Chapter 342: Secrets of Six Hundred Years Ago, the Human Race's Hero

The bell in the Dungeon Hall rang continuously, announcing the birth of a new round of records.

Someone started timing when Jiang Chen entered the Instance, waiting anxiously until the bell sounded, ending the timing.

He shouted excitedly, "15 minutes, a new record, a real new record!"

"Ha, another record nobody can break; this one could stand for at least a hundred years, maybe forever."

"Divine General Jiang creates one hopeless record after another; how are we supposed to live?"

"Changing the perspective, we should say Divine General Jiang creates one goal after another, letting the Human Race's successors chase them freely."

"Right, isn't our Human Race constantly surpassing our predecessors and growing stronger?"

The same problem, different mindset, yields a completely different viewpoint.

When the instance record is fully displayed.

15 minutes 33 seconds.

For a Hell Difficulty instance, this is an astonishing record.

The speed was too fast; many people think that finishing this instance would take them a considerable amount of time.

Jiang Chen appeared outside the instance and entered it again.

He ran the run over and over, obtaining four whirlwind fragments each time.

His goal was to complete five runs, acquire twenty whirlwind fragments, and forge four whirlwind crystals.

Two of them would merge into the Elemental Divine Stone, and the other two could be kept as spares.

Within a short hour, Jiang Chen completed four runs.

The timing was very consistent, basically just over fifteen minutes each.

One more run remained, and this time he didn't re-enter immediately.

He looked up at his own record, pondering whether there was a faster speed‑run method.

He didn't notice that people surrounded him, each casting admiring glances.

These people held blind worship for Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen fell into his thoughts, and soon he thought of a method he might try.

"No experience, purely pursuing speed; perhaps we can try that."

The run already has no Difficulty, and this instance yields little experience.

If possible, Jiang Chen wanted to kill the boss in the instance directly, as long as he could harvest the whirlwind fragments.

He conceived the idea of pursuing ultimate perfection.

Reset the timer and entered the instance.

The Undead Legion appeared, and timing began.

Jiang Chen decisively leapt onto a Skeleton Warrior's back.

Empowered by the state, the Skeleton Warrior unleashed its full speed, carelessly charging toward the wind corridor.

Along the way it neither dodged nor avoided, nor attacked monsters, just barreling forward.

The wind sprites chased all the way, but could never catch the Skeleton Warrior.

The Skeleton Warrior's speed was far greater than Jiang Chen's; in just over a minute it covered twenty kilometers.

From afar he saw the wind corridor and a few monsters guarding the entrance.

Jiang Chen pointed a finger and invoked the skill: Aging Curse!

The wind sprites at the doorway instantly slowed, unable to stop the Skeleton Warrior.

The Skeleton Warrior, carrying him, surged straight into the wind corridor.

At this point, exactly two minutes had passed since entering the instance.

Stepping into the wind corridor, he flew high all the way.

After flying for a full two minutes, he finally reached the Sky Plain.

The Skeleton Warrior never stopped, sprinting all the way.

Red Light flared, and the Aging Curse enveloped the entire Sky Plain.

All the whirlwind spirits inside slowed their speed.

Immediately another burst of green light exploded, and Poison Star Explosions followed in succession.

After Second Transcendence, the Poison Star Ring merged with the Bleeding Curse, becoming a new skill: Poison Star Explosion.

Its range increased to 100 meters, comparable to the Aging Curse.

Both detonated at the same point, covering an identical area.

Nearly a thousand monsters on the Sky Plain were poisoned simultaneously.

The originally teal Sky Plain was tinged green, and all whirlwind spirits emitted green light.

They had to endure damage equivalent to twenty thousand force points per second, lasting a full 5,000 seconds.

Jiang Chen knew they couldn't survive the 5,000 seconds.

He feared they wouldn't even last a hundred seconds.

The Skeleton Warrior still ran at breakneck speed; the cursed whirlwind spirits could not catch up at all.

In just half a minute, the Skeleton Warrior had already leapt onto the first floating stone platform.

Carrying Jiang Chen, it kept jumping, and in the blink of an eye reached the platform outside the palace.

Before the whirlwind tiger could react, the Undead Legion appeared in bulk and acted immediately.

In an instant, the whirlwind tiger was dead.

He charged into the palace, passed through the corridor, and entered the final hall of the instance, where he saw the Wind God's mount.

Without giving it a chance to awaken, the skeletons moved like butchers.

The Wind God's mount, still in a dream, fell asleep again.

A flood of kill notifications appeared.

On the Sky Plains, the whirlwind sprites he unleashed with deadly starburst poison died one after another.

They truly couldn't hold on, dying cleanly.

The bell in the Dungeon Hall rang again.

But this time the bell was different.

The sound was fast and urgent, like an alarm, thudding nonstop.

It rang nearly a hundred times in a row without stopping.

Everyone was stunned.

Such a sound had never been heard before.

Someone had been hanging around the Dungeon Hall for many years and was very familiar with its rules.

But had never heard such a sound.

"Could the Dungeon Hall's bell be broken?"

"What joke is that, how could the Dungeon Hall's bell be broken? It's a Platinum Tier item; even if you broke it, it wouldn't break."

"But what does this bell sound mean?"

"A bell usually signals a New Record; this time it's so urgent, probably…"

"Whip, keep going!"

In the Hong Shen Courtyard, space warped slightly as Lin Zhenzi hurried over.

He immediately saw Ao Hongchen.

Ao Hongchen was actually drinking tea together with Hong Jishi.

Lin Zhenzi's aged face showed disbelief.

He knew the two were at odds, how could they shake hands and make peace?

And they were sitting together drinking tea; just not fighting when they met would be good enough.

"Lin Laotou, how do you have time to come over?" Hong Jishi said cheerfully.

Ao Hongchen also nodded at Lin Zhenzi, "Lin Laotou, long time no see."

Lin Zhenzi greeted the two, then quickly said, "Jiang Chen created Hell Difficulty, a New Record for the Instance."

Hong Jishi was slightly startled, "Isn't this normal? Xiao Chen isn't the first time breaking a record."

Lin Zhenzi's expression was a bit unnatural; this time was different—do you remember the one from over 600 years ago...

The one from over 600 years ago?

Hong Jishi thought for a moment, couldn't recall.

Ao Hongchen also couldn't think of who, "Lin Laotou, speak directly, don't beat around the bush."

Li Xueru suddenly said, "673 years ago, Jiang Yi, then the president of Shenlong University."

Lin Zhenzi said, "Yes, that's him."

Hong Jishi frowned, "I recall he was touted as the Human Race's top talent, the most likely to become a god, later vanished for unknown reasons."

Li Xueru continued, "He didn't disappear; he was killed by people."

Hong Jishi immediately said, "How could I not know, who killed him? Who could kill him!"

Li Xueru hummed, "You who don't read books, what can you say? Lin Laotou, you speak; your lineage knows more."

Lin Zhenzi poured himself tea and took a sip, "Back then Jiang Yi was called Yi Shen, his profession was Divine Light Swordsman, Dual Talent Dual Ascension, High-Level Mythic Profession."

"His level reached 98, touted as the most likely to become a god."

"That year at Fortress No. 9 a massive battle erupted, Abyss Demons launched a massive assault, nearly a hundred Demon Kings were deployed, the Human Race was on the brink of disaster."

"And at that time, among the Human Race, there were only twenty Divine-level Strongmen, the ratio was far too lopsided."

"At that time Yi Shen, as the strongest of the Human Race, rushed out without hesitation, a single man fought fifty Demon Kings alone."

"He not only held back the strongest few, but also slashed more than thirty Demon Kings, his combat power unmatched."

"That battle laid the foundation for the Human Race for the next over 600 years."

Li Xueru continued Lin Zhenzi's words, "That battle, called the Foundational Battle, Yi Shen fell that year."

Ao Hongchen solemnly respected, "Why have we never heard of his deeds?"

Li Xueru said, "It was Yi Shen's request; his death was not to be known by the world, nor by the Abyss Demon King."

"As long as Abyss Demons think he is still alive, they won't dare act rashly, thus buying more time for the Human Race."

Lin Zhenzi's voice deepened, "So much information about Yi Shen was erased."

"Yi Shen, after death, returned to Shenlong University, sealed all his power, turning it into a Secret Realm."

"And this Secret Realm is within the Dungeon Hall."

"When he set the rules, only those meeting certain conditions could enter the Secret Realm."

"The rule is: clear any Instance on Hell Difficulty within 10 minutes; any Instance will do."

Hong Jishi raised an eyebrow, "You mean Xiao Chen cleared the Instance within 10 minutes?"

Lin Zhenzi nodded, "8 minutes 1 second."

A finger tap, Jiang Chen appeared on the screen.