Before this, Chen Yang had never heard of soone nad Heiqi.
How could soone rise overnight, beco the Barbaric New Sovereign, and single-handedly sweep through seven kingdoms?
Chen Yang's brows were deeply furrowed. During that battle, he had pursued the enemy relentlessly, easily crushing the Barbarian Chief General and almost completely annihilating their surviving Martial Guard. They shouldn't have been able to pose a significant threat for at least ten years.
But now... it had only been a single year.
"Heiqi..."
Chen Yang glanced at the limited information available on this Barbarian King. Dark clouds gathered in his heart. There was no doubt that this man was a fierce and ambitious warlord. And his ultimate goal could only be this land. Sweeping through seven kingdoms beyond the border is nothing but a ans to seize resources and expand his military. Once everything is ready, war will surely erupt again at the gates of Hanyun Valley. This ti, it will likely be unlike anything seen before.
"Boss, what's on your mind?" Yang Hu asked, glancing at Chen Yang's deeply furrowed brow in the rearview mirror.
Chen Yang put down the file and massaged his head. "What's the situation in Hanyun Valley right now?"
"Liu Wu is holding the fort there, but..." Yang Hu shook his head and sighed. "Many can't stand it any longer and are choosing to retire."
Those eight hundred thousand n ultimately recognized only Chen Yang. With Chen Yang in such dire straits, many had grown cold-hearted. After their protests went unheard, they could only leave, despondent and disillusioned.
"By the way," Yang Hu said gravely, "Liu Wu ntioned that the borderlands are restless. A powerful figure has erged among the Barbarians, sweeping through the territories beyond our borders. Conflict is imminent."
Since ancient tis, the Barbarians had never ceased coveting this rich land. And after nearly facing annihilation the last ti, they could not possibly forget such a great enmity.
Chen Yang remained silent.
It has always been this way. Great prosperity must decline, and what goes to extres must rebound. Now that the Martial Departnt is in turmoil, the mighty general who defended Hanyun Valley for years—who forced the Barbarians to retreat ti and again and even planted our war flag in their capital—has also hung up his uniform and put away his weapons. What the future holds, no one can predict. Only ti will tell.
...
「A month later, all was calm.」
The only ripples were the occasional conversations over tea, where people would sigh at the ntion of a man nad Chen Yang.
Outside Hanyun Valley, three more kingdoms were laid to waste, reduced to scorched earth, after which an eerie silence fell.
For the common man, life remained prosperous, but the Martial Guard of Hanyun Valley, led by the Jingnan Prince, had long since entered a state of high alert.
From the Jingnan Prince at the top to the frontline Martial Guard, no one slept without their armor.
anwhile, the Elders' Court, the nerve center of the Martial Departnt, remained mired in a power struggle. First, Jin Zheng and Wu Xing were completely marginalized. Then, Luo Yunhai defeated his rivals and successfully took the position of Great Elder.
A celebration banquet initiated by the Chenlong Martial District was being prepared with ticulous and fervent effort.
As for Chen Yang, when he wasn't practicing his breathing exercises, his days were spent joyfully accompanying Qin Qiu, admiring the snow-laden plum blossoms.
「On a clear day after the snow.」
The sky was a mirror of vivid blue, as if freshly scrubbed clean. Early that morning, Chen Yang and his family departed for a secluded cetery.
Chen Yang's mother, Lady Liu, was buried in this very cetery.
Twenty-nine years ago, his mother had given birth to him, but before she could even hear her child call her "Mama," she died as a result of that internal conflict, her soul passing on.
He placed fruit offerings, lit three incense sticks, and kowtowed three tis respectfully. Then, Chen Yang simply knelt on the ground, staring motionlessly at the portrait embedded in the tombstone.
It was clear that this woman, Liu Xu, had been a beauty with delicate features in her ti. One could even see a trace of Chen Yang's features in her own.
"Mother," Chen Yang finally spoke the two words that felt so foreign to him. "Your son has co to see you."
"Mother," Qin Qiu said, following his lead. "Your daughter-in-law, Qin Qiu, offers you tea."
She held out a teacup and slowly poured the contents onto the ground before the grave.
Chen Jinnan stood alone to one side, a third cigarette already between his lips, his unfocused eyes filled with extre bitterness and longing.
"Liu Xu, I miss you," Chen Jinnan murmured to himself, his thoughts flooding back to that rainy night twenty-nine years ago as if it were yesterday.
This woman from Yuning Mountain had burst through an encirclent of dozens of people, handing the swaddled infant Chen Yang to the person waiting to receive them. She not only saved Chen Yang but had indirectly saved Chen Jinnan as well.
The weather was exceptionally fine, and many people had co to visit the graves.
As people ca and went, many noticed the young man kneeling before a tombstone under a canopy of yellow leaves. Even though his expression was full of sorrow, it couldn't hide his resolute features or his distinctive charisma.
"Oh? Isn't this a desolate grave? Soone is actually cleaning it today?"
A group of seven or eight people approached from nearby. As they cast their gazes over, half of them wore expressions of scorn and mockery.
Ti had buried many things in the dust of history, but mories had not faded so easily. For example, the mory of a mother whose love shone so brightly that she fought through powerful enemies and her own injuries to send her only son to safety. It was a mont of great glory, but her death was tragic.
"What? You barely survived having the Chen Family's Bloodline Power severed, and now you've co to visit the mother you never t? Showing your face so brazenly, aren't you afraid of being stomped to death?"
A woman from the group stepped forward. While instructing her subordinates to clear the area, her mocking eyes swept over Chen Yang's group, finally settling on him with a playful smile. She was a middle-aged woman in a black dress and a brown mink coat, her hands tucked into her pockets, exuding an air of nobility.
At her words, her companions exchanged smirks and knowing looks.
"Chang Wei, can a dog's mouth spit out anything but filth?" Chen Jinnan recognized the woman at a glance, his expression turning cold.
Chang Wei laughed derisively. "Chen Jinnan, everyone says you beca a complete wreck after the Pill Dragon King healed you? If you're a wreck, you should act like one. A family of the dead, the ruined, and the crippled. How amusing." She covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, the mockery in her voice utterly undisguised.
Chen Yang slowly turned his head.
Upon seeing his face clearly, Chang Wei smirked. "He does look a lot like her. And if we're being technical, I was that wretch Liu Xu's cousin-in-law. That makes your aunt, doesn't it? Since this is our first eting, shouldn't you, my dear nephew, kneel and pay your respects? You're a Chen, after all. You wouldn't be completely devoid of manners, would you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow with a condescending air.
"I think you want to die."
The arrogant Chang Wei, who had been expecting deference, received nothing but Chen Yang's brief, shocking reply.
"You..." Chang Wei's narrow eyes gradually darkened as she stared icily at Chen Yang.
"Do you have a death wish? Hm?!"
Chen Yang stood up. The mont his gaze fell on Chang Wei, his forrly calm eyes exploded with a murderous intent that burned like a raging fire.
Chang Wei's expression changed, and she sneered, "What? You crippled fool still want to posture in front of ?"
CLANG!
Chen Yang drew the iron sword he carried at his side and closed the distance in a single step.
Chang Wei: "..."
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