(I have final exams this and next week so chapter releases will be delayed for a while. Hope you enjoy.)
The usual blue sky was filled with giant clouds that blanketed the rays from the sun. In the midst of all the clouds floated a giant fortress.
This fortress is nearly 8000 meters above the ground, which stands higher than some of the tallest mountains in the world. While this fortress in the sky seems pleasant as it floated alongside the white fluffy clouds, the aura it gave off was that of malice, pain, and bloodlust.
This fortress in the sky is one of the world's greatest maximum penitentiary, housing many of the world's most dangerous criminals.
In here an internal force expert is a dime a dozen, even neutralizing Grandmasters, and Henglian Grandmasters can be spotted from time to time. Assassins, black market dealers, warlords, this fortress in the sky trapped them all.
Normally no prison would be able to contain all these powerful individuals, even guns are ineffective against Neutralizing Grandmasters, what can a regular wall do to contain them.
In the event of a riot, attempted jail breaks, or whatever else, the fortress has measures to stop it. One of them being traps that will send the prisoners fallen to their deaths.
These convicts were deemed too dangerous to just wander the world that it is determined that they would be put to death if the need arises.
If an uncontrollable situation occurs, the entire fortress will fall, killing the prisoners, guards, and other staffers in it.
Of course there were methods to keep the workers safe like escape pods or fortified rooms, but a lot of it is determined by the workers ability to safely get there in time in the event of the worse case scenario.
Normally no sane individual would dare to work here, but the pay is just too good to ignore for some, and most of the fortresses functions are dealt with by AI and machinery so there are hardly any living workers here.
In the very bottom of the fortress only ten jail cells occupied the floor.
Each cell was so heavily fortified that not even a rat could escape. In each one the floors were set to detach and fall; they were also made of a clear material so that inmates can always look at the sea of clouds and their horrid fate should they act up.
Four guards came down to the floor exiting the elevator. One guard carried a tray of barely edible food while the others carried weapons as they made their way for the cell with the number 550004.
"Inmate 550004, your meal has arrived. Hands behind your head and knees on the ground for ten seconds, then you may start. You have five minutes," one of the guards sternly said. He put the food in a slot on the steel door while the others stood guard.
The inmate was at first meditating, with the clouds and sky beneath his feet he seemed detached from the mortal world. Hearing his orders the man did as he was told.
He had long disheveled hair and a beard that stretched to his chest. You can tell he has been here for a long time. But his body was strong and his muscles looked powerful like a tiger's. The man clearly has not neglected his physique.
While waiting for the ten seconds to pass, the man spoke to guards outside his steel door. "In my time here, I did nothing but think and reflect on my purpose in this life. I have come to a conclusion that will benefit us all. Would you like to hear it?"
No guard spoke, they didn't even glance at the cell door, just waiting for the five minutes to be up.
This did not deter the man though as he continued. "In my seclusion, I recalled the words of a Great Guru."
"He said, when you live in a lie long enough, it eventually becomes truth. We get lost in the comfort provided by the sun that we forget the light can blind us as easily as the deepest darkness. You must not see with your eyes but your soul, only then will you be free from the blinding lights and empty darkness. Only with a balanced body, mind and spirit will you step into the true world. Do you know what this means?"
The guards paid him no mind but one curious guard asked him, "what are you getting at?" The others looked at him sternly. It is a strict rule not to interact in any form with this inmate outside of protocol unless they absolutely have to. But then they remembered he's a new guy so they ignored it.
The man stayed silent for a few seconds. He took a deep breath and then spoke. "I am no longer blind! I have stepped into the True World and as one of the chosen I shall lead the other chosen to the new promised land!"
The man abruptly rose to his feet, twisting his torso to face the steel door as both his palms ripped apart the air.
If Lei Bao was here, he would be enthralled. Everyone one of the man's movements were clean and refined. His every action contained so much power that a vacuum formed around him. This is the pinnacle of martial arts he so desperately wished to reach.
And if Shi Feng were to witness this he would be shocked also. Shi Feng would have noticed hints of some of God's Domain complex combat techniques in the man's attack.
As the man's palms slammed into the door, a shock wave spread to each corner of the door. Long web like cracks appeared on the see through floor. Anyone would be terrified but not this man.
Suddenly the heavy steel door flew from the wall and slammed the four guards in front of it. The guards flew with the heavy steel door. Only the guard that spoke before managed to barely dodge. The inmate had just done something beyond human capabilities, none of them could believe it.
The man slowly walked out of his used to be cage, not one hint of joy or sadness on his face.
The man glanced to the side and noticed one of the guards. The guard looked a mess and coughed heavily. The man didn't pay him no mind as he raised his hand ready to strike.
But before he could slam his fist, the guard quickly spoke, "Boss! Wait! Wait! It's me, Old Shen!"
The man quickly halted his strike. He helped the guard up as he said, "Old Shen?! It really is you. But what are you doing here?"
Old Shen finished coughing then spoke in a joyful tone, "what other reason would we be here for. Cough, cough. Those bastards from the organization may have abandoned you but not us Boss."
A subtle smile appeared on the man's face. "I knew I was right to choose you. But you just said we, not I. Are there more of the others with you?"
Old Shen chuckled a little, "about half the staff working here are our men. We had to take things slow so as to not look suspicious and rise to higher positions, but it looks like you didn't need our help."
"Nonsense. Your plan clearly exceeds mine. I'll leave this break out to you."
"You can count on me Boss. When we get out of here we'll head to one of the Atlas Group's Sky Cities. It's not as good as the Green God's Company upper zones but you will be able to recover faster there than anywhere else.
I see you also managed to reach that realm. You should start playing God's Domain to solidify your foundations and improve faster," Old Shen said as they walked.
"God's Domain?" The man asked with a skeptical look on his face.
Shen explained. "It's the newest virtual reality video game, and the whole world is practically playing it by now. It's been out for around a year."
"Shen, We have more important things to do than to play some game. Don't lose sight of our true goals."
Shen smiled wryly and continued on, "I knew you would say that Boss, but this is no ordinary game. It touches on many secrets. Even the Green God's Company and the organization is highly invested in it. If these two juggernauts have interest then you can imagine how many corporations have pulled their funds for the game."
The man's usual calm and indifferent face showed some slight curiosity. Seeing this Shen went on, "Boss, after some investigation, we think that God's Domain holds one of the keys to the Immortal Soul."
The man stopped his steps abruptly, he turned to face his subordinates and almost frantically asked, "Old Shen are you serious! Don't lie to me!"
"Boss, we're 90% sure it's there. But if we want to grasp it, we will need strength. Me, Little Chang and the others have been playing in the shadows for a while, and while our techniques in the game are astounding, overall we don't have the same type of strength as some of those Super First Rate and Super Guilds. We even have to avoid those First Rate Guilds to avoid bringing attention to ourselves." Old Shen said with some frustration in his voice.
"So what do we need in order to acquire the strength?" The man asked.
After thinking for a little bit Old Shen said, "mainly man power. There's only a little over a hundred of us playing the game and that's hardly enough to complete some of the more difficult Epic quest and higher. But we can't just recruit some random nobodies, they all must be experts among experts for our needs. We're not trying to build a guild here after all and the game emphasizes quality over quantity."
The man thought about it and then asked, "you said many of you guys have managed to infiltrate the prison right?"
"That's right Boss. Why do you ask?"
"If we are in need of skillful manpower, then what better place than here that houses some of the world's greatest martial artists and minds."
"Your brilliant boss. We have some connections with someone in the Atlas Group, we can hide a quite a large group there. But what about the people who refuse to follow us? And these men lack discipline, they might turn into a nuisance."
"Simple. We have no need for those who can't see the truth or hold us back. Just kill the loose ends." The man said with a cold look in his eyes.
"As you command Boss."
God's Domain, Lost Town
Currently around two dozen people were training on the first floor of the extraordinary tower.
The Lost Town has become Zero Wing's main training ground and only the most trustworthy and talented members are allowed to train in the extraordinary tower. This adds up to around 300 internal members, 100 core members and the guild's main force.
Currently two young men were taking a break from training and chatting as they recovered their stamina.
"And that's how I found out I'm adopted. Apparently I'm the illegitimate son of some heir to a big corporation. Crazy isn't it." One of the young men said as he rested.
"That's rough buddy. You upset about it?" The other resting young man asked.
"I can't be mad at my parents, they are the ones who raised me when my real parents didn't even want me. I just wish they hadn't lied to me all this time. How about you? What was the biggest lie your parents ever told you?" He asked.
The young man thought for a second then responded with, "that they love each other."
The other young man didn't know what to say. There was a awkward silence between them for a little bit, then a commotion occurred on the first floor.
"I can't believe it, it's the guild leader!"
"Has the guild leader come to give us pointers?!"
"You wish. Do you know how many people would love to receive training from the Sword King."
"I can at least brag about this to my friends. They were already jealous that I was chosen for the guild's special training, now they will probably die of envy!"
Talks about Shi Feng filled the first floor despite there being so little people. The two young men quickly got on their feet not wanting their guild leader to see them slacking.
Shi Feng just slowly smiled and waved in response. He didn't pay them much mind as he entered the starting line.
Shi Feng has already passed the first floor and doesn't need to go through it again, but he wants to strengthen his basics.
As he passed the starting line multiple beams came shooting at him from different directions. Shi Feng responded by just casually walking through the many beams. It was as if these attacks had no intention of hitting him at all.
The onlookers were impressed but not at all surprised. The had seen a few of the guild's top experts do similar feets. They wanted to see how Shi Feng fares passed the 50 yard mark. Even the veterans who have gone to the second floor still need the use of their weapons to block and strenuous movements to dodge the beams.
Shi Feng soon made it to the 50 yard mark and beyond and to the absolute shock of the onlookers, Shi Feng was still casually strolling through the attacks.
"Is the guild leader some kind of monster?! How is he doing that?"
"I knew our guild leader was unfathomable!"
Even now in the midst of all the beams and slashes Shi Feng hasn't used his swords to block or divert any of them.
There were hundreds of attacks coming at him, each abruptly changing direction and time of impact. But yet Shi Feng still just walked through it all in a straight path at a consistent speed. He didn't even attempt to dodge any of the attacks in the eyes of the viewers.
For these guys who can't even make it past the 70 yard mark, it's depressing to see something like this, even if it were from their guild leader.
Shi Feng chuckled a little at their reactions. In actuality he's been doing a lot to dodge all these attacks; they just didn't notice these subtle movements he's been making.
Shi Feng wasn't walking normally, he has been changing the distance of each step he takes, how much power he puts into each step, and how fast his foot reaches the ground. He also has been changing how fast and how far he swings his arms.
All these small changes and movements prepared his body to make subtle movements and actually allowed him to dodge every incoming attack.
It looked like a casual stroll because each change in motion was very subtle and refined, the untrained eye wouldn't notice these very subtle movements. Only a Flowing Water Realm expert paying close attention would notice it.
Soon Shi Feng made it to the center. He turned to look at the others and said, "I hope you guys were able to learn from this and I hope to see you all on the next floor." He then disappeared with a flash of light.
The onlookers then rushed to the starting line eager to replicate what Shi Feng just did.
The two young men balled their fist and swore to improve. Maybe Shi Feng would take them as his students then.