A damp, moldy stench mixed with the reek of blood drilled into Li Chen Zhou's nostrils. He jolted awake, a searing pain throbbing at the back of his head. Instinctively, he tried to raise a hand to rub it, only to discover that both hands were shackled to the wall by heavy iron chains, unable to move.
"Where is this...?"
He looked around in a daze. Before him was a dark, damp stone chamber, several dim oil lamps hanging from the walls and illuminating mottled bloodstains. Memories surged over him like a tidal wave—he had once been a modern martial arts instructor, but after a car accident, he had somehow transmigrated into this world known as the Great Qian Dynasty, becoming the only son of Li Qing Shan, Duke Zhen Guo.
"Rebellion? What a joke!" Li Chen Zhou gritted his teeth. Three days ago, his father, Duke Zhen Guo, had opposed Prince Jin's proposed tax increase in court. That very night, he had been falsely accused of treason. All one hundred and thirty-seven members of the family had been thrown into prison, while he had been held alone on the lowest level of the Ministry of Justice Prison.
"Damn it, what a joke. A duke, and he was taken down that easily—"
The chains clattered as Li Chen Zhou tried to struggle, but all he gained were deeper welts around his wrists. He lowered his head and looked at the tattered white prison clothes on his body, covered in whip marks and blood. Clearly, the original owner of this body had already endured brutal torture.
"Where's the system? Where's my golden finger?" he cried inwardly, but all he heard was dripping water from deep within the dungeon.
Creak—
The heavy iron door was pushed open, and a burly prison guard entered carrying a wooden tray. Li Chen Zhou narrowed his eyes and made out the newcomer in the weak light: thick brows, large eyes, and a scar across his left cheek. It was Wang Wu, the man who had frequently come to "take care" of him these past few days.
"Young Master Li, time to eat." Wang Wu grinned, revealing uneven yellow teeth.
On the tray sat a bowl of thin porridge and half a moldy steamed bun. As Wang Wu bent down to set it down, Li Chen Zhou sharply noticed a bronze ring on the little finger of his right hand—that was clearly the mark of Prince Jin's Shadow Guard!
Not good! Alarm bells rang in Li Chen Zhou's heart.
Sure enough, the instant Wang Wu put down the tray, his right hand suddenly drew a gleaming dagger from his waist and thrust it straight at Li Chen Zhou's throat!
"Die, remnant of the Li Family!"
The dagger tip rapidly enlarged in his pupils. Li Chen Zhou instinctively shut his eyes. At that critical moment, a mechanical voice rang out in his mind:
Host's life has been detected to be under threat. Martial Arts Inheritance System activated. Novice reward: Max-Level Golden Bell Shield (impervious to blades and spears, immune to water and fire)
Hum—
An invisible golden barrier instantly enveloped Li Chen Zhou's entire body. Wang Wu's dagger struck his throat and unexpectedly let out a crisp clang, as though it had stabbed a bronze bell!
"What?!" Wang Wu's face changed drastically.
Li Chen Zhou's eyes snapped open. An unprecedented surge of power suddenly welled up within him. With a shake of both arms, the iron chains that had bound people for years broke in his hands as easily as paper!
"Prince Jin's lackey!" Li Chen Zhou roared. His right hand formed a claw and shot straight for Wang Wu's throat.
Wang Wu was indeed one of Prince Jin's elite. Though shocked, he did not panic. He twisted aside to evade the fatal strike, changing his dagger thrust into a slash aimed directly at Li Chen Zhou's eyes. Yet as the blade swept past, another metallic ring sounded, and Li Chen Zhou did not even blink.
"Impossible!" Wang Wu's face turned deathly pale.
Seizing the chance, Li Chen Zhou drove an elbow hard into Wang Wu's chest. Several crisp cracks rang out. Wang Wu's breastbone shattered completely, and he spat blood as he flew backward, crashed into the stone wall, and slid to the ground.
"You... you're not Li Chen Zhou..." Wang Wu struggled to speak, his eyes filled with disbelief. "The Li Family's young master... doesn't know martial arts..."
Li Chen Zhou stepped forward coldly and planted a foot on Wang Wu's knife-wielding wrist. "Talk! How many more people did Prince Jin send?"
Wang Wu gave a savage grin. "You can't escape... The entire Ministry of Justice Prison... is ours..." Before he could finish, black blood suddenly spilled from the corner of his mouth. His head tilted, and he died—he had crushed a poison capsule hidden in his teeth.
Li Chen Zhou frowned and quickly searched Wang Wu's corpse, finding a key and a Prince Jin's residence token.
He changed into Wang Wu's prison guard uniform and let his hair hang loose to hide his face. Just as he prepared to leave the cell, he looked up and saw a prison guard in the distance who had witnessed the scene of his crime.
The guard had intended to slip away carefully to call for help, but their eyes suddenly met. Then he bolted outside at full speed.
Urgent footsteps and shouts soon rang out from outside.
"Quick! Someone is breaking out of prison!"
"Seal all exits!"
Damn it! Li Chen Zhou rushed out of the cell. Torches burned along both sides of the narrow stone corridor, while dozens of fully armed prison guards were already charging toward him from afar. He turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, the twang of bowstrings ringing out behind him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three sharp arrows tore through the air. Li Chen Zhou neither dodged nor evaded. The arrows struck his back, only to bounce away one after another. The prison guards cried out in terror, "Sorcery! He knows sorcery!"
At the end of the corridor stood a flight of stone stairs leading upward. Li Chen Zhou took the steps two at a time and rushed up, only to see a heavy black iron gate suddenly drop in the passage ahead. It slammed into the ground with a thunderous boom, making the entire corridor tremble.
Dozens of thumb-sized holes suddenly opened in the stone walls on either side of the passage. The Warden's cold voice came from outside. "Li Chen Zhou, even if you sprout wings, you cannot escape! These Eight Thousand-Jin Sluice Gates were forged by master craftsmen under the late emperor's command. No matter how immense your strength, do not dream of breaking through!"
Li Chen Zhou steadied himself and tried pushing the black iron gate. As expected, it did not budge in the slightest. He took a deep breath, activated the Golden Bell Shield, and threw his full strength into a punch at the gate.
Clang—
A deafening metallic crash reverberated through the corridor. Only a shallow fist mark was left on the gate, while Li Chen Zhou's fist had split open, flesh torn and bloodied—the Golden Bell Shield could withstand external attacks, but it could not completely cancel the recoil from his own attacks.
"Ha ha ha!" The Warden laughed. "Stop wasting your strength! Every one of these gates weighs a thousand jin, and all eight are linked together. Even if immortals came, they could not break them!"
Li Chen Zhou sat with his back against the gate, forcing himself to think calmly. Suddenly, the system notification sounded again in his mind:
Ding! New mission issued: Escape the Ministry of Justice Prison. Reward: one random god-tier cultivation technique.
Li Chen Zhou's pupils suddenly contracted. Heavy footsteps and the clatter of armor came from beyond the gate. Clearly, a large force was gathering outside. He swept his gaze around and suddenly remembered that the cells he had passed earlier held serious criminals with deep, powerful breaths.
"Since my strength alone is not enough..." A vicious glint flashed through his eyes. "Then I'll turn this entire Ministry of Justice Prison upside down!"
Just as he was about to act, dense crimson runes suddenly lit up throughout the prison. An invisible force descended like Mount Tai crushing down upon him. Li Chen Zhou let out a muffled groan as the surging inner force within him was instantly suppressed, even the glow of his Golden Bell Shield dimming somewhat.
"Martial Suppression Talisman?!" He gritted his teeth and looked toward the top of the passage—there floated a talisman glowing with golden light, bearing seven large vermilion characters: "Great Qian Imperial Supervisor Edict."
The Warden's smug voice came from beyond the gate. "Li Chen Zhou, did you think the court would be unprepared? This Martial Suppression Talisman was personally written by Lord Warden. Even if your martial arts reached the heavens, seventy percent of your power would still be suppressed!"
A special seal has been detected. The host may consume ten years of lifespan to temporarily break through the restriction.
The system's prompt stunned Li Chen Zhou. Ten years of lifespan... He subconsciously touched his face. But as he listened to the soldiers' footsteps drawing nearer and nearer, he suddenly threw back his head and laughed. "Ten years it is!"
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