Martial Cultivator

Being praised like that, He Liang let out a shy chuckle, a little embarrassed as he rubbed his cheeks.

Chen Chao watched this foolish disciple of his and knew the boy had truly taken those words as praise. He felt a bit helpless, but in the end did not feel disappointed. Had not that Lay Buddhist Su of the former dynasty once written a poem that perfectly captured Chen Chao’s state of mind at this very moment?

I only wish the child to be foolish and dull, free of calamity and hardship, all the way to high office.

Chen Chao glanced at the cultivators before him, none of them particularly high in cultivation realm. After a brief moment of thought, he smiled and said, “We were not the ones who made the first move. It was this Fellow Daoist who struck first. My disciple was anxious to protect his master and tried to stop him. It’s just that his blow was indeed a bit heavy.”

The cultivators exchanged looks, then asked the guarding disciple with their eyes whether this was true or not.

That guarding disciple was fairly honest. After nodding, he pointed at Chen Chao and said, “This guy kept insisting he’s that Lord Warden Commander and wanted to go up the mountain, but he didn’t even have a invitation card. Besides, look at him. Does he look like that Lord Warden Commander to you?”

Hearing a fellow disciple say this, the others all looked Chen Chao over. After a moment, they all nodded in unison.

This scene wounded Chen Chao deeply.

While He Liang looked completely puzzled.

After thinking for a bit, Chen Chao reached down to his waist, tore off a waist token, and handed it to the group. “I really am Chen Chao.”

That waist token was one of a kind in the world. On the front were engraved the words Great Liang Lord Warden Commander; on the back were engraved the two characters Chen Chao.

The token passed from hand to hand among the cultivators, and in the end landed in the grasp of a female cultivator. Her looks were fairly pretty, but what stood out even more was the mass that stood out on her chest.

In any case, it was very prominent.

Playing with the token in her hand, the woman covered her mouth and laughed softly. “Fellow Daoist really went to great lengths. You even prepared something like this. Looks like this trip up the mountain was meant to properly fleece our Mountains and Rivers Sect, huh?”

Chen Chao smiled. “Still don’t believe it?”

The female cultivator nodded. “I can’t tell whether this waist token is real or fake, but I can be certain of one thing, it’s fake!”

Chen Chao was speechless and turned to look at He Liang.

He Liang was also completely baffled. No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand why these people refused to believe that his master was really his master.

It seemed utterly unreasonable.

“Fellow Daoist, your disciple injured one of our fellow sect members. You have to give us an explanation. You should know that our Mountains and Rivers Sect...”

A cultivator was clearly about to repeat what had already been said earlier.

Chen Chao waved his hand, signaling him to stop. That really was not anything pleasant to hear.

“If Fellow Daoist does not give us an explanation, then we can only capture you and take you to the Divine Capital to be dealt with by that Lord Warden Commander.”

Some of the cultivators began cracking their knuckles. The current Mountains and Rivers Sect was like a sudden nouveau-riche household. Having finally turned things around and begun to sing their own praises, they almost wished that every day some blind fool would come and provoke the sect, so they could squeeze a bit more benefit out of these clueless troublemakers.

Even if there was no benefit, beating someone up would at least put them in a good mood, wouldn’t it? After all, it also gave them a chance to tell others that the Mountains and Rivers Sect was no longer something that could be bullied at will.

Perhaps most people in this world who suddenly come into wealth fear nothing more than others still thinking they are poor, treating them like paupers.

Chen Chao said, “If I were you all, I would not seek merit, but at the very least seek to avoid fault. Just report this upward. It will not waste much time. Later, when someone comes to verify my identity, if it turns out I am an impostor, then although you may not gain any credit, you certainly will not be at fault. But if my identity is confirmed to be genuine, then you can count yourselves fortunate for having spoken up.”

Before the female cultivator could speak, a cultivator beside her waved his hand and laughed. “No need to say more. We cultivators should have courage. Being cautious about everything just makes people look down on us. Where is the boldness in that?”

Chen Chao was stunned.

“To tell you the truth, even if you came out here swindling people, and your temper seems decent, impersonating someone else might be let go with a laugh. But you actually dare to impersonate Lord Warden Commander. That means you have to suffer a bit!”

That cultivator stepped forward, his expression somewhat stiff.

Chen Chao looked in confusion at the female cultivator who was still toying with his waist token. She seemed to offer a “kind” reminder. “This Junior Brother Chen here admires Lord Warden Commander the most. Who knows why. Maybe it’s because they share the same surname, Chen?”

Chen Chao said sincerely, “That’s pretty good.”

The female cultivator seemed to find the young man before her rather amusing and could not help asking, “You really think it’s pretty good?”

Chen Chao did not respond. He could hardly say that admiring himself was a bad thing, could he?

For some reason, Chen Chao felt that although the Mountains and Rivers Sect had some minor issues, the atmosphere was actually not bad. Seeing them like this now, it was somewhat understandable.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Chao asked curiously, “So what exactly would it take for you to report this to the mountain? Just tell me.”

The female cultivator rolled her eyes before saying, “Probably you’d have to beat all of us down.... but in truth, no matter what, we still don’t believe you are that Lord Warden Commander.”

Chen Chao asked curiously, “Why?”

The female cultivator replied as a matter of course, “Your temper is too good.”

Chen Chao was momentarily speechless.

“Everyone knows that Lord Warden Commander is famous for having a bad temper. If you had flown into a rage from the start, we might still be unsure. But with you being this gentle and mild, who could believe you’re really him?”

The female cultivator was quite patient, but the Junior Brother Chen beside her was not. With a cold face and growing impatience, he said, “Senior Sister, stop wasting words with him. Let me take him down!”

The female cultivator smiled, did not reply, and simply took a step back.

Chen Chao said softly, “Little He, go exchange a few moves with this Fellow Daoist. No need to hold back. Throw your punches with full force.”

He Liang nodded, stepped forward, and his boxing intent slowly began to flow through his acupoints.

That Junior Brother Chen’s expression was ugly, but he did not say anything. He merely gathered the qi in both hands, determined to knock back the boy in front of him with a single strike, and then deal with Chen Chao.

Chen Chao reminded him, “When a martial artist fights a cultivator, the first thing is to find a way to get close. You must not let the distance open up too much.”

He Liang gave a low grunt of acknowledgment. Pushing off the ground, his whole body shot forward like an arrow released from the bow, charging straight at Junior Brother Chen.

That Junior Brother Chen’s eyes widened. He clearly had not expected this unremarkable-looking boy to be so fast.

With no time to dodge, the two were instantly entangled in close combat.

He Liang smashed a punch downward, aiming straight for his opponent’s chest.

Ripples spread across Junior Brother Chen’s hands as he swiftly pulled up a barrier in front of himself. At the moment He Liang’s punch landed, a golden thread was drawn out between his hands, wrapping around He Liang’s wrist.

He Liang frowned slightly and threw another punch with his free hand, this one aimed at the crown of the other’s head. He had originally thought this blow would be enough to force his opponent back, but to his surprise, the cultivator did not retreat but advanced instead. After twisting aside to avoid the punch, the golden thread followed the motion and wrapped around He Liang’s other hand as well.

In this way, both of He Liang’s hands were bound.

Chen Chao said nothing. He Liang’s first two punches had actually both suffered from the same flaw: overconfidence and taking things for granted. Still, Chen Chao did not consider this a bad thing. After all, trading blows with others was different from having his fists “fed” by a teacher; at the very least, the state of mind was incomparable.

With both hands bound, Junior Brother Chen let out a cold laugh and was about to speak, when he saw the young martial artist before him suddenly tense. His arm muscles bulged, and in an instant he forcibly snapped the golden thread.

This was entirely within Chen Chao’s expectations. All those days of tempering the body and feeding punches had not been for nothing.

The two were in the same realm. Chen Chao did not believe He Liang would lose; he merely needed some time to adapt, to understand how to truly fight others.

Sure enough, as time went on, He Liang’s attacks became increasingly smooth and controlled, the earlier stiffness gone. Seeing the situation of the fight begin to reverse, the others frowned slightly. Some wanted to step in and help, while others intended to seize Chen Chao.

Chen Chao said calmly, “Everyone, just watch for now.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, everyone seemed to have discovered that a terrifying qi presence had appeared around them at some point. There was no killing intent, yet no one could move.

The sole exception was the female cultivator.

Chen Chao looked at her and said, “I’ll trouble Fellow Daoist to take this official’s waist token up the mountain and invite Daoist Zhanyuan to come down for a meeting. If Daoist Zhanyuan still believes that this official is an impostor, then this official will have to trouble Fellow Daoist to bring my waist token back down. This official will also return to the Divine Capital.”

The female cultivator swallowed and was about to speak.

Chen Chao continued, “Half a stick of incense. Is that enough time, Fellow Daoist?”

How could the female cultivator dare say anything more? Although she had long since realized that the waist token in her hand was a hot potato, she could only grit her teeth and carry it up the mountain.

But as she went up the mountain, the female cultivator kept muttering to herself: Could that man really be Lord Warden Commander? If it really came to that, would this Mountains and Rivers Sect still exist in the world after today?

The female cultivator only felt as if the sky had darkened and the ground had shifted, her mind in a daze.

By the time she arrived at the Mountain Lord’s residence and handed over the waist token, explaining what had happened at the foot of the mountain, she suddenly heard a shout that sounded like someone slaughtering a pig.

”What?!”

The female cultivator’s vision went black. Only two words popped into her mind.

It’s over!

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