Secret Revelations

Jiang Fan hurriedly pressed for answers.

"What price?"

Xiao Longyuan fell silent for a moment, then waved his hand.

"Forget it. There's no harm in telling you."

"All these years, Huaxia has been collecting a kind of strange stone for them, according to their demands."

"This strange stone is warm all over, yet cool to the touch. It seems to contain an immensely powerful energy..."

"To gather these strange stones, Huaxia even formed a special team and expended enormous manpower and resources over the years..."

Listening to Xiao Longyuan's description, Jiang Fan formed a rough picture of the strange stone.

Yet in his memories, he seemed never to have encountered such a thing.

"What exactly is this stone?"

"Does it seem exceedingly rare in our world?"

"And what do they want it for?"

Xiao Longyuan nodded slightly.

"These strange stones can only possibly be found in exceedingly dangerous and hidden places—atop famous mountains or beneath great rivers—and their numbers are extremely small!"

"Every year, after the teams we send out collect these strange stones, they bring them to the military headquarters for unified screening according to their standards, after which they are delivered to their residences..."

"As for what exactly they use these stones for, I don't know either!"

"But I suspect it may be related to cultivation..."

Jiang Fan could not help falling into thought.

"Cultivation..."

"Could it be that after reaching Level 9 Supreme, one had to rely on these things to cultivate?"

No one present knew what state a Level 9 Supreme was truly in.

Thus, everything concerning these stones could only be conjecture.

Xiao Longyuan shook his head.

"Although I'm not entirely certain whether these things are used for cultivation, it's obvious that they are extremely important to them..."

"Each year, the stones we provide to the Supremes are limited. Senior Huan Shan was unwilling to settle for such a small share, so he could only seek another way..."

"He backed a faction to conduct trades with Fusang. This side supplied intelligence to Fusang, while Fusang provided stones of equivalent value in exchange..."

"That was why all the things you saw later came to pass!"

Jiang Fan frowned slightly.

"Could Fusang have even more strange stones than Huaxia?"

Xiao Longyuan smiled.

"It isn't that Fusang has more strange stones. It's that they have fewer Level 9 Supremes!"

"In that tiny, pellet-sized land of Fusang, only one Supreme was born!"

"As for why they could provide surplus strange stones, I suspect that, first, it may have been a small maneuver by Fusang's military, concealed from their Supreme..."

"Second, perhaps that Supreme did not need so many stones, or perhaps he did not even know what use these strange stones had..."

After digesting the information in Xiao Longyuan's words, Jiang Fan felt the doubts that had plagued him during this period suddenly unravel.

"So that's how it was!"

But Jiang Fan seemed to think of something and smiled.

"For this, Huan Shan did not hesitate to bear a torrent of curses and back Fang Polu's faction in trading with Fusang..."

"After Fang Polu's faction was eradicated, when Huan Shan flew into a rage, Commander, you used these strange stones to negotiate terms with him. He was actually able to restrain himself and ultimately let me go..."

"It seems that, in the eyes of those Supremes, the value of these strange stones truly exceeds our understanding..."

Xiao Longyuan glanced at Jiang Fan.

"Kid, if you have something to say, just say it. Stop beating around the bush!"

"I know you want to ask why Huan Shan chose to back down under my 'threat.'"

He pondered briefly, then continued.

"You are about to become one of Huaxia's core figures. There's no harm in telling you these things!"

"The reason Huan Shan chose to take a step back was not merely because of the strange stones. There was another important reason: our military still possesses something capable of threatening a Supreme..."

"Over the eight hundred years of martial arts history, everyone knew that four Supremes had emerged in Huaxia. Yet they did not know that, besides those four, there was another—my grandfather..."

"Back then, my grandfather's strength reached the heavens and pierced the earth. He should have been the foremost among the five Supremes!"

"But he held an important post in the military. To prevent foreign barbarians beyond our borders from probing our true strength, he was concealed as a secret weapon..."

"While my grandfather was alive, those Supremes were fairly well-behaved!"

"But several decades ago, my grandfather unexpectedly perished. After that..."

A trace of sorrow flashed through Xiao Longyuan's eyes.

"The reason they are wary of me is, on one hand, because my grandfather left behind something capable of threatening them..."

"On the other hand, they are uncertain whether I have now inherited my grandfather's mantle and ascended to Supreme..."

Jiang Fan was instantly astonished.

No wonder that when he had seen Commander Xiao before, he had felt his aura was as deep as the sea!

Could it be that he had truly ascended to Supreme?

Xiao Longyuan easily saw through Jiang Fan's thoughts and shook his head.

"I have not reached Supreme!"

"Although my current strength is already infinitely close to Level 9, I always feel there is a thin barrier that cannot be broken through!"

"This feeling has troubled me for more than ten years..."

"If I encounter no opportunity, I fear I will ultimately be trapped at Level 8 for the rest of my life!"

Jiang Fan's heart could not help sinking.

Level 9...

Was it truly so difficult to break through?

"I cultivate the Innate Qi Absorption and Guidance Technique. Until now, realms have held no bottlenecks for me!"

"Could Level 9 also become an obstacle to me?"

"Huan Shan, that old bastard, humiliated me so badly this time. If I cannot ascend to Level 9, wouldn't I be unable to win back my honor?"

"Must I simply watch this group of Supremes, who have already lost their 'humanity,' commit filthy acts behind the scenes while openly sitting upon the 'divine thrones' worshipped by all?"

For a time, Jiang Fan's thoughts surged and tangled into chaos!

Xiao Longyuan stared at Jiang Fan for a long while before suddenly saying, word by word,

"Jiang Fan, do you know why I told you all this today?"

Jiang Fan came back to himself and froze.

That's right!

Why had Commander Xiao told me so much?

If it was because I was the lead officer on Fang Polu's case, he only needed to clarify the relationship between Huan Shan and Fang Polu in this case.

It would have been perfectly normal even if he had not told me Huan Shan's purpose.

Yet now, Xiao Longyuan had not only straightened out all the relationships and the entire chain of logic for me, he had also told me so many secrets.

Why...?

"I don't know!"

Jiang Fan answered honestly.

Xiao Longyuan smiled slightly.

"Earlier, I reviewed your résumé..."

"In just over a year, you went from an ordinary person unable to awaken to your current realm of Level 8 Martial Saint. You can be called an unparalleled Genius!"

"At least in the past hundred years of martial arts, as far as I know, I have not seen anyone more outstanding than you!"

"There are only two reasons you could have achieved so much!"

"One is that you encountered an extraordinary opportunity. The other is that you yourself bear immense fortune!"

"Whichever it is, you are Huaxia's unquestionable choice as a future core figure!"