After You Broke Off the Engagement, I Broke Through Twelve Realms in a Single Day! - Chapter 32:

Chapter 32: The Seven-Star Lamps Extinguish

[You sat in Kuzhou Pavilion for two and a half years to gain enlightenment. To repay this karmic debt, you must remain in Jishang Academy for five years. Current days stayed in Jishang Academy: 378/1825.]

Half a year passed quickly. Li Feng’s cultivation finally reached the peak of the 9th stage Martial Emperor Realm, waiting for the final opportunity to break through and become the second Martial Venerable of the Great Qing Empire. However, this opportunity kept slipping away. Even with his talent, he couldn’t pierce through this last barrier. Every time Li Feng felt a spark of enlightenment, it would mysteriously be extinguished, leaving him stuck at the threshold, unable to open the gate to the treasure trove ahead.

While Li Feng sat silently in Kuzhou Pavilion, continuing to comprehend the Heaven and Man Record, Zhou Danxin’s voice trembled as he sent a transmission to him, “Li Feng, something terrible has happened. A message has come from the frontier… your Master’s Seven-Star Lamps are about to extinguish!”

The only one in the world who could make this Vice Dean of Jishang Academy lose his composure was Zhang Shouzheng.

“I will head to the frontier immediately,” Li Feng frowned, his figure vanishing instantly from Kuzhou Pavilion.

Even Zhou Danxin couldn’t sense how Li Feng’s aura disappeared, and he couldn’t help but feel gratified, “Old Zhang has a worthy successor. Even if he dies today, he can smile proudly in the afterlife.”

With those words, Zhou Danxin also disappeared from Kuzhou Pavilion, leaving only the Heaven and Man Record shimmering with a starlike glow.

At the southern border, inside a heavily guarded command tent, seven ancient bronze lamps burned quietly, their flames small and weak, reflecting Zhang Shouzheng’s face, old and withered like an ancient tree. The oil in the lamps was nearly depleted, the flames flickering weakly, as if they could be extinguished at any moment by a gust of wind from outside.

The old man who had supported the Great Qing Empire’s three hundred-year reign now sat quietly on a meditation cushion. His hair was as white as snow, and his once spirited face visibly shriveled. His skin cracked inch by inch like parched earth, deep wrinkles etched into his face, his sunken eyes reflecting the soon-to-be extinguished seven lamps.

“Sigh, such is the will of Heaven. Not even the Great Qing Empire’s fortune can save these old bones,” he sighed hoarsely, his voice like dry leaves rubbing together, filled with exhaustion and relief.

A figure shrouded in a black robe, face obscured, collapsed to his knees at these words, drained of all strength. “Yafu, is there truly no way? The Great Qing Empire and all its people cannot be without Yafu, and neither can I!”

The voice was old and tearful—this man was none other than the current Emperor of the Great Qing Empire!

No one could have imagined that in such turbulent times, instead of staying at the capital to command the situation, the Emperor would come to the Yun Empire’s border to see the National Preceptor off on his final journey.

The current Emperor had been entrusted to Zhang Shouzheng by the late Emperor, and under Zhang Shouzheng’s guidance, he learned how to be a good sovereign. Despite the spies from neighboring countries spreading malicious rumors among the people—claims that “the National Preceptor Zhang Shouzheng was the true ruler behind the throne,” and “the Emperor was merely a powerless puppet, even at a hundred years old”—the bond between ruler and subject remained steadfast, bringing about three hundred years of prosperity for the Great Qing Empire.

Now, the Emperor, who had grown used to relying on his Yafu and being encouraged by his kind smile, was about to lose him. How could the Emperor not be heartbroken?

Unable to accept this reality, the Emperor cried more bitterly than if he had lost his own uncle. Was the vast empire that Zhang Shouzheng alone had upheld now going to collapse with his death?

All the princes, princesses, civil officials, and military generals knelt in unison, crying uncontrollably. If not for the formation isolating the tent, their heart-wrenching sobs would have thrown the entire army into chaos, allowing the Yun Empire’s troops to invade instantly and plunge the world into disorder.

“Your Majesty, this old minister is leaving. From now on, the lives of the people of the Great Qing Empire will need more of your diligence,” Zhang Shouzheng mustered his last breath and looked kindly at the Emperor, his expression as benevolent as always.

Though he had only one daughter, Chu Huanhuan, the Emperor was no different from his own son, having been raised and nurtured by him since childhood.

Though it was a great regret that Chu Huanhuan hadn’t arrived to see him off, having his foster son by his side at the end was enough.

“Yafu, after you leave, to whom shall the Jishang Academy be entrusted? If I have difficulties, whom can I consult?” the Emperor asked urgently, tears streaming down his face as he knelt beside Zhang Shouzheng, clutching his drooping hand.

Zhang Shouzheng closed his eyes, two streams of old tears falling. “After my death, the Jishang Academy will be entrusted to my final disciple, Li Feng. If Your Majesty faces difficulties in the future, you may seek him.”

“And after Li Feng? Who should my descendants consult?” the Emperor pressed further, unsatisfied. Even if Li Feng was extraordinarily talented, the Emperor doubted he could break through to the Martial Venerable Realm. He wanted a successor who could shoulder the burden of the empire.

“Li Feng…” Zhang Shouzheng seemed to gaze beyond the tent to a youthful face, a trace of relief flashing in his eyes before he shook his head. “The Great Qing Empire is ultimately too small to contain a true immortal like him. After Li Feng, you can seek Han Li.”

“Han Li? He is merely an ordinary academy disciple. What about after Han Li? Whom should the Great Qing Empire rely on?” the Emperor frowned slightly, unconvinced by Han Li, and pressed on.

“After Han Li… only Heaven will know…” Zhang Shouzheng looked at the Emperor’s tear-streaked face, still as immature as ever despite his age. Closing his eyes again in bitterness, his tears soaked the pillow.

At that moment, the first of the seven Seven-Star Lamps representing the Great Qing Empire’s fortune extinguished!

In an instant, an invisible aura of death spread from Zhang Shouzheng’s body, rippling across the entire Great Qing Empire.

Suddenly, the heavens responded, and an autumn wind rose!

The previously clear sky darkened abruptly. A chilling autumn wind swept across the land, yellowed leaves falling from treetops and dancing wildly in the air, as if Heaven and Earth were mourning—a silent funeral.

Farmers in the fields paused their plowing and looked up blankly, a bone-chilling cold penetrating their thick cotton coats.

Soldiers in the camps gripped their spears tightly, their hearts heavy. Across the border, the wolves, tigers, and leopards howled, eager to trample over the boundary markers.

A profound sense of sorrow welled up in every heart of the Great Qing Empire’s people.

They all assumed it was just a change in the weather. No one realized that the elder who had protected the Great Qing Empire for three hundred years was about to die.

Li Feng carried Chu Huanhuan in his hand, rushing forward with the Heaven and Man Record’s light guiding his way, each step covering dozens of li.

Despite Chu Huanhuan biting and clawing at his hand, crying and shouting, “I don’t want to go to the frontier to see him,” Li Feng remained resolute.

Watching her tears fall endlessly, Li Feng knew he could not let go. If Chu Huanhuan couldn’t see her father one last time, it would be a regret for everyone.