Light Fortress
Chapter 296 - 3 Setting Off

Chapter 296: Chapter 3 Setting Off

A strand of hair wrapped around Wild Dog’s pinky.

After a slight bow, this burly man raised his palm, making a polite presenting gesture.

With a "swoosh" sound,

the strand of hair detached itself, floating like a feather, and delicately landed in Mr. Shu’s palm.

With the task completed, Wild Dog lingered no further; he dragged Zhao Qi away.

Gu Shen noticed that the teacher’s expression was rather grim.

"Your senior sister left Qing River and headed to North Continent to carry out a mission... she might have encountered some trouble..."

Zhou Jiren frowned and briefly explained, "Allow me to read it..."

He slowly clenched his fist, spending close to a minute reading the spiritual fluctuations left within the strand of hair.

Storing spiritual power in an object was not difficult.

That was essentially the original form of an "enchanted item"... from depicting a grandiose dream to transferring a small wave of spiritual power, a Transcendent would imprint their will to leave behind their own spirit.

The spiritual fluctuations left within the enchanted item, after being encrypted by its original owner, would become a quite secure medium of information.

In this era,

people often transmitted information through "Deep Sea," but for a Titled Transcendent, using Deep Sea for message transmission was not the first option, as the Federation Council controlled the highest authority in the deep water area... Involving personal vital events, these Transcendents would choose to use enchanted items to convey thoughts, to prevent information leaks.

During this minute,

Mr. Shu’s expression flitted between light and shadow.

"Luo Er and Zhong Wei are trapped outside North Continent. That this strand of hair could fly back to the fortress is already a miracle..."

Outside North Continent?

Before Gu Shen could react,

"Gu Shen, I fear I need to make a trip there," Zhou Jiren spoke in a low voice, his voice tinged with concern, "However, if I leave East Continent, you and Nan Jin..."

As he spoke, Mr. Shu’s gaze shifted slightly towards another direction at the mountain peak, where Lu Nanjin was conversing with Gu Nanfeng... The Young Master of Changye City had stayed in Da Du District for a considerable time, and he had not yet started his journey home, seemingly preparing something.

"After meeting the Great Success Lan Qie... Nan Jin wouldn’t stay in Da Du for long, soon she will accompany Gu Nanfeng and head to Changye," Mr. Shu said meaningfully, "Changye is the headquarters of the Three Institutions, where Transcendents gather, brimming with brilliant minds, and it’s a place fond of martial prowess... If she goes there, there might be quite a few troubles."

"Why?" Gu Shen didn’t quite understand.

"Because... of me," Zhou Jiren laughed helplessly, "The position of the Grand Judge isn’t easy to hold, over the years, I’ve made quite a few friends at the headquarters, and quite a few enemies as well. Not because I am a gentleman and they are villains, but because our stands differ, forcing us to be on opposite sides... As a disciple of the Grand Judge, arriving in Changye would inevitably attract more attention."

"Are you worried about senior sister?" Gu Shen smiled, "I think she should be fine."

"I also think she won’t have any problems."

Zhou Jiren looked at Gu Shen and said softly, "I’m worried about you."

Gu Shen was stunned.

He felt that the teacher’s eyes at this moment contained far too much unspoken information.

In fact, Gu Shen was also preparing to head to Changye, a fact he had yet to tell anyone...

He was a Judgement Envoy of the Judgement Institute.

And the future leader of the Ancient Literature Society.

After experiencing the lady’s conversation and the Angel Envoy’s battle... Gu Shen wanted even more to explore the truth left behind by Allen Turing.

He had realized that he must unite the entirety of the lost Ancient Literature Society, even if it was just those few scattered individuals.

And currently, the greatest crisis faced by the Ancient Literature Society.

It was the Awakening Bill.

This was initially a war that had been lost—

Due to the death of Zhao Xilai, the nearly settled situation of the bill had started to reverse. The collaboration between the Zhao Group and the Outer Continent was announced to be dissolved... Huazhi Building changed owners. The new council member, Lu Nanjin, who held great power in Da Du, was a staunch opponent of the bill. He reached an agreement with Chen San of the South Bay Faction. The two main pillars of Dadu District began unprecedented true cooperation that hadn’t been seen in ten years.

In the Outer Continent, those who hoped to push the bill were now unable to even get through on the phone to Huazhi Building.

They were not ones to be trifled with; they would not give up easily.

This "Bill War" hadn’t truly decided a winner yet; the situation that had been smoothly advancing... now showed a glimmer of hope. For the proponents, the always silent Changye became their final battleground.

"If I’m not mistaken, you’re heading to Changye too,"

Zhou Jiren smiled steadily. He thought up a very appropriate reason for Gu Shen, "After all, the Grain Rain Volume doesn’t have a rubbings copy; it has always been in Changye... If you want to observe this breathing technique, you must go to Changye, right?"

"...That’s right."

Gu Shen and his teacher exchanged a glance. He tactfully spoke, continuing the thought and stepping down the offered ladder: "I indeed plan to make a trip to Changye... I want to take a look at Mr. Gu Changzhi’s Grain Rain Volume."

Actually... It wasn’t just the Grain Rain Volume.

All the breathing techniques left by that man, Gu Shen wanted to observe them all!

This trip to Changye City... Gu Shen was going to Qingzhong, to meet the Tomb Guardian, and more importantly, to meet Gu Changzhi!

"You are the S-rank newly emerged from the Judgement Institute..."

"A few years ago, the Tomb Guardian had a prophecy saying that due to the massive dispersal of Extraordinary Essence, there might be more and more Transcendent talents appearing in the Five Continents. Perhaps there would not just be one S-rank," Zhou Jiren slowly said: "So everyone was waiting... for the legendary ’S’ rank, and then, you appeared."

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes.

His mindset was completely different from before.

If initially during the screening, Gu Shen had not awakened "Chi Huo," only seeing the mountains high and not its path, harboring doubts about "whether he could climb the mountain"... Now, his mindset was that he had seen mountains layer by layer and recognized his own position.

He was still at the foot of the mountain.

Perhaps... he wasn’t even at the foot yet.

But with a long road ahead, since he had started climbing, he would not stop.

"Will many challenge me?"

"Of course."

"But what I care about is not this... not about your winning or losing."

"If a conflict arises, be very careful not to expose those secrets that must not be seen," Zhou Jiren said meaningfully: "After all, Changye City is not like Da Du... There are too many eyes there."

This sentence had a deeper meaning.

"The good news is, the person Mr. Zhao who was investigating the Truth Ruler case has passed away; you can use that ruler freely and boldly."

"The bad news is... compared to that ruler... you need to be more wary of that little wisp of fire."

Zhou Jiren extended two fingers, gently pressing them on Gu Shen’s forehead.

He felt the calling of the Extraordinary Essence.

The Chi Huo in Gu Shen’s forehead instinctively jumped, about to be drawn out.

"Regarding the secret that ’Chi Huo’ can collect stray essences, you know, I know... let no third person know."

...

...

(There should be only one Chapter tonight; I’ll post this Chapter first and revise it later, just to explain the reasons: 1 Sinusitis acted up, quite severe, been dizzy all day TAT 2 Got a sudden notice to go downstairs for COVID-19 testing, not sure when I’ll be back after it)