Chapter 153: The Ancient and Arduous Path to Power

However, they had not traveled far before the floor of the underwater passage began to slope upward.

The ruins of a grand, ancient architectural complex, long submerged beneath the waves, slowly materialized before their eyes. Broken beams and shattered pillars lay scattered like forgotten bones. The collapsed roofs of once-magnificent palace halls gaped open to the dark water above. A broad, moss-covered square stretched out before them, every stone a silent proof of a glory long past.

Jing Yuan came to a halt here.

She turned, her gaze falling upon Fu Xuan, Yanqing, and the handful of elite Cloud Knights who had accompanied them this far.

“Fu Xuan, Yanqing, I’m leaving the security of the passage exit and this ruined area to you. You will also be responsible for coordinating our efforts from here.”

Fu Xuan’s composure flickered, a brief moment of shock before she took a sharp step forward. “General! The path ahead is treacherous and unknown. How can you venture deeper alone… with only the members of the Astral Express?”

Yanqing’s hands balled into tight fists, her youthful face a mask of frustration and worry. “General! Let me go with you! I can fight!”

Jing Yuan shook her head gently. The usual languor had vanished from her expression, her eyes now holding the sharp, unyielding focus of a commander. “Minister Fu, Yanqing, I understand your concerns.”

“But it is precisely because the path ahead is so dangerous that we need someone to ensure our line of retreat remains secure, and to monitor the unfolding situation from a safe distance. Minister Fu, your Matrix of Prescience and the full capabilities of the Divination Commission are the keys to stabilizing our rear guard and providing support. Your role is critical.”

Her gaze then shifted to her young lieutenant, her tone softening slightly, yet growing even more solemn. “As for you, Yanqing… protect Minister Fu, and guard this one and only path of retreat. This, too, is a way of fighting for the Luofu. It is a heavy responsibility I am placing on your shoulders.”

Her eyes swept over Fu Xuan and the surrounding Cloud Knights, her voice ringing out, clear and steady. “Minister Fu, if… if I do not return from this venture, the silk pouch I left in the Seat of Divine Foresight will inform you of the necessary countermeasures. The Xianzhou… I entrust it to you.”

A tremor ran through Fu Xuan. Her eyes, which were always a sea of calm calculation, now churned with a storm of complex emotions. Worry, resentment, and a deep sense of duty warred within her, before finally hardening into a deep, unshakable resolve.

She abruptly cupped her fists and dropped to one knee. “General… take care! I, Fu Xuan, will not fail your trust!”

The surrounding Cloud Knights stood ramrod straight, their solemn silence a powerful expression of their respect and determination.

Only Yanqing remained frozen, watching the General’s posture, listening to words that sounded too much like a final testament. Seeing Fu Xuan gravely accept the command, a tide of powerlessness and frustration, the likes of which she had never known, washed over her.

She lowered her head, her pale blond hair curtaining her face, hiding the stinging bitterness that welled in her eyes.

‘Become stronger… I have to become stronger…’The thought coiled around her heart like a serpent.’If I were strong enough, would I be able to stand by the General’s side? Instead of just standing here, watching helplessly, unable to do a single thing?’

The team separated with a brief, somber farewell. Jing Yuan and the Astral Express crew continued toward the heart of the ruins.

Yanqing stood rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed on their receding figures. She watched Jing Yuan’s petite back, a frame that seemed capable of carrying the weight of the entire world, and a wave of loss and self-blame nearly drowned her.

Just then, a slightly flippant male voice, laced with a strange, almost seductive allure, sounded softly in her ear.

“Young lady, do you desire power?”

Yanqing’s head snapped around. The speaker was Chen, that perpetually smiling, somewhat erratic member of the Astral Express. She had no idea when he had drifted to the very rear of their group. He stood with his hands casually tucked in his pockets, head tilted as he studied her, a half-smile playing on his lips that she couldn’t quite decipher.

“Big brother?” Yanqing blinked, completely baffled as to why he had suddenly turned back to speak to her, let alone ask such a bizarre question. “You… what did you just say?”

Chen ambled over to her and bent down slightly, looking her directly in the eye. The playful smile vanished from his face, replaced by a deliberately heavy, sighing tone as he began his performance.

“I’m asking,” he repeated, his voice a low, serious rumble, “do you… desire power?”

He gestured toward the dark passage where Jing Yuan and the others had disappeared, his voice dropping even further, as if sharing a terrible secret. “Do you know what that was just now? General Jing Yuan… she was leaving her final instructions.”

Yanqing’s pupils contracted.

“On this journey, we are facing the core of the Ambrosial Arbor, a nexus doubly corrupted by a Stellaron and a Lord Ravager. And who knows how many abominations and mara-struck monsters lie in ambush along the way.” Chen’s tone was laden with exaggerated sorrow, his expression tragic. “The chances of survival are less than one in ten, little sister! It’s a narrow escape from death—no, it’s a one-way ticket to certain doom! It’s no different from charging headfirst into the underworld!”

He stared into Yanqing’s eyes, which were gradually turning red, and continued to twist the knife. “And you? You can only stand here, watching like a fool. You can’t do anything. You can’t change anything. Watching your beloved General step into a deathtrap while you don’t even have the right to follow her… this feeling of powerlessness, it burns, doesn’t it? Don’t you wish you could possess devastating power, right here, right now?”

Chen’s words were like blunt, serrated blades, stabbing precisely into the deepest, most vulnerable parts of Yanqing’s heart. Her small face went from pale to flushed, and her eyes quickly filled with tears. Yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall, biting her lip so hard it trembled.

Her voice was a choked whisper. “I… I…”

“Do you want to become stronger?” Chen leaned a little closer, his voice a hypnotic, tempting murmur. “Do you want to know how to quickly gain the power to protect those important to you? To turn the tide?”

As if grabbing a life-saving rope, Yanqing’s head shot up. Her watery eyes, shimmering with desperate hope, locked onto Chen’s. “Yes! Brother Chen, please tell me! How can I become stronger? No matter how hard or difficult it is, I can do it!”

Seeing her take the bait, Chen maintained the grave solemnity of a worldly master. He straightened up, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed into the distance with a weathered, mysterious air.

“The path to true strength has been arduous since ancient times,” he began slowly. “But there is an ancient, secret method. It is simple, unadorned, yet it points directly to the very root of the Great Dao. Listen well—”

He cleared his throat, then declared loudly:

“First, the training regimen. It requires three years of uninterrupted, single-minded dedication. The daily regimen is as follows: One hundred push-ups! One hundred sit-ups! One hundred squats! And a ten-kilometer run!”

Yanqing stared. “…Eh?”

She was completely dazed. This… this sounded like… incredibly basic physical training?

Chen acted as if he hadn’t noticed her confusion, continuing in his heavy tone, “Second, the tempering of the will. Through blistering heat and freezing cold, you must never turn on the air conditioning! You must use the power of nature itself to hone the endurance of your body and spirit!”

Yanqing’s confusion deepened. “…???”

Not turning on the air conditioning? What in the world did that have to do with getting stronger?

Chen finally turned his head, his gaze deep and deep as he looked at Yanqing, his eyes lingering for a moment on her beautiful, pale blond hair. He summarized meaningfully, “Persist for three years, and after that…”

He suddenly reached out and, with a speed that defied her senses, gently ruffled her hair. The deep expression on his face finally cracked, unable to contain the mischievous, cunning glint of a successful prankster.

“…When you have trained all three thousand of these strands of worry until they fall out, and you become bald and shiny—”

“Then you will have truly become strong!”

[Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story? Every single bit helps immensely: