"Thank you so much!" Huang Yi expressed his gratitude.
"Alright! Follow me. That teleportation circle hasn’t been used in a long time; I don’t know if it’s broken," the old man said as he walked to a cabinet beside the desk, took out an oil lamp, struck a match to gently light it, and then, holding the oil lamp, he staggered along towards the interior of the library.
The library seemed small from the outside, but once inside, it revealed a hidden wonder. Behind the last row of bookshelves, there was a small door that led to a long corridor lined with bookshelves on both sides, stacked with all kinds of books and scrolls, a veritable sea of books.
The two of them walked along this corridor surrounded by the sea of books, heading towards the darkness at the end. The dim light of the oil lamp flickered, casting light and shadow all around, as if walking through a history laid out by the scrolls themselves.
"Young man, I still don’t know your name! I’m Luo’an. You can call me Grandpa Luo’an," the old man said, apparently feeling the atmosphere was a bit oppressive. As he spoke, the old oil lamp in his hand made a creaking sound, the flame flickering gently with each step he took.
"I go by Instakill," Huang Yi replied, supporting Luo’an as they slowly moved forward.
"Hm? Are you the Instakill who killed the Hydra Death Scales?" Luo’an paused slightly, turning his head to look at Huang Yi in surprise, then continued walking, lamenting, "The young people of today are becoming stronger and stronger. It seems like you Heaven’s Chosen are going to start a revolution, bringing about a whole new era for the continent."
"Why do you say that?" Huang Yi asked with interest. As far as he knew, there were only six epochs: the Eternal Ancient Era, Primordial Era, Remote Ancient, Ancient Times, Recent Ancients, and the current City Governance Era. Each period of change had witnessed a series of earth-shattering events that had become widely celebrated epics in the history books.
Luo’an adjusted his crystal glasses and spoke at length, "Since the Eternal Ancient Era, there has been an unspoken rule on the continent: the later the epoch, the weaker the creatures’ powers. In the Eternal Ancient Era, deities once resided in this world, and powerful beings like Hydra Death Scales, who were more than two hundred levels high, were not uncommon. There were creatures larger than dragons that hunted dragonkin for food, symbolizing a barbaric age when mighty heroes emerged. Occasionally, there would be individuals who achieved Divine Enthronement."
Luo’an continued, with a wise and knowing glimmer in his eyes as if he were walking through that vast history, "But as time went on, it became more and more difficult for such powerful beings to emerge. After going through the Primordial Era, Remote Ancient, Ancient Times, and Recent Ancients, the creatures of this world greatly declined. Now, it is extremely hard to find any creature over level two hundred. Divine Enthronement has become a distant legend. Since Bloodhoof the Ascendant’s ascension to godhood during the Ancient Times, no one else has been able to reach that milestone. Moreover, even Bloodhoof the Ascendant was not as powerful as the God Sealers of the Eternal Ancient Era. Right after Bloodhoof’s divine sealing, he encountered a mysterious disaster and died tragically. His head flew to the starry sky, becoming a star, while his body fell into a vast ocean of The Second World, becoming a vast and dangerous land now known as the Fallen God Continent."
"Why did that happen? What could be the reason that the creatures of the continent are getting weaker?" Huang Yi asked curiously. This was something that he had experienced firsthand. In the Heroes’ Prison, those with lower numbers and higher levels were generally from more ancient times. For instance, Hydra Death Scales was a criminal from the Eternal Ancient Era, with a level of 250! The weakest batch of criminals were mostly from the Ancient and Recent Ancients. Take the legendary Harbinger of Doomsday, Lucifer, from Bai Long Lake, as an example; it was a criminal from the Ancient Times with a level of only 172, but it was still a mighty force during that era, bringing torment to all living beings on the continent.
"The specific reason is unknown," Luo’an shook his head, "but ever since you Heaven’s Chosen arrived, this world has begun to change significantly. You seem to possess endless potential and can achieve many things that we couldn’t. Perhaps your arrival will herald a new era for this world. Not long ago, the Oskan Royal Academy, united with various lands, races, and powers, jointly announced the Fallen God Covenant. Whoever among you Heaven’s Chosen reaches Level One Hundred first will be rewarded with two National Honor Points for their continent and will be fostered as a priority individual. Eventually, they will lead an outstanding group of Heaven’s Chosen to the Fallen God Continent to investigate the cause of Bloodhoof’s tragic death. Perhaps this will uncover the real reasons behind the weakening of the world’s creatures."
"Two National Honor Points!" Huang Yi was inwardly stunned. The reward for this task was incredibly generous, a true hallmark of a world task issued jointly by the continents. Each point of National Honor was as difficult to achieve as ascending to Heaven, requiring immense strength and extraordinary luck to obtain. And yet, the world task was simple: to be the first to reach Level One Hundred, disregarding luck or strength, focused solely on leveling. Considering this, individuals like Dao Feng who topped the leaderboards were likely the most hopeful candidates to complete this task. Huang Yi weighed the possibility that if he put extra effort into level grinding, he might have a chance at this task. After all, the higher the levels, the more difficult it becomes to advance. Although he was behind those top players by dozens of levels, these were all early-stage levels, and the actual gap wasn’t as big as he had imagined. It wouldn’t take long to catch up, whereas for someone like Dao Feng to level up quickly was improbable.
"Here we are," Luo’an said, his voice interrupting Huang Yi’s thoughts.
Coming back to his senses, Huang Yi looked up and saw they had reached the end of the corridor. There stood an old wooden door covered in dust and cobwebs, locked tight as if it hadn’t been opened in hundreds of years.
In such a secluded part of this ancient library, hidden was an old locked wooden door, dimly illuminated by the flickering oil lamp, exuding a mysterious aura and irresistibly inviting one to unlock it and discover the secrets within.
"The teleportation circle is inside," Luo’an said, shakily walking to another cabinet nearby, pulling open a drawer and retrieving a rusty key, then walking to the door and gently inserting it, giving it a slight turn.
"Click!" Instantly, dust fell from the door and, after being closed for so long, it finally opened.