Light Fortress

"Yao Jin, is this your arrangement?"

Light City is located at the far west of the West Continent, along the coast of the West Sea.

Wutuo, bare-chested and wearing sunglasses, was lounging under a sun umbrella, the sea breeze blowing, and he spoke with some resentment, "I’ve been lying on the west coast for several days, and nothing’s happening. Your so-called arrangement, is it just giving me a vacation?"

"Don’t worry, just lie down a bit more."

The electronic eye floating beside the sunbed spun around, a calm and gentle voice emanating from within.

"Isn’t taking a vacation a good thing? You’ve toiled at the East Continent Court for many years, returning home in glory. You must take a break for a while... This place is remote, no one will disturb you. Just relax during these days."

"That might be true..."

Wutuo sighed deeply and said, "But shouldn’t I be doing something?"

"Beep."

"Beep."

Before he could finish his words, the communication on the other end had already been disconnected.

...

...

Yao Jin sat in a wheelchair, slowly moving forward, with no one behind him.

The underground corridor was long and damp. After the communicator was disconnected, even the last ray of light disappeared. This was the "Secret Dungeon" of Light City, a place that instilled fear in countless people of the West Continent.

The existence of the Secret Dungeon was quite similar to the Snow Cage in the East Continent.

Over the years, the Light Church had executed many sinners. Under its devout teachings, countless people were willing to offer their lives, but some chose... to betray the light.

Those whose sins were unforgivable, surely deserved to die.

But before death, some needed to be completely squeezed of their value.

These people would be thrown into the Secret Dungeon.

Although this was Light City, ironically... there was not a shred of light in the Secret Dungeon.

For those Transcendents imprisoned here, they basically had no chance to see the light again.

"Drip... Drip..."

Yao Jin walked alone in the long corridor. He did not glance at the Secret Silver Cages on either side.

If it were somebody else passing by. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The dungeon would already be filled with raging roars, wishing they could tear the passerby apart.

But Yao Jin... was an exception.

Because every prisoner in this entire corridor was captured by him, personally interrogated and tortured!

If a beam of firelight shone here, it would reveal all the criminals shrinking in the corners, accustomed to the darkness of the Secret Dungeon, yet unable to look directly at this seemingly frail and ill young man.

Yao Jin, with a calm expression, calmly walked through the long corridor. The Secret Dungeon was divided into different areas according to the varying levels of criminality.

The deeper he went, the higher the level of detainees.

He went all the way down to the very bottom.

"Elder Yuan Yang, long time no see... How have you adapted to these days in the ’Secret Dungeon’?"

The lowest level was very dark, as there were several layers of cages here, with even the outermost layer coated in Black Silver.

Yao Jin turned around, facing one of the cages, and spoke softly, "I specifically instructed them to treat you well, three meals a day, not to miss a single one."

He lightly tapped his fingers.

The alloy cage slowly opened, revealing a rather miserable figure.

Yuan Yang’s upper clothes were tattered, his previous transcendent aura long gone. His body was covered in scars, his white beard and hair stained with blood, a pitiful sight, and even his breathing had become extremely weak.

"Yao Jin, you... didn’t say this before you imprisoned me."

Yuan Yang’s voice trembled, "The crime I committed, does it warrant this? Treating me in such a way... if the Great Elder knew, do you know what the consequences would be?"

"The primary covert line took over twenty years of effort from the temple to build."

Yao Jin said calmly, "A total of fourteen people, each placed in critical positions in the East Continent. At critical moments, they could play vital roles. Among this covert line, even a Changye Judge successfully fell into the trap... Because of your ’one-track mind,’ the covert line was uprooted. Such a crime would have someone else immediately beheaded."

"???"

Yuan Yang’s tone was full of shock, "I am the Second Elder of the temple, how dare you treat me like this?!"

"I’m sorry, but this is the ’Secret Dungeon’."

Yao Jin said with no fluctuation in his tone, looking at the Second Elder bound by chains, "Here, you only have one identity... and that is a criminal. Besides, aren’t you still alive?"

"No... back then, you didn’t say that!"

The Second Elder suddenly lunged forward, grasping the iron bars of the cage tightly in fury, "I want to see Jia Wei! I want to see Jia Wei!"

Zzzla!

The power of the Thunder Sealing Artifact suddenly descended.

This pitch-black Secret Dungeon was briefly illuminated by a burst of sudden light, revealing a ferocious face.

"Ah..."

The Second Elder slumped to the ground, his hair disheveled, his hands emitting a burnt smell.

"Lord Jia Wei will not come."

Yao Jin sighed lightly, "You seem unaware that since Lord Jia Wei took on the title of [Bastion], this Secret Dungeon has been entirely under my control. The lord only needs to stay stationed beneath Sunset Mountain, fulfilling his duties as the [Red Lake Guardian]."

"How could this be..."

Yuan Yang muttered, "Jia Wei is the [Holy Judge], this mere Secret Dungeon..."

"Lord Jia Wei bears too much pressure, someone has to shoulder some of it for him."

Yao Jin smiled warmly, "Besides... in this Light City, shadows are everywhere. Even Lord Su Ye could become the Saint Heir, so it doesn’t seem surprising that I control this mere Secret Dungeon, does it?"

"Su Ye, yes... Su Ye!"

Yuan Yang seemed to grasp at a life-saving straw.

"I want to see Su Ye!"

He stared intently at the young man in the wheelchair before him.

"..."

After a long silence, Yao Jin sighed softly and said, "Lord Yuan, it seems you still don’t understand the situation. You cannot see anyone right now."

Yuan Yang was stunned.

Yao Jin sincerely said, "Jia Wei, Su Ye, the Great Elder, you won’t see any of them. In this place, the only person you will see is me."

"I understand..."

Soon, Yuan Yang calmed down.

Hoarsely, he began, "You’ve grown weary of the ’shadow’ lifestyle, so you want to have your own place in the temple, right? I can fulfill that for you... Set me free, and I’ll arrange a new identity for you the next day. You can stand in the light, you can have your own name, seen and admired by millions, just like Su Ye."

"..."

Yao Jin remained silent, and the atmosphere of the secret dungeon became suffocatingly tense.

Yuan Yang felt a bit desperate: "What exactly do you want? Just say it... I can definitely fulfill your desires."

Yao Jin watched Yuan Yang with a hint of sadness.

Finally, he waved his hand to close the outer wall of the secret dungeon, and Yuan Yang charged forward again. But this time, Thunder Light didn’t even break out of the cage, with the sounds of electrocution and screams completely isolated.

Yao Jin sat in his wheelchair, not hurrying to leave, but slowly moved towards another "cage" not far away.

He did the same thing as before.

He opened the outer wall of the cage, revealing the scene inside.

A woman was imprisoned in this secret dungeon.

The dark, damp cage shouldn’t have any traces of light, yet around this woman, there were spots of fireflies swirling, creating a breathtaking sight that made the place appear less like a cage and more like sacred ground.

"Lady Divine, fare thee well."

Yao Jin nodded in greeting and sincerely said, "Forgive me, Lady Divine, as I am not able to rise and pay my respects."

The woman in the dark sat cross-legged.

No one would have imagined that the legendary Light Goddess would be held in a "secret dungeon."

Ever since breaking off her engagement with the Lin Family, news about Meng Xizhou had barely surfaced... The last piece of information the world knew was that the Great Knight Jia Wei personally went to Central City to bring the Goddess back to West Continent.

Since then, the Goddess had vanished without a trace.

"Divine Favour," such things come swiftly and vanish swiftly.

Yet, over the years,

Light City had never publicly revoked Meng Xizhou’s title of "Goddess," which puzzled many.

If the Light God’s Seat no longer favored the Meng Family, they could simply choose a new object of Divine Favour.

Some claimed,

The Light God’s Seat was gravely ill and aged, thus served by the Light Goddess personally.

Much like the Purple Rain Commander stationed in the North Continent attics.

The Light Goddess spent recent years beside the Divine Throne, unable to leave, naturally leaving no news behind... This also explains why the title "Goddess" persists.

Because Divine Favour never departed.

Yet reality is more fantastical than the rumors.

The Light God’s Seat had indeed spread news of grave illness and mortal peril, but the Goddess was not serving, instead "imprisoned."

Meng Xizhou slowly opened her eyes.

She looked at Yao Jin, speaking word by word: "You are performing a play."

"..."

Yao Jin also regarded Meng Xizhou.

Smilingly, he openly admitted: "Yes."

Sending Yuan Yang into the secret dungeon was meant to have Yuan Yang perform... The Second Elder’s true task was to use this imprisonment to approach the Goddess and win her trust.

Thus the previous scene was, in fact, part of the plan.

Yao Jin’s answer surprised Meng Xizhou.

"Except... only he is performing."

Yao Jin asked thoughtfully: "Did his performance just now seem quite believable? According to the initial plan, Yuan Yang trapped in the secret dungeon would cause enough destruction for a crack in the Black Silver wall, allowing contact with you... Years ago, Yuan Yang befriended the Meng Family, instructed you, you can detest anyone from the temple, but not him."

Meng Xizhou listened, deeply speechless. She looked with disappointment at the secret dungeon on the other side of the Black Silver wall.

"But regrettably, I have no intention of accompanying his performance..."

Yao Jin sighed softly, explaining: "This is the ’secret dungeon.’ The Great Elder and Sir Jia Wei trust me absolutely. Since Yuan Yang volunteered for ’atonement through merit,’ until his task is completed, the one to decide whether he leaves the secret dungeon is me alone."

"That is me."

Yao Jin spoke without any reservation.

Just as he released the conversation with Yuan Yang.

Now, his talk with the Goddess can also be overheard by the adjacent cage.

But with the reinforced Black Silver wall, no one knew Yuan Yang’s reaction...

"Why tell me this?"

Meng Xizhou responded calmly, "I don’t care about your plan."

"No, you do care."

Yao Jin earnestly said, "Miss Meng, you are a smart person, Yuan Yang’s imprisonment means the temple’s manpower is inadequate. They’ve assigned many tasks to ’shadows.’"

"Now, what I hold in my hands is not just this secret dungeon."

He casually narrated, "You may not care about many things, but surely you care about something, and I know what it is."

"..."

Meng Xizhou furrowed her beautiful brows.

"All these years, I’ve visited many times, doing the same thing."

Yao Jin gently advised, "Revealing the remaining location of the [Holy Book], you can immediately leave the secret dungeon. These years, the Meng Family has fallen into decline, your Goddess title questioned, now Lord Divine has started choosing new ’flames,’ why stubbornly cling to this trivial matter, resisting obstinately?"