Chapter 60 Mourning the Fallen Souls: Peace Arriving Late

This was not located in the bustling core of the towering Qingtian Plateau, but rather tucked away on an untouched, primordial continent in the northern hemisphere of the planet.

There were no anti-gravity sky-lanes, no energy force-field domes, and certainly no precisely regulated constant-temperature systems. There were only rolling, verdant mountain ranges, winding and sleeping like dormant dragons.

The sky was a canvas of nature, currently blanketed by heavy, leaden-gray clouds that hung so low they felt within arm's reach, brewing a long-accumulated rain.

Hefeng’s figure, like a solitary shadow merging into the vast mountain wilderness, appeared on the winding bluestone path.

He had cast off the ornate garments and majestic armor that symbolized supreme authority, dressed only in a plain, unembossed pure black robe that seemed to absorb all light.

His pace was slow, every step falling upon the morning-dew-dampened flagstones, producing a soft yet distinct echo.

His boots were stained with mud, but he paid it no heed. This place was the forbidden ground of his soul, the location bearing his heaviest memories and most agonizing pain.

Before the completion of the Tianyi Cauldron, he had not dared to come, or rather... he had not been qualified to.

He was afraid.

Afraid that the ultimate creation he had poured three millennia of his civilization's heart and soul into would ultimately shatter like a dream bubble.

Afraid that this exiled spark of civilization would ultimately fail to withstand the deep chill of the cosmos and the erosion of time, silently extinguishing in some unknown corner.

Afraid that when he stood before the brothers and subordinates who had followed him, trusted him, and ultimately entrusted their lives to him, he would have no face to look upon them, nothing to say.

But today was different.

The grand, cold, and powerfully rhythmic will of the Tianyi Cauldron, beating like the pulse of the universe, was clearly branded deep within his soul.

That boundless computing power, that omniscient might to perceive all things and deduce the future, that cornerstone sufficient to propel the Tianyi civilization to the pinnacle of the universe... all of this gave him unprecedented confidence.

He could finally straighten his back and come to see them, bearing a heavy "answer sheet" earned through three thousand years of isolated struggle.

There were no grandiose mausoleums here, no towering monuments, only rows upon rows of neat and solemn... black stone tablets.

Each tablet was simply engraved with a name, dates of birth and death, and an extremely brief epitaph recording the most glorious or tragic moments of their lives.

Here rested all the fallen members of the Second Legion, as well as the heroic souls who sacrificed their lives during the breakout of the Angry Sea, the crossing of the Boundary Sea, the early reclamation of Tianyi Star, and the Tianyi Cauldron project.

Hefeng’s gaze, like the most precise navigation, pierced through hundreds of silent stone tablets, landing directly upon the three tablets at the very front and highest position.

These three tablets stood like loyal guardians at the entrance of the entire cemetery, guarding the most unhealable wounds in Hefeng's heart.

He walked forward slowly and stopped before the first tablet. Engraved clearly upon it were the words:

He Zhangliang
Father
Explorer/Scholar

Hefeng stood silently before the tablet for a long time. His black robe was pressed tightly against his body by the wind, outlining his lean and rugged silhouette.

He reached out his hand, his fingertips gently brushing the cold, coarse characters of the word "Father," his movement imbued with a rare, almost tender attachment.

"Father..." Hefeng’s voice rang out amidst the sound of the rain, low and carrying the resonance of a journey through time and space. The majesty he usually held upon the throne was gone, leaving only a son pouring his heart out to his father. "I... have succeeded."

He raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through the low-hanging leaden clouds, looking deep into the unknown universe.

"Using the star chart you left behind back then, using that ultimate compass... I brought them through a wasteland in the history of the Angel civilization that no one dared to delve into deeply, and found this place."

His tone was filled with a myriad of emotions. "The 'path of redemption' you spoke of... I have found it."

"It is not merely the stroke of luck of escaping alive, but... the establishment of a new homeland, a spark of civilization bearing the hopes of all who sacrificed."

"Does this count as fulfilling the 'redemption' you spoke of?"

He paused, his voice dropping lower, tinged with an indescribable complexity:

"As for little sister... she is doing well, truly well. I fulfilled your entrustment, raised her, and gave her the best of everything I could provide."

"She is learned, exceptionally learned, and in certain aspects... even surpasses me."

"She is successful, one of the three queens of the Angel civilization, wielding their most core technological power."

The corners of Hefeng’s mouth seemed to twitch into a gratified curve, but it ultimately dissolved into a very faint sigh.

"It's just... perhaps I taught her too well, so well that she developed her own independent thoughts, her own steadfastly believed path... She... ultimately... did not choose me."

The wind swept across the tombstones, emitting a low, whimpering hum, as if responding to this cross-temporal conversation.

Hefeng spoke no more, merely standing quietly before the tablet, as if engaging in a silent communion of souls with his long-deceased adoptive father.

The shoulders beneath the black robe seemed to relax a fraction from the weight they had carried for ten thousand years.

He shifted his steps and came to the tombstone on the left.

Chu Hao
Brother
First Adjutant

The name on the tombstone instantly dragged Hefeng back to that era of raging war of fire and blood.

The figure who always wore a hearty smile, always charged by his side, and fought side by side with him clearly surfaced in his mind.

"Old Chu..." Hefeng’s voice had grown much hoarser, carrying the familiarity and heaviness reserved only for a brother in life and death.

He squatted down, his rough palm pressing directly against the cold tombstone, as if trying to draw a trace of warmth from his departed friend.

"Look, I succeeded."

His voice was not loud, but it was filled with strength, as if reporting to his sleeping brother. "Our dream... did not shatter in the Angry Sea, nor was it swallowed by the chaos of the Boundary Sea."

"I brought it out, and right here... it has taken root and sprouted."

A light bordering on obsession flashed in Hefeng's eyes:

"Back then at Blood Meteor Star, enduring the hail of artillery fire, watching our brothers fall one by one, we still firmly believed that as long as the 'Great Unification' triumphed, the Angel civilization could usher in eternal peace... Heh, how naive we were."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, his smile full of the vicissitudes of blood and fire. "That victory ultimately brought only deeper tearing and hatred. We failed, Old Chu."

His palm pressed hard against the tombstone, as if transmitting some sort of determination:

"But here! On this side of the Boundary Sea! Peace... has truly appeared! Not a false peace bought by war and oppression, but the order I built with my own hands, a hard-won tranquility!"

"The people of Tianyi no longer need to worry about being consumed by the flames of war tomorrow, and the children can run freely under the starry sky... This is the future we gritted our teeth, bled for, and yearned for back at Blood Meteor Star!"

Hefeng’s voice trembled slightly, laden with deep regret:

"It's a pity... you cannot see it."

He closed his eyes, as if seeing once again Chu Hao’s resolute and relieved smile when he used his body to block a fatal blade for him during that tragic breakout battle at Blood Meteor Star.

And his dying words, clutching his hand tightly, whispering faintly: "Brother Feng... Chu Ling... is left to you... Help me... protect her well..."

"Ling'er..." Hefeng opened his eyes, tenderness flowing deep within them. "She is doing well, and she is happy now."

"I will carry your share... continue to live on, protect this hard-won peace, protect her, and protect everything we built together."

This was his promise to his brother, heavier than the stars.

Finally, he walked to the tombstone on the right.

Reyn
Brother
Second Adjutant

This tombstone seemed heavier than the other two. Hefeng stood before it, and his silence lasted even longer.

His spine remained straight, but his body beneath the black robe seemed to bear an invisible, immense pressure.

"Reyn..." Hefeng’s voice was as low as rumbling thunder deep within the plateau, carrying a bone-deep sorrow and... an unfathomable guilt.

He slowly squatted down; this time, his movements even appeared somewhat stiff.

"Back then... Huaye promised you high official posts and a boundless future. You could have stayed by his side, enjoying glory and wealth, and perhaps even replacing that butcher Su Mali."

Hefeng's voice carried the pain of reminiscence. "Yet you... chose my path, one destined to be thorn-strewn and even leading to destruction."

"You said, 'General, I, Reyn, recognize only you, Hefeng! Wherever your sword points, that is where my heart directs!'"

"Sometimes I wonder why you chose me... You gave up becoming a general leading an independent army, and instead were willing to become my adjutant..."

Hefeng’s fists clenched involuntarily, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.

"I led you all out of the Angry Sea, crossed the Whirlpool of Death, the End of the Mouth, the Yellow Springs Barrier... fighting all the way, fleeing all the way."

"Just as we were about to cross the Eternal Canyon, reach the Boundary Sea, and escape alive... you..." His voice choked, and before his eyes, the tragic rear-guard battlefield of the Eternal Canyon seemed to materialize once again!

At that time, Hefeng led the final rear-guard forces to stubbornly resist the frenzied assault of Liangbing's million-strong army, buying the final time for the seed fleet to enter the Boundary Sea.

The battle was unimaginably tragic, with the defensive line constantly being compressed.

Reyn himself fell in the final desperate defense, pierced through by countless Blades of Flame!

His towering body was like a lit torch, yet he still laughed wildly as he brandished his shattered sword, roaring defiantly at the rushing tide of enemies until the very last moment of his life!

He fell in the deepest darkness before dawn, falling just outside the threshold where hope was within touching distance!

"I originally wanted to..." Hefeng’s voice trembled with uncontrollable emotion. He reached out, his fingertips touching the cold characters on the tombstone, as if touching the scorched earth where Reyn had fallen.

"I wanted to stand with you on the soil of Tianyi Star, watching our cities rise from the ground, watching our fleets soar across the sea of stars, watching peace truly descend... I wanted to share the glory of this victory with you, my brother..."

A scorching droplet fell without warning onto the cold tombstone, staining a small dark patch.

"What I owe you the most... is you..." Hefeng’s voice choked completely.

The grief over the sacrifice of his dearest friend and the overwhelming guilt that had long been suppressed deep in his heart rushed forth like a broken dam, shattering all his psychological defenses as a king.

Reyn’s loyalty and sacrifice were the deepest, most painful thorns planted in his heart!

"My brother..." He lowered his head, pressing his forehead against the cold tombstone, his broad shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

The black robe was pressed tightly against him by the wind, outlining a profound, unpourable sorrow.

At this very moment, the leaden-gray clouds that had been brewing for so long could no longer bear that weight.

Raindrops the size of beans fell without warning, pattering down! First sparse, they instantly transformed into a torrential downpour!

The cold rainwater, like a reversed heavenly river, fiercely washed over the silent Garden of Heroes! Washing over those cold tombstones!

And fiercely lashing against Hefeng’s body!

The rainwater instantly soaked his thin black robe, clinging tightly to his skin and bringing a bone-chilling cold.

Rainwater streamed wildly down his sharply defined cheeks, indistinguishable whether it was rain or the scorching, painful tears he had suppressed for God knows how long.

He knelt there before Reyn’s tombstone, his forehead pressed against the cold stone, trembling silently in the pelting storm.

When was the last time he had wept so uncontrollably? Was it when the news of his adoptive father He Zhangliang's tragic death arrived?

Was it when he learned that Hexi had left Tiancheng to join the Meiluo rebel army?

Or was it on the battlefield of the Angry Sea, watching countless comrades turn into cosmic dust?

It was too far away, so far that even memories had blurred.

And at this moment, with the Tianyi Cauldron built, his civilization finally possessing the cornerstone to look down upon the universe, at this moment when "success" had unfolded, in this cemetery conversing with the souls of old friends, the exhaustion and loneliness accumulated over countless ages.

The pain of losing loved ones and close friends, alongside the heavy burden deeply buried in his heart that had never truly found release... under the lashing of the cold rain, like a sleeping volcano, finally breached his steel-like outer shell of willpower and erupted in silence.

The storm poured down, the world a vast blur.

Within the Garden of Heroes, there was only the roar of the wind and rain, and that single black figure kneeling before the tombstone, trembling silently in the rain.

The rainwater washed over the names on the tombstones, and washed over a king’s deepest vulnerability and sorrow in a place where no one else could see.

That cold rainwater seemed intent on washing these three thousand years of blood and fire, life and death, glory and sacrifice deeply into the soil of this land bearing the spark of Tianyi.

Hefeng had succeeded... He had successfully fulfilled his dream... established peace...

Yet he had also failed... Peace had arrived too late... The people who shared his dream with him... had all long since departed...