Martial Cultivator

After sending Chen Yi and Xu Qiu back to the mountain, Chen Chao did not remain long at Mountains and Rivers Sect. He soon descended the mountain and headed from Xinliu Prefecture toward the Divine Capital.

Master and disciple walked on foot through the lofty mountains and steep ridges.

He Liang was preoccupied along the way. Chen Chao did not ask what was on his mind; he simply accompanied his disciple at a slow pace with great patience.

After a few steps, Chen Chao noticed a wild fruit tree to one side. He picked two fruits, wiped them on his sleeve, and took a bite himself. Sweet and sour, pretty delicious.

He tossed one to He Liang. The latter almost failed to react in time, but fortunately caught it. After thanking his master, he took a bite, staring at the wild fruit tree as he pondered something.

Chen Chao finished his fruit in a few bites and tossed the core aside. Out of boredom, he spread his divine sense to probe the surroundings. A few years ago, these surrounding mountains and forests should have been filled with demons; he could have casually killed a few for amusement. Yet after this sweep, he only detected a small demon of very low cultivation realm far away in the distance. Chen Chao walked toward it without saying anything to He Liang.

When they neared where the demon was hiding, Chen Chao suddenly released a trace of pressure. Startled, the demon burst from its hiding place and lunged straight at He Liang.

Chen Chao glanced at it. It was a demon with green fur, outwardly not much different from an ordinary wild wolf. It had not yet taken human form, but its eyes revealed a hint of eerie demonic nature.

He Liang was suddenly startled. He had been absent-minded, but now snapped back to himself and instinctively threw a punch, killing the demon on the spot.

Chen Chao clicked his tongue and smiled.

Although He Liang knew his master had done this deliberately, he did not complain. Instead, he curiously looked at the now-dead wolf demon.

He had heard of demons many times, but this was his first exchange and his first time killing one. He could not help but look at it a few more times.

Chen Chao pointed at the wolf demon’s corpse and said, “There will be a demon bead inside its body. But this wolf demon’s bead is very ordinary and probably won’t fetch much of a price.”

As soon as he finished speaking, He Liang had already taken a dagger from his robe, gone over, cut open the wolf demon, and taken out the demon bead.

Having come from a small place, He Liang understood very well that every coin was hard-earned.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Right now, the medicinal herbs you all use to temper your bodies are paid for by master. Your food, clothing, lodging, and travel are all borne by me as well. Little He, there is no need for you to kill demons just to exchange demon beads for money. So how about I make a small agreement with you?”

He Liang looked up seriously at Chen Chao. “Master, please speak.”

“In the future, before each time you break into a new realm, you must kill fifty demons of the same cultivation realm as proof, with demon beads as evidence. But after you reach the Nepenthe Realm, you will no longer need to follow this rule.”

He Liang scratched his head. Though he had many doubts, he quickly nodded in agreement.

Chen Chao smiled in satisfaction. He did not tell He Liang the reason, and the boy did not ask, which was actually good. What Chen Chao feared was that because He Liang’s natural talent was inferior to Yu Qingfeng’s, once he saw Yu Qingfeng advancing faster in the future, he might lose his original heart and single-mindedly try to catch up in realm. If that happened, there would be one outcome: his foundation would grow increasingly unstable, and his realm would become ever more hollow and flimsy.

For martial arts, that would certainly amount to forging a grave mistake.

In Chen Chao’s view, Yu Qingfeng would certainly remain far ahead of He Liang in realm for a long time to come. But the path of martial arts was not about seeking momentary speed. When one day He Liang eventually caught up to Yu Qingfeng at a certain realm, their attainments would begin at a point extremely close to one another, and afterward, He Liang would surely surpass Yu Qingfeng.

Of his three disciples, in the long run, He Liang was the one most likely to inherit his martial path. Chen Chao did not worry in the least about the gains and losses of these few decades.

With Chen Chao having spoken so much, He Liang finally seemed to gather the courage to ask, “Master, that sword immortal said something to you at the end, didn’t he?”

Chen Chao looked at He Liang, raised his brows slightly, and asked, “What do you think it was?”

He Liang thought for a moment, then decided to ask directly, “That sword immortal was begging for mercy, right?”

Chen Chao nodded his head.

He Liang suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

Chen Chao finished the question for him. “You want to ask, since that sword immortal begged for mercy and was perhaps even willing to pay some price, why wouldn’t master spare him, and instead insist on killing him?”

He Liang nodded. That was exactly it.

Chen Chao said calmly, “Master can tell you this much. The sword immortal named Lu Chu had not actually done any evil over these years. He had merely cultivated diligently, hoping one day to become a great sword immortal.

“It seems there was no real reason for him to die, but master simply could not let him go.”

Chen Chao looked at He Liang. “Do you know why?”

He Liang shook his head. That was precisely why he wanted to ask.

Chen Chao laid the matter bare. “Master isn’t afraid that one day he might become a great sword immortal and come seeking revenge. Even if that day came, killing him would not cost master much effort. The problem is this: if after today master spared him, given his temperament and patience, and as a sword immortal, he would certainly be taken in by another sect and provided with cultivation resources. In time, he would scheme in the shadows against the imperial court. That process would be far too troublesome. So that alone made it necessary to kill him.”

“There is another reason - that person once provoked Great Liang. The entire Purple Leaf Grotto did the same. Over these years, master has killed many people and destroyed many sects. Why has master rarely shown mercy? Because master wants to make it clear to the whole world: no one is to test Great Liang’s bottom line again. If you provoke Great Liang, you must pay a price.”

Chen Chao continued, “Destroying the Glaze Temple because they did not treat Great Liang’s common people as human. Destroying Three Streams Manor was because they plotted against Great Liang’s national fortune. Master climbed up Mt. Tai Xuan because they once arrogantly entered the imperial palace and planted spies within the Xia Family. So all of these people had to die. Only then would those who come later weigh their actions once, and then weigh them again, before making a move.”

“Of course, among them there were certainly some who died unjustly, master must admit that. But as Lord Warden Commander, I must consider all the people of Great Liang. Between the common people of Great Liang and those cultivators from the foreign lands, master can only place Great Liang’s people first.”

Chen Chao said calmly, “Many choices are made from differing positions. It is actually very difficult to say what is right or wrong. It only depends on what kind of heart the one making the choice holds. For example, if at this moment there were a foreign powerhouse so strong that master has no power to resist, and he killed me with a single punch, master might feel unwilling, but I would never ask him why. Because he would have countless reasons to strike me down, and from his position, none of those reasons would have any flaw.”

Having heard so much at once, He Liang felt his head spinning. Chen Chao detected He Liang’s confusion, reached out to rub his head, and said gently, “Being a master is not only about teaching a disciple how to throw punches or how to kill. It is also about teaching the disciple how to be a person.” “Of course, it’s not that everything your master says is right. Just like master told you when I first took you in as disciples, if one day you think your master is wrong, then just say it. And if in the end we truly can’t reach an agreement, then we’ll simply go our separate ways.”

He Liang shook his head and said softly, “Master, that day will never come.”

Chen Chao did not know why, but he suddenly thought of Yu Qingfeng. He almost said that nothing was certain, but in the end, he did not say it.

After that, the master and disciple left the mountains and followed the official road toward the Divine Capital at a slow pace. Soon, they passed through a commandery city called Yuting.

He Liang stood before the city gate, looking at the three characters “Yuting Commandery,” blinking as he thought the name sounded very pleasant.

Chen Chao waited patiently for him to finish looking before leading him into the commandery city.

By the time they entered, it was already dusk. The tall and the small figure of master and disciple walked slowly along a long street with few pedestrians. He Liang kept glancing at the residences on both sides and noticed that most of the gates had wooden plaques hanging on them, inscribed with names and dates.

Some were written in vermilion ink, others in black ink. And on the plaques written in black ink, there was an additional date.

They were different lengths.

He Liang’s expression dimmed slightly.

Long ago, there had also been a wooden plaque written in vermilion ink hanging before his own home. But one day later, it had been replaced with one written in black ink. At first it hung openly at the door, but because neighbors would mock his mother over it, he had secretly taken it down and burned it one day.

Later, when his mother found out, she had flown into a rare rage and punished him by making him kneel for an entire night.

Only afterward did he learn that the plaque recorded the date his father had enlisted and the date he had died in battle. The local authorities used the plaque to determine the monthly pension. Once it was destroyed, his mother went to the county office to explain the situation, but the county magistrate withheld the court-issued pension from then on.

In truth, it had gone into the magistrate’s own pocket.

Even so, his mother did not show much disappointment. She still relied on herself alone and raised He Liang through hardship.

He Liang had never told his master about this matter.

Even now, whenever he occasionally thought of it, he still felt deeply sorry toward his mother.

Looking at those plaques written in black ink, Chen Chao said with self-mockery, “Enlisted at fifteen, returned at eighty. Now it seems that even returning at all is a matter of luck.”

Who knew how many had climbed the walls of the Northern Frontier in their lifetimes, never to return again.

He Liang suddenly asked, “Master, if the demon race were gone, then we wouldn’t have to keep losing people anymore, right?”

Chen Chao looked at him and nodded. “That’s the reasoning. But before that day comes, many more will certainly die.”

He Liang nodded and said seriously, “Master, I understand now why you did those things.”

Chen Chao smiled in relief and said nothing.

Some truths did not need to be spoken aloud. One only needed to see and feel them to understand. If he were to explain them himself, even ten thousand words might not achieve the same effect.

After walking a little farther, He Liang suddenly looked up at his master and asked very seriously, “Master, these past years... you must have been very tired, right?”

Chen Chao was momentarily stunned, then looked at He Liang with complicated eyes, but did not speak.

He Liang nodded to himself. “Yes. Master has to think about so many things, do so many things. All the matters under heaven rest on Master’s shoulders. So many people’s hopes rest on you. Of course you must be very tired.”

After saying this, He Liang looked at his master again and said earnestly, “Master, you’ve worked hard.”

Chen Chao smiled, still without speaking, and simply reached out to rub the little fellow’s head.