Martial Cultivator

Gripping the saber in his hand, Chen Chao leaned against the somewhat broken wall. Looking at Song Yingxu who was dressed in blue, with no change in his expression.

Song Yingxu said indifferently, ”Your Highness, come with this subject.”

Chen Chao did not answer him. Instead, he looked at the woman selling alcohol not far away and asked, ”If the tavern is demolished, do I need to compensate?”

The woman selling alcohol was taken aback and then said helplessly, ”I rely on this tavern to make a living. If you guys demolish it, I naturally can’t survive. How could there be no compensation?”

Chen Chao nodded and said, ”After today, come to the Left Guard’s office to find me.”

The woman selling alcohol sighed, ”No matter how you look at it, if my tavern collapses later, the main culprit is this guy. Where does it make sense for you to compensate?”

Chen Chao did not say anything and just grinned.

Then he turned to look at Song Yingxu and shook his head, ”Actually, you’re either stupid or malicious.”

Chen Chao said with vicissitudes of emotion, ”Sometimes, stupidity is more frustrating than malice.”

Song Yingxu raised an eyebrow in confusion, ”Why does Your Highness say so?”

Chen Chao stared at Song Yingxu and said, ”At this point, don’t you know that what you want to do is impossible? Since you can’t accomplish what you’re trying to do, why insist on dragging me along? Isn’t it leading us both down a path of death? You have this intention, besides wanting to kill me, I can’t think of any other reason.”

Song Yingxu frowned. When he was talking about this to the woman selling alcohol earlier, she had actually warned him too. The current Divine Capital was not yet at a point where they could attempt to overthrow the current imperial authority. Entering the Divine Capital alone had already attracted a fair amount of attention. However, Song Yingxu believed that since he had come, he had to do something.

”If Your Highness feels that the timing is not ripe, then I can take Your Highness out of the Divine Capital and plan slowly.”

Song Yingxu looked at Chen Chao and said sincerely, ”Your Highness has never been safe in the Divine Capital. That man didn’t kill Your Highness, but he might have his own thoughts. Perhaps he’s making use of Your Highness. But if Your Highness loses the value that can be exploited one day?”

The schemes in this world would never stop, especially in the Divine Capital. Everyone has their own schemes, and nobody was excluded from the schemes.

The Great Liang Emperor was a rare outstanding ruler since time immemorial, proficient in the art of ruling. If he lacked the ability to resist the Demon Emperor, the Northern Frontier would not have been stable for so many years. Similarly, if he lacked the ability to balance the court through schemes and the human heart, the entire Great Liang Emperor would not be as stable as it was.

Sitting on the throne was never an easy thing.

Thinking of the late Empress, Chen Chao said, ”I don’t know if I’ll regret it when that day really comes, but I know that leaving the Divine Capital with you, planning to overthrow imperial authority, shouldering responsibility for this sort of thing will definitely make me unhappy.”

Since he would be unhappy, then he would not do it.

Chen Chao gripped his saber and the corners of his mouth curled.

Song Yingxu carefully examined Chen Chao’s eyes, sensing his determination. In his eyes, an extremely disappointed emotion appeared, which quickly transformed into anger.

Anger at being unable to convince Chen Chao, anger at being unable to make him realize the responsibilities on his shoulders.

Chen Chao also felt his anger and shook his head, saying, ”Actually, I should be angry now because you’re forcing me to do something I don’t want to do.”

Chen Chao said, ”But right now, there’s probably no one who cares about my anger.”

Song Yingxu did not speak. A stream of light had already surged out from his sleeve and slowly appeared in front of him. He reached out and held it in his palm.

The next moment, he released it. The brilliant stream of light appeared above his palm, floating gently like a continuously flowing river.

Looking at Chen Chao, Song Yingxu flicked his finger expressionlessly.

That stream of light immediately exploded in his palm, turning into countless particles of light, rushing toward Chen Chao.

At the same time, it drew white threads in the air.

Those were the trajectories of the light particles.

Chen Chao gripped the broken saber in his hand and slashed several times in an instant. Each saber slash targeted a light particle. In an instant, the brilliant saber lights collided with these light particles, illuminating the entire tavern, and casting a bright light.

Song Yingxu frowned slightly. Taking a step forward, he already arrived in front of Chen Chao. A large hand extended, grabbing at Chen Chao’s collar.

The disparity in their realms was indeed too great, so Song Yingxu did not employ any daoist spells. Just by taking action, he could ignore many things.

The broken saber in Chen Chao’s hand also crossed those light particles, slashing toward Song Yingxu’s chest.

However, Song Yingxu just glanced at Chen Chao, and Chen Chao felt a thunderous roar in his mind. His consciousness suddenly dissipated slightly, and the hand holding the saber also felt somewhat weak. Fortunately, it was only for an instant. Chen Chao quickly returned to his senses, tightened his grip on the saber, and slashed down again.

Song Yingxu’s expression remained unchanged. Watching the saber light descend, his entire palm erupted with endless radiance. He reached out to grip the saber edge of the broken saber.

The broken saber was incomparably sharp; something ordinary people would not dare to touch at all. However, for Song Yingxu, it was not a big deal.

He grabbed the saber edge with one hand while the other continued to reach towards Chen Chao. A profound aura simultaneously overflowed from his palm, heading towards Chen Chao’s chest.

But at this moment, a sheet of paper overflowing with golden light appeared in front of Chen Chao’s chest.

The paper floated in mid-air, suspending quietly.

Song Yingxu could not stop his actions, but in a trance, he already sensed something different.

A strange aura permeated.

In an instant, his palm was about to land on the paper.

The paper suddenly trembled violently, and an aura surged from within. An inexplicably powerful aura instantly collided with Song Yingxu, his expression turning deathly pale in an instant.

The next moment, he retreated without any hesitation.

Fortunately, when he initially made his move, he did not intend to kill Chen Chao here, so he did not exert his full strength. In other words, if he had the slightest intention to kill, he would definitely have ended up severely injured now.

As he retreated backward, Chen Chao grabbed the paper, directly smashing through the tavern’s main door, and entered a narrow alley.

Leaning against the alley wall, Chen Chao did not hesitate. With a forceful step, he leaped over the wall, landed in a small courtyard, and then ran ahead without any concern, quickly disappearing into the distance.

From the beginning, he had never thought he could defeat Song Yingxu at this moment. Chen Chao had fought against that great daoist sage, but at that time, he relied on external aid to have a chance against the opponent. Without any external aids, facing a Nepenthe Realm expert, the only option was to leave.

By the time Song Yingxu and the woman selling alcohol walked out, there was no trace of Chen Chao.

Song Yingxu stood at the shattered tavern entrance with a gloomy expression, lost in thought. Seeing this scene, the woman selling alcohol could not help but sigh, ”Such a decisive young man.”

Turning to glance at Song Yingxu, she said, ”Everyone has their own aspirations. Why hold on tightly to something, even if it means risking your life?”

Song Yingxu’s eyes fluctuated, and finally, he said, ”His Highness and the Crown Prince share too many similarities, surpassing even the current Emperor. If back then, Emperor Lingzong had passed the throne to His Highness, I’m afraid it would have led to a different outcome.”

Although he was very dissatisfied with Chen Chao’s attitude, Song Yingxu had to admit that the decisiveness and judgment Chen Chao displayed in the current situation were the core qualities of the late Crown Prince.

Previously, everyone said that the deposed Emperor was the person most similar to the late Crown Prince. However, in Song Yingxu’s view, the person who resembled the late Crown Prince most in this world should be Chen Chao.

The woman who sold alcohol nodded and said, ”Of course it would be different, it will definitely be different.”

Song Yingxu furrowed his brow and asked, ”Why do you say that?”

The woman who sold alcohol snorted coldly and said, ”Back then, he was just an infant. What would be the result if the throne were passed to him?”

Song Yingxu was rebuffed and just looked into the distance, pondering some questions.

The woman who sold alcohol said, ”You have to compensate for the tavern’s damage.”

However, Song Yingxu did not speak, simply taking out all the money from his bosom.

Taking the money, the woman who sold alcohol asked with some surprise, ”What are you thinking?”

Song Yingxu said, ”I will write a letter later. When the time is right, you can bring the letter out.”

The woman who sold alcohol frowned and said, ”What nonsense are you talking about? If you think it’s not good, can’t you just leave now?”

Shaking his head, Song Yingxu said, ”I probably can’t leave the Divine Capital anymore.”

……

……

After crossing several long streets and ensuring that Song Yingxu would not pursue him, Chen Chao breathed a sigh of relief, calming his emotions. However, he was well aware that once a cultivator like Song Yingxu made up his mind to pursue him, he would not have been able to escape to this location. If Song Yingxu did not chase him here, it showed that he did not want to reveal his identity for the time being.

Chen Chao stood for a moment, and a young girl approached from the front.

She held an oiled-paper umbrella and raised it as she got closer to Chen Chao.

Seeing the arrival, Chen Chao exclaimed in surprise, ”What are you here?”

The girl was precisely Xie Nandu.

Now, she was a sword cultivator, and her cultivation realm was not considered too low. Thus, when leaving the academy again, she did not necessarily need someone to accompany her.

”If I say I predicted you would appear here, does it make sense?”

Chen Chao took the oiled-paper umbrella and sheathed his broken sword before saying, ”Not entirely logical. Those who know you know you’re a sword cultivator, but those who don’t might think you’re good at divination too.”

Xie Nandu smiled without saying a word, offering no explanation.

In reality, the situation was straightforward. Someone like Chen Chao was definitely being watched by countless eyes in the Divine Capital, and Xie Family was one of them, naturally keeping a close eye on this young man.

Even if it might be slower, it was still quite limited.

Chen Chao said, ”Encountering a corrupted confucian scholar, and the corrupt scholar not only studied books, but also cultivates. Yet strangely, he seems to have crossed the threshold, entering the Nepenthe Realm.”

He shook his head, quite dissatisfied with why there was such a thing in this world.

Xie Nandu teased, ”Seems like you’re against scholars.”

Before Chen Chao could respond, she continued, ”Teacher Zhang has been imprisoned in the Left Guard’s dungeon by you. You know how the academy will react.”

”There’s no need to worry once your debts become too many, and there’s no need to fear being bitten once there are too many lice.” Chen Chao nonchalantly shook his head. ”How many people in the academy still like me now?”

Xie Nandu shook her head and said, ”Nobody in the academy has ever liked you.”

Chen Chao widened his eyes, looking incredulous as he asked, ”Aren’t you a person?”

Xie Nandu said calmly, ”I am a person. But have you ever thought that I just don’t like you?”

Chen Chao gave Xie Nandu a resentful look. ”You’ve hurt my heart with such words.”

Xie Nandu remained indifferent. She asked, ”When do you plan to release him?”

Chen Chao did not speak.

Xie Nandu continued, ”Teacher has some expectations for him. He’s responsible for many students’ lessons. If he stays imprisoned for too long, it will have a significant impact.”

Chen Chao frowned, ”Is the Dean only concerned about this? No other thoughts?”

”About the academy’s reputation? Don’t be silly, how can someone like Teacher possibly pay attention to this?”

Xie Nandu looked at the footprints she had left on the ground, pondered for a moment, and remained silent.

Chen Chao then shared his encounter in the tavern.

Xie Nandu glanced at Chen Chao and said, ”Song Yingxu? An assistant minister from the Ministry of Personnel?” ”Then his original name should be Song Yin. He was an official belonging to the late Crown Prince’s Manor, serving the Crown Prince faithfully for many years. He was a core member created by the Crown Prince for himself. To be honest, during those years, Emperor Lingzong recruited talents from all over the world. Second-rate officials were sent to the court, while all the first-rate officials stayed in the Crown Prince’s Manor as subordinate officials. Emperor Lingzong’s fondness for the Crown Prince is evident. So, Song Yin was destined to become a prominent minister if the Crown Prince ascended the throne.”

”Of course, even if the Crown Prince didn’t ascend the throne in the end, and that deposed emperor ascended, Song Yin would still be treated as a vital subordinate. From leaving the Crown Prince’s Manor to joining the Ministry of Personnel, he quickly rose to the position of assistant minister. In no time, he would become one of the Six Ministers. Didn’t expect that other than being an official, his cultivation talent was so remarkable too. In just a few years, he has already entered the Nepenthe Realm.”

Chen Chao expressed some dissatisfaction, saying, ”There’s nothing remarkable about him.”

Xie Nandu ignored him and continued, ”Although this Lord Song is an official, he’s indeed quite foolish.”

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, waiting for Xie Nandu to continue.

”The information I’ve received is that among the former officials who were unwilling to serve the new dynasty, this Lord Song is the only one who has come to the Divine Capital.”

Xie Nandu said, ”He was probably deceived by the cultivators from the foreign lands.”

Chen Chao asked, ”Deceived for what purpose?”

”It’s like a lake. When you look at it from a distance, it seems ordinary. But one day, someone tells you that there are undercurrents beneath the surface. Then you become curious about what’s really happening underwater. Unfortunately, you’re not willing to openly approach the lake, afraid that there might be some monster dragging you down the moment you step near the shore. So, you can only watch from a distance and trick someone into helping you take a look,” Xie Nandu explained.

Xie Nandu slowly said, offering an analogy.

Chen Chao sighed, ”Indeed someone who was studied before, truly amazing.”

Xie Nandu said, ”His Majesty’s scheme isn’t brilliant enough, this seems to be on purpose too.”

Chen Chao said, ”I don’t know about other things, but as soon as I saw him, I seem to understand that they are about to reel in the net.”

”I just don’t know if there’s a big fish caught in the net.”

Chen Chao turned and continued, ”Or perhaps, there might not even need to be a big fish.”

Xie Nandu said, ”Is it possible that you are the big fish?”