Martial Cultivator

Watching as the Great Liang Emperor only poured himself a cup of tea, the Temple Master stared at the teapot and hesitated for a long time without making a move.

In this vast world, with countless important figures, decisions that shaped the course of the world often fell on just one or two individuals. For example, at this moment, the Temple Master's single thought might determine whether any changes would happen to this world.

The two prominent figures sat in silence for a long time, until the Great Liang Emperor had already picked up the teacup and downed that cup of tea. Only then did the Temple Master reach out to take the teapot and pour himself a cup.

The tea was nothing special. In this sort of remote place, there would not be any good tea leaves. So, this pot of tea could not be described as having an exquisite fragrance. When he took a sip, the Temple Master even found it unpleasant. As a prominent figure of the foreign cultivation world, the Temple Master of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, when had he ever tasted such tea?

The expression of the Great Liang Emperor remained unchanged and he just said, "A pot of tea only costs one Great Liang general currency. It may not be the best tea, but ultimately, it's something We bought with Our money. It belongs to Us."

The Temple Master nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wealthy, ruling over the four seas. Don't you also consider the foreign lands as part of the Great Liang's territory too?"

The Great Liang Emperor replied, "Haven't you all benefited under Our protection?"

The Great Liang border troops defending against the demon race in the Northern Frontier may seem to be doing so for the sake of the Great Liang people. Still, it could also be argued that they inadvertently provide protection to those foreign land cultivators.

The Temple Master chuckled and said, "So it seems that Your Majesty has shown some kindness to people like us."

"Not expecting you to repay it someday. Just try to cause fewer troubles, and that will be enough," the Great Liang Emperor looked out of the window. It was the first day of the new year, and there were not many people outside. The heavy snow persisted, covering everything in a serene white.

The Temple Master remarked, "Although Your Majesty is unwilling to bow down, this daoist has drunk Your Majesty's tea after all. Can I be considered Your Majesty's guest?"

The Great Liang Emperor remained silent. The Temple Master's intentions were not entirely benign. Could someone like him be considered a guest?

The Temple Master smiled and continued, "Regarding the previous assassination attempt, would Your Majesty believe that there was no involvement from the Infatuation Daoist Temple?"

The Great Liang Emperor asked, "Do you think We would believe that?"

Unfazed, the Temple Master continued, "On that day, the Lord Warden Commander spared my junior brother's life. Now, this daoist is here to repay that favor."

The Great Liang Emperor was aware of that incident and said nonchalantly, "That incident on that day is its own story. Where does the talk of favor come into play?"

The Great Liang Emperor's stubbornness caught the Temple Master off guard. However, he continued, "Since I've drank Your Majesty's tea, it can be considered repaying a favor to Your Majesty, can it not?"

The Great Liang Emperor smiled.

The Temple Master fell silent, finishing the remaining tea in his cup in one gulp, then stood up and left.

His arrival and departure seemed hasty, as if the vast journey of thousands of miles meant little to this Temple Master. Having traveled such a long distance to see the Great Liang Emperor once, he did not regret not killing him. Now, he returned in the same manner.

The Great Liang Emperor remained silent for a long time, then left a single coin on the table before slowly going down the stairs.

Walking out of the tavern, the Great Liang Emperor quickly reached a stone bridge.

Yellow Mud Town was traversed by a small river, but now it was already frozen.

He paused for a moment at this spot before walking slowly towards the mountain outside the town.

After leaving Xuanling Commandery, he naturally knew there would be a second wave of assassinations. However, he did not seem too concerned about this second wave. Compared to the first attempt, the second wave would undoubtedly involve far fewer people. Perhaps a great cultivator from the foreign lands might personally come, but when it came to great cultivators, there were only a handful in this world. Even so, the Great Liang Emperor had not expected that the final cultivator to appear here would be none other than the Temple Master of the Infatuation Daoist Temple.

Faced with others, the Great Liang Emperor still had some confidence. However, with his severely injured body, even the Great Liang Emperor would not have much confidence when facing the Temple Master of the Infatuation Daoist Temple. Therefore, his actions at the table earlier were quite perilous. If the Temple Master insisted on taking action, it remained uncertain whether the Great Liang Emperor would be able to leave this town today.

Arriving atop this hill that was not considered too tall, he followed the sword intent. The densest area was a thick forest. In the depths of the dense forest, there stood a dilapidated small temple, now covered in white snow, and its entrance was almost unidentifiable.

The Great Liang Emperor arrived before the temple but could vaguely see some flickering lights inside.

In this place, the sword intent was extremely intense, and it seemed that the flying sword named Yellow Mud was here.

The Great Liang Emperor stood still for a moment before finding the entrance and walking into the temple. Inside the temple, the wind blew through from all sides, and there was only a faded statue of the mountain deity, erected in the previous dynasty. But the current dynasty, the Great Liang Emperor, paid little attention to notions of ghosts and deities, so the dilapidated temple remained run down.

A raggedy beggar, wearing tattered clothes, shivering by the fire. Startled by the sudden entrance of the big and tall man, he became extremely vigilant.

He looked at this tall man in astonishment, his hand already reaching for a wooden stick that was not far away.

All of this was naturally keenly observed by the Great Liang Emperor. He did not pay much attention, merely looking at the statue of the mountain deity. Unless there were unexpected circumstances, the flying sword was likely hidden within this statue.

The Great Liang Emperor, who had admired the demeanor of sword immortals since his youth, did not come here personally to take away the flying sword. He only wanted to see the true appearance of the flying sword. However, since the sword was concealed within the statue, the Great Liang Emperor felt a bit disappointed, though his emotions were not particularly strong.

He glanced at the young beggar, said nothing more, and turned to leave the dilapidated temple.

Watching the tall man leave, the young beggar breathed a sigh of relief.

Not long after, he even crawled to the door to take a look. After he confirmed that the tall man's figure was getting further and further away, the young beggar finally completely relaxed.

Returning to the fire, the young beggar felt a bit sleepy.

In such freezing weather with nothing to eat, there was nothing more suitable than sleeping. After all, once asleep, hunger was forgotten.

However, the young beggar was somewhat reluctant to sleep these days because every time he slept, he would have nightmares.

In the dream, the statue of the mountain deity in front of him would transform into a sword. The sword had a dark yellow blade, much like the color of the clay within the mountain deity statue, forming a flying sword.

"Becoming a sword is one thing, but it keeps calling out. It's really annoying."

The young beggar muttered. Nevertheless, he could not resist the drowsiness and drifted off to sleep.

……

……

The Temple Master from Infatuation Daoist Temple continued his journey southward after leaving Yellow Mud Town, intending to return to the temple. However, not far from the town, a figure blocked his path.

Glancing at the approaching person, the Temple Master intended to pass by.

But at this moment, the person spoke, "Temple Master let that martial artist leave just like that. Don't you want to say something?"

Hearing this, the Temple Master halted, his expression unchanged. He just chuckled and said, "Does the way this daoist do things require giving an explanation to you?"

As the Temple Master uttered these words, the person's face changed drastically. An invisible aura instantly fell upon him, forcing him to retreat dozens of steps. He spat out blood, his face turning pale.

The Temple Master stared at this cultivator who was similarly from a major sect in the foreign lands, his face expressionless.

The other person's expression continued to change, and finally, he cupped his hands and apologized, "I offended the Temple Master. I hope the Temple Master can forgive me."

The Temple Master smiled, "Whether I forgive or not is not that important. I just want to teach you a lesson: speaking is something you should carefully weigh before talking out loud."

The person remained silent, not daring to respond.

After some thought, the Temple Master spoke, "Since you're here, there are a few things this daoist would like to say. Tell them that this daoist didn't come just because they wished for my presence. This daoist just wanted to see what the Emperor of Great Liang was really like. As for why this daoist chose to let him go, that's my decision. If some people genuinely want to know, they can come to the Infatuation Daoist Temple and ask this daoist."

While saying this, the Temple Master did not even look at the person but continued to look ahead, gradually leaving.

Watching the Temple Master's back view, the person stood in place for a long time before transforming into a streak of light, disappearing on the spot, leaving no trace of his presence.

Divine Capital, the Left Guard's office.

The snowstorm did not stop.

Chen Chao pressed down on the hilt of his saber and said in a low voice, "Since you've come, why hide?"

As the words fell, a cold wind blew open the door, and a figure appeared in front of this Commander of the Left Guard.

"In the dead of winter, everyone is celebrating the New Year, yet you guys are not idle."

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow as he looked at the person before him, and the broken saber in his hand slowly leaving its sheathe.

That person smiled slightly and said, "Celebrating the New Year, probably only martial artists like you would care about such things."

Without waiting for Chen Chao to speak, the person praised, "Nice saber, a pity it's broken. Good person, but sadly, you're still too young."

Chen Chao remained unmoved and just asked, "Since you came to kill me, I'd like to know who sent you. Is it those fellows from the court who want to do something for His Majesty, or is it a cultivator from the foreign lands?"

The person did not hide it, calmly saying, "I come from the foreign lands, but this matter naturally falls on their shoulders."

Chen Chao nodded, "Understood."

The person approvingly nodded and said, "Good judgment. Even among the junior generation in the foreign lands, there are probably not many like you. If you could cultivate something else and didn't have this unfortunate identity, you could have joined a major sect early on, and your future would be limitless. Unfortunately, you chose a dead-end path."

Chen Chao smiled, "No more room for reasoning? How about I go with you, and you let me go?"

The person shook his head and said, "Setting aside that you're just a martial artist, even if you truly have some talent in cultivating something else, I can't let you go today."

Chen Chao acknowledged with an "oh." The broken saber that had been slowly unsheathed was now fully drawn at this moment, casting a bright saber light that illuminated the entire room.

As the saber light illuminated the room, it also illuminated the person's face.

It was a ghastly pale face.

A sickly kind of paleness.