While the various departments of the Five Elements Hall wailed loudly, and the bright pearl that was Wan Lei was to be entombed in prison, Wan Lei had already followed Qi Heng to the outside of the internal prison in the southwestern part of the Five Elements Hall.
The internal prison of the Five Elements Hall was located in a vast valley, a single-story building that occupied a wide area.
It was only one story high and didn't seem very tall.
Outside the single-story building, there were high walls, dense windows and rooftops, and protective formations.
Outside the prison, there were guards posted every five paces and sentries every ten paces, making it extremely heavily guarded.
Furthermore, Wan Lei observed that the material used to construct the prison, while appearing to be stone, was certainly not ordinary. It could even withstand the force of his punch.
As they flew towards the prison's administrative hall, Qi Heng introduced it to Wan Lei.
"Our internal prison mainly detains internal disciples. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's only one story high; there's more underground.
The upper level is the most lightly guarded area, designated as a D-level prison. It houses disciples who are confined or have committed minor offenses, typically sentenced to three to five years. These individuals are the safest.
One level further down is the C-level prison. This is for those who have committed serious offenses, such as accidentally killing innocents during missions, and are sentenced to one hundred or a thousand years.
The second underground level is the B-level prison, which is where I am. The people here have generally committed grave crimes, such as stealing sect treasures and selling them, teaching forbidden techniques to outsiders, or stealing forbidden techniques without proper exchange. It also houses those who deliberately kill innocents outside.
The inmates here are almost all serving life sentences, or it is where elders in the Boundless Realm who have erred are imprisoned. The defenses here are extremely stringent, incomparable to the two levels above or this one.
As for the third underground level, that is the A-level prison. It has the fewest inmates, housing death row inmates or prisoners who are Golden Immortal realm powerhouses. The reason for the small number of inmates is that most have already been executed, their souls and spirits annihilated.
The formations on that level were personally arranged by a Heavenly Venerate, making it impossible for anyone to open them."
Wan Lei nodded repeatedly, secretly contemplating that he might have a chance to break through the formations in the B-level prison.
However...
He surmised that a prison belonging to a prestigious organization like the Five Elements Hall wouldn't rely solely on formations for protection.
Upon entering the prison gates, the first structure encountered was a tall administrative building, with the actual prison area behind it.
The administrative building housed the records of all criminals, even those who had been executed tens of thousands of years ago.
The staff within were generally administrative personnel, but not all of them were disciples of the Five Elements Hall; some were hired from outside.
After all, it was more appropriate for the disciples of the Five Elements Hall, with their exceptional combat prowess, to serve as guards.
Wan Lei's first task was to complete his onboarding procedures.
Under Qi Heng's guidance, Wan Lei accompanied him to the place where onboarding was handled. Under the admiring and enthusiastic gaze of the young female clerk, Wan Lei submitted his disciple identification. After his information was recorded, he officially became a prison warden.
Wardens did not have a specific uniform; within the Five Elements Hall, disciples generally wore the same attire.
Only below the Five Elements Hall emblem on their left chest would they wear a work tag.
After completing the procedures and registering his file, Qi Heng led Wan Lei further downstairs.
As they walked back to the main prison entrance, they suddenly saw two disciples from the Enforcement Hall escorting a male disciple.
The male disciple had a look of utter despair and didn't dare to look up at anyone.
"What's going on? What did he do?"
Qi Heng looked with interest at the two Enforcement Hall disciples.
"Ah, don't mention it. It's embarrassing. This guy was spreading rumors and writing novels on the forum. Guess what he wrote?"
The Enforcement Hall and the internal prison frequently interacted, so the personnel were generally familiar with each other.
Upon hearing this, Wan Lei suddenly had a bad premonition.
"What did he write?"
"He wrote a novel called 'The Domineering Female Hall Master Falls for the Handsome Young Disciple.' He not only wrote it but also explicitly stated that the Water Hall Master and Wan Lei were involved, even detailing their entire process from meeting to falling in love, especially the consummation. He wrote it so vividly that I even felt... well, you know."
As expected, it was the spread of such rumors.
Qi Heng glared at the disciple with disappointment,
"You. With such talent, why write this sort of rubbish? You're truly a disgrace to our Five Elements Hall. Alright, take him in. I'll search for that book tonight and give it a thorough critique."
Wan Lei's face was a picture of exasperation. Was he really going to critique it "thoroughly"? The male protagonist of the story was standing right beside him.
"Brother, why the long face? Don't you want to read about your tragic love story with the Hall Master?"
Qi Heng looked at Wan Lei with a playful glint in his eyes, struggling to suppress a smile.
The two Enforcement Hall disciples and the disciple who wrote the novel looked up in surprise.
Holy cow, it's Wan Lei?
The disciple who wrote the novel looked even more dejected.
"Good heavens, they started spreading rumors this morning that Wan Lei was coming to work at your prison, and it turns out to be true."
The Enforcement Hall disciples exclaimed in surprise.
"Hello, hello."
Wan Lei greeted them.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Wan, greetings, Senior Brother Wan."
Wan Lei's reputation was at its zenith, and the two disciples were quite nervous upon meeting him.
The Enforcement Hall disciples handed the offending disciple over to Qi Heng.
"Just take him with you; no need for interrogation. He's already confessed everything at the Enforcement Hall. He's sentenced to three years and can be held in the D-level prison."
"Alright, since I'm heading to the B-level to report anyway, I'll take him with me."
Qi Heng nodded, then, accompanied by Wan Lei and the offending disciple, they bypassed the first-floor administrative area and exited through the back door.
The disciple walked in front, his hands cuffed behind his back, behaving obediently.
Looking at his retreating figure, Wan Lei ground his teeth in anger. If not for people like him, why would his rumored scandals be flying everywhere?
"Brother Qi, can I beat him up?"
Wan Lei asked.
Upon hearing this, the disciple's posterior clenched. He never imagined that by just making up a rumor, he would fall into the hands of the aggrieved party.
Would his life be any better now?
"Of course not. We are not allowed to assault prisoners, or we will be disciplined. Unless you want to join him in prison and possibly share a cell opposite his."
Heh, what a civilized prison.
Qi Heng arrived at the gate of the prison sector, presented his identification, and swiped it on the door. With a creak, the gate opened.
The material of this gate was also extraordinary.
Upon entering the gate, the first thing that caught the eye was an administrative area, with several wardens walking back and forth.
This was the D-level prison, housing individuals with less serious offenses, and the supervision was relatively relaxed.