Su Chen's luck held strong.

  The grand commander of the Black Armor Army had heard of his reputation. From that moment on, Su Chen rose swiftly through the ranks. On the battlefield, he cut down enemies without number.

  In a mere thirty years, he earned countless commendations and promotions. He was even ennobled as a count.

  Late at night, Su Chen often wondered whether he had become nothing more than a butcher. Only after stepping onto a real battlefield did he realize how laughable his previous life's mercenary skirmishes had been—how his self-proclaimed ruthlessness had been child's play.

  So he hardened his heart even further. His meteoric rise was not because he was extraordinarily powerful. It was because the commander who valued him was extraordinarily powerful.

  A few days earlier, the grand commander of the Black Armor Army had been ambushed and now hung by a thread. People said there was still hope, but Su Chen understood the old man's character. He was probably already gone. If even a breath remained, how could a pack of eunuch faction lackeys be allowed to blunder about giving orders in the camp?

  A Spirit Sea Ninth Layer powerhouse assassinated inside his own headquarters—anyone who believed there was no foul play was a fool.

  Fifteen years ago, under Grand Commander Mu Qingfeng's leadership, the Black Armor Army had crushed the forces of the Azure Wave Kingdom. From that day forward, his name resounded across the Heavenly Wind Kingdom.

  Mu Qingfeng had wanted to press the advantage and annihilate the Azure Wave army entirely, but the court ordered a halt. They chose to let the tiger return to the mountain. The official reason: as long as the invaders were repelled, the two kingdoms could remain cordial allies.

  Furious, Mu Qingfeng had retired to his hometown on the spot. Now, fifteen years later, the Azure Wave Kingdom had recovered its strength, torn up the treaty, and invaded once more.

  Mu Qingfeng had come out of retirement. After winning a single decisive battle, he was assassinated.

  Su Chen quietly poured a pot of wine onto the ground as a farewell to the grand commander, a gesture of gratitude for the recognition and favor he had received.

  "Commander Mu, in the next life—if I am alone and unburdened—I will uncover the truth for you and take revenge on your behalf."

  Not in this life. In this life, he still had a family. He was merely at Spirit Vein Ninth Layer. Thrown into the imperial court, he amounted to little more than an ant.

  The next day, new military orders arrived. Su Chen was transferred to another border region.

  Several old comrades sought him out.

  "General Jiang, let's rebel!"

  Su Chen refused without hesitation and left without looking back. That was not rebellion. That was suicide.

  In a world where martial strength reigned supreme, a handful of Spirit Vein Realm cultivators plotting treason would be swept up and crushed by any single Spirit Sea Realm expert.

  Later, Su Chen heard that the eunuch faction's forces suffered defeat after defeat, nearly allowing the Azure Wave army to march straight into the heartland.

  In the end, the royal family dispatched two Spirit Soul Realm powerhouses. Only then did Azure Wave withdraw.

  Spirit Soul Realm—beings above Spirit Sea. Even the Heavenly Wind Kingdom possessed very few of them.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Su Chen followed the war news only casually before turning away. He had already been sidelined, reduced to a figure marking time. The grand strategy was far beyond the influence of someone like him. Yet the stack of letters on his table brought a genuine smile to his face.

  Over the years, Wang Bailu had given him two sons. The elder was named Jiang Hao; the younger, Jiang Ping'an. Their daughter Jiang Mingyue and eldest son Jiang Hao had both married. The youngest, Jiang Ping'an, had chosen to roam the jianghu as a wandering xia.

  Su Chen was open-minded. Whatever path his children chose, he supported them fully. Beside those letters lay correspondence from Soaring Clouds Martial Mansion.

  There were notes from his old teacher Jiang Xiangyang, as well as from friends who had studied alongside him and chosen to remain at the mansion. Hearing that Su Chen had been demoted, they wrote at once to ask after him.

  Su Chen remained deeply grateful to Soaring Clouds Martial Mansion. Without their early investment, he could never have reached this point. If he grew old, perhaps he would return there one day and become an instructor like Jiang Xiangyang.

  And then there was the letter from Li Ming. Now nearing sixty, Li Ming had finally taken a wife. He begged Su Chen to find time to return for the wedding. Thirty years had passed since they last met.

  "Bullshit. That brat must be lying to me! A sixty-year-old geezer still seducing young girls!"

  Su Chen cursed fondly, shaking his head at Li Ming's shamelessness. He grabbed a brush and paper and wrote a lengthy, scathing reply, branding his old friend a beast and declaring he was ashamed to associate with him.

  After finishing the letter, Su Chen reread it, frowned, and decided it wouldn't do. He tore the whole thing up and started over. In the end, after several revisions, all his grand words boiled down to a single line.

  "Live well. This carries my regards."

  Su Chen took out the cultivation jade slip that had accompanied him for many years. Inside lay the portion of the Spirit Communion King's technique he had translated himself. Since joining the army, progress on deciphering the rest had crawled forward. Even after all these years, he had unlocked only half.

  Half… was enough. In theory, it could carry someone all the way to the Spirit Sea Realm without issue.

  "This Spirit Communion Art is a cheap gift for you, kid. Whether you reach Spirit Sea Realm in this life depends entirely on your own fortune."

  Li Ming's talent wasn't actually bad.

  Su Chen let out a soft sigh, carefully wrapped the gift, and entrusted it to a trusted subordinate for delivery. This city had become a cage. He could no longer leave.

  Not long ago, several of Grand Commander Mu's most loyal confidants had secretly plotted rebellion. Without exception, every one of them had been executed. Countless eyes watched him now.

  Whether those men had truly intended to rebel, Su Chen didn't know. What he did know was that if he tried to leave this place, death would be the best outcome. Anything else would likely be far worse.

  "Damn those eunuch bastards!"

  Su Chen cursed inwardly once again. He had finally enjoyed smooth sailing, only to end up treated like a prisoner. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

  …

  Another ten years passed amid wind and rain.

  Su Chen was now nearing seventy. As a peak Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse, seventy was nothing. He had suffered countless large and small injuries over the decades; living to two hundred was still well within reach, even if three hundred might be pushing it.

  Just yesterday, the Azure Wave Kingdom had rallied its forces once more and launched yet another invasion into Heavenly Wind territory.

  Su Chen had no idea what the higher-ups were thinking. The enemy stuck like a stubborn plaster—barely given time to recover before striking again.

  All day long it was negotiate, negotiate, negotiate!

  Were they a flock of peace doves?

  What infuriated Su Chen most was the military report lying in front of him.

  The Heavenly Wind armies were retreating on every front. Vast swathes of territory had already fallen into Azure Wave hands.

  Su Chen felt no particular loyalty to the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, but he had no desire to see his family and friends reduced to refugees in a conquered land.

  "General… there's something this humble one isn't sure whether to say or not."

  His trusted aide hesitated.

  "If you're not sure whether to say it, then don't!"

  Su Chen cut him off decisively.

  "General, I can't go on like this anymore! Let's defect to the Azure Wave Kingdom. With your talent, they would surely value you highly. Lord Jiang, Lord Gu, Lord Han… they're all dead. I'm afraid General will follow in their footsteps and vanish into the dust."

  Su Chen glanced at the aide who had finally mustered the courage to speak and replied irritably, "Aren't you afraid someone's listening through the walls?"

  Su Yi scratched his head and gave a foolish grin. "I know General is cautious. You never let outsiders get close. A man only lives once. If he doesn't carve out some grand achievement, live boldly and brilliantly, what's the point of walking this earth at all?"

  Su Yi's eyes burned with conviction. He knew full well that his general held no deep sense of loyalty to any nation.