BXBX NOVEL Chapter 693: 694 Brother Li, You’re Quite the Comedian
This small room should be where the prison warden resided.
The structure of the Celestial Prison was very similar to that of a dungeon. Upon entering, one would first pass through the warden’s room before officially entering the tower’s inner world.
“My son-in-law, please come in. Your matters have been made known to this humble official. Please take a seat and wait for a moment.”
A gentle voice emanated from inside the room—it was a man’s voice.
“Sorry to trouble you.”
Li Xiaobai responded and pushed the door open to enter.
The smell of books inside the room was very strong. Under the candlelight, rows of bookshelves were filled with various scrolls and parchment rolls, exuding an ancient charm.
The furnishings in the small room were quite simple; apart from the rows of bookshelves near the wall, there was only a table and two chairs. The room was not big, but it felt somewhat spacious.
A young man in white clothing, holding a scroll, stood up with a smile and respectfully pulled out a chair for him. His movements were full of scholarly grace and were very refined.
This was a high-level expert with profound temperament!
“The King has already sent someone to inform me about my son-in-law’s affairs. Please take a seat while I register you.”
“My name is Yang Tian, and I serve as the Celestial Prison’s warden. You may call me Brother Tian.”
“I usually take responsibility for sending prisoners in, but since my son-in-law’s circumstances are special, I will be responsible for seeing you out afterward.”
Yang Tian spoke with a light smile, and from this single utterance, Li Xiaobai understood the underlying implication of his words; the Celestial Prison was a place where one only entered and never left. Nobody ever left after entering, so Yang Tian only handled the capturing, not the releasing.
The young scholar gracefully took up pen and paper and began to record Li Xiaobai’s basic information before handing him an Identity Token.
“This is your Identity Token, son-in-law; please keep it safe. It contains your number. All other prisoners have their respective activity zones, and the Token will restrict them from leaving their designated floors.”
“However, since my son-in-law’s situation is unique, I will, in principle, not restrict your activity zone. Nonetheless, the pressure on each floor varies greatly, so I hope you will act according to your abilities and not injure yourself in a moment of rashness.”
Yang Tian’s speech was very polite, and he maintained an appropriately respectful stance towards the future son-in-law of the Eastern Sea.
“Don’t worry, Brother Tian; I have an idea of what I’m doing. I won’t act recklessly.”
Li Xiaobai took the Token, feeling somewhat unaccustomed to such courteous treatment. It was his first experience of being treated so respectfully. It seemed like the title of future son-in-law carried quite a bit of weight in the Eastern Sea.
The small Token was carved from ancient wood, its species indiscernible; the front boldly inscribed with the three characters “Li Xiaobai,” and the back was blank.
Yang Tian’s arrangements suited his intentions perfectly. To explore the tower and search for the Blood Sacrifice Fragment, naturally, he needed the permission to move freely.
Yang Tian was quite sensible!
In fact, anyone else in his position would have made the same decision. One only needed to give some thought to understand the Old Dragon King’s intention—to temper Li Xiaobai and help solidify and strengthen his foundation.
Thus, it was only natural not to restrict his movement.
“Please, son-in-law, limit your training to the first and second floors. Do not venture to the third floor. The prisoners above the third floor are extremely dangerous and vicious.”
Yang Tian gestured invitingly, still speaking softly and slowly.
“Hmm, I’ll be careful.”
Li Xiaobai nodded. He hadn’t grasped the real meaning behind Yang Tian’s words and took it that the prisoners above the third floor were indeed very dangerous.
He tucked away the Token and without further ado, lifted his head high and stepped into the tower’s inner world.
With one stride, Li Xiaobai walked straight into the first floor, and the System’s attribute panel started to wildly flicker at that moment.
[Attribute Points +5000…]
[Attribute Points +5000…]
[Attribute Points +5000…]
The first floor didn’t seem to be as terrifying as he had imagined; the attribute points were only comparable to the high pressure of the Transcendence Tribulation Stage.
However, the cultivation levels of the prisoners on this floor were just barely entering the Mahayana Realm, and after ingesting the prisoner-specific Binding Pill, they found it difficult to mobilize any bit of their cultivation level. Coupled with living under such pressure year after year, their movements were very slow and they struggled to move under this heavy burden.
Li Xiaobai could understand their feelings, after all, there was no Spiritual Energy in the Celestial Prison, and resisting the pressure relied entirely on Physical Strength.
But these were only the concerns of the original inhabitants; for him, who possessed the System, perhaps only the very top layer would pose some challenge.
At the doorway, Yang Tian quietly watched for a while, only turning to leave after confirming that Li Xiaobai could indeed move and live freely within the tower.
“The son-in-law is something else, so young yet already able to move about freely on the first floor. You know, the Celestial Prison is a paradise for inmates of the Mahayana Realm.”
“My Eastern Sea, perhaps it’s about to flourish.”
…
There were quite a few caves on the first floor, all of which were the prisoner’s cells.
Following the guidance of the small Token, Li Xiaobai found his own cave dwelling, which Yang Tian had set up on the first floor to accommodate him, thus effectively avoiding any accidents.
Perhaps it had been too long since a newcomer had appeared in the Celestial Prison; upon seeing Li Xiaobai show up, quite a few prisoners began to slowly walk towards him.
“Newcomer, what’s your name?”
“What did you do to get in here?”
“How’s the outside world these days?”
“Is that old Dragon King dead yet? He should be about to die, right?”
“Has it been more than ten years already? Does my legend still circulate on the Immortal Spirit Continent?”
In front of the cave dwelling, a bunch of inmates crowded around Li Xiaobai’s cell, bombarding him with questions from all sides.
These prisoners were all dressed in ragged clothes, with unkempt hair and dirty faces, and due to the pressure, they were slightly hunched over, looking utterly pitiful.
Counting them, there were about a dozen prisoners, all of the Mahayana Realm.
“My name is Li Xiaobai. I didn’t actually do anything; the Dragon King wanted me as his son-in-law. I said I would think about it, and then he threw me in here. But no worries, I’ll be getting out after a while. I’m counting on you guys to look after me these next few days,” said Li Xiaobai, bowing with his fist in his palm, speaking very politely to everyone.
The crowd fell silent for a while, and then suddenly erupted into thunderous laughter.
“Hahaha, little brother, you really have a sense of humor!”
“When I first got here, that youngster Yang Tian didn’t lie to me; indeed, everyone here is talented, and they speak so nicely!”
“Brother Li, you’re quite humorous!”