Martial Cultivator

The grand ceremony began, following a fixed sequence. The officials filed in one after another, taking their positions on both sides of the square, with civil and military officials standing separately.

Further away, an area was reserved for offerings in the Divine Capital, such as Yu Xiyi. However, at this moment, only a little girl stood beside Yu Xiyi. The other cultivators tactfully avoided coming close to this great sword immortal.

Jiang Xiao’an looked around in the crowd but did not see her close friend, and so she became a little unhappy. Yu Xiyi was about to comfort her when the girl spoke first, complaining, “Master, I told you before, you should be more gentle in how you treat people, make others feel like a spring breeze. Look now, who still dares to stand with us?”

Yu Xiyi scratched his head helplessly, thinking that it had nothing to do with Your Father and that it was just these people being timid. But even so, in front of his disciple, he could only nod repeatedly. “Yes, yes, master will change. From now on, I’ll definitely be someone who makes others feel like a spring breeze.”

Jiang Xiao’an gave this master no face at all. After letting out a dismissive “tsk,” she shook her head. “I think Master will never be able to be as gentle as Martial Uncle in this lifetime.”

”Who?!”

Yu Xiyi nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. If she had been talking about someone else, he would have let it pass. But if she was talking about Chen Chao, he really wanted to ask his disciple just how she saw that guy as gentle like a spring breeze.

However, having decided not to argue with his disciple, Yu Xiyi quickly changed the topic. “Xiao’an, how about coming back to the Sword Sect with Master in a few days? Recently, many of your grand-martial uncles have written letters saying they want to see you.”

The little girl showed little interest and replied casually, “We’ll talk about it later.”

Yu Xiyi did not press further and simply nodded to himself, thinking that once he brought his disciple back to the Sword Sect, he would definitely make those people pay dearly.

All those secret sword techniques they would never impart to anyone, they’d better hand them all over!

“Master, look! Martial Uncle is out!”

Jiang Xiao’an suddenly shouted, snapping Yu Xiyi back to attention. He looked up and indeed saw Chen Chao walking out from above, standing in place.

Yu Xiyi clicked his tongue. “This guy really looks the part!”

Jiang Xiao’an said unhappily, “Master, like a spring breeze!”

Yu Xiyi nodded and quickly corrected himself, “Right, right, I mean your Martial Uncle Chen truly has an outstanding appearance!”

Up above, after Chen Chao took his position, Wu Xinyue, dressed in full palace attire, was escorted by palace attendants as she slowly walked onto the square.

Chen Chao looked at this woman, who was older than him yet still had to address him as elder brother, and gave a slight nod.

Wu Xinyue smiled and returned the courtesy.

Chen Chao quietly waited for His Highness the Crown Prince to walk out from the great hall.

The Crown Prince approached slowly, coming to Chen Chao’s side, but then stepped down one step, standing on the stair below.

Li Heng approached from one side, holding the ceremonial regalia.

Chen Chao took the regalia and handed it to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince did not reach out to take it immediately, but instead smiled and said, “Elder Brother, say a few words?”

Chen Chao looked at this younger brother before him, still not fully rid of youthful innocence. After thinking for a moment, he decided to speak from the heart.

“A long time ago, I lived by the Wei River. Every day I looked at it, thinking that living like that for a lifetime would be enough. Later, when the great flood struck Wei Prefecture, I had no choice but to flee north. Fleeing famine, I saw countless human tragedies along the way. Cannibalism was not something written in the history books, it was something that happened right before my eyes. So you must be a good emperor, govern Great Liang well, and never let such things happen again.”

“After returning from Cang Prefecture, I still lived in Wei Prefecture. At that time, all I thought about was that one day, when my cultivation was sufficient, I would go and destroy that whatever Sublime Bright Sect. It would not be an exaggeration to say I repay every grievance. But at the beginning, I never thought of returning to the Divine Capital. Why is that?” ”Probably because it felt too difficult, and I did not have much affection for my father. As for my elder brother, he never treated me as a younger brother. And my mother chose her own death. So toward you and toward His Majesty, I cannot say I bore hatred. But being forced into it, I came to the Divine Capital, and I began to struggle with whether I should do something. At that time, I could not read His Majesty’s intentions. If he had wanted to kill me, I would have had to protect myself.”

“But later, as you know, His Majesty treated me extremely well. Then I had no reason to speak of revenge anymore. Only your elder brother kept scheming against me. Later, I killed him, not out of helplessness, because after that night, he was already incapable of doing anything more. But I could not do nothing to someone who had harmed me, so that night, I went and killed him.”

At this point, Chen Chao looked into the Crown Prince’s eyes and said with emotion, “If you had also come to hate me, I would have left the court. Perhaps I would have returned to Wei Prefecture, or gone somewhere far away. In any case, I would not have planned to kill you, but I certainly would not be doing what I am doing now.”

“These are my true thoughts. I never told His Majesty, but fortunately, none of that came to pass.”

Chen Chao looked at the Crown Prince and said softly, “After Mother passed away, I thought I had no family left and would live alone from then on. But later, I met Nandu, I met His Majesty, I met Elder Sister, and I met you.”

At this moment, Chen Chao very much wanted to reach out and ruffle the Crown Prince’s hair, but after thinking about it, he refrained and simply said, “If we had been born into an ordinary family, as your elder brother, I would naturally protect you for a lifetime. But in this imperial family, you must learn to grow up. On your shoulders rests the countless people of Great Liang, you must take good care of them.”

Seeing a trace of tears in the Crown Prince’s eyes, Chen Chao smiled and said, “But I will do my best to stay by your side a while longer, to shield you from some of the storms.”

“But if one day I leave first, you must still walk the road ahead properly on your own.”

Chen Chao suddenly smiled. “Well, not exactly, you already have someone to walk alongside you now, don’t you?”

As he spoke, Chen Chao handed the ceremonial regalia into the Crown Prince’s hands.

The Crown Prince took it, looked up at Chen Chao, and smiled. “Elder Brother, don’t think about leaving on your own, wait for me.”

Chen Chao smiled. “As Crown Prince, as heir, as the one who will steer Great Liang, you have many things to do, many things you must do. But remember this: when you are with her, forget those identities. You are only her husband, nothing more.”

In this world, as one lives, there are always countless identities. What is rare is being clear about which identity to adopt when facing different people.

Chen Chao thought for a moment and instructed, “She has given up quite a lot for you. If you quarrel in daily life, you can yield a little. Do not let her feel disheartened or think that her choice back then was not worth it. But you must not yield blindly either. The balance within this, you must think it through carefully and grasp it yourself.”

The Crown Prince said somewhat helplessly, “Elder Brother, why do you sound like a woman at a time like this?”

Chen Chao laughed in exasperation. “These words should have been said by Aunt and Elder Sister, but they’re not here. If I don’t say them to you, who will?”

At the mention of his elder sister and his mother, a trace of dimness appeared in the Crown Prince’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it and instead smiled. “Elder Brother, I’ll keep all of this in mind. But if someday I fail to think things through clearly, I’ll still need Elder Brother to guide me.”

Chen Chao smiled without speaking. How could he not understand the meaning behind those words?

It was nothing more than a reminder for him not to treat his own life lightly. Across the vast lands of Great Liang, he only had this one elder brother.

Chen Chao reminded the Crown Prince that it was time to attend to his Crown Princess Consort.

Only then did the Crown Prince take a deep breath, turn, and walk down. Coming before Wu Xinyue, he handed over the items in his hands and said with a smile, “Xinyue, from now on, we are one family.”

Wu Xinyue accepted the ceremonial regalia and gave a slight nod. “From now on, this consort will assist Your Highness well.”

The Crown Prince smiled faintly.

The officials all knelt in salute, with the newly appointed Premier taking the lead in offering congratulations.

______