Chapter 10: The City Lord's Son's Struggle (Part 9)

Su Chen was incredibly lucky.
The commander of the Xuanjia Army had heard of his reputation.
Therefore, Su Chen rose rapidly through the ranks, slaying countless enemies on the battlefield.
In just thirty years, he amassed numerous rewards and honors.
He was even promoted and ennobled as an earl.
Late at night, Su Chen often wondered if he was truly an executioner.
After stepping onto the battlefield, he realized that his past life's antics in the mercenary group, his self-righteous ruthlessness, were a complete joke on the real battlefield.
So he became even more ruthless.
His meteoric rise wasn't due to his own brilliance.
But rather, it was because the commander who valued him was truly exceptional.
Some time ago, the commander of the Xuanjia Army was assassinated, his life hanging by a thread.
It was said there was still hope, but Su Chen understood the old man's character.
He was probably already dead.
If he still had a breath left, how could he allow some eunuch faction to give such incompetent orders?
A powerful cultivator at the ninth level of the Spirit Sea Realm was assassinated within his own camp. Who would believe there wasn't something fishy going on?
Fifteen years ago, under the leadership of Commander Mu Qingfeng of the Xuanjia Army, the forces of the Canglan Kingdom were defeated.
From then on, their fame resounded throughout the Tianfeng Kingdom.
Commander Lin Qingfeng wanted to seize the opportunity to annihilate the Canglan Kingdom's army in one fell swoop, but the imperial court stopped him, choosing to release the tiger back into the mountains.
The reason given was that as long as the invasion was defeated, the two countries would remain good allies.
Enraged, Commander Lin Qingfeng immediately returned to his hometown.
Now, fifteen years later, the Canglan Kingdom has recovered and regrouped, breaking the treaty and invading again.
Commander Lin Qingfeng returned to the battlefield, only to be assassinated after winning a single battle.
Su Chen silently poured a pot of wine, as a farewell to Commander Lin, thanking him for his patronage.
"General Lin, if I were alone in the next life, I would surely uncover the truth for you and avenge you."
But not in this life. In this life, he still had family. He was merely a ninth-level Spirit Pattern cultivator, barely bigger than an ant in the imperial court.
The next day, a military order arrived.
Su Chen was transferred to another border region.
Several comrades and friends found Su Chen.
"General Jiang, let's rebel!"
Su Chen refused their request and left without looking back.
This wasn't rebellion; this was utterly insane.
In this world where martial arts reign supreme, a few Spirit Pattern cultivators plotting a rebellion could be easily wiped out by a single Spirit Sea Realm cultivator.
Afterwards... Su Chen heard that the eunuch faction was suffering repeated defeats, almost allowing the Canglan Kingdom's army to advance unimpeded.
Finally, the royal family dispatched two Spirit Soul Realm experts, forcing the Canglan Kingdom to retreat.
The Spirit Soul Realm was a realm above the Spirit Sea Realm; even the Tianfeng Kingdom didn't have many such experts.
Su Chen glanced at the war briefly and then ignored it. He'd been dismissed and was now just going through the motions; the overall situation wasn't something someone like him could control.
However, the letters on the table brought a smile to his face.
Over the years, Wang Bailu had given him two more sons: Jiang Hao and Jiang Ping'an.
His daughter, Jiang Mingyue, and his eldest son, Jiang Hao, were both married.
His youngest son, Jiang Ping'an, had gone off to roam the martial world, becoming a wandering swordsman.
Su Chen was very open-minded; he supported whatever choices his children made.
Beside him were letters from the Lingyun Martial Academy.
His mentor, Jiang Xiangyang, and friends who had studied together at the Martial Academy and chosen to stay, all rushed to inquire about Su Chen's situation upon hearing of his demotion.
Su Chen was still very grateful to the Lingyun Martial Academy; without it, he wouldn't have reached this point.
If he grew old, perhaps he would choose to stay at the Lingyun Martial Academy as an instructor, like Jiang Xiangyang.
Besides this, there was also a letter from Li Ming.
The nearly sixty-year-old Li Ming had married and wanted Su Chen to take some time to attend his wedding; thirty years had passed since their last meeting.
"Bullshit! This kid is definitely lying to me! A sixty-year-old geezer trying to seduce a young girl!"
Su Chen cursed, thinking Li Ming was truly shameless.
He wrote a lengthy, vicious message: "You are a beast; I am ashamed to be associated with you."
After writing it, Su Chen thought about it and felt it wasn't right, so he revised it, tore it up, and rewrote it all.
Finally, the lengthy handwriting dwindled to a single line.
"Live well, this is my heartfelt wish."
Su Chen took out the jade slip containing the cultivation technique he had kept with him for many years. This jade slip contained the Spirit King's cultivation technique that he had translated years ago.
Since he joined the army, so many years had passed since the translation of this technique began, and he had only managed to decipher half of it.
This half... was enough. Theoretically, cultivating it to the Spirit Sea Realm shouldn't be a problem.
"This Spirit King technique is a good deal for you, kid. Whether you can cultivate it to the Spirit Sea Realm in this lifetime depends on your own fate."
Li Ming's aptitude was actually quite good.
Su Chen sighed softly, wrapped the congratulatory gift, and had a trusted confidant deliver it.
This city was a prison; he could no longer leave it.
Some time ago, Commander Lin's confidants plotted a rebellion, but without exception, they were all executed.
Countless eyes were watching him.
Su Chen didn't know whether they were plotting a rebellion or not.
Anyway, if he leaves here, he'll either die or probably not fare much better.
"Damn those eunuchs!"
Su Chen cursed inwardly again.
He'd finally been getting along well, and suddenly he was like a prisoner.
Su Chen was very unhappy.
.......
Another ten years passed.
Su Chen was nearly seventy years old.
He was a peak Spirit Pattern expert; seventy years old was nothing. He had suffered numerous injuries, big and small. He wouldn't live to three hundred, but living to two hundred wouldn't be a problem.
Just yesterday, the Canglan Kingdom regrouped and invaded the Tianfeng Kingdom again.
Su Chen didn't know what those people were thinking. They were like a persistent leech, attacking again before he could even recover.
Peace talks every day, peace talks, peace talks!
They were just peace doves!
What angered Su Chen the most was the battle report laid out before him.
The Tianfeng Kingdom's army was suffering repeated defeats.
Large tracts of territory fell into the hands of the Canglan Kingdom.
Su Chen felt no attachment to the Tianfeng Kingdom, but he didn't want his family and friends to become slaves of a conquered nation.
"General... there's something I'm unsure whether to say or not,"
Su Chen's confidant hesitated.
"If you don't know whether to say it or not, then don't say it!"
Su Chen decisively silenced him.
"General, I don't want to go on like this!"
"General, let's surrender to the Canglan Kingdom. With your talent, you'll surely be highly valued there."
"Lord Jiang, Lord Gu, Lord Han... they're all dead. I fear the General will follow in their footsteps."
Su Chen looked at his confidant, who had mustered his courage, and said irritably, "Aren't you afraid of being overheard?"
Su Yi scratched his head and chuckled foolishly, "I know the General is cautious and won't let others get close easily."
"General, a man's life is wasted if he doesn't achieve something great and make a name for himself."
Su Yi's eyes shone brightly. He knew that his general didn't really have a concept of the nation.