Chapter 509 Trapped for Sixty Years
At the end of the dungeon, the air felt frozen. The thick smell of rust, mold, and decay was overwhelming. Larry followed the faint sound of breathing to the far end of the cell. The flickering firelight revealed a scene on the wall.
A man was pinned to the wall by four black metal chains, piercing through his limbs. His long white hair covered his face, and his clothes had rotted into strips of cloth.
"Who are you?" Larry approached, and the smell got stronger.
He grabbed one of the chains—it was ice cold. He took a deep breath and pulled with all his strength. His muscles bulged, veins visible on his arms, but the chain didn't budge. The sound of metal clanging echoed through the dungeon, making his palms go numb.
"Save your energy, kid." A raspy voice came from beneath the tangled hair. "That's Orichalcum, tempered in earth's core lava. Your brute force won't work."
The man lifted his head, revealing eyes that were still sharp even in the darkness. He moved slightly, and the chains rattled.
Larry didn't give up. He pulled hard again.
"Clang!" Sparks flew, but there wasn't even a scratch on the chain.
"Told you it's useless." The man closed his eyes, seeming to lose interest.
Larry sat down across from him and asked directly: "Who are you? Why is the Rivera family keeping you here?"
"I haven't asked you—who are you?" The man didn't open his eyes.
"Larry," he answered. "Commander of the Black Dragon Army. Had some trouble with the Rivera family, and they caught me."
"Black Dragon Army? Never heard of it." The man snorted, his tone full of contempt.
Larry understood: this guy had been locked up here much longer than he thought.
He stared at the man and probed: "You're a warrior too, right? Otherwise they wouldn't need to use Orichalcum to chain you." He knew that his only hope of getting out might lie with this person in front of him.
The man didn't answer, but suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze was like two searchlights, locking onto Larry.
Larry felt all his hair stand on end, like being targeted by a prehistoric beast. He instinctively stepped back half a step and took a defensive stance.
"What do you want?"
Before he finished speaking, the man's withered hand grabbed at the air. An invisible force instantly seized Larry, making him unable to move, and his body was pulled directly over.
A dirty hand pressed against his chest. Just as Larry was about to resist, he felt a force enter his body. This force was gentle, circulating through him as if scanning something, then disappeared.
"Interesting..." The man withdrew his hand, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes. "Your power response is weak, but your genetic markers... you're a perfect recipient."
Larry looked at those chains and smiled: "This stuff might not be unbreakable after all."
"Oh?"
Larry flicked his wrist, and an almost invisible thread slipped out from his sleeve, held between two fingers. This was the Against Heaven 81 Needles made from meteorite core fiber—his last trump card.
He wrapped the thread around a chain and pulled hard with both arms.
"Hiss—!"
No loud noise, just a slight cutting sound. The indestructible Orichalcum was smoothly cut through.
"What is that?" The man cried out, his eyes full of disbelief. After being trapped here for sixty years, trying everything but unable to shake the metal, it was cut by a thread?
Larry said nothing more. He moved quickly, the cutting line becoming flashes of light in his hands. After several "hiss" sounds, all four chains were severed.
The man was free, but his body swayed and he sat down on the ground. He looked at his hands, his face showing no joy, only deep exhaustion.
"It's no use," he sighed deeply. "My time is up. Even if I get out, I won't live more than a few days. This place is a prison, but I've been here sixty years. I'm not leaving."
Larry understood. He quietly sat down beside him.
"Kid," the man turned to look at him, "you still haven't said where you're from."
"I'm a descendant of the Bennett family, one of the Four Great Families."
"The Bennett family?" A glimmer flashed in the man's eyes. "Do you know Wilder?"
Larry shook his head: "Never heard that name. Thirty years ago there was internal family conflict, and my grandfather was driven out. I grew up on the outside."
"I see." The man nodded and fell into memories.
After a long time, he spoke again: "Kid, do you know who I am?"
Larry shook his head.
"Doesn't matter anymore." The man said, "We met here, and you have this kind of talent—maybe it's fate. I'm dying soon, and I don't want all my power to just disappear... Will you accept my inheritance?"
Larry's heart jumped. He didn't hesitate, immediately stood up, and nodded solemnly at the man, saying in a deep voice: "I will, sir."
"Good." The man smiled, his eyes full of relief. "Remember my name—Silas. The Rivera family's criminal."
"You're from the Rivera family?" Larry was surprised.
"A family disgrace." Pain flashed in Silas's eyes. "Sixty years ago, I was betrayed by my own son, my power was destroyed, and I was locked here. A full sixty years."
He said no more about the past, just raised his hand, and a terrible power began gathering in his palm.
"I thought I'd die here, but luckily I met you. Your genes can handle the power I've been rebuilding over these sixty years!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Silas pressed his palm on Larry's head.
"Boom—!"
Larry felt a flood of power rush into his brain and body. His vision went black, and he felt like he was being torn apart.
Silas's voice came from far away, carrying his final instructions:
"Kid, I'm giving you all my power! Remember, this power can destroy cities and slaughter lives! If you use it for evil, even if I become a ghost, I won't let you go!"
"The Rivera family's secret technique is called Tenfold Tranquil Palms. After being locked in darkness for sixty years, I finally understood its legendary final form! Unfortunately, I never got the chance to use it... Now, I'm passing all its core principles to you. I'll demonstrate it once—how much you learn is up to you!"
The power transfer ended, and Larry collapsed on the ground, his body burning like a furnace, the power rampaging inside him.
In his blurred vision, that old man whose life was ending, Silas, was dragging his final body, slowly raising his hand in front of him, beginning to demonstrate that move capable of destroying everything.
"First Form, Fracture!"
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