Chapter 34
Every doubt and pang of sorrow clung stubbornly to the heart, forming layers of inner defense that kept Huan Zheng ever vigilant.
He submitted not from fear, but from awareness, understanding that this was the safest path to preserve himself and maintain control over aspects of his own existence.
Huan Zheng's obedience to Ling Xu was not total surrender, but a measured move—a delicate balance between coerced loyalty and deliberate strategy.
No better options existed, no safer compromises.
Only the understanding that accepting the offer was a method, the best way to keep a grip on his own fate.
The sky, seemingly never at peace, stood as silent witness, observing as both traversed a path rife with uncertainty.
Ling Xu, with the lingering majesty she retained even after her fall from the Throne of the Supreme Powers, radiated authority, an aura so pure it could not be denied.
She was no longer the exalted child of the Deities, but a castaway, discarded after the Harmonic Conflict, carrying wounds of history that could never heal.
Yet even in this fallen state, the shadow of power pressed on, compelling those like Huan Zheng to bow.
Huan Zheng, on the other hand, was no man to drown willingly in the current of domination.
He understood, keenly aware that before him stood not just a woman, but an entity capable of swallowing anyone who dared breach boundaries.
His sharp consciousness transformed each compromise into a path for survival, not submission.
Caution thickened into a shield within his chest.
For him, every bond with Ling Xu was not a vow of eternal loyalty, but a fragile contract, liable to fracture should its conditions waver.
He calculated, measured, like a merchant weighing profit against loss.
The agreement was left with gaps—small openings that could serve as escape routes when the time came.
For Huan Zheng knew, in a world so merciless, there was no point in clinging to an oath if one's life could be mortgaged at any moment.
Ling Xu, likewise, was no figure to be trifled with.
Even fallen, her presence commanded respect, bending all around her to either obedience or at least feigned submission.
Thus, his willingness to submit was another form of asserting himself—a strategy to buy time while safeguarding control over his own life.
Huan Zheng's first imposed condition was not merely a tether, but a carefully calculated escape route.
He stipulated that if ever they met a wiser, more powerful elder willing to teach without self-interest, the pact would dissolve, freeing him from eternal obligation, affirming that he was not destined to remain a follower forever.
For Huan Zheng, this condition was a reminder, a signal that control over his own fate remained in his hands, not the hands of the woman standing before him.
Ling Xu remained unshaken by the condition.
Her expression mirrored a lake's surface—calm, though currents raged beneath.
She knew the possibility was real, not an empty threat.
Long ago, she had realized that her path after the fall of the Deities would intersect with older, deeply rooted figures of power.
If she had to learn from them, parting with Huan Zheng would merely be a signal—a piece of a destiny calculated from the start.
Her calm stemmed from awareness that Huan Zheng's proposed condition revealed subtle yet measurable traits, a way to gauge the man's strength.
Ling Xu felt a faint, yet unmistakable curiosity grow within her.
She wanted to probe deeper, to test the limits and secrets Huan Zheng concealed.
From the way he framed his conditions, she sensed the extraordinary.
It was as if the latent power within Huan Zheng was not merely a modest inheritance, but a force capable of shaking history itself.
This suspicion sparked curiosity—not to fully subdue Huan Zheng, but to understand the true face of the strength that had guarded him so carefully.
His second condition was no trivial matter; it was a line of fire, separating future from false certainty.
By adding a stipulation that the service pact would end once Ling Xu succeeded in reaching the Celestial Meridian—a level few could achieve even in rumor—he unveiled both courage and precision, granting Huan Zheng space to remain free while challenging the limits of her ambition.
It was no longer mere bowing of heads, but weaving a path by which she could emerge with honor, never truly branded a traitor.
For Ling Xu, the condition did not provoke anger, but a profound curiosity.
The Celestial Meridian was still but a faint shadow, a realm she had never fully comprehended or grasped.
She knew how far that level lay beyond ordinary cultivators, even beyond the remnants of divinity vanished with the Deities.
Yet such a challenge ignited a spark within her.
There was a hidden temptation, as though Huan Zheng had deliberately hinted at a path even he had not fully trusted could be walked.
She perceived the condition not merely as a bond, but as a map, a faint sketch of new possibilities, a potential to seize power beyond calculation.
Though the exact form of the Celestial Meridian she might one day ascend remained unknown, Ling Xu embraced the condition with the same calm as before.
She knew refusal would only reveal weakness, while acceptance opened a wider path, even if that path was lined with unseen thorns.
She let the condition hang like a distant star, one to be reached someday, though she did not yet understand the light it would cast.
The journey toward fulfilling both conditions was a fragment, a piece of the larger game, a segment of her calculated strategy, each step allowing her to observe the hidden power of Huan Zheng, which only deepened her intrigue.
Until the day she truly set foot in that realm, Huan Zheng would remain at her side—not as an absolute servant, but as a shadow.
Merely waiting, guarding, and watching.
"Prepare quickly. Departure is imminent, as decreed."
"To…?"
"Xuelan Camp!"
To be continued…