Martial Cultivator

These days, Chen Chao became the most frequently mentioned person in the Divine Capital. From high-ranking officials in the imperial court to common peddlers and laborers, the number of people mentioning his name was likely beyond counting.

The common folk were grateful to have a Lord Warden Commander like Chen Chao, allowing them to continue living as they had before. The high-ranking officials, however, had far more complicated thoughts when discussing this newly appointed Lord Warden Commander.

It was said that in a recent court session, an official had even submitted a memorial suggesting that, given Lord Warden Commander Chen's meritorious service, he ought to receive further rewards. That official even went so far as to propose conferring a princely title.

For over two hundred years of the Great Liang Dynasty, the highest honor granted to officials had only ever been the title of Duke. Even the founding ministers of the dynasty had, at most, been conferred as dukes in their lifetimes, and posthumous bestowals of princely titles were exceedingly rare too.

However, Chen Chao’s current achievements were still some distance from warranting such a title. Moreover, attaining the highest rank among military officials at his age was already more than sufficient. Whether the official who proposed this idea had some ulterior motives remained unclear.

Yet within the court, His Highness the Crown Prince displayed no unusual reaction. He merely stated that His Majesty the Emperor was on an expedition, not deceased, and that such a major decision should wait until His Majesty’s return.

This casual remark was enough to shut down many discussions.

Although this matter was but a minor episode, it clearly demonstrated that Chen Chao's current standing in the court had already begun to threaten many officials. Many were growing fearful that this young military official would eventually amass overwhelming power and seize control of the government.

The civil officials, in particular, were unwilling to see such a situation unfold.

Still, despite their concerns, everyone knew that Chen Chao was currently at the height of his influence. If they wished to take action against this young Lord Warden Commander, it was not just a question of whether His Highness the Crown Prince would approve, it was doubtful they could even entertain the thought before being utterly torn apart by the common people of the Divine Capital. A single spit from each person would be enough to drown them completely.

In over two hundred years of the Great Liang Dynasty, no one had ever commanded such incredible prestige among the common people at such a young age.

However, the young martial artist at the center of this maelstrom had been so busy these past days that he barely had time to think.

First and foremost, Chen Chao was no fool.

On the contrary, he had long since proven himself to be exceptionally intelligent. Otherwise, he would not have survived in the mountain ranges outside Tianqing County, nor would he have made it to the Divine Capital alive after killing those qi refiners, and even managed to successfully avoid disaster in the end.

It was just that after arriving in the Divine Capital, he had Xie Nandu by his side - one of the most brilliant people of their time. Because of this, Chen Chao was reluctant to waste effort thinking things through himself, choosing instead to dedicate most of his time and energy to cultivation.

But now, the burden was on his shoulders. He had no choice but to think for himself. That was why he had written that letter to the Infatuation Daoist Temple, and why he had been running himself ragged these past days.

After handling his matters on hand, Chen Chao finally managed to squeeze out a little free time. He tempered his body a few more times, carefully studied the fist techniques left behind by the Great General, and took a moment to comprehend the Great Liang Emperor's martial path. Only then, did Chen Chao step out of the bamboo house in exhaustion, sit beneath the eaves, and begin instructing his two disciples.

His two disciples, Yu Qingfeng and He Liang, were quite different in temperament. Yu Qingfeng was more perceptive, someone who understood how to read people and navigate the world with a bit of worldly smoothness. However, when it came to martial talent, he was not as gifted as his fellow disciple.

He Liang was like a piece of unpolished jade.

For both Yun Jianyue and the Great Liang Emperor to recognize his potential already spoke volumes about his extraordinary aptitude. While he remained somewhat naive regarding worldly affairs, his comprehension of martial cultivation was remarkable. He had a knack for grasping one concept and extrapolating three more, rarely encountering any obstacles. Even Chen Chao found himself marveling at this, wondering if His Majesty had been the same in his youth.

After their lesson, the two exhausted youths flopped down on the steps beneath the eaves, their legs swinging back and forth.

The sight had a childlike charm to it.

He Liang wiped the sweat from his brow, then thoughtfully wiped away his senior brother's sweat as well. Meanwhile, Yu Qingfeng curiously looked at their young master, who was reclining in a bamboo chair, and asked, “Master, you've already reached the peak of an official's career. Do you have any other aspirations in this life?”

Every time Yu Qingfeng thought about it, he could not help but be in awe. His master had already become the highest-ranking military official in the Great Liang Dynasty at such a young age. This was simply incredible.

If it were him, even in ten lifetimes, he doubted he could achieve such a feat.

Chen Chao glanced at Yu Qingfeng and asked, “What other aspirations could I have?”

Yu Qingfeng grinned. “Like marrying a few wives and having a few kids?”

That was definitely not what was on his mind, and Chen Chao knew it too. But neither master nor disciple pointed it out.

On the other hand, He Liang furrowed his brows and said with an innocent look, “I think Master shouldn't marry too many wives. Mistress is already great, and besides...”

“Besides what?”

Chen Chao had not really cared about the conversation, but seeing the boy hesitate to speak piqued his interest.

“Besides, judging by Mistress' temper, if Master marries another one, she'll beat you to death."

He Liang was honest, stating his thoughts straightforwardly.

Yu Qingfeng burst into laughter.

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow. “And what makes you think she can beat me? Is it just because she has a lot of swords?"

He Liang naturally knew that his master was the strongest young martial artist of the current era. But he also had his own reasoning. Seeing that Chen Chao was not actually angry, he continued speaking, “Master is strong, no doubt about it. But would you really dare to go all out against Mistress? Since you wouldn't dare, then that means you'll definitely lose.”

Chen Chao could not help but laugh. “Listening to you talk, it sounds like your Mistress can bear to beat me to death?"

He Liang nodded seriously with a straight face. “I don’t know why, but I just feel that if Mistress found out Master married so many wives, she'd definitely beat you to death.”

“Besides, Master, do you know who the most remarkable man in the world is?”

He Liang tilted his little head and actually started sizing Chen Chao up seriously.

Chen Chao smiled, “Let's hear it.”

“It's His Majesty the Emperor!”

He Liang's answer was irrefutable in the Great Liang Dynasty.

“His Majesty is such an incredible person, yet he only married one empress. Master, you should learn from him too.”

He Liang believed his reasoning was flawless.

Chen Chao reached out and patted his head, then asked curiously, “What, did your Mistress give you some kind of bewitching soup to make you defend her like this?”

He Liang just chuckled and shook his head.

His Mistress had never given him any benefits, but in the world of a young boy like him, there were just some people you naturally liked the moment you met them. Mistress was one of those people.

So he decided, Mistress was the only one, nobody else could take her place.

Yu Qingfeng had been quiet the whole time, but after the conversation ended, he finally laughed and asked, “Master, when are we going to get a little junior sister?"

Chen Chao rolled his eyes at him.

Yu Qingfeng quickly waved his hand. “No, I wasn't asking Master to get down to business. I was just wondering, when Master takes in disciples again, could you take in a little junior sister?”

Chen Chao responded with an “oh,” and then sighed. “Originally, I thought I'd just take the two of you as my disciples and pass down my abilities. But since this is what you were hoping for, I'll have to start looking for a new final disciple.”

Yu Qingfeng held back his laughter.

He Liang nodded and grinned. “Sure, sure!”

This silly boy did not know that his title as the final disciple might be relinquished soon.

Chen Chao helplessly glanced at his foolish disciple, wondering if any girl would like this personality of his when he got older.

Retracting his gaze, Chen Chao saw a black-clad figure flash by in the distance. He then said, “Yu Qingfeng, go make some tea. We have a guest.”

Yu Qingfeng acknowledged then stood up, dragging He Liang along to find the tea set to brew tea.

Chen Chao slowly stood up as well, soon sensing a burst of sword intent from afar.

A moment later, a streak of sword light flashed, heading toward him.

Chen Chao did not dodge or evade, but charged directly at the dazzling sword light.

In an instant, the sword light collided with the physique of this Nepenthe martial artist, creating a massive shockwave.

Chen Chao took two steps forward, and the sword light shattered. Someone in the distance let out a cry in surprise and was about to attack again, but was immediately met with Chen Chao's scolding: “Yu Xiyi, if you destroy this bamboo house, I'll chase you down and beat you every day.”

And so, that sword strike had no choice but to pull back.

Before long, a young sword cultivator appeared before Chen Chao, looking utterly lazy.

It was precisely Yu Xiyi who had broken through and become a sword immortal just a few days ago.

Chen Chao patted the dust off his robes and rubbed his chest.

Although taking that sword head-on with his body had not left any wounds, it really did fucking hurt!

Yu Xiyi chuckled. “How long has it even been since I last saw you? Your cultivation has improved so fast? At this rate, I doubt I could even kill you if I went all out.”

Chen Chao let out a cold laugh. “What do you know? Some men are just naturally gifted!”

The same old line.

Yu Xiyi did not take it seriously. He walked over to the bamboo house, plopped down under the eaves, and said, “Don't get too full of yourself, punk”

Chen Chao walked over as well and glanced inside the house. Yu Qingfeng had been observing the situation and quickly brought out another bamboo chair, along with a small table.

Before Chen Chao could sit down, Yu Xiyi clicked his tongue and said, “I heard you took in two disciples. Now that I see them, they're actually pretty decent.”

As he spoke, the two came out carrying the tea set. After setting it down, Chen Chao teased, “Take a good look, you two. This guy might not be much to look at, but he's a genuine sword immortal. That Hundred Year Sword from Sword Qi Mountain, Wild Grass? It's with this guy.”

At first, the two boys thought Yu Xiyi was just one of their master's ordinary friends. But after hearing this, their eyes widened in shock.

Turns out that this was a sword immortal!

Before sitting down, Chen Chao thoughtfully lifted his youngest disciple He Liang's gaping mouth shut, then waved his hand for the two boys to go somewhere else.

Yu Xiyi picked up his teacup and teased, “These two disciples of yours don't seem very worldly.”

“They're just country kids. What kind of worldly experience do they need? Once they make something of themselves, if anyone dares to say they're ignorant, they can see if they can withstand their fists.”

Chen Chao downed his tea in one gulp.

Yu Xiyi sighed. “Are you calling me out?”

Chen Chao grinned. “How could I? But since they're juniors, if they ever throw a punch at you, you can't hit back. If you really feel wronged, you can go find two disciples of your own right now.”

Yu Xiyi frowned. “You think sword cultivator talents are cabbages on the street? That I can find one anywhere?”

Chen Chao feigned surprise. “Your standards are that high?”

“Of course. If they’re going to be my disciples, they need at least eighty percent of my, Yu Xiyi's, talent.”

Yu Xiyi raised an eyebrow, he was not about to take on some dumb disciple.

Chen Chao sighed. “Then you're out of luck. Looks like you won't get a chance to take in a disciple this lifetime.”

Yu Xiyi burst into laughter: “That was some great ass-kissing!"

Chen Chao smiled and did not speak.