Volume 2: Shenzhou Academy & The Battle of Venice
Chapter 170
Relighting the Coastal Lighthouse
Beneath the subterranean pool of the Whale Sea Lighthouse, the gargantuan corpse of the Abyssal Yaksha Devil Golem had completely sunk into the dark abyss. The raw primal energy, thoroughly filtered and purified by the Primordial Dragon Pendant, poured steadily into the subterranean Magic Crystal pylon, causing the ancient stone pedestal to emit a deep, reverberating hum.
Yet, the millennia-old tower’s divine beam had yet to pierce into the coastal sky.
“Lin Feng, look at the top of the tower!”
Standing on the cracked stone ledge at the edge of the subterranean pool, Han Yue called out. Her voice, usually crystalline and detached as glacial frost, carried a rare, razor-sharp urgency. She peered upward through the sheer vertical conduit shaft that pierced straight through the megalithic beacon tower.
Over a hundred meters above at the tower’s apex—where the lighthouse’s luminous focal lens was housed—a dark-purple sealing formation erected by the Abyssal Altar still tightly throttled the central Lighthouse Crystal monolith. This foul, parasitic miasma clung to the beacon platform like a web of sticky venom, choking off the conduit of the mana beam entirely. With every pulse of magic rising from the subterranean pool, the black miasma twisted violently, violently forcing the energy back downward and shaking the ancient granite walls so violently they threatened to detonate!
If the corrupt sealing miasma at the summit was not shattered, the colossal reservoir of recharged mana would turn the entire lighthouse into a catastrophic magical bomb, tearing itself and the island apart!
“Leave the top to me!”
A low, resonant reply boomed across the subterranean waters.
The Nether Hell Black Wolf threw back its head, unleashing a cavern-shaking howl. Its paws, wreathed in ghostly nether flames, slammed against the water’s surface, launching Lin Feng in a thunderous leap onto the stone ledge.
The moment his boots touched stone, Lin Feng did not pause for half a breath. Soaked to the skin in seawater, the hem of his black coat snapping violently in the updrafts, his pitch-black eyes burned like twin suns amidst the chaotic gloom. He pushed off the granite with explosive force, hurtling directly into the vertical conduit shaft of the ancient tower.
Lightning Gleam harmonized with Shadow Drift!
ZAP!
Lin Feng’s silhouette dissolved into a streak of violet-black lightning, tearing through the darkness and bounding off the navigational stone ledges at breathtaking speed. Ancient, moss-clad sealing glyphs flashed beneath his boots in an indistinct blur. In the span of three heartbeats, he shattered the topmost stone archway and vaulted onto the highest observation platform of the lighthouse!
The gale atop Whale Sea Lighthouse howled like a pack of starving beasts in the dark, laden with briny seafoam and the nauseating stench of monster carcasses rotting at the base of the sea cliffs.
Before Lin Feng stood the octagonal Lighthouse Crystal monolith, standing over three meters tall. The ancient stone cylinder was bound tight in coils of venomous, dark-purple chains. Oozing ribbons of pitch-black vapor reeked of sulfur and the suffocating death aura of the bottomless abyss, relentlessly gnawing into the crystal’s central core. The monolith flickered with feeble, dying embers, like a lone candle guttering in a hurricane.
Sensing the vital aura of a living intruder, the abyssal miasma boiled into a frenzy!
HISSSSSS!
Tendrils of black mist coiled and reared like venomous vipers, condensing into grotesque, screaming demonic visages with gaping jaws. Shrieking with shrill malice, they lunged toward Lin Feng with terrifying, soul-corroding pressure, intent on shredding the impudent mortal who dared trespass upon their unholy domain.
Lin Feng stood unyielding in the eye of the gale, his spine straight as an iron spear driven into bedrock.
“Filthy abyssal dregs—daring to run amok on Divine Province soil?”
A cold sneer broke from the young archmage’s chest.
Beneath his tunic, the Primordial Dragon Pendant suddenly thrummed, beating like the heart of a prehistoric behemoth stirring from primordial slumber. A wave of warm, majestic energy flooded through his limbs and meridians, converging directly into his right arm.
BOOMMM!
A deep, primordial dragon roar, resonant as the striking of a ten-thousand-year-old bronze bell, reverberated within Lin Feng’s sea of consciousness.
Primordial Dragon Power erupted!
Beneath the skin of his right hand, his veins blazed with radiant golden light. Gilded dragon scales materialized in illusory splendor across the back of his hand and knuckles, exuding a pure-yang sacred aura, sovereign and inviolable.
The lunging demon skulls shrieked in horror the moment they came within half a foot of that radiant halo. They cringed and recoiled, sizzling into nothingness like fresh snow plunging into a cauldron of boiling oil!
Giving the vile remnants no room to struggle, Lin Feng lunged forward in a long stride, slamming his palm—encased in Primordial Dragon Power—firmly against the rugged surface of the Lighthouse Crystal core!
BOOM!
The collision between two diametrically opposed energies generated an ear-splitting detonation that shook the ancient stone tower to its foundations.
The dark-purple toxic chains writhed maniacally, unleashing thousands of needle-sharp black thorns that sank into Lin Feng’s arm, attempting to inject lethal necrotic poison into his heart and soul. His flesh seared with agonizing heat, his muscles tensing under the crushing backlash. Yet Lin Feng’s eyes remained frosty and calm, his will solid as a mountain.
“Begone!”
A guttural roar ripped from his throat.
The four-element mana within his body was refined and forged by the Primordial Dragon Power into an unstoppable golden deluge, pouring relentlessly into the core of the ancient crystal.
CRACK—SHATTER!
Under the devastating sweep of pure-yang dragon might, the toxic abyssal chains fractured and burst into shards. The dense, choking miasma was incinerated by the sacred dragon fire, boiling away in billowing plumes of pure white vapor before dissipating into nothingness.
The octagonal crystal, previously dim and corroded, quivered violently as every speck of abyssal filth was purged clean. From beneath Lin Feng’s palm, thousands of ancient rune circuits that had lain dormant for centuries ignited in succession with brilliant golden light, flowing through the stone grooves like veins of liquid gold across the tower.
One pulse... two pulses...
The millennial grand array of the beacon tower was fully awakened!
All the elemental mana accumulated between the sky and the Whale Sea found its focal point in that instant, madly surging toward the apex of the lighthouse.
ROARRRR—SWOOSH!!!!!!!
An earth-shattering thunderclap erupted across the heavens, drowning out the roaring waves and tempestuous squall!
From the very center of the crystal monolith, a pillar of divine golden magic over ten meters in diameter vaulted straight into the night sky!
The colossal light pillar, carrying the boundless majesty of heaven and earth, tore through thousands of meters of churning storm clouds, piercing straight into the highest celestial vault. The gaping rift in the tempest laid bare the silver moonlight and a brilliant tapestry of stars, as if a celestial gate had been flung wide above a darkened mortal realm!
Nor did it end there. At the zenith, the pillar exploded outward into a vast Bagua halo of radiant light, sweeping across hundreds of nautical miles of the Whale Sea!
The night was shattered!
In an instant, the pitch-black waters blazed as bright as day. Cresting surges reflected the golden radiance, transforming the turbulent sea into an undulating expanse of molten gold that stretched all the way to the horizon.
And beneath that divine light, the nightmare of the abyssal horde truly began.
SKREEEEEECH—ROARRRR!
Tens of thousands of black sea demons, Colossal Night Fiends, and armored crustacean monstrosities submerged in the waters shrieked in harrowing agony!
The light radiating from the Lighthouse Crystal carried fatal purification against all darkness. Wherever the golden radiance swept, the slimy, toxic hides of the sea fiends hissed and smoked, their steel-hard carapaces cracking into jagged fragments. Their night-adapted crimson eyes, accustomed to the eternal gloom of the abyss, were instantly scorched blind by the sacred glare. Screaming in torment, the monsters convulsed wildly, tearing into one another in a frenzy amidst boiling, bloody foam.
The arrogant coastal blockade established by the abyssal army disintegrated completely!
Stripped of their bloodthirsty ferocity, the surviving abominations thrashed in blind panic, diving desperately toward the ocean trenches to flee the light that was scorching their very souls.
At that very moment, dozens of nautical miles to the west, the entire eastern coastline of the Divine Province blazed with incandescent glory!
With the lighthouse relit, the millennial coastal defensive array was instantly flooded with power. One after another, beacon towers along the coastline resonated in a sky-shaking symphony. A colossal, hundred-meter-tall barrier of azure-jade light rose gracefully from the surf, standing firm as an impenetrable Great Wall shielding thousands of kilometers of sovereign territory.
Inside the Magic Capital Coastal Defense Command Headquarters, the piercing crimson sirens abruptly cut off, replaced by the stirring blare of combat horns echoing across every fortress!
“The lighthouse is lit! The coastal barrier is fully restored!”
“The special operations strike team has successfully liberated Beacon Island!”
The triumphant cheers of staff officers shook the reinforced underground command bunker.
Frontline Commander Lieutenant General Lu Haojun slammed his hand down onto the tactical magical sand table, his eyes ablaze with commanding resolve.
“All magical cruiser fleets, full mana output immediately! Coastal Mage Corps, advance with me! Full-scale counterattack—crush every remaining abyssal fiend across Whale Sea!”
HOOOOONK——!
Hundreds of ironclad magic warships sliced through the surging waves, plunging into the open ocean. Elemental cannons roared, unleashing volleys of firestorms and lightning that scythed through every corner of the waters. Across the entire coastal perimeter, tens of thousands of mages unleashed high-tier spells in unison, turning the nearshore waters into an ocean of fire that utterly crushed the black tide.
The national catastrophe that had threatened the lives of tens of millions in the Magic Capital had been completely averted in a single blood-drenched night!
Atop the towering summit of Beacon Island, the sea breeze blew freely. It no longer carried the stench of decay, but the crisp, clean tang of the boundless ocean.
Lin Feng slowly withdrew his hand from the Lighthouse Crystal monolith. The golden dragon scales gradually receded beneath his skin, leaving faint wisps of white vapor rising from his fingertips. His chest rose and fell in deep, measured breaths as the bone-deep fatigue and overwhelming exhilaration rippled through his body.
RIIIP!
A silver spatial rift tore open quietly behind him.
Ye Lingtian was the first to step through, followed closely by Ye Qingwan, Gu Xiaowei, and Han Yue. The four of them gathered on the highest observation parapet of the lighthouse, their gazes sweeping across the ocean bathed in sacred golden luminescence.
“We succeeded... We actually did it!” Gu Xiaowei’s hands fell limp, her magic staff clattering against the stone floor. She tilted her face to welcome the cool ocean breeze, her eyes glistening with tears of relief and exhaustion before she leaped up and threw her arms around Ye Qingwan’s shoulders.
Ye Qingwan smiled softly, her eyes lingering on Lin Feng’s black-robed back standing against the wind. His dark hair was tousled by the gale, his stance unyielding like a guardian deity who had just salvaged sea and sky. Deep within the maiden’s eyes, profound admiration and tender affection intertwined, etching his silhouette unshakeably into her heart.
Ye Lingtian stepped forward, clapping a firm, heavy hand on Lin Feng’s shoulder. The usually arrogant Number One prodigy of Shenzhou Archmage Academy held not a shred of jealousy, his face shining with heartfelt admiration.
“A truly magnificent purification. Lin Feng, if not for you today, my sister and I would have been buried on this island beneath abyssal claws.”
Lin Feng turned, a faint, relaxed smirk touching the corners of his lips. “Senior Brother Ye is being too modest. Without you all risking your lives to hold off the horde below, I wouldn’t have had the chance to touch the crystal.”
Just then, the soft cadence of footsteps sounded against the stone flags.
Han Yue walked up to the edge of the stone balustrade.
She wore a pale-blue robe trimmed in silver, her platinum hair cascading past her slender waist and dancing in the morning breeze. Upon her exquisite, unblemished face—perpetually cold as eternal glacial ice—her clear azure eyes now mirrored the golden radiance of the lighthouse.
She tilted her head slightly, looking at Lin Feng.
And then, to the utter astonishment of both Ye Lingtian and Gu Xiaowei, the lips of the young woman known across the academy as the emotionless ‘Ice Empress of the Demon Eye’ curved into a smile.
It was a rare, gentle, and breathtaking smile, pure enough to melt the frost of ten-thousand-year glaciers.
“You did brilliantly, Lin Feng,” Han Yue’s voice rang out like crystalline wind chimes in the open breeze. “Shenzhou Archmage Academy selecting you for the Top 5... was the wisest decision they have made in a century.”
Her eyes held none of the scrutiny or distant pride of a senior standing at the peak of the Battle Ranking. Instead, there was only genuine recognition, esteem, and absolute respect for an equal comrade with whom she could entrust her life.
Lin Feng was momentarily caught off guard by that captivating smile, before nodding gently in response. Under the boundless sky reborn from catastrophe, the bond between the most brilliant young talents of the Divine Province had been forged into unbreakable steel.
Two days later.
Naval Port No. 1 of the Eastern Sea Military Command was draped in festive banners and bathed in brilliant magical lanterns.
As the Longgui Ironclad Flagship sliced through the morning mist and berthed at the pier, an honorary artillery salute thundered across the harbor. Thousands of Coastal Defense Force soldiers in crisp dress uniforms, their silver-plated magic rifles held at attention, formed two immaculate lines of honor stretching from the gangway all the way to the central plaza.
Leading the welcoming delegation were the Commander of the Eastern Sea Military Region, the frontline generals—including Lieutenant General Lu Haojun—and Dean Xiao Yan of Shenzhou Archmage Academy.
A state-level reception!
It was an unprecedented, supreme honor for students who had yet to graduate. Yet not a single person questioned it, for the retaking and relighting of Whale Sea Lighthouse by these five young archmages had directly saved the lives of tens of thousands of frontline soldiers and preserved the peace of tens of millions of souls across the Magic Capital!
That evening, a lavish victory banquet was held in the resplendent Beacon Hall of the Military Command Headquarters.
Beneath grand crystal chandeliers radiating warm magical light, the crisp clinking of crystal flutes, hearty laughter, and soaring victory anthems reverberated throughout the hall. Fine wine, delicacies from land and sea, and unending praise converged upon the central table of honor where the five young heroes sat.
Lin Feng had changed into a simple, dark formal tunic that accentuated his tall, lean frame and broad shoulders. He sat between Xie Zhaoyuan, who was noisily chatting away while stuffing his mouth with braised beef, and Ye Qingwan, who gently served him choice morsels. The rare tranquility following days of life-and-death tension allowed his guarded mind to finally unwind.
Yet, right at the zenith of the festive celebration...
A figure clad in the dark-blue uniform of an orderly approached silently from the shadowed corridor behind the dais.
The man moved without the slightest sound, his head bowed low, bearing a polished silver tray in his hands.
“Report, Mr. Lin Feng,” the orderly bowed slightly, his voice raspy and low, bearing a peculiar cadence. “An urgent confidential dispatch delivered via sealed magical courier. The sender specifically requested that you open it in person tonight.”
Lin Feng’s brows furrowed slightly.
The silver tray was set down before him. Resting upon it was an unusual envelope fashioned from deep-purple beast hide—thick, supple, and freezing cold to the touch.
The edges were not sealed with adhesive, but closed with a dollop of dark-purple magical wax. Stamped upon the wax was a sinister, bizarre insignia: a blooming spider lily entwined around a pitch-black torch—the forbidden crest of the notorious dark cult, the Netherworld Church!
The Netherworld Church... Lin Feng murmured inwardly, every nerve in his body instantly snapping to full alert.
He raised his gaze to question the orderly, only to find that the figure had already melted into the bustling crowd near the grand hall’s entrance, vanishing without a trace like a wisp of black smoke dissolving into thin air.
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes, keeping his composure so as not to alarm Ye Qingwan and the others celebrating beside him. His right index finger lightly grazed the purple wax seal, subtly channeling Primordial Dragon Power to dissolve the malignant curse woven into the exterior.
SNAP!
The wax cracked.
The instant the flap opened, a pungent reek of fresh blood struck Lin Feng’s nostrils, accompanied by a bone-chilling aura of death that caused the temperature around the silver tray to plunge to freezing point!
Inside the envelope lay a single ragged scrap of ash-gray vellum.
Inscribed upon it was not ink, but thick, clotted crimson blood that had begun to turn pitch-black. At the center of the vellum was the depiction of a ghastly demon skull, two sinister streaks of fresh blood weeping from its hollow eye sockets.
Beneath the skull ran a message penned in blood, the handwriting jagged and razor-sharp, stabbing into the viewer’s eyes:
【 To the one who broke the Abyssal Altar: this blood debt shall be repaid with your life by the Netherworld Church in the Magic Capital! Savor your final living days, Lin Feng! 】
CRACK!
Beneath the banquet table, the crystal wine glass in Lin Feng’s left hand suddenly shattered into a hundred jagged shards, red wine spilling over his knuckles like fresh blood.
He slowly lifted his eyes, gazing out through the towering floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the grand hall.
Beyond the glass, the sprawling metropolis of the Magic Capital glittered beneath millions of radiant neon lights, appearing tranquil and prosperous like a magnificent dream. Yet in the young archmage’s eyes, a cold, ruthless killing intent had quietly flared into a raging storm.
The coastal lighthouse had been relit, but the true darkness lurking within the heart of the Magic Capital... had only just begun to bare its fangs!