Martial Cultivator

They had arrived in Ying Prefecture early. Aside from waiting for Chen Chao, they had also done quite a few other things. Choosing a site for the sect was not something to be taken lightly. Fortunately, Feng Liu had capable people under him, some of whom had studied the qi refiner lineage’s methods, and they could tell that these two mountains had good fortune and were an excellent location.

Chen Chao nodded and said, “From a geographical standpoint, it is indeed good. It seems Fellow Daoist Feng has considered everything thoroughly. This official cannot find a single fault.”

Feng Liu smiled and said, “Since we sincerely invited Lord Warden Commander to help, it was only right to resolve all the trouble that should not exist beforehand.”

After thinking for a moment, Chen Chao said, “The name and the mountains where the sect will stand are both fine. However, these two mountains are private property of the imperial court.”

Feng Liu was startled. “What does Lord Warden Commander mean by that?”

Chen Chao said, “Leaving aside those sects that have existed for thousands of years, since some of them were founded before Great Liang even existed, Great Liang has now stood for over two hundred years. Apart from the mountain peaks already occupied by cultivators, the remaining mountains and waters all belong to Great Liang. There should be no dispute about this, correct?”

Feng Liu nodded. “That is indeed the case.”

“Then if Fellow Daoist Feng wishes to use court-owned mountains to establish a sect, this matter must be discussed carefully. Whether the court temporarily leases these two mountains to Fellow Daoist Feng, or permanently transfers them to Fellow Daoist Feng, there are distinctions to be made.”

Chen Chao smiled faintly, his eyes growing ever brighter.

Feng Liu did not rush to speak. After looking at Chen Chao a few times, he finally sighed and said, “So it turns out Lord Warden Commander is not only unfathomable in drinking capacity, but also unfathomable in shrewdness.”

Chen Chao said calmly, “The founding emperor once said that although Great Liang has much land, not a single inch of it is surplus. We descendants have no choice but to be careful and cautious.”

Feng Liu thought for a moment, then said, “If it is the former, once the lease expires and Great Liang wishes to reclaim these two mountains, would we not once again become wandering ghosts?”

Feng Liu understood that if the mountains were nominally still Great Liang’s, they would always be in a passive position. If they truly fell out with Great Liang in the future and Great Liang decided to take the mountains back, then his so-called world’s foremost sect of itinerant cultivators would become a genuine joke.

But if they wanted to completely take these two mountains away from Great Liang entirely, the price they would have to pay would surely be enormous.

They had originally thought that this young Lord Warden Commander, though accomplished at such a young age and possessed a profound cultivation realm, was still a young man after all. Surely there would be many matters he could not have considered thoroughly. On top of that, after a bit of drinking, they figured there would be room to muddle through and bargain for some advantage. But now it was clear that this was not the case at all. The young martial artist before them not only had a high cultivation and a hard fist, but also a shrewd mind. He was not someone who could be easily fooled.

”Since it is being leased to Fellow Daoist Feng, there will naturally be a term set. As for whether, once the term expires, the lease is renewed or the land is reclaimed, that will be a matter for later.”

After thinking for a moment, Chen Chao added, “But to put Fellow Daoist Feng at ease, the lease term will be set at no less than a hundred years. How does that sound?”

Feng Liu gave a bitter smile. “Lord Warden Commander should just say what price I must pay for the court to give up these two mountains.”

Chen Chao did not answer directly. Instead, he asked, “The foundation on which a sect survives, and the precedent of being the first sect in a whole prefecture - what sort of price should that command?”

In business dealings, the greatest taboo was naming a price first. Once you did so, it meant you had already set a range in your own mind, putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Feng Liu could not help but smile bitterly. This Lord Warden Commander truly kept surprising him. No matter how he looked at it, this young man could not be treated as a simple martial artist.

Seeing Feng Liu’s difficulty, Chen Chao even lifted his wine bowl, took a sip, and smiled. “This official isn’t particularly skilled at doing business. Back when this official negotiated with the Sword Sect, the deals this official struck were actually rather unfavorable.”

After much thought, Feng Liu finally forced out a smile and said, “I truly wish to establish a sect in Ying Prefecture. Lord Warden Commander clearly understands this as well. For this new sect to be founded, we will have to rely greatly on Lord Warden Commander’s support. But I hope Lord Warden Commander can also understand that starting from nothing, everything requires money and resources. None of it is easy.”

Chen Chao nodded. “I understand, of course I understand. No one in this world has it easy. Fellow Daoist Feng has your difficulties, that can be understood. However, there are quite a few people keeping their eyes on Ying Prefecture. If Fellow Daoist Feng loses the initiative, others may not.”

To become the number one sect in a prefecture was not only a matter of inevitably greater fame. From the perspective of intangible fortune, the foremost sect of a prefecture would often be the first to gather that fortune, which was of great benefit to the cultivation of the sect’s members.

Feng Liu fell silent.

Chen Chao extended a finger, tapped lightly on the table, and smiled. “That Suining Mountain - setting aside the question of fortune altogether - is actually a mining mountain. Does Fellow Daoist Feng truly not know this?”

Feng Liu froze, then looked astonished. “There is such a thing?”

Chen Chao could not be bothered to expose the truth. He merely narrowed his eyes and looked to one side at Xu Fuchen, asking, “Once the Morning Dew Sect is established, the position of first vice sect master should be held by Fellow Daoist Xu, correct?”

Xu Fuchen nodded and said sincerely, “I do want to do something for the itinerant cultivators of the world. In truth, I am unwilling to be any sort of sect master or vice sect master. In the future, if there are more capable people, I would naturally step aside and yield the position.”

Chen Chao smiled faintly. “In fact, when it comes to protecting itinerant cultivators, the imperial court can do that as well. No matter how many there are, Divine Capital is large enough to accommodate them all.”

Xu Fuchen wore a troubled expression. “They are all idle clouds and wandering cranes, used to freedom. I’m afraid...”

Chen Chao smiled. “Of course this official understands. These days, isn’t there some saying among the foreign cultivators? Cultivators who serve the imperial court are called the imperial court’s hawks and hounds?”

Xu Fuchen had an awkward look.

Chen Chao picked up his wine bowl on his own and kept drinking non-stop.

The black-robed monk looked at the young martial artist beside him, a trace of amusement in his eyes.

Feng Liu clenched his teeth and was just about to speak when Chen Chao shook his head and said, “There is one thing Fellow Daoist Feng can rest assured about. That is, this official has no intention of becoming the actual sect master of the Morning Dew Sect.”

This single sentence was a calming pill that Chen Chao fed to Feng Liu.

Feng Liu nodded. This was precisely the matter he had worried about most. Establishing the Morning Dew Sect was meant to find a place of shelter for the itinerant cultivators of the world, to change their situation. But if from the very beginning the sect had to live by watching Great Liang’s mood, then whether the sect was established or not would seem to have little meaning.

“How the sect operates, and which direction it will go in the future, are matters for Fellow Daoist Feng, the sect master, to worry about, and things for Fellow Daoist Xu, the vice sect master, to consider. This official is an outsider and naturally will not interfere.”

Chen Chao rubbed his cheeks and breathed out a mouthful of alcohol-scented air. “But since we have already spoken to this point, some words can in fact be stated plainly. Ying Prefecture had no sects in the past, and it can have no sects in the future as well. In the past, having no sects was the result of all sides checking one another, but in the future, having no sects would be a matter decided by the imperial court with a single word.” “And this would not be something unreasonable, because the land underfoot belongs to the imperial court and belongs to the people. Cultivators like Fellow Daoist Feng have never regarded yourselves as subjects of Great Liang. Then to Great Liang, you are merely guests. Guests can be well received, but they will not be treated as one’s own family.”

At this point, Chen Chao paused, then turned to look at Xu Fuchen and said, “Regardless of what motive Fellow Daoist Xu had back then, since you once stood up for the people of Great Liang, that favor must be repaid. This is also why, from the very beginning, this official acknowledged Fellow Daoist Feng’s plan to establish a sect in Ying Prefecture.” “Fellow Daoist Feng must understand this. If not for what Fellow Daoist Xu did back then, this official might not have nodded in agreement. After all, just as Fellow Daoist Feng himself said, the cultivation realm is high, but nothing much has been done. That is not good. Fellow Daoist Feng wants to shelter the itinerant cultivators of the world. That is very good, but it is still not good enough. Your vision should be broader. Look at the scene beyond Great Liang. As I said before, since the world is a field, the imperial court protects this field. If passing guests want the field to remain intact, then they should also lend a hand.”

Feng Liu thought for a moment. “If it truly comes to that, once we are drawn in, many people will die.”

Chen Chao said, “In these two hundred years of Great Liang, how many people have died? “In these past ten-plus years, how many more have died? If even the imperial court were afraid of people dying, would the Northern Frontier Great Wall still exist? If the Great Wall were gone, I imagine even Fellow Daoist Feng would find it hard to enjoy wind, flowers, snow, and moon, wouldn’t you?”

“This official is not asking anything of Fellow Daoist Feng. The imperial court has done many things for the world and for the people. Fellow Daoist Feng and the others should know how to be grateful.”

At this point, Chen Chao smiled, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and said, “Scholars have a saying about repaying resentment with virtue, but this official is just a martial artist and can’t learn that. I only know one thing: if you do good for others and they don’t feel grateful, that’s fine. But if they still come over to sneer and make cold remarks, then this official will give them a saber slash and ask them how many heads they really have.”

“Putting everything else aside, if Great Liang is fighting desperately at the front while there are still quite a few people behind thinking about how to stab Great Liang in the back, then this official can also stop caring about anything else and pull the border armies down from the north for a southern march. Horses trampling the foreign cultivators, it seems no one has ever done that before, has there?”

Chen Chao’s few casual sentences sounded ordinary enough, but Feng Liu, listening from the side, felt his heart pounding. If anyone else had said this, he might not have believed it. But when it came from the mouth of the man before him, he already believed seven or eight tenths of it.

After all, a man’s reputation is like a tree’s bark. Given everything Chen Chao had done in the past, what his reputation was like was known to all among the foreign cultivators.