368: Lu Chen left

Chi Yao was deeply shaken. She had originally thought that leading an army simply meant charging into battle, but she never realized there was such profound governance behind it.

Lu Chen finally said, "Remember, the strength of an army is not in the sharpness of its blades and spears, but in the unity of its people. Only by forging the Scarlet Flame Army into an iron army with faith, discipline, and a popular Foundation can you go further."

Finally.

Lu Chen said earnestly, "Chi Yao, tonight will be the last time I tutor you. I am about to Break through to Soul Transformation and reach the Tribulation Crossing Realm. Once I reach this Realm, a Heavenly Tribulation could be triggered at any moment, causing too much commotion and attracting high-ranking Immortal Court officials. So, I will leave here tomorrow and go to a place no one can find."

Chi Yao's eyes welled up with tears. She knew that Lu Chen couldn't stay by her side forever, but she hadn't expected this day to come so quickly. She hugged Lu Chen tightly, "Brother Feiyu, where are you going! How will I find you later?"

"You don't need to find me," Lu Chen's voice was as calm as a deep pool. "If there is Karma, we will meet again. After tonight, I will cast a secret art on you—erasing all memories between us."

He paused, his gaze serene and firm. "If you are captured in the future, and the enemy searches your Soul, they will find no trace of me, which might save your life."

"What?!" Chi Yao felt as if struck by lightning, her face instantly turning pale.

Even as the commander leading a hundred thousand Scarlet Flame Army, at this moment, she cried like a young girl experiencing first love, tears gushing out like a broken dam. "No! Brother Feiyu, I'd rather die than forget you! Please... please don't do this! These days, all these wonderful lessons... they are all that kept me going until today!"

She lunged forward, hugging Lu Chen tightly, as if he would turn into dust and dissipate if she let go. "Without you, how can I continue? I love Brother Feiyu more than anything in this world!"

Lu Chen's heart trembled. He raised his hand and gently wiped away her tears, his movements tender but unyielding.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her smooth forehead, like a deity's final blessing to a Mortal.

"Chi Yao," his voice was low but clear, "you must remember—you are no longer that little girl, number 711, in the mine tunnel. You are the spark of the Chi Clan, the only light in the eyes of millions of Red Slaves. You are destined not to belong to yourself, but to the entire Chi Clan. How can you indulge in personal affections?"

Lu Chen gazed into her tear-filled eyes, his tone suddenly softening. "Believe me. When you truly liberate the Nine Heavens, or when I am confident enough to destroy the Immortal Court with a single thought, I will return and personally restore all your memories—not a single word or scene missing."

"But I want you now!" Chi Yao shook her head frantically. "I know my responsibilities, but I can't bear to lose you more! Without you, what's the point of victory?"

Lu Chen couldn't bear it, and the two of them engaged in another fierce discussion, argument, and back-and-forth.

Finally, Chi Yao collapsed onto Lu Chen's body.

Lu Chen said softly, "I'm sorry, Chi Yao."

Lu Chen formed hand seals, and his Divine Sense, like silk, quietly probed deep into her Sea of Consciousness.

With the supreme secret arts learned from the previous six civilizations, he precisely stripped away all memory fragments related to himself.

Although the process was swift, it inevitably damaged her Divine Soul Origin.

But Lu Chen immediately set up a "Crimson Heart Origin Restoration Array" in the core of her Sea of Consciousness—this array could help her Divine Soul recover, activate potential in times of crisis, and even guide the Crimson Flame Art to Break through its Bottleneck on its own.

This was the last protection Lu Chen could offer.

Originally, he wanted to give her all eight heaven-reaching spirit treasures.

But then he reconsidered—he had once used these eight treasures to fight the Five Great Heavenly Venerables, and each one bore the imprint of his Dao.

If Chi Yao possessed them, it would be tantamount to announcing "the mastermind is here" to the Immortal Court.

To avoid implicating her, he took out eight ancient relics that had never been revealed to others: a crimson banner that could gather the hearts of all people, a set of Star Armor that concealed one's aura, a Soul Stabilizing Pearl that stabilized the Divine Soul... all of which had their Origin imprints erased, leaving only their power.

Finally, he gazed at Chi Yao, who was still asleep with tear stains, and gently kissed her forehead again.

"Goodbye."

He turned and left, his figure merging into the night, never looking back.

He knew that this parting might be a permanent farewell.

In China's five thousand years, how many uprisings were there? Chen Sheng and Wu Guang raised their banners, only to be buried in the wilderness; Huang Chao's fragrant assault on the heavens was but a fleeting moment; Li Zicheng broke into the capital and proclaimed himself emperor, only to be defeated shortly after... truly successful ones were few and far between.

Chi Yao's end would likely be her blood staining Soul-Severing Cliff, her bones scattered.

But Lu Chen was no longer the youth he once was.

After many lifetimes of experience, he already possessed the calmness, breadth of vision, and restraint befitting the Heavenly Dao.

As long as Lu Chen waited patiently for five hundred years, recovering his Heavenly Dao authority, he could resurrect Chi Yao with a single thought. Why cling to her day and night now?

Even if he couldn't resurrect Chi Yao.

This was her fate; there was no need for excessive intervention.

Even the Heavenly Dao, after creating civilization and bestowing each person's fate, should not interfere too much. This is Karma.

"This is your path, Chi Yao."

"And I can only accompany you this far."

The wind rose, the Scarlet Flame Banner fluttered, and Lu Chen's figure completely vanished into the vast night of the Ninth Heaven, as if he had never existed... The next morning, the sky was faintly lit.

Chi Yao woke up on the simple stone couch, her fingertips unconsciously tracing her forehead—a gentle touch seemed to linger there.

She stared blankly at the cave ceiling, her heart inexplicably empty, as if someone had taken away the most precious thing from the depths of her Soul last night.

"I... forgot something?" she murmured, her voice almost inaudible.

There was no answer.

Only the tears that had unknowingly streamed down her cheeks, chilling her temples.

She reached up to wipe them away, but found that the tears wouldn't stop.

She curled up in a corner, letting the tears flow silently, motionless for a long time, like an abandoned stone statue.

Until—

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The disciplined roar of the Scarlet Flame Army's morning training came from the distant parade ground, like a thunderclap, shattering her trance.

At that instant, Chi Yao suddenly looked up, her eyes instantly clearing.

She quickly wiped away her tears and straightened her back. She had no time for sorrow.

Millions of Red Slaves were still waiting for her to rescue them.

She strode out of the cave, the morning breeze caressing her face, the battle banner fluttering.

A hundred thousand Scarlet Flame Army soldiers stood in formation, their gazes burning as they looked at their leader.

Chi Yao took a deep breath, her voice clear as a bell. "Order! The entire army to reorganize!"

Over the next few days, she implemented reforms with astonishing efficiency:

Ten people formed a squad, a hundred people a company, a thousand people a division, and ten thousand people an army;

Each level had a "Red Heart Instructor" who lectured on the "Scarlet Flame Program" daily;

Officers and soldiers ate and lived together, spoils of war were public, and wounded soldiers received priority care;

An oversight committee was established, allowing grassroots soldiers to anonymously report unfair treatment by cadres... The Chi Clan members were dumbfounded.

Iron Lady couldn't help but exclaim, "Leader, you are truly too clever! How did you come up with these strange yet incredibly ingenious methods?"

Chi Yao paused slightly.

Indeed, she herself wondered—these systems, concepts, and organizational methods seemed to be ingrained in her bones, coming naturally and without hesitation.

Could it be that she was truly a Genius? Yes, it must be so.