Chapter 1 Honghu in Guang Ming City

In Guang Ming City, on Red Lake.

A knight clad in armor sat upon the lake's surface, hands open, resting lightly on his knees.

It was said that all the world's radiance would fall into this place.

Of course… that was just a saying.

Further west than West Continent, darkness still existed.

Guang Ming City was called "The Land of the Never-Setting Sun" only because it was enveloped by the power of the Guang Ming Fire Seed. Even when the last ray of light fell below the horizon, the zenith was still covered in radiance. Here, there had been no sunset for ninety-three years, only perpetual daylight.

"Mr. Jia Wei…"

An old man with a white beard, wearing a snow-white robe, spoke with a smile. He walked from the lake shore, the Red Lake as clear and translucent as amber. He stepped barefoot onto the rippling water.

Waves spread out, but he didn't sink, as if it were solid ground.

"Second Elder," Jia Wei slowly raised his head, the gaze behind his mask as clear as the lake beneath him.

"You've been sitting here for ten days."

The Second Elder smiled and casually sat down as well. "Is there something unusual about this Red Lake?"

After Jia Wei broke through, he was showered with countless honors, and his status rose accordingly.

In terms of bravery and skill in battle, Jia Wei was the best in West Continent for the last hundred years!

Thirty years ago, Jia Wei was just an ordinary member of the Saint Arbiter Legion, yet he dared to participate in the crusade against the King of the Underworld…

With a one-in-a-thousand chance of survival, most of the transcendents who survived that divine war had suffered mental breakdowns, their courage shattered by the King of the Underworld's power.

Only he, remained brave and diligent.

Now, Jia Wei bore titles such as "Saint Arbiter Captain," "Red Lake Guardian," "Shield of West Continent," each one incredibly dazzling. Of course, the most valuable of all was the title of [Bi Lei] bestowed upon Jia Wei by the Guang Ming Divine Seat himself!

The two words [Bi Lei] were not simple.

Thirty years ago, the Guang Ming Divine Seat had a very proud disciple.

That disciple fought across the five continents without an equal. Whether it was the Temple, the Holy City, the Source Tower, or the Central City, he swept through and crushed all opponents of the same rank!

This [Bi Lei] title was originally reserved for that disciple…

The original candidate for [Bi Lei] was none other than Gu Changzhi.

Everyone knew the story that followed. Gu Changzhi did not stay in West Continent, nor did he accept the title of [Bi Lei]. Instead, he returned to East Continent and took over the "Fighting Fire Seed."

No one knew what exactly happened between the master and disciple.

When Gu Changzhi passed away, many people speculated that a rift had formed between Guang Ming City and Changye.

But perhaps the truth was not as the world believed.

Because until Lin Meng's engagement was broken, the relationship between Guang Ming City and Changye was not bad. They maintained relatively good trade relations. Only after the trend of merging the Northeast two continents became inevitable did West Continent begin to join forces with the Source Tower, forming the current two major alliances standing on equal footing and vying with each other.

Regardless of Gu Changzhi's final choice, this [Bi Lei] title, which should have been his, was too heavy for outsiders.

Not to mention West Continent, no one in the five continents dared to accept it.

Until the appearance of Jia Wei.

"There's nothing unusual about the Red Lake."

Jia Wei respectfully said, "I'm just resting in meditation… I happened to have some insights during this time."

"Oh? Another improvement?"

The Second Elder stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Jia Wei, you are indeed different after becoming [Bi Lei]. I've never seen anyone as talented as you. After receiving the title, your cultivation speed is even faster than before."

Six years ago, Jia Wei fought across the five continents and had no rivals below the rank of Feng Hao.

He was called the "Fourth Order Invincible"!

This title was not an exaggeration… There were only one or two Fourth Order transcendents in each continent. These were top geniuses who would be valued by the Divine Seat.

Within the scope permitted by the laws of the major continents, the combat power of Fourth Order transcendents was very important.

When they exerted their full strength, they could even fight some of the weaker Feng Hao to a standstill.

Once this kind of top genius made another breakthrough and successfully combined two domains, they would be an absolutely high-level existence even among the Feng Hao.

However, the path of cultivation became more and more difficult as one progressed.

Very few people could advance bravely all the way, but Jia Wei… was one of those rare few.

"You flatter me."

There was no hint of a smile on the face under the bright armor.

Jia Wei calmly said, "I'm just a drop in the ocean. You didn't come to me just to say these things, did you?"

"There's some bad news."

The Second Elder sighed softly and said, "The chess piece we planted in the Yinghai District has been eliminated."

"…"

Jia Wei was silent.

After being promoted to [Saint Arbiter Captain], he took over the entire Saint Arbiter Legion. His position was equal to that of the Temple Elders, and even higher than that of the Second Elder in front of him. Only a very few people knew the real reason.

The death of Gu Shenzhi caused a great uproar a few years ago.

The Changye investigation team ran all over the five continents, and of course, they also came to Guang Ming City… In fact, Jia Wei was one of the suspects in the investigation team, and his ranking was quite high!

After all, Jia Wei personally led a team to "apprehend" Gu Shen on Xuankong Island in North Continent that year.

There was indeed some resentment between the two.

However, the investigation by the investigation team ended inconclusively later on.

Because Jia Wei did it too perfectly, everything was so just right. Under the guidance of "Guang Ming," he came to the top of Tanyao Mountain at just the right time, and met the extremely weak Gu Shen just at the right time.

With just one shot.

He eliminated Guang Ming City's serious problem.

The iron-handed killer who killed Meng Xiao in his heart!

Jia Wei didn't tell Su Ye about this news, nor did he tell the Temple. Even the Great Elder, who had the highest status, didn't know…

But he told Guang Ming Divine Seat this secret.

So, there was everything that followed… [Bi Lei], [Saint Arbiter Captain], [Red Lake Guardian], [Shield of West Continent], these were all divine scrolls bestowed by Guang Ming Divine Seat.

Except for Jia Wei himself, no one knew why the Divine Seat would favor this great knight so much.

After that day, all the Temple's plans were no longer a secret to Jia Wei.

He knew everything the Temple Elders had done over the years.

"This should have been expected." Jia Wei said calmly, "Second Elder, you shouldn't have thought you could 'reap the harvest' from the very beginning."

"That's true… but the Yinghai District still has so many lost 'faiths'."

The white-bearded elder said sincerely, "Higashise Shozo told me that he had cultivated eight thousand loyal believers on the Adak Islands."

"Changye has already removed the 'Higashise Family' from the list. It's only a matter of time before the Adak Islands are investigated." Jia Wei said, "Eight thousand or eighty thousand makes no difference."

"That's not necessarily true."

The Second Elder smiled slightly, "Changye handled it very discreetly… Although I don't know how they discovered it, the 'Adak Islands' incident will take at least ten days and a half months. Even if you are cruel enough to execute them, it will take some time for eight thousand believers…"

A slight change appeared on Jia Wei's calm face. He frowned and said, "What do you mean?"

"Now is a very good opportunity. While Higashise Shozo's believers are still alive, the Saint Arbiters can travel east and reap these 'powers of faith'."

The Second Elder said sincerely, "All we need is these people's 'spirits'. Even if East Continent investigates afterwards, they won't notice anything… Higashise Shozo cultivated evil followers. After his death, his believers' spirits collapsed. This is a deal that you don't have to worry about losing money on."

It sounded like a sure profit.

But Jia Wei was unmoved.

"That's a good idea. If the Elder wants to do it, then do it."

He said indifferently, "I support all decisions that are beneficial to Guang Ming Divine Seat… But before acting, you need to consider carefully that there are not many [Holy Books] left in Red Lake. One page was lost five years ago, and another page was lost not long ago. If another page is lost during this trip to East Continent, I'm afraid your head will not be safe."

"To serve with utmost loyalty, even in death… How would the Divine Seat punish those who compete for merit?"

The Second Elder said softly, "I came to [Bi Lei] today hoping that you would lend a helping hand."

Jia Wei coldly refused, "I am now a Feng Hao, so it is not convenient for me to leave the continent."

The Second Elder did not give up and patiently persuaded, "You don't need to take action personally. You only need to transfer one or two Saint Arbiter Legions… I will move several hidden pieces in East Continent to cooperate internally and externally, and we can easily recover the faith. After the success, the merits will be split in half, and if there is any failure, you can also retreat safely."

Upon hearing these words, Jia Wei also fell into thought.

The Second Elder was not in a hurry to urge him and waited patiently.

The two sat on the surface of Red Lake.

Suddenly… the great lake began to tremble. Countless red glows separated from the waves. For a time, it was like fish leaping over the dragon gate, colorful and beautiful.

This spectacular scene caused countless people to exclaim in surprise.

However, Jia Wei felt a chill. He was wearing the world's most solid armor, [Guang Ming Armor], but he clearly felt a "coldness."

This coldness came from the outside, and also from the bottom of his heart.

"This is…"

The Second Elder was stunned for a second.

The ruddy sunset fell below Red Lake, which meant that day was about to end.

This scene was played out every day, but Guang Ming City never experienced darkness because the divine power of the Divine Seat enveloped this city of faith… Therefore, after sunset, a "new sun" would rise. It was not scorching or blinding, and whether or not they were devout believers, they could draw abundant blessings from this radiance.

The believers who lived here could live long lives and never get sick.

But at this moment, as countless glows from Red Lake swept out of the water… a touch of pitch black appeared on the zenith.

The old day fell.

The new sun did not appear.

The entire Guang Ming City saw this spectacle that had not appeared in nearly a hundred years. The zenith supported by the Divine Seat became dim. Even without a new sun, there was still a lot of radiance falling, and countless stars appeared on the zenith… This was still a beautiful scene.

The sun fell, and the stars shone.

But for the believers of Guang Ming City, this was simply bad news.

If it was dark, it meant that… there was a problem with the Fire Seed power of the Divine Seat.