guaranteed."

"Therefore..."

Yan Jing extended his fingertip again, as if touching an invisible body of water.

Ripples undulated outward.

The sky full of snowflakes instantly morphed into strings of runes that fell before the surrounding Wizard Tribe members. The ice-sealed leaves thawed, and the frozen ground gradually grew damp. Yan Jing had only exerted an extremely faint fluctuation of weird energy—not even reaching the level of the Second Tier.

Yet, Bing Yao's technique was directly obliterated.

This was deconstruction.

Just as Bing Yao's pupils trembled in sheer disbelief, Yan Jing spoke again.

"If you can rapidly deconstruct all of your opponent's methods in battle..."

"Then..."

He raised his hand lightly, and the sky full of wind and snow materialized above everyone's heads once more.

But this time, the blizzard was coated in faint layers of black light.

Not only that, but the distant layers of ice Bing Yao had conjured earlier, which had yet to melt, were also cloaked in this black light.

Bing Yao stared at those spots, her face deathly pale.

She could sense that the ice she had cast had completely severed itself from her control.

It had become... the property of Yan Jing.

She looked up at Yan Jing, her eyes meeting his indifferent gaze.

"Everyone, practice on your own."

"Huo Tong, take charge of standing guard. Wu Qiu, organize them."

"I'm stepping out for a bit."

Several hours later, a biting, chilling wind rose above the members of the Wizard Tribe, sweeping across the entire land in a Soundless manner.

Outside the grayish-white corridor.

Ning Wei stepped out of the elevator, just like always.

He had just gotten off work.

After returning from God Storage Land, he had ultimately chosen to submit a report.

He had no choice; his rescue of Cen Ji was already public knowledge.

As for why he had gone to God Storage Land and how he had managed to secure a leave of absence to do so, he had found ways to fob off those questions.

Rounding a corner, he caught sight of the frosty figure waiting by his door and let out a sigh.

He knew it.

That guy's plan had been simple enough, but the messy baggage was left for him to carry in the end.

"Lady Cen, what brings you here this time?"

He rubbed his monolidded eyes and asked softly.

"Fight me."

Cen Ji lifted one of the crutches supporting her body and pointed it at Ning Wei, her face freezing cold.

Ning Wei smiled bitterly.

"Is the price for saving your life being hunted down by you? If so, I'd rather not have saved you in the first place."

This was already the third day Cen Ji had come looking for him.

Every time, she had only one demand: to fight him.

Of course, he couldn't possibly agree.

He couldn't beat Cen Ji—in all probability.

Yet he had defeated the human that Cen Ji hadn't been able to beat.

Because of this, the two facts contradicted each other and couldn't be reconciled.

"This is an order," Cen Ji said, her expression turning even more glacial.

Ning Wei spread his hands.

"If my guess is right, you've probably already gone to the higher-ups, but they refused to let you touch me. You've also looked into my files and found nothing of use."

Cen Ji subconsciously shifted her gaze away.

It was a sign of a guilty conscience.

Because Ning Wei was right.

She had originally thought Ning Wei was just some genius who was unknown to fame and had been silently biding his time, but when she went to investigate his background, she quickly realized that the man before her was far from simple.

Based on her years of experience mingling in the upper echelons, Ning Wei's file had clearly been forged.

And the moment she had tried to dig deeper, she immediately received a warning.

Ning Wei observed her expression, remaining completely unfazed.

Of course she couldn't find anything.

In this prison, aside from a select few, no one could uncover his true identity.

Oh, wait.

There was also that guy.

Ning Wei felt an ache in his teeth just thinking about it.

He still hadn't figured out how that bastard had learned about his background.

"I know!"

Suddenly, Cen Ji slapped her crutch and spoke up.

"You're his illegitimate son!"

Ning Wei's eyes widened.

"Where did you even get that conclusion from?"

"You are on the Soul Pathway, and so is he." Cen Ji's eyes burned brightly.

"You were able to beat that human, proving you possess the strength of a candidate, yet on the surface, you don't have many resources."

"Either your bloodline is extremely powerful, or... someone is secretly providing you with resources!"

"Whichever it is, it proves that you are his son!"

Ning Wei curled his lips in sheer speechlessness.

"Do you have any Strange Gold on you?"

"I do." Cen Ji blankly pulled out two grains of Strange Gold from her pocket, not knowing what Ning Wei was trying to do.

Ning Wei pocketed the two pieces of Strange Gold.

"Thank you, this should keep me happy for a month or two."

"Do you still think I'm some illegitimate son now?"

"Please, let's just leave it at this, Lady Cen."

With that, Ning Wei stepped around Cen Ji, preparing to enter his apartment.

Cen Ji wanted to say something else, but Ning Wei spoke first.

"I'm covering someone else's shift tonight in the special inmate block, and I need to change my clothes now."

At that, Cen Ji's hand halted mid-air.

Ning Wei shrugged.

"You wouldn't want those guys running amok tonight because there was no one to sound the alarm before getting their neck snapped, right?" Cen Ji withdrew her hand and spoke.

"I will come back."

"You're welcome to."

Ning Wei turned his key, stepped inside, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

He threw himself onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Recalling what Cen Ji had just said, he laughed mockingly at himself.

The warden's son.

She really could come up with anything.

Late at night.

At the door of a room barely wide enough for one person, Ning Wei lowered the newspaper in his hands and scanned his surroundings.

After confirming that no one would come by at this hour, he set the paper aside, took out his keys, and put on a show of writing down the patrol time in the logbook on the nearby chair. Then, he unlocked the door behind him and stepped inside.

Although the door was exceedingly narrow, the corridor inside was extraordinarily wide.

The cells on the left and right sides were separated by at least twenty or thirty meters. Even if a light shone down the very center of the corridor, it couldn't illuminate the two sides. These seemingly insignificant details actually spoke volumes about the ingenious design put into this special inmate detention block from the very beginning.

The door was narrow, built from a special metal, and could only allow one person to pass through at a time. If multiple prisoners tried to escape from this block, they would likely end up infighting or even breaking into a brawl.

Meanwhile, the corridor was wide. This prevented guards on patrol from accidentally wandering too close to a cell and being snatched up by an inmate to be eaten like a baby chick, and it also confined the overhead lighting to this narrow central strip.

This ensured the prisoners' rest wasn't disturbed while simultaneously keeping them from clearly seeing each other.

Thwap!

A crumpled ball of paper was tossed at his feet, striking his shoe dead on.

He looked at the paper ball but ignored it, merely kicking it up from the floor casually as he walked.

"Let me out, and I'll tell you a secret."

"I'll even give you an extra Domain and help you become a Divine Envoy."

"I'll also promise you immortality, alongside endless wealth and glory."

Ning Wei smiled as he read the contents of the paper.

This was a note passed by a madman. It was said that many years ago, this lunatic had been a world-renowned genius.

Genius here didn't refer to cultivation, but rather its literal meaning.

His brain was incredibly brilliant. Many of the inventions and creations in other Domains had supposedly come from his hands, but unfortunately, he had later gone insane.

In the beginning, the madman's notes only offered to tell him a secret. But as Ning Wei continued to ignore them, the stakes were gradually raised.

Not only were there Domains and Tiers on offer, but now even immortality had been thrown in.

"Who can truly be immortal... Even the Great Prison will face its end one day..."

He murmured softly.

He walked straight ahead until he was nearing the end of the corridor, at which point he leaned toward the darkness on the right, relying on his memory.

This was an extremely dangerous move, and fine beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

If he remembered incorrectly and ended up at the door of another cell, what awaited him would very likely be a fatal headbutt.

Of course, even if he found the right one, it still didn't guarantee his safety.

With these thoughts in mind, he moved increasingly slowly and carefully, only taking a step forward after confirming his direction was absolutely correct.

His shoes and socks were completely soaked in sweat. The short distance of a dozen meters felt as if he had been walking for centuries.

Fortunately, he had made the right gamble in the end.

Dim light spilled through the window in the cell, filtering past the specially made bars and allowing him to see the scene within.

It was a woman. She leaned against the wall, her legs curled up on the bed, holding a book in her hands.

Her features couldn't be called breathtakingly beautiful, but her temperament was exceptional. Despite wearing a prison uniform, she exuded an aura of indifferent tranquility.

She looked like a woman who had grown up in a well-off family, receiving a good education since childhood under the loving care of kind parents. Someone who had grown up and married a husband—perhaps a doctor or a lawyer—who shared her interests.

Her husband would earn enough money in a year to be considered true wealth, yet she wouldn't care. Even if they divorced, her own salary wouldn't be low. If she married, it would simply be because she loved the marriage itself.

This was the exact impression the woman gave Ning Wei.

And that was despite the fact she wasn't even wearing shoes.

"Oh my, we have a guest today."

The woman offered a faint smile and closed her book, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

"Don't speak. Let me guess."

"Do you want to make a deal with me? Or did you bring me something?"

Ning Wei took a deep breath and slid the letter that Wen Xu had given him through the bars.

"A letter for you."

"You have five minutes to read it and write a reply. I'm taking both letters with me."

Hearing this, the woman smiled even brighter, though it was impossible to tell what exactly she was so happy about.

"Wonderful."

"Let me see."

The woman slipped off the bed, accepted the letter, and began reading with wide eyes.

She read very carefully.

It took her about three minutes.

Then, she nodded.

"It is from Wen Xu."

"He wrote it."

She murmured again.

After thinking for a moment, she reached out her hand. Under Ning Wei's watchful gaze, a pen appeared out of thin air in her grasp.

Before Ning Wei could even react, both letters had already been returned to his hands.

"Could I trouble you to pass a message to Little Xu?"

"Speak."

Ning Wei pocketed the letters.

"Just tell him to go ahead and tell them everything."

The woman spoke with a smile. "That child is terribly afraid of pain. If he stubbornly holds out and refuses to speak, he will certainly die from the agony."

Ning Wei's face was impassive.

"Even without you saying so, I think it's highly likely he would confess."

"His constitution is very weak; he can't withstand torture."

This was what Yan Jing had instructed him in advance.

He was told not to reveal the fact that the boy named Wen Xu was already dead.

Therefore, he simply spoke his true mind.

Based on the few brief meetings he'd had with that boy named Wen Xu...

That cowardly youth definitely wouldn't hold out until that day; he would crack and completely spill all the evidence of this woman's crimes.

"No, you don't understand. That child is very brave."

The woman held up a finger to correct Ning Wei, her expression much more serious than before.

"He is the bravest child I have ever seen."