Martial Cultivator

The battle at the mountain gate, far from magnificent, came to an end. After He Liang’s punch struck Junior Brother Chen’s chest and sent him flying, he scratched his head and said, “Are you okay?”

Junior Brother Chen struggled to sit up, feeling the qi in his body surge uncontrollably. At this moment, he couldn’t gather his qi properly and could barely stand.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth hard. Besides anger, there was mostly confusion. He didn’t understand how he could be no match for this young martial artist.

Chen Chao walked to He Liang’s side and softly asked, “Did you hold back a little on that last punch?”

As the strongest martial artist of the present age, Chen Chao could naturally see the subtleties involved.

He Liang nodded, hesitating slightly. “Afraid of killing him.”

Chen Chao smiled. Although he had previously told He Liang to strike with full force, the boy still held back in the end. Chen Chao did not feel angry, this showed that the boy’s heart was still filled with goodwill, which was a very good thing.

If it had been Yu Qingfeng, he would have struck without holding back; if someone died, it could always be explained as “Master said so.”

Chen Chao did not dislike Yu Qingfeng. In fact, Yu Qingfeng hadn’t really done anything wrong. It was just that He Liang, being more cautious and deliberate, was the kind of disciple Chen Chao worried might be taken advantage of when walking through the world in the future.

But the world still needed honest and good people.

On this point, Chen Chao was truly conflicted.

“Often it’s fine to hold back, but you must only do so when you are absolutely safe.”

He Liang chuckled, “With Master here, there’s definitely no problem.”

Chen Chao smiled and let it go, then looked toward the mountain path, where a cultivator was rushing down in panic. He even tripped on the path and rolled all the way down to the mountain gate.

Chen Chao withdrew his qi, and the group of cultivators finally breathed a sigh of relief, then hurried to help this Mountain Lord to his feet.

Now covered head to toe in mud, Daoist Zhanyuan stood up, shoved away the cultivators supporting him, and angrily scolded, “Have your eyes grown on dogs’ bodies? The Lord Warden Commander came in person. Even if you couldn’t recognize him, fine, but you couldn’t even report it?!” ”Letting the Lord Warden Commander wait at the mountain gate for so long, if this gets out, harming my Mountains and Rivers Sect’s reputation would be the lesser matter. Making the Lord Warden Commander be left out in the cold, do you know how serious that offense is?!”

The cultivators looked at one another. When they had been pinned down by that qi earlier, they had already wondered whether the person in front of them might really be the Lord Warden Commander.

Now that the mountain lord Daoist Zhanyuan said so, then it certainly was.

Yet when they looked again at that good-tempered young man, they were still confused. Wasn’t it said that this Lord Warden Commander was famously bad-tempered, always wiping out entire sects at the slightest disagreement?

How was it that, seeing him today, his temper was so good?

Chen Chao said nothing, only watching Daoist Zhanyuan’s performance here with interest. A Bitter Sea Realm cultivator, falling down on a mountain path?

Wasn’t that just playing around?

“The few of you, later each of you go to the Discipline Hall to receive punishment. But for now, it still depends on how the Lord Warden Commander chooses to deal with you!”

As Daoist Zhanyuan spoke, he kept glancing at Chen Chao. At this moment he finally put on a broad smile and asked, “Lord Warden Commander, what do you think should be done?”

Chen Chao sighed with feeling. “I don’t know why it is, but somehow rumors are spreading everywhere now that I kill without restraint and am some kind of fiend. Isn’t that ruining this official’s lifelong good name?”

Daoist Zhanyuan nodded repeatedly. “Exactly so, exactly so. This penniless daoist usually gives them earnest instruction in the mountains, saying that the Lord Warden Commander acts for the country and the people, is valiant and outstanding, conducts himself uprightly, and could never do the things spread in those rumors. It’s just that these disciples don’t take such matters to heart and instead believe outside gossip. It’s this penniless daoist who has been lax in discipline, Thinking of it, I truly feel ashamed before the Lord Warden Commander. But whenever other cultivators spread rumors about the Lord Warden Commander’s conduct, this penniless daoist always stands out and firmly refutes them!”

Chen Chao asked curiously, “Does Sage truly say things that way?”

Daoist Zhanyuan said with conviction, “Naturally so, without the slightest error. Our Mountains and Rivers Sect is now going to form a marriage alliance with Great Liang, so we should treat Great Liang as half our family. Of course we must defend you, sir. This penniless daoist’s sincerity, heaven and earth can bear witness!”

Chen Chao nodded, glanced at those few cultivators, and smiled. “Just minor scuffles, nothing serious. This official won’t punish you. After all, perhaps later the Mountains and Rivers Sect really will form a marriage alliance with Great Liang.”

On the word “perhaps,” Chen Chao emphasized hard on the pronunciation.

Daoist Zhanyuan’s expression changed, then a trace of bitter smile flashed across his face. He had originally made up his mind to fleece this Lord Warden Commander a little, but now it seemed it would not be so easy.

Chen Chao smiled. “Then this official will head back now. Just right, there are still quite a few matters over in the Divine Capital, they can’t do without this official.”

Seeing that this Lord Warden Commander did not even intend to go up the mountain anymore, Daoist Zhanyuan no longer cared about anything else. He directly grabbed Chen Chao by the arm and said with genuine feeling, “Since Lord Warden Commander has come to the Mountains and Rivers Sect, if nothing else, surely you should at least come up the mountain for a cup of tea? Otherwise, if word gets out that our Mountains and Rivers Sect does not understand the ways of hosting guests, we truly would have no way to defend ourselves. Besides, Lord Warden Commander’s waist token is still up on the mountain, how could you just leave like that?”

Chen Chao suddenly “realized” this, slapped his own forehead, and smiled. “Right, right, forgot about that. Then this official will go up the mountain and impose for a bit?”

Daoist Zhanyuan nodded repeatedly. “As it should be, as it should be.”

After that, Daoist Zhanyuan led Chen Chao up the mountain. Along the way, the sight left those cultivators staring wide-eyed. Their mountain lord, usually so imposing, today looked entirely like a fawning petty man.

This shouldn’t be the case, right? After all, that Lord Warden Commander also seemed like someone easy to talk to. Wasn’t he quite amiable earlier at the mountain gate?

But just as these thoughts arose, a telepathic voice sounded simultaneously in their hearts, “What the hell do you idiots know? If it weren’t for you blind fools ruining my plans, would I have to be like this... forget it, forget it. Just looking at you makes me angry. Hurry up and go to the Discipline Hall to receive your punishment!”

Several cultivators gave bitter smiles and quickly left according to the mountain lord’s instructions. As for that earlier Junior Brother Chen, he hesitated for a long time before finally mustering the courage to speak from behind, “Lord Warden Commander, this humble daoist is Chen Yi. I offended you earlier. But whether the Lord Warden Commander believes it or not, this humble daoist has admired you for many years!”

Chen Chao did not turn his head, only smiled and said, “I can hear it, sincere words from the heart.”

Daoist Zhanyuan laughed loudly. “This disciple of mine is indeed famous for liking to speak the truth.”

Chen Chao did not echo him, but he did not doubt it either. This admiration for him was definitely real, all of it was real!

On the way up the mountain, Daoist Zhanyuan spoke at length: about the origins of the Mountains and Rivers Sect, about how difficult things had been in New Willow Prefecture these past years, about how much the Mountains and Rivers Sect admired the Great Liang Emperor and the current Chen Chao.

Every sentence sounded heartfelt.

Chen Chao did not refute him, occasionally concurring with a word or two. In the end, he casually mentioned that this Mountains and Rivers Sect looked rather similar to the Three Streams Manor.

Then, as if absentmindedly, he said that he couldn’t quite remember whether that already-destroyed Green Algae Sect had been in Xinliu Prefecture.

The words were spoken lightly, but to Daoist Zhanyuan, they were terrifying.

Finally, Chen Chao said that the habits and people of the Mountains and Rivers Sect was quite good, that the disciples all had backbone, were full of ambition, truly impressive.

Hearing these words, Daoist Zhanyuan was drenched in sweat.