Martial Cultivator

Feng Liu gave a bitter smile and said, “It seems what the Lord Warden Commander wants is not heavenly materials and earthly treasures, nor mountains of gold and silver, but people.”

Chen Chao did not speak.

Feng Liu said, “I will be so bold as to ask: if we do not agree to the Lord Warden Commander’s request, does that mean this matter cannot be done, and the two mountain sites can only be given to the Morning Dew Sect by way of lease?”

Chen Chao did not speak, only looked at Feng Liu.

Feng Liu changed his phrasing and asked again, “If the Morning Dew Sect does not want those two mountain sites, but instead lets the imperial court designate one mountain anywhere in Ying Prefecture, would that work?”

Chen Chao still did not say anything.

Feng Liu smiled bitterly.

Doing business was like this. One was not afraid of the other party asking for an exorbitant price, but rather afraid of the other party gripping a certain bottom line: everything else could be foregone, but this one thing had to be there.

After a long while, Chen Chao finally spoke and said, “Then this official will add a bit more.” “After the Morning Dew Sect is established, among the many mines being exploited in Ying Prefecture, a few can be temporarily lent to the Morning Dew Sect. The term can be discussed, somewhere between ten and fifty years.”

A sect that had just been founded, what did it lack the most? That went without saying - it lacked everything, whether it was disciples under its banner or a complete, functioning set of sect industries.

To say that everything was in ruins and waiting to be built was no exaggeration.

“Even...the Morning Dew Sect can become a friend of Great Liang. As long as Great Liang stands for a day, as long as this official is here for a day, if anyone comes to pick a fight with the Morning Dew Sect, the imperial court will step in.”

Chen Chao glanced at Feng Liu and smiled. “This official’s sincerity should be more than sufficient. What does Fellow Daoist Feng think?”

Feng Liu hesitated for a moment and then said, “That great war in the north, will it happen soon?”

Chen Chao nodded and said, “At the latest, within ten years. At the earliest, within these one or two years. It will be an unprecedented war in which the demon race throws its full weight behind a southward advance.”

Feng Liu said in surprise, “Unprecedented?”

Chen Chao nodded and said, “In the past, when the demon race and Great Liang were entangled in slaughter in the desolate north, the demon race had never truly made up its mind to mobilize the entire race. But this time will be different, because they know very clearly that if we take ten years as the measure, these ten years are the strongest ten years Great Liang has had in the past hundred years, and also the weakest ten years it will have in the next hundred years.”

“I understand. The demon race cannot sit by and watch Great Liang grow strong, so they intend to concentrate all their efforts into a single strike while Great Liang is at its weakest.”

When Feng Liu spoke, his expression had already grown solemn.

“This war is crucial. If it is lost, it will not be something that can be settled by the human race ceding another thirty thousand miles.”

Chen Chao glanced at Feng Liu and said calmly, “Many people will die.”

Feng Liu suddenly smiled and said, “If that is the case, then there is nothing left to discuss. When the time comes, the cultivators of the Morning Dew Sect will appear at the Northern Frontier in as great numbers as possible.”

Chen Chao glanced at Feng Liu.

Feng Liu then looked at Xu Fuchen, who also nodded slightly.

“The Lord Warden Commander’s talk of fields makes a great deal of sense. Even as guests, if we do not protect the fields, then no one will have anything to eat.”

Feng Liu said softly, “The establishment of the Morning Dew Sect is to give the itinerant cultivators of the world a place where they can cultivate in peace. But if, with the Morning Dew Sect in existence, the world itself is gone in the end, then whether this sect exists or not, what meaning would it have?”

Chen Chao thought for a moment and reminded him, “Actually, even if the demon race breaks through the Northern Frontier and surges south in force, the ones who suffer may be the imperial court and the common people. As for cultivators like you, there is a very real possibility that you would be left completely untouched.”

When he had extrapolated the future course of the world, Chen Chao had considered that after the demon race marched south and occupied human territory, they likely would not slaughter cultivators on a large scale.

This was because among the various sects in the foreign lands, there were quite a few powerhouses. If they were truly forced into a corner, then even if the demon race could genuinely wipe out the human race, it would itself have to pay an enormous price.

But that would certainly only be a temporary expedient on the demon race’s part. After that, across the lands of the nine provinces, there would be a period in which cultivators on the mountains and demons at the foot of mountains coexisted in peace. But there were two things that were certain. At that time, cultivators would inevitably become existences that could be killed at will, much like the common people below the mountains had been before.

Besides that, it would not take very long before the demon race would also slowly wipe out those sects one by one.

This was somewhat like boiling a frog in warm water.

Feng Liu said, “Just a dull knife cutting flesh. Besides, in the end it’s still death. Before dying, you even have to endure a period of humiliation. That’s really asking for misery. If it truly came to that, it would be better to just die at the Northern Frontier.”

Chen Chao smiled and said, “Fellow Daoist Feng sees things clearly.”

Feng Liu smiled and said, “Then this matter counts as settled?”

Chen Chao nodded his head.

Only now did Xu Fuchen, in the true sense of the word, finally let out a breath of relief.

Feng Liu’s eyes rolled, and he asked curiously, “About those mines and such that the Lord Warden Commander mentioned earlier...”

Chen Chao was concise. “They count.”

Seeing how straightforward the other party was, Feng Liu naturally followed up while the iron was hot and spoke again, “As for other things, Lord Warden Commander...”

“You can put forward conditions. This official will also do my utmost to satisfy Fellow Daoist Feng.”

Chen Chao glanced at Feng Liu and was very easy to talk to.

But the more easygoing the other party was, the less Feng Liu dared to make further demands. Damn it, right now, the more he got here, if he sent too little people to the north later, the more certain it was that he would be called to account afterward.

Everyone had a scale in their heart. Things did not need to be said out loud, but everything was seen clearly. No one should think of gaining at someone else’s expense.

If he asked for more things now, then later on, it was likely that even he, the leader of the itinerant cultivators, would have to appear on the battlements of that Northern Frontier city himself.

“Forget it, forget it. Having those things is already enough.”

Feng Liu waved his hand and smiled. “Human greed really is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.”

Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, “At a time like this, shouldn’t we drink a bowl of wine to celebrate getting things done?”

Feng Liu covered his mouth and waved his hand. “No, no. My drinking capacity has already reached its absolute limit at this point. How could I compare with the Lord Warden Commander? I can’t drink, can’t drink!”

Chen Chao gave an “oh” and did not make things difficult for him. He simply took a drink himself and asked, “As things stand now, how many Nepenthe does the Morning Dew Sect have, and how many at the end of Nepenthe?”

Feng Liu widened his eyes. “Could it be that the Lord Warden Commander thinks Nepenthe and the end of Nepenthe are like cabbages on the street; something you can just pick up at will?”

Chen Chao glanced at him and said, “If I am not mistaken, this Fellow Daoist Xu should already have stepped into this realm.”

As usual, Feng Liu offered a word of praise for the Lord Warden Commander’s keen eye before continuing, “Old Xu has indeed broken through. After all, he’s the vice sect master, he has to have some real ability, otherwise what the hell would he be vice sect master for? But aside from him and me, the Morning Dew Sect truly doesn’t have a third cultivator at the end of Nepenthe.”

Chen Chao nodded. Among the sects of the present age, having a single cultivator at the end of Nepenthe in the open already qualified one as a first-rate sect. The Morning Dew Sect had two, which was not a small number.

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