The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

Black Wind's words were firm and unassailable, yet they also possessed a raw, sensual quality. However, paired with his cold, expressionless demeanor, they seemed utterly inappropriate.

She tilted her head, rolled the egg around her face again, and muttered, "Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"

Hei Feng immediately looked at Jian Yue, his previously calm expression suddenly turning somewhat frightening. Jian Yue paused, unsure of what she had said wrong.

He disappeared for a night, then suddenly arranged a trial for her that shouldn't have happened so early. Now that he's back, he's unpredictable and has an intriguing expression, leaving her completely baffled as to what he really means.

"Exaggeration? Do you think the armored soldiers are so legendary that they are indestructible? They are also made of flesh and blood. On the battlefield, swords are merciless. Who knows whose sword will cut them next?"

The training we undergo now lays the foundation for the future, so that in the face of imminent death, we can ultimately carve out a path to survival. This is the choice of the armored soldiers—the spirit of knowingly venturing into dangerous territory.

He paused, then said, "Do you know which aspect of your life today is being trained through this experience?"

Hei Feng sat down at the table and calmly poured himself a cup of tea. Before Jian Yue could speak, he picked up the teacup, raised it high, and slowly tilted it to pour the tea out. The water splashed onto the ground with a splashing sound.

"Human endurance is both limited and limitless. When a person is in adversity and at his wit's end, there are two possible outcomes: one is to become disheartened and die, and the other is to survive adversity and reach a new level."

Just like this water, a cup of water only wets the ground, but if someone drops it in the same spot year after year, day after day, it's a different story. Dripping water wears away a stone.

As he spoke, he looked at Jian Yue, who raised an eyebrow, pressed the egg in her hand heavily against her eye socket, and grinned, saying, "So the result is that I belong to the latter type of person? Does that mean I meet your requirements?"

Hei Feng chuckled, put down his teacup, and looked at Jian Yue with a smile: "Not bad, but do you really think this is the end? You're far from it. A true strong person never lets their emotions get the better of them, and that's how they remain invincible forever."

Jian Yue paused for a moment. It's obvious that this sentence is about her way of dealing with relationships, implying that she is too emotional.

Jian Yue raised her eyes, brows furrowed as she looked at Hei Feng, and said with a playful smile, "Just like you? Just like the armored soldier?"

Although Jian Yue's face was swollen and her expression was unreadable, Hei Feng could still see the mockery in her face. He shook his head and sighed, "Sometimes, I don't agree with the Ironclad Soldiers continuing in this way. They are not gods, but also human beings with their own thoughts and decisions, and the same beliefs and fantasies as ordinary people."

The armored soldiers, their minds and bodies imprisoned, could only exist in another form. To call them great, I see only pathetic.

A sense of bewilderment and loss settled in Hei Feng's eyes. To Jian Yue, it was like a deep sea with gentle ripples, different from the giant waves of the ocean, yet the creature was barely clinging to life amidst the turbulent waves, unable to escape.

That face, which had been untouched by time, suddenly appeared weathered, making the person before me less indifferent and more emotional.

Jian Yue couldn't understand why someone who was mocking others for being emotional one moment would become sentimental the next, especially since this person was a cunning and shrewd old fox.

However incongruous it may seem, one has to admit that Hei Feng at this moment possesses a power that makes it impossible to look away. Jian Yue was looking at Hei Feng, admiring his unique charm at this moment.

But this brilliance lasted only a moment before Hei Feng suddenly looked away, poured himself another cup of tea, and became calm and collected.

He brought the cup of tea to his lips, drank it, and then continued, "Choosing you is not about how you will carry forward the Ironclad Soldiers, but because the Ironclad Soldiers need that ray of sunshine."

Some people are destined to be leaders, yet they lack the ability to chase the sunlight; while others, seemingly unsuitable, ultimately reap unexpected rewards.

He smiled faintly, the depth in his eyes unreadable to Jian Yue. After a long while, Jian Yue said, "Perhaps you are right, but even so, your way of doing things is too extreme."

Humans are humans, not gods—I agree with that. But I disagree with using that excuse to explain the concept of "survival of the fittest."

In Jian Yue's heart, no matter how Hei Feng explained why the armored soldiers appeared, it couldn't change the fact that they viewed the changes in this country with the mindset of outsiders, and refused to change their cold-blooded mentality.

This is the truth. Even if we try to beautify it, look at it from a higher perspective, or use compassionate eyes, we cannot hide the indifference hidden behind it.

Black Wind nodded: "Indeed, but the Ironclad Soldiers have been like this since their time, it's in their bones. You want them to be different, to become flesh and blood, do you think one person alone can solve that?"

"But you are their leader, can't even you do it?"

“I am not the leader of the armored soldiers; it is the person who can hold the jade seal.”

As Hei Feng spoke, he looked at Jian Yue. Jian Yue was taken aback and subconsciously took out the jade seal hidden in her bosom, held it up, and asked Hei Feng, "You mean this?"

Hei Feng nodded, and Jian Yue immediately pouted and said, "Are you kidding me? This seal is so small, anyone could easily lift it!"

Moreover, it was Shangguan Ting who took the jade seal out of his clothes. Before that, many people had come into contact with it. How could it be as Hei Feng described?

"Whether I'm joking or not, you'll find out later. How are you feeling now?"

Once again, he stopped halfway through his sentence. Jian Yue glared at Hei Feng, knowing that he wouldn't get anything out of him even if he continued to ask. He could only snort and say, "What do you mean you don't know? Of the hundred people, which one isn't stronger than me? The internal energy I just gathered was dissipated in an instant. I'm afraid it will take a long time to recover it next time."

Upon hearing this, Hei Feng smiled and said, "It's alright. Internal strength can be improved with practice. As for you, the main thing is not to practice your skills, but to cultivate your mind."

"Cultivating the mind?"

"It is about tempering your heart, forging a heart as hard as iron. Only then can you truly integrate into the so-called armored soldiers, control them, utilize them, and ultimately, completely change them."

Jian Yue was speechless. The difference between "lian" and "lian" is only one word, but the difference is like heaven and earth.

In a daze, she thought of what she had done in the past few days and suddenly realized something.

She is not a strong person, nor is she someone who was born knowing and understanding everything.

She was once innocent, had aspirations for the future, and even fell deeply in love. But in the end, it all ended tragically, and she died a horrible death.

However, this experience, after her rebirth, became an invaluable life lesson for her, like the guidance of a sage in a dream, telling her that she must never repeat the same mistakes in this life and must remain as innocent as before.

After that, in this life, she learned to be patient, to act, to calculate, to lie, to scheme, and to make a living.

However, all of this is based on the premise that she has been given a second chance at life. What if she hadn't been given a second chance? Would she still have gone down that path of no return, just like in her previous life?

Thinking of this, Jian Yue's palms clenched, and her eyes reddened. Hei Feng looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Some things, whether you accept them or not, have already happened."

You can't blame anyone else for this, because this is the path you chose yourself. Just as you might lose your way even if you follow someone else's footprints, a mistake is a mistake, but once you've made a mistake, you won't repeat it.

Jian Yue was stunned and looked at Hei Feng. His eyes were expressionless, but Jian Yue seemed to read something and trembled all over.

Suddenly, she closed her eyes tightly, her face swollen and tense, but she didn't care at all about ignoring the intense uncertainty.

After a long silence, she took a deep breath and looked at Black Wind, saying, "Then tell me, what are you going to do about me and her?"

Hei Feng's words didn't match what she had just thought of at all. She was reminiscing about her life, but what Hei Feng said was wrong. What was wrong with her? Her past life? But she hadn't even told Bai Jianan and Hua Xiangrong about this. So, what exactly did Hei Feng mean? What was the mystery behind the so-called Twin Phoenixes?

Not daring to think any further, Jian Yue tried to focus her gaze on Hei Feng and tentatively asked in a calm tone, "You could have stopped what you were saying that day, but you didn't expose my pretense of being asleep and finished the conversation. Wasn't that because you wanted me to hear everything?"

"If that's the case, what are you still hiding? She and I are nothing more than pawns in your game. The pawns' paths have already been laid out. So, from the moment we were born, we were already bound to the armored soldiers' ship, weren't we?"

After saying this, Jian Yue had already confirmed some of her thoughts with Hei Feng's silent acquiescence. However, at this moment, she felt surprisingly calm, even as calm as when she saw Murong Chuan again.

If she had been used in the past, she would have already become hysterical, but now, her calmness is as if she were talking about someone else's business, and she understands even more why she is so calm.

Before yesterday, those three days in the beggar's den, though they didn't change anything, allowed her to mentally endure the scorn and trampling of millions of people, coupled with the humiliation and abuse in prison. After having her dignity trampled on, what could she not take in stride?

She had to admit that Black Wind's teaching methods, while frustrating and infuriating, were also very effective and had benefited her greatly.