"The remaining people were influenced by her with a kind of Five Stone Powder." "Young people don’t feel anything yet, but once they are older, they all undergo drastic changes in temperament, becoming quite manic... I have a childhood friend whom I call A-jie, she’s a little over a year older than I am. After my mother passed away, she took care of me." "She was my sister and would have been my wife, but in the end..." Hao Yuanxia’s voice became increasingly strained: "On the day of our wedding, my father was taken by her beauty and violated her, making her his empress, while I was thrown into prison and tortured for a month, nearly beaten to death." "A-jie got him drunk, quietly took out the key and gave it to me, and with our clan’s warriors protecting me, I escaped. They said I would be the last hope of the Dangxiang... Then, one by one, they fell, ambushed by the Demon Sect." "In the end, only Aya and I were left..." "Initially, it was safe, but recently the Western Regions have become increasingly chaotic. People in the town saw us as mere children without weapons and wanted to capture us in broad daylight to sell as slaves to others." Also fifteen years old, Hao Yuanxia sat there, his head rested against the wall, murmuring: "I’m truly useless... Everyone entrusted me with their lives, yet I can’t do anything, and besides, Lord, you saved me only because I’m valuable, right?" "Anyway, my father has only one living son." "If he were to die, I would be the legitimate heir to the entire Dangxiang Kingdom, with rightful authority..." "Therefore, can I make a deal with you?" Li Guanyi was somewhat surprised. He observed this fifteen-year-old princely heir of the Dangxiang Kingdom who, having gone through so much turmoil in the world and country, can’t possibly remain the simple child sent to Jiangzhou City. Even if he cannot compete with the heroes of the world, at least he can see some things. With his own resolution, plans, and a firm grip on his cunning. Hao Yuanxia also stared at Li Guanyi. This famed Heavenly Strategy General who had risen to fame worldwide. Upon seeing this general lower his eyes towards him, with a tranquil gaze that seemed to contain the roar of dragons and tigers, he smiled, causing Hao Yuanxia’s heart to skip a beat, and Li Guanyi replied: "The world is in a state of turbulence." "Those with great power do not need your legitimate authority to annex Dangxiang." "For those with little power, even a legitimate princely heir is hunted down, isn’t it?" "Though you’ve been through much, you have yet to comprehend the rules of this world." Li Guanyi gave a calm smile: "Legitimacy, authority, status, these are things one relies on when one’s own strength is weak. At that time, they count as immense power, but their power lies in confirming the status of the person bearing them." "The significance you speak of conveyed by your status as a princely heir of the Dangxiang lies in the Dangxiang Kingdom itself." "But now as I tread the world, I rely on another existence." "I do not need your legalism." "The Dangxiang Kingdom in the Western Regions, like the world, is to be annexed by those who possess power. As unrest gradually arises, only the valiant and mighty with swords and blades can reign, and the name of the princely heir of Dangxiang ultimately cannot change the world." Hao Yuanxia had a fallacious feeling of being a junior before Li Guanyi; what he valued in his heart couldn’t move the other to take action for him, leaving him momentarily flustered. Li Guanyi said: "You can rest well, and I will give you some money afterward." "Consider it a gift from an old friend meeting again." "Then, in this vast world, you should take care of yourselves." Hao Yuanxia felt a sudden stagnation in his heart, then, with a resolute thought, he shouted: "Wait, you’re a traveling merchant, so are you here to do business?!" "I have rare goods to trade with you!" Li Guanyi did not stop his steps, as Hao Yuanxia took out a necklace from his neck, upon which hung a rustic small seal. He clenched this seal and held it high, saying: "This is the key to the secret treasury of my Dangxiang Kingdom." "It is also the king’s seal of my Dangxiang lineage!" "Only with this key, combined with the bloodline of our Dangxiang royal family, can it be opened." "Inside, there is gold, silver, military equipment, and armor." "It holds the entire Western Regions’ complete and detailed geographical map." "Also, the locations of a full seven hidden mines and veins, as well as the formation map to open them!" Gold and silver did not move Li Guanyi. It wasn’t until the last sentence. Li Guanyi’s steps finally halted. Hao Yuanxia panted heavily, gripping the king’s seal and revealing the truth. Amid the surging world, the so-called status couldn’t simply prompt someone like Xiao Yuxue to dispatch the elite of the Demon Sect to pursue him. This object, not even gold and silver, was as valuable as the formation map of the mines and the geographical map of the Western Regions. In this chaotic world, war resources are the core. Hao Yuanxia held onto this item, looking at Li Guanyi, feeling that in this world, he had neither courage nor martial skills, just a weak child who couldn’t even protect the most precious things. He held the king’s seal, saying: "I buy Xiao Yuxue’s life." "I hope you will kill her, I hope you can save my country." Li Guanyi replied: "...Too late." "The Dangxiang Kingdom is deeply flawed and irreparable." "As winds rise and clouds surge in the world, it cannot last." He spoke the explicit truth, leaving Hao Yuanxia in a daze for a long time, finally just saying: "Then, please let Dangxiang return to the days of grazing in the world, do not let my country become a plaything used by the Demon Sect and that woman." "Do not let the name [Dangxiang], which once represented the earliest epic, become a ridiculous stroke in history nor let the future countless people once struggled for become such a stepping stone for others to realize their desires."