Martial Cultivator

In the small town at the foot of the Infatuation Daoist Temple’s mountain, there was a shabby noodle shop, with no more and no fewer than four tables, occupying very little ground, and its location was not very good.

At a wooden table facing the street, two people sat opposite each other.

A young man in a blue robe reached out and wiped the grease from the table, knowing that no matter how he rubbed it here it would not come clean, so he frowned and his expression turned sour.

In front of him and in front of the black-robed man opposite him, there were each a bowl of steaming soup noodles, only the broth was tinged red and floating with some chili powder.

On the noodles were several large, substantial pieces of beef, and on top there was a handful of cilantro.

The black-robed man took two chopsticks from the chopstick holder beside him, casually wiped them on his sleeve, and was about to lower his head to eat.

The blue-robed man could not hold back any longer and cursed, “Punk, you are too stingy, huh? Your Father is accompanying you to do something that risks my head. Even if you won’t even treat me to a dish of dragon’s liver and phoenix marrow, you have to treat me to some delicacies, right? How is it that one bowl of beef noodles is how you brush me off?”

The black-robed man looked up at the blue-robed man, frowned, and said, “Finish the job first, then eat. Otherwise if you die, treating you would be a waste.”

The blue-robed man sneered and was about to retort, but unexpectedly the black-robed man looked up and said helplessly, “It’s not that I don’t want to treat you to something good, these years’ stipends, I have not seen a single coin of them.”

Ever since he had frequently left the Divine Capital some years ago, the court stipend each month had all been taken by that lady living by the South Lake.

Back then Chen Chao had only been the deputy commander of the Left Guard. Later he became the commander, and then eventually the Lord Warden Commander; naturally his stipends increased over time.

But in the end he had still not seen a single coin.

The blue-robed man laughed loudly. For some reason, every time he saw Chen Chao suffer a loss now, he felt an indescribable pleasure.

But the laughter soon stopped. The young sword immortal remembered something and suddenly said, “Damn it, Xie Nandu already went to the desolate north so long ago, and your stipends still haven’t reached you?”

Chen Chao was stunned, then belatedly recalled the matter. Indeed, Xie Nandu had left for the desolate north months ago; now even a great battle had been fought there. Where had his share of the stipends gone?

No way, if he survived this time he would definitely ask those Ministry of Revenue officials whether they had been withholding his stipends.

Damn it, how dare they withhold Your Father’s salary, do they not fear death?

Yu Xiyi glanced at this fellow several times and, certain that the man did not even know where his stipends had gone, his mood improved considerably. He picked up a piece of beef; this might well be his last meal, and in any case it tasted somewhat different.

However, by the time this guy had just begun to eat, Chen Chao had already almost finished. Putting down his chopsticks, Chen Chao said to himself, “A’Yue and Daoist Wuyang have already left the Infatuation Daoist Temple, but they did not go far; they are on a nearby mountain.”

At this, Yu Xiyi’s eyes brightened and he tentatively asked, “Then shall we let A’Yue hold on for a while, and the two of us go to the Infatuation Daoist Temple and destroy that temple first?”

Chen Chao frowned and forced a wry smile. “You say Your Father is a demon, but why do you look more like the demon than I do?”

Yu Xiyi chuckled.

Chen Chao shook his head and said, ”Even if the two of us could destroy the Infatuation Daoist Temple, just by doing that, A’Yue would definitely die.”

Yu Xiyi nodded, saying seriously, ”That ox-nosed old daoist has crossed that realm. Impressive, but A’Yue probably won’t be able to hold out for long... Wait a damn minute, then why the hell are we still here eating noodles? You bastard, do you not see A’Yue as a person?”

Chen Chao glanced at Yu Xiyi, thinking, I have my reasons for being here. What are you so anxious about?

”Almost time.”

Chen Chao stood up, about to leave the noodle shop. Yu Xiyi froze, then began eating rapidly, shoving down the noodles like a starving wolf.

Standing by the shop’s entrance, Chen Chao looked back at Yu Xiyi and thought, You don’t see A’Yue as a person either. Damn it, the life of a daoist grandmaster seems to matter less to you than a bowl of noodles.

But soon, Chen Chao turned his head, gazing ahead. A young monk in black robes was walking toward them from afar.

He was also dressed in black.

The two met eyes. Chen Chao smiled faintly and gave a courteous bow.

Yu Xiyi stepped out and, seeing this, asked curiously, ”You were waiting for this monk?”

Chen Chao nodded helplessly. No matter who it was, this guy always seemed indifferent. The Sword Sect’s Sect Master, he cussed out without hesitation. Now meeting this monk, he still called him a monk.

Chen Chao looked toward the sky and said, ”You go on ahead. I’ve got something to handle here. Once I’m done, I’ll join you.”

Yu Xiyi responded with an “oh,” knowing the situation was urgent, so he said nothing further. His figure turned into a streak of sword light and disappeared.

After Yu Xiyi left, Chen Chao looked at the black-robed monk and asked, ”Master, what advice do you have for me?”

The black-robed monk smiled and said, ”This destitute monk has nothing much to say. I’m simply a bit hungry and wish for a bowl of vegetarian noodles. Would Lord Warden Commander be generous enough to treat this destitute monk to a meal?”

Chen Chao turned around and ordered a bowl of vegetarian noodles. Then, once again, he sat at the street-side table opposite the monk.

Before the noodles arrived, the black-robed monk spoke first. ”Three who have reached the end of Nepenthe, plus the Sword Sect’s Sect Master’s earlier sword strike, even so, your chances of killing him remain bleak.”

Chen Chao smiled. ”Then will Master join as well?”

The black-robed monk shook his head. His cultivation was insufficient. He had barely stepped into Nepenthe. In the coming battle, where mountains would quake and the earth would split, his participation would make no difference.

Chen Chao understood. In truth, even with his identity as Lord Warden Commander, he could have summoned many cultivators to join this siege against Daoist Wuyang. Yet, as the monk said, ordinary cultivators at the Nepenthe Realm were useless now. As for those who had reached the end of Nepenthe in the Great Liang Dynasty, there were actually not many.

And most of them could not be moved.

Even if they could, the Infatuation Daoist Temple would no longer be merely watching in silence like now.

Were some of the old daoists in the mountain who never came out of seclusion great daoist sages, or even were there one or two peerless powerhouses who had long since crossed beyond Nepenthe but still refused to show themselves in the world, peerless powerhouses? Who could guarantee.

Since that was the case, then it would still be these three, and that would do.

The black-robed monk said, “But with you here, there is probably a sliver of hope.”

Among the three, A’Yue, as a great sword immortal, had obvious killing power. But in truth, the one most skilled at killing was still Chen Chao.

Chen Chao probed, “Only a sliver of hope?”

The black-robed monk glanced at the young martial artist in front of him, not in the mood to tease him, and casually said, “Once this destitute monk finishes this bowl of plain noodles, there will be a little more.”

Chen Chao was stunned, then quickly came to his senses, shouting toward the back kitchen, “Bring a few more bowls of plain noodles... Forget it, no matter how many plain noodles you have in your shop, bring them all!”

One more bowl of plain noodles, one more chance - today there would be enough; wouldn’t that definitely allow them to kill that ox-nosed old daoist?

______