Chapter 132: A knot in her heart, break-through

"Was it you who suggested for me to lead Jiao Bo's battalion?" Su Menqi wanted Long Tao to confirm the general's word. She was indebted to Long Tao. She wanted to repay it in full. But she couldn't be of any help to him until now. Only by staying under him could she prove her worth.

"I did suggest that in case you manage to break-through before Jiao Bo returns. You managed to surprise me by having a break-through so soon. You should take the mantle." 

" Is my loyalty of no worth now? You want me to leave your side because you no longer value my work. I just hoped you would have made it clear." Su Menqi had tears in her eyes. She left without getting a reply from Long Tao.

Never had he imagined such a reaction from Su Menqi. She was always calm and collected. The situation seemed to be a little off here.

.....................…..

" It is a little off, you idiot." The Keeper barked at Long Tao. " For someone so accomplished in cultivation and such a cunning personality, I didn't expect for you to overlook this matter."

" What have I done wrong. She has been a great subordinate and eased my work and lot. She wasn't strong enough to hold her fortress before. But things have changed now. Her break-through into Qi general level speaks about her strength." 

" It stime she takes charge of her force. I already snatched power from her hands one. It's her loyalty, which motivated me to invest a massive amount of resources into her."

" I considered every angle of this proposition. What might my fault be?" Long Tao couldn't decipher the meaning behind Su Menqi's words.

........................…..

" She was a weak personality within the north-eastern military. She was oppressed. She failed to garner any respect from her squad. Her countless year of service didn't manage to impress anyone."

" The situation continued until one fine day; a man comes into her life." The Keeper started narrating the tale.

" He managed to change the whole scenario within one day. At first, it all felt like a dream but soon turned into reality. He managed to improve the condition of the squad. He invested a lot of resources for her to gain strength. He even trained her to become stronger." 

" Her fame began to rise rapidly. Her subordinates respected her. The man entrusted her with every detail of work."

" The situation turned when a conspiracy occurred against her. She lost most of her hopes in that period f torture. But the same man came back as a beckon of light. He saved her from the clutches of darkness, not once but twice. "

"Even after gaining so much, all she ever wanted was a single thing for that man to accept and admire her. She tried her best to get stronger and more capable." The Keeper's voice got serious.

" She managed to break-through a significant realm. She returned with the hope of gaining his praise until she got to know that he wanted to separate his operations from her."

" Now tell me, what did you overlook." Being addressed as a third person was quite amusing to Long Tao, but his gut pointed towards an absolute possibility.

........................…..

" I don't think Su Menqi would have felt towards me. She is a workaholic woman with incredible skills. I never wanted to garner her attraction." Long Tao spoke out hastily. Never did the Keeper expect to find Long Tao so nervous. 

The thought of someone as powerful and ruthless as Long Tao to act immaturely was quite amusing for the Keeper.

" That girl has feelings for you. She took every single one of your orders and executed it. It was a feeling of gratitude, which soon turned into admiration and now one-sided love."

" I won't be able to reciprocate those feelings. My objective is to become the strongest. I can't let myself be distracted by something, such as love." For the first time in his life, he was feeling extremely nervous. He couldn't allow himself to get distracted from his objective. Su Menqi was an excellent subordinate. Long tao admired a lot of things about her, but familial feelings weren't one of them

The Keeper understood Long Tao's feeling. " the least you can do is to clarify things with that girl. It has already developed into a knot in her heart. If left unattended, it will change into a heart-devil, consuming her."

..................

" We should prepare for your break-through now. The extraction is complete. We can start the process.".

Long Tao ordered the troops to continue their training and leave the refining for now. He would be going into a five days retreat for breaking through the Qi general level. 

" We will be leaving to execute our missions as soon as I finish my retreat. You will be training for the next five days with double the weights. It is the last phase. We need to work on your teamwork while completing our scouting mission. The war's outcome rests on our shoulders." 

The results of this month-long camp were quite contrasting. Each member was able to break-through a cultivation level. The overall upgrade in strength was enough to handle the mission Long ta had in mind.

It was time to set the ambush. 

........................

The general's office-

" to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit soldier." The general didn't expect Su Menqi to visit his quarters in the late hours of the night.

" I have decided to take the position offered to me, sir. The 3rd battalion will be headed y me." The general was happy to hear this.

" I appreciate your choice, vice-general Su. Your battalion will be located in the southern range of the border regions. You are to divide your forces into five. Each one of them will be responsible for providing support. The details would be sent to your quarters by tomorrow."

Su Menqi saluted and left. 

"She deserves to know the truth." A figure appeared behind the general. It was a woman, beautifully dressed in silk robes. If one would look carefully, small similarities could be found within the features of hers and Su Menqi.

"What would her reaction be if she knew her father was a moron who didn't even care about her. We manage to keep her safe for the last 20 years. I don't want my beloved to suffer due to a mistake that I made."

The woman held the general's hand. " It was our choice to get together. No force in this world could tear us apart. Every single decision we made regarding her was to temper her mindset and make her strong. We can't hide our daughters from the forces we ran from. They will come one day. She needs to be prepared for what's coming for her. It's her destiny."

.....................

"Our daughter seems to have developed feelings for that brat." The lovely voice of the woman managed to lighten the mood.

"Long tao is one of the most talented individuals I have seen so far. His character is unnaturally decisive and ruthless. I would be happy for her if she decides to get together with him, but it seems unlikely."

The woman smiled at her husband. " Why would you say that?". 

" When he first entered the Black-buck squad, I gave him a thorough evaluation. You might find his file quite interesting." The general handed her a file.

Although she knew how paranoid and overprotective her husband was about their daughter, she decided to take a look. The reports managed to surprise her. 

" Fate seems to quite harsh at him. His mindset is quite strong. We might fall short if compared to what he has gone through. But why do you say it's unlikely for them to get together."

" Long Tao's trauma arises due to his family's attitude towards him. He decided to abandon every single one of them and concentrated on cultivation. Such characters despise the thought of forming a family. Which scares me, because our daughter might develop a heart-demon because of this matter."

"Let's leave it on fate to work itself out."

...........................…..

Crimson Lord world-

The drug was administered into Long Tao's body. Its effects were visible quite soon. The Keeper decided to administer the concentrated herb essences after Long Tao lost his consciousness. 

The effects were miraculous. Long tao's theory was working. Although he couldn't feel it yet, his soul world was calming down. A balance was soon reached, but the effect of the poison was still present. Long Tao took quite some time to come back to his senses. 

" How do you feel?" The Keeper expected a positive response. 

" It worked. I can start my break-through.". Long Tao started his retreat. It was time to break-through the Qi general level.