Light Fortress-Chapter 1540 - 232: Titled: Bastion

"...Is it over?"

Adam lifted his head, somewhat shaken.

He subconsciously reached out his palm and grasped at the air beside him.

The battle had reached its most intense moment, even the air had been dyed a dark gray!

The Dark Kingdom was nearly victorious, overwhelming the Pure Land!

"It’s over."

Li Qingci’s expression was solemn, as she let out a long sigh.

"Lord Divine truly lived up to his name, his final measures were breathtaking."

Tie Wu also expressed admiration, but truthfully, he hadn’t fully grasped what transpired during the final Divine War.

Gu Shen had activated a protective barrier around them using suspended wood and set up a small restriction to prevent any mishap in the confrontation with the Devil.

Though the battle had ended.

The Pure Land also suffered significant losses.

Under the suspended wood, numerous Soul Spirits gathered, many of their bodies had faded to an exceedingly pale state.

"I remember seeing a large hand appear in the sky..."

Tie Wu rubbed his chin, mumbling, "That hand didn’t quite look like it belonged to Lord Divine, did it?"

"It was Lady Divine; Lady Divine also intervened."

Li Qingci smiled. Though others might not know who it was, she knew very well.

Having been in the Pure Land for so long, she had told Tie Wu much about the outside world. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

This top angel envoy of the Pure Land already knew that "Chu Ling" was whom Li Qingci referred to as Lady Divine.

Tie Wu froze for a moment upon hearing this, then a smile of delight appeared on his face as he nodded continuously: "I see, no wonder the sky scene is a bit hazy now... I thought it seemed to resemble two figures..."

...

...

At this moment, the sky was cloudless for miles, all darkness swallowed by the jade ring.

The array box in the Spiritual Sea Domain was also stowed away.

Gu Shen and Chu Ling gazed at each other, their eyes remained fixed, the silence between them now surpassed a thousand words.

After a long time.

Gu Shen spoke first.

He looked earnestly at the woman in the snow-white dress gently swaying with the wind and spoke softly, "I’m sorry."

Chu Ling smiled.

Her face remained unchanged; mortals might age, but she would not.

So her smile was as pure as snow, just like it was back in the day.

"Fool."

Chu Ling’s voice was soft: "No matter how long it takes, I will wait for you."

Beneath the suspended wood in the Pure Land, countless branches swayed with the wind, making a rustling sound like silver bells, seeming to echo, or perhaps just enjoying the spectacle.

Joining in the spectacle were also the Soul Spirits on the ground of the Pure Land.

"Is that Miss Chu Ling?" Adam squinted his eyes, trying hard to look afar, but couldn’t see clearly, only a vague shadow in the distant sky.

"Call her Lady Divine!" Tie Wu snapped irritably.

"What does Lady Divine look like? I really can’t make it out..."

Adam sighed deeply, his face full of worry.

"You’ve never seen her, have you? I saw her earlier... Lady Divine is the kind to make the moon hide, the flowers ashamed, the fish sink, and the wild geese fall..." Tie Wu shook his head in a serious manner, describing earnestly.

In truth, he couldn’t quite remember either, after all, in the early days of exploring the Pure Land, he could only watch Gu Shen and Chu Ling’s romantic silhouettes from afar. So many years had passed; he only remembered a vague outline of Miss Chu Ling’s face.

But one thing is certain.

Miss Chu Ling was extraordinarily beautiful.

"If you don’t believe me, ask Hong Zhong."

Tie Wu nudged Hong Zhong, who was chuckling foolishly beside him. After getting nudged, Hong Zhong quickly nodded like a chicken pecking at grain.

"Hoo-ha, hoo-ha, hoo-ha."

The low-level Soul Spirits without much consciousness also joined in, making the scene slightly comical.

Gu Shen glanced at the ground of the Pure Land, watching this scene, he couldn’t help but smile and shook his head.

These guys...

"Let’s talk in a different place."

Now that the Spiritual Link had been established, the two could restore their mental states back to what they used to be.

Chu Ling nodded and extended her hand to Gu Shen.

As their fingers entwined, the clouds at the sky transformed into seawater, and a mist spread rapidly, engulfing them both in an instant.

Gu Shen’s consciousness sank at this moment.

In the next moment, he found himself seated in the dry and comfortable carriage of the Zero Zero One train, still holding hands with the girl beside him.

"What happened during the years I was away?"

Although Gu Shen had been keeping time with Chi Huo, he had been comatose in the depths of the Ice Sea for some time.

In those five-plus years.

He was completely disconnected from the "Link" to the outside world.

"These are the documents I’ve prepared, detailing the events that occurred after the Sangzhou Cave mission... It’s all here."

Chu Ling didn’t let go of Gu Shen’s hand.

She gently waved her sleeve, a breeze passed by, and layer upon layer of luminous images overlapped and glided over, both large and small, all meticulously sorted and compiled.

Gu Shen paused for a moment.

Instead of immediately reviewing the documents, he earnestly gazed at Chu Ling, subconsciously gripping her hand tighter.

"Don’t worry... I won’t leave."

Chu Ling smiled and said, "You can take your time to look, don’t rush, I’ll always be here with you."

Upon hearing these words, Gu Shen felt a bit relieved.

He took a deep breath and began to review the documents.

Chu Ling’s record is quite detailed, the Changye Investigation Team, the merging of the two continents, the Light City sending a mission to the Central Continent, Gu Xiaoman heading north for training, the Storm Church’s internal conflict ending... all the big and small events that have happened over the past five years have been completely captured by [Source Code], without a single omission.

Soon, Gu Shen was immersed in it.

Several minutes later, Gu Shen raised his head again, letting out a long, deep breath.

"These pieces of information are not solely my achievement," Chu Ling said slowly, "Lin Lin, Red Dragon, and Lu Nanzhi have also contributed significantly... After all, my authority has gradually been compressed. Over these five years, Deep Sea’s mainframe has undergone further upgrades and iterations, and there are many things I can no longer know immediately."

"I can see that."

Gu Shen chuckled, "Each of Gu Xiaoman’s promotions is detailedly recorded, this is intelligence that only Red Dragon could gather... I’m afraid the Source Tower’s internal archives aren’t as meticulous as yours."

"That child is also the hope for the future of the human world."

Chu Ling bowed her eyes, "If I never manage to meet you, I will ultimately hand over Gu Xiaoman’s file to Bai Xiu, Shen Li, and Chen Mei."

"That would be appropriate," Gu Shen nodded.

Chu Ling suddenly asked, "Having lived to see these archives, what are your thoughts?"

This question left Gu Shen momentarily unsure of how to respond.

His emotions were quite complicated at that moment.

Trapped beneath the depths of the Ice Sea, still unable to escape... For a long time, he had prepared to "die here."

Don’t talk about chosen ones, keys, or Netherworld King!

He can’t overcome this calamity.

His only option would be death!

Now that he has successfully ignited the spark of life, he hasn’t had the chance to feel overjoyed... After all, he is still pressed beneath the Ice Sea.

"I..."

Gu Shen thought for a moment, his voice hoarse as he laughed, "I want to go back alive, see them, give them a surprise."

When he saw Bai Xiaochi leading Shen Li and others to race for his case, his heart, calm after facing death, was deeply moved.

After his death.

The partners from the East Continent hadn’t forgotten him.

Except... the Sangzhou Cave has already been destroyed, no matter how much investigation into his case, there will be no results.

"A surprise, if you just return like that, it’s more likely to be a scare."

Chu Ling rarely cracked a joke.

As she said this, she recalled a serious matter: "Over the past five years, I’ve been investigating the truth of the Sangzhou Cave incident, the Changye Investigation Team couldn’t find anything, but I’m different from them."

The resources, intelligence, and information she could mobilize were incomparable to the Changye Investigation Team.

And she didn’t need rest.

Over these five years, [Source Code] continuously simulated the scene before Tanyao erupted, conducting countless experiments.

Yet she never found an answer.

Chu Ling sat upright, looked seriously at Gu Shen, and asked word by word, "I want to know, what exactly happened in the Sangzhou Cave back then?"

Upon hearing this, the smile on Gu Shen’s face gradually faded.

Deep in his eyes, a streak of flame reflected again.

That was the firelight when Tanyao erupted.

It was also the fierce shadow of the Light Spear tearing through the sky.

Gu Shen looked down, chuckled, and calmly and slowly uttered a name: "... Jia Wei."

"Jia Wei?"

Chu Ling was stunned.

This was a character completely unrelated to the case, Light City chose to evacuate all personnel in the final explosion, and the subsequent relic soil source quality test didn’t detect any related blood factors.

"Actually, the truth isn’t that complicated."

"Just as I was about to leave Tanyao, Jia Wei appeared..."

"He stabbed me with a spear, and I couldn’t withstand it."

Gu Shen’s tone was very restrained, "Jia Wei left no traces, just like when I killed Meng Xiao back then... this is why you couldn’t find the murderer, it was all just a coincidence."

"..."

After hearing the truth, Chu Ling fell silent.

"Please promise me, don’t spread this news."

Gu Shen extended a second hand, overlapping it on the back of Chu Ling’s hand, speaking softly, "This is a personal vendetta between me and Jia Wei... once I return to the Five Continents, I want to settle the regrets of the past myself."

"You..."

Chu Ling hesitated, "Do you know that nowadays Jia Wei has already advanced to a titled level?"

"Yes."

Gu Shen nodded, the previous archives recorded it.

During Light City’s diplomatic visit to Upper City, something shocking happened.

Yesterday’s Fourth-Order Transcendent Great Knight Jia Wei, during this visit, successfully advanced to titled level.

The temple deliberately opened the "Holy Judge" seat for Jia Wei, and additionally bestowed titles such as "Red Mansion Guardian," "Shield of Western Continent," and permanently gifted the S-class sealed item, Bright Armor, to him.

Shortly afterwards, the Federation Council presented him with the "Bulwark" title.

The advancement of a Fourth-Order Transcender to titled level is a big deal, it means there is now another member among the most powerful combatants of the human world.

Yet this news carries another layer of interpretation.

The temple has already found a new "Fourth-Order Transcendent," so they allowed Jia Wei to advance.

"Are you certain that after returning you’ll face Jia Wei alone for revenge?"

Chu Ling still asked in an uncertain tone.

"I’m very certain."

Gu Shen lightly chuckled, "Are you doubting my strength?"

Chu Ling was momentarily unsure of how to respond.

She looked curiously at Gu Shen.

Having soaked at the Ice Sea depths for five years, successfully comprehending the Fire of Life domain, from this perspective, Gu Shen is considered to have advanced to Fourth-Order...

Based on what she knows of Gu Shen.

If that’s all there is, Gu Shen wouldn’t have such strong confidence.

Gu Shen has always been meticulous in his actions, never slack.

"Right now... what level have you truly reached?"