After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

When Jiang Yan pushed open the door, she immediately saw Tu Shan Ruoshui leaning against a pillar.

She kept her head down, kicking the cracks in the floor tiles with her toes, muttering, "What can't I hear?"

Jiang Yan walked over and gently patted the top of her head.

Ruoshui squinted her eyes but did not flinch.

Over the years, she had grown accustomed to this gesture and the warmth of that hand resting on her head.

"Let's go for a walk."

The two left the palace and walked slowly along the main street of the capital.

The evening market hadn't closed yet, and the old fox demon selling sugar figurines was packing up his stall, while the intermittent sounds of gongs and drums drifted from the variety show booth.

Tu Shan Ruoshui walked beside him, her steps slower than usual, and she spoke less than usual.

"What's wrong with you today?" She tilted her head to look at him. "You've been acting strange ever since you came out of the palace."

Jiang Yan stopped in her tracks.

"Ruoshui, I'm going to the Northern Border in a few days."

Ruoshui paused for a moment.

"The North? What would you do in the North? There's a war going on there."

"Go join the army."

Tu Shan Ruoshui stopped.

Her fox ears stood straight up, and then tears began to well up in her clear fox eyes so quickly that Jiang Yan was caught off guard.

"Why—why did you join the army?" Her voice was already trembling.

Jiang Yan had a headache; he knew this would be the reaction.

He sighed and rubbed his temples.

"I've recently reached a bottleneck in my cultivation, so I need to go out and gain some experience. The border is a place that tempers people, and I'll probably be back soon."

Ruoshui bit her lip and remained silent, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Did Father send you?" she suddenly asked.

Jiang Yan nodded.

"...Yes, but it was also my own choice to go."

Why?

Jiang Yan looked at her and remained silent for a while.

"Ruoshui, I'm thirteen years old now. No one will say anything if I'm just a little kid by your side, but I'll grow up eventually. When that time comes, I'll be a human, without any official position, rank, or merit. Why should I stand by your side?"

Ruoshui's tears hadn't even fallen before her face turned red.

"What did you say?" She lowered her head, a thin layer of pink flush rising to the tips of her ears.

But she did not refute it further.

She grew up in the palace and had been hearing these words since birth.

The people in the court who opposed the Empress Dowager, and the people of the eldest prince who opposed her, all conveyed the same message: humans are unworthy.

She always found these words ridiculous.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

Is it dangerous?

"You still don't believe in my abilities?" Jiang Yan chuckled.

Ruoshui thought about it and agreed.

Over the years, she has watched Jiang Yan grow from practicing basic sword techniques to mastering swordsmanship. Even demons of the same level who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage cannot withstand more than two moves from him.

In the royal capital, none of the domineering young masters of the demon race who dared to bully others and were caught by him could leave standing up.

Jiang Yan has indeed never suffered a loss.

But she still snorted, lowered her head, and said sullenly, "Then when are you leaving?"

"In a few days."

"I'll be leaving in a few days..." Her fox ears drooped completely.

After a while, she raised her head again.

"You promised me you'd come back as soon as possible."

I promise you.

"Hmph, don't keep this princess waiting for too long."

Jiang Yan looked at her, whose eyes were still red but who was deliberately putting on a stern face, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curved up.

"it is good."

Looking at his smile, Ruoshui felt most of her grievances dissipate.

The little girl's emotions came and went quickly.

Tu Shan Ruoshui sniffed and resumed her usual smug demeanor.

"Then you have to stay with me every day for the next few days."

"it is good."

"You're not allowed to practice swordsmanship anymore. Come with me to the market."

"……good."

"And that roast chicken place again, I want to eat it again."

"Whatever you say."

As night fell, Jiang Yan escorted Ruoshui back to the palace gate.

As she was leaving, Ruoshui glanced back at him, waved, and then quickly ran into the palace gate.

Jiang Yan stood there watching her until the light-colored figure disappeared at the end of the layers of palace walls before turning around and walking back.

Back at the Jiang residence, the lights in the main hall were still on.

Jiang Wuchen sat in a chair, with his mother leaning against him.

The two of them had clearly been waiting for a long time.

"Father, Mother." Jiang Yan walked in.

Jiang Wuchen raised his head.

Jiang Yan recounted her experience of entering the palace that day from the beginning.

He recounted what Tu Shanlie had told him, about the situation on the border, and that he had agreed to join the army.

Jiang's mother's eyes reddened halfway through the conversation, and she turned her face away, pressing her sleeve against the corner of her eye.

Jiang Wuchen's brows were furrowed tightly.

"The Sirius Dynasty is coming with great force this time. The Northern Territory is not like other places, and you are only thirteen years old."

"Thirteen years old is not young anymore." Jiang Yan looked at his father and said calmly, "I know about the situation at the border, Father. You know my strength best. An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator at the peak of his cultivation is no match for me. Even if I go to the front line in the north, I will be able to protect myself."

He paused, "Moreover, our Jiang family has been operating in the capital for so long, but we have always lacked someone who can stand in the front and speak. We can only rely on Tu Shanlie's trust and the forbearance of several generations, but forbearance alone is far from enough."

He looked up at Jiang Wuchen.

"The higher I stand, the more stable our human race's position in the Tushan Dynasty will be, and that's what I want to do."

Jiang Wuchen remained silent.

He looked at the thirteen-year-old boy in front of him, whose features already showed signs of maturity.

After a long silence, she got up, walked over to Jiang Yan, and patted him hard on the shoulder.

"You brat," his voice was a little hoarse, "when did you learn to lecture your father like that?"

Jiang's mother seemed unwilling to listen to these things. She stood up and quickly walked out of the main hall, her back trembling slightly.

Jiang Yan watched her retreating figure and took a deep breath.

The next morning, the clan elders rushed over upon hearing the news, taking turns to express their concern.

Jiang Yan responded to each person with the same set of words, reassuring everyone.

After seeing off the last clan elder, he went to the training ground.

With a wooden sword in hand, I practiced basic slashing, thrusting, parrying, and parrying techniques faster and faster with each repetition.

The sword's wind swept across the wooden stakes at the edge of the field, sending wood chips fluttering down.

I heard footsteps, some deep and some shallow, behind me.

Jiang Yan sheathed his sword and turned around, seeing Liu Qingyi leaning against a pillar by the training ground.

He wasn't carrying a wine jug, but leaning on his old cane, and his gaze was somewhat complicated.

"Uncle Liu."

Liu Qingyi walked over, sat down on the stone bench, and patted the spot next to her.

Jiang Yan sat down next to him.

Liu Qingyi took out a long cloth bag from her bosom. When she opened the bag, she found a book and a sword inside.

The book cover has six characters written on it: "Two Elements Dividing Light Sword Technique".

"This sword manual is most suitable for you." Liu Qingyi's voice was a few decibels lower than usual.

"Because you can only unleash the maximum power with two swords. Your left and right hands are equally fluent, and your left hand is even more fluent. In addition, you have a high talent for swordsmanship. At least among the people I have seen, there is no one higher than you. I was unable to master it back then, so I will pass it on to you now."

Then he pushed the sword over.

"This sword is the one I used back in the day. It's not a famous weapon, but the blade is tough enough and the edge is sharp enough. You can use it on the battlefield and it won't break."

Jiang Yan took the sword. The scabbard was covered with scratches of varying depths, each one old.

Liu Qingyi looked at the sword and suddenly spoke, her tone somewhat dazed.

"I am actually from the Vast Domain. Back then, I was young and ambitious. I always thought I could go very far in the way of swordsmanship. Later, I joined the army and lost a leg after several bloody battles."

He smiled faintly, his gaze drifting into the distance.

"After the final battle, the people dispersed, and I ended up in the Demon Realm, where the Jiang family took me in."

He turned to look at Jiang Yan.

"These are all old stories from the past, so there's nothing worth mentioning."

Liu Qingyi looked into Jiang Yan's eyes, and her hoarse voice suddenly became clear.

"But let me tell you, on the battlefield, an individual's strength is insignificant; preserving your life is the most important thing." He paused, "Ruoshui is still waiting for you."

His eyes changed slightly when he said his last sentence.

It was as if she had remembered someone, or perhaps she was afraid that Jiang Yan would repeat the same mistake.

But only for a moment, and he returned to his lazy demeanor, leaning on his cane as he walked down the corridor.

"Teacher." Jiang Yan stood up, holding the sword and the book, and bowed solemnly to him.

Liu Qingyi did not turn around.

The cane tapped unevenly on the bluestone slabs, slowly disappearing at the end of the corridor.