Martial Cultivator

Over at the Xia Family, the sounds of battle lingered throughout the night. This news naturally spread throughout the Divine Capital in an instant. The first two to receive the news were the Xie Family and the Wei Family.

These two colossal entities had extensive networks of informants in the Divine Capital, and there were few events that happened in the Divine Capital that they were not aware of.

However, the reactions of the two parties who learned of this incident were vastly different. Over at the Xie Family, as soon as they received the news, it reached the ears of the Xie Family's ancestor. However, the ancestor did not show any reaction to it. After the messenger left, the ancestor looked towards the elderly man who always sat outside the Xie Family's ancestral hall.

The old man had a peculiar habit. He would sit in that chair outside the Xie Family's ancestral hall every day. Even now, despite the heavy snowfall, he remained in his usual spot, covered in snow. His face was barely discernible, but he could feel the gaze that the Xie Family's ancestor cast over. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and his somewhat turbid gaze pierced through the snowstorm, landing on the face of the Xie Family's ancestor.

"Ning Ping's martial cultivation is indeed formidable. Among the martial artists in the court, he should be the strongest existence besides His Majesty. Now that he has taken action, the cultivators hiding in the Xia Family basically can't escape anymore. The Xia Family is finished."

The old man had lived for many years and naturally knew many secrets. He held a high opinion of this Great Liang's Lord Warden Commander.

The Xie Family's ancestor also smiled faintly as he said, “If it weren't for Ning Ping's betrayal back then, even if His Majesty entered the Divine Capital, he might not have been able to control the situation so quickly. Both the court and the common people have been speculating whether the Lord Warden Commander and His Majesty are truly united in spirit. But from what we see now, at least when it comes to dealing the foreign cultivators a blow, the Lord Warden Commander doesn't have any other ideas."

The old man said with vicissitudes of emotion, "The inaction of that person in the Northern Frontier, Ning Ping's betrayal, and the late Nation Teacher - any one of them missing would have made it difficult for His Majesty to sit firmly on the throne."

The Xie Family's ancestor continued, "With the right timing, geographical advantage, and support from people, everything was in favor of His Majesty. So, the situation back then was relatively straightforward. However, these guys fail to understand that His Majesty, this tall mountain, has become even taller now. They think that they can topple His Majesty, this tall mountain, just by doing some things, leading to the events of today."

The old man questioned, "Isn't His Majesty's approach a bit too domineering? Is he not afraid of retaliation from the foreign cultivators?"

The Xie Family's ancestor shook his head and replied, "After all these years, don't you understand yet? Those people have never been anything good. If you take one step back, they'll advance three or five steps. The best approach in dealing with them is to not retreat at all. His Majesty has done so in the past, but now he has taken a step forward. Although the risk is immense, someone like His Majesty will do as he pleases. Whether it's the entire imperial court or anyone else, it's impossible to stop His Majesty."

The old man fell silent. How could he not know that the Xie Family's ancestor made perfect sense?

"Just watch. After tonight, everything will become clear."

The Xie Family's ancestor ran his fingers through his graying hair, suddenly feeling a little emotional. He had a premonition roughly over a decade ago that once His Majesty ascended to the throne, the secular world that had remained unchanged for so many years and those cultivators who had transcended the secular would likely undergo significant changes.

It was easy to talk about such changes. But, if even a tiny bit changed, would it not require tremendous effort to bring about?

If one really had the drive and in the end, paid the lives of countless people for this tiny bit of change?

Was it worth it?

The Xie Family's ancestor truly wished to pose this question to His Majesty, but since His Majesty ascended to the throne, they had not met in person despite both being in the Divine Capital. However, the Xie Family's ancestor could still vividly remember the scene from when he first met this Great Liang Emperor. At that time, the Great Liang Emperor was merely a prince of Emperor Lingzong, accompanying the late Crown Prince to pay respects to him, the Xie Family's head. After that meeting, the Xie Family's ancestor could not help but feel vicissitudes of emotion, remarking that the late Crown Prince and this Fourth Prince should not have been born in the same era. Otherwise, both would have been outstanding emperors in the history of the Great Liang Dynasty. However, now that both were living in the same era, eventually, one of them would have to make way for the other.

The late Crown Prince, benefiting from primogeniture, held a natural advantage in this battle as the eldest legitimate son. With this, the Fourth Prince had already been defeated.

However, no one expected that shortly after, the late Crown Prince would fall ill. Even more unforeseen was that after the late Crown Prince's death, Emperor Taizong would actually become muddleheaded with age. Instead of selecting the obviously most suitable candidate, the Fourth Prince, to succeed the throne, he chose to pass it to his grandson. This decision laid the groundwork for the great upheaval in the Great Liang Dynasty over the next decade.

After enduring these ten over years, when many of the Great Liang's common people brought up that Emperor Lingzong again, they likely complained behind his back, grumbling about how he should have passed the throne to the current Emperor earlier. Had he done so, the turmoil in the Divine Capital and the disparagement directed at the current Emperor would not have occurred.

Emperor Lingzong was truly muddleheaded!

At this thought, the Xie Family's ancestor chuckled wryly. "I never thought about it before, but now I understand. Oh, Emperor Lingzong, the world didn't know you at all."

……

……

In the Wei Family's residence, lights were ablaze.

After hearing the news of the Xia Family's destruction tonight, everyone in the manor became tense and restless. To colossal entities like the Wei and Xie Family, the upheaval in the Divine Capital was considered minor. But they were worried about something else.

Fortunately, soon enough, news arrived that the Wei Family Head instructed everyone not to panic and to remain calm. The members of the Wei Family who heard the rumors kept their heads down, showing no signs of nervousness even in the presence of many important figures from the Wei Family.

Someone could not resist asking, "Doesn't Family Head want to clarify the situation?"

Another person concurred, "If the Xia Family is to fall tonight, what happens after the Xia Family? Will our Wei Family be next?"

Upon hearing this, the person who heard the rumors finally raised their head and whispered, "The family head said that if anyone asks such questions, just reply, 'Are you an idiot?'"

The person who asked the question immediately flushed red, wanting to retort but realizing that the family head was behind him. He swallowed his anger and fell silent.

The person looked around and suddenly asked, "The family head also asked if Mr. Wei was available. If he is, then go see the family head."

The title 'Mr. Wei' was not only preferred by the people of the Divine Capital, but even the Wei Family itself seemed to like this form of address too.

However, as soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent because no one knew where Mr. Wei was at the moment.

Someone suddenly said, "I think Mr. Wei should be at the academy."

Wei Xu always kept to himself and was not particularly close to the members of the Wei Family. Moreover, being a Nepenthe cultivator, it was not difficult for him to evade the Wei Family's eyes briefly. This was mainly because the Wei Family Head had high hopes for Mr. Wei, the absolute leader of this generation in the Wei Family, and did not want others to bother this Mr. Wei too much on regular days.

"The family head said, if Mr. Wei is at the academy, that's naturally great."