Martial Cultivator

Looking at the young man in black before him, the scruffy daoist narrowed his eyes. When he entered the courtyard earlier, he did indeed discover that there were three people, but he did not sense any special aura, so he simply regarded these three as ordinary folks. However, seeing the young man in black with a saber at his waist now, the scruffy daoist could not help but be a bit more cautious.

He withdrew the foot he was about to stomp with, laughing coldly, "This Daoist Lord is in a good mood today, so I won't kill anyone."

The young man who was already lying on the ground, coughing up blood, struggled to lift his head and said, "Let go of my sister!"

Chen Chao stood on the other side, saying calmly, "Let her go."

The scruffy daoist looked at the young man in black strangely and chuckled, "Have you lost your mind?"

The young man also looked at Chen Chao and shouted, "Sir Chen, this is none of your business. Hurry up and leave."

The young man did not want this good person to fall victim here. After all, this matter had nothing to do with him.

Chen Chao ignored the young man. He just looked at the scruffy daoist, smiling as he said, "If you're bold enough, then try making a move. See if you'll fumble and fail miserably?"

The scruffy daoist's expression fluctuated. After a moment of contemplation, he finally released the little girl. She ran to the young man's side, crying all the way, and hugged her brother whom she shared her life with.

The scruffy daoist chuckled, "I'll give you face. We're all travelers, there will inevitably be difficulties in the future. Remember the favor I'm showing you today."

Chen Chao remained unmoved and simply said, "What about the demon bead? You have to hand that over too."

Hearing this, the scruffy daoist became angry, "Do you really think this Daoist Lord is easy to bully? Kid, you're going a bit too far."

"It's his property, if you buy it with money, that's fine. But if you're trying to steal, that won't do."

Chen Chao looked at the scruffy daoist without any particular emotion in his eyes, nor did he reveal any killing intent.

"You're being quite presumptuous, kid. Aren't you afraid of talking big and biting off more than you can chew?" The scruffy daoist's gaze continued to scan Chen Chao up and down.

After thinking about it seriously, Chen Chao finally gave his conclusion, "As long as it's something happening within the Great Liang Dynasty, I do seem to have some authority over it. It can't be considered being presumptuous."

The scruffy daoist sneered, "Do you really think you're the Great Liang Emperor?"

As his words fell, he only saw a black figure flash before his eyes, and the black-clothed young man was no longer in his original position. When he saw the other party again, he was already standing in front of him, one hand squeezing his neck.

"A Bitter Sea Realm? That's kind of boring."

Chen Chao clutched the scruffy daoist's neck in a grip, expressionless.

The scruffy daoist's face turned red, but he had no strength to resist. At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: turns out that this young man in front of him was actually a Great Beyond Realm!

Such a young Great Beyond Realm?

In just an instant, the scruffy daoist knew that he had kicked an iron plate.

He looked at Chen Chao, his eyes full of pleading.

Chen Chao remained expressionless, just asking, "If you want to live, do you have anything to exchange for it?"

The scruffy daoist nodded laboriously, hoping the other party would let him say a few more words.

Chen Chao loosened his grip, allowing the scruffy daoist to fall down. Then he said, "You have a few minutes to say something that interests me."

The scruffy daoist hurriedly spoke up, "There's a big transaction going on here now!"

Chen Chao did not say anything, but his eyes signaled the scruffy daoist in front of him to continue talking.

The scruffy daoist took a deep breath and immediately continued, "In the nearby mountains, there's a Demon King that's widely recognized for hundreds of miles around. It has long transformed and reached the Great Beyond Realm. Sword Qi Mountain is about to forge a new sword, and they need the demon bead and horn from that Demon King. They've offered a high price, so many itinerant cultivators have gathered here, all just to fight for the horn on its head."

He quickly reiterated the important points of the matter, fearing that he would be killed by the young man in front of him if he delayed for a moment.

"Since it's a Demon King in the Great Beyond Realm, what's a Bitter Sea Realm like you joining in the fun for?"

Chen Chao looked at the scruffy daoist.

The scruffy daoist had a bitter look and said, "If that Demon King were still in peak form, even if I had eight hundred guts, I wouldn't dare to find trouble with it. But a few days ago, it offended a sword immortal and seems to have been wounded by the sword immortal's casual sword strike. Although it managed to save its life by sheer luck, it was seriously injured. Only after hearing this news did the itinerant cultivators dare to come and find trouble with it. After a round of besieging, it has been forced into the nearby mountain forest."

Chen Chao nodded, not doubting the authenticity of this information. Earlier, when he was meditating, he had already sensed several auras entering and leaving this small town, although their strengths were not very obvious. It seemed that there were a few at the peak of the Bitter Sea Realm, and one aura had already stepped into the Great Beyond Realm.

The scruffy daoist looked at Chen Chao and said, "Based on Fellow Daoist's strength, I believe you can completely subdue that Demon King. By then, you will be able to bring it to Sword Qi Mountain, not only to receive the reward from Sword Qi Mountain, but even the favor of Sword Qi Mountain might be gained. As for the favor of Sword Qi Mountain, I believe this penniless daoist doesn't need to say much, right?"

Chen Chao asked, "There's a clearly stated price, where would the favor come from?"

The scruff daoist was taken aback.

Chen Chao did not say anything more, just thinking about something.

The scruffy daoist asked probingly, "Fellow Daoist, can this information guarantee my life?"

Chen Chao lowered his head to look at him, shook his head, and smiled, "No."

He had a face like it was a matter of course.

……

……

The siblings witnessed Chen Chao killing someone, yet there was no sense of fear in their eyes at this moment. The girl broke free from her brother's embrace and ran to Chen Chao, kowtowing to him in gratitude.

Chen Chao helped the girl up, furrowing his brows as he said, "What I said earlier wasn't to deceive him. As a matter of fact, these matters fall under my jurisdiction."

The girl was taken aback, saying with some disbelief. "Are you an official?"

Chen Chao pondered for a moment, giving a vague answer. "Sort of."

The young girl did not know what to say for a moment.

Chen Chao found a money pouch on the scruffy daoist's body and tossed it to the boy. Then he said, "These cultivators have quite a few tricks, who knows what method he used to find out that you have a demon bead. Since he had a way to find out, you guys might meet others who had similar methods. Don't carry the demon bead with you. Otherwise, you might end up losing your lives because of it one day."

The boy did not hesitate, handing over the box in his hand. "Thank you very much for saving us, Sir Chen. Please accept this demon bead as a token of our gratitude."

Chen Chao did not reach out to take it, he just shook his head again. "As I said before, the demon bead is of no use to me."

However, a moment later, he added, "I can keep it for you. If you manage to reach the Divine Capital, and if by chance I can return there, find me at the Left Guard's office."

The boy handed over the box and was about to say he was giving it to Chen Chao, but Chen Chao shook his head. "This thing is valuable to you, but for me, it's just better than nothing. It's useless giving it to me. Keep it for yourselves, it will make your lives much better."

After some thought, Chen Chao continued, "Forget it. If I can't return to the Divine Capital, you should go to the academy at some point. There's a small courtyard by the lake with a girl inside. Tell her about these things, and she will handle it properly."

The boy remembered these words seriously and nodded again.

Chen Chao said, "Don't be in a hurry to leave. Stay in town for a few more days. I'll go see what's happening and come back. After I return, I'll take you to the commandery city. By then, we'll find a caravan heading back to the capital. That way, I'll be reassured."

Upon hearing this, the boy's legs went weak, and he was about to kneel down. Chen Chao shook his head and said softly, "Just do what needs to be done when you encounter it. Doing things halfway might leave you with regrets."

These words left the siblings puzzled.

Chen Chao did not say anymore either, he just turned around and went back into the house. It was time for him to get some sleep for the rest of the night.

In the courtyard, the siblings looked at each other in confusion.

The events that had just transpired seemed like a dream to them. They still had not completely woken up from it.

Especially the boy, he originally thought that the young sir was just an ordinary person.

The boy handed the money pouch to his sister and exclaimed, "We've truly encountered a good person."

The girl nodded in agreement, "A super good person!"

The boy also nodded, then inexplicably pinched himself. Yelping out loud, it really did hurt. This made him somewhat at a loss. Over the years, he had met many people, but he had never encountered such a good person before.

Suddenly, the girl slapped her forehead, realizing belatedly, "Big Brother, we haven't asked our benefactor's name yet."

The boy seemed to understand a lot and shook his head. "If Benefactor wanted to tell us, he would have done so already. If he doesn't want to, there's no point in asking."

The girl looked towards the house, feeling a bit downcast. "But how will we remember our benefactor in the future?"

The boy rubbed his sister's head and smiled. "Silly sister, if you remember today, you'll remember it forever. If you forget today, even remembering the benefactor's name would be useless. That would be ingratitude!"

The girl gave an "oh", then said softly, "I wonder if Benefactor is married."

The boy was taken aback, then asked, "What are you thinking?"

"Mom used to say in stories, when you encounter a benefactor, something about offering your hand in marriage to repay."

The girl said it as if it was a matter of course.

The boy felt a bit panicky but forced himself to remain calm. "Come on, our benefactor looks very capable. How could he possibly fancy you, this ugly girl?"

The girl looked unhappy. "Big Brother, I'm not ugly!"

The boy sighed and seemed lost in thought.

At this moment, he could not help but think that it would not be bad if the benefactor became his brother-in-law.

However, he was more aware than his little sister. A benefactor like theirs would surely marry an extraordinary girl. As for his sister, even if she were very beautiful, she would probably end up as a concubine.

Being a concubine meant being bullied by the legal wife. Even if it was being the benefactor's concubine, the boy felt it was not right either.

His little sister could not be bullied.

Not by anyone!

But what if the benefactor took the initiative to mention it, and his sister was willing?

What would he do then?

Thinking about this, the boy suddenly felt damn melancholic.