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Wu'an City
The people within the city had clearly not yet recovered from the wounds of that war. The streets were far quieter than when Dai Chengfeng had first entered the city—less than half as lively.
Seeing this, Dai Chengfeng shook his head. "Uncle, the elderly woman who wishes to see me—she lives in the northern suburbs, correct?"
"Mm."
Zhu Fan nodded. "But Chengfeng, let me go instead. You don't need to trouble yourself."
"I heard that this elderly woman is already seventy years old. She only had one child, Xu Feng. Her husband was also a soldier but fell in battle ten years ago."
"Now she's all alone. She doesn't want money but insists on seeing you…"
"Perhaps… she intends to extort you?"
Dai Chengfeng shook his head. "Xu Feng could declare with pride, 'My family is poor, so I will not yield an inch of land,' and then die for the greater good. His mother couldn't possibly be the kind of person you imagine, Uncle."
"You can never be sure." Zhu Fan shook his head. "Chengfeng, you're still too inexperienced!"
"There aren't many good people in this world, but there's no shortage of all kinds of bad ones!"
"Uncle!"
Seeing Dai Chengfeng's stern expression and slightly furrowed brows, Zhu Fan sighed helplessly. "Alright, alright, I won't say anything more. I just hope she knows her limits!"
The two fell silent and continued toward the northern suburbs of Wu'an City.
Finally, they stopped in front of a dilapidated thatched cottage.
"Chengfeng, this is it."
Dai Chengfeng looked at the house, which was leaking wind from all sides, and frowned slightly. "Xu Feng was a centurion of our empire, wasn't he? How could he live in a place like this?"
"If he had saved up his military salary over the years, he should have been able to afford a large house."
Zhu Fan shook his head. "I'm not sure either, but this is indeed the address Zhu Yan gave us—it's correct."
"Alright." Dai Chengfeng nodded. "Perhaps after meeting her, we'll understand."
With that, he stepped forward and gently knocked on the door.
Not long after, Dai Chengfeng saw a white-haired, frail old woman slowly emerge, her back bent with age.
She was thin and frail, as if a gust of wind could knock her over, and each step she took was labored.
Seeing this, Dai Chengfeng quickly approached her. "Madam, are you the mother of Centurion Xu Feng?"
Hearing this, the old woman raised her wrinkled face, her cloudy eyes looking at Dai Chengfeng. Her voice trembled as she asked, "You… you are the Fourth Prince?"
Dai Chengfeng nodded gently. "I heard from Uncle that you didn't want money, but wished to see me and ask a question?"
The old woman's lips quivered slightly, and she nodded slowly. She reached out her calloused hands and tightly gripped Dai Chengfeng's arm, her voice trembling with emotion.
"Yes, Your Highness. I don't want money. I just want to personally ask you one question. Otherwise, I fear I won't be able to rest in peace…"
Dai Chengfeng gently supported the old woman. "Then, Madam, here I am. Ask your question."
"Was my son brave on the battlefield?"
The old woman's voice carried a hint of anxiety. "I heard that, to protect all the citizens of our city, you were gravely injured, Your Highness. Did my son hold you back?"
"Did he… live up to the people of Wu'an City?"
In an instant, Dai Chengfeng froze.
This was a question he had never anticipated…
Looking into the old woman's eyes, filled with both trepidation and anticipation, Dai Chengfeng felt a surge of complex emotions. His voice was firm and resolute. "Brave!"
"The bravest of the entire army!!!"
Dai Chengfeng clenched his teeth, his low voice carrying a fierce intensity.
"Centurion Xu Feng never held anyone back, and he lived up to everyone!"
"He… is the pride of every soldier in the Star Luo Empire!!!"
"That's good, that's good…"
Having finally received the answer she sought, the old woman seemed to lose all strength. She staggered to a peach tree nearby and slowly sat down.
Her gaze softened as she looked at the peach tree, murmuring, "Feng planted this peach tree the year he joined the army."
"He said that when this tree grows up, the peaches it bears will be sweet."
The old woman raised her hand, gently stroking the leaves of the peach tree, smiling tenderly. "In the blink of an eye, it has grown so big. Next year, it should bloom and bear fruit, shouldn't it…"
A child leaves his hometown with aspirations, vowing not to return until he achieves greatness; why must one's bones be buried in their homeland when life offers endless horizons!
Looking at the now solitary old woman, Dai Chengfeng pursed his lips and remained silent.
Country?
With the chaos of war, what truly is a country?
Home?
With the people scattered, what truly is a home?
Dai Chengfeng's heart was overwhelmed with complexity, leaving only four words in his mind—unification of the world!
Five thousand years of Chinese history has proven that only a unified dynasty can end endless warfare, even if it lasts only a few hundred years…
But!
This world is different!
This world has immortal gods!
"Chengfeng, get used to it. It's been like this for hundreds of years—everyone fighting each other."
Seeing Dai Chengfeng standing there lost in thought, Zhu Fan lightly patted his shoulder, feigning ease.
"Uncle…"
At this moment, Dai Chengfeng looked at Zhu Fan, his eyes serious.
"Hmm?"
"With my humble body, I wish to forge a sword worthy of an emperor… with the world as its blade, mountains and seas as its edge, shaped by the five elements, opened by yin and yang, upheld by spring and summer, guided by autumn and winter—a sword unmatched in the world, bringing all under heaven to submission!"
Dai Chengfeng gazed at the old woman, who was tenderly stroking the peach tree with a gentle smile. "I will give them, and this world, a vast empire stretching east to Spirit Dou Plain, west to the Vast Sea, north to the Extreme North, and south beyond the Bone Burying Mountains…"
"And, with that!"
"Eternal peace!"
The words were not proclaimed with a passionate bravado but instead steady, as though it were decreed.
Listening to Dai Chengfeng's calm, almost conversational tone, Zhu Fan was struck as if by lightning, frozen in place.
His eyes were filled with deep shock.
In this chaotic world of soul masters, people had long become accustomed to the idea that might makes right. Ordinary people had grown used to being displaced, to the unpredictability of life and death…
Most people only sought to survive in this chaotic era.
However!
This young man before him—his nephew, the Fourth Prince of the Star Luo Empire, the future Emperor—had such grand ambitions!
To use his own body to wield the world, mountains and seas, the five elements, yin and yang, spring and summer, autumn and winter…
To forge the Sword of the Human Emperor!
To reshape this shattered world and create a vast empire stretching east to Spirit Dou Plain, west to the Vast Sea , north to the Extreme North, and south beyond the Bone Burying Mountains…
And to achieve what no one dared to dream of—eternal peace!
Zhu Fan's lips trembled. He wanted to speak but found himself unable to utter a word.
After a long while, he finally came to his senses, his eyes slightly red.
He forcefully patted Dai Chengfeng's shoulder, his voice hoarse with emotion as he shouted loudly, "Such ambition!"
"Good lad, Uncle was right about you!"
"If you have such heroic aspirations, then I, your uncle, will gladly serve as your vanguard, even if it means death—I will never turn back!"
"Thank you, Uncle."
Looking at Zhu Fan, who unconditionally supported him, Dai Chengfeng spoke.
Though he was well aware that the path he chose would be fraught with thorns and difficulties, given the tangled web of powers across the land and the gods watching from the shadows…
Dai Chengfeng believed that as long as he was determined to walk it—
The road would be beneath his feet!
This world—I, Dai Chengfeng, have arrived!
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