Chapter 31

On a summer morning, the cicadas chirped incessantly.

Under the shade of a tree, Feng Yuanming smiled and gazed at the new students undergoing military training inside the defense barrier.

From afar, military academy students noticed him and saluted and greeted him. Feng Yuanming saw them and waved back warmly.

As a former hero of the apocalypse, Feng Yuanming was not just the honorary principal of the Empire’s top military academy but also its mascot.

With only one open class per week, his teaching duties were light, and the rest of the time, he amused himself by playing with dogs and walking birds.

“Father.” After arranging the affairs of the military training, Feng Bai walked over, holding a freshly brewed thermos cup.

Feng Yuanming took the thermos cup and unscrewed the lid.

Inside, the red dates and Chinese wolfberries had not fully soaked yet. He took a sip of the steaming hot tea and casually started a conversation, “Has Wei Wenwei not returned yet?”

“No,” Feng Bai shook his head, “The Council of Strategists suddenly contacted him a few days ago, and he left without even finishing his tea.”

“If I’m not mistaken, there should be new progress in the investigation regarding that person.”

As that person was mentioned, the surrounding air suddenly became quiet, with even the noisy cicadas seeming to have gone far away.

The scorching summer sun sprinkled fragmented golden sunlight, coldly floating on the skin, inexplicably giving people a chill.

“The day you arrived, Wei Wenwei told me about what happened back then.”

Feng Yuanming closed the thermos cup, “He is not that kind of person, there is something suspicious about this matter.”

Accompanying the closing action, a faint ripple spread from beneath his feet.

A shadow of a black cat, which resembled Feng Bai closely but appeared much older, silently activated its stealth skill behind Feng Yuanming.

In an instant, the cicadas abruptly fell silent.

In this narrow area, only the voices of the father and son could be heard, with all eavesdropping methods strictly prohibited.

“Yes, father. There is indeed something suspicious,” Feng Bai lowered his gaze, his thumb caressing the fingertip of his other hand, “For the past few years, the Council of Strategists has been closely monitoring my every move, suspecting it to be the work of the former Third Legion.”

As a witness to the incident, he naturally had the qualifications to speak.

However, in these past few years, Feng Bai didn’t even have the opportunity to interact with outsiders.

It was well-known that the father and son of the Feng family were famous in the starry sky. They had both served as vice officers in the Empire’s Third Legion, albeit at different times. Feng Yuanming served twenty years ago, while Feng Bai served twenty years later.

Twenty years later, the newly promoted commander of the Third Legion was Wei Wenwei.

And twenty years ago, the commander of the Third Legion was Ha Dongqing.

Based on this alone, the Feng father and son were enough to be included in the military’s priority surveillance list.

“When we captured him back then, we equipped him with a full set of restraints and administered sixty times the normal dose of sedatives. He was sealed in a cryogenic chamber and transported to the Central Abyss Prison.”

The Central Abyss Prison was a terrifying place known as a criminal hell.

Speaking of this past event, Feng Bai found it hard to remain calm.

He skillfully took out a few cigarettes from his spatial button and handed one to Feng Yuanming.

Seeing his actions, Feng Yuanming’s brow twitched, but instead of reprimanding him, he accepted the cigarette. He lit it and held it between his fingertips, his gaze fixed on the smoke drifting above, and after a long while, he finally spoke.

“Did he really fall to the holy tier?” 

The person in charge of the inspection is Wei Wenwei. After being escorted to the Central Bottom Prison, he underwent a specialized examination by doctors from the Imperial Execution Department, so there won’t be any mistakes.”

Feng Bai nodded. “Father, as you know, the Holy Rank Executor who came to capture him is only at the initial stage of the Holy Rank and is completely powerless against Hai Dongqing. However, he remained quiet throughout the journey and didn’t put up any resistance.”

The smoke began to tremble.

What was truly trembling was the hand of Feng Yuanming.

Feng Bai politely averted his gaze. “Our old subordinates also considered storming the prison, but in the end, it was not us who took action. It was another more mysterious and terrifying force with a stronger background.”

The terrifying extent of this force, which was able to deceive the Central Bottom Prison, had already surpassed their imagination. What was even more frightening was that it not only hid in the shadows, but also carried out thorough clean-up work, leaving almost no trace behind. It was truly astonishing.

“There is no doubt that there are insiders within the Imperial Military who are part of this force. But what I truly suspect is that there are traitors within the Privy Council, the senators, and even within the Third Legion.”

“Now that the Privy Council has lifted the blockade on you, they must have obtained new clues.”

Feng Yuanming took a deep drag from his cigarette. “Unfortunately, Wei Wenwei is straightforward and has repeatedly refused our old subordinates’ requests. There is no way he would disclose the specific details to us.”

Silence fell between the two once again.

Speaking up to this point, Feng Bai gazed at the new recruits practicing in pairs not far away. His gaze fixed on one point and he suddenly said, “It’s not necessarily without any clues.”

“Perhaps we can approach it from another angle.”

On the other side, Yuan Hanshuang and Xuan Yuansheng saluted each other and assumed their stances.

Instructor Niu held a pocket watch in his hand. “Three, two, one, begin!”

“Bang!”

In the blink of an eye, the lightsabers of the other groups intertwined, engaging in a dazzling battle in the air, almost blinding due to the flurry of lights.

However, the group of Yuan Hanshuang and Xuan Yuansheng remained quietly terrifying.

Both of them focused intently on observing each other and didn’t notice Instructor Niu strolling over and stopping not far away.

Setting aside Xuan Yuansheng’s identity for a moment, his mentor was the Seventh Legion Commander, named Guang Wu Ran, who was nicknamed Light Pollution. He was recognized as a Sword Saint and displayed unparalleled elegance when fighting on the battlefield. It was truly elegant.

“I wonder how much of Guang Wu Ran’s essence this little prince can learn from his mentor.” Instructor Niu felt quite expectant.

“But hopefully, he won’t end up like General Guang.”

Instructor Ma joined in the conversation. “I once went to the Pollution Star for a cleanup mission. General Guang happened to be assigned next to me. His Manifestation abilities were already magnificent, and when combined with his dual lightsabers, he nearly blinded me.”

“Old Niu, you should pay attention to the girl on the opposite side. Swords have no eyes.”

“I know that without you telling me. Don’t worry, this is just a normal practice session. Little Prince won’t overstep his boundaries.”

“That’s true.” Watching the spirited golden-haired youth on the field, Instructor Ma sighed. “It’s a pity. If it weren’t for the defect in his Manifestation ability, the Little Prince should have gone to one of the top two military academies.”

“Indeed, who says otherwise?”

Because he had promised to take the defensive position in the first round, Xuan Yuansheng didn’t choose to make the first move. Instead, he quietly held the hilt of his lightsaber and stood in place.

He was too proud of his own Ability. This confidence stems from his teacher, his level of Manifestation, his identity, his cultivation, and his strength. It can be said that at the age of seventeen or eighteen, Xuan Yuansheng, who excels in all aspects, indeed has the qualifications to look down upon everything.

The standoff lasted for a few seconds. Yuan Hanshuang suddenly chuckled and said, “Watch out, I’m going in.”

Xuan Yuansheng was about to say there was no need to be so polite. Although he was in a defensive position, he could judge the general direction of attack from the starting posture.

But just as he was about to speak, Yuan Hanshuang took a few leisurely steps forward.

Then, a fierce gust of wind suddenly blew.

Embedded within the wind was an aggressively cold killing intent.

This killing intent was so swift and terrifying that in an instant, Xuan Yuansheng’s entire body stood on end.

He had only felt such a terrifying killing intent when sparring with his teacher.

In a daze, Xuan Yuansheng felt as if he had returned to that battlefield scattered with insect limbs, filled with the scent of blood.

After the wind dissipated, the light sword had already hammered heavily into his chest.

Due to the excessive force, the icy hilt directly jerked him back a few steps, almost causing him to fall to the ground.

“Oops, sorry, my hand slipped.”

Xuan Yuansheng: ????

He quickly retreated a few steps, barely stabilizing his posture, and incredulously stared at the ordinary blue light sword issued by the school in front of him. His expression was as if he had seen a ghost.

Not only him, but the classmates who had just put down their swords and witnessed this scene also had their mouths agape.

“Wow, that looks painful!”

Wu Haoxuan trembled in fear, feeling extremely fortunate that he had run away first and wasn’t paired with the boss.