Light Fortress

"...The fourth encounter?"

Purple Rain pursed her lips, her eyes somewhat bewildered as she looked at the towering figure before her.

When had she ever crossed paths with the Rust Bone General?

Rust Bone slowly closed his palm, gathering the faint Dragon Extinguishing Fire into his grasp. He patted Purple Rain’s shoulder, speaking softly, "Relax, it’s just a simple audience with Her Majesty to report some intelligence, it won’t trouble you."

As his words faded away.

The towering figure took a step forward, already bypassing the heavily guarded Royal Guard, reaching the position of the loft.

No one had time to react.

Rust Bone was already heading towards the second floor of the loft.

He spread open his palm.

The dragon extinguishing fire that originally belonged to Purple Rain suddenly blossomed, in an instant illuminating and filling the entire corridor of the loft... Amidst the dull sound of a door opening, Rust Bone thus opened the bronze door leading to Her Majesty the Empress’s place of seclusion.

...

...

Not long after, the Empress Manor welcomed the second group of guests.

The helicopter landed, Zhou Jiren was the first to disembark, extending his hand to shake with the Purple Rain Commander.

As the East Continent Grand Judge, he had maintained good relations with the titled figures across the Five Continents over the years.

Especially with the North Continent, due to the close relationship between Her Majesty the Empress and Gu Changzhi, before the true merge began, the top Transcendents of Changye and Central City had already started close cooperation, often working together to complete some high-difficulty cross-continent missions.

Zhou Jiren often visited the Frontier Fortress, so in some sense... he and Purple Rain could be considered old acquaintances.

"Your Excellency Grand Judge, how come you are here?"

Purple Rain slightly frowned.

Recently, there were no special events in Central City.

Moreover, Zhou Jiren’s arrival was so sudden, she hadn’t even received any notice.

Purple Rain glanced at the other three people disembarking from the helicopter... she recognized two of them.

The other young man, seemed like he hadn’t awakened any abilities?

At the very least, she didn’t see any sign of Extraordinary Power, but he was positioned in the center, protected by the other two.

Was this Zhou Jiren’s new disciple?

So many strange things happened today, Purple Rain asked in a deep voice, "Are you also here to meet Her Majesty?"

"Not really."

Zhou Jiren shrugged, speaking with a cigar in his mouth, "I’m here to find Rust Bone."

"Rust Bone?"

Purple Rain raised an eyebrow.

"Don’t misunderstand, we’re not stealing intelligence from the North Continent."

Zhou Jiren smiled and took out a prepared explanation, "I had just called the Fourth Legion and learned Rust Bone was in Central City, so I came here purposefully."

This explanation dispelled Purple Rain’s suspicion.

The Fourth Legion had a good relationship with the East Continent... because under Rust Bone’s command, there was a young man destined to inherit the Changye Gu Family.

CN021.

With Rust Bone’s status, if not stationed at the frontier, arriving at Central City would definitely be for an audience with Her Majesty.

"You all... wait here then."

Purple Rain didn’t look too pleased, she rubbed her neck and glanced back towards the loft, "Rust Bone... just went in."

...

...

"Your Majesty, above is the ’important intelligence’ I wished to convey to you."

Rust Bone knelt on one knee before the Throne, supporting his body with a bronze sword, and wind snow swirled within the Melting Furnace Divine Domain.

This marked his fourth reboot.

Exiled by the Deep Sea, he thought he would face Source Material Storms from the Old World or exceedingly brutal regulatory attacks.

But unexpectedly.

He didn’t encounter any attack.

He returned to a day more than a decade ago, which held no particular significance for Rust Bone...

And the first thing he did was to verify the "authenticity" of his surroundings.

Rust Bone contacted Silver Fox, engaged in conversation, and also contacted White Lizard... At this time point, White Lizard hadn’t been overtaken by the Deep Sea. He tried everything he could think of, ultimately reaching a frightening conclusion.

This was not a Spiritual World.

If it truly was... it was a Spiritual World completely beyond his comprehension.

After the Red Wars ended.

The power of the three generals had reached its peak. They mastered the origin, standing at the pinnacle of the mundane world. Rust Bone did not share his "experiences" with Silver Fox and White Lizard. Faced with such unfathomable events... the only solution Rust Bone could think of was to seek the aid of a Divine Throne stronger than himself.

Thus he promptly hurried to Central City, hoping to meet the Empress.

The scenes where Purple Rain stopped him had occurred four times already.

With his strength, he could, of course, forcefully seek an audience.

But unexpectedly... Her Majesty did not value the intelligence he conveyed.

Lin Lei, possessing the Power of Destiny Divination, simply listened to Rust Bone’s description politely, then invited him to leave.

Mr. Rust Bone did not obtain any effective information.

During the timeline of the first reboot, he "persistently" sought audiences with the Empress, hoping to receive guidance and a response from the Power of Destiny, only to end up being turned away at the gate... and before Rust Bone could respond, this world began to reboot.

The second time.

He still chose to initiate the action of "seeking an audience" with the Empress.

But he no longer insisted that the Empress must provide guidance or believe in his experience...

He simply conveyed the message to the Empress that a great war would be sparked by the Deep Sea in the future world, then left the manor. After completing this task, Rust Bone chose to return to seclusion within the Fourth Legion’s fortress to see what changes this world might undergo... but he soon faced another "reboot."

So after the third reboot, Rust Bone’s strategic focus shifted.

He began to explore the cause of the "world reboot."

But... this matter is truly bizarre!

This world reboots at the drop of a hat, without any warning, and inexplicably!

Sometimes, he didn’t do anything, merely staying in a state of closing his eyes to rest, and the world went through a reboot!

There must be some key figure or object touching upon the "laws" of this world.

In places he couldn’t see himself!

And in this fourth reboot, Rust Bone decided that after reporting the intelligence to Her Majesty, he would set out on a journey, traversing the Five Continents in search of that invisible "trigger cause"!

"... Step down, these matters will be solemnly handled by Central City."

From within the Melting Furnace Divine Domain came the Empress’s response.

The woman sitting on the throne was enveloped by countless wind and snow.

As Rust Bone had predicted, Lin Lei did not hold much regard for the intelligence he submitted.

Regarding the Empress’s indifferent reaction.

Rust Bone could completely understand.

He was someone who had traveled back from the future, and according to this world’s timeline, the Empress had already glimpsed a corner of the future through the Power of Destiny... how to lift Central City to ascension was the "great endeavor" she was considering.

"Yes."

Rust Bone stood up, supporting himself with the bronze sword.

He had fulfilled his duty as a subject...

Although this spiritual world was very real, Rust Bone found no loopholes, from the moment he encountered "reboot," he had inwardly determined that this was a false world, where everything was fictionalized based on his own memories. He didn’t have to seek an audience with Her Majesty, nor did he have to report this intelligence to Central City.

After all... everything will reboot.

And after the reboot, everything will be reset to zero.

But even living in a false world, Rust Bone did not want to give up on some things that belonged to him.

He insisted that on each "reboot," he would seek an audience with Her Majesty once, to present the "reminder" from the future.

"Next, I need to find that cause which will lead to the ’world reboot’."

Rust Bone left the attic and took a deep breath. As he was preparing to gather his spirits and properly plan to make full use of the limited time to lock onto the target... he discovered not far from the Empress Manor stood four long-missed familiar figures.

In the original world line, Zhou Jiren, Tian Tong, and another young man whose name he couldn’t remember, who he had missed meeting.

These three left the Five Continents through the Moon City Fortress to search for the so-called "oasis."

Rust Bone was ordered to lead the Fourth Legion to guard the Black Hole at Moon City for a year, but unfortunately, he didn’t wait for their return, only the scene of the Empress’s foreseen snow tide drowning.

However, what truly caught Rust Bone’s attention was the young boy standing beside Zhou Jiren, with a young face but an old look in his eyes.

"Gu Shen?"

Rust Bone was momentarily lost, murmuring Gu Shen’s name.

"You know this boy?"

Purple Rain asked curiously, "He has just awakened his extraordinary ability and was taken under Zhou Jiren’s command."

"..."

Rust Bone’s face twitched slightly, and he gazed at the commander with a complex expression: "Oh... is that so?"

This lad is someone who will stir up the clouds and winds of the Five Continents in the future!

Wait a moment...

In the previous world line, why hadn’t he seen these people?

Although Rust Bone had only experienced three complete world cycles, he was very clear on one point... the movement trajectory of people in this world should not change, based on the current reboot experience, he would always be blocked every time he sought an audience, and Purple Rain would surely lead the Royal Guard to block him in front of the Empress Manor and engage him in combat.

This time, things should be the same as before.

"General Rust Bone, I’ve long admired your name."

In a daze, the boy unexpectedly took the initiative to approach, extending a hand.

The palm of Rust Bone’s hand was almost as large as half of Gu Shen’s body.

Gu Shen’s face was full of innocence and admiration. He tightly grasped General Rust Bone’s hand, proactively shortening the distance, saying, "You’ve always been an exemplary figure I look up to."

"..."

Rust Bone slightly squinted his eyes and instinctively squatted down, kneeling on one knee to embrace the young man.

The next moment, the voice that came to his ear made him pause for a second.

"Mr. Rust Bone."

Gu Shen spoke softly, "Which time of reboot is this for you?"

Rust Bone’s pupils contracted as he looked at Gu Shen in disbelief.

"I am Gu Shen."

Gu Shen stated calmly, "Not the Gu Shen who just awakened the extraordinary ability, but... the Netherworld King Gu Shen."