The Gentleman at the End-Chapter 775 - 773 - Welcoming

"Pilgrims of Pain... it was widely popular in ancient times."

Back then, the Old World, not yet sealed off, saw huge rates of birth daily, and not every Patient could secure the qualification to survive normally,

Most people suffering from lowly illnesses or even congenitally disabled folks simply had no right to live on in the Old World, they might even be taken away as slaves, livestock, or even food while simply walking.

Therefore,

these hopeless Patients would make some special choices, becoming a Pilgrim of Pain was one way to change their lives.

The Old World also had explicit rules, as long as one set foot on the "Pilgrim’s Way", they would enjoy the protection of the Monastery, and any dare to kill on this road would be watched by the monks.

Similarly, those without the thought of pilgrimage, who merely came here for refuge and disturbed other pilgrims, would also be punished.

If a pilgrim could endure the pain and walked this road with devout postures, they could become a member of the Monastery and qualify for the ’Iron Chain Implant’.

To accept the Iron Chains meant acquiring a unique illness of the Monastery, becoming a Suffering Monk and achieving a reversal of fate.

But now, the situation has completely changed.

Due to the lockdown on fertility rules, the population of the Old World is no longer growing, and so-called Pilgrims of Pain rarely emerge.

The Monastery now is not as overcrowded as before, even needing to forcibly conscript outsiders, any neighboring humans found with distinctive Physical attributes would be captured and taken to the Monastery for intense training.

The number of monks had already fallen below the critical value, and many less significant evil incidents were no longer of concern to the Monastery."

Nash explained alongside while Yi Chen had already stepped onto the so-called Pilgrim’s Way,

What looked like an ordinary road, at the moment his foot touched the ground, a nail pierced through it, even penetrating through Yi Chen’s foot.

Since the lower half of his body was a prosthetic, Yi Chen naturally felt nothing.

However, the nail that pierced through the back of his foot obviously did not capture the desired ’Physical’ form, so it continued to grow, reaching his upper body and piercing through Yi Chen’s waist and abdomen.

But his expression hardly changed, such a degree of pain was negligible to him.

It is key to note that the ’Thorny Iron Chain’ belonged solely to William and had already integrated into the illness system, Yi Chen as a Second Body did not possess the Iron Chain Attribute but was familiar with a series of characteristics of the Thorny Iron Chain through William.

However, Yi Chen still possessed the constitution to endure pain, and he had already developed extraordinary endurance at the Orphanage in his previous life.

"This so-called Pilgrim’s Way must originate from inside the Monastery, as my foot was pierced, relevant data must have been read, and someone will likely come for me soon."

Yi Chen was not in the least bit anxious; he looked down at the rapidly spreading virus implementing a metallic protein upon anyone it touched.

Then, he lifted his gaze along the Pilgrim’s Way looking forward.

About a kilometer ahead was the ’entrance’ of the Monastery, marked by a metallic staircase totaling 108 steps, with the surrounding ground also elevated corresponding to the stairs, leading to the grand doors of the Suffering Monastery.

A bizarre gate formed by countless intertwined iron chains, vaguely outlining a perfect human figure with both arms and legs extended, just looking at it caused a piercing sensation in the eyes.

As far as the eye could see, the Monastery had no towering structures inside, completely enclosed within a dark, polyhedral, city-wall.

The top was covered with a type of black thorns, its surface exuding a metallic luster; furthermore, the area outside the Monastery, apart from Pilgrim’s Way, was also enveloped by a thorn forest.

Any criminal marked for custody, once they fell into it, would be subject to the proactive attack of the thorn forest.

Of course, such situations were infrequent and even unlikely to occur. A criminal capable of escaping from inside the Monastery definitely possessed enormous skill, and mere thorn forests could not restrain them.

The thorny jungle primarily served to deter outsiders from approaching, forcing any patients heading to the monastery to take the Pilgrim’s Way.

"Before the Old World was sealed off, there was a no-fly ’Rule’ within ten kilometers of the monastery, and everyone had to move forward slowly under huge gravity," Yi Chen had heard.

"Hmm, interesting."

Sure enough, not long after Yi Chen’s flesh had been pierced by iron nails, a strong danger signal was immediately detected from the monastery... clang clang! The gate made of iron chains slowly disintegrated.

A group of monks wrapped in black leather came out, approaching with considerable caution.

Their appearances were all highly exaggerated, aiming to emphasize the two key points of "metal" and "pain,"

For example, the leader had peeled off the skin of both hands layer by layer and fixed it with metal wires, stretching the skin into a six-pointed star to serve as a bracelet.

Additionally, his neck was adorned with a spiked collar, each spike piercing into his neck, moving up and down with his breathing, continuously causing a stinging pain.

Their gazes first fell on the infamous circus’s top executioner—Nash.

However, Nash’s murders had been arranged by the boss, and his sins were always on the edge of conviction, as if the boss knew the rules here.

They then turned their eyes to Yi Chen, who showed no signs of the plague on his skin and only a faint scent of the Death Plague was detectable.

"What brings you to the monastery?"

"Returning what belongs to its original owner."

Yi Chen directly took out the identity card that seemed to belong to the ’Great Prison Monk.’ The leader trembled violently, even growing multiple iron chains from his back and rushed over to confirm the authenticity of the metal card.

"Indeed, the Great Prison Monk, Laisa Hellard’s identity card! Where did you obtain this?"

"Bought it from the Duke at a high price, wanted to use it as a stepping stone to experience the monastery."

Yi Chen’s way of speaking was too blunt, causing Nash to twitch! He wanted to explain something.

Unexpectedly, the monk across from them stretched out his arms in a special gesture of thanks, "The identity card of the Great Prison Monk is extremely important to our monastery, as it records the experiences of pain, an irreplaceable treasure.

"You returning such a precious item to us naturally qualifies you to visit the monastery as a distinguished guest."

"Can he come in with me?" Yi Chen pointed to Nash standing aside.

"The rules do not allow it, since only you were involved in returning the identity card. However, if this person has a very special bond with you, we can consider applying for special visiting rights for him."

"My body, under special circumstances, requires Nash’s support; the current equipment is only for everyday activities."

The monks carefully sensed the physical connection between Yi Chen and Nash, their iron chains humming in the background, seemingly sensing the important link between the two.

"Please come with us! Although you are VIPs, the monastery is a special institution with the highest security requirements of any area in the Old World.

After entering, we will conduct a comprehensive physical examination on you, please cooperate with us." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

As they ascended the stairs, more and more iron nails appeared on their bodies,

Both Yi Chen and Nash remained unchanged in expression, with the latter even squeezing the iron nails out of his body through his superior physical regeneration, much to the astonishment of the leading monks.

When they arrived at the gate made of iron chains, Yi Chen unexpectedly caught some hidden text within it.

≮There is no Good or Evil, There is only Flesh≯