Stars blanketed the sky!

The moonlight cast a hazy glow!

**Yet within the courtyard, blades flashed and shadows danced, battle auras surging!

Clang!

Boom!

Following a dull, resounding impact!

Beneath the shimmering veil of night, a blinding burst of light erupted.

Two figures shot out like lightning, before alighting softly back to the ground.

One more spar, and the entire body felt an indescribable sense of ease!

It had been far too long since such a satisfying fight!

The whole person felt significantly revitalized.

“It seems Your Highness’s body has completely recovered,” Chen Feng said, his voice filled with joy.

“Brother Feng, please just call me Xiao Man,” I replied, sliding my fencing sword back into its sheath and settling down before the low table.

“Xiao Man!” Chen Feng re-sheathed his own blade and finally sat back down opposite me.

However, the way he looked at me seemed tinged with complexity.

“Brother Feng?” I asked, somewhat taken aback, instinctively reaching up to touch my cheek.

Was there something visibly wrong with my face?

“Xiao Man,” Chen Feng murmured, deeply reflective, “are you truly still the Xiao Man from before?” “Ah!” A sudden wave of inexplicable panic and guilt washed over me.

Had Chen Feng seen through something?

“Xiao Man… Xingchen… Jiu Yao Shen Zhen,” Chen Feng whispered, “which one of you is the real you?” “……” I didn’t know what to say, only staring blankly at Chen Feng.

“Never mind,” Chen Feng realized his lapse and offered an apologetic smile.

“It was just an unguarded thought; after all, everything that has transpired is truly too incredible to grasp.” It seemed I was overthinking things; I secretly let out a breath of relief!

After all, Chen Feng was the one who knew the child named Xiao Man best.

Setting aside the notion that anyone else in this world could uncover my secret, perhaps only Chen Feng could.

“The world shifts and changes,” I mused.

“Many things lack an absolute, fixed destiny.

I’ve merely relied on a bit of luck.

No matter what the outside world calls me, Xiao Man remains Xiao Man—just a Xiao Man who has grown up now.” “Grown up,” Chen Feng conceded, finding peace.

“Yes, grown up.

This is the true Xiao Man.

You now possess enough power to fulfill the wish you first set out to achieve, haven’t you?” “Thank you, Brother Feng.

If you hadn’t taken care of Mother, I wouldn’t have been able to wander and travel outside without a single care.” “You’re welcome,” Chen Feng responded.

“I always believed you would achieve your wish someday.

Do you remember our pact?” “Of course,” I said solemnly.

“If the day comes when I decide to challenge the Crimson Moon Demon, I will certainly call for you.” “Hmm, thinking back now, I was incredibly overconfident then,” Chen Feng admitted, a shadow of wistfulness crossing his face.

“I know you now have the strength to defeat the Crimson Moon Demon, but I still hope you will honor our original agreement.” “In one month, I set off for the Demon Altar to challenge the Crimson Moon Demon,” I stated firmly.

“Brother Feng, will you lend me your strength?” “Hahahaha!” Chen Feng laughed, a touch bitter at first, but the bitterness quickly melted into a sound that was unrestrained, bold, and free-spirited.

“It’s a promise,” Chen Feng said quietly after a long moment, looking at me as he emphasized each word.

“It’s a promise.” Chen Feng left!

Yet, I could not regain my composure.

So much had happened over these six years.

But no matter what, I had finally reached this stage.

Shen Yin Yun Shang and Shen Xu had been rescued; all prior matters seemed ready to conclude.

All that remained was defeating the Crimson Moon Demon and curing Mother’s illness.

Regarding the defeat of the Crimson Moon Demon, I held absolute confidence.

However, I needed to discuss this matter with Jiu Yao, Chong Yang, and Yin Shuang first.

Having made up my mind, the tension in my body eased considerably.

Yet, I knew clearly that the days ahead were unlikely to remain this tranquil.

With the discovery of the Hall of Puzzling Flames from Hellfire and the Death Temple, no one could guarantee what unpredictable shifts these events would trigger in the continent’s structure.

Originally, such continental upheaval had nothing to do with me.

But now, I was the commander of the Black Flag Army, and moreover, the nominal Crown Prince of the grand Dragon Empire.

Whether I willed it or not, everything that unfolded next would be directly tied to me.

Yes, I was now inextricably linked to the fate of the entire Dragon Empire, the entire Black Flag Legion.

Prosper together, perish together!

There was no retreat, no escape; the only option was to face it.

To stand unyielding amidst the coming changes, there was only one path: to become stronger.

Yes, only by achieving absolute strength could I protect Mother, protect Chen Feng, and protect the entire Dragon Royal Family from harm.

It seemed time to properly organize the blueprint for the rest of my life.

With this thought, I could no longer sit still.

I returned to my room and pulled out charcoal pencils and paper.

Out of habit, I subconsciously began to write a line of Chinese characters!

In my previous life, I was accustomed to listing out everything I intended to do, purely to clarify my thoughts and direction!

This habit had persisted even after crossing over into the Mafa Continent!

One: Defeat the Crimson Moon Demon and cure Mother’s illness.

The first and primary task, naturally, was defeating the Crimson Moon Demon and curing Mother’s illness.

This, with my current ability, should not be difficult, taking at most less than two days.

Although the continent of Keng is thousands of miles away, within the Black Flag Legion, Chi Ming and Chi Hao, after arduous training, had become highly proficient in utilizing ultra-long-distance instantaneous movement.

Essentially, as long as they had a rough positional coordinate, they could go wherever they pleased.

They were even more formidable than the super transporters in Legend; the Black Flag Legion had even established a special department for this: the Spatial Department.

Yes, this department was formed around Chi Ming, Chi Hao, Yan Luo, and the mages from the Moon Sect who possessed spatial magic talent—a core group dedicated to creating super mobile spatial portals to transport the heavy cavalry of the Black Flag Legion.

This pushed the combat power of the Black Flag Legion to astonishing heights, even causing alarm among the royal families of every nation on the continent.

Recall that it was precisely relying on the spatial teleportation of the Memory Set that we suddenly stormed the Feng Mo Royal Family and abducted Mo Luo Yin Sha.

This was the so-called Phoenix Ascent Incident.

Although a year had passed since the Phoenix Ascent Incident, what we hadn't anticipated was that this sudden, whimsical surprise raid would trigger a terrifying consequence!

Due to the success of the lightning assault, the royal families of various nations regarded the Black Flag Army’s long-range strike capability with a fear bordering on phobia!

Consider that the heavy cavalry of the Black Flag Legion completed an attack across thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, and even more terrifyingly, under the protection of the Thunder Warriors, they forcibly abducted the Empress of Feng Mo, Mo Luo Yin Sha.

Regarding that battle, although the outside world lacked detailed descriptions—since only the Black Flag Army and the Feng Mo Royal Family were present—the fact that the Feng Mo Royal Family deployed Thunder Warriors to counter the Black Flag Army was still spread far and wide.

This caused the outside world to elevate the Black Flag Army’s battle strength to another astonishing level.

No one knew just how powerful the Black Flag Army truly was, to be able to conduct a strike operation that even the Thunder Warriors could not stop.

Such astonishing combat power—how could it not strike fear into their hearts?

In other words, the Black Flag Legion now had the power to take whomever’s life they desired.

There was another crucial point: after I