Martial Cultivator

Some care about their name during their lifetime, while others care about their reputation after death.

But it seems that Emperor Lingzong never cared about either of these.

This third emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty, was not as dazzling as his father Emperor Taizong, and not as heroic as his son, the current emperor. But from start to end, he was a good emperor.

What the world criticized him the most for was choosing the wrong successor. But looking at it now, it was not that he was foolish. Rather, it was something he intentionally did.

”Emperor Lingzong deceived the whole world.”

The Wei Family Head chuckled and said, ”Although I never faced him directly, I do admit that I lost to him by one move.”

Only those with narrow minds, who calculate every small gain and loss, would refuse to acknowledge their failures. People like the Wei Family Head, accepted failure calmly.

”Unfortunately, Emperor Lingzong had two fine sons, but Your Majesty has none.”

The Wei Family Patriarch shook his head. The three princes of the Great Liang Emperor were certainly not outstanding. At least, they were unable to compare to the emperors of previous generations.

The Great Liang Emperor said, ”We have a fine nephew.”

Not having any capable sons but having a fine nephew seemed a bit different, but in some ways, it made little difference, since they both shared the same surname, Chen.

Upon hearing this, the Wei Family Head smiled. ”Does Your Majesty think that after Your Majesty’s passing, we will allow him to live?”

The Great Liang Emperor nodded and said, ”Naturally, one must act decisively, to eliminate the roots entirely. After all, you have already come out of the shadows. Your final deed must be done in a grand and forceful manner.”

The Wei Family Head smiled as he looked at the Great Liang Emperor.

”But why do you all think that We will die at your hands?”

The Great Liang Emperor looked at the Wei Family Head, seemingly puzzled.

”Your Majesty is a peerless martial artist in the world. Across the entire world, there are few who can defeat Your Majesty, let alone kill you. But Your Majesty must understand, the struggle in this world is never just a battle between one or two people.”

The Wei Family Head spoke calmly, ”In the Divine Capital, the helpers Your Majesty can rely on are few. Ning Ping has already gone to the Northern Frontier to resist the demon race. As for the Dean whom Your Majesty could place hope in, he most likely won’t come tonight.”

”This leader of scholars, although his cultivation realm isn’t low, unfortunately, he doesn’t have Your Majesty’s decisiveness. Over the years, he has had good luck, accepting many fine disciples, but he has also placed great importance on these disciples, so it’s very easy to stop him.”

”Wei Xu is quite a good young man, but unfortunately, he was born into the Wei Family.” The Great Liang Emperor shook his head and said calmly, ”A young man like him, used by someone like you, will likely find it very difficult to reach that realm in the future.”

The Great Liang Emperor was somewhat disappointed. He naturally knew that Wei Xu had nothing to do with the Wei Family. Whatever the Wei Family had done, Wei Xu should not have been involved. A scholar like him, no matter what happened with the Wei Family tonight, he would have never wanted to be dragged into it. It was just a pity that Wei Xu had made his own choice.

”He said something very true. Since his surname is Wei, how could he say he has nothing to do with the Wei Family?”

The Wei Family Head smiled. ”With Ning Ping not here, and the Dean not coming, Your Majesty will be isolated and helpless. So, no matter how strong Your Majesty is, what good is it?”

Tonight in the Divine Capital was indeed a good opportunity. After Zhou Gouqi reached the end of Nepenthe and had yet to appear in the Divine Capital, the Great Liang Emperor would have no one to assist him. With the Dean blocked and Ning Ping absent, the Emperor seemed truly alone, with no one else.

It was precisely because of this great opportunity that the Wei Family chose to come to the Imperial City tonight.

The Great Liang Emperor looked at the Wei Family Head and said, ”So, Minister Wei intends to use the full strength of your family to see if you can kill Us?”

”The Wei Family has countless years of foundation; even older and deeper than the Great Liang Dynasty itself. Is it not worth it to trade all of that for just Your Majesty alone?”

The Wei Family Head sighed with vicissitudes of emotion.

Several figures then walked into the White Dew Garden from outside. Their auras were profound, and without a doubt, they were all existences who had already stepped into Nepenthe.

The Wei Family’s thousand-year foundation began to slowly reveal itself at this moment.

In the Divine Capital, there were probably very few forces that could rival the Wei Family in terms of having so many powerhouses.

So many powerhouses could easily rival a top-tier sect in the world.

At this moment, the Wei Family Head exhaled a breath of turbid air, fully revealing his aura. In just a moment, he had already reached the end of Nepenthe.

No one could have imagined that the Wei Family Head was actually someone who had reached the end of Nepenthe, capable of rivaling figures like the Dean.

An existence like this, even in the foreign lands, should be an existence revered by countless individuals in those first-rate sects.

In terms of cultivation realm, the Wei Family Head and the Great Liang Emperor should be on the same level. But no one would believe that this Wei Family Head had the ability to actually contend with His Majesty the Emperor in battle.

However, he had countless Wei family powerhouses behind him.

Who was behind His Majesty? Would there be so many people?

The Wei Family Head thought for a moment and knew that there must be some powerhouses in the Imperial City.

At that very moment, several auras appeared around the White Dew Garden. The powerhouses hidden within the Imperial City emerged.

They were all Nepenthe as well.

In this battle, those below Nepenthe had no chance of even appearing on stage.

A powerhouse at the Great Beyond Realm probably did not even have the qualification to watch.

The Wei Family Head said nothing and just quietly sensed the ethereal flow of the world’s energies. Then, he let out a sigh, ”Your Majesty is truly hard to kill.”

After speaking these words, an elderly man with white hair emerged from the night behind him.

The old man was frail and short, appearing as though he could die at any moment. But his aura was incredibly powerful, clearly having reached the end of Nepenthe.

The Great Liang Emperor looked at the old man, thought for a moment, and said, ”So it’s Grand Tutor Wei.”

The position of Grand Tutor in the Great Liang Dynasty had traditionally been the teacher of the crown prince. Although it held no real power in the court, as the crown prince’s tutor, upon the crown prince’s ascension, one would naturally become the emperor’s tutor.

Such an honor was unparalleled.

The Wei Family had endured through the years, entangled with the secular world. Though the Wei Family had produced countless officials, very few had attained the position of Grand Tutor.

This Grand Tutor Wei had been the teacher of Emperor Taizong when he was still the crown prince. However, during the reign of Emperor Lingzong, this elderly Grand Tutor had passed away. Who could have known that he had not died but had been alive all this time?

Not only alive, but he had also reached such a realm.

Grand Tutor Wei smiled slowly and said, ”It’s rare for His Majesty to still remember this old subject.”

The Great Liang Emperor said, “It’s hard for Us to forget the teacher of Emperor Taizong.”

Grand Tutor Wei replied, “This old subject sees many of Emperor Taizong’s traits in Your Majesty.”

Great Liang Emperor paid no mind to this and simply asked, “It seems that it was Grand Tutor Wei who poisoned Emperor Taizong back then, wasn’t it?”

“Every day before lessons, one must first serve tea. Someone like Emperor Taizong, how could this old subject dare to be careless? This old subject could only proceed slowly and cautiously,” said Grand Tutor Wei.

As the teacher of Emperor Taizong, Grand Tutor Wei had been secretly plotting to harm him all along. If this were known, anyone would likely feel chilled to the bone.

With Grand Tutor Wei here, there were now two who had reached the end of Nepenthe.

If the Wei Family Head alone could not pose a threat to the Great Liang Emperor, what about adding another, like Grand Tutor Wei himself?

Two who had reached the end of Nepenthe.

Surely, this would warrant serious attention from the Great Liang Emperor.

Moreover, there were so many Nepenthe powerhouses here, all watching intently.

Yet, the Great Liang Emperor still looked completely unfazed.

Within Nepenthe, there were naturally levels of strength, it was naturally also the same for those at the end of Nepenthe.

Those at the end of Nepenthe like the Temple Master and the Sword Sect’s Sect Master were the figures who truly stood at the summit.

Two members of the Wei Family who had reached the end of Nepenthe might sound terrifying, but in front of the Great Liang Emperor, it was likely still far from enough.

”Does Your Majesty still remain indifferent at this moment?”

The Wei Family Head spoke slowly, as if he could read the Great Liang Emperor’s thoughts.

The Great Liang Emperor said, ”It seems your methods are more than these. Why not reveal them all at once?”

The Wei Family Head nodded, ”Your Majesty is indeed wise and perceptive.”

……

……

The sound of footsteps suddenly echoed.

Someone walked into White Dew Garden from outside.

Upon seeing the arrival, the Great Liang Emperor paused briefly before saying with vicissitudes of emotion, ”Turns out it’s you.”

The arrival’s attire was that of a simple scribe, yet his demeanor was anything but ordinary.

Great Liang had an academy, and the academy had a dean who was renowned across the world.

However, Great Liang had more than one head of an institution.

The Divine Capital also had a Heavenly Imperial Institution, which had always been responsible for dealing with the foreign lands.

The Chairman of the Heavenly Imperial Institution was regarded as the most mysterious figure in Great Liang. He rarely appeared before the world, and few knew his true cultivation realm.

If the Sword Sect’s Sect Master was the most mysterious powerhouse in the foreign lands, then the Chairman of the Heavenly Imperial Institution was the most mysterious powerhouse in Great Liang.

The person who arrived now was none other than the Chairman of the Heavenly Imperial Institution.

Without a doubt, he was also an existence who had reached the end of Nepenthe.