Martial Cultivator

The old man’s hand was still on Chen Wannian’s throat. It seemed he could twist the martial artist’s neck at any moment, yet he did not exert any force for a long while. He stared at the young-faced martial artist before him, and was silent for a long time.

The martial artist across from him kept calling himself this official. The old man was not a fool, he could naturally guess his identity. But even so, he was not going to let go just because of that.

Windspirit Mountain’s face, the Wuwang Peak under the Chief Enforcer might not care about it, but as someone from Lonely Moon Peak, the old man could not possibly ignore it.

Chen Chao stared at the old man and smiled. ”So, are you killing him or not? ”If you’re going to kill him, then hurry up. Once he’s dead, this official can get on with things.”

The old man narrowed his eyes, visibly irritated. ”Since when could people from Great Liang act so arrogantly? ”Even when your emperor was around, he didn’t dare treat Windspirit Mountain like this!”

Chen Chao let out a casual ’oh’ and sighed. ”Too bad His Majesty isn’t here. Otherwise, you could go to the Divine Capital and file a complaint against this official in person. Say that this official is using power to oppress others. Let’s see if you can even open your mouth when you get there.”

The old man furrowed his brow, even angrier after hearing that. Traversing the world, there were usually unspoken rules and conventions. Who would not try to leave a way out for others? Who acted like this young man in front of him?

”This official doesn’t like wasting words. Mr Chen is already a guest retainer of our Great Liang. This official will be bringing his family of three back to the Divine Capital. As for those few people who died by his hand, what really happened, you probably know better than this official. If you’re going to ignore reason and try to use that to threaten, then this official won’t agree to it. If we’re abandoning reason, then that’s what this official is best at.”

After saying this, Chen Chao did not give the old man any chance to respond. He simply continued on his own, ”If Windspirit Mountain has any objections, keep them to yourselves. If you really don’t want to hold back, then this official will send people to flatten the Windspirit Mountain. After all, you lot haven’t done anything decent these past years. If this official wanted to make trouble, I could dig up a whole basket of things.”

A sect, trying to establish itself in this world, they were more or less bound to have done some dirty deeds. As long as no one specifically came looking, it was fine. But if someone did? Where could they not find dirt?

Even if they did not have any dirt now, if Great Liang kept its eyes fixed on Windspirit Mountain from here on, it could still make life extremely difficult for the entire sect.

The old man narrowed his eyes, some killing intent flashing within them.

Chen Chao noticed it but remained indifferent. ”Old fellow, if you really want to kill someone, then do it. Just staring at this official won’t make me drop dead!”

The old man was silent.

Not far off, the Chief Enforcer had already arrived. Seeing Chen Chao and the old man in a standoff, he tactfully stood at a distance, neither approaching nor speaking.

But while he did not want to speak, the young martial artist clearly was not going to let him off so easily. He turned his head to look in that direction, smiling as he asked, ”Is this old fellow the one calling the shots on your Windspirit Mountain?”

The Chief Enforcer glanced at the old man, full of unspoken grievance. More and more disciples were gathering along the mountain path, and the situation was growing increasingly difficult.

Now the old man was caught in a bind. At this point, the issue was no longer just about whether or not to kill Chen Wannian, or whether to protect the position of mountain lord, it was a matter of Windspirit Mountain’s face as a whole.

If they wanted to maintain a foothold in the foreign lands, could they really lower their heads so easily to Great Liang?

Back then, that incident with Sword Qi Mountain had utterly ruined its reputation out there. Even now, plenty of people were still laughing at them behind their backs.

If Windspirit Mountain did not handle today’s matter well, it would become the second Sword Qi Mountain in the foreign lands, only with even more severe consequences.

But if they did not yield, would this matter really just blow over today?

The old man thought long and hard, and finally spoke slowly. ”Chen Wannian is a disciple of Windspirit Mountain. Now that he’s involved in a murder case, it is only right that Windspirit Mountain conducts a full investigation. If it turns out Chen Wannian bears no guilt, then when the time comes for him to leave, Windspirit Mountain will not stand in his way.”

The meaning was clear - they were still unwilling to hand Chen Wannian over right now. But it was already a compromise, giving both Chen Chao and Windspirit Mountain a way to step down the stage. Later, in private, Great Liang and the Windspirit Mountain could still negotiate terms for taking Chen Wannian away. Even if talks failed, it would not have to turn into such a stalemate.

But whether the young man across from them truly did not understand the old man’s implied meaning, or simply refused to take the step down, he just shook his head and said bluntly, ”No. This official is taking Mr Chen and his whole family with me today. Otherwise, this official will make sure Windspirit Mountain knows no peace.”

The old man could no longer hold back and roared in fury, ”Child, do you really think Windspirit Mountain has no one to defend it?!”

Chen Chao stared at the old man, a hint of anger rising in his voice. ”You old bastard, if you don’t let go soon, this official won’t let you pick the battleground anymore.”

So even at this point, the old man still had his hand gripping Chen Wannian’s throat and had not released it.

The old man gave a cold snort but in the end did not dare continue provoking the young Lord Warden Commander before him, and finally let go of Chen Wannian.

Chen Lian hurriedly rushed forward to help his father up, his eyes filled with resentment as he glared at the old man. But just as he was about to speak, Chen Wannian shook his head, stopping him.

Chen Chao turned to glance at the Chief Enforcer nearby and smiled as he said, ”This official heard that Mr Chen’s wife is on your Wuwang Peak. This official will have to trouble Chief Enforcer to bring her out. This official won’t intrude further and will take all three members of the Chen family down the mountain right away.”

Though Chen Chao had hardly acted mild-mannered this whole time, in truth, he had already been holding back quite a bit. If it were not for Mr Chen’s deep ties to Windspirit Mountain and his reluctance to blow things up, Chen Chao might have started a fight the moment he set foot on the mountain.

How could he be willing to waste so many words otherwise.

The Chief Enforcer was caught in a dilemma. In the end, he bit the bullet and looked toward the old man, saying softly. ”Martial Uncle, should we report this to the Mountain Lord and let him decide?”

Since a decision had to be made, better to let someone else make the call. The Chief Enforcer had no intention of taking the heat himself.

The old man gave him a cold glance and did not answer. He knew full well that given the current situation, if he really informed his Senior Brother, then his Senior Brother might be angered to death on the spot.

He narrowed his eyes, thought it over for a long while, then slowly said, ”If Your Excellency wishes to take away Chen Wannian and his family, you may do so. But Chen Wannian is a disciple of my Windspirit Mountain after all. Saying you’ll take him just like that, I’m afraid it won’t be so easy. How about this: Your Excellency will fight with this old man. If you can defeat this old man, you may take them down the mountain. But if you cannot, then this matter ends here. What do you say?”

The old man was confident in his cultivation and made this proposal as a way to preserve Windspirit Mountain’s face.

Chen Chao asked, ”To the death?”

Hearing these words, the old man’s brows furrowed once again, the anger in his heart unable to be suppressed. He had already given the young man before him enough face, did the other party really want to blow things up to the point of no return?

”Since it’s Your Excellency’s request, then life and death shall be between this old man and Your Excellency. No matter the outcome, this matter shall be considered settled?”

The old man narrowed his eyes, having made up his mind to properly teach this young man a lesson.

Chen Chao nodded with a smile. ”Fine. You said it yourself. If you go back on your word later, don’t blame this official for not warning you in advance.”

The old man merely sneered coldly.

The Chief Enforcer bit the bullet and transmitted his voice telepathically, ”Martial Uncle, you must be careful when you attack. If this person really dies on the mountain, no matter what agreement was made, Great Liang definitely won’t let it go.”

The old man completely ignored the Chief Enforcer. When it came to matters on the mountain, the Chief Enforcer only sought to protect himself, but the old man truly cared about Windspirit Mountain. It was something the other could never compare to.

If one were to say who most wanted Windspirit Mountain to remain well, it was undoubtedly him.

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