Rift, Demonic Beasts, Commuted Sentence

The cell door opened, and Elder Qin stepped out first, followed closely by Zhang Hankuang, with Hu Lianfeng taking the third position.

Ye Wudao followed right behind Hu Lianfeng, looking outside the cell with curiosity.

It was already eight o'clock in the evening, and all the inmates had returned to their cells.

Yet, the four of them were walking down the corridor in broad daylight.

Before long, Elder Qin reached the iron gate of the cell block.

He walked up to the facial recognition scanner beside the gate.

"Authentication successful!"

A second later, a pleasant voice emanated from the machine, the electromagnet on the gate lost its power, and the iron gate slowly swung open.

"This..."

Seeing this, Ye Wudao was completely stunned.

What the hell? A prisoner actually opening the gate to the cell block—who would believe that if word got out?

The point was, this scene was happening right before his very eyes!

It was as if they had free rein within the prison!

He leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Master, if we can come and go from this prison so freely, why are we still serving time here?"

"Heh!" Hu Lianfeng chuckled and said, "This cell certainly can't hold us, but we are guilty men and cannot leave the prison."

"Unless we can earn a sentence reduction through meritorious service."

"You must understand, what keeps a prisoner locked up in this world isn't necessarily a prison; it can also be people!"

Ye Wudao was confused and asked skeptically, "What do you mean?"

Hu Lianfeng whispered, "We are kept here not because the prison holds us, but because there are powerful figures suppressing us; we cannot leave."

"Anyone who dares to escape will be found dead on the streets by tomorrow."

Ye Wudao pursed his lips, finally understanding what Hu Lianfeng meant.

He asked softly, "So, we are going to the Rift to kill monsters and atone for our crimes?"

Hu Lianfeng nodded and replied, "Exactly! Generally, only those in the Houtian Realm can go to the Rift, but because you are with me, you have a chance to go as well."

"Since we're on the subject, let me explain it to you!"

"The Rift appeared on Blue Star suddenly after the recovery of spiritual energy."

"Inside the Rift is another dimension, and it is crawling with monsters."

"Our mission in the Rift is to kill these monsters and prevent them from invading Blue Star."

"This is the true martial arts world; beneath Blue Star's seemingly peaceful exterior, there are actually turbulent undercurrents."

"Killing monsters earns you a sentence reduction: one day for a first-tier monster, two days for a second-tier monster, and so on."

"Since you have a fifteen-year sentence, if you kill one first-tier monster a day, you can be out in seven years."

Ye Wudao paused and asked, "Are these first-tier monsters easy to kill?"

Hu Lianfeng shook his head: "Don't even think about it at your current stage. Forget first-tier monsters; even unranked ones are more than you can handle."

"A first-tier monster corresponds to the Body Tempering Realm, and even an average Body Tempering practitioner can't handle one."

"Monsters are different from humans; a common first-tier monster can fight against a peak Body Tempering practitioner, and a powerful one requires a Houtian Realm martial artist to defeat."

"Although I am currently at the late stage of the Houtian Realm, I wouldn't dare face a second-tier monster; I can only manage first-tier ones."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Hankuang, who was in front, said, "Don't listen to your master's nonsense. The only reason he can't handle a second-tier monster is that his martial arts techniques are too poor."

"A normal Houtian Realm martial artist can absolutely contend with a second-tier monster."

Hu Lianfeng snorted coldly: "Hmph! Stop misleading the youth here."

"Not to mention anything else, you are at the peak of the Houtian Realm right now—do you dare to fight an Earth-Splitting Beast?"

Zhang Hankuang hesitated for a moment before retorting, "The Earth-Splitting Beast is a king among second-tier monsters; can you even compare them?"

Hu Lianfeng sneered: "Heh! Now you know they can't be compared?"

"Aren't you also at the peak of the Houtian Realm?"

"According to your logic, shouldn't it be a matter of course for a peak Houtian practitioner to deal with the king of second-tier monsters?"

Zhang Hankuang was left speechless by the jab. He remained silent for a while before muttering, "I can't be bothered to talk to you."

Hu Lianfeng whispered, "Did I hit a sore spot?"

With that, the group fell silent for a while as they reached the exterior of the prison building.

Outside the building, high walls loomed, and prison guards were on duty in the watchtowers.

However, when these guards saw the four of them, they acted as if they hadn't seen anything at all and immediately turned their heads to look at the other defensive lines.

A black business van was parked at the entrance of the prison building.

Without a word, Zhang Hankuang walked straight to the driver's seat.

Hu Lianfeng looked at Ye Wudao and said softly, "You sit in the back."

Ye Wudao was stunned for a moment and replied, "Master, isn't it inappropriate for me to sit in the back?"

In his understanding, the back seat of a business van was reserved for the boss.

There was no boss here, so naturally, the strongest person should sit in the back.

Zhang Hankuang was clearly the one who usually drove, so him sitting in the front was not an issue.

However, both Hu Lianfeng and Elder Qin were older than him and had higher cultivation levels; he did not believe he was qualified to sit in the back.

Furthermore, Hu Lianfeng was still his nominal master, and the two had not yet had a falling out.

Hu Lianfeng said in a deep voice, "If I tell you to sit in the back, you sit in the back. I need to sit in the passenger seat to observe the situation in case of emergencies."

At this moment, Elder Qin, who was standing to the side, spoke up, "Don't waste time, get in the car quickly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Lianfeng opened the passenger door.

Although Ye Wudao was somewhat puzzled, he obediently went to the rear seat on the left and sat down.

The moment the electric door closed, Zhang Hankuang slammed his foot on the accelerator.

Ye Wudao was pressed hard against the seat by the powerful inertia.

By the time he regained his composure, the van had already driven out of the prison gates, unimpeded.

In the car, Ye Wudao looked at Hu Lianfeng and asked in a low voice, "Master, since killing monsters can reduce a sentence, why did you say you couldn't get out?"

Hu Lianfeng did not speak, but Zhang Hankuang, who was driving, interjected, "Do you know how many years are left on your master's sentence?"

"He wiped out a small family of over thirty people and was sentenced to life imprisonment. If the Blue Star Federation didn't lack the death penalty, the crimes he committed would have been enough to kill him eight hundred times over."

"Even if he could reduce his sentence by killing monsters, he still has over nine hundred years left!"

"Even if he killed ten Tier 2 monsters a day, he would never get out in this lifetime."

Upon hearing this, Hu Lianfeng retorted, "You talk too much, you think you know everything!"

"You killed a family of eight to avenge your wife, and you still have over three hundred years left on your sentence. Do you think you'll be able to get out in this lifetime?"

Zhang Hankuang snorted coldly, "My chances of getting out are definitely better than yours."

Ye Wudao remained silent for a while, glanced at Elder Qin who was resting with his eyes closed, and asked in a low voice again, "Since it's so hard to leave the prison by killing monsters, why take the risk at the Rift?"

Hu Lianfeng looked back at Ye Wudao and said, "One must always have dreams, and besides reducing sentences, killing monsters also earns points."

"Points can be exchanged for cultivation resources, and resources can help us improve our realm."

"If I can advance to the Xiantian Realm, perhaps I might have a chance to get out."

After saying this, he glanced at Elder Qin beside Ye Wudao, stopped talking, and turned his head to look ahead.

Ye Wudao pursed his lips and took another look at Elder Qin.

It seemed that Elder Qin was likely a powerhouse of the Xiantian Realm.

For the rest of the journey, no one spoke, and Ye Wudao could clearly feel the atmosphere inside the car becoming somewhat oppressive.

The van drove all the way to the seaside before slowly coming to a stop.

Ye Wudao looked at the boundless sea, his heart full of confusion: Here? Where is the Rift?