Martial Cultivator

Yang Furen remained silent.

Chen Chao said with self-mockery, "Actually, having said all this, I doubt Mountain Lord would want to hear it, or even feel anything. Those foreign cultivators on the mountain, seeking immortality and the Great Dao, they never really care about the world below."

"Perhaps... even Mountain Lord thinks the same way. Great Liang knows this too, knowing that not everyone will think what we do is remarkable or truly admire us. Foreign cultivators like to call martial artists uncouth, and even many civilians in the Great Liang think the same. This is what hurts the most."

At this point, Chen Chao suddenly paused. He thought of that girl, born into a wealthy family, never lacking for anything, destined to live a comfortable life. She had never been to the desolate north, never seen the battles in the Northern Frontier firsthand, yet her aspiration was to reclaim the thirty thousand miles of desolate north and restore honor to the human race.

Chen Chao suddenly fell silent.

Yang Furen suddenly said, "Before that Eunuch Li of yours went down the mountain, he mentioned there was something he never wanted to say. Only now, does this old man understand what it was. The cultivators on the mountain look down on you martial artists below, and they disdain your Great Liang Dynasty. But it seems you all probably feel the same way about us, looking down on the cultivators on the mountains. In the end, it's mutual disdain between those on the mountain and those below."

Chen Chao sighed, "In truth, this junior isn't broadminded. Sometimes I wonder if I were His Majesty, facing the current situation, would I choose to stop fighting the demon race out of spite? Whether it's ceding land or giving up something, wouldn't that maintain peace? Why risk our lives for the foreign cultivators?"

"But after thinking it over, this idea is really absurd. Living in this world, we still need to live with dignity. Without that dignity, wouldn't we just be walking corpses?"

Yang Furen calmly said, "If the demon race ever marches south, the first to suffer will definitely be the common people."

Chen Chao did not refute it, he just asked, "Mountain Lord, were you born a remarkable swordsmith, and were you always a cultivator on the mountain?"

Although Yang Furen went up Sword Qi Mountain early in his youth, he was originally just an ordinary child, chosen by the elders of Sword Qi Mountain and brought up the mountain. If we put it that way, except for the descendants of a few cultivators, most cultivators initially come from the common people of Great Liang. ‏‏‏‏‏‏

But after they go up the mountain, they forget many things.

Yang Furen sighed, "Earlier, this old man thought that when Eunuch Li went down the mountain and let you negotiate, it would be much easier for me. But I didn't expect that negotiating with you, young man, is even more difficult."

Chen Chao grinned, "Youngsters are always a bit more hot-blooded, sometimes not considering consequences. I hope Mountain Lord can forgive me for my rudeness?"

"Is it really just because you're young?" Yang Furen narrowed his eyes to look at the young martial artist in front of him.

Chen Chao remained silent.

Yang Furen sighed deeply, "After listening to you, this old man suddenly feel like I've wasted all these years."

Chen Chao laughed, "It's because Mountain Lord has a righteous heart."

Yang Furen glared, "You're just short of pointing at this old man's nose and scolding me for being inhuman. Now that my conscience is pricked, you're starting to flatter me?"

Chen Chao laughed dryly, "How could that be? It was just a casual remark, not meant to target Mountain Lord at all."

"You better not."

Yang Furen glanced at Chen Chao, his expression softening considerably.

After a long while, Yang Furen slowly spoke, "Forget it, you can go down the mountain. Sword Qi Mountain will secretly send about a dozen people to the Divine Capital. Whether they choose to return afterward will be up to them, this old man won't interfere."

"This is all I can do for now. Perhaps if someone else becomes the Mountain Lord, things might be different. But for me, it's difficult."

Yang Furen sighed and just waved his hand, then looked at Chen Chao with a meaningful gaze. The rise of the Great Liang Dynasty had long been evident, but real change required not just the Great Liang Emperor, but also youngsters who shared his vision.

And now, it seemed that the Great Liang Dynasty already had people like that.

Chen Chao and Xie Nandu were the two people that the Great Liang Dynasty paid the most attention to.

Yang Furen did not want to think about what the world would be like in the future. In this world, many people were just pawns. He knew he was one too, but he also understood that he would never be able to step off the chessboard to become the player.

People must learn to accept their fate.

Chen Chao noticed Yang Furen's melancholy. After some thought, he spoke up, "Senior, it doesn't matter what you do or where you are. People always need to follow their hearts at least once in their lives."

"You brat, using your youth as an excuse to spout nonsense?"

Yang Furen snorted coldly. "When your every action affects countless lives, can you still speak so lightly?"

Chen Chao shook his head. "Not necessarily."

Yang Furen waved his hand impatiently. "Get out of here, stinking brat!"

Chen Chao smiled, bowed, and headed towards the back of the mountain.

……

……

Half a day later, Chen Chao slowly descended the mountain. When he arrived, he was dressed in black with a saber at his side. Now, as he left, he was still dressed in black with a saber. The scabbard at his waist had been replaced with a new one, entirely black and gleaming with a unique luster. As for the saber inside the scabbard, Chen Chao glanced down at it and reached out to grasp the hilt.

Then he felt somewhat at ease.

More at ease than before.

At this moment, Chen Chao even thought that if he encountered that unidentified demon girl again when he descended the mountain, he might not be in such a passive position.

As he descended, Chen Chao felt somewhat happy. After making the journey, he could now go back and see that girl.

Zhu Xia had been reading stories in the Scripture Library all along.

Everyone thought that the notes left by Dao Ancestor were the supreme scriptures of Daoism, but Zhu Xia only found them to be stories, quite interesting. Therefore, she became deeply engrossed in them, completely absorbed in the tales.

After who knows how long, Zhu Xia suddenly saw a scene before her eyes. It was a cliff, with distant clouds and a morning glow in the sky. On the cliff, there was a daoist priest sitting with his back to her, dressed in a gray-white daoist robe.

Zhu Xia was not foolish; she quickly guessed that the daoist sitting with his back to her now was the legendary Dao Ancestor.

Curious, she took a few steps closer and arrived not far behind the Dao Ancestor, taking the initiative to ask, "Are you the Dao Ancestor?"

The Dao Ancestor did not turn around but smiled lightly, his voice as gentle as a breeze between heaven and earth. "Since you know, why ask?"

Zhu Xia pouted and muttered, "Just wanted to confirm."

"Dao Ancestor, are the stories in your books true?"

Zhu Xia asked curiously, "Those stories are very interesting. Are there any other stories you could tell me?"

The Dao Ancestor still did not turn around but seemed somewhat surprised. "So many Daoist cultivators in the past asked me if there were any secret techniques to pass on. Why are you not interested in that, only wanting to hear stories?"

"Oh, did you tell them those secret techniques?"

Zhu Xia seemed genuinely uninterested in this matter.

"No, because I am just an imprint. I am not the real Dao Ancestor."

The Dao Ancestor was a cultivator from god knows how many years ago, he was long deceased. Even if there were ways to leave something behind, it could never be the complete Dao Ancestor.

"Then, asking or not asking doesn't make a difference," Zhu Xia said matter-of-factly.

The Dao Ancestor chuckled, "How can there be no difference? It's just that you, little girl, are quite different. Your Dao heart is pure. I haven't met many like you in my lifetime."

Zhu Xia did not know what to say, so she just smiled.

The Dao Ancestor continued slowly, "Since you enjoy hearing stories, I will tell you a few more stories. Come sit beside me, this morning glow is quite beautiful."

Zhu Xia took a few steps forward and sat down next to the Dao Ancestor, but she quickly shook her head. "I've seen the most beautiful morning glow under the sky, at the Infatuation Daoist Temple."

The Dao Ancestor shook his head. "What makes it the most beautiful?"

Zhu Xia frowned. "Yun Jianyue says the morning glow at Infatuation Daoist Temple is the most beautiful. After seeing it myself, I think it's the most beautiful too."

"If ten thousand people in the world, nine thousand say it is so, does that mean it must be so?" "Even if nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine people say it's this way, if you don't think it is, then is it still that way?"

The Dao Ancestor slowly said with a laugh, "With the same daoist technique, the same cultivation, different people will definitely have distinctions. It's the same with how everyone perceives the world. Each person's definition of what's most beautiful in their heart varies. You say the morning glow at Infatuation Daoist Temple is the best, I say the current morning glow is the most beautiful. How would you refute me?"

Zhu Xia pondered for a moment and replied, "It's simple. If you had seen the morning glow at Infatuation Daoist Temple, you would reach a conclusion."

The Dao Ancestor shook his head again, "But what if after seeing it, I still think the current morning glow is better?"

Zhu Xia frowned, and began to contemplate this question.

The Dao Ancestor smiled, "If I'm determined to think that way, then no matter what, you won't be able to convince me."

Zhu Xia retorted discontentedly, "So, following your logic, if you call a cat a dog, then no one can convince you otherwise. But a cat is still a cat. Just because you say it's a dog, does it become one?"

The Dao Ancestor said indifferently, "Everyone sees the world differently. Even things established and agreed upon in the world, things with definitive conclusions, will be different too. Something like cultivation is even more so like this. If you adhere strictly to conventions, you can only reach a place that you can see. Only if you have your own ideas can you venture into the unknown."

The Dao Ancestor's voice was gentle, as if he was stating simple truths, yet it carried a profound sense of Great Dao.

Suddenly, Zhu Xia asked, "Then can you tell me what cultivation really is?"

The Dao Ancestor smiled, "You ask me, but it's better to ask yourself. Each person's Dao is unique. My Dao is mine alone, and yours is yours. The answer I give you may be universal and correct in general terms, but it might not necessarily benefit you."

Zhu Xia thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled, "I don't want to hear about these things. Why don't you tell me a story instead?"

The Dao Ancestor was momentarily surprised, then said with vicissitudes of emotion, "So that's how it is huh."

Perplexed, Zhu Xia asked, "How what is?"

The Dao Ancestor shook his head, smiling gently, "You're pretty good."