Chapter 155: The Truth

Gradually, heavy snow began to fall once more. Chen Sinian stood outside the rockery, silently closing his eyes as his sharp ears captured the conversation between Tiana and Yang Guang inside the secret chamber.

Possessing the cultivation realm of a Saint, remaining undetected by the two individuals within the chamber was naturally a effortless task for him.

Listening to Tiana recount everything they had endured back then, Chen Sinian's expression remained completely detached, save for his tightly clenched fists, which trembled ever so slightly.

Human nature?

That particular experience was, without a doubt, the most terrifying chapter of Chen Sinian’s entire life.

Having led troops into battle against the Tidi tribe, he had subsequently been reduced to a slave.

Only Chen Sinian himself knew whether any genuine affection remained in his heart for Tiana.

Following that massive avalanche, he and Tiana finally managed to endure the grueling Divine Day, and gradually, the snow began to thaw, starting from the south.

Watching the ice and snow melt in the southern direction, Chen Sinian found his bearings.

During his years among the Tidi people, he had calculated that with the snow melting in the south, it would still take roughly another month to reach the deep interiors of the Extreme North.

Gazing down at Tiana, who lay upon the ground with a severed leg, the flickers of human nature began to reawaken within him now that a glimmer of survival had emerged.

"What? Still not going to kill me?"

Tiana looked up in utter despair at the dim, grey stone ceiling of the cavern, her entire body sealed by Chen Sinian's Qi so that she could not move an inch.

Sensing the shifts in the outside world, Tiana knew deep down that Chen Sinian would never let her leave alive. After all, having subjected her to such torment, he was inevitably terrified of her seeking vengeance.

Tiana was, after all, the proud daughter of heaven of the Tidi clan. Should her people ever learn of what transpired during this period, they would undoubtedly refuse to let Chen Sinian off lightly.

They might even mobilize their entire nation's might to march south and invade the Ye Dynasty.

Tiana knew Chen Sinian's character all too well; she never believed that he would spare her out of some lingering sentimentality for their past relationship.

Realizing that the time for their parting had finally arrived, Chen Sinian sat quietly in the center of the cavern, staring at the dwindling campfire. Holding a blade, he gazed at his own haggard reflection cast upon the side of the steel, and spoke in a soft voice.

"I have one last request."

Upon hearing Chen Sinian's words, Tiana fell into a profound silence.

She knew precisely what his final request would be—it was about the cultivation manual.

Tiana had once scoured the entire Tidi tribe to find various martial arts manuals for Chen Sinian, yet there was one specific text she had withheld from him.

That was the bloodline cultivation manual of the Tidi clan, the supreme heritage of the royal family. Now that Chen Sinian was preparing to leave, he naturally intended to extract this final piece of knowledge before departing.

"I will never tell you. Just kill me."

Tiana gazed at Chen Sinian’s seated back, smiled faintly, and slowly closed her eyes.

...

"So, the Prince imprisoned you here simply to obtain that manual?"

Hearing this much, Yang Guang could not help but piece together the truth in his heart. Given the Prince of Changwu's obsessive passion for martial arts, he would naturally go to any lengths to acquire it.

Tiana nodded slightly, a bitter smile touching the corners of her mouth.

"In truth, had he been capable of practicing that manual, I would have handed it over to him long ago. Back then, my entire heart belonged to him—why would I have cared about half a manual?"

Puzzled, Yang Guang looked at Tiana, completely failing to understand what she meant by saying he was incapable of practicing it.

Noticing Yang Guang's perplexed expression, Tiana let out a long sigh and began to explain.

"That cultivation manual was personally devised by the ancestors of the Tidi clan, tailored specifically to our ancestral bloodline. Let alone the fact that he is merely an ordinary mortal, even among the royal family of the Tidi clan who possess the purest bloodline, very few are ever qualified to cultivate it. In fact, quite a few Tidi people perished when their bodies ruptured from failing to meet the rigorous purity requirements of the bloodline."

A jolt of shock went through Yang Guang upon hearing this, astonished that such a tyrannical and stringent cultivation method existed in this world.

"Did you never disclose this to the Prince?"

Tiana shook her head helplessly and replied, "Of course I warned him. It's just that he harbored other ideas."

Yang Guang nodded slightly as he listened, easily guessing the underlying motives.

Chen Sinian's reputation as a martial arts fanatic was practically known throughout the world. Having already mastered so many of the Tidi tribe's martial arts techniques, how could he possibly give up on obtaining their royal manual?

"I suppose the Prince assumed you were simply making up excuses out of fear that the secrets of the Tidi royal family would be leaked."

...

Looking at the silent Tiana before him, Yang Guang asked the final question lingering in his mind.

"Senior, why did you choose to turn to Yang Guang?"

Hearing his inquiry, Tiana raised her eyes to look at him, her gaze complex as she softly replied.

"Because he is my child."

"Your child?"

When Tiana's words landed, an explosion echoed through Yang Guang's mind. His complexion turned deathly pale, his lips quivered slightly, and his eyes were filled with sheer disbelief.

Seeing Yang Guang's expression, Tiana felt a brief wave of confusion, assuming he refused to believe her. A self-deprecating smile crossed her face.

"Heh, that's right. He was born to Chen Sinian and me. There were two volumes to that manual. After I gave birth to Guang'er here in this secret chamber, the child was snatched away by him. He claimed he would kill this abomination of tainted blood. I begged bitterly through my tears, and driven to absolute desperation, I handed over the first half of the manual. To ensure the survival of both mother and child, I steadfastly refused to reveal the second half."

Yang Guang fell into silence, offering no response as his body, slumped upon the ground, began to tremble uncontrollably.

*I am the son of Chen Sinian and the Tidi Princess.*

For a moment, Yang Guang found the revelation impossible to accept. Flashes of Chen Sinian's figure flickered rapidly through his mind, spanning all the way from his earliest childhood memories.

...

"Guang'er, from this day forth, you shall be my adopted son!"

At that time, Yang Guang was only four years old. He watched as Chen Sinian cradled the infant Chen Pingwu in his arms, his face flushed with radiant joy as he spoke to the expressionless young Yang Guang standing beside him.

"Yang Guang pays respects to adoptive father!"

...

"Adoptive father, where are Guang'er's parents? Why have I lived in the Prince's Mansion ever since I can remember?"

Six-year-old Yang Guang watched a two-year-old Chen Pingwu who was just beginning to babble, and for the very first time, a yearning to know about his own parents stirred within his heart.

Chen Sinian looked at Yang Guang, whose eyes were filled with confusion, and said with a deeply pitying expression, "Your parents were both killed by the Tidi tribe. You must study martial arts diligently so that one day you may avenge them."

"Guang'er will study with all his might, avenge my parents, and slaughter every last Tidi scum in this world!"

...

"Get up! Have you forgotten the blood debt you carry upon your shoulders?"

On the battlefield, Chen Sinian stared coldly at a twelve-year-old Yang Guang, who already possessed a tall and sturdy frame yet lay sprawled upon the ground covered in wounds, and roared furiously.

Driven by Chen Sinian's thunderous rage, Yang Guang gritted his teeth and dragged himself up from a sea of corpses and flowing blood. With a fierce snarl, he gripped a shattered, broken blade in his hand and lunged wildly toward the surrounding Tidi slaves with a bloodcurdling roar.

"I... I haven't forgotten!"

...

All these fragmented memories collided and churned chaotically within the depths of Yang Guang's mind.