Light Fortress

"Alright, back to the topic... You’re all aware of the news from Light City, right?"

Gu Shen gently tapped his fingertips on the stone table in the pavilion.

"Of course, it’s such a big deal!"

Shen Li said seriously, "Now the whole Five Continents, shouldn’t there be anyone who doesn’t know?"

Song Ci rubbed his temples, troubled, and said, "You might not believe it, but I should have known this news earlier than you all."

"Oh?" Little Iron Man grew interested.

"Just last night... the ’Dream of Light’ vaguely descended into my dream."

Song Ci slowly said, "The reason I say ’vaguely’ is that I’ve been meditating in the Qingzhong Cemetery for five years, and Mr. Bai Shu helped me temper my state of mind to be extremely solid. Before that, the Dream of Light would descend from time to time, and I couldn’t resist at all."

"..."

Gu Shen was silent for a moment.

This was something unavoidable.

Song Ci is an [Apostle] under the Light God’s Seat, and it was only natural for him to be summoned by the Dream of Light. This situation was different from Fisher’s case back then.

Fisher was disturbed by the Holy Judge and sought out Her Majesty the Empress, who expelled the Dream of Light.

But back then.

He was only noticed and had not received the divine blessing of the Light Church.

But now... Song Ci had indeed gained significant benefits, so it was reasonable for the Light Church to gift a ’dream’ for summoning.

No one else in the world could hide in the Qingzhong Cemetery to escape the dream like Song Ci.

"Light City is selecting a ’New God’."

Gu Shen smiled and said, "I’m planning to make a trip."

"You’re planning to go?!"

Shen Li stood up directly, eyes wide with fear.

Gu Shen, the Netherworld King!

Song Ci didn’t quite understand why Little Iron Man was so shocked. He smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Calm down, calm down... It’s just a trip to Light City, is it that surprising?"

"Sigh... you don’t understand."

Little Iron Man was bitter but couldn’t express it, sitting back down.

"Don’t worry, for safety’s sake, you don’t need to come with me."

Gu Shen smiled at Shen Li and said, "During these days, you stay in Changye... I called you today to find out what arrangements the high-levels in Changye have made regarding this matter."

"The Grand Judge sent me a message this morning."

Shen Li said in a deep voice, "Changye is planning to send people westward, but it has nothing to do with the ’Seed of Light.’ Wutuo’s escape cannot be tolerated... They want to capture Wutuo back."

"Capture Wutuo?"

Song Ci raised an eyebrow and said, "That’s not a simple matter, Light City is on the West Continent’s territory."

The No.1 hidden line was exposed, and West Continent sacrificed all hidden operatives.

But they only managed to preserve Wutuo.

"Yeah..."

Shen Li lamented, "Currently in Changye, there are very few who can take on Wutuo one-on-one, and trying to capture someone in the West Continent’s environment is even more challenging. Also, considering the law, transcendent individuals at the Titled Level and above cannot easily cross continents, making this capture operation impossible to carry out."

"Very well."

Gu Shen nodded, "After you return, tell Mr. Shan that someone else will handle this, so Changye need not worry."

Shen Li was taken aback.

"You plan to go to Light City to capture Wutuo?"

"I am indeed going to Light City... but capturing Wutuo isn’t the only thing I’m going to do."

Gu Shen smiled and said, "In any case, if we can capture Wutuo, this traitor who has been lurking in the Judgement Institute for years, perhaps we can uncover the spy network Light City has set up in the East Continent. Hong Xi and Chen Lin are just two small pawns, and the information we can extract from them is limited. After the Donglai family incident, I’m very interested in the ’player’ behind Wutuo."

"What should I say to Mr. Shan?"

Shen Li was quite distressed.

"Simple, just say ’Song Ci’ is going to capture him." Gu Shen immediately thought up an excuse for Little Iron Man.

Song Ci: "???"

"Brilliant!"

Shen Li beamed with joy.

"What the heck..." Song Ci was completely bewildered, "Wait, did you call me here just for this?"

"You’re going to Light City too."

Gu Shen calmly stated, "I called you here because I need you to get to work... otherwise, what did you think?"

"I worked so hard in the cemetery to cultivate, just to avoid the Light God’s Seat."

Song Ci gritted his teeth with resentment, "And now you want me to go to Light City?"

"You hate the Light God’s Seat so much, now that it’s about to die, wouldn’t you want to take a look?"

Gu Shen asked blandly, "Besides, heroes from across the world have gathered in the West Continent, all for that ’Seed of Light.’ Who else is better suited than you?"

Song Ci suddenly realized.

Fire Seed Melting has a clear priority.

He is an [Apostle] under the Light God’s Seat, inherently compatible with the fire seed, and based on this alone, his succession rank is incredibly high!

The West Continent indeed resists outsiders of Titled strength and above from entering the city.

But is Song Ci an outsider?

Clearly not!

Before he entered the Qingzhong Cemetery, the Holy Judge had tried to invite him to cross westward into the city more than once!

This time he’s coming, not just as an outsider, but he’ll be treated as a VIP and entertained well!

"Damn... really calculating, huh."

Song Ci sighed, "Putting everything else aside, I really want to see this spectacle. I want to see how the Light God’s Seat meets its end."

"...Don’t say things like that once we’re in the West Continent."

Shen Li was terrified just listening, quickly reminding him, "Be careful not to get knocked out by the Holy Judges."

"I’ll be going to the West Continent with you this time."

Gu Shen said to Song Ci, "For certain special reasons, I won’t reveal my true self... I need you to bring me into Light City and give me a ’legitimate’ identity."

"No problem, it’s a piece of cake."

Song Ci remained rough and unrestrained, but this time he was a bit curious, "Xiao Gu, why do I feel like your relationship with Light City seems a bit off?"

"Hmm?"

Gu Shen smiled and looked at Song Ci; has this guy figured something out?

"Just feels weird."

Song Ci rubbed his chin and said, "It seems like you’ve got a bad relationship with Light City... Have they offended you somehow?"

"..."

Gu Shen was silent for a few seconds. He killed Meng Xiao in the Nether River, Jia Wei almost killed him on Sang Island... These things he hadn’t told Song Ci.

The reason is simple.

Song Ci is someone who truly would defend his brother at all costs.

Someone like him, once angered, can’t be reined in.

Rather than letting Song Ci know about the grudges between him and Light City, it’s better to handle it himself; it’s better for everyone that way.

"Don’t think too much about it, I just want to join the bustle."

Gu Shen said casually, "You want to see how the Light God’s Seat ends, I do too."

"Exactly, this spectacle is one everyone worldwide wants to see."

Song Ci laughed, without a hint of doubt, "Though I originally thought... you wanted to try if you could melt the seed."

Unfortunately, I’m already in the body of the Netherworld King; otherwise, I’d really want to give it a shot.

Gu Shen chuckled lightly, "Melting the seed, it’s no easy feat. Light City issued announcements to attract heroes to the city, and thereafter, what awaits those heroes are likely layers of thresholds, countless restrictions. In the end, maybe only three to five people can even touch the seeds? Perhaps this whole thing is just a scam from start to finish?"

Song Ci shook his head and unusually spoke seriously, "How could you be compared with those who are only after petty gains? If you want to try, there will definitely be no problems."

All these years, the reason he resisted the Light Fire Seed so much was because he was close to the truth.

As an [Angel Envoy], Song Ci could feel the power emanating from the token was not as ’great’ as he imagined.

Holy Judges were spread across the Five Continents, forcibly pulling people into dreams.

The Light Church’s actions were far less straightforward than they appeared on the surface.

This style, he disliked.

But if one day, this heavenly sun could be replaced with new light, he’s willing to accept new ’light.’

"Well said, but it’s a pity... I’m not interested in the Light Fire Seed."

Gu Shen smiled, "Alright, time is of the essence, let’s set off right away."

The three parted ways at the pavilion.

Before leaving, Gu Shen didn’t forget to lightly pat Shen Li on the shoulder and urge, "After entering Snow Forbidden City, try to walk in deserted alleys."

Little Iron Man was puzzled, completely unclear why.

... 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

...

This journey to the West doesn’t call for a grandiose display.

After Song Ci left Qingzhong Cemetery, he was still able to connect with the West Continent through the ’Dream of Light.’

Once Song Ci actively contacted the West Continent, there would be Holy Judges appearing immediately, begging to escort him West.

But Gu Shen didn’t let him expose himself proactively now.

One reason is he doesn’t want to travel alongside the Holy Judges.

Another reason.

He wants to start from Changye and investigate ’Wutuo’s’ departure route.

Before the old case of the Donglai family erupted, Wutuo left Changye under the guise of carrying out a mission, then lost contact with no news.

Chu Ling’s investigation revealed that Wutuo took a boat in the East Continent, spending two days and nights to ultimately arrive at Southampton City in the West Continent.

Gu Shen and Song Ci boarded the same class of ship, but didn’t gain any insights.

[Profiling] can’t be utilized in this situation because, after several days, there are too many people’s spiritual auras mixed on this large ship, and it’s impossible to distinguish... Wutuo likely guessed someone from East Continent would chase this clue and surely handled his ’aura’.

This clue is dead-end, but it’s alright.

Upon landing in Southampton City, Gu Shen and Song Ci took a short rest before continuing their journey.

Due to the ’Fire Invitation,’ many Transcendents came to this famous port city, but here it’s extremely orderly, quite different from the Southern Continent. Everywhere can be seen Light Church’s [temple members], serving both as preaching and deterrence, so nearly no Transcendent dares to act recklessly here...

Along the way, Gu Shen and Song Ci saw many devout believers, wearing only simple white cloth, bowing step by step, with blood marks and calluses on their foreheads and palms.

The doctrine advocated by the Light Church is to hone the flesh and cleanse the soul.

Under the light, there’s surely darkness.

Everyone is born carrying sin, but it doesn’t matter; as long as one is willing to work hard to cultivate, then under the light, forgiveness and blessing will surely be granted.

These pilgrims bow step by step, heading to Light City for a pilgrimage.

Each year, Light City offers places for ’Divine Grace.’

The harsher the ordeal, the purer the heart, and thus the greater the chance to stay in Light City.