Chapter 229: Chapter 229
[Reincarnation Mini-World Time: First Day 24:00!]
[Reincarnation Mini-World Time: Second Day 00:00!]
[This is a sacred moment—the destruction of the old day, the birth of the new!]
[The reliefs in the Holy Temple open a thousand stone eyes;]
[The burned raven feathers stand erect as spears of judgment;]
[The bones of martyrs glow like tombstones in the abyss.]
[The sins of the old day shall be retried in the Court of Disorder!]
[From the new day until noon, time shall no longer pass within the Prison.]
The "sinners" in the [Prison] naturally refer to—all the Jiang Ye trapped in the second stage [Prison] of the exclusive instance!
This includes the original Jiang Ye and all his clones within the exclusive instance.
Even the clones originally remaining in the first stage [Classroom] were forcibly transported to the second stage's [Prison] the moment the announcement sounded!
And just as the announcement stated, time within the [Prison] no longer flows!
On the surface, the so-called "time no longer passing in the Prison" seems to mean— Check latest chapters at novel·fıre·net
All the sentenced Jiang Ye within the Prison, who should have been executed after specific times.
The screens in the Prison originally displayed countdowns to execution for different Jiang Ye at different times.
Yet with this midnight announcement...
The execution countdowns have frozen, no longer changing!
As if time within the [Prison], already flowing differently from the outside world, has entered a state of complete stasis.
Of course, what Jiang Ye directly perceives is simply that the "time" on the execution countdown screens has stopped.
He initially thought the time in [Prison] was a regulated, false time—
Superficially not passing, but actually flowing at the speed of his thoughts.
That the Prison simply defined this flowing time as permanently midnight.
But he soon realized how wrong this assumption was!
Because when he tried to use clone deaths within the exclusive instance to transmit information to external clones...
He suddenly discovered—
In this time-frozen [Prison], his clones could no longer die voluntarily!
Even when he cut his own arm with a knife, no wound would appear.
Meaning—he could no longer alter this "time-frozen" prison world in any way!
At that moment, he realized the implications of frozen Prison time were far more severe than imagined.
Because with time stopped...
Nothing within the Prison could change.
Except for his still-active thoughts, everything else existed in an eerie, immutable state!
This state filled him with terror!
And simultaneously prevented him from using clone deaths to transmit information to external clones.
This was the anomaly the external clones perceived.
Despite the [Prison's] time being frozen and unalterable...
A batch of clones dispatched by external clones managed to enter successfully!
These clones skipped the first stage's [Classroom].
And were directly transported into the time-frozen [Prison] of the second stage.
It was through these new clones that the original Jiang Ye learned—
Although time is frozen in [Prison].
Time outside continues flowing normally.
This seems contradictory, yet resembles two parallel realities not interfering with each other.
But how could these two realities not interfere?
External clones can transmit inside.
While the original and clones in [Prison] seem to be awaiting summons from the [Court of Disorder]!
Through the newly arrived clones, the original learned about post-midnight events at the beginner apartments.
Including Defender Lin Ling's terrifying strength, and memories of another Defender, Zhang Minghan.
(Though Zhang Minghan's clone entering the mask shop occurred after this clone batch entered the instance, so the original doesn't yet know about the merchant's identical appearance.)
Among the synchronized information, what most concerned Jiang Ye was Defender Lin Ling's message delivered by the light-attribute clone:
"The black tide floods the Holy Temple's steps;
The raven steals the scale's counterweight;
Olympus's snow is stained with raven ash."
External clones had speculated about these lines.
But the original Jiang Ye immediately noticed—
These words seemed deeply connected to the midnight announcement!
The Holy Temple's reliefs, burned raven feathers, martyrs' bones...
Defender Zhou Yuling had gone to tremendous effort gathering 9,999 people precisely for the [Court of Disorder]!
While according to the announcement, the place where Prison Jiang Ye await judgment is also the [Court of Disorder]!
External clones had hypothesized about possible scale-related artifacts in the [Court of Disorder]...
But hadn't prioritized this.
Because Wu Ying's clone was already guaranteed to participate there.
Having distributed numerous disguise masks within Zhou Yuling's white tower holding the 9,999 followers.
So external clones seemed content to wait for Wu Ying's intelligence before deciding whether to send more clones...
Currently trapped in the time-frozen Prison, the original could do nothing.
Uncertain whether to feel relieved or worried.
Though unable to transmit information externally, coincidentally Wu Ying's clone would honor his promise to Zhou Yuling and enter the [Court of Disorder].
Without receiving this awareness, external clones don't realize the [Court of Disorder's] significance.
And given Zhou Yuling's preparations...
The [Court of Disorder's developments will inevitably follow her lead!
Meaning all Prison Jiang Ye's fates may rest in Zhou Yuling's hands!
Though Wu Ying distributed some disguise masks among Zhou Yuling's followers...
Potentially converting cannon fodder into usable clones when needed.
These masks are far too few compared to Zhou Yuling's 9,999 followers!
Now the original wants to contest control of the [Court of Disorder] with Zhou Yuling.
But cannot convey this intention to external clones...
Indeed, any plans are likely impossible within the time-frozen Prison's constraints.
All he can do is await the [Court of Disorder's] summons.
As thoughts continue flowing, a second batch of post-midnight clones enters the frozen Prison.
The information they synchronize shocks and delights the original!
The shocking part concerns the merchant's data panel and appearance.
The delightful revelation—
Zhang Minghan's clone, having left the mask shop, decided to return to Apartment 0000 and intervene in the [Court of Disorder] exploration!
From Defender memories, Zhang Minghan had some interactions with Zhou Yuling.
Though she always wore a purple veil.
He never saw her face.
Truthfully, Zhang Minghan didn't care about appearances.
He simply wanted to use Zhou Yuling as a stepping stone to contact more core Defenders for rapid growth.
So he'd made several overtures to the mysterious, veil-wearing woman.
But her eccentric personality and unpredictable behavior proved difficult to decipher.
After several failed attempts, Zhang Minghan—unusually—couldn't discern her temperament or how to strategically approach her.
Being weaker than Zhou Yuling didn't help.
In a might-makes-right world, weakness is the original sin.
Wary of offending someone stronger, Zhang Minghan wisely stopped pursuing her.
Leaving their relationship at: several overtures from him, zero response from her.
As for the other Defender, Lin Ling...
Zhang Minghan's memories show no contact.
Fortunately so—given Lin Ling's violent temper...
She might have slapped him to death instantly.
Jiang Ye's decision to send Zhang Minghan's clone to the [Court of Disorder] wasn't just because of Lin Ling's ominous message.
But also because the 9,999 followers (including Wu Ying) trapped in Zhou Yuling's white tower...
Having not been released, were growing increasingly restless.