Light Fortress
Chapter 575 - 138 Gong Zi’s Wonderful Adventure_3

Chapter 575: Chapter 138 Gong Zi’s Wonderful Adventure_3

Gong Zi exchanged the rare beast skins obtained from the hunt for some dubious Northern "common items."

Using these "common items" would prevent the family from investigating their origins.

One could say... since last month, Gong Zi had completely disappeared from the family’s sight and had obtained so-called "freedom."

And the final leg of the journey to Advanced City had gone very smoothly.

Three days later, Gong Zi arrived at Advanced City.

This core city of the North Continent was under the meticulous management of Her Majesty the Empress. This gigantic city exhibited unparalleled discipline, much like the ancient human cultural city of Changye.

Six hundred years ago,

the North Continent established the giant wall.

And those who led the legions to resist the chaos beyond the giant wall gathered here. Over six hundred years, wave after wave of brilliant minds in Advanced City wove together the grand future of the North Continent, making one dream after another come true.

This was humanity’s "City of Progress."

Airships hovered in the sky, and floating platforms blocked out the sun. With controlled Source Energy Fusion dominated by Deep Sea, Advanced City possessed immense inexhaustible energy... This city seemed like a newborn rising sun, never worrying about the day of depletion despite consuming billions of tons of energy every moment.

Compared to the thermal feedback from Source Energy Fusion, the city’s consumption was negligible.

Gong Zi settled down in Advanced City.

First, he took a bath and cleaned himself up, knowing he couldn’t meet Duke Duanyang with such a disheveled and terrible appearance... Otherwise, he would be turned away at the gate.

After changing into appropriate clothing, Gong Zi didn’t follow the Northern Continent’s custom to contact Duke Duanyang in advance.

The family had lost track of him in the North Continent.

They were likely searching for his whereabouts...

Contacting Duke Duanyang might alert the family to his intentions.

Gong Zi decided to pay a visit in person.

He prepared to head directly to Duke Duanyang’s estate.

...

...

"What on earth are you doing?!"

Inside the estate,

Following an angry shout, the sound of a porcelain cup shattering immediately echoed.

Scalding tea splashed all over the floor. Duke Duanyang accidentally knocked over his favorite cup and didn’t bother to pick it up. He just wore a grave expression as he looked at his daughter kneeling before him.

His expression was half anger.

The other half was helplessness.

"Father..."

Duke Duanyang’s daughter, Lin Sheng, knelt on the ground, refusing to get up, and softly said, "If you don’t agree, I’ll keep kneeling here."

This scene caught the attention of many servants in the estate.

Outside the hall, a crowd quickly gathered.

People started whispering... wondering why the young lady was kneeling there.

Duke Duanyang’s wife, Heshi, had passed away early, and he never remarried. He had only one daughter.

He usually treated his daughter very well.

Almost always granting her wishes.

What could have prompted the young lady to kneel for so long?

"Get up first... Let’s talk somewhere else."

Seeing the growing number of onlookers, Duke Duanyang instinctively crouched down to help her up, but found he couldn’t move her.

His daughter’s eyes were filled with stubbornness.

"Fine... If you want to kneel here, then kneel here!"

He practically gritted his teeth as he said these words.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly softened.

He ordered the onlookers to disperse.

Then he closed the hall doors.

To ensure the upcoming conversation wasn’t overheard, he removed his thumb ring and tossed it into the air, creating a spiritual ripple that sealed the hall tightly.

"Why do this...?"

Duke Duanyang walked up to his daughter, "Causing such a scene in front of everyone... If word gets out, how am I supposed to explain myself?"

Lin Sheng’s voice was hoarse: "I didn’t want to either... I’ve mentioned this to you dozens of times... You never took it to heart..."

"Your engagement was arranged twenty years ago! How can you break it so easily?"

Duke Duanyang anxiously said, "What’s wrong with the Gong Family’s eldest son? Why do you insist on calling off the engagement? How would the Gong Family view us?"

Lin Sheng lowered her eyes: "I’ve never even met him. I won’t marry him."

"You..."

Her resolute attitude reignited Duke Duanyang’s anger, and he raised his hand.

Lin Sheng closed her eyes as if resigning herself to fate.

But after a moment, nothing happened.

She didn’t reopen her eyes, only hearing her father sigh.

"Foolish girl... Some things aren’t that simple."

Duke Duanyang couldn’t bring himself to be harsh.

He looked at his daughter with eyes full of sorrow.

He had only one child. How could he bear to scold her?

"Think it through..."

"In recent years, the North Continent has been turbulent. How many noble titles have been revoked, how many estates have been dismantled? Why do we still live comfortably?"

"If it weren’t for the silent support of the Changye Palace Family, our hereditary dukedom would have long been revoked by Her Majesty. Where would you get your clothes, tea, and meals?"

Duke Duanyang anxiously said, "You need to understand... Everything you enjoy now comes from someone. This is the blessing earned over nearly a century of friendship between our families."

"I’d rather not have this blessing..."

Lin Sheng took a deep breath and said, "I heard about what happened in Light City... Since the Meng Family’s daughter managed to break off her engagement, I can too."

Light City?

The Meng Family!

Duke Duanyang took a moment to realize what his daughter was referring to... This was a recent scandal known all over the Five Continents.

The largest family in Light City, the Meng Family, had caused a "scandal."

The Meng Family’s daughter also demanded to break off her engagement.

Most importantly, she wanted to marry an unknown "nobody" from Outer Continent.

Duke Duanyang was both angry and amused.

"The Meng Family patriarch is known as ’The Iron Hand.’ After this incident, he fell ill with anger. The whole Meng Family was engulfed in gloom. Do you want me to end up like that?" Duke Duanyang rolled up his sleeves and stretched out his arm, "Lin Sheng, look carefully... I’m not The Iron Hand. My arms are made of flesh!"

"The Gong Family’s eldest son, even if he were disabled, I could understand your reluctance to marry him. But he won the Newcomer’s Championship in Changye last year. He’s considered a paragon, with many people wanting a connection..."

At this point, Duke Duanyang emphasized, "Even if he were disabled, as long as he treated you well, you wouldn’t be allowed to abandon him. You’d have to care for him and give him understanding..."

Before he could finish, Lin Sheng said, "I’m in love with someone."

She decided to lay it all out, speaking earnestly, "I don’t care what kind of outstanding person Gong Zi is, how excellent, or what kind of relationship the Gong Family has with the Duanyang dukedom... I have someone dear to my heart. I don’t want to marry Gong Zi."

Duke Duanyang stood in a daze.

Over the years,

The two families had maintained correspondence.

He had wanted the young people to meet early on.

However, the last interaction between Gong Zi and Lin Sheng was ten years ago. They were quite young back then and met through a screen. They quickly played together, which he thought indicated "shared interests." But they were unaware of the engagement and their intertwined future.

As time passed, Gong Zi became the Young Master of the Gong Family, and his time became increasingly precious.

Whenever an introduction was attempted, Gong Zi would use "tight schedule" as an excuse.

And now...

Time had flown by.

Duke Duanyang fell silent, finally realizing that times had indeed changed quickly. A thin engagement paper couldn’t bind two people who did not love each other together.

"Duke!"

A voice called from outside the hall.

A servant approached but didn’t dare intrude, speaking softly, "There’s a guest at the estate gate... He says his surname is Gong!"

...

...

(P.S. This segment is quite important. I originally didn’t want to cut it off, but it had to be published by midnight. There’s more content to this Chapter, which I’ll complete tomorrow morning.)