Chapter 308: Witnessing the Twilight

"Where... are we going?"

Black snowflakes dotted Chen Ling's shoulders. He took a black umbrella handed to him by Bai Ye and asked, puzzled.

"To witness the demise of a boundary." Before Chu Muyun could speak, Jian Changsheng answered the question eagerly. "They told me the same thing just now... and they insisted I change clothes, making it all so mysterious."

"Witnessing a demise?"

Chen Ling's confusion grew deeper.

"What do you think we look like we're about to do?" Chu Muyun asked.

Chen Ling looked them over, hesitated for a moment, and then tentatively said, "Like we're going to a funeral..."

"Exactly."

"We're really going to a funeral?" Jian Changsheng frowned. "But whose funeral would require the Twilight Society to..."

Jian Changsheng stopped mid-sentence, as if remembering something, his mouth gradually widening...

Chu Muyun reached out and pointed to the ground beneath their feet:

"We are holding a funeral for the boundary."

Hearing these words, shock appeared on the faces of both Chen Ling and Jian Changsheng!

"So the rumors are false?" Jian Changsheng's eyes widened. "Everyone outside says the Twilight Society destroyed the Ruoshui Boundary, killed over four million people inside, and stole the Ruoshui Lord's corpse..."

Bai Ye couldn't help but chuckle.

"The Twilight Society's strength is indeed not weak, but that doesn't mean we can slaughter a boundary at will." Chu Muyun glanced at him. "However, stealing the Ruoshui Lord's corpse is indeed true..."

"That's not called stealing." Bai Ye shook his head. "That's called laying to rest, a proper burial."

"...So, the Twilight Society's true goal is actually the corpses of the Nine Lords?" Chen Ling grasped the key point instantly.

"Do you remember what the ultimate goal of the Twilight Society is?"

"Reverse the era, restart the world." Chen Ling and Jian Changsheng answered simultaneously.

"Correct... And to restart the world, the Nine Lords are an indispensable link. There is something crucial inside their bodies." Chu Muyun said seriously. "Only by recovering that component from within them can we achieve a 'restart'."

Hearing this, Chen Ling immediately recalled the secret he had heard at the Aurora Base...

Before the Great Cataclysm, the Nine Lords were tracking the Red Star fragments when they allegedly absorbed the energy within them, becoming the "Nine Lords" thereafter. Could the "component" the Twilight Society spoke of be the Red Star fragments within them?

"Recovering... the Nine Lords?" Jian Changsheng was stunned.

The Nine Lords were the roots of the nine boundaries. If any one of them had a problem, it meant the destruction of an entire boundary. The Twilight Society actually wanted to recover the Nine Lords? Wouldn't that put them completely at odds with the nine boundaries?

No wonder they were called madmen and listed as humanity's highest-priority targets... They were essentially the public enemies of this era!

"However, we usually don't use force for recovery, because that usually means being an enemy of an entire boundary." Bai Ye explained at the right moment. "Usually, we do as we are doing now: upon learning that a Lord is about to pass away, we enter the boundary in advance to prepare and wait for the demise to arrive."

"Then that destroyed boundary in the rumors..."

"The destruction of the Ruoshui Boundary stemmed from the resistance of its lower-class people and infighting among the higher-ups. The rules and order of that boundary were not as perfect as Aurora City's; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a chaotic, dark, and savage land... Of course, the most critical factor was the death of the Ruoshui Lord, which led to a large-scale intersection of the Gray Realm."

Chu Muyun answered calmly, "In the end, those people even started fighting over the Ruoshui Lord's corpse. Naturally, the Twilight Society couldn't just sit by and watch... After killing some people, we were branded with the label of destroying the boundary."

Bai Ye shrugged. "You know, the higher-ups of a boundary like to shift the blame to avoid admitting their own dereliction of duty and to hide the news that the Nine Lords are dying... As their arch-nemesis, the Twilight Society is naturally the best scapegoat."

"Of course, under normal circumstances, the Twilight Society does not participate in the internal strife of a boundary. To us, whether they fight or unite is meaningless."

"To put it bluntly, we are just a professional funeral team..."

Chu Muyun paused for a moment.

"We hold funerals for boundaries, we lay the Nine Lords to rest;"

"We witness the twilight of all living things, we pursue the dawn of humanity."

"Everything else... we don't care about at all."

Hearing this, Chen Ling finally understood what was going on... So, the Twilight Society was essentially not an evil organization at all, but rather a neutral society upholding the philosophy of "restarting." It was just that because their philosophy conflicted with the nine boundaries, and their style of action was easily misunderstood, they had been branded as "public enemies of humanity."

"So, is it just the four of us holding the funeral for the Aurora Boundary this time?" Jian Changsheng asked.

Chu Muyun held his black umbrella and shook his head calmly.

"Naturally not."

As soon as Chu Muyun finished speaking, an ancient and low bell toll rang out leisurely from the other side of the city!

Clang—!

Clang—!!

Clang—!!!

At the top of the Aurora City clock tower, a figure in a suit was striking the bell with a log frozen by frost, one blow after another.

Fine shards of ice scattered from the surface of the giant bell. The low tolling sounded like a dirge for the city, echoing amidst the black snow. Figures scattered sporadically throughout Aurora City slowly looked up toward it.

Regardless of what identity or method they had used to hide in Aurora City before, at this moment, they all meticulously changed into black suits, held black umbrellas, and stepped onto the dead, frozen streets.

They had come to welcome the twilight of this boundary.

"Change your clothes, [Heart 6]." Chu Muyun looked at Chen Ling and took a black playing card from his pocket, handing it to him. "I didn't have clothes custom-made for you; after all, that's meaningless for you... However, you should be able to use this card, which is prepared specifically for funerals."

Chen Ling took the card. As soon as it was in his hand, he could feel the difference in its material.

This was not at all like the cheap paper cards sold in shops outside; it felt like an extremely thin metal material. The pitch-black surface, like obsidian, was deep and solemn. In its upper left and lower right corners, a white [6] was engraved, and below that was a white "♡".

"This card is specially made and is only used on major occasions... Now, the time has come."

Chen Ling looked at the card in his hand and nodded calmly. Black snowflakes drifted lightly onto his shoulders. He raised his right hand and tore forcefully at his own chin!

Beneath the skin was another identical face, but the clothes on his body had suddenly changed into a matching black suit, tie, and leather shoes. The style and size fit his body perfectly, outlining his slender and well-proportioned frame.

Chen Ling put the card into his chest pocket, revealing the white [6] in the corner.

In the heavy snow, the black umbrella in his hand slowly opened...

"Let's go."