Martial Cultivator

The heavy snowfall was silent.

The horse carriage slowly passed through the snowy landscape, driven by a coachman from the Xie Family, who was very silent. No emotions could be seen on that ordinary face.

Inside the carriage, Xie Nandu held the still-steaming sweet potato in her hands, gently peeling the skin. Her small mouth kept blowing on the sweet potato, appearing rather adorable. At this moment, how did Xie Nandu still look like a genius girl? She resembled more of a girl next door – cute and lovable, bringing joy to anyone who glanced at her.

Chen Chao felt that the exhaustion from the thousands of miles of travel had dissipated completely now.

Taking a bite of the sweet potato and feeling its warm sweetness, Xie Nandu asked, "The Divine Capital is so chaotic now, why did you come back?"

Having learned about the current situation in the Divine Capital from the Xie Family, Xie Nandu naturally did not believe that Chen Chao would still be clueless at this point.

Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu and smiled, "Missed you, came back to see you, can't I"

Xie Nandu raised an eyebrow and did not say anything.

Chen Chao glanced at this young girl. Upon closer inspection, it was evident that after returning to the Divine Capital, although not too long, had caused her to grow quite a bit. If she was once just a so-called budding beauty, now the word "budding" could gradually be removed, leaving only "beauty."

Chen Chao inexplicably compared Xie Nandu with that girl in the coffin, but soon shook his head.

Returning to his senses, Chen Chao said seriously, "It's not that I wanted to come back; it's just that at this crucial moment, I have no choice but to come back."

After a brief contemplation, Xie Nandu understood something and said, "Indeed, as the Commander of the Left Guard in the Divine Capital, you have no choice but to return."

Chen Chao rested his hands behind his head, leaning against the carriage. He narrowed his eyes and said softly, "When I left the Divine Capital before, there were already some troubles. I had no intention of getting involved in the competition between the two princes. But now, it seems to have become more troublesome. Will one of those two Highnesses after some time?"

This statement was actually somewhat inappropriate, but Chen Chao did not care at the moment.

Xie Nandu also did not mind and simply said, "It's not that simple."

Chen Chao glanced at Xie Nandu and changed the subject, asking, "What about you? How's the nurturing of your nine flying swords?"

Xie Nandu did not speak, but after a moment, Chen Chao suddenly furrowed his brows because he felt a piercing sword qi suddenly appear at her glabella.

A flying sword hung quietly in the air, emitting sword qi from its tip.

Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu and asked, "What's your current cultivation realm?"

"Spirit Platform."

Xie Nandu looked at the flying sword and said softly, "It was originally named Heavenly Spirit, but I didn't like it, so I changed its name. Now it's called Mountain Creek. How is it?" Chen Chao frowned, "Isn't it a bit too cultured?"

Xie Nandu nodded and said, "Indeed, it's a bit, but I really like it."

Chen Chao did not say anything. Since Xie Nandu liked it, saying more would be meaningless.

"The names of the nine flying swords, I need to rethink each one, but it's not too much trouble."

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao with a strange gaze.

Chen Chao pursed his lips and said, "As long as you like it."

Xie Nandu opened her mouth, initially wanting to ask Chen Chao to help her come up with a name for one of the flying swords. However, after some thought, she decided not to bring it up and simply asked, "Are you staying at my place this time?"

Chen Chao shook his head and said softly, "I'm afraid not. I need to go to the Left Guard's office. After all, I am the commander, and I have a big problem on my hands."

Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao, quietly waiting for more information.

However, Chen Chao turned his head to look outside the carriage and said, "Next time I have free time, I'll come find you."

After saying this, he jumped directly out of the window.

……

……

The carriage slowly headed towards the academy, and Chen Chao stood on the side of the long street, watching the carriage gradually move away.

"Commander, you could still stay at the academy tonight. There's still time to go to the office tomorrow."

Weng Quan stood on the side, and further away was the guards from the Left Guard's office. They were dressed in black, silently standing in the night. But the falling snow soon added a touch of white to their figures.

Chen Chao looked at Weng Quan, patted his shoulder, and said, "Do you not understand the current situation in the Divine Capital?"

Weng Quan looked puzzled and asked, "What's the situation? It's nothing more than His Majesty entering closed-seclusion. Now the imperial officials are assisting in governance. This is not the first time. What problems could arise?"

Chen Chao looked at Weng Quan, smiling as he said, "Well, if you can understand these things, it would indeed be troublesome."

Weng Quan was taken aback, feeling a bit wronged. Was this commander implying that his brain power was lacking, that he was stupid?

Chen Chao did not pay attention to his thoughts and continued, "During my absence, who has been in charge of the Left Guard? Is it that Deputy Commander Lin?"

Weng Quan rolled his eyes at Chen Chao, thinking: aren't you asking something that you already know the answer to, Commander?

If the commander was absent, it was naturally the deputy commander who had the final say.

"Where is he at now? The commander's office?"

Chen Chao looked at Weng Quan, the emotions in his eyes complicated.

Weng Quan nodded and said, "During this period, Deputy Commander Lin has been staying at the office.

Chen Chao gave an "oh" and said nothing.

Approaching the Left Guard's office, Chen Chao glanced at Weng Quan and said softly, "Tonight, no one is allowed to enter this office."

Weng Quan was puzzled, not really understanding. But looking at Chen Chao's appearance, he did not dare to refute.

In the end, he just nodded his head.

"Other than that deputy commander, call the rest of the guards out."

Chen Chao stood at the entrance of the Left Guard's office, looking inside with an indifferent expression.

Weng Quan followed the order and left. Soon, there were some bustling sounds from inside. However, as these sounds reached the door, they already saw Chen Chao who was dressed in a black official robe.

After Chen Chao changed into his commander's official robe, his entire demeanor became noticeably different from before.

Additionally, he had grown taller on this trip, and now his height was not inferior to these guards in front of him. When he stood there with his dangling saber, there was naturally a sense of oppression.

Seeing this commanding officer whom they had not met for a long time return to the Left Guard's office, the guards dared not speak for a moment.

However, someone soon mustered the courage to speak, "I wonder why Lord Commander wants us to leave the office. You must know there are countless piled-up work in the office that need to be handled!"

"Right, without Deputy Commander Lin's orders, we cannot leave."

Upon hearing this, Weng Quan was stunned, then immediately said angrily, "Do you even fucking hear what you're saying?!"

In all his years serving in the Left Guard, he had never encountered such a situation. In the Left Guard of the Divine Capital, the Commander's word was law.

Above the commander, there was only the Lord Warden Commander.

Prior to this, which was also during Song Lian's time, his word dictated everything.

Now that Song Lian had departed for the Northern Frontier, the Commander of the Left Guard had been handed over to Chen Chao before he left for the Northern Frontier. Although Chen Chao was young, there were undoubtedly many dissatisfied voices within the Left Guard. These discontented voices had temporarily found no outlet when Chen Chao left the Divine Capital. Now, with Chen Chao's return and the occurrence of such an incident, it was inevitable that these sentiments would erupt.

The man glanced at Weng Quan, not showing the slightest hint of fear. He just smiled coldly and said, "I'm just following orders."

Seeing that Weng Quan was about to speak, Chen Chao waved his hand and asked calmly, "Whose orders are you following?"

That person saw Chen Chao speak up, but he still had a disdainful look as he said, "It's naturally Deputy Commander Lin's orders. Lord Commander has left the Divine Capital for so long. Now, in this Left Guard, Deputy Commander Lin's word is law."

Chen Chao nodded and said, "When this commander left, it was indeed Deputy Commander Lin who made the rules in the Left Guard. But now, this commander has already returned."

The implication was clear.

Before the man could speak again, Chen Chao had already interjected first, "This commander doesn't understand, when has the Left Guard's office started disregarding the Great Liang's laws in the Divine Capital?"