Chapter 1 Twilight Alley, Sunset Shadows

The arbiters stood at the entrance of the alley in the twilight, their linen robes billowing in the wind, the afterglow nailing long shadows to the ground.

"Return home?"

Song Ci's expression was gloomy as he exhaled a deep breath of frustration. "Are you kidding me? I'm from Dongzhou!"

Since the Divine War in the Great Capital, he had been walking around with the title of "Apostle of Gu Changzhi."

But Song Ci knew himself.

This token did not come from the Fighting Saint… but from the Light!

The Divine Seat of Light City was Mr. Gu Changzhi's teacher. Because of this, he was not opposed to the power of the token… As his body merged with the token, his strength became stronger and stronger, and the aura of light emanating from the apostle's emblem also became stronger and stronger.

During this period, he would always have bizarre dreams.

In the dream, he would see a towering mountain standing at the end of the sunset, and a red lake reflecting the crimson light.

The whole world was peaceful.

This was a "sweet dream" that could soothe all the restlessness in his heart!

But the only thing that made Song Ci uncomfortable was… in this dream, there was a faint voice. The voice sounded very gentle and mellow, but it always intentionally guided him to walk towards the red lake in the dream.

At the bottom of the Red Lake, there seemed to be a library.

Although he didn't know what kind of idiot would build a library at the bottom of a lake…

But the thing Song Ci hated most was reading.

The tranquility at the beginning of the dream gradually changed. Later, the peaceful dream that Song Ci saw became clearer and clearer. He was very sure that this emblem had been guiding him to enter the library at the bottom of the lake to read…

Several times he woke up startled, Song Ci felt a cold sweat on his back and was very annoyed.

What the hell did this dream mean?

Was the Divine Seat of Light City嫌弃嫌弃 that he was uneducated?

"Apostle."

The chief arbiter said softly, "Where you were born is not important. There are thousands of places of birth in the world, but there is only one final resting place. You need to understand where your destination is."

Song Ci was confused after hearing this.

He scratched his head, and seeing that these guys didn't seem hostile to him, he calmed down and patiently asked, "Speak human language!"

"Your real home is not Dongzhou…"

The arbiter stretched out a withered finger, pointed to the token hidden in Song Ci's inner pocket, and piously clasped his hands together. "But… Light City."

"???"

"We'll take you back. After returning to Light City, you can see the Divine Seat as you wish… and you will also have the opportunity to browse the 'Forbidden Library'."

The arbiter spoke again.

"Stop!"

Song Ci interrupted directly. His patience was almost exhausted, and he frowned, "I'm not interested in the Divine Seat of Light City… and I'm even less interested in reading!"

"Apostle… please be careful in your words and actions. The Divine Seat is with the light, overlooking the creatures of the five continents. He is watching everything that happens here." The arbiter reminded again, "You don't seem to have felt the mystery of 'light' yet, it doesn't matter, wait until you return to Light City…"

"Bang!"

A shattering sound exploded on the wall!

This sound startled the arbiter.

He stared blankly at the mottled old wall of the old district… Song Ci slapped it casually, smashing out a spider web.

"I said, you guys… can't you understand human language?"

Song Ci tilted his head, looking at this group of robed believers in confusion. "Didn't I say that I'm not interested in any light, gods, or books… Did you come here for this thing?"

He yanked off the emblem and threw it out.

The pupils of the leading arbiter contracted. He raised his hands and quickly caught the divinely bestowed token to prevent it from being stained with dust.

"This is a divine scroll of grace! How can you throw it away at will!"

His angry roar was forcibly interrupted.

Because the next moment, a fist hit his face.

"Boom—"

The explosive airflow filled the alley. The other arbiters widened their eyes when they saw this scene. It was the first time they had seen a monster that could create a sonic boom with its physical actions.

One punch!

Just one punch!

The arbiter's face was dented, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood. The next moment, he was embedded in the wall. Smoke and dust exploded in the alley. Song Ci instantly threw countless punches. The afterglow of the setting sun sank in the alley. The dim starlight fell on the broken wall, unable to break through the tumbling and splashing dismal smoke.

The battle happened in a second.

And it ended in a second.

"Thud…"

Song Ci walked straight towards the direction he was leaving. He stepped on the face of an arbiter who was concealing his face, and deliberately pressed down hard, causing the latter to grunt.

This team of arbiters was all knocked to the ground, and some were knocked into the walls.

"Sorry, my style is relatively simple. I like to fight, I don't like to talk in riddles."

Song Ci stopped, looked at the arbiters who were lying in disarray, and said seriously, "I roughly understood what you guys were babbling about for a long time… Your mission is to catch me and take me to Xizhou to read, right? Sorry, other things are negotiable, but this is absolutely impossible."

The alley was filled with smoke and dust, a scene of desolation.

He smiled, "Alright, stop pretending. I didn't use lethal force. You're all lying on the ground, does it really hurt that much?"

These arbiters all had special physiques.

Song Ci discovered it when he punched them.

They… were very resistant to blows.

This trait was somewhat similar to the "Arbiters". Perhaps it was because of the blessing of light? Their blood and metabolism were stronger than ordinary transcendents, and their recovery ability was several times faster. It was because he saw through this that Song Ci had a good fight.

"In the Sincerity Society, when in doubt, start a fight."

"Everyone wants to catch me, but can't beat me, so you were knocked down… This is not Dongzhou's inhospitable treatment, it's just that you are too weak."

Song Ci didn't feel much guilt in his heart.

After beating up this group of robed believers, the hostility in his heart inexplicably calmed down a lot.

Sure enough.

Believing in gods does not bring liberation.

Beating gods should be possible.

He glanced at the believer whose half of his body was embedded in the wall, and said seriously, "I have returned that broken token to you. If you came for the token, it can be considered a task completed."

He paused slightly.

"Of course, I know that what I did was not very ethical." Song Ci said with conscience, "I will always remember the previous grace of the token. It's just that during this period, I have to be responsible for protecting my wife's safety. If you are willing to wait, when I have time, I, Song, will definitely go to Light City with generous gifts to thank you. If you can't wait, then take a message over there. Next time you come to the Great Capital, the transcendents from Light City will all be honored guests of Song Ci. As long as you don't mention those supernatural things, I will treat everyone to beef noodles."

After speaking, he clapped his hands and showed a satisfied smile.

Song Ci was satisfied and prepared to leave the alley.

But after turning around, a deep shout suddenly came from the smoke and dust.

"Song Ci, Song Yingji—"

The smile on Song Ci's face instantly disappeared.

He was expressionless, and slowly turned his head. The arbiter who was embedded in the stone wall was protecting the token with his hands dripping with blood, even though he was bent over from the beating.

The afterglow had faded, and the dim light shone. The arbiter's face was hidden in the darkness.

Stopping Song Ci, he smiled and praised, "You're good at fighting…"

"You flatter me."

Song Ci stood at the entrance of the alley, and suddenly felt that this world was very absurd. The light in the mouths of the Xizhou believers was like a self-deprecating joke.

Obviously, the alley shrouded in darkness at this moment was more in line with their gloomy and silent temperament.

The figures had already stood up again.

As Song Ci expected, they had not suffered too much damage.

There was blood, but it didn't seem like Song Ci had caused it.

It was more like they had willingly squeezed it out of their skin.

"The token… is not something you can take and return as you please…"

The arbiter smiled lightly, "Holding the token, serving the light, this is cause and effect. No matter how good you are at fighting, can you sever cause and effect?"

Song Ci's heart skipped a beat.

"And, there's good news to tell you, 'returning home' is not as complicated as you think."

He smiled.

The other arbiters also smiled.

Their voices were uniform.

"Those who serve the light must be pious, must chant, must worship, must offer sacrifices…"

This faint voice spread out in layers in the darkness.

Like a drop of water falling on a lake, creating thousands of ripples.

Song Ci suddenly felt that something was wrong… Why did these believers give him a stronger sense of crisis after the night fell?

Yes, that was the most unsettling thing—

He actually felt a crisis!

How could these people's strength make him feel a crisis?

An invisible spiritual domain was condensed when the arbiters chanted the words of service.

A familiar sense of dizziness descended in the sea of ​​spirit.

Song Ci's pupils contracted. He pressed hard on the wall to barely stabilize his body.

At this moment, he felt like he had drunk Lion's Wake Wine!

His body quickly became numb. His originally still sober spirit was suddenly grabbed by countless giant cows and elephants, and he was about to be dragged into the abyss of chaos—

In just a few breaths, he vaguely saw the "serene" mountain of sunset and the "scarlet" lake of books.

Was this… about to enter a dream?!

These arbiters came to him, not really to invite him to Light City…

They wanted to invite him into a dream!

Song Ci's breathing became very heavy, and his eyelids also became very heavy.

Just when everything was about to end.

A very light voice rang in this dream.

"Sorry… I came at a bad time."

A voice suddenly appeared, interrupting the chanting ripples in the dark night.

Immediately afterwards, behind Song Ci, a young figure wearing a Warden's Tribunal windbreaker slowly walked out of the darkness, a wisp of fire burning between his eyebrows, the ripples of light spreading, and the spiritual domain had already condensed.

But he just walked in.

Ignoring the barrier between reality and illusion, he stood between Song Ci and the arbiters.

"I have a question—"

Gu Chen smiled and asked, "What are the consequences of not serving the light?"