Martial Cultivator

This was precisely why, throughout the generations, the Lord Warden Commander had always been the one military official no one in the Great Liang court wished to provoke. After all, the warden faction existed outside the regular bureaucratic system. The appointment and removal of officials typically had to go through the Ministry of Personnel, how could it be decided by a single person? But the warden faction was the exception: everything was decided by the Lord Warden Commander alone.

There was only one person who had jurisdiction over the Lord Warden Commander.

Strictly speaking, even the Crown Prince, though entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the nation, had absolutely no authority over the Lord Warden Commander.

In other words, even if the Crown Prince issued a decree, whether it was obeyed or not depended entirely on whether Chen Chao wanted to.

Even the idea they had previously entertained of removing Chen Chao, had been no more than a fantasy. There was no such precedent in the Great Liang’s laws.

To put it bluntly, if Chen Chao insisted on doing things his way, there was nothing in the law that could restrain him; unless he went so far as to commit treason and usurp the throne.

In truth, over these past days, many people had belatedly come to realize what was going on. When His Majesty refused to pass down the throne and instead promoted Chen Chao to the post of Lord Warden Commander, it was precisely to give him this kind of environment.

It was to give him a situation where, in effect, no one stood above him.

Among all the emperors throughout history, probably only His Majesty had the breadth of mind to do such a thing.

Shen Renshan could not say a word. Meanwhile, Weng Quan had already taken out a list and begun reading names, each one a highly important figure in the Shen Family. Today, all of them were to be taken back for investigation.

Chen Chao smiled and said, “We’re all citizens of Great Liang, all serving the court. Don’t make things difficult for me, just come and be investigated for a few days. If nothing’s wrong, they’ll all be released. There’s no need to worry.”

That said, in all the history of Lord Warden Commanders, none had ever acted quite like Chen Chao.

“Lord Warden Commander, this kind of conduct may not be appropriate.”

Shen Renshan was just about to speak.

“Reporting, Your Excellency! We just found a foreign lands cultivator in the back courtyard, carrying a secret letter. The person has already been apprehended by us.”

Suddenly, an official spoke up, saying they had captured someone inside the Shen Family’s inner residence.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes, his expression growing serious. “Now this is no longer just a matter of questioning. This official didn’t expect we’d actually find evidence of collusion with the foreign lands in your Shen Family.”

Shen Renshan’s complexion turned deathly pale, but when he caught the flicker of emotion in Chen Chao’s eyes, he immediately took two steps back. The Shen Family’s true power-holder roared in anger, “Chen Chao, you’re framing us!”

Chen Chao remained silent.

Of course it was a set-up. The person had been planted by the Hundred Streams Pavilion. The Hundred Streams Pavilion had spies even in foreign lands, let alone in the Shen Family.

The world knew that he now commanded the Left and Right Guards, as well as all the wardens across the empire’s provinces. But who knew that he also held the Hundred Streams Pavilion in his grasp?

“Lord Warden Commander.”

Just then, as Shen Renshan stood dumbfounded, a voice drifted in from within. An old man stood at the end of a long corridor, looking at Chen Chao as he calmly said, “The ancestor wishes to invite Lord Warden Commander for another talk.”

Chen Chao looked up at the old man and smiled. “Didn’t he not want to meet this official earlier? Now he wants to meet this official? How can it be so easy?”

The old man’s face remained calm as still water, but his voice had grown much gentler. “Lord Warden Commander, surely the current situation isn’t the outcome you truly want, is it?”

Chen Chao’s expression was blank. “No. This is exactly what this official wants. Your Shen Family wants to become the second Wei Family, this official has no reason to hold back.”

“But what about you, Your Excellency?”

The old man took a deep breath and said softly, “For someone of Your Excellency’s rank, it’s best not to act on impulse.”

Hearing this, Chen Chao was silent for a moment before turning and saying, “Weng Quan, you guys wait here for this official.”

With that, Chen Chao slowly stood and walked down the corridor, soon arriving before the old man.

The old man said nothing more and turned away.

It did not take long for the two of them to reach a certain room.

Pushing open the door.

Chen Chao walked in.

......

......

“Light the candles.”

After he entered, Chen Chao chuckled. “Why keep it so dark? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were planning to assassinate this official.”

The old man seated at the head of the room remained still as a mountain, but he still waved his hand, instructing others to light the candles around the room.

Only then did Chen Chao see that the room sat quite a few people.

He glanced at the old man in the seat of honor and smiled.

The old man sighed. “As expected, Lord Warden Commander is truly extraordinary. You even managed to plant people within my Shen Family. This old man underestimated Your Excellency.”

“Just some small tricks,” Chen Chao said with a smile. “But the Shen Family being unclean is real.”

The old man was unfazed. “There are no clean people in this world.”

Chen Chao did not dispute it.

“What you did today, Lord Warden Commander, this old man truly didn’t expect. But such a blatant set-up,any discerning eye can see through it. Even if you use this to destroy the Shen Family, are you not afraid of losing the people’s support? Of making every step from here on difficult? Are you not afraid of arousing His Highness the Crown Prince’s suspicion?”

”Or perhaps Lord Warden Commander has already seen through it all and intends to ascend the throne?”

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and smiled. ”Don’t say such things. If this official wanted to be Emperor, this official wouldn’t have shaken my head back when His Majesty asked.”

The old man was silent for a moment.

Chen Chao sighed. ”This official knows what you’re all thinking. You’re afraid that if this official keeps going down this path, it will drag Great Liang into the abyss. Of course, it’s not that you’re truly afraid the Great Liang will fall, what you’re really afraid of is the fall of your Shen Family. After all, you’re not like those truly great clans, with deep-rooted foundations...”

”But...”

Chen Chao trailed off and took a few steps forward. Killing intent surged.

In the crowd, Shen Xunchang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly sensed the unrestrained murderous aura. He leaped out abruptly, his qi surging to its peak, and threw a punch at Chen Chao’s back.

Chen Chao did not even turn his head. He simply swung an arm sideways, slamming into Shen Xunchang’s chest and sending him flying. He crashed through countless tables and chairs before smashing hard into the wall.

A spiderweb-like crack appeared.

Chen Chao moved closer to the old man. The others in the room did not dare to move a muscle.

They all knew clearly: this young martial artist before them was a true Nepenthe martial artist. In this entire room, how many of them could take a head-on blow?

Chen Chao arrived before the old man in one step.

The old man sneered coldly, “Chen Chao, do you actually dare kill this old man?”

The next moment, the old man was sent flying. Though he had once possessed some cultivation in his younger years, now he was aged and feeble. The Shen Family ancestor flew hundreds of feet away and crashed to the ground.

Virtually everyone in the room stared with wide eyes.

As if they had not expected that even at this moment, this young martial artist would still dare to act with such audacity.

Chen Chao took a few steps forward, grabbed the blood-covered Shen Family ancestor by the collar, slammed him onto a table, and pressed him down. He said with a hint of curiosity, “This official really never understood, someone like you, no cultivation, no real ability, how do you have the gall to act so arrogant in front of this official?”

Chen Chao pressed the old man’s head down, his eyes sweeping over the others as he said coolly, “If this official were to take your white-haired head right now, who in this room would dare utter a single word in protest?”

Sure enough, as soon as those words left his mouth, everyone in the room held their breath. No one spoke.

“You see? You really thought this official would be as easy to reason with as the Crown Prince?”

Chen Chao shook his head. “This official rose from killing demons. Killing people comes much more naturally than reasoning ever did.”