Martial Cultivator

The Divine Capital was once again shaken, not too much, but not too little either. First came the news that several members of the Shen Family had died. Although the exact cause was not explicitly stated, most people already knew: those members of the Shen Family had died at Chen Chao’s hands. This revelation left many shocked. The Divine Capital had already been in an uproar recently, all because of that young Lord Warden Commander. Everyone had assumed that once he returned to the Divine Capital, he would at least keep a low profile. No one expected that as soon as he returned, he would once again begin a bloody purge.

And this time, the ones killed were members of the Divine Capital’s Shen Family.

Upon hearing the news, many were already preparing, thinking this time they would surely be able to drive that young Lord Warden Commander out of the imperial court for good. They were raring to go.

But no one anticipated that the Ministry of Penalty would, earlier on, publicly post an announcement listing the crimes of the Shen Family members—clear charges with detailed evidence, leaving virtually no room for doubt.

Soon after, news spread from the imperial palace: His Highness the Crown Prince expressed considerable approval of the young Lord Warden Commander’s actions. While not exactly by the book, it was deemed a necessary response to urgent matters.

After all, those people deserved to die. Though the Lord Warden Commander was formally reprimanded, no specific punishments were mentioned.

In other words, it was all just vague and noncommittal words.

Then came the most unexpected development, an official statement from the Shen Family itself. They claimed that what Chen Chao had done was merely helping them root out corruption, and far from resentment, they were grateful.

Since both sides did not have any complaints, outsiders had even less to say.

This left the noble clans backing the Shen Family utterly dumbfounded. They had been waiting for the Shen Family to stir up trouble so they could rally together, first ousting Chen Chao, then forcing the Crown Prince to withdraw the annual tax revenues collected from the Northern Frontier. But looking at it now, they had been indulging in nothing but foolish delusions.

From this incident, people understood two things.

Firstly, the young Lord Warden Commander was far more formidable than they had imagined. He was not someone ordinary at all. His decisiveness and strength echoed that of His Majesty in his youth. He was no longer someone they could shake.

Secondly, the Crown Prince harbored no suspicion toward this elder brother. At least for now, that was the case on the surface.

Many sighed deeply, realizing that the future direction of the Great Liang Dynasty likely rested in the hands of that young Lord Warden Commander’s whims.

Some court officials were unwilling to accept this reality, yet were helpless to do anything.

After all, Chen Chao was now not only the number one military official of the Great Liang Dynasty, but also virtually the person with the highest prestige in the court. Even the Xie Family, which currently held the greatest voice in the Great Liang, was closely aligned with him.

With these conditions in place, in fact, saying that he was the actual Emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty would not even be an exaggeration.

Everyone knew that even if this young Lord Warden Commander had no intention of usurping the throne, he had indeed become the foremost powerful official of the Great Liang Dynasty.

Perhaps even the first official to wield such immense authority in the two hundred years of the Great Liang Dynasty.

In truth, this was quite strange, because His Majesty the current Emperor was famously strong-handed, even more so than the founding emperor. But who would have thought that under this current reign, such a powerful official could still emerge?

People were thus also quite curious, when future historians wrote their records, with what kind of words would they use to document this bizarre matter?

However, just as people were all abuzz with discussion, no one knew that the young Lord Warden Commander had already quietly departed from the Divine Capital, slowly heading north.

This time, the young Lord Warden Commander was not traveling alone, but bringing Xie Nandu with him as they headed north together.

With the academy tentatively settled, Xie Nandu believed she no longer had much purpose remaining here. Moreover, the Northern Frontier had always been her dream, so she very quickly decided to go north to the Northern Frontier.

After Chen Chao learned of Xie Nandu’s decision, he did not stop her. He naturally understood Xie Nandu’s thoughts. Now that she was going north, it was indeed a good time. At the very least, she could first familiarize herself with the layout of the Northern Frontier, so as not to be flustered when the time came.

Of course, Chen Chao had always believed that being flustered was something that would never happen to Xie Nandu.

But regardless, since the other party had already decided, Chen Chao had no choice but to support her.

However, he decided to personally escort Xie Nandu to the Northern Frontier.

Xie Nandu shook her head and politely declined.

Chen Chao insisted on escorting her.

In the end, after some bargaining, Xie Nandu agreed to let Chen Chao escort her to the borders of Xinliu Prefecture, after which she would head north alone.

Chen Chao thought it over and ultimately compromised helplessly. But he had already sent word to the Northern Frontier, instructing the former Lord Warden Commander to send someone to receive her. Although Xie Nandu now possessed killing power not inferior to a Great Beyond cultivator, Chen Chao, concerned as he was, still felt uneasy.

However, he was quite certain that the next time he saw Xie Nandu, this girl would likely be a bona fide sword cultivator of the Great Beyond Realm.

By then, with her nine lifeblood flying swords, there would probably be no one under Nepenthe who would dare act rashly in front of her.

Even ordinary Nepenthes might feel uneasy when facing Xie Nandu.

A monster like this, fortunately, there was only one in the world.

......

......

Originally, after the New Year in the Divine Capital, there was no more snowfall. But pushing northward, the scenery here was still deep winter.

A heavy snowfall had started before daybreak, and by now, it had already accumulated quite a bit. Travelers’ footsteps sank past their ankles.

A horse carriage slowly moved northward in the heavy snow. The horse was pure white without a single stray hair, exceptionally spirited.

The coachman wore a black robe, a saber hanging from his waist. Judging by his appearance, he was not very old, likely just over twenty, though it seemed he had not shaved in some time, making the stubble on his chin particularly noticeable.

Inside the carriage was a small brazier. A young woman lifted the curtain, and the wind and snow immediately blew against her face, her hair instantly dusted with snowflakes.

The woman was simple and elegant, yet stunningly beautiful - like a fairy who had descended upon the mortal world.

Hearing the whistling wind from the carriage behind, the young man driving the carriage laughed and said, “The north is winter for four or five months of the year. I’m really afraid you won’t be able to get used to it.”

Hearing this, the woman smiled and replied, “Do you think I’m like those sheltered little girls who never step outside?”

The young man sighed and said, “How old do you think you are?”

The woman raised her brow and said, “Nt as old as you.”

Though the two were close in age, the man was indeed older than the woman. Although by less than a year, it was still a fact.

“This trip northward, you insisted on coming with me. You’re not just worried about me, are you?”

The young woman suddenly spoke. Back when they had left the Divine Capital, she had already felt something was off. Now that she thought it over, she had figured out the reason.

The young man did not bother to hide anything and answered bluntly, “Indeed. After the Green Algae Sect was wiped out, there were still some loose ends left unresolved. If it had been me, I would’ve taken care of everything cleanly at the time. But I wasn’t there, and had that brat Yu Xiyi help out. You know as well as I do, aside from wielding a sword, that guy’s other abilities are pretty mediocre.”

The young woman clicked her tongue and said, “Oh? A young sword immortal, and that’s all he amounts to in your eyes?”

Chen Chao nodded as a matter of course and said with a smile, “If I just stood here and let him slash at me a few times, he still wouldn’t be able to kill me. What’s the point of all that sword training?”

“Then when are you going to stand still and let me try a few slashes? If you’ve got the guts, don’t dodge.”

Just as the words left her lips, Chen Chao immediately sensed a fierce sword intent rise up behind him, forcing a bitter smile from him. “Stop messing around.”

Though he no longer feared Xie Nandu’s flying swords, getting stabbed by those things still hurt like hell.

But the worst part was he could not show it. He had to grit his teeth and endure.

Xie Nandu smiled faintly, and her flying sword White Deer flashed and vanished.

Chen Chao had just opened his mouth to speak when he heard the sound of hooves behind him.

He turned his head and saw a group of riders galloping through the snow; about several people in total.

Chen Chao pulled hard on the reins, guiding the carriage slowly to the side to make way for them.

Before long, the riders passed the carriage. The one in the lead was a stern-looking middle-aged man. Chen Chao instinctively released his divine sense to take a glance, his cultivation was not high; merely at the Bitter Sea Realm.

The few young men following behind had even lower cultivation.

One of the younger riders, as he passed the carriage, glanced toward it and immediately fell into a daze. He tugged the reins instinctively, and the horse beneath him neighed in pain, its front hooves rearing up, flinging the youth straight off its back into the snow.

The youth landed on his rear in the snow, still in a daze.

Damn, did Your Father just see a fairy maiden?!

But that stumble had thrown the others into chaos as well. In the end, they were all forced to stop and calm their horses.

The middle-aged man in the lead already wore a stern expression. Now, seeing this scene after turning around, his face grew even more rigid as he said in a deep voice, “Panicking like this, what sort of conduct is that?”

Only then did the young man snap out of it, face slightly flushed, though he still kept sneaking glances at the woman inside the carriage.

After the rebuke, the middle-aged man cast a glance at the carriage. Seeing a young man at the reins, he said nothing more and spurred his horse onward.

The rest of the young men hurried to follow, except for the one who had fallen. After climbing back onto his horse, he did not leave right away. Face still red, he looked at the young woman in the carriage and asked softly, “May I ask for your name, Miss?”

Before Xie Nandu could respond, Chen Chao who was driving the carriage shot him a glance and said irritably, “She’s my wife, what of it?”