"I see."
Shen Xingzhu nodded slightly and slowly asked:
"So, you mean you're the only one guarding this Celestial Prison from now on?"
Qingcuo nodded:
"The rest of the Black Armor Guard are fighting on the front lines against the cultivators of the Liang Kingdom and can't leave for the time being."
"General Li has left me to take sole responsibility."
Shen Xingzhu stared at him for a moment, then said:
"Since General Li trusts you, I'm sure you are reliable and diligent. Don't betray her trust."
With that, Shen Xingzhu turned into a wisp of blue smoke and vanished into the night.
Qingcuo stood there, his shoulders slumped slightly as if relieved.
He turned his head, his scarlet eyes behind his helmet looking at the heavy iron door of the Celestial Prison. He walked to a wall and stood there silently.
After a while, he ensured there was no one around.
He quietly took out a crumpled yellow paper crane from the crevice of his armor, glanced at it, and cautiously put it back.
The paper crane seemed ancient, with some blurred writing seeping through.
But it had never been opened, so it had become a mess and the writing was no longer readable.
...
Inside the cell.
Chen Kuang widened his eyes and whispered:
"You bribed the Black Armor Guard?"
Huo Hengxuan snorted coldly, neither confirming nor denying it.
Chen Kuang chuckled somewhat awkwardly, thinking it unlikely to be such a low-level method.
For General Li's personal guard or the generals of Da Liang, that conjecture would be somewhat insulting.
In reality, it wasn't hard to guess.
The only possible reason the Black Armor Guard would turn sides in such a favorable situation is if they were already inside men!
Which means, among Li Hongling's personal guard, there is an undercover agent planted by Huo Hengxuan, playing out a spy within a spy situation!
Chen Kuang truly hadn't expected such a stratagem beneath the surface, suddenly unleashed after being concealed for so many days without a hint.
He admired yet was curious: "Grand General Huo, Li Hongling is only twenty-eight this year, having made her name ten years ago. Most of her personal guards have been with her since then, which is why she trusts them so much."
"Did you foresee the current situation since she was eighteen?"
Huo Hengxuan continued to snort coldly:
"Why? Isn't it because I'm an old fool, an old bugger?"
These days, Chen Kuang often humbly asked Huo Hengxuan about seemingly "common sense" questions while combining them with the teachings in his mind to supplement his understanding of cultivators.
If not for that, he wouldn't understand the importance of the "Dao" to a cultivator.
One could say Chen Kuang was able to break Shen Xingzhu's Dao Heart largely due to Huo Hengxuan's guidance.
And in this process, Chen Kuang was often unhappy that the old man liked to play riddles, frequently answering with "you guess," returning Chen Kuang's previous complacency right back at him.
Chen Kuang, frustrated, would sometimes blurt out his thoughts indiscriminately.
Whether it was intentional or accidental.
Chen Kuang could only say it was intentionally accidental…
Anyway, Huo Hengxuan actually didn't care at all, and even seemed to enjoy watching Chen Kuang get justifiably angry, only able to curse him.
Chen Kuang blinked: "Grand General Huo surely heard wrong, because, in this cell, I respect you the most."
He teased: "If it wasn't for me, the Little Princess would still be calling you Grandpa."
"..."
Huo Hengxuan's face instantly turned black.
The Little Princess was only four years old and not yet fully aware.
That time he mocked Chen Kuang as having ulterior motives and wanting to become the new emperor.
Then the Little Princess, not knowing what to call him due to Chen Kuang's leading questions, ended up calling him Grandpa.
Now Chen Kuang wanted to be the new emperor, while Huo Hengxuan seemed directly set on being the Supreme Emperor.
Chen Kuang laughed revelling, only almost getting killed by the Killing Intent Illusion Realm of Huo Hengxuan.
Of course, Huo Hengxuan knew where to draw the line.
According to him, appropriately training in the Killing Intent Illusion Realm was beneficial for strengthening the Divine Sense, aiding future Primordial Spirit formation.
No matter how he heard it, Chen Kuang remained skeptical.
Huo Hengxuan stopped bickering with Chen Kuang, stating emotionlessly:
"In this world, there are unparalleled talents that appear once in a thousand years, destined to break through all obstacles upon emergence, crush the phoenix's nest, sever the dragon's horn, and trample the dignity of all cultivators without mercy."
"There are also geniuses encountered once in a hundred years that, with a moment of fortune, rise like Kunpeng gliding on the water, soaring unstoppably upward."
"And Li Hongling reached the Tower Ascension Realm at eighteen and could rely on Horizontal Body Training to shatter the spine of Wushu Mountain with just a punch."
Wushu Mountain stood on the border of Zhou Liang as a towering mountain!
A punch to break the mountain ridge…
Chen Kuang fell silent, once again realizing new insights about this High Martial World.
"Li Hongling may not be the unparalleled talent, but she is a genius encountered once in a hundred years."
The old man's gaze deepened:
"Ten years ago, she broke the mountain ridge, stood on the frontier of Zhou Liang, and declared that one day she would enter Liang Kingdom as if it were an uninhabited land."
"At that time, I knew that if I didn't break her spine then, Da Liang would be destroyed by her hands in the future."
He made no effort to hide his ten-year intention to break a genius's spine.
And indeed, facts proved... he was right.
It was Li Hongling who brought about this calamity to the nation.
Chen Kuang said, "Then why didn't you act at that time?"
Huo Hengxuan glanced at him and said, "Li Hongling is the disciple of Martial Saint Mu Zhao."
Oh…
She had someone behind her.
Chen Kuang nodded, deeply understanding, expressing great comprehension.
He was pondering:
"So you chose a more roundabout way, which was to plant your own men beside Li Hongling."
It's just a pity…
The grand trend dictates, leaving no room for human intervention.
Huo Hengxuan didn't lose to Li Hongling but lost to his own people.
"Then how do you ensure that, over ten years, this person remains loyal?"
Chen Kuang was merely curious.
After all, even those hiding behind Huo Hengxuan ultimately betrayed him.
Huo Hengxuan remained silent.
Chen Kuang sensed his slip of the tongue, quickly changing the subject.
"Ahem… General Huo, you mentioned earlier that the world has unparalleled talents and geniuses."
He blinked and smiled: "So do you think I might count as one?"
"You?"
Huo Hengxuan gave him a glance, seemingly speechless at the thickness of his face.
He shook his head:
"If you had not yet been enlightened, you might barely count as a genius, but you are already nineteen now."
"With someone else, I would surely say you are ordinary and better off returning home to plant sweet potatoes."
Huo Hengxuan weighed and compared, finally smacking his lips:
"In your case, you could be a… prodigy, perhaps."
Chen Kuang: "..."
Why does it feel like the old bugger is pretty disdainful?
He contemplated for a moment, then asked:
"If someone reached the Grandmaster Realm at a young age, with Dao Heart nearly formed, one foot in the Profound Profound Realm, would they count as unparalleled talents?"
Huo Hengxuan frowned: "That would indeed be the unrivaled amongst the unrivaled. To my knowledge, only one person meets these conditions... what are you asking this for?"
Chen Kuang asked again, "If someone could break the Dao Heart of such unparalleled talent, would they count as unparalleled?"
Huo Hengxuan was silent for a moment and then said, "Naturally, they would."
Chen Kuang smiled: "Didn't you just ask who had been in here?"
He blinked and said: "This person is named Shen Xingzhu."
Huo Hengxuan swiftly looked at Chen Kuang, staring at him intently: "You broke Shen Xingzhu's Dao Heart?!"
The expression wasn't of shock, but a serious, murderous intent.