Martial Cultivator

Over the past few days, Chen Chao’s complexion visibly grew rosier as he continued to recuperate. Liang Jinjin’s injuries, which had never been severe, had long since fully healed. However, this female qi refiner was very considerate and did not rush him. She just quietly accompanied Chen Chao as they changed locations every few days, diligently taking care of covering their traces.

As the two grew more familiar with each other, aside from Chen Chao occasionally asking her about matters related to qi refiners, she also began to ask some questions from time to time.

“I heard you used a broken saber. When did you get it fixed?”

“You didn’t hear about something that major?”

Chen Chao smiled and recounted the events of Sword Qi Mountain. Only then did Liang Jinjin respond with an “oh,” her curiosity piqued as she asked, “What kind of person is your Emperor, anyway? I heard he once crossed the thirty thousand miles of desolate north alone, fought against the Demon Emperor, and still managed to return unharmed.”

Chen Chao laughed, ”I haven’t heard His Majesty tell that story. Why don’t you ask him yourself one day?”

Liang Jinjin frowned and shook her head. ”We qi refiners can’t just enter the Divine Capital whenever we want. It’s the place where a dynasty’s destiny is most concentrated. If we recklessly step foot there, it will greatly affect our cultivation.”

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow. ”Then why did qi refiners attend the Myriad Willow Convention before?”

Liang Jinjin sighed, ”Of course, there are ways to solve that, but not everyone has access to those methods. If I were to run off to the Divine Capital, my master and the others definitely wouldn’t agree.”

Chen Chao acknowledged with an ”oh,” as he casually learned a few more things about qi refiners.

However, Liang Jinjin quickly realized what he was doing and said with some displeasure, ”You’re baiting information out of me again.”

Chen Chao chuckled and did not defend himself. Over the past few days, although he had asked many questions about qi refiners, Liang Jinjin did not share everything. Sometimes, just when she was about to reveal something important, she would suddenly stop talking. So, Chen Chao would casually try to coax more information out of her. At first, Liang Jinjin would get very angry when she noticed, and Chen Chao would feel a bit embarrassed. But after it happened enough times, it did not bother them as much anymore.

Chen Chao asked, ”Besides your Pinecreek Mountain, do the qi refiners from other sects know that so-called Qi Observing Technique? It can’t be that only you have this ability, right?”

Liang Jinjin ignored him and just turned her head away.

Chen Chao sighed helplessly, ”This can’t be considered a secret, right? You’re really stingy not to share even this.”

Liang Jinjin suddenly turned her head back, glaring at Chen Chao as she asked, ”Who’s stingy? I even gave you that medicinal pill!”

Chen Chao was stunned, then sighed in resignation. He had lost count of how many times he had heard this line; just like when she accused him of lying, his ears were practically getting calloused.

”If you’re not stingy, then talk about it a little. Why keep this hidden?”

Chen Chao smiled at Liang Jinjin. The saying that ”one does not hit a smiling face” was referring to this, right?

Puffing her cheeks in frustration, Liang Jinjin retorted, ”Of course it’s not just us Pinecreek Mountain who knows this. Both Northern and Southern qi refiners have this secret technique, and some sects even have magic artifacts that can locate qi. They just aren’t as precise as ours.”

Chen Chao asked curiously, ”Since it’s not some unique secret technique, then why won’t you teach me?”

”Just not going to teach you!”

Liang Jinjin glared at Chen Chao fiercely, though her attempt to look fierce only made her seem somewhat adorable.

Chen Chao restrained his smile and asked seriously, ”Since it’s something everyone knows, won’t you run into other cultivators when you go to the so-called sect ruins? From what I see, your senior brothers and sisters aren’t all that strong. Could they have even been able to compete with others?”

Liang Jinjin frowned, ”We’re not fools. We know not to go to the places everyone else is heading. The sect we’re going to isn’t big, and it’s in a remote location. There shouldn’t be many people who can find it.”

Chen Chao responded with an ”oh” and then shook his head, saying, ”That’s no fun at all. Even when going out to search for treasures, you only dare to look in some remote corners? Can’t you be a bit bolder?”

Liang Jinjin stared at Chen Chao. ”Do you think everyone is like you? Just carrying a saber and going around killing, killing, killing.”

Chen Chao retorted, ”Don’t talk nonsense. If I hadn’t killed them, by now, even if those demons hadn’t eaten you alive, you would have been buried alive in the snow.”

Hearing this, Liang Jinjin lost her confidence and closed her mouth, not saying anything.

Chen Chao thought for a moment and then said, ”How about we go check out that biggest sect ruin?”

”Do you really want me to be doomed eternally?” Liang Jinjin said softly, ”If we get seen by so many people, I wouldn’t be able to clear my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River!”

Chen Chao thought for a moment and nodded, ”That’s true. It wouldn’t be very interesting just encountering a bunch of qi refiners. If we come across a few demons, we could still have a fight. But with only qi refiners, there’s no valid justification to kill them.”

As he spoke, Chen Chao suddenly sighed, feeling a bit disheartened. ”Now that you mention it, going to that sect ruin seems pointless…”

Before Chen Chao could finish, Liang Jinjin quickly interrupted him, ”You can’t go back on your word!”

Chen Chao realized what she meant and nodded, reassuring this girl, ”Don’t worry. I’m known for keeping my word. My promises are as good as gold. Who doesn’t know that?”

This was just a bit of self-flattery in the first place, but who knew this girl bluntly shot him down, ”I don’t know.”

Chen Chao was not upset, he just smiled and said, ”You’ll know soon enough.”

Just after finishing this sentence, Chen Chao suddenly stood up and looked into the distance.

Liang Jinjin was a bit slow on the uptake as she asked, ”What’s wrong?”

Chen Chao exhaled a turbid breath and shook his head with a smile, ”Nothing. A few demons have come looking for death. You wait here for a moment.”

With that, Chen Chao gripped his saber and walked off into the distance.

Liang Jinjin watched the white figure in the snowstorm, her eyes revealing something else.

……

……

As more and more human cultivators arrived at the desolate northern plains, the competition among the young began to unfold silently. People were dying everywhere.

Life and death seemed to have become commonplace on these desolate northern plains.

No one knew when they might die. For those young cultivators who had spent most of their lives focused solely on cultivation, this was a huge test, making many of them realize what the frontier soldiers stationed in the Northern Frontier had been facing all these years.

And those soldiers were not facing young cultivators, they went up against the likes of great demons.

The young cultivators who thought of this might not have shown any immediate reaction, but a seed had already been planted in the hearts of some.

When it would be watered, when it would sprout, and when it would bloom, no one could say for certain.

Xie Nandu did not leave Coldgate Pass alone. Accompanying her were some academy students, including Wang Kuan, and aside from the academy students, Gao Xuan was also there.

Before they left Coldgate Pass, the Lord Warden Commander specifically instructed Gao Xuan to keep an eye on this genius girl from the academy, and not to let her venture too deep into the desolate north.

Currently, the most eye-catching young genius in the Great Liang Dynasty was Chen Chao, but only a few knew that Xie Nandu’s importance was in no way less than Chen Chao’s.

Setting aside her identity, the things she was destined to do in the future were enough for the Great Liang Dynasty to take her seriously.

However, Gao Xuan himself was currently just a martial artist in the Bitter Sea Realm, so there was little he could actually do. Besides, he did not believe that the young woman before him could be swayed by words.

Earlier, when the two of them were discussing the marching route, Gao Xuan, who had spent many years in the Northern Frontier, confidently suggested a route he had long considered. He believed that if a major battle broke out, this route would allow them to strike at the heart of the demon army with the greatest speed. However, after hearing his plan, Xie Nandu quickly rejected his idea and proposed an alternative route. Naturally, Gao Xuan did not agree, and neither of them was willing to trust the other. As a result, they decided to try out the routes, leading to the current situation.

As others were engaged in life-and-death battles with the demon race, this group was instead focused on exploring military routes. Bored, Gao Xuan decided to strike up a conversation with Wang Kuan beside him.

”Mr. Wang, don’t you find this journey rather dull?”

Wang Kuan smiled, first shaking his head before replying, ”I wouldn’t say I deserve the title of ’Mr.’ If General Gao also finds this boring, why did you accompany Junior Sister on this journey?”

Gao Xuan frowned and said, ”I just want to prove that my suggestion is correct. As for Miss Xie, though she’s well-read in military strategy, one must remember that what’s written in books isn’t always entirely accurate.”

Wang Kuan nodded with a smile and said, ”You have a point. But there’s something I’d like to tell you, General Gao.”

Gao Xuan nodded, ”I’m all ears.”

Wang Kuan pointed to Xie Nandu ahead and softly said, ”Junior Sister Xie has always been like this. Even if General Gao is correct, we still need to verify it for ourselves. Simply relying on hearsay isn’t the way of the academy.”

Before Gao Xuan could respond, Wang Kuan continued, ”Besides, I think Junior Sister might not be wrong. But whether she is or isn’t, we’ll find out soon enough.”