So alike, so very alike...

"That works too."

Xu Cheng nodded with a smile.

He did not make things difficult for the squad leader.

She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, her impression of Xu Cheng improving somewhat.

After all, many scions of the Sun Moon Empire's Imperial Family were outrageously arrogant, not even sparing a thought for the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Corps.

By comparison, Xu Cheng's understanding and courtesy earned him considerable goodwill from the women.

"Wu Yun, go on ahead."

Xu Cheng beckoned.

"I'll stay here and wait. There's no need to worry about my safety. We're within the Sun Moon Empire's borders, and our soldiers would never have any reason to attack one of their own."

"Very well..."

Crow glanced at Xu Cheng, knowing the boy was winning hearts.

Chuckling inwardly, he acted before the women could react. A jet-black Soul Ring appeared, and as he unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar through that roughly fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring, he transformed into countless crows that scattered in every direction.

"Captain!"

One of the women in the Fire Phoenix Squad surrounding them spoke up.

"No need! Let him leave!"

The middle-aged squad leader hurriedly ordered.

As a Soul Saint, she was acutely sensitive to the fluctuations of powerful cultivators. The strength that man had released when activating his Martial Soul Avatar before leaving had been at least at the Titled Douluo level!

He might even have been one of the legendary Super Douluos!

If someone that powerful truly attacked, they would be the ones to die!

Moreover, this only demonstrated how exalted this imperial scion's status was.

A Class 9 Titled Douluo was a strategic asset in any nation, yet Xu Cheng could summon and dismiss such a man at will...

"May I ask your name?"

Xu Cheng asked with a warm smile.

"My name is Huo Lei."

The squad leader answered cautiously.

Until the Fourth Battalion's commander arrived to verify Xu Cheng's identity, she could not divulge any military secrets. Although his identity was already all but obvious, as a soldier, she naturally had a duty to safeguard the army's secrets...

"Are the current clashes with the Star Luo Empire serious?"

"Not particularly..."

"Are all our Sun Moon Empire troops equipped like this?"

"I don't know..."

"..."

Huo Lei's answers were cautious and vague.

Fortunately, less than ten minutes passed.

A sound came from one side of the sky.

Figures streaked across the heavens, heading toward them.

There were around twenty people.

All wore exoskeletal armor, with Class 7 soul propulsion devices roaring at their backs. Clad entirely in crimson, they cut imposing figures, like blazing fire piercing the sun.

The woman leading them looked especially valiant.

Xu Cheng looked over. She appeared to be around thirty, with neatly cropped hair and a blade scar running between her brows that had narrowly missed her right eye. Her nose was straight and prominent, her skin as fair as porcelain.

Her features were exquisite, suggesting she had once been a beauty, but a ruthless air now surrounded her. Her shorn hair and the blade scar on her forehead gave Xu Cheng the impression that this transformation had been deliberate.

He sighed inwardly.

Of course.

How could these years have been easy for her?

Once a delicate maid, she had come to hone herself in the army after discovering a little talent for soul tools. With his mother dead, she had no one backing her at court either.

To gain a foothold here, talent alone was not enough. She also needed ruthlessness.

"Battalion Commander!"

Facing the approaching Huo Qing, squad leader Huo Lei straightened and gave a military salute.

Then she hurriedly began to explain.

"This is the gentleman who..."

"I know!"

Huo Qing slowly approached.

She stopped in front of Xu Cheng.

The atmosphere around them gradually froze.

The people following her hardly dared breathe as they quietly watched.

Huo Qing abruptly pulled Xu Cheng into her arms.

Her ruthless expression vanished completely. Her eyes slowly reddened, and she held Xu Cheng so tightly that her arms went pale.

At once.

The members of the Fire Phoenix Corps breathed sighs of relief.

It seemed they really knew each other. He was most likely a younger member of her family...

"I haven't seen Battalion Commander Huo Qing like this in years."

"Which noble young master is he? He's quite handsome. Think I have a chance?"

"Bullshit. He's bound to like a sweet, demure girl. An army woman like you probably wouldn't catch his eye."

"I heard his surname is Xu. He must be royalty..."

"..."

That was the atmosphere in the army: men and women alike were remarkably uninhibited.

And despite the Sun Moon Empire's strict military discipline, this was all the more true.

"So alike, so very alike..."

Only after a long while did Huo Qing slowly release him. Cupping Xu Cheng's cheeks in both hands, she rubbed them again. Those vicious, viper-like eyes were now filled with tenderness.

"..."

"Young master, I..."

"There's no need to kneel."

Xu Cheng discreetly held her up.

If she knelt before Xu Cheng in full view of everyone, it would considerably undermine the prestige Huo Qing had spent years painstakingly building.

Besides, according to his memories, although she and his mother had been mistress and servant, they had been more like inseparable sisters.

"Thank you, young master."

Sensing Xu Cheng's determination, Huo Qing did not insist on kneeling, afraid she might hurt him.

She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

By the time she turned around, her face had regained its earlier severity.

"Silence!"

In an instant, all the female soldiers around them fell quiet.

"Return to camp!"

At Huo Qing's command.

The dozens of people around them formed orderly ranks in groups and flew toward the camp aboard their Flying Soul Tools.

"Let's go."

Taking one person in each hand, Huo Qing rose into the air.

She headed toward her camp.

"Young master, you've suffered all these years..."

Inside the tent.

Huo Qing could no longer restrain herself. Her eyes were red as she kept stroking Xu Cheng's cheeks.

Even her voice was choked with emotion.

"Aunt Qing, just call me Cheng, or Little Cheng. 'Young master' is far too distant," Xu Cheng said, equally moved.

"Besides, I've lived quite comfortably in the Imperial City all these years. You're the one who's truly had it hard in the army..."

"..."

Huo Qing let out a deep breath.

Looking into Xu Cheng's sincere eyes, she nearly shed another trail of tears.

Why had she risked her life struggling all these years, if not to repay A Ya's kindness back then, and to give Xu Cheng even the slightest backing for his future?

Now, hearing Xu Cheng's words, she knew her devotion had not been misplaced.

"I've been useless. In nearly ten years, all I've managed to earn is a battalion commander's position..." Huo Qing sighed.

She knew that, for an ordinary family, the influence she wielded would already be enough to bring glory to their ancestors.

But in the Imperial Family's succession struggle, it would not even make a splash.

If Cheng ever intended to fight for the throne, she, his only hidden card, would be nowhere near enough. The thought only deepened her self-reproach...

"Aunt Qing, you've already done very well."

Xu Cheng comforted her with a smile.

He also understood that she was tactfully urging him to give up.

He knew she meant well, but they were on the same side, so there was no reason to keep anything hidden.

"With Elder Cheng standing behind me and the Holy Spirit Cult's backing, my chances of winning the throne aren't exactly small."

"Elder Cheng?"

Huo Qing's slender brows furrowed slightly.

She feared this child had been made into someone else's weapon, drawn into the Succession Struggle only to die without even knowing how.