Martial Cultivator

This sentence was colder than the alcohol on the table, which was about to cool completely.

Even someone like the Xie Family ancestor, and old man who had weathered countless storms, felt somewhat dazed at this moment.

As one of the few elders remaining in the Great Liang Dynasty, whether in terms of status or position, it had truly been many years since anyone dared to speak to him in such a tone.

Even back when the Great Liang Emperor stormed into the Divine Capital and came to visit him before ascending the throne, he had not spoken like Chen Chao. As for the previous Lord Warden Commander, Ning Ping, he had always maintained the proper deference of a junior when facing him.

The academy’s Dean was his junior, and many high-ranking officials in the court today did not even have the qualification to call him teacher; their seniority was far too low.

Someone like him had not heard such brazen words in a very, very long time.

The Xie Family ancestor looked at Chen Chao and, for the first time, made the effort to open his turbid eyes wide, as if he wanted to see through the young man before him completely.

Chen Chao did not react from start to end, merely watching the Xie Family ancestor in silence.

The two of them stared at each other for a long time.

Only then, did the Xie Family ancestor let out a deep sigh and say, “At a time like this, you should be more courteous to me. You shouldn’t speak to me this way.”

The Xie Family was now extremely crucial to the Great Liang Dynasty. If any upheaval were to occur, the entire dynasty would be shaken. With the Wei Family already fallen, the status of the Xie Family was no longer what it once was.

Chen Chao had come here for one reason - to confirm that the Xie Family would follow his lead, and keep following behind him without causing any disturbances.

The current Great Liang Dynasty needed a truly unified front, with no divisions.

Chen Chao said, “Senior, I’m already very polite.”

The Xie Family ancestor looked at him and asked, “If this old man doesn’t follow you, what will become of the Xie Family?”

Chen Chao replied bluntly, “After today, there will be no more Xie Family.”

The Xie Family ancestor asked curiously, “Aren’t you afraid of making Xie lass sad?”

Chen Chao shook his head.

In such matters of great importance, personal feelings were trivial.

The Xie Family ancestor was even more curious. “How will you destroy my Xie Family?”

Chen Chao was not one of the top martial artists of the current era, and relying on his personal strength alone, he likely did not have the ability, even with the support of the Left and Right Guards.

Chen Chao said, “In the Imperial City, there’s Eunuch Li. In the academy, there’s Mr. Zhou. Yu Xiyi is in the Divine Capital, and Song Lian is under my command. I can mobilize the imperial court’s retainers. With all that, would it be enough?”

Even though the Xie Family had many powerhouses, facing such a lineup, they would probably have cause for concern too.

Chen Chao continued, “If it’s not enough, the demon race can’t move south for now, so I can have Great General Ning lead the frontier army south.”

The Xie Family ancestor sighed with vicissitudes of emotion, “It seems you really have quite a few cards in your hand. But if you really do this, aren’t you afraid the Great Liang will be gravely weakened?”

Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, “I do care, but I can’t allow the current situation to happen.”

The Xie Family ancestor looked at the young man’s determined eyes for a long time in silence before suddenly clapping his hands.

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow. In many of those novels, such a scene usually meant that hidden soldiers would rush out and dice him to pieces.

Chen Chao rested his hand on the hilt of his saber.

But no soldiers emerged. Instead, two people walked in, pushing a middle-aged daoist forward.

The Xie Family ancestor looked at Chen Chao, took out a letter from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and remained silent.

Chen Chao looked at the middle-aged daoist.

He had already received word earlier from Hundred Streams Pavilion that someone from the foreign lands had entered the Divine Capital and arrived at the Xie Family. He had been waiting for the Xie Family to inform him, but no one had come to his door, so he had come in person. ṟᴀꞐΟᛒĘŚ

All the previous talks had been a way to give the Xie Family an opportunity.

The Xie Family ancestor looked at Chen Chao and suddenly smiled, ”I haven’t done anything, as I also wanted to see what you would do. You coming here today was within my expectations, but your behavior is beyond what I expected.”

Chen Chao asked, ”Senior thought I would be all smiles and friendliness, trying to placate Senior?”

The Xie Family ancestor replied, ”You wanted to anger this old man, to see how this old man would choose? But unfortunately, my Xie Family isn’t the Wei Family, and I have no interest in becoming the next Wei Family either. As for you, I wasn’t sure about you before, and I still don’t have much faith in you. But since this old man won’t choose the foreign lands, I can only choose you. It’s truly a helpless.”

For a great family to endure through the ages, it required making the right decisions time and again in the face of crucial matters.

The Xie Family ancestor had led the Xie Family for many years, never making a wrong decision. But this time, he was not sure if his choice was the right one.

But it seemed he did not have many options.

The Xie Family ancestor looked at Chen Chao and said calmly, ”He arrived many days ago. I haven’t discussed anything with him. When he came, this old man detained him and has been waiting for you all this while.”

Chen Chao looked at the Xie Family ancestor, remained silent for a moment, then turned to look at the middle-aged daoist.

The Xie Family ancestor nodded, and someone removed the object from the middle-aged daoist’s mouth, allowing him to speak.

The middle-aged daoist glanced at Chen Chao and said calmly, ”He indeed hasn’t made any agreements with us.”

Chen Chao looked at the middle-aged daoist, was silent for some time, and then asked, ”Didn’t discuss anything either?”

The middle-aged daoist snorted coldly, ”Never even met him.”

Chen Chao gave a slight hum, then smiled as he looked at the two people beside the daoist. ”Since that’s the case, I’ll have to trouble you two to deal with him.”

Hearing this, the two people froze, initially thinking that Chen Chao would take the middle-aged daoist away for interrogation.

The Xie Family ancestor waved his hand.

The two did not say anything further and quickly took the middle-aged daoist away.

Chen Chao returned to his senses, picked up the cup of alcohol on the table, and drank it in one go. With a smile, he said, ”I still trust Senior.”

The Xie Family ancestor smiled and said, ”There’s no one in this world truly worth trusting, everything requires your own judgment. If you regret it now, it’s still not too late.”

Chen Chao shook his head and said, ”I trust Senior.”

The Xie Family ancestor did not rush to speak, but instead reached for the alcohol pot on the stove, poured Chen Chao a cup of alcohol, and then sighed, ”When you get old, you can’t drink cold drinks anymore, always afraid you might die at any moment. But in this life, I’ve served as an official and held the position of Minister in the Six Ministries, met several emperors, lived long enough, and have few regrets. Oh, by the way, I’ve barely poured alcohol for anyone in my life, and these past years, even less so. When that kid Ning Ping came by, he was the one who poured alcohol for me.”

Chen Chao smiled and said, ”Then it’s this junior’s honor.”

The Xie Family ancestor calmly replied, ”You and that Xie lass are both energetic young people with big ambitions. I’m old now, I can’t stop you, but I hope that when you two do things, you’ll think carefully, and think again. After all, what you’re about to do isn’t just about the two of you, but about an entire kingdom, countless people. If things go wrong, many will be dragged into it. The ancient saying goes, ‘Ruling a great country is like cooking a small fish,’ and that’s the reasoning behind it.”

”Though I don’t know why His Majesty trusts you so much, I admire His Majesty. I trust his judgment too.”

”That’s why you should be even more cautious and careful.”

Chen Chao smiled and nodded.

The Xie Family ancestor rubbed his brows somewhat wearily, ”The Xie Family still has some influence in the court. I’ll take care of the remaining matters for you. You can go ahead and do what you need to do.”

”Then I thank you, Senior.”

Chen Chao clasped his hands and stood up, bowing solemnly

The Xie Family ancestor looked at Chen Chao with his turbid eyes and suddenly smiled as he scolded, ”The way you just acted really reminds me of Emperor Taizong and His Majesty when they were young. But then again, it’s no surprise, don’t you have their blood flowing in their veins too?”

Chen Chao wanted to speak but swallowed the words back.

The Xie Family ancestor shook his head and said, ”You really aren’t like Crown Prince Yiwen. He was gentle and refined; different from you.”

The Xie Family ancestor naturally knew what Chen Chao wanted to say. After waving his hand, he took a cup of alcohol for himself and said with his smile, ”Actually, I’m also somewhat looking forward to seeing how far you’ll go. In this world, I’ve lived well, but that’s not enough.”