Great Sun Heart Sutra

After descending the city wall, Sheng Huai'an saw the Old Soldier!

With a smile, Sheng Huai'an walked towards the Old Soldier.

Seeing his battle robe tattered and his armor full of saber marks, the Old Soldier frowned slightly.

"You went up to the city wall to kill the enemy again?"

"Killing enemies and serving the country is the glory of our generation!" Sheng Huai'an said with a grin.

"Be serious!" The Old Soldier glared.

"Heh heh, Uncle, a strong person can only grow quickly through combat!" Sheng Huai'an said seriously.

Reporting to the country or not was just a slogan, shouted for others to hear.

His goal was to gain Slaughter Value by killing enemies and become stronger.

Of course, this was his secret, and he wouldn't reveal it.

"Well said, the strong should grow through combat." The Old Soldier nodded in agreement.

"Today, General Yang fought against two Xiongnu Grandmasters. Uncle, did you see it? That power was simply divine." Sheng Huai'an said.

"I saw it. Grandmaster powerhouses are indeed terrifying." The Old Soldier also nodded in admiration.

"I want to become that kind of powerhouse too, to awe one side!" Sheng Huai'an said with soaring ambition.

"Good, you have aspirations. Uncle supports you in spirit." The Old Soldier smiled and nodded, not wanting to dampen Sheng Huai'an's spirits.

"By the way, I heard you're taking troops to the grasslands again in a couple of days?" the Old Soldier asked.

"Uh, Uncle, how did you know?" Sheng Huai'an looked at the Old Soldier curiously.

Very few people knew about this, apart from General Yang and the five Brigade Generals.

And those who were chosen; others should not know.

This matter was supposed to be kept secret, to prevent Xiongnu spies from being in the city.

"General Yang found me and asked me to go too, but I refused." the Old Soldier said.

"Is that so?" Sheng Huai'an nodded.

"Go wash up, and come find me after dinner." The Old Soldier said and then left.

Sheng Huai'an also returned. Seeing Sheng Huai'an return safely, Tang Yunshan, Hai Dahe, and others finally breathed a sigh of relief. Their Captain was truly a warmonger!

"Captain, you're finally back alive." Hai Dahe said.

"What, you wished I was dead? So you could take over as Captain?" Sheng Huai'an looked at Hai Dahe dangerously.

This kid was eyeing his position, wanting to move up?

"No, I didn't mean that, Captain!" Hai Dahe quickly said, seeing Sheng Huai'an's dangerous gaze.

"Didn't you? Do you dare say you don't want to be Captain?" Sheng Huai'an stared intently at Hai Dahe.

Hai Dahe swallowed. It was over; his ambition was exposed.

A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier.

A general who doesn't want to be emperor isn't a good general.

How could he not want to be Captain? He dreamed of it.

"Mmm..."

Hai Dahe quickly shook his head again: "Captain, you misunderstood me. Am I that kind of person? I, Hai Dahe, will always be your soldier."

"Really?"

"More real than real gold!" Hai Dahe said sincerely.

"I'll believe you for now." Sheng Huai'an stopped pursuing the soldier who wanted to replace him.

"Captain, you're really something. You don't pay enough attention to safety. You just returned from the grasslands and went to the city wall to kill enemies." Tang Yunshan said with concern.

Seeing Tang Yunshan's fawning demeanor, Hai Dahe felt disgusted.

As a man, how could he be content to always be under others?!

"Alright, enough nonsense. Go prepare hot water, I want to take a bath." Sheng Huai'an said.

"Yes, Captain, I'll go arrange hot water for you right away." Tang Yunshan quickly nodded.

He didn't forget to glance at Hai Dahe, giving him a provocative look. Little guy, you still want to fight me for the Captain's position? Go drink foot-washing water.

Sheng Huai'an's body, covered in blood, would give a child nightmares for ten years.

His subordinates looked at Sheng Huai'an, feeling that the bloodthirsty aura around him had grown even stronger.

Soon, his men prepared hot water for Sheng Huai'an.

He washed himself, cleaning off the blood and dirt, and bandaged his wounds.

Then, after dinner, Sheng Huai'an went to the Old Soldier's place.

"Uncle, I'm here!"

"Come in if you're here!" an Old Soldier's voice called out from a barrack.

Sheng Huai'an pushed the door open and walked in. Zhang Da Niu was still there, but Li Bu Si was nowhere to be seen.

There were also a few unfamiliar faces; these were soldiers newly assigned to the Old Soldier's command.

"Where's Brother Bu Si?" Sheng Huai'an asked.

Zhang Da Niu looked at Sheng Huai'an and slowly replied, "He's dead!"

Those two simple words caused Sheng Huai'an's heart to skip a beat.

Li Bu Si was one of the first people he had become familiar with after arriving in this world. He never expected to hear that the man was now dead in battle.

Li Bu San was in the infirmary, recovering from serious injuries, and it was uncertain when he would be well again. Now, Li Bu Si was dead.

One brother dead, the other severely wounded.

The only people he was now familiar with were the Old Soldier, Zhang Da Niu, and Wang Wu!

Wang Wu was now under Sheng Huai'an's command.

"Fate is predetermined. Brother Huai'an, you don't need to be sad. For us soldiers, dying on the battlefield is our destiny," Zhang Da Niu said, trying to comfort him.

Sheng Huai'an just nodded gently.

These past few days, he had become accustomed to life and death. It was just that hearing about someone he knew dying in battle was still a bit hard to accept.

"Follow me!" the Old Soldier said to Sheng Huai'an, his voice calm.

Sheng Huai'an followed the Old Soldier into the inner room.

"Uncle, what's going on? You're being so secretive," Sheng Huai'an asked.

The Old Soldier pulled out an ancient book from his embrace.

"I bought this book from a beggar. That old beggar said it was a cultivation technique passed down by Emperor Haoyang Wu, the 'Great Sun Heart Sutra'!"

"I've studied it for most of my life but couldn't even get started. Now I'm passing it on to you. I hope you can cultivate something from it," the Old Soldier told Sheng Huai'an.

Sheng Huai'an took the book from the Old Soldier and looked at the four large characters on it: Great Sun Heart Sutra!

These four characters were clearly written by hand, crooked and ugly.

They were worse than the chicken-scratch handwriting of an elementary school student from his previous life.

The entire ancient book gave off a vibe that it was fake.

"Uncle, you bought this martial arts manual from an old beggar?" Sheng Huai'an asked the Old Soldier.

"Yes, I spent one tael of silver on it!" the Old Soldier nodded earnestly.

"And then you cultivated it for most of your life without achieving anything?"

The Old Soldier nodded earnestly, looking at Sheng Huai'an with eyes full of hope, wishing Sheng Huai'an could achieve something.

"Your martial arts talent is extraordinary, which is why I'm passing it to you. I hope you can cultivate it successfully and then teach me. Otherwise, why would I give it to you? This is an Emperor-level cultivation technique; out in the world, it would attract countless powerful individuals to fight over it," the Old Soldier said cautiously, afraid of being overheard.

Sheng Huai'an felt that the Old Soldier had been scammed by that old beggar.

It reminded him of a scene from a movie in his previous life, where a little boy spent all his savings to buy a martial arts manual from an old beggar.

He thought it was called something like Divine Palm.

"Uncle, are you sure you weren't scammed?" Sheng Huai'an asked, looking at the ancient book in his hand.

"What, you think I'm stupid? That I'd be easily fooled?" The Old Soldier glared at Sheng Huai'an, a hint of danger in his eyes.

Seeing the Old Soldier's threatening gaze, Sheng Huai'an wisely swallowed the words he was about to say.

"Uncle, you are exceptionally intelligent. How could anyone possibly trick you?" he quickly praised.

"Alright, get out. If you don't want it, give it back to me. I don't even want to give it to you. I spent one tael of silver on it," the Old Soldier said dismissively, looking at Sheng Huai'an's fawning expression.

Sheng Huai'an grabbed the ancient book and bolted. He was genuinely afraid the Old Soldier would hit him.

"Aren't you staying for a bit?" Zhang Da Niu asked as Sheng Huai'an rushed out.

"Brother Da Niu, I can't stay. Next time, I'll visit you when I have time," Sheng Huai'an said, disappearing in a flash.

"What's gotten into him? He's running like he's being chased by a ghost," Zhang Da Niu scratched his head.

"Brother Da Niu, who is that?" a soldier asked.

"Him? His name is Sheng Huai'an. He used to be in our squad, but now he's a Captain, commanding a hundred soldiers," Zhang Da Niu said.

"A Captain?!"

"In charge of a hundred soldiers!!"

Several soldiers were very surprised. They couldn't believe that someone so young was already a Captain.

"Work hard and kill the enemy, and you can all become Captains in the future," Zhang Da Niu told them.

"We will definitely work hard to kill the enemy and earn military merits to become Captains."

The soldiers' eyes were filled with longing. Zhang Da Niu looked at them, feeling a little bad. He felt he had painted too big a picture, a bit too dry, and wondered if these soldiers could swallow it.

Sheng Huai'an returned to his quarters and took out the martial arts manual the Old Soldier had given him.

"This handwriting is truly atrocious!"

He couldn't help but mock, then began to flip through it, to see what was written inside.

The night was deep!

Anning City twinkled with scattered lights.

Yang Ye gazed at the lights within the city, at the common folk within the pass.

On the desk behind him lay a calligraphy piece.

It was boldly written:

"Let no one speak of enfeoffment to you, for a general's success is built on ten thousand bones!"