Chapter 70

Jiang Feng was momentarily stunned, just about to carefully examine the message when Ye Xiao swayed and disappeared into the air.

The wooden door creaked slightly as Hua Su walked in. Seeing Jiang Feng standing by the bed, she said in surprise, "You're awake? That was quick!"

In the depths of his consciousness, next to the Tianji Magic Cube, Jiang Feng had seen what happened after he fell unconscious.

Hua Su arrived just in time, using her six fingers to burst the heads of six black-clothed men, cleaning up the mess and saving everyone.

After thinking for a moment, he still pretended to be unaware and asked, "Teacher Hua, was it you who saved us? How is everyone now?"

Hua Su said expressionlessly, "Xiang Sheng is dead, the rest are still alive."

Just before Xiang Sheng died, he was still happy about being able to go to Linjian Academy. Thinking of his smile at that time, Jiang Feng felt a bit disheartened.

He asked, "What about the others?"

Hua Su pulled over a chair and sat down, "Hu Zi was injured and sent home to recover. A Cheng and I sent Xiang Sheng home, and he was hit by a punch, which left him feeling quite bad. Ping Luan Shan and the boy you picked up buried Wu Cang, and they are now resting in the side room."

Ping Luan Shan and Teng Zhi together?

Teng Zhi doing this was not surprising, but Ping Luan Shan... After a moment's thought, Jiang Feng nodded and sighed, "Ping Luan Shan has deep feelings for his master, and he can understand Teng Zhi's feelings..."

Hua Su snorted lightly, "You have quite a bit of nerve. I haven't even said I would take on a disciple, and you've already picked up that boy?"

Jiang Feng smiled slightly, "Teacher Hua, don't you also feel that Teng Zhi is different from the people of Guten?"

Hua Su took out a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled, "But he seems to have quite a bit of prejudice against you."

Clearly, she hadn't been at the county exam site, yet she acted as if she knew everything. Jiang Feng was not at all surprised by this. He shook his head and said, "It's just a misunderstanding. Any misunderstanding can be resolved."

He paused for a moment and asked, "When will Xiang Sheng be buried? I want to go and pay my respects."

Hua Su asked, "Why, do you feel guilty?"

Jiang Feng shook his head, "A young life cut short, I can't bear it."

Hua Su exhaled a puff of smoke, "But if it weren't for you, he wouldn't have run into Wu Cang and wouldn't have died."

Jiang Feng's eyes were bright and his thoughts clear, "When someone is harmed, it is the responsibility of the perpetrator, not the victim. The only thing the living can do is to live well and do their best to avenge them!"

Hua Su's hand paused. In the darkness, her eyes glowed faintly, like ghostly flames flickering on and off.

The ember at the tip of the cigarette gradually dimmed and burned to the end.

Hua Su took a deep breath, flicked the cigarette butt away, and stood up. She looked out the window and said without turning her head, "Follow me."

Jiang Feng was now fully recovered and full of energy. He quickly followed behind Hua Su, who turned her head slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

The two walked out of the Yuan Shan Martial Hall. Inside the hall, faint sounds could already be heard. Ping Luan Shan and the others had already gotten up, washed, and were preparing for the morning training.

Jiang Feng followed Hua Su, crossing the pear blossom stream and entering the Twilight Forest.

Dawn had not yet arrived, and everything was still dark. Hua Su walked very steadily, as if she had walked this path a thousand times. In the darkness, her silhouette could be faintly seen.

Jiang Feng looked down thoughtfully. There was a shallow path in the forest, something that did not exist elsewhere.

After walking for a while, Jiang Feng's view suddenly opened up.

The forest ended here, and a black hill rose up.

It was surrounded by trees, unremarkable in the forest, and no one would have thought there would be such a steep slope here.

Hua Su walked up the slope, and at this moment, a thin light appeared on the horizon.

By this light, Jiang Feng clearly saw that the black color of the slope was not the color of the soil itself, but the color of ancient flint!

The entire slope was covered with ancient flint, all of which had been activated by Ming Force, forming the shape of flowers.

The entire slope was a vast sea of black flowers!

So, was this where Hua Su brought the stone flowers they had placed in the dishes every day?

No, Jiang Feng glanced over and roughly calculated the number.

Just the homework of him and Ping Luan Shan alone was not enough for the number of stone flowers here. This must have been accumulated over a long period of time!

Hua Su walked to the top of the slope and squatted down.

Jiang Feng walked to her side and was slightly taken aback.

At the top of the slope, a row of tombstones stood neatly, six in total. The rightmost one was an open grave, the tombstone lying on the ground, as if waiting for a body to be placed in it.

Hua Su took out six ancient flint sticks from her pocket, and with a light shake, six stone flowers bloomed simultaneously.

Jiang Feng's eyes flickered.

This move alone was enough to show Hua Su's strength.

When the six stone flowers bloomed, there was not even a second's difference, indicating that her Ming Force was divided into six parts, each with the same strength, without any variation.

There was already a stone flower in front of each tombstone. Hua Su picked them up and put them aside, then replaced them with new ones.

Her movements were extremely slow, with a seriousness rarely seen, and the surrounding air seemed to be affected by this solemn attitude, becoming stagnant.

After completing this usual ritual, Hua Su stood up and lit another cigarette.

She took a deep puff and exhaled, saying, "These six people were my old comrades. No, to be precise, they were my good friends who grew up together from childhood."

Jiang Feng did not speak, adopting a posture of attentive listening.

Actually, the story was very simple.

Hua Su came from a small mountain village. Not far from the village was a Mingxin Tree, so the village's teenagers could directly participate in the Mingxin Seed trial at the age of sixteen.

For some reason, that year, the village's luck exploded, and seven teenagers successfully fused with the Mingxin Seed, each with a high-quality seed.

The residents of this small mountain village had extremely mixed bloodlines, and such a situation was extremely rare.

But the highest luck always seemed to come with misfortune. That year, a demon hole opened near the Mingxin Tree.

"A demon hole?"

Jiang Feng had never heard of this term and couldn't help but ask in surprise.

Hua Su explained briefly, "A demon hole is a spatial portal. It looks like a cave but directly connects the Great Wasteland Mountains and the Xuantian Continent. The appearance of a demon hole means that a shortcut for the demon race to enter the human world has been opened. The chaos of the Nine Heavens was caused by countless demon holes suddenly appearing all over the Nine Heavens Continent."

Jiang Feng drew in a sharp breath, "So the appearance of a demon hole near the village was extremely dangerous?"

Hua Su gave a bitter laugh, her eyes sparkling. Clearly, the events of that year had left a deep mark on her heart, which had not yet faded.

"Not just dangerous, it was a disaster that could wipe out the village."

The village was called Huajia Village, and most of the residents had the surname Hua. Eight hundred years ago, they might have been of the same clan, but their ancestors' bloodline was not particularly powerful.

Huajia Village had never produced a martial cultivator. After the seven teenagers fused with the Mingxin Seed, the village was extremely excited and decided to pool all its resources to hire a teacher to help them pass the big exam.

In other words, before the teacher arrived, the only people in the village who could use Ming Force were these seven teenagers.

When the demons suddenly invaded, Huajia Village had no means of resistance. But their first thought was to hide Hua Su and the others, to preserve the village's lineage and future hope.

In the end, Hua Su and the others survived until the rescue arrived.

They witnessed the demons slaughtering their families, the cries of the villagers and their final words echoing in their ears.

Several of them tried to rush out to help several times, but were held back by Hua Su. With their strength, rushing out would only be suicide, and there was no other outcome.

The demons were eventually killed by human experts, and the demon hole was sealed. However, the hole in the hearts of the teenagers could not be filled, and a cold wind would always blow there until their death.

They eventually fulfilled the villagers' last wishes, passed the big exam, and achieved excellent results. Four of them passed the state exam, and three passed the prefecture exam.

In the end, they all chose to attend the Western Wang Academy and the Zhen Shi Military Academy, both of which were the highest-level military academies on the Nine Heavens Continent, directly under the Imperial Demon Army.

They had never discussed it, but they all had the same goal in their hearts.

They would regard the demon race as their lifelong enemies, go to the front lines of the Xuanji Continent, and engage in a life-and-death struggle with the demons!

Jiang Feng was captivated by the story.

He had never seen a demon, but he had read about them many times in books.

The demons lived in the Great Wasteland Mountains, where the environment was extremely harsh, which had forged their astonishing strength.

They used dark Ming Force and were naturally enemies of humans. When the two sides met, it was always a life-and-death struggle, with no other path.

The demons were extremely cruel, with half of them feeding on humans. Their vitality was extremely resilient, and they could still kill even with their last breath, making them extremely difficult and terrifying enemies.

All humans who voluntarily joined the Imperial Demon Army could be called heroes.

These seven teenagers, at such a young age, had made such grand vows, showing the depth of the wounds left by the events of that year.

He asked, "Then what happened?"

Hua Su took the last puff of her cigarette, the ember flickering and then disappearing. She pointed at the tombstones in front of her and said calmly, "They died, and I left the Imperial Demon Army alone, hiding in this small county. That's it."

Jiang Feng shook his head, "No, it's not just that. If nothing had happened, you wouldn't have left the Imperial Demon Army! With your personality, you would have fought the demons until your last breath."

Hua Su sneered, "At your young age, how do you know what my personality is like?"

Jiang Feng looked straight at her, saying nothing.

Hua Su snorted lightly, her gaze turning gloomy, "All six of them died right in front of me."

——

To be honest, when I came out of the small black room yesterday and saw the comments, tears streamed down my face. Truly, thank you all. I've been feeling uncertain lately, but seeing the comments, my heart settled. You are my support. Thank you so much!