Martial Cultivator

Upon leaving the accessory shop, the Great Liang Emperor noticed a teenage boy at the end of the long street. The boy was going up to passersby, repeatedly asking questions, but no one seemed to pay him any attention. Finally, the boy approached and asked with great earnestness, “Mister, can I ask you something?”

The Great Liang Emperor looked at the boy and smiled. “What is it?”

“Mister, do you know where Commander Chen Chao is?”

The boy stared at the Great Liang Emperor, his expression both serious and sincere.

”Why are you looking for him?”

The Great Liang Emperor looked at the teenage boy.

”I want to become his disciple.”

The boy said very seriously, “I came from a very distant place, but I just can’t find him.”

The Great Liang Emperor chuckled, patting the boy on the head. “Go straight down this road until you see a lake. Follow the lakeside, and when you spot a young man dressed in black and carrying a saber, that’s the person you’re looking for.”

The boy did not doubt him and nodded his head very seriously, giving thanks.

”What’s your name?”

The Great Liang Emperor suddenly spoke.

“He Liang. Mister, what about you?”

The boy looked at the Great Liang Emperor, but received no response. So, he once again sincerely expressed his thanks.

The Great Liang Emperor remained silent, merely watching as the boy hurried off ahead.

He stood in place, looking at the teenage boy’s back view, as if seeing a reflection of his own past.

……

……

The boy named He Liang continued walking ahead. Sure enough, he soon saw a lake. Following the lakeside, he eventually came across a cluster of buildings.

He Liang stood in place, unsure of what to do next.

More than anything, he felt lost.

Before long, a man and a woman appeared, walking along the lakeside. The woman was strikingly beautiful, as though she had stepped out of a painting, while the young man beside her wore black and carried a saber.

He Liang hurried forward, stopping in front of the young man, his excitement evident. “It’s you!”

Chen Chao looked at the boy in front of him and said nothing.

The two had met before - at the ferry crossing between White Deer Prefecture and Yellow Dragon Prefecture. At the time, the boy had been in a rush to disembark and had bumped into Chen Chao.

And now, they actually met again in the Divine Capital.

This seemed like fate.

He Liang said very seriously, ”I want to become your disciple.”

Chen Chao chuckled. ”Where did this silly boy come from.”

Hearing this, He Liang thought Chen Chao was asking where he came from, so he began recounting his journey in detail.

He spoke for a long time.

Chen Chao listened for a long time.

Until He Liang mentioned what had just happened and brought the story to the present moment.

Chen Chao glanced into the distance, seemingly understanding what had transpired. He then recalled the words the Great Liang Emperor had said to him earlier at the Empress’ tomb.

After a long silence, Chen Chao finally smiled and said, ”First, pay your respects to your master’s wife.”

……

……

The Great Liang Emperor left the Divine Capital.

He began his journey northward.

Though he had already seen much of Great Liang’s vast territory, he still looked very closely during this journey northward.

Upon reaching Xinliu Prefecture, he slowed his pace even further.

Passing through a commandery city, the Great Liang Emperor walked down the main street, looking at the courtyards of common folk, each adorned with hanging plaques. His mind was filled with thoughts.

In the past two hundred years of the Great Liang Dynasty, countless wars had broken out with the demon race in the north. How many lives had been lost atop the walls of the Northern Frontier city?

And in lands even farther north?

Beneath every blade of grass across those thirty thousand miles of the desolate north, it seemed likely that the blood and flesh of Great Liang’s people had nourished the soil.

The desolate northern grasslands were lush and green, yet the more abundant the water and grass, the more it evoked a sense of sorrow.

”It feels as though all that you’ve done holds no meaning, as if nothing has truly changed.”

A voice suddenly broke the silence, and a young girl in white appeared by the Great Liang Emperor’s side.

It was the same girl Chen Chao had previously encountered inside the coffin.

The girl in white said, ”Wars never end, and the blood never stops flowing. It was like this before, and it seems it will be the same in the future.”

The Great Liang Emperor replied, ”A long time ago, the Demon Emperor approached Us. He said that if the demon race and Us joined forces to destroy the foreign lands, we could secure at least a century of peace for both humans and demons.”

The girl in white said, ”A hundred years without war, many common people would thank you for that.”

”The peace of the present has no meaning. A hundred years from now, humans and the demon race will still fight great wars, endlessly slaughtering and shedding blood. By then, without the foreign lands, the human race will be at an even greater disadvantage.”

The Great Liang Emperor said, ”So the best solution is to completely eradicate the demon race.”

”Great Liang alone cannot destroy the demon race.”

The Great Liang Emperor rubbed his temples, fatigue showing in his expression. ”It’s something that will take a great deal of time, but We firmly believe it can be done.”

”By relying on that boy?”

The girl in white said, ”He isn’t even Nepenthe.”

The Great Liang Emperor smiled. ”But he’s Our nephew. He carries the Chen Family’s bloodline, the same blood that flows through Us. Why wouldn’t he succeed?”

The girl in white let out a cold snort.

”Isn’t it true that even you hold him in high regard?”

The Great Liang Emperor said, ”If not, why did you impart him a secret technique back then?”

The girl in white raised her eyebrows. ”It was nothing more than payment for snatching a stalk of immortal medicine from him.”

The Great Liang Emperor smiled but said nothing.

The girl in white grew angry. ”I did think highly of him initially, but you’ve turned him into just like you.”

The Great Liang Emperor burst into hearty laughter.

Afterward, the two left Xinliu Prefecture and arrived at the Northern Frontier’s city walls.

The girl in white disappeared.

The Great Liang Emperor stood on the city walls.

A group of Northern Frontier generals knelt on one knee behind His Majesty.

When they looked at the Great Liang Emperor, their eyes held undisguised reverence and fervor.

News from the Divine Capital had reached the Northern Frontier, they knew what had transpired there.

The Lord Warden Commander thought about it, then came behind the Great Liang Emperor. He looked at His Majesty and said softly, ”Your Majesty, why not let this subject go instead?”

The Great Liang Emperor did not turn around but smiled as he said, ”And send you to your death?”

The Lord Warden Commander fell silent. Although he was the strongest martial artist in the Great Liang Dynasty after the Great Liang Emperor, he had no chance of victory against the Demon Emperor.

”But Your Majesty...”

The Warden wanted to speak, but swallowed the words back.

The Great Liang Emperor spoke calmly, ”After fighting him, the things that follow can finally proceed.”

The Lord Warden Commander remained silent.

”We have decided on a crown prince. The important matters will be decided by him. If there are disagreements, follow his lead.”

The Great Liang Emperor smiled as he said, ”We have temporarily entrusted the empire to him.”

The Lord Warden Commander was very hesitant as he looked at the Great Liang Emperor. He wanted to say something, yet no words came out.

”Live well, Little Ning.”

The Great Liang Emperor said calmly, ”One day, We will return. If you’re dead by then, We won’t visit your grave to drink with you.”

Hearing the familiar yet distant name ”Little Ning,” the Lord Warden Commander stayed silent for a long time. Finally, he moved his lips and softly said, ”Understood.”

The Great Liang Emperor leaped from the city walls, heading north. Only his voice lingered in the distance.

”This departure isn’t a final farewell.”