A Man Like None Other

The prison cell was a nightmare in itself.

Twisted, gnarled tree roots snaked through every crevice, their sinister tendrils creeping along the walls, further enhancing the stifling, damp atmosphere. The place reeked of decay and hopelessness. It was no surprise that Ezio seemed so defeated-this environment was the antithesis of cultivation.

Jared stood at the threshold of the cell, and immediately, he could feel the oppressive atmosphere. He couldn’t sense any trace of spiritual energy in the air. Worse still, there was an unsettling, almost invisible force pulling at his own energy. It was as if the very prison itself was leeching away his spiritual power, and the longer he stayed, the weaker he felt.

Though the suction force was subtle, barely perceptible, Jared’s heightened senses still picked up on it.

“Ezio, I’m sorry… I… I don’t have the money to bail you out. I’m really sorry…” Mia’s voice trembled with guilt as she gazed at her brother in such a pitiful state, her heart breaking for him.

At the sound of her words, Ezio fell silent. After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke, his voice a hollow whisper. A wry, almost bitter smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Mia, stop coming here. I know that every time you visit, you’re just being extorted by those guards.

It’s better if you stay away. Take care of yourself… I can’t protect you anymore.”

encouraged him, “Ezio, don’t say that. There’s always a way out!

resignation. “Do you not see it? There’s no getting out. The prisoners here are vanishing one by

the surrounding cells. The once crowded prison was now strangely

prisoners?” Mia’s voice trembled with confusion. She vividly remembered the last time she visited-this prison was teeming

barely above a whisper. “They’re all

locked in a cell? Even without food or

know… They all just… died, one after another. And now, I feel like my time is running out too,” Ezio muttered, his voice thick with despair, shaking his head as if trying to

the other cultivators who passed… emaciated? As if someone had drained their spiritual

to Jared as soon as he spoke. “Who’s this?” he asked warily, studying the stranger

quickly intervened, her tone reassuring as she spoke. “Ezio, this is Jared. I met him on my way to Beast City. If it weren’t for him lending me the money, I wouldn’t have been able