Martial Cultivator

The news of Chen Lin’s death quickly reached Yu Lu’s ears. Yu Lu was not surprised, those words he spoke to Chen Lin that night were meant to send him to his death.

His time spent with Chen Lin was neither too long nor too short, but it was enough for him to see clearly what kind of person Chen Lin was. And once someone like Chen Lin was seen through, setting up a scheme to kill him was not a big deal.

Killing Chen Lin naturally brought plenty of benefits, the greatest of which was completely clearing himself of any suspicion. No one would ever suspect him of being a Great Liang’s spy again.

That was the effect Yu Lu wanted in the first place.

And it was the value in Chen Lin’s death.

Yu Lu smiled but did not dwell on the matter. Before long, he headed toward the Scripture Library. He was now permitted to enter and leave freely.

Just as Daoist Yinli had said, he needed to cultivate properly. Only when his cultivation was high enough could he be entrusted with more things.

When he entered the Scripture Library, he drew many scornful glances from the temple disciples. At present, the disciples on the mountain did not have any good impression of Yu Lu.

It was not because of his ambition but because that night, he had declared that Yun Jianyue should be severely punished.

Yun Jianyue’s prestige in the temple was exceptionally high, especially among the younger disciples. His influence might not have been any weaker than Daoist Yinli’s.

Yu Lu did not mind. This situation had long been within his calculations.

He spent the entire day in the Scripture Library. As night fell, he left and made his way toward the Soul Locking Prison. Daoist Yinli had instructed him to keep an eye on that place, and such matters required his attention.

Between the Scripture Library and the Soul Locking Prison lay a forest of purple bamboo. It was said that these purple bamboos were no ordinary plants but had been personally planted by the Dao Ancestor in ancient times. Even after a thousand years, with the careful care of generations, they had only grown into a small bamboo grove - not much at all.

This alone was enough to show how precious the purple bamboo grove was.

Yu Lu walked through the grove when a young daoist happened to approach from the opposite direction.

It was precisely that Senior Brother Gan from before. His full name was Gan Lingtai, he had been brought to the mountain by a cultivator from a young age. His talent was decent, and his status far surpassed what Yu Lu’s had been before.

“Senior Brother Gan.”

Yu Lu took the initiative to greet him.

Gan Lingtai merely glanced at him without speaking.

Yu Lu did not mind. Smiling, he asked, “Have you investigated the matter of going down the mountain?”

Despite knowing Yu Lu’s current status in the temple, Gan Lingtai remained cold as he replied, “There’s nothing conclusive. These matters are not for you to worry about, Junior Brother Yu. Just serve the Temple Master well.”

Yu Lu nodded with a smile. “Then I’ll leave the hard work to Senior Brother Gan. Someone like Senior Brother Gan is a true pillar of the temple and will surely have a bright future ahead.”

Gan Lingtai said nothing more, merely snorting coldly before quickly brushing past Yu Lu.

Yet, right after they passed each other, the corners of both their lips curled into the same subtle arc.

Yu Lu soon arrived at the Soul Locking Prison. After presenting his waist token, he entered.

The Soul Locking Prison was where the Infatuation Daoist Temple imprisoned its disciples who had committed offenses. Depending on the severity of their crimes and their cultivation realms, they were held on different levels, from the first to the very deepest. At the prison’s depths lay a talisman array formation inscribed by past generations, capable of suppressing the cultivation of those imprisoned. The closer one was to this talisman array, the harsher the suppression. Those locked in its deepest cells were reduced to no different from ordinary mortals, suffering immense agony under the talisman array’s suppression daily.

Currently imprisoned in that place was a great daoist sage of the Infatuation Daoist Temple from three hundred years ago. He had once rendered great service for the Infatuation Daoist Temple, but later, he ran amok during his cultivation, slaughtering dozens of Infatuation Daoist Temple’s daoists. The Temple Master of that era suppressed him, but considering that his actions had not been intentional and that he had contributed much to the temple, they had not executed him. Instead, they imprisoned him here, condemning him to a lifetime without ever seeing the light of day.

Three hundred years had passed, and now that great daoist sage was already old and frail, and would likely pass away at any time.

Yun Jianyue’s crimes were actually not light either. However, considering that he was a genius of his generation, and that they needed him to win people over, he had only been imprisoned on the second level. This was far from the talisman array, leaving him almost entirely unaffected. He could still cultivate here. A ten-year sentence, neither long nor short, was truly considered a great act of clemency.

Yu Lu arrived and glanced at Yun Jianyue inside his cell, only to find him sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. Seeing this, Yu Lu said nothing.

Daoist Yinli had given no other instructions, only that Yun Jianyue must not be allowed to leave.

Turning to leave, Yu Lu did not depart immediately. Instead, after exiting the Soul Locking Prison, he casually chatted with the guarding disciples.

To these disciples, guarding the Soul Locking Prison was hardly a desirable assignment. Given the choice, who would willingly spend day after day in this dark, sunless place?

The disciples knew Yu Lu’s current status. Since Yu Lu initiated conversation, the disciples were happy to build rapport with him.

Yu Lu smiled and said, “We are all fellow disciples. When there’s time, we should interact more. Coincidentally, my birthday is in a few days. If you’re not on duty, you’re welcome to join me for a drink.”

The disciples nodded repeatedly, smiling as they said, “Since it’s Junior Brother Yu inviting us, of course we’ll be there.”

Yu Lu did not say much more. After extending the invitation, he left the area.

The moment he departed, Yun Jianyue opened his eyes.

He had been confined in the Soul Locking Prison for quite some time now, and he knew nothing of what was happening outside. But precisely because of this, he had even more time to ponder Chen Chao’s arrangements.

But no matter how much he thought about it, Yun Jianyue could not truly understand anything. He only vaguely understood one thing, if Chen Chao was capable of orchestrating all these events, it meant that he must have his own secret agents within the Infatuation Daoist Temple. However, if these agents had only been planted recently, they would have been of little use. At the very least, they must have been embedded several years ago, perhaps even more than a decade ago.

At that time, Chen Chao himself had still been just a child. Naturally, it could not have been his doing.

In other words, long ago, perhaps even at the beginning of the Great Liang Emperor’s reign, those secret agents had already infiltrated Infatuation Daoist Temple.

Perhaps they had been planted from the start, or perhaps they had been turned later.

Regardless, the Great Liang’s operations in the foreign lands had not begun only when they became aware of the situation. Instead, they had started many years ago, slipping in silently like a spring breeze in the night, like a gentle rain nourishing the earth unnoticed.

Upon realizing this, Yun Jianyue was no longer surprised by the Great Liang’s current rise. The Infatuation Daoist Temple had believed itself to be in control of the mortal world, thinking it had cleverly placed the Wei Family as a chess piece long ago. But in truth, the seemingly feeble Great Liang had already begun its counterattack in the shadows.

And they had been exceedingly patient, never making a move throughout all those years.

That was the truly terrifying aspect.

Over the years, Great Liang had likely had countless opportunities to use these spies. Yet they had held back, keeping them hidden all this time.

Until now, when they had finally drawn their sharpest blade and thrust it straight at their enemies’ hearts.

Yun Jianyue shook his head and lamented. “The tides have turned. Two generations of remarkable talent indeed.”

……

……

News from the Infatuation Daoist Temple quickly reached the Divine Capital.

At this point, with control over the intelligence networks of both the Hundred Streams Pavilion and the Xie Family, Chen Chao was undoubtedly the most well-informed person in the entire Great Liang Dynasty.

Across the entire Great Liang, whether within its provinces or beyond its borders, he was always the first to receive any news.

Taking the slip of paper from the wooden bird, he glanced at it briefly before handing it to Xie Nandu beside him.

”Yun Jianyue has been imprisoned in the Locking Spirit Prison, and Yu Lu’s identity hasn’t been exposed. That Daoist Yinli must be feeling at ease now.”

Xie Nandu tossed the paper into the brazier and, with a hint of admiration, remarked, ”You’ve placed so many pieces on the board, but this setup is truly ingenious. I had assumed Yu Lu was going to become a sacrificial piece, yet you managed to keep even him safe.”

Chen Chao replied, ”He’s already in the tiger’s den, struggling every day to survive, how could I bring myself to abandon him? Even if you were to say it’s for the greater cause, I still wouldn’t do it. Great Liang’s ambitions are vast, and many will die, like the soldiers of the Northern Frontier Army, who might fall on the battlefield. That’s something that can’t be changed. But to abandon them in the name of some so-called big picture? That’s not something I’ll ever do.”

”Besides, Yu Lu wasn’t in a situation where he had to die. It just required a little more time, a bit more careful planning, and he could be saved. The cost wasn’t even that high, so why wouldn’t I save him?”

Chen Chao smiled. ”When fighting demons in the mountains, if you say that sacrificing an arm today guarantees victory, you might be willing to do it. But what about the next time? Wouldn’t you be left with only one arm then?”

Xie Nandu looked at him and said, ”I remember a few years ago, you were still a very cold-blooded person.”

The first time they met, Xie Nandu had been well aware that if she could not offer something that truly moved Chen Chao, he would never lift a finger to save her.

”Things always have to change, nothing stays the same forever.”

Chen Chao rubbed his head and sighed. ”But keeping him alive really took a lot of time and effort. My brain feels like it’s about to explode.”

Xie Nandu said, ”Yun Jianyue isn’t as foolish as you think. He’s probably already figured out that we have informants inside Infatuation Daoist Temple. Once he ascends to the position of temple master, do you think he’ll tolerate them?”

Chen Chao said, ”If he can’t accept them, I’ll just bring them back.”

”And if Yun Jianyue decides to kill them?”

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao, a particular emotion flickering in her eyes.

Chen Chao took a deep breath and said softly, ”Then I’ll kill Yun Jianyue and destroy their Infatuation Daoist Temple’s entire daoist legacy.”

Xie Nandu asked curiously, ”Then wouldn’t all this effort you’re putting in now be for nothing?”

”What you’re talking about is unlikely to happen. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing now. But if it does happen, then so be it, everything will have been in vain. But the people who died cannot have died for nothing.”

Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu seriously and said, ”Uncle entrusted them to me, not so I could send them to their deaths in exchange for some final success.”

Xie Nandu said, ”That will be very difficult.”

”This was never going to be easy in the first place.”

Chen Chao sighed and said, ”The easiest thing in this world is to die in comfort.”

He looked at Xie Nandu and said, ”If we have to rely on cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness to change the present, then after that change, how will the world be any different from what it is now?”

”The people willing to do these things now all believe that the future will be better. They are willing to shed blood and even give their lives for it. What we must do is strive to ensure that they can also see that new world as much as possible.”

”We do this so that the common people of Great Liang may live better lives in the future. But aren’t they also part of the common people? Why should they be sacrificed for the sake of these common people? There is no difference in worth between them.”

Chen Chao took a deep breath and said slowly, ”I believe that only in this way will what we’re doing have true meaning. Only in this way, when that day comes, will this world truly be a new world.”

Xie Nandu did not speak. She simply looked at the young man who had changed so much from before and smiled.

She knew she had not misjudged him.

From the very first moment she saw him in that dilapidated mountain god temple, she had known that he had the most beautiful eyes in the world.

Now, thinking back, those eyes were beautiful because at first glance, she saw the kindness he had hidden deep inside.

Perhaps he had never truly changed, he had merely concealed those things from the very beginning.

”You’re a good person.”

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao.

Chen Chao nodded and smiled. ”I’m a good person.”

Just like when they first met, when he had told her the same thing in front of the fire.