Martial Cultivator

”Everyone saw how that battle was won, no one’s blind. If anyone dares try to erase her merit, rest assured, I’ll be the first to object. With that great victory, things will go much more smoothly from now on. I can properly entrust her with many matters. You should know, when this war began, appointing her as the main commander put me under enormous pressure. If anything had gone wrong back then, I truly would have been sitting on needles and walking on thorns.”

”But kiddo, you shouldn’t expect that after this great war, she’ll be placed in some lofty position. That’s impossible. Some things can’t be rushed, and even if you rush them, it’s useless.”

Chen Chao nodded. He naturally understood what Ning Ping meant. These matters had to be taken slowly. No one could reach the highest position overnight. Everything required accumulation.

”Anyway, Your Excellency, please take more care. As for her affairs in the Northern Frontier, I’ll leave them in Your Excellency’s hands.”

Chen Chao chuckled, considering the matter settled.

Ning Ping kept a cold face, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Then Ning Ping said calmly, ”The Northern Frontier Army’s recent eradication of bugs has gone fairly smoothly. Though it can’t yet be called completely renewed, compared to before, it’s much better.”

Chen Chao said solemnly, ”This matter must continue. We can’t afford even the slightest slack. After all, His Majesty’s vision lies here, and if we wish to maintain the army’s strength, this must be done.”

Ning Ping nodded, understanding the pros and cons. After thinking for a moment, he asked, ”Besides the new military equipment, you must have done something else these past days, right?”

Chen Chao chuckled and said casually, ”In about a month or two, cultivators will start arriving at the Northern Frontier one after another, and they’ll be under your command, Your Excellency.”

Ning Ping asked curiously, ”What, you went and bought people?”

Chen Chao ignored him and said to himself, ”Itinerant cultivators from the north, sword cultivators from the Sword Sect, even some qi refiners, any of them might come. I’ve stirred up so much trouble everywhere this year. If there weren’t some benefits, do you think I’d bother running all over the place?”

Ning Ping laughed heartily. Though he hadn’t returned to Great Liang since coming to the Northern Frontier, he had heard every one of those stories without missing a word.

When that kid was wandering around, he terrified all those from the foreign sects. Each and every one of them prayed that this young Lord Warden Commander would go anywhere, just not to their mountain pass gates.

They hoped that he wouldn’t even pass by, let alone stop for a drink of water.

In the earlier years, there were rumors among the foreign sects that this young martial artist was a violent and vicious man. Back then, they hadn’t taken such a young person seriously. But by the time they did, he no longer paid them any mind.

Indeed, with his current strength, an ordinary Nepenthe was something he could kill at will.

People couldn’t help but wonder there weren’t many who reached the end of Nepenthe in the world, so why was one of them this very young martial artist before their eyes?

Heaven must be blind.

Ning Ping thought for a moment and said, ”You did quite a lot elsewhere before. Though it was for Great Liang, it wasn’t done here in the Northern Frontier. So when they mentioned you, they didn’t feel much about it. But after today, when they mention you again, there’ll only be one comparison left in their hearts.”

Chen Chao froze for a moment. Naturally, he knew who that so-called comparison referred to.

”Your prestige has suddenly risen, to the point that even I’m a little envious.”

Ning Ping rubbed his head, seeming truly a bit unwilling to let it go.

Chen Chao asked suspiciously, “Your Excellency, why are you saying these things?”

Ning Ping smiled slightly, looked at Chen Chao, then pointed to the distance. There was only one street left to walk to the General’s Office.

It was right around the corner.

Chen Chao stopped here, somewhat unwilling to go further.

There certainly weren’t any great demons up ahead waiting to surround and kill him, but for some reason, Chen Chao just didn’t dare take that step forward.

It was a little like a son-in-law visiting his in-laws for the first time: in addition to being careful, there was a lot of nervousness.

Ning Ping watched this scene and laughed, swearing, “Damn it, you dare give the Demon Emperor the middle finger when facing him, so why are you afraid to step forward now?”

Chen Chao took a deep breath, cursed under his breath; words no one heard. Then, he took another deep breath and at last stepped forward.

He turned the corner.

A long street ahead was lined with people on both sides.

Densely packed, all wearing armor and sabers hanging at their waists.

From their armor it was clear these people held not low ranks in the army.

Now they had gathered here, waiting for Chen Chao.

A mighty general at the front looked at Chen Chao with complete admiration.

Most of the others felt the same; a few wore complicated expressions that were hard to read.

Chen Chao stood in place, silent.

Those armored generals exchanged a glance and then clasped their fists.

Their movements were neat and uniform.

“Lord Warden Commander, you are of the same lineage as His Majesty and serve the nation and people; we admire you. To fight shoulder to shoulder with the Lord Warden Commander, we consider it the good fortune of three lifetimes!”

“May the Lord Warden Commander’s martial future flow like a long river, ever living and unceasing. May the Lord Warden Commander forever guard Great Liang, and so that our Great Liang people suffer not a whit of disaster!”

Their voices shook the long street.

Chen Chao stood in place, hearing these words and unable to speak. After long silence, he clasped his fists as well and then made a deep bow.

He bowed to these valiant martial artists who, for the people of Great Liang, do not return home, who throw away their lives on the battlefield.

......

......

Yellow Dragon Prefecture had always been regarded as the place where sword qi in the world was the most abundant.

The best place for forging swords, Sword Qi Mountain, was in Yellow Dragon Prefecture.

The world’s only sword path sect, the Sword Sect, was also located here.

With the most supreme flying swords and the strongest sword cultivators gathered here, it naturally drew other sword cultivators and swordsmiths from afar over the long years to settle in this land.

Even if there were only a few at the start, as time passed, day after day, year after year, the number of flying swords and sword cultivators accumulated here grew ever greater. As such, the sword qi in Yellow Dragon Prefecture became increasingly dense, boundless and without end.

By the time the Great Liang Dynasty was founded, the number of wandering sword cultivators and swordsmiths in Yellow Dragon Prefecture had reached an innumerable count, and Yellow Dragon Prefecture naturally came to be recognized as the land of the sword dao.

In the past, there had once been a sword cultivator of humble origins from the wilderness who made a bold declaration: how could one be considered a true pillar of the sword dao in this world? Very simple - first, climb Sword Qi Mountain and take away a Hundred Year Sword, then, with that sword in hand, strike off the Sword Sect’s Sect Master’s hair crown, that would suffice.

But though those words had been spoken many years ago, even after more than a century had passed, no one had ever managed to accomplish such a feat. Sword Qi Mountain indeed produced another Hundred Year Sword, named Wild Grass, but the one who took it away was no ordinary sword cultivator, it was a sword cultivator from the Sword Sect itself.

Whether someone of that identity would even think to challenge the Sword Sect’s Sect Master aside, even after taking the sword, though he was said to have already become a sword immortal, he was still far from matching the Sword Sect’s Sect Master, the number one sword user of this era, by a distance of hundreds of thousands of miles.

That Sect Master of the Sword Sect, whose lifelong pursuit was to comprehend the perfect sword art, had not appeared in the world for countless years. The last two times he had drawn his sword, they were against two emperors. Though he seemingly did not win either time, he also did not die. On the surface, such records might not seem glorious, but in truth, how could that be considered inferior?

How many people in this world could emerge completely unscathed after crossing swords with two Emperors?

Likely not a single one.

Thus, even with two battles without victory, sword cultivators of the world still regarded the Sword Sect’s Sect Master as the strongest in Sword Dao today, deeply admiring him, and endlessly wondering when he would once more emerge from seclusion.

That was what they thought, but since the beginning of this month, those sword cultivators who braved wind and snow to gather in a small town called Three Feet were not waiting for the Sword Sect’s Sect Master to end his seclusion.

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