Chen Kuang kept his eyes closed as he followed behind the Black Armor Guard, silently counting the number of steps and turns taken along the way.
Or rather... he was being led.
But not by the manacles on his wrists. The guard was gently holding his forearm.
A faint strangeness stirred in Chen Kuang's heart.
This Black Armor Guard was surprisingly considerate, slowing their pace so that he, shackled and in chains, could keep up.
Not that it was impossible for someone to be this kind, but for a lowly prisoner from an enemy state, this kind of attitude was... out of place.
The Zhou were known for their coldness. Their military was even harsher. Prisoners were prisoners, any trace of sympathy or leniency was discouraged. Otherwise, men like Dong Da would only become more numerous.
If high-ranking officers acted with softness, it would ripple through the ranks and damage morale.
The fact that they had come for him so quickly meant Chen Kuang's plan had worked.
The Zhou were indeed searching for the Elixir of Immortality, but for some reason, their operation had to remain secret.
From how decisively the Black Armor Guard had just killed those two jailers, it was clear: Dong Da, who first touched this secret, had already been executed.
As for being one of Li Hongling's personal guards... could such a person really afford to be this gentle?
A thought stirred in Chen Kuang.
The hand holding his wrist... was slim.
Not like that of a man's.
"We've arrived," came the muffled voice from behind the mask, distorted by the armor's plating.
Already? That was fast...
Was the Black Armored Army's command post really that close to the Heavenly Prison?
"Don't waste your energy trying to memorize the path," the Black Armor Guard said coldly. "I used lightfoot techniques to bring you here. Whatever you tried to remember, doesn't exist."
Chen Kuang: "..."
Alright. This is my fate in a high-martial world, I get it.
But still, how was this any different from walking normally? That "lightfoot" movement was way too subtle to be legal.
No wonder they'd held his wrist.
He stepped forward and reached out, fingers brushing against the flap of a tent.
From inside came a sharp, cold female voice:
"Qingcuo? You killed them all? Then have Deputy Xiao assign a new batch of jailers."
"Yes."
The Black Armor Guard lowered her head in acknowledgment and turned to leave.
Chen Kuang walked in.
His eyes were closed, but strangely, he could faintly sense the obstacles around him.
The original owner of this body had lived most of his life in darkness, memories filled with sound and faint glimmers of light remained.
Chen Kuang had assumed this wouldn't affect him much.
But it wasn't until he deliberately simulated blindness that he realized just how naturally he adapted.
It was, unexpectedly, an advantage. If he ever had to fight in total darkness, it might give him the upper hand.
The Zhou army had been encamped for some time. The tent was well-furnished: rugs on the floor, a table and chairs, even dragon-brain incense perfuming the air.
General Li Hongling sat boldly at the head position, armed and armored, with a powerful and relaxed posture.
When Chen Kuang stopped in the center of the tent, two Black Armor Guards pressed him to his knees.
She lifted her head. Her crimson eyes bore down on him.
"I heard you said Su Yu once gifted a pill to a Chief Musician of the Ministry of Rites?"
Chen Kuang bowed, head low to avoid betraying any facial expression.
"Yes... I heard it myself."
"Su Yu obsessed over alchemy for over a decade, scouring the world for immortals and medicines, nearly to the point of madness. Why would he give such a precious pill to a lowly musician?"
"That Chief Musician was a master of the Zither and greatly favored by the late emperor. He often received personal gifts-"
"Not enough."
Li Hongling raised a single finger, wagging it slowly.
She fixed her gaze on him and said coldly:
"I don't think that's a good enough reason."
"I'll give you three more sentences. If you can't convince me, I'll assume you're lying."
The towering female general slowly stood. She nearly brushed the top of the tent. She was like a mountain clad in black-scaled armor, unyielding, immense, and exuding a vicious aura that pierced the heavens.
She reached behind her and grabbed the handle of her weapon.
Ka-CHUNK.
A deep crack echoed as a massive halberd was wrenched from the earth, nearly three meters long, forged from a single block of meteoric iron.
She had been sitting not on a chair, but on this very halberd.
Its name was Meteor Abyss, weighing 500 jin. Even without any Divine Ability, smashing someone with it would be fatal.
Chen Kuang fell silent for a moment.
"...Yes. I lied."
One.
"That Chief Musician was just a rich countryside noble's son who bought his way into court. He'd only studied the Zither for three years. A fraud. The emperor rarely summoned him. Why would he gift him a pill?"
Two.
A faint smirk tugged at Chen Kuang's lips.
"I know what you're looking for... The one who received that pill wasn't the Chief Musician. It was me."
Three.
BOOM-!!
In the blink of an eye, the mountain crumbled.
The massive shadow of the halberd swept down like a black wave overhead.
Meteor Abyss was torn from the earth and hurled forward with terrifying speed. The very air parted under its force as it screamed toward Chen Kuang's skull.
If Chen had to describe it, he'd say it looked like a dump truck being thrown by King Kong.
His pupils shrank, his scalp tingled and his heart thundered.
The wind of it crushed down on his lungs, he couldn't even breathe.
But Li Hongling's figure was even faster than the halberd.
In the next instant, she appeared in front of him like a falling hawk, raised her right arm, and caught the halberd mid-air with one hand.
Boom!
A muffled explosion shook the tent. The flap burst open as air blasted outward.
Even the two Black Armor Guards were forced to take a half step back.
Meanwhile, Chen Kuang was pinned to the ground by Li Hongling's other hand, completely immobilized. His face was pale as a sheet.
Li Hongling stared down coldly.
"And what makes you think you're qualified?"
Chen Kuang squeezed out a shaky breath:
"Because... I am a cultivator who has opened my eighth Qi aperture."
Well... technically, he had only opened the ninth one.
But just now, under the crushing pressure of Li Hongling's aura, his normally gentle streams of Spiritual Energy surged, breaking through the thin membrane of the eighth aperture.
Li Hongling narrowed her eyes.
Her hand was still on his body, so she reached in with her Spiritual Energy to verify.
To Chen Kuang, it felt like a sharp foreign force forcibly barging into his body, wildly stirring up his meager pool of energy and making a mess of everything.
Then, just as suddenly, it retreated.
Li Hongling let go, but her eyes still carried doubt.
"So what if you're a cultivator? Su Yu didn't lack powerful followers."
Chen Kuang drew from both his original memories and the intelligence he'd gathered from Chu Wenruo.
Still with eyes closed, he said quietly:
"The cultivators of Lingtai Mountain live in seclusion. The late emperor never saw them as his own people."
"The court was full of scheming nobles in flashy clothes. His relatives were weak. He had no one to trust."
"Only someone like me, a man with no background, no support, could be used without fear."