Confluence City Hel

When Xilian left the checkpoint of the City Guard, dawn was already breaking.

"To think they detained us for so long," Bruce followed behind Xilian, shaking his head and saying, "Still, it's not too bad. At least it's better than being kicked out."

Bruce had been cooped up for too long, chattering on endlessly.

Xilian did not reply. Ever since leaving the checkpoint, he had not said a word, merely walking at a brisk pace.

Following the indicated road signs, Xilian climbed a rusted iron viewing platform on the edge of the city. By this time, the night had completely faded, and the morning light descended.

The Torchlight Lighthouse, which had burned all night, gradually extinguished, fully revealing the true face of the city to Xilian's eyes.

Xilian picked up his binoculars, and Her City slowly awakened in the twilight.

Three rivers rolled from the wilderness, piercing through the high walls and rushing toward the edge of the horizon along artificially dug riverbeds.

The rivers divided the city into various districts. The industrial district in the northeast quadrant exhaled a breath smelling of sulfur, with forest-like chimneys piercing through the haze, continuously spitting out coal ash and sparks day and night. When the steam blowers roared in unison, even the copper railing of the viewing platform vibrated and hummed in resonance.

Adjacent to the industrial district was the riverbank's commercial district. Beneath the cast-iron arch bows, brass bells tied to the prows of boats chimed crisp, and spice merchants from other city-states lifted open their leather trunks.

Because of the division of the districts, the three rivers presented vastly different appearances.

The river near the industrial district was called the Ash River. Its water was turbid and gray, filled with heavy metal residues.

The river bordering the commercial district was called the Merchant River. A large number of barges docked here, shuttling through the dense river networks that covered the city, shouldering the primary transport work.

The final river was called the Flower River. Xilian knew very little about it and remained unclear about the origin of its name.

Looking toward the core area of the city, a rising high wall divided the city into inner and outer zones.

The buildings of the inner city were piled almost on top of each other, like a twisted and deformed living mass of architecture. They grew wantonly, entangling with one another to form a massive high platform.

Standing atop this high platform was the towering Torchlight Lighthouse. It resembled the heart of the city, the engine driving all operations, and yet looked like a majestic divine statue for everyone to worship and pray to.

Xilian lowered the binoculars, watching the city gradually awaken as countless complex emotions surged into his heart.

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you getting all sad!"

Bruce noticed Xilian's unusual behavior and asked with concern, "Does such an ordinary city manage to move you like this?"

Xilian said with a half-smile, "Ordinary?"

"Isn't it?" Bruce stood up, his front paws resting on the railing, "It just has a few more rivers, that's all."

It tried hard to recall.

"I seem to have visited many city-states and seen many strange cities. Some were built on floating giant rocks and called 'Suspended Cities', some were located on lakes and seas, called 'Marsh Cities', some were built on huge moving machines that walked constantly, and others were built on the corpses of giant gods, possessing peculiar powers..."

Bruce evaluated earnestly, "By comparison, Her City is indeed quite ordinary."

Xilian smiled with relief, offering no excessive explanation.

He had not mentioned his past to Bruce, so naturally Bruce did not understand the significance Her City held for him.

This city had once been regarded as the hope of White Cliff Town, appearing countless times in the Soflova Brothers' fantasies about the future. It could be said that it laid the cornerstone of Xilian's life.

Now, after overcoming all sorts of hardships, Xilian had finally arrived at this city that he had yearned for in his dreams, yet the initial goal that had driven him forward had long since changed beyond recognition.

A cool morning breeze blew against his face. Xilian composed his emotions and spoke.

"I'm actually quite lucky."

"What do you mean?"

"I always thought the outside world was crazy and disordered, filled with hidden dangers everywhere. Even when meeting others, everyone harbored their own agendas and wasn't worth trusting..."

Xilian had been lucky to meet Bruce, and lucky to pass Dailin's inspection. Everything had gone smoother than he could have imagined.

Bruce commented, "You sound a bit paranoid."

"Haha."

Xilian put away his smile and asked calmly, "Bruce, are you still going to travel with me from now on?"

"Otherwise?" Bruce barked, "Though I really don't want to admit it, my current form is a dog. Do you think a dog can rent a house, can rent a house, and recover its identity?"

"Hello, I'm a person, but I was stuffed into a dog's body. Can you help me?"

Bruce answered its own question, its voice shrill, "Oh god! This dog can talk! A monster!"

"Haha."

Xilian laughed heartily.

After successfully entering the city, Xilian spent a morning roughly understanding the various aspects of Her City and grasping the way to survive as an outsider.

Just as Nuen had said, no matter where one went, Torchbearers were highly welcomed Transcendents, and the soul marrow generated in their bloodstreams was hard currency. It was just that the value it could be exchanged for fluctuated slightly in different city-states.

Xilian first found a place to exchange all his remaining soul marrow for City-State Coins.

They were not issued by the Her City Council, but served as the unified currency circulating in the Daylight Holy City, with the torch insignia representing the Firekeeping Cult stamped on the coins.

Relying on this less-than-abundant starting capital, Xilian rented an apartment in a remote corner of the city. Aside from being somewhat aged, it had everything one could possibly need.

The remaining City-State Coins were used by Xilian to buy changes of clothes and some necessary daily necessities.

By the time he finished bustling about by evening, Xilian had finally settled down in Her City.

It took Xilian less than a day to complete all this, much faster than he had anticipated, which was also related to the fact that Xilian did not pursue a high quality of life.

After sleeping out in the open for so many days, having a soft mattress to sleep on felt like an absolute luxury to Xilian.

After taking a shower, Xilian helped clean Bruce's fur as well. Man and dog sat together on the balcony, spacing out while drying themselves off.

They chatted idly about this and that.

When the time was right, Xilian collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep in a daze, while Bruce curled up on the living room sofa, equally deep in slumber.

His life of rushing about had finally come to an end.

In the days that followed, Xilian's mental state improved a lot.

In the spare moments, he would also stand on the balcony, spacing out and pondering whether he had truly walked out of his grief.

After prolonged contemplation and self-questioning, Xilian could confirm that he had not walked out of his grief.

He was simply being a bit carefree.

The grief still existed, but it felt as though it had been blurred, separated from Xilian by a layer of mist—unable to be touched, unable to be seen clearly.

It was like walking on damp, soft sand, where every step carried varying degrees of sinking.

Xilian stopped thinking about these matters.

In the mornings, Xilian wandered through various districts, experiencing the local customs and practices of Her City while further understanding the city's past.

Confluence City Hel was established during the Sixth Expedition of the Renaissance Era.

At that time, Expeditionary Pathfinders led Torchbearers, marching forward triumphantly along the Dawn Corridor. One of the expeditionary detachments split from the main force pioneered this land, and the city-state rose from the ground.

In the afternoons, Xilian immersed himself in the public library, reading world history in one breath to understand the major events that had occurred from the Dark Age to the present City-State Era, constructing the full picture of the world in his mind.

The more complete the world in his mind became, the more Xilian realized its incompleteness. In many historical periods, there were obvious generational gaps, as if they had been deliberately erased by someone.

He belatedly realized that this history had not been intentionally erased by anyone, but rather that those particular eras were simply not yet fit to appear in a public library accessible to the general public.

Just like the Year of Rebellion.

Realizing this, Xilian began inquiring about what Transcendent factions existed within Her City.

He had originally thought this would be a very troublesome task, but Xilian discovered that in several expensive areas of the city, there were direct branch offices of various Transcendent factions, among which was the Firekeeping Cult.

After careful consideration, Xilian gave up on making contact with the Firekeeping Cult. Should his carried bloodline be discovered, the trouble it would trigger was certainly not something the current Xilian could handle.

Unlike Xilian, who ran outside every day, Bruce remained holed up at home, never stepping outside.

Bruce occupied the living room, transforming it into its workshop. Every time Xilian returned, he would find Bruce secretly researching something.

Xilian tried to understand what Bruce was busy with, but after listening to Bruce's explanation, Xilian only felt bewildered.

Based solely on the meager technical knowledge Xilian had self-taught, he was completely unable to comprehend what Bruce was talking about.

After several attempts, the only thing Xilian managed to figure out was that Bruce was trying to repair its memories.

This peaceful life lasted for a week.

Xilian said with worry, "Bruce, there is a severe problem facing us right now."

"What is it?"

Seeing Xilian looking so troubled, Bruce took the matter seriously.

"We are out of money."

Xilian placed the last few banknotes on the table.

Bruce said, "Aren't you a Torchbearer? Go sell soul marrow!"

"Do you know how much of a cut Her City's Soul Marrow Refiner takes just for a single use?" Xilian said with deep abhorrence, "Besides, how many times can I painstakingly refine in a month!"

A big city had its prosperity, but it also had its darkness, and Xilian was truly experiencing it now.

"You, on the other hand, Bruce. As a Spirit Artisan, aren't you able to perform material transmutation?"

Xilian's eyes glowed, "Can't you transmute a bit of gold?"

"Do you know how much Source Energy and how many tedious steps are required to transmute gold?"

Bruce defended itself, "And, although my head cannot remember the formula for transmuting gold, I clearly remember that according to the Codex of Primal Forging, arbitrarily transmuting precious metals to disrupt the market is a serious crime.

If the involved amount is too large, you get your head lopped off and end up turned into wetware!"

This world possessed not only Transcendents, but countless mortals as well. To restrain Transcendents, various Transcendent factions had their own internal laws.

After arguing for a while, the two collapsed powerlessly onto the sofa, forced to face this cruel reality.

Xilian said, "We have to find a job."

"Only you," Bruce corrected, "You surely can't expect a dog to go out and work, can you?"

Xilian grew angry just listening to it, "At times like this, you don't mention your human dignity?"

This Transcendent dog cared deeply about its human dignity most of the time; for instance, it refused to use a dog bowl, insisting on sitting at the dining table with Xilian to eat.

Bruce shamelessly replied, "One thing at a time!"

Xilian was laughed half to death by Bruce.

"I'll see if there are any suitable jobs. We can't just hole up at home forever." Xilian's gaze turned gloomy, "I need to integrate into this city."

Xilian had not come to Her City to live a good life.

He was here to investigate Tania's true identity and exact vengeance for the blood debt owed to White Cliff Town.

From beginning to end, Xilian had never forgotten this point.