Su Chen calmed himself. He thought to himself that this kid truly deserved to be his confidant—he had read Su Chen's long-buried desire to rebel with perfect clarity.

  "Enough. Go back and rest for now."

  His tone remained even.

  Su Yi's face lit up with joy. The general hadn't flown into a rage. That must mean he agreed.

  The instant Su Yi turned to leave, a metallic ring sounded behind him. The next moment, he knew nothing more.

  Su Chen stared expressionlessly at the headless corpse of his once-trusted aide. He mocked himself inwardly for growing old and soft—actually worrying whether he could instantly take down a mere Spirit Vein Sixth Layer cultivator. He had chosen a stealthy strike to avoid any commotion.

  What Su Yi said was true. Su Chen had wanted to rebel for a long time. But he could not.

  In the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, he had a wife, children, parents, teachers, and friends. The moment he rebelled, everyone close to him would die. So many lives—even if he defected to Azure Wave, he could never bring them all along. Let this life pass quietly then. He would settle the score properly in the next one.

  Su Chen buried Su Yi. The man had known him too well.

  "I already told you, kid—don't say things that shouldn't be said!"

  When Su Yi vanished, people asked. Su Chen simply replied that he had sent the man home. After all, staying on this ordinary border offered no future. With that explanation, no one pressed further.

  Three months later, devastating news arrived. The entire Black Abyss Army had been annihilated. A legion equal in fame to the Black Armor Army—wiped out completely. Now the Azure Wave forces advanced unhindered, closing in on the very pass Su Chen defended.

  "What the hell is this nonsense?"

  A million-strong army gone in three months?

  Su Chen felt like he was having a stroke.

  Truly heaven-defying incompetence. Pig teammates.

  Worst of all were the orders from above: reinforcements were being mobilized. They only needed Su Chen to hold for one month.

  Hold his ass.

  The only Spirit Sea Realm present was an elderly, declining one. After him, the strongest was Su Chen himself at Spirit Vein Ninth Layer.

  That very night, Su Chen entered seclusion to break through to the Spirit Sea Realm. The Spirit Communion Art contained a secret method that could force a short-term breakthrough to Spirit Sea—though it would drastically shorten his lifespan.

  Originally, given another twenty years, he could have advanced naturally and steadily. No need for such extremes. Now it no longer mattered. Death was certain either way. Better to reach the Spirit Sea Realm and take a few more heads with him.

  Not long after Su Chen secluded himself, an Azure Wave detachment assaulted the pass. They held for ten days. Then, the old Spirit Sea Realm city lord was beaten to death in open combat.

  Grief settled over the defenders. The old miser had pocketed their cultivation resources for years, skimming shamelessly. Everyone had wished him dead. Just not now.

  "How much longer until General Jiang Chen breaks through to the Spirit Sea Realm?"

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  The defending general felt ice in his chest. Without the array's core master, the defensive formation could not hold much longer.

  Right as the city walls were about to fall, the once-dim array suddenly blazed to life, slaughtering thousands of Azure Wave soldiers in an instant.

  A towering, martial figure stepped through the air. With one hand, he lifted the faltering core of the formation.

  At the critical moment, Su Chen had broken through tothe Spirit Sea Realm and emerged from seclusion.

  'I never thought I would have a day when I became the savior.'

  Su Chen had never felt anything so exhilarating. It was as though an entirely new world had opened before him. A casual lift of his hand could now split mountains and sever rivers.

  The first wave of Azure Wave's assault was finally repelled.

  Relieved smiles broke across the survivors' faces. They crowded around Su Chen, chattering excitedly about the battle's hair-raising moments.

  When they recounted how old Zhou the Skinflint had fought to the death—killing one Spirit Sea general outright and severely wounding another—Su Chen could not help but feel genuine respect.

  The old miser had died a truly heroic death. Unfortunately, not even a scrap of flesh remained. In the end, Su Chen and the others gathered his personal effects and built a simple cenotaph.

  Su Chen had always disliked Zhou the Skinflint. The two had never gotten along.

  Yet when Zhou learned Su Chen was confident he could force a breakthrough to the Spirit Sea Realm even at the risk of his life, he had handed over every last one of his cultivation resources without hesitation. He also instructed the troops: after his death, Jiang Chen would be the sole commander of this city.

  A man covered in flaws had, in his final moments, acted with flawless integrity.

  Su Chen poured a pot of strong liquor over Zhou's cenotaph and murmured, "If I had broken through even a little earlier… would you, Zhou the Skinflint, still have had to die?"

  It wasn't that Su Chen had suddenly been moved by the man. In any other time or place, he would have wished Zhou dead sooner rather than later. But now Zhou was gone. Within these walls, Su Chen was the only Spirit Sea Realm cultivator left. Even a fool could guess that Azure Wave's next legion would be stronger. Reinforcements were still twenty days away.

  Su Chen thought of his wife and children, his parents. Of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren he had yet to meet.

  "I must hold for twenty days!"

  Ten days later, the Azure Wave Kingdom dispatched another army to assault the city that Su Chen defended. This time, the horizon darkened with troops—at least fifty or sixty thousand strong. Leading them were three Spirit Sea Realm generals.

  Su Chen cursed inwardly until his throat felt raw, yet he still had to rally the defenders. He thought of his wife and children. He thought of his parents. The entire city turned into a fortress. Every man, woman, and able-bodied person became a soldier.

  Over those ten days Su Chen spread word relentlessly throughout the streets: the Azure Wave soldiers were savages. If the city fell, they would massacre everyone—men, women, old and young alike—without mercy.

  What about those who tried to slip out of the city?

  Su Chen had already warned them: the Azure Wave army had the city completely surrounded. Leaving meant certain death. Those who chose to flee proved his words true. Not a single one ever returned. They had indeed died—by Su Chen's own hand.

  The Azure Wave forces were not quite the monsters he had described. At least surrender offered a chance at survival. If Su Chen opened the gates and yielded, everyone inside the walls could live.

  But Su Chen would never surrender. His heart had turned to ice. As the vast Azure Wave host drew nearer, he murmured to himself, "Do not hate me. In this chaotic world, you and I are both just pieces on someone else's board."

  The three Spirit Sea Realm powerhouses pinned Su Chen down in single combat while the rest of the Azure Wave army clashed with the city's defenders and armed civilians.

  That day, the sky turned black, and the earth ran red. Corpses piled high without end. The entire city became a blood-soaked ruin. Endless rain poured down, carving a stinking river of gore through the streets.

  In the end, Su Chen burned everything he had. He killed one Spirit Sea Realm general outright and gravely wounded the other two.

  "We… finally held!"

  Watching the Azure Wave forces withdraw before they were even half retreated, Su Chen forced a weak, trembling smile onto his lips. Then he collapsed.

  He remained unconscious for five full days. When he awoke, only five days remained until reinforcements arrived. Though the survivors numbered fewer than one in ten, their spirits burned high with hope.

  The Azure Wave army did not press the attack immediately. Five days. Just five more days, and they could hold until help came. Late that night, the survivors gathered together, dreaming aloud of the peaceful life they would lead once the war ended.

  Su Chen stood alone before a cracked mirror, staring at the face covered in scars. In his memories, he had always been gentle and modest, refined and scholarly, strikingly handsome.

  He touched the ruined skin with trembling fingers and wondered whether Wang Bailu would still recognize him. Whether she would turn away in disgust. No matter what, he wanted to live. He wanted to go home and see her again.