As the Tree of Wisdom described it, a city suddenly appeared in the translucent light. It was a shining city.

  “I’m confused. How could this girl, who has suffered the cruelest torture in the world and experienced the darkest suffering, still hold such a pure belief and firmly believe in the existence of light?”


  The Tree of Wisdom said, “When I asked Jin Qianxi about it, she opened up the deepest part of her brain and showed me a city.”


  Meng Chao asked, “A city? What kind of city?”


  “Just like the enlarged and upgraded version of Peach Blossom Town that you saw, a city that was peaceful, beautiful, and full of laughter.”


  The Tree of Wisdom said, “A city that does not deceive, enslave, or oppress; a city where everyone is equal and there is no hierarchy; a city where everyone enjoys safety and freedom; a city where people do not have to work hard to climb up or have to worry about not being able to climb up; a city…… that is truly of light.”


  Meng Chao frowned and asked, “Is there such a city in the world?”


  “I have the same question.”


  The Tree of Wisdom said, “I asked Jin Qianxi, is there such a perfect city in the world? If it really exists, why didn’t you go there but come to a foreign land to mingle with zombies and monsters?

  “Jin Qianxi said that this city doesn’t exist yet. It’s in her imagination—but it’s not without grounds. Instead, it’s the combination of the best aspects of all the cities on Earth, the place where humans should live and will live in the future.

  “Jin Qianxi said that the Blood Alliance had forced her to explore the depths of the ancient ruins. She often faced the invasion of mysterious forces and the corrosion of ancient germs. She saw countless companions who had been alive and kicking a second ago, but in the blink of an eye, had twisted into deformed and ugly monsters.

  “After she was lucky enough to escape, she was sent back to the Blood Alliance’s operating table and studied in the cruelest way.

  “She couldn’t even endure half a second of the torment that was worse than death.

  “So, her elder brother taught her a way to make her imagine a perfect city of light in the deepest part of her brain.

  “Every time she encountered unbearable torture and suffering in the real world, she would cut off her five senses and let her consciousness escape into the city of light. She even hypnotized herself, telling herself that the city of light would definitely appear one day and that she and all her companions could live happily without a care in it.”


  When Meng Chao heard this, he could not help but ask, “Wait, it’s ‘elder brother’ and not ‘lover?’”


  Meng Chao originally thought that it had been Battle God Lei Zongchao’s idea.

  Lei Zongchao was kind-hearted, and he was extremely willing to sacrifice his spirit and charisma. It was something that he could say.

  However, Jin Qianxi’s elder brother, Jin Wanhao, was the master of the messy and chaotic Lair.

  Although he was not a heinous devil, he was far from a good person.

  It was hard to imagine that Jin Wanhao would come up with such an idea for his sister.

  It looked like people changed.

  Today’s Underground Emperor, Jin Wanhao, was soaked in decades of bloodshed.

  Once upon a time, when he was in his prime, even though he had seen all the blood and darkness in the world, he still had a yearning for light and justice, right?

  When he thought of that, Meng Chao was suddenly filled with anticipation for A’Ji, who had returned to his youth.

  “That’s right. Her brother taught her, and she taught it to her childhood sweetheart, Lei Zongchao. However, among the trio of Jin Qianxi, Jin Wanhao, and Lei Zongchao, she was the one who persisted the longest with this method.”


  The Tree of Wisdom said, “Every time she faced a ferocious ancient monster in the real world or felt a sharp scalpel scraping her bones, part or all of her consciousness would escape into this imagined city of light.

  “She imagined herself strolling by a clear stream full of peach blossoms, seeing herself eat ice cream under the warm sunshine, ride a bicycle through the streets and alleys of the city. She also imagined avoiding the children as they played joyfully but also listening to their laughter that was reminiscent of silver bells.

  “The pain in the real world seemed to have turned into nutrients in the virtual world, nourishing this city of light bit by bit. The more in pain she was in the real world, the more beautiful and abundant this city of light would be. In the end, the city of light and her soul deeply merged, becoming her belief and mission.

  “Jin Qianxi told me that she was not the most talented person in the trio. Both her brother, Jin Wanhao, and her lover, Lei Zongchao, had more talent and potential than her.

  “However, she was the one with the strongest faith.

  “At that time, her brother and her lover only fought for themselves. At most, they fought for their family, lovers, and companions. They wanted to leave the ghoulish ancient ruins alive. However, they did not have much idea about their life after they left.

  “Conversely, she didn’t only fight for herself. After she overthrew the Blood Alliance’s brutal rule, she really allowed the city of light that she imagined to appear on the horizon to explore, cultivate, and fight.

  “Therefore, her realm was above that of her elder brother and the lover, and she became the strongest ‘experimental subject’ of all.”


  Upon hearing this, Meng Chao could not help but feel a deep respect for Jin Qianxi, the early explorer of the ancient ruins.

  Being in hell but looking up to heaven and fighting for the city of light, that was the true source of strength!

  He also thought that after Jin Qianxi died, the grief-stricken Lei Zongchao must have also deeply understood this principle, which was why he could become a true martial arts legend, Dragon City’s number one expert!

  As if sensing Meng Chao’s respect, the young girl’s face on the Tree of Wisdom revealed a sincere smile.

  This time, the smile was not mysterious or weird at all. Instead, it was as pure as crystal.

  Rays of golden light even blossomed from the depths of the smile, turning the Green Tide that was enveloping the Tree of Wisdom into a translucent, pale gold.

  “Even you were shocked by Jin Qianxi’s story, weren’t you?”


  The Tree of Wisdom continued, “Not to mention, I was still ignorant about the so-called ‘wisdom’ and ‘civilization’ not long after I had regained my consciousness.

  “Jin Qianxi’s story set off an unstoppable storm in the depths of my soul.

  “The shining city of light soared up from the depths of Jin Qianxi’s brain and flew to the center of my neural network, subverting all the concepts of civilization that I had copied from Peach Blossom Town.

  “I suddenly realized that, in addition to Peach Blossom Town and Dragon City, where the strong preyed on the weak, and where the two sides were scheming against each other, the so-called ‘civilization’ could have other definitions and forms—better definitions and forms.

  “And the ultimate mission of a civilization might not necessarily be to touch any stars.

  “Let every individual of every civilization obtain pure and eternal happiness, and let the entire world be filled with laughter and laughter. This may be a more meaningful mission than touching the stars.

  “Moreover, this is the mission that suits me the most.

  “Jin Qianxi told me that before she met me, she had been thinking hard about how to build the city of light. She searched everywhere, but she could not find the answer.

  “Although she, her brother, her lover, and the experts from the nine major families worked together to overthrow the Blood Alliance’s evil rule.

  “However, Jin Qianxi was very clear that the Blood Alliance was not a special case, but a chronic disease that humans were born with. If the problem could not be fundamentally solved, a second, more secretive, cunning, powerful, and evil Blood Alliance would appear in the future Dragon City at any time.

  “My neural network allowed carbon-based intelligent beings to share their senses, emotions, and even part of their memories and thoughts. However, it provided Jin Qianxi with the ‘golden key’ to build the city of light.

  “Therefore, instead of resisting, she took the initiative to completely merge with me and create a bright, happy, and beautiful civilization with me.

  “At this point, I was the one who was still doubtful.

  “What happened in Peach Blossom Town and Dragon City made it hard for me to believe that a species whose bottom line was lower than monsters could really build the ‘city of light’ that Jin Qianxi mentioned.

  “Right at this moment, a group of human beings barged into our sight.

  “It turned out that during the days when I was entangled with Jin Qianxi, the situation in Peach Blossom Town suddenly changed, and a new change took place in the situation.

  “After all, the leader and the experts under him controlled tremendous power and most of the resources, and they trained themselves into superhumans using the resources.

  “With surging spirit energy in their bodies, they were no longer ordinary townspeople and low-level warriors who could contend with them with the tactics of a sea of people.

  “The leader and the experts under him laughed until the end and became the victors of the internal strife before the destruction.

  “They defeated the Volunteer Army that was composed of ordinary townspeople and low-level warriors. Oh, they should be called the Rebel Army now.

  “The leader massacred the town wantonly. The remnants of the Rebel Army only had enough time to cover a small portion of the townspeople and escape to the depths of the jungle.

  “The leader’s army chased after them relentlessly. Right under the eyes of Jin Qianxi and myself, a good show of cat and mouse, torture, and bloody battles was staged.

  “The fugitives ran out of ammunition and food. Exhausted, they fell into the hands of the leader’s army one after another, including a little girl named Gu Ling.

  “Since her parents were both leaders of the rebels, the leader’s army decided to impose the harshest punishment on the little girl to deter the rebels who were still running away and the ordinary citizens who were following the rebels.

  “If the little girl’s screams could force the last rebels to fight them, it would be the best.

  “If it were me in the past, I would have watched everything coldly. After all, it’s not like I haven’t seen the cruelest torture before.

  “However, what’s that saying—’Had I not seen the sun, I could have borne the shade.’


  “That’s right. If I had never seen the city of light deep inside Jin Qianxi’s brain, where everyone is equal and everyone is happy, I could have endured everything in front of me and the so-called ‘civilization.’”