Martial Cultivator

"Lord Warden Commander?"

Chen Chao was somewhat dazed, almost doubting if he had heard correctly.

In the Great Liang Dynasty, the pinnacle for military officials rested on two towering peaks - one in the Northern Frontier and the other in the Divine Capital.

All things considered, Chen Chao had only entered court for a few years, rising from a measly little local area warde, to Commander of the Left Guard. This advancement pace was already exceptionally rare.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to convince the masses."

Chen Chao looked at the Great Liang Emperor and said, "Whether in terms of seniority or cultivation realm, I'm far from the best candidate."

"If anyone should fill the vacancy left by the Lord Warden Commander, it ought to be Lord Song Lian."

Song Lian had the most appropriate experience, and, moreover, he was only a step away from reaching the Nepenthe Realm.

Chen Chao spoke very seriously, "Moreover, with what just happened last night, whether in terms of timing or anything else, it's inappropriate."

The Great Liang Emperor replied, "You know, We don't merely want you to take on the role of Lord Warden Commander."

"We can even give you this world."

The Great Liang Emperor spoke calmly, "After what happened last night, everyone in the world knows that your surname is also Chen, that you, too, bear our Chen Family's bloodline. When the time comes for you to ascend the throne, there may be some challenges, but it should generally be manageable, especially now that We have cleared the way."

Chen Chao remained silent, simply looking at the Great Liang Emperor before him, and soon recalled their first meeting.

"I told Your Majesty long ago that I have no interest in ruling the world. It never belonged to me, nor have I ever wanted to possess it."

Chen Chao looked at the Great Liang Emperor, repeating the same stance he had taken back then.

The Great Liang Emperor was silent for a moment before saying, "Is it because you were born illegitimate that you think you're unfit to be Great Liang's ruler?"

"It has nothing to do with status."

Nothing to do with status, it was about his own will.

"Didn't Your Majesty never intend to be the ruler of this realm back then as well?"

Chen Chao looked at the Great Liang Emperor and said, "Why should I walk the same path you once did?"

The Great Liang Emperor looked at him, remaining silent for a long time without speaking.

"Whether or not I become emperor doesn’t matter. I'll carry on with the tasks Your Majesty wants to accomplish."

Hearing this, the Great Liang Emperor said nothing and did not insist further.

However, the Great Liang Emperor soon added, "There are some things to tell you."

Chen Chao was taken aback.

"Follow Us."

The Great Liang Emperor left the pavilion and walked toward the depths of the Imperial City. Chen Chao followed behind, soon realizing they had bypassed the assembly hall, and continued further into a grove he had never seen before. Then, the two arrived at a lakeside.

There were weeping willows by the lake, resembling the mutated variant found by the South Lake at the academy.

The Great Liang Emperor walked along the lake with his hands behind his back, stopping at the end before a palace.

"Last night, a question was raised, one your older brother asked quite astutely. How could someone like the Crown Prince suddenly drop dead? His death surely has its mysteries."

Hearing this, Chen Chao was somewhat surprised. "Has Your Majesty discovered the truth?"

The Great Liang Emperor replied meaningfully, "There are some clues, though no definitive answer yet. But We can share with you."

After the Great Liang Emperor said this, he walked into the palace.

Following him inside, Chen Chao found himself in an entirely different world. The palace was not built upward from the ground but was constructed downward. Upon entering, what had seemed like flat ground outside transformed, revealing that the palace extended deep below, resembling an underground crypt.

At this moment, they were standing at a height.

Below them, countless individuals dressed in black were bustling about. Threads of silk crisscrossed in the space below, creating a network.

From time to time, documents and bamboo scrolls traveled along the silk threads, moving through the space before disappearing from sight.

The Great Liang Emperor descended the stairs beside him, and Chen Chao followed closely behind, feeling somewhat shocked by the scene before him.

"The foreign cultivators have always regarded secular dynasties as mere puppets and slaves. This has been the case for a long time. Supporting secular dynasties is simply a means for them to achieve their own goals. Before the Great Liang, the resources they needed for cultivation were almost entirely supplied by the secular dynasties. Each year, countless commoners and laborers died under servitude, but this has long been a common occurrence for them. It has been this way for many years."

The Great Liang Emperor said with a sneer, "But just because it has always been this way, does that make it right?"

"Since the founding of the Great Liang, there have been efforts to change this situation. Each successive emperor has strove towards this goal. What you mentioned about the unfulfilled wish of Emperor Lingzong and that of previous emperors, it was actually not entirely incorrect."

The Great Liang Emperor looked down at the busy people below, saying calmly, "For over two hundred years since the establishment of the Great Liang, what we have sought has always been to completely sever ties with the foreign lands. However, We believe it's still not enough. Last night, Minister Xie said that Emperor Lingzong was wrong, but he only identified one aspect of the truth."

"Emperor Lingzong's greatest mistake was choosing the wrong person. If that older brother of yours had remained emperor for a few more years, all of Great Liang's efforts over the past two hundred years would have gone down the drain."

Chen Chao did not interject, simply listening in silence. He understood that everything he was hearing today was the greatest secret of the Great Liang dynasty.

"Great Liang has its traitors, and naturally, that's a method of the foreign lands. However, it doesn't seem surprising that the Great Liang's spies have infiltrated the foreign lands too, right"

"This place has been called Hundred Streams Pavilion by successive emperors."

The Great Liang Emperor looked at Chen Chao. "For over two hundred years, although the Great Liang has been making efforts, in truth, most spies have not been able to access the core matters of any particular sect. Nevertheless, there has been some effect overall."

"The news just came through. While it is not very detailed, it can almost be confirmed that my Imperial Elder Brother's death is closely related to a certain sect from the foreign lands."

The Great Liang Emperor walked to a place where files were stored, reached out, and took out a document, handing it to Chen Chao.

After receiving it, Chen Chao took a few looks before asking, "What about the person who transmitted the message?"

The Great Liang Emperor replied, "He is dead."

Chen Chao fell into silence.

"After the message was transmitted, his identity was discovered. This is the nature of being a spy. While we are looking for spies, they are looking for us, and both are quite difficult."

"However, the information is likely accurate."

The Great Liang Emperor clasped his hands behind his back as he said "Someone like my Imperial Elder Brother was indeed an outstanding figure in his time. Although it's rumored that We can stand shoulder to shoulder with Imperial Elder Brother, perhaps in terms of cultivation talent, We are not inferior to him. But when it comes to governing the country and strategy, We fall short compared to him by a great deal. Our governance over the years has been quite forced, if it were Imperial Elder Brother, it would not be like this."

"Being too brilliant leads to envy. Back then, Prince Xin was secretly executed by the Lingzong Emperor because of this, which is also a secret, a story that was not recorded in the historical texts."

The Great Liang Emperor spoke to himself. "For such a brilliant person, if he were truly allowed to ascend to the throne, the foreign lands would naturally not wish to see it, so they would take action, which is within reason."

At this point, the Great Liang Emperor suddenly recalled the story from last night and said, "Of course, this is merely a hypothesis, there's not enough proof. But presumably, the clear truth should emerge soon."

Chen Chao returned the document, which was then casually handed by the Great Liang Emperor to a black-clad figure. "They are absolutely loyal, you can trust them."

"There is another piece of news," the Great Liang Emperor said calmly. "This is the greatest secret of the Great Liang Dynasty."

Chen Chao waited in silence for more.

"Throughout the history of the Great Liang, there have been no shortage of exceptionally talented individuals. It's not a difficult thing to cultivate to the Nepenthe Realm. Once one enters this realm, living for over a hundred years is nothing difficult. But why, after more than two hundred years, has Great Liang only reached the fourth generation, excluding that imperial elder brother of yours?" "The former Emperor Taizong was exceptionally gifted, why did he only reign for 42 years?"

The Great Liang Emperor said calmly, "They were killed by the foreign lands. But it involves secrets, which are kept undisclosed. Only the successive successors are aware."

Chen Chao was silent for a moment before saying, "In any case, they wouldn't swagger into the Imperial City to take action."

The Great Liang Emperor nodded. "To do these things, it naturally won't be that simple."

Chen Chao furrowed his brows. "If that's the case, it must be a traitor."

The Great Liang Emperor replied, "Among those captured last night, none were involved in this matter."

Chen Chao did not speak further. At this point, both nephew and uncle had already understood that there was still the greatest traitor in the Great Liang Dynasty that had not been discovered, and that traitor might be even more terrifying than all the others combined.

Chen Chao said calmly, "I'm afraid that traitor has been around since the establishment of Great Liang over two hundred years ago."

"Perhaps even earlier," the Great Liang Emperor said. "To this day, not a single clue has surfaced, which makes it all the more frightening."

The traitors that are visible on the surface are not truly terrifying, what was truly frightening was the one lurking in the abyss, coldly watching them.

Chen Chao said, "We need to find him."

The Great Liang Emperor replied, "It's not easy."

As he spoke, the Great Liang Emperor took out a small snow-white seal and handed it to Chen Chao.

Chen Chao received it and saw that the seal bore the five words: Great Liang Lord Warden Commander.

Chen Chao furrowed his brows.

"After Ning Ping left the Divine Capital, this item remained with Us, and today We are giving it to you."

Before Chen Chao could speak, the Great Liang Emperor continued on his own, "Before you enter Nepenthe, We will not inform the world that you're the Lord Warden Commander. For the time being, the position of Lord Warden Commander will remain vacant."

Before Chen Chao could say anything, the Great Liang Emperor smiled and said, "By imperial decree."

Chen Chao gave a helpless smile.

……

……

An hour later, Chen Chao left the palace, while the Great Liang Emperor watched him depart from the lakeside before returning to the area.

"We have a decree."

The Great Liang Emperor looked down, and the many black-clad individuals paused their actions upon hearing this.

They looked up one after another.

The Great Liang Emperor smiled and said, "After Our passing, regardless of who ascends to the throne, the Hundred Streams Pavilion will follow Chen Chao's orders, allowing him to decide whether to inform the new ruler of this secret."

Hearing this, the black-clad individuals remained silent for a long time before replying in unison, "As you command."

The Great Liang Emperor nodded in satisfaction and then said softly, "Thank you all for your hard work for the sake of Great Liang."

The black-clad individuals knelt on one knee, their expressions solemn. "Your subjects are willing to die for Great Liang, willing to die for Your Majesty. We will faithfully carry out Your Majesty's orders!"

The Great Liang Emperor shook his head, saying with vicissitudes of emotion, "We do not wish for you to die, We hope you can all witness the future of Great Liang, a different Great Liang."