His iron grip clamped down on Lv Cheng's shoulder. His deeply lined face broke into a smile that quickly froze. "That year, half of Divine Weapon Ridge crumbled to ash. My courage was shattered so completely I didn't even dare to look back. I didn't dare return, didn't dare investigate, didn't dare ask... I was afraid I would die for it, and the legacy of Divine Weapon Ridge would be severed for good. I never imagined... that you were still alive and had even rebuilt Divine Weapon Ridge."
Lv Cheng's shoulder blade made a faint creak under the iron grip.
Twenty years had etched two deep lines between his brows. "The Soldier Burning Pool did indeed melt away half my body."
As he raised his arm, his sleeve hung empty. "Now I'm just a Second Realm Martial Master, barely surviving while guarding these broken steles and ruined furnaces."
Despite suppressing the roiling emotions in his heart, the joy of meeting Zhan Yan was evident on Lv Cheng's tense face.
