Martial Cultivator

Looking at Chen Chao, Daoist Redsky wished he could devour him whole.

His voice was icy as he spoke, chilling to the bone, ”We’ve already conceded defeat, why did you still attack?!”

He was talking about when he shouted ”we concede” when in midair, but Chen Chao still landed the final blow. At that time, Chen Chao heard those words perfectly well and could have stopped his fist. However, he chose not to stop and instead delivered another punch.

It was that punch that shattered the precious sword technique hidden in Lu Chu’s glabella, cutting off his future prospects.

Chen Chao glanced at Daoist Redsky and said without a care, ”Daoist Sage conceded defeat, but that doesn’t mean Fellow Daoist Lu shares the same sentiment. I was wondering if Fellow Daoist Lu had any tricks left up his sleeve, intending to deal me a fatal blow.”

”You!”

Daoist Redsky stared at Chen Chao, his eyes filled with killing intent.

Chen Chao still wore an innocent expression as he continued, ”To be honest, Fellow Daoist Lu is the strongest opponent I’ve encountered in my life. If not for that, I wouldn’t have gone all out, leading to inadvertently injuring Fellow Daoist Lu. Now that I think about it, I regret it somewhat. If I had known Fellow Daoist Lu was holding back, I should have held back too.”

When he said this, Song Lian almost burst out laughing and had to turn away. However, his body kept convulsing. It was truly quite difficult to suppress his laughter.

Daoist Redsky’s face was filled with anger. If they were not in the imperial city right now, he would have probably killed Chen Chao already. How could he tolerate his chatter here?

However, they were indeed in the imperial city, in front of the Great Liang Emperor. Even he did not have any reason to act.

At this moment, a trembling hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Daoist Redsky’s sleeve. Lu Chu, who had kept his eyes tightly shut, slowly opened them. He sat up and said strenuously, ”One must be willing to admit defeat. Commander Chen... your skills surpass mine... I concede.”

Chen Chao did not expect this person, who had suffered such severe injuries, to awaken so quickly. For a moment, Chen Chao could not figure out if it was the effect of the medicinal pills or if this young sword cultivator was truly extraordinary.

At this moment, Chen Chao did not say anything more to provoke the young sword cultivator. Since he had conceded defeat, the match was over. It would not be appropriate for him to say anything further.

”Commander Chen... the Great Dao is endless. You may have won here, but in the future, you may not be able to keep suppressing me.”

Lu Chu looked towards Daoist Redsky with determination in his eyes and said softly, ”Grotto Master, even without that sword trove, I can still reach the pinnacle of Sword Dao!”

Daoist Redsky sighed and did not say much. Even he felt a pang at the loss of the sword trove. There was only one in the entire Purple Cloud Grotto. Originally, he intended for Lu Chu to continue nurturing it within his glabella, which would have greatly aided him in the future. But now it was destroyed.

”I hope you’ll humble yourself after this battle, be down-to-earth. Without that sword trove, it doesn’t mean you can’t reach great heights.”

As he finished speaking, Daoist Redsky made no move, but a figure fell from the sky, crashing heavily into the ground, and creating a large crater.

When the dust settled, everyone could see clearly that the figure that fell from the sky was none other than the middle-aged daoist nun from before. The corner of her mouth was stained with blood, looking extremely disheveled.

Liu Banbi’s silhouette appeared once again on the roof of the great hall. This young sword cultivator smiled and asked, ”Still fighting?”

The middle-aged daoist nun snorted coldly, but her gaze fell on the whisk in her hand. At this moment, there were not many silk threads left on it. In her battle against Liu Banbi, she used all her skills, yet in the end, she only managed to preserve her own life. Facing this young sword cultivator, she was completely helpless.

Daoist Redsky then glanced at the middle-aged daoist nun. She was taken aback and then noticed the nearby Fairy Red who was still lively and kicking earlier. She took a few steps and arrived beside Fairy Red. After a moment, she shook her head.

This Fairy Red could not be more dead.

Daoist Redsky’s expression darkened. Fairy Red was not a disciple of the Purple Cloud Grotto. They had a duty to protect her when she came along today, but now, she was dead. However, Daoist Redsky did not feel much regret. Fairy Red died in the Divine Capital, and her sect should hold a grudge against whoever was responsible, which naturally was not him.

Daoist Redsky helped Lu Chu to his feet and then clasped his hands at the Great Liang Emperor as he said, ”Your Majesty, talented individuals indeed emerge from the imperial court. This penniless daoist admires.”

The Great Liang Emperor was expressionless.

Li Heng then loudly declared, ”There’s no need to inform when Foreign Fellow Daoists are leaving the Divine Capital.”

They had not been notified when they arrived, so it was not necessary for the Great Liang Emperor to say when they would leave. However, they could only listen to orders now

Daoist Redsky remained silent, casting one last glance at Chen Chao before turning and leaving with Lu Chu.

The middle-aged daoist nun also collected the remains of Fairy Red and left with Daoist Redsky.

The old cultivator in the sky breathed a sigh of relief at this moment. That aura dissipated.

As for the middle-aged man who had been inconspicuous all along, he glanced at the Great Liang Emperor before narrowing his eyes and then departing.

With the departure of the cultivators, only the court officials of the Great Liang Dynasty remained.

Those court officials looked at the chaotic scene in the square for a long time before snapping out of their daze. Restoring the previous orderly ranks seemed difficult now, as they could only crowd along the sides.

The grand court session which was held here had many matters left unresolved. However, given the current situation, it seemed unlikely to continue further.

However, the Great Liang Emperor who was standing aloof gave no instructions, what could anyone say?

He glanced at Li Heng, who understood and approached the Great Liang Emperor. After the Great Liang Emperor said a few words, he turned back to the great hall.

Initially, Li Heng’s expression was still normal, but it turned peculiar after hearing the later part. However, once the Great Liang Emperor turned away, his expression quickly returned to normal.

Approaching the jade steps, Li Heng loudly declared, ”Great General Ning Ping, please enter the hall for an audience!”

This was the first decree of the Great Liang Emperor, which was also expected by the court officials. After all, this Lord Warden Commander was about to depart for the Northern Frontier for his new appointment. Before leaving the Divine Capital, the Great Liang Emperor surely had much to discuss with this newly appointed Great General.

After announcing the decree of the Great Liang Emperor, Li Heng glanced at Chen Chao, the emotions in his eyes complicated. However, he quickly said, ”Chen Chao, Deputy Commander of the Left Guard of Great Liang, is granted the privilege to bear arms when entering the palace in the future!”

When this decree was uttered by Li Heng, the crowd exploded. The court officials were incredulous as they stared wide-eyed at Li Heng.

The two princes also had shock written all over their faces. After Chen Chao’s victory, they had anticipated some reward from their imperial father, but they had not expected such a grant of power.

The authority to bear arms?! This was not some trivial reward. Even the most distinguished military officials of the Great Liang Dynasty, when occasionally rewarded by the emperor, were only permitted to carry a saber during certain palace audiences. But now, Chen Chao was directly granted the right to carry a saber, indicating that henceforth, whenever he entered the imperial palace, whether for the grand court session, routine court sessions, or even a private audience with the emperor, he could do so armed.

What did this mean?

Although Chen Chao carried a saber into the palace during the imperial banquet the previous time, that was not a formal occasion, and there were also foreign cultivators present. But now, Chen Chao could carry a saber into the palace at any time and on any occasion, which held a completely different significance.

After his shock, the Grand Historian was about to step forward, but before he could take more than half a step, he was grabbed by the sleeve by the Premier. Looking at his close friend, the Premier asked in a low voice, ”What are you doing?”

The Grand Historian answered firmly, ”This act by His Majesty has no precedent. Granting such an honor hastily will undoubtedly provoke criticism from the entire court and the public. Chen Chao is not worthy of it!”

Shaking his head, the Premier revealed the heart of the matter with a few words, ”If His Majesty was still here, your advice might be heard. But His Majesty has already left. What does that imply? It means that His Majesty’s decree is not open to any advice. Even if you were to remonstrate with him now, it would be futile!”

The Grand Historian frowned but still insisted, ”Even if I die here, as long as I can persuade His Majesty to revoke the decree, it would still be worthwhile!”

The Premier sighed helplessly, ”But the fact is, even if you die here, it won’t change anything.”

”This authority granted by His Majesty may seem shocking at first glance, but if you think about it carefully, has His Majesty directly appointed this young man as the Lord Warden Commander? Or did he grant him a noble title?” ”None of those. Although the court officials may be alarmed today, once today passes, no one will make a fuss about this matter. Why bother doing things that would displease His Majesty?”

The Premier was well-deserving of being the leader of the civil officials, showing remarkable insight into the situation.

The Grand Historian was stunned. After hearing this, he no longer insisted on it. He silently returned to his place and then whispered, ”I always feel that one day he will bring a complete disaster to Great Liang!”

The Premier sighed and remained silent.

The Grand Historian before him seemed to have an unchangeable prejudice against Chen Chao. However, the Premier did not know how to convince him otherwise. Perhaps it was not bias at all, but rather a prediction about the future?

But now, only time would prove who was right.

The Premier’s eyes grew even more puzzled. Was this His Majesty announcing something to the world?

Was this the will of His Majesty the Emperor?

Did this young man have His Majesty the Emperor as his biggest backer in the Great Liang Dynasty?

Chen Chao was also somewhat shocked. The right to bear arms - even a fool could understand what kind of honor this was. Such an honor was actually impossible to happen to him, but it still happened.

Chen Chao subconsciously lifted his head to look ahead, but the Great Liang Emperor had already walked deep into the palace and was out of sight.

Li Heng cleared his throat softly, and Chen Chao came back to his senses, kneeling down again. ”This subject is grateful for your grace!”

Li Heng nodded in satisfaction and then uttered the last sentence of today ”The court session is dismissed. Matters not discussed in today’s court session shall be handled by the respective departments!”

The court officials dispersed, but the officials from the Ministry of Works stayed behind. They needed to come up with plans to repair the damage to the square and the palace walls in an extremely short time. After all, this was the imperial city, not just any other place. There could be no delay.

As the court officials left in a single file, those who had intended to make friends with Chen Chao saw that the Lord Warden Commander was still by his side, so they temporarily put aside their intentions. The two princes exchanged a glance and did not stay either, quickly departing as well. They needed time to contemplate their attitude towards Chen Chao once they returned to their respective residences.

The Lord Warden Commander patted Chen Chao on the shoulder and smiled. ”The right to bear arms in court, such an honor has never been granted to a military official of your age in the history of our Great Liang Dynasty. Do you understand His Majesty’s expectations?”

Chen Chao smiled bitterly. ”This honor is too great. This lowly official doesn’t know how many people will envy me. I’m afraid many have already begun cursing me in their hearts.”

The Lord Warden Commander smiled warmly and said, ”With great power comes great responsibility. No need to worry, just keep moving forward.”

After saying these words, the Lord Warden Commander did not say any more. The Great Liang Emperor was still waiting for him, and he could not spend too much time talking to Chen Chao.

Chen Chao glanced at the great hall once again. Compared to others who might have more complicated thoughts, Chen Chao’s thoughts were simpler. Regarding the matter of being granted the privilege to bear arms, he had now regained his composure and pondered carefully about it. It was very likely that the Great Liang Emperor simply saw that he fought without a weapon and won with some difficulty, so as a reward, allowed him to carry a saber freely in the future.

People in the world might not believe such a simple reason, but Chen Chao believed it, and he was certain it was the case.

After the Lord Warden Commander left, Song Lian quickly appeared by Chen Chao’s side. This Left Guard Commander said with vicissitudes of emotion, ”Kid, you always manage to surprise people. Originally, I thought you were going to lose the fight without a saber.”

Chen Chao asked jokingly, ”If I really lost and was about to be pierced in the heart by Lu Chu’s flying sword, Your Excellency would save me, right?”

Song Lian frowned and said, ”That’s impossible. What do you think this place is? It’s the imperial capital, right under His Majesty’s eyelids. How could I casually make a move? I’d lose the official hat on my head.”

Chen Chao gave an ”oh” and did not mind either.

But Song Lian quickly added casually, ”Though, my official hat isn’t that important either.”