Martial Cultivator

Many years ago, the Great Liang Dynasty was no different from the secular dynasties of the past. Before the foreign cultivators, it bowed its head, forever the weaker side.

They endured humiliation at the hands of cultivators, never able to reason with the foreign lands.

But starting more than a decade ago, from the moment the Great Liang Emperor ascended the throne, the situation gradually began to shift. By now, that young Lord Warden Commander had killed until the foreign cultivators trembled in fear. The foreign cultivators also clearly understood that when facing the Great Liang Dynasty, they could no longer look down on it as they once had.

More often than not, when they wanted to do something, they now had to carefully weigh the consequences.

All of this stemmed naturally from the annihilation of the Sublime Bright Sect, the Green Algae Sect, and the Glaze Temple in those early years.

Even the Infatuation Daoist Temple had suffered a setback in the Divine Capital, so what temper could the rest of the world’s cultivators possibly still have?

The foreign cultivators now knew that Chen Chao was not someone to be trifled with. This understanding gradually spread, and in truth, even the officials throughout Great Liang had come to know it as well. The benefit of this was that they could finally raise their heads when facing the foreign cultivators, no longer needing to keep them bowed so low. But the drawback followed closely behind.

Some officials also began to feel that, with that Lord Warden Commander standing above them, they could act without restraint.

That they no longer needed to reason with others, that they could bully others by relying on power.

Just like the constable before him now, a mere functionary of a commandery governor’s office, yet with a single sentence he could invoke Chen Chao, the Lord Warden Commander.

Utterly fearless because of it.

Chen Chao looked at him, many thoughts passing through his mind. Leaving aside whether such thinking was premature, even laughable, the fact that he could encounter someone like this here meant that there must certainly be others like him elsewhere.

At this moment, it might seem like a small matter, but what about the day when Great Liang truly became the greatest sect under heaven, when it forced all foreign cultivators to bow their heads?

Would that not mean that yesterday’s foreign lands would become tomorrow’s Great Liang?

Chen Chao shook his head, feeling a trace of irritation.

He exhaled a breath of turbid air. Some things could not be resolved for the time being, but one could not refuse to do what must be done now simply out of fear that the Great Liang of the future might turn into the foreign lands of today.

One could not, out of fear that one’s descendants might squander the family fortune, refuse to earn that fortune in the first place.

The order of things mattered. It was crucial.

Chen Chao took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. “They live at the very bottom of this world. Life is already hard enough for them. They shouldn’t be treated this way.”

The constable sneered. “What, your backing not big enough? So now you’re willing to spout this kind of crap? You want Your Father to treat them kindly, what the hell does that have to do with you?”

Chen Chao stared at him and said softly, “What the hell does it have to do with me?”

The constable was just about to speak when he realized that the man before him had somehow appeared right in front of him. One hand pressed down on his shoulder, and the other delivered another slap across his face.

“In all of Great Liang, there is nothing that has nothing to do with me.

Chen Chao said indifferently, “By custom, this is the point where you should be calling for your backing. Why aren’t you finding someone yet? Are you waiting for me to beat you to death with my bare hands?”

The constable’s face throbbed in pain, but at this moment he could only sneer. That previous remark had actually been a probe, testing whether the person before him was a cultivator from some foreign sect or a scion of a local aristocratic family within Great Liang. Now, it seemed the former was not the case.

This guy did not carry that faint, contemptuous aura. Since he was not a foreign cultivator, the constable was no longer afraid. As for his background, the constable did not believe that simply encountering a young man at random would put him on equal footing with such a family.

The constable sneered and shouted in frustration, “What are you standing there for? Go call for reinforcements!”

Chen Chao tossed the constable aside, not caring who he might summon, and returned to the main hall to untie the ropes from the men.

Zhang Da, the leader, looked worried. “Sir, you’re being reckless. You can provoke anyone, but why provoke an official? Better to leave while no one’s here yet. If you don’t, once the city gates are sealed, there’ll be no way out. As for us, sir needn’t worry.” Chen Chao shook his head. “If I leave, your crimes are set in stone. What about your mother? And his son?”

Chen Chao looked at the man from last night.

Zhang Da sighed, but still resolutely said, “No matter what, there is absolutely no reason to implicate sir.”

Chen Chao shook his head again, speaking softly, “What sort of reinforcements can that constable summon? A bunch of commandery governors? If that’s all, there’s nothing to fear. In this Great Liang Dynasty, there are plenty of people I fear, but not these officials.”

Zhang Da froze, not quite understanding what this young master meant.

Chen Chao said nothing. He simply looked up at Master Dong’s stone statue. Back then, Master Dong had pushed scholar-officials from the academy into government positions, seeking only to improve the lives of the common people. But seeing the state of the world now, he wondered if Master Dong would be disappointed.

Chen Chao shook his head, choosing not to dwell on such thoughts.

When he returned to his senses, he noticed that the sounds of hooves and footsteps outside had grown numerous.

Chen Chao glanced at the constable, whose cheeks were slightly red, then furrowed his brow. It seemed this fellow really did have some connections.

When all the arrivals entered Master Dong’s shrine, Chen Chao’s curiosity was truly piqued.

The first was a broad-shouldered, armored middle-aged general. Swinging down from his horse, he cursed as he entered the shrine, first berating it for being a place that should have been torn down long ago, then loudly shouted, “Who dares cause trouble for my Brother Li? Are you tired of living too long?”

When he reached the front of the main hall, the second arrived, hurrying along. A man in a teal official robe, thin in build, said nothing, but clearly appeared to be the commandery governor.

As for the third, Chen Chao was somewhat surprised, it was the local warden, a Bitter Sea Realm martial artist with a solid foundation in martial arts.

Tall in stature, his steps measured and steady.

A mere constable being able to summon the local garrison commander, the commandery governor, and the warden all at once was enough to show that his status truly was not that of just a lowly constable.

Chen Chao began to grow curious about what this fellow’s identity really was.

By the time the three of them arrived before the main hall, the outside had in fact already been tightly surrounded by a detachment of soldiers.

The constable glanced at the three present, then turned his gaze toward the inside of the main hall and sneered, “Well? Kowtow and admit your mistake, or bring out the backer behind you? Let me hear whether it’s enough to make me apologize.”

Chen Chao said calmly, “It looks like your backer isn’t just the three of them. In the Divine Capital? Which lord is it?”

The constable laughed. “You’re fairly clever, but there’s no need for you to know.”

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