The mont I saw this old man.
Zhao Qingcang was overwheld with mixed feelings.
Back when I first t this old man, I was just over twenty years old, a complete novice.
It was the teachers who nurtured step by step.
In his heart, Deng Qihe has always been his guiding light, a towering monunt that will never fall.
For more than 30 years, Zhao Qingcang has still visited his old teacher's grave every year to pay his respects.
But he never expected this.
This old man, who should have turned to dust more than 30 years ago, actually appeared alive and well in front of him again.
It still looks the sa as I rember.
But those eyes, which were once as bright as stars, were now as dark as ashes, filled with an overwhelming sorrow.
"Marshal Deng..."
Zhao Qingcang's lips moved, his throat was dry, and he used all his strength to squeeze out those two words through his teeth.
His voice was so hoarse it didn't sound like his own.
Upon hearing this address, the old man sitting by the window trembled almost imperceptibly.
He slowly raised his head and looked at Zhao Qingcang, a smile that was more like a grimace stretched across his wrinkled face.
"Now, you are the Marshal of Great Xia."
“I am a sinner and am no longer worthy of the title of ‘Marshal’.”
Qi Zhenyun stepped forward and gently patted Zhao Qingcang on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down.
"Sit down and let's talk."
Qi Zhenyun pulled out a chair and invited the two to sit down before slowly beginning to reveal the past that had been sealed away for forty years.
"After the beast tide in Simon City ended, while I sent people to rescue the victims, I also personally led a team back to that ruin."
"At that ti, the array outside the ruins no longer existed, and even the array inside the ruins that trapped the spirit-sealing coffin was completely destroyed."
"Only ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) then will we have a chance to see that sealed coffin again."
Qi Zhenyun's gaze involuntarily drifted to the silent figure by the window.
"However, Deng Shuai remained in a coma at the ti and did not wake up for a long ti."
"We had no choice but to take the sealed coffin to a deserted place to keep it under control, for fear that it might harm innocent people again."
"It wasn't until the last two years that Marshal Deng woke up from his sealed coffin."
As soon as he finished speaking, Deng Qihe chid in, his voice filled with emotion and remorse.
"This sleep felt like a lifeti ago."
"I never expected that so many people would lose their lives because of my selfishness."
His thin, bony hands gripped his knees tightly, his knuckles turning white from the effort, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"As expected, divine artifacts are not sothing mortals can covet."
"The price is too high..."
Zhao Qingcang shifted his gaze from his teacher's pained face to Qi Zhenyun, his eyes filled with a hint of questioning.
"Since the teacher has already escaped from the sealed coffin, why didn't you tell sooner?"
Before Qi Zhenyun could answer, Deng Qihe spoke first.
"I told him not to tell you."
He raised his head, his cloudy eyes staring directly at Zhao Qingcang.
"Qing Cang, I have committed a heinous cri, causing the deaths of tens of thousands of my compatriots. I am already a sinner for all ti."
"How can I face you? How can I face the wronged souls I killed?"
"If I had known this day would co, I... I shouldn't have entered that sealed coffin!"
"He should just turn into a pile of yellow earth!"
He slamd his fist into his leg, making a dull thud.
Qi Zhenyun sighed deeply as he watched this scene.
"The damage is done, and the mistake is irreversible."
"Qing Cang, to be honest, out of respect for Marshal Deng and for my own selfish reasons, I originally planned to tell you all the secrets before I died."
His tone was filled with deep apology.
"But the situation is urgent!"
"In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, you are the only high-level SS-rank professional. You can't make a difference alone."
"After much thought, I decided to co and et Marshal Deng, hoping that you will invite him to co out of retirent."
"Imminent?" Deng Qihe's expression hardened upon hearing this.
What's happening outside?
Qi Zhenyun then explained the current situation between Sakura Country and Great Xia to Deng Qihe.
Each sentence, each word, struck Deng Qihe's long-dormant heart like a heavy hamr.
Six SS-level professionals.
His old rival, Qin Zeduo, has actually been resurrected.
They even want to resurrect an SSS-level professional?
With just these few words, Deng Qihe instantly understood the perilous situation that Great Xia was facing.
He finally understood the imnse pressure his disciple, whom he had personally trained, was under.
That once spirited face is now etched with the marks of ti and the weight of responsibility.
Those eyes, which should have been as sharp as an eagle's, were now bloodshot and weary.
"Marshal Zhao has now ordered an imminent full-scale war with the Sakura Kingdom. We must stop them from reviving that SSS-class soldier no matter what."
Qi Zhenyun's voice carried a hint of pleading.
"Therefore, I had no choice but to bring Marshal Zhao here to earnestly request the old marshal to fight one more ti for our Great Xia!"
Zhao Qingcang looked at his teacher but did not speak.
His lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes held both anticipation and an unspeakable heaviness.
The teacher should be enjoying his retirent, but he is being dragged back into this quagmire of blood and fire.
But he had no choice.
He needs a teacher.
The Great Xia Dynasty needs this forr pillar of strength.
A long silence fell over the room.
Deng Qihe slowly closed his eyes, and after a long while, he let out a long sigh.
That sigh contained so many complex emotions.
There was also a sense of relief and understanding.
When he opened his eyes again, there seed to be a glimr of light in his cloudy eyes.
"perhaps......"
"This may be the only aning of my old bones lingering on until now."
Deng Qihe's gaze swept past Zhao Qingcang, as if he could see the bloody battle forty years ago, and the hundreds of thousands of innocent souls who perished in Simon City.
"I don't seek any redemption through ritorious service; I am already a sinner in history."
"I just hope..."
His voice beca firm, each word resounding and powerful.
"Because of my existence, the soldiers of Great Xia and those young children can suffer fewer casualties."
Deng Qihe slowly stood up, and at that mont, his withered body seed to straighten up a bit more.
He looked directly at Zhao Qingcang, his tone calm and firm.
"Deng Qihe is willing to join the war!"
The next second, the eyes of the marshal who commanded hundreds of millions of soldiers and civilians of the Great Xia Dynasty, and who was always as calm and composed as a mountain in front of others, instantly turned red.
His knees buckled.
"thump!"
To Qi Zhenyun's astonishnt, Zhao Qingcang knelt upright before his teacher.
He didn't speak, but simply buried his head deeply, his shoulders trembling violently.
"What are you doing! Get up!"
Deng Qihe's expression changed, and he quickly stepped forward, his withered hands forcefully supporting Zhao Qingcang's arm.
He tried to pull his disciple up, but found that the other's body was as heavy as a mountain.
"Qing Cang, you have done very well."
"That was really well done."
"Teacher, I'm sorry. Please don't feel too much pressure."
He forcefully pulled Zhao Qingcang up from the ground and helped him sit down on a chair nearby.
"If I were in your shoes, I would make the sa decision as you."
"This ti, I will fight alongside you."
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