Light Fortress

Chapter 1591 - 278: Storm, Undercover (3 Updates)

"What a fast blade!"

Seeing Gu Shen swiftly take down three Red Shadows, Alf praised sincerely.

The close combat ability of the Red Shadow was extremely formidable.

This was already the strongest individual combat power within the Initial Number.

Fighting three at once, without using any domain power, and so effortlessly... This was something Gu Shen could not have done a week ago.

"You’re too kind."

Gu Shen inserted the wooden sword back into the snowfield.

Actually, it wasn’t that his strength had surged again.

No matter how strong the Red Shadow was, it was still just a robot.

No matter how great the God of Craftsmen was, it was impossible to create a perfect combat machine that surpasses "humans." In other words... the combat strategy of the Red Shadow was fixed; even if it occasionally changed formation, its "mind" was certainly not as bright as a human’s. After accumulating many battles, Gu Shen had gradually figured out their patterns.

Every strike, every parry, Gu Shen already had a predetermined "target" in his mind.

The greatest benefit of dueling with the Red Shadow for Gu Shen was this point.

He began to try developing "Chi Huo."

Calculating the point of impact of the Red Shadow’s attack... was the answer given by the computational power of "Chi Huo."

At the same time, Gu Shen also realized the "big picture" on the long road of Extraordinary Cultivation.

A Transcendent, if only aiming to become a fourth rank... then just following the trial standards given by [Deep Sea] for cultivation would suffice.

But if you really want to understand this thing called "life transition."

You must be clear.

The significance of everything you do at every level.

"My awakening ability is ’Chi Huo,’ but because I got the [Pure Land] too early... for a long time in the past, I ignored the development of the ability of ’Chi Huo.’"

"This is also the reason why my cultivation realm was seriously blocked after three Super Realms."

"The balance of the Extraordinary Realm acts above all things."

"I must supplement my awakened abilities to step into the ’fourth rank’... similarly, to enter the next stage, I can only develop the second domain of ’Chi Huo.’"

...

...

Alf’s eyes flickered, and several bamboo armor men walked from the depths of the snowfield, carrying away the three defeated Red Shadows.

The mechanical life on the Initial Number could all be repaired.

Even the one that was gutted by Gu Shen a week ago was no exception.

The God of Craftsmen left a complete production line and repair program... just consuming raw materials can make it "brand new," so Gu Shen didn’t deliberately hold back his hand when he struck.

"The submersion of the Initial Number will arrive at its ’destination’ in two days."

Alf said, "We will eventually reach the ’East Sea’ area, which is also a deep sea area covered by chaotic primordial matter..."

He knew that Gu Shen’s hometown was in the East Continent.

Because of the exposure of the Ice Sea incident.

Alf decided to move the Initial Number to a relatively safe position first... he wasn’t familiar with the Five Continents, so he considered relocating little by little.

The five continents, except for the North Continent, were all externally surrounded by seas.

The Initial Number only needed to move along the southern continent’s outer edge to the east side and sink northward to reach the "East Sea."

"So soon?"

Gu Shen was a bit surprised.

"It’s not exactly fast, the East Sea is vast, it’s not like taking you to the doorstep." Alf reminded: "If you want to leave, there is still a long journey ahead, I cannot leave the Initial Number... once the submersion is completed, the Initial Number will not move again."

"Don’t worry, you don’t have to trouble yourself with the matter of leaving."

Gu Shen smiled and said, "I have my own way."

With the [Truth Ruler] in hand, there’s no need to worry about returning.

If any of those guys from the Source Tower’s Light City were still alive, they’d probably still be swimming halfway back to the East Continent when I return.

"You could actually continue your cultivation on the ’Initial Number’ for a while longer."

Alf hesitated but finally spoke: "There are enough resources here, and the Red Shadow for sparring... when you return home, it’s probably hard to find a cultivation place better than this."

"Aren’t there still two days until we reach the East Sea? Why say this suddenly?"

Gu Shen laughed and said, "Alf, are you reluctant to part with us?"

"No way..."

Alf’s mouth was stubborn, but the tone of regret in his words was hard to conceal: "So you two are leaving in two days?"

"Clap clap!"

Gu Xiaoman reached out to pat the little cube’s head, gallantly comforting, "Mountains and waters will have encounters, it’s not a farewell of life and death, you’re an old guy who’s lived for almost a thousand years, why the sentimentality?"

This week was very brief.

In Alf’s life, it was just a blink of an eye.

But he indeed sensed "joy" in Gu Shen and Xiaoman.

"It’s all that previous guy’s fault!"

Alf sighed deeply, "When that guy came to the Initial Number, he didn’t play with me, didn’t talk to me, just spun around on his own, didn’t say anything... before leaving, he even threatened me to keep it strictly confidential!"

"After he left, I didn’t miss him at all. I thought I wouldn’t miss you this time either..."

Gu Shen and Xiaoman exchanged glances.

This week, they had explored every corner of the Initial Number.

The last visitor hadn’t left any traces; if it weren’t for the information provided in the Lord of Love’s Dream, they wouldn’t have known that someone else had been here.

But the more it was like this.

The more resolute Gu Shen’s heart became.

So meticulous, so flawless... yet tight-lipped.

After racking his brains, the only candidate he could think of was one person.

Turing.

...

...

The internal struggle within the Storm Church had ceased for quite some time.

Five years of external pressure forced them to abandon infighting and unify against the enemy.

The Southern Continent had become a chessboard, and if they continued down this path... sooner or later, they’d be reduced to dust, merely cast aside by others.

However, sometimes, even with a common effort, nothing may change.

Oppression persists.

Resistance remains futile.

Even with the return of the Storm God’s Throne, the harsh reality remains unchanged.

The Southern Continent, due to excessive expansion of faith, suffers from a decline caused by draining the people’s lifeblood, which cannot be changed with short-term reforms.

And on this day, thirty-one Source Energy Boats hovering over the coastline of Yuanting Island placed unprecedented pressure on the Storm Church... Just days ago, the Five Continents Fleet had just ventured south to the sea, and in the church’s plans, it was a mission of no return. Seventy Source Energy Boats skimming across the sea wouldn’t set foot on the continent again.

No one expected the Central City and Changye fleets to return unscathed to the mainland.

Meanwhile, Light City and the Source Tower... remain silent for now.

After returning inland, nothing could be hidden from the Cloud Mirror; however, the commanders of Central City and Changye linked a spiritual meeting message to the Holy City Church along the Ice Sea.

At the same time.

The three top seats at the summit of humanity held a secret meeting in the deep water area.

A long table with four sides, and one vacant seat.

This was a small meeting attended only by three Divine Thrones, with the Sky and Light absent.

The Storm God’s Throne, initially reluctant to attend, now bore an unpleasant expression, having learned of the Central City and Changye fleet’s return to the mainland... This face-to-face between the Divine Thrones had also been prompted because of this.

"You must be very curious about how the Central City and Changye fleets returned to the Five Continents unscathed."

The Empress led the meeting, with Bai Shu observing quietly as ever, his attendance a declaration of his stance.

"You concealed key information about the Ice Sea and guided believers to launch a ’beautiful’ self-destructive attack."

Lin Lei flicked her fingers, revealing two scenes.

They were disaster images captured by the ships... However, she hid the imagery of the giant ship, only allowing the Storm God’s Throne to see the scene of Anila Bishop self-immolating.

The reason she could call it "beautiful."

Was because there were zero casualties in Central City and Changye.

Otherwise, it would have been a hugely condemned internal slaughter!

"... Did you have a backup plan in the Ice Sea?"

The expression of the Storm God’s Throne was grim. He still couldn’t comprehend why the two Continental fleets were unharmed, but the only solace was that, from the images provided by the Beizhou Empress, it appeared the fleets of the Source Tower and Light City had been shot down.

"This is not something you should know."

The Empress waved her hand to extinguish the spiritual image, calmly stating, "What you need to know is... the wrath of the Source Tower and Light City will soon descend."

"..."

The Storm God’s Throne remained silent; from the moment he decided to slaughter the Five Continents Fleet, he knew what such an act would imply.

The rifts among the top seats would widen.

Throughout the years, the two major alliances had already regarded each other as enemies, engaging in strategic games on the Southern Continent’s territory.

To change the position of the Southern Continent, joining one of the alliances would be necessary.

The Storm, of course, wouldn’t make such a decision lightly.

He was well aware that his identity as a Divine Throne was the biggest bargaining chip in this strategic game... Whether Central West or Northeast, neither of these alliances could afford to allow any sudden escalation from the opposing faction in the current "balance" of power.

This was the reason he dared to carry out such ruthless actions.

To trap and annihilate the Five Major Fleets, burying everyone in the Ice Sea... As long as he handled it cleanly and left no evidence, there wouldn’t be any repercussions!

As for turning against each other?

Before the current balance of power, with no Lord of Wine at the Source Tower and no Living Netherworld King in Changye, who would dare to confront him?

But now, the situation was different.

The fleets of Central City and Changye had returned intact!

"The fleet is now docked at Yuanting Island. Next, we will selectively unveil some information and announce that the Southern Continent has long joined our alliance..."

The Empress calmly gazed at the Storm.

She said word by word, "You can shake your head, but this matter, you cannot change; even if you deny it flatly, we will still announce it to the outside world."

The face of the Storm God’s Throne turned ashen.

This news... was for the Source Tower and Light City!

With the full return of the Central City and Changye fleet, who would believe the Storm Church hadn’t defected? Who would believe there wasn’t inside information regarding the Ice Sea mission?

The Storm God’s Throne never intended to be the Empress and Bai Shu’s "undercover"—

But who would believe him now if he said it?

The Light God’s Seat wouldn’t believe it, nor would Qinglong!

"Now the advice we can give you is to let your saints properly complete the internal negotiations on Yuanting Island, then thoroughly scour the Ice Sea and finish off everyone who needs to be dealt with."

The Empress said, "No matter what plans you had before, you now have only one path: to join us as soon as possible while we are still willing to take you in. This way... the Southern Continent won’t be immediately torn apart by the Source Tower. If a Divine War erupts, facing the wrath of two factions is better than the wrath of four... isn’t it?"

...

...

(The third update is complete, goodnight everyone)