Martial Cultivator

Before Chen Chao arrived, the two men had already dismounted. Although Chen Chao was not part of the frontier army, he was still a military official, and moreover, the highest-ranking military official among them.

Li Changling and Gao Xuan cupped their fists in greeting. Chen Chao smiled and said, “I really didn’t expect Great General to take this matter so seriously, actually sending General Li here personally. I thought Gao Xuan alone would have been enough.”

Li Changling laughed loudly. “It isn’t easy to get the chance to make a trip out. This general was the one who begged Great General to hand this matter over to me.”

While Gao Xuan sighed with emotion, “I never noticed it before, but seeing it today, Your Excellency the Lord Warden Commander is practically a perfect man. With just a few words, you were able to recover the conscience of such a great evildoer. This ability, like Lord Warden Commander’s realm of martial cultivation, is truly profound and lofty, beyond what ordinary people can reach.”

Chen Chao deliberately feigned surprise. “Since when did General Gao become this kind of person?”

Li Changling burst into loud laughter.

Gao Xuan paid it no mind and instead asked, “But is Your Excellency the Lord Warden Commander really that all-knowing? You even managed to find out everything about Gao Qiu’s childhood?”

If Chen Chao had not actually known about Gao Qiu’s past, how could those words just now have moved him?

Chen Chao said helplessly, “That old fellow is three hundred years old. How would I know what happened more than two hundred years ago?”

“But it can still be investigated. This man is from Qinglian Commandery of White Deer Prefecture. The custom among the people there is to dig a pond in front of their homes and fill it with lotus flowers. Since Gao Qiu is also from Qinglian Commandery, it was worth a try.”

“It’s possible to take a gamble.”

Chen Chao raised his eyebrows. “My luck has always been very good.”

Gao Xuan asked again, “Then how do you plan to deal with this Gao Qiu? Will you go easy on him?”

Chen Chao shook his head and said, “Just like that second-in-command, cut off his head and hang it in front of the gates of Yin Mountain.”

”This...”

Gao Xuan was somewhat unable to understand for a moment. After all, Chen Chao had seemed so sincere earlier, but the result was not like this?

“That fellow did those things, so this is how he should be treated. It wasn’t because he finally told me some things, nor because he wept bitterly and repented, that this official would change his mind. Some things can be forgiven, and some can be punished leniently, but some things can never be changed.”

Chen Chao looked at Gao Xuan before him calmly and coldly and said, “General Gao should understand this principle better than this official.”

Gao Xuan nodded and was about to say something, but Chen Chao had already spoken first. “As for the rest, it isn’t very important.”

At this point, Gao Xuan could no longer say anything. He could only nod.

Li Changling asked, “Then, Lord Warden Commander, shall we return to the Northern Frontier?”

Chen Chao shook his head. “Since we’ve made the trip, merely coming to Yin Mountain isn’t enough. Wait a while. We’ll make a few more trips.”

Gao Qiu would know some things, but certainly not much. After all, he was only a human cultivator. The demon race could not possibly reveal all its core secrets to him. But even those few things would actually be enough.

At the very least, several sects would be exposed.

Chen Chao looked at Li Changling and smiled. “Cavalry riding through sect gates has never happened before, General Li, I ask you to do it properly this time.”

Li Changling cupped his fists. “This general won’t let those bastards off!”

Chen Chao did not speak.

......

......

A piece of news quickly spread throughout the land, soon stirring up enormous waves.

The imperial court’s frontier army from the Northern Frontier marched south and trampled upon Yin Mountain. Autumn Sound Sect, a sect that had been expected to become the second-largest sect in Ying Prefecture, was destroyed just like that. Although its members were not all killed, Autumn Sound Sect had already become a thing of the past. At first, many people refused to believe it, until they personally went to the gates of Yin Mountain and saw the two heads hanging there.

They were the heads of the two sect masters of Autumn Sound Sect.

“Autumn Sound Sect really... Who could have imagined that this newly risen sect would actually collude with the demon race, only to be discovered by the imperial court so quickly? Now look at it, the sect is gone, and even two sect masters who had reached such cultivation realms were killed just like that.”

“That isn’t even the most important part. After all, that Lord Warden Commander is famous for repaying grudges and never being willing to suffer a loss. There is a war going on in the north right now, and who knows how many people have died. Yet these fellows actually dared to collude with the demon race. Their deaths were only natural. What is truly astonishing is the frontier army marching south. For this matter, even the frontier army, which has never marched south before, has made an exception.”

“I heard that in the Divine Capital, the censors have been submitting memorials one after another, but in the end, they were all suppressed. His Highness the Crown Prince is extremely determined.”

“New updates! Skyless Sect of Xinliu Prefecture is gone!”

“The imperial court’s frontier army rode up the mountain, and that sect master, who was close to the realm of Nepenthe, was pierced through by a single thrust from that general wielding a great halberd!”

“What general wielding a great halberd? That’s Li Changling, the cavalry commander of the frontier army. He is known throughout the frontier army as a match for ten thousand men. A martial artist of the Nepenthe Realm, do you really think he’s some ordinary person?”

“Suluo Sect, Haihu Mountain, they’re all gone!”

One piece of news after another kept arriving, leaving these cultivators speechless. They were astonished at how quickly the imperial court had acted, while also shocked by how powerful the imperial court’s frontier army was. Some sects had been completely crushed by those three thousand cavalrymen charging straight through.

There had been no other powerhouses stationed there.

“This is too terrifying. The imperial court’s frontier army numbers at least several hundred thousand. With this kind of battle strength, if the entire army were deployed, I’m afraid even the Infatuation Daoist Temple wouldn’t be able to withstand it, would it?”

“Impossible, right? Aren’t they ordinary soldiers?”

“Don’t you have brains? You have to understand that the imperial court’s frontier army has fought the demon race for years. How could they be ordinary soldiers? They are all martial artists, just not at very high realms. But they have fought side by side for years and have perfect coordination. What’s more, there are a full three thousand of them. When they move together, some small sects definitely can’t withstand them!”

“But what’s wrong with these people? The war in the north is obviously so tense, yet they don’t care about anything and keep running south?!”

“You’ve got it wrong. What they’re doing now is precisely the imperial court telling us: Don’t think that just because things are like this in the north, you can do whatever you want in the south.”

“Most likely what the imperial court wants to say is: if we betray the imperial court, then the imperial court... might very well disregard everything and let the demon race march south. Either way, they’ll deal with us first!”

......

......

At the border of Qingshan Prefecture.

Chen Chao, Yue Xin, and Li You sat beneath a pavilion at a ferry crossing, looking into the distance.

Chen Chao spoke and instructed them, “Infatuation Daoist Temple has already agreed. They have already begun making moves recently. You must cooperate with them fully and harbor no suspicions. At least until Yun Jianyue dies, there is no need to have such concerns.”

Both of them nodded slightly, especially Yue Xin. After going through this ordeal, she now trusted Chen Chao completely.

Chen Chao smiled. “There is turmoil within the borders. Whether it is major turmoil or minor turmoil, there should be a second battle in the north.”

Yue Xin’s face was full of worry, and she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Li You, who was beside her, tugged lightly at her sleeve.

Chen Chao said, “I’ll do my best. As for the final result, it’s difficult to say.”

Yue Xin hesitated for a moment before finally gritting her teeth and saying, “Lord Warden Commander, take care of yourself.”

Chen Chao said as a matter of course, “No one wants to die. This official knows that without needing you to say more.”

Yue Xin still wanted to say something, but this time, she ultimately held back and said nothing.

Meanwhile, Li You said, “I’m afraid Your Excellency will still have to deal with the matters in the Divine Capital. His Highness the Crown Prince is still a little too young...”

After all, she considered about more than Yue Xin did. The frontier army marching south was an enormous matter. It was the first time it had ever happened, after all, and those scholars were the sort of people who always thought things through very thoroughly.

Chen Chao rubbed his cheek and sighed. “It really is troublesome.”