Martial Cultivator

"Not long ago, quite a few officials in Xuanling Commandery and the entire Xinliu Prefecture lost their positions, and some even lost their heads. At this moment, there are countless people still in the Divine Capital's Ministry of Penalty's prison. Since General Ning knows that His Majesty despises such acts the most, and you still dared to commit them, I presume you think that your uncle can protect you? But can he really?"

Chen Chao spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.

Ning Chong's expression changed drastically, but he quickly said in a cold voice, "Chen Chao, don't accuse me of crimes without proof!"

Chen Chao grinned, "Innocent or not, you can tell that to the King of Hell."

"What? Even if this general is suspected, it should be the Great General who will try this case. As an official from the warden faction, do you dare to kill a general from the army on your own authority?!"

Ning Chong slowly retreated, inching towards the long spear placed to the side.

In the army, those capable of wielding such a weapon were all exceptional.

He had trained since childhood and was naturally strong.

But Chen Chao remained unfazed and just said, "Before this official left the Divine Capital, two people spoke to this official about this matter. One of them was the current Great General, who sent a letter. The other was His Majesty, who made it simpler by only saying one word: kill. Do you think you can still live?"

Ning Chong finally grasped the long spear, feeling a bit more confident as he forced himself to calm down. "This general has fought for Great Liang all my life and has achieved great military merits. This is merely a case of His Majesty being misled and a villain framing me!"

"My Ning Family has served in the Northern Frontier Army for generations, we would never do such a thing. You must be falsely conveying an imperial decree. Where is the decree? Show it to this general!"

Ning Chong stared at Chen Chao, his cultivation already at raised to its peak.

Chen Chao shook his head, "There is no decree."

Ning Chong sneered, "Then it must be as I said!"

Chen Chao ignored him and continued to walk toward him slowly, speaking as he walked, "I know you're still hoping your uncle can help you. It's understandable, having a splendid uncle is, of course, a good thing."

Chen Chao smiled. "But it's not very useful."

As he spoke, Chen Chao had already approached within ten feet of Ning Chong. Ning Chong said nothing, but with a flick of his long spear, the wooden table in front of him was lifted and hurled at Chen Chao.

He then took a step forward, his long spear like a wandering dragon, stabbing straight at Chen Chao.

The wooden table shattered instantly, flying backward and breaking into two halves. The long spear reached Chen Chao's chest, but Chen Chao did not draw his saber. Instead, he grabbed the spear shaft with one hand, preventing Ning Chong from freeing it no matter how hard he tried.

Chen Chao exerted force, snatching the spear away. He then said calmly, "I've heard that in the army, those who use spears or halberds are usually the bravest generals. It seems your reputation is undeserved."

Chen Chao casually tossed the long spear, embedding it into the ground. He placed one hand on Ning Chong's head, staring at this young general he was meeting for the first time today.

Ning Chong struggled continuously, shouting at the top of his lungs, "My uncle is Ning Shanting!"

His shout attracted many soldiers, who gathered outside the tent.

"Kill this man immediately! He intends to assassinate this general!"

But just as they wanted to rush into the tent, Chen Chao's icy voice suddenly rang out, "This official is Chen Chao, Deputy Commander of the Left Guard of the Divine Capital. This man has embezzled compensation funds, and I'm under orders to execute him on the spot. Summon your commander, General Xu!"

As Chen Chao's voice sounded out, and a burst of qi knocked the soldiers at the front flying.

Witnessing this scene and hearing his words, the soldiers looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Chen Chao then lowered his head to look at Ning Chong and said softly, "Not using my saber to kill you is because I don't want to dirty my saber."

With that final sentence, Chen Chao ruthlessly twisted the general's head, then withdrew his hand, letting the corpse fall to the ground.

Glancing at Ning Chong's corpse, Chen Chao smiled. There was one thing he did not say.

No matter how impressive your uncle is, he is not as impressive as mine.

……

……

When Xu Ming and Xu Sheng hurried over, a group of soldiers had already gathered outside what used to be Ning Chong's tent. Inside, a long spear was stuck in the ground, and aside from that, there was only a young man in black standing with a saber.

Xu Ming's face changed drastically as he looked at Xu Sheng beside him, who also had a look of helplessness.

"General Xu, may I have a word?"

Chen Chao turned around, looking at Xu Ming, who had recently taken the position of the garrison commander of Xuanling Commandery.

Xu Ming braced himself and asked, "May I ask, Commander Chen, if your actions were truly directed by the General's Office?"

Chen Chao did not speak, he just looked at him quietly.

Only then, did Xu Ming wave his hand, signaling for Xu Sheng and the soldiers to disperse.

After everyone had left, Chen Chao looked at Xu Ming and said, "This official recalls that General Xu hasn't been in the position of garrison commander of Xuanling Commandery for long, correct?"

Xu Ming could not afford to be angry at this moment. No matter how dumb he was, he also understood that the young martial artist before him would not have killed Ning Chong without solid evidence.

He gave a bitter laugh and was about to speak when Chen Chao shook his head, "Since you haven't been here long, I suppose you haven't discovered the major crime committed by General Ning."

Xu Ming was momentarily unsure of what Chen Chao meant by this. After a brief silence, he said quietly, "I know about Ning Chong smuggling alcohol in the military supplies."

Chen Chao smiled and asked, "Is that all?"

Xu Ming gave a bitter laugh and replied softly, "The Ning Family has significant influence in the Northern Frontier Army. Although we knew about Ning Chong's actions in Greenfield Camp, it wasn't a big issue, so we turned a blind eye and didn't report it."

Chen Chao did not speak, merely staring at Xu Ming.

Xu Ming was truly unable to fathom the intentions of the young man before him. After remaining silent for a long time, he said, "I'm not making excuses, just hoping Commander Chen can understand. But no matter what, it was this general's dereliction of duty, and I'm willing to accept the punishment."

Chen Chao smiled, "Do you think this matter alone justifies killing him?"

Xu Ming was startled and shook his head, "This general truly doesn't know of any other matters."

"Is General Xu really unaware that he embezzled the compensation funds of the Northern Frontier Army?"

Chen Chao stared at Xu Ming, as if trying to discern something from his eyes.

"If this general knew about this, I'd have reported it to the General's Office and His Majesty. I would never have remained silent!" Xu Ming said solemnly. "Please believe me on this, Commander Chen."

Chen Chao slowly said, "Protecting personal interest and staying out of trouble in officialdom is one thing, but if you apply the same approach to being a general in the army, the strength that the Great Liang spent over two hundred years building will continuously decline. One day, we might find ourselves helpless as the demon race marches south, trampling our Great Liang's rivers and mountains."

Xu Ming's face was full of guilt, feeling ashamed as a pure military man.

Chen Chao sighed, "A document from the Divine Capital will arrive here shortly. Just report the matter truthfully to the General's Office."

Xu Ming still looked deeply ashamed.

"Before this official left the Divine Capital, His Majesty mentioned General Xu, praising you for your loyalty and patriotism, but he added one last thing."

Chen Chao smiled.

Xu Ming asked, "May I ask what His Majesty said in the end, Commander Chen?"

"General Xu, you should recall what His Majesty said to you that day."

After saying this, Chen Chao cupped his hands in salute. "I apologize for the abruptness today, General Xu. Please don't take offense."

Xu Ming shook his head. He was actually still filled with doubts, but he still did not speak.

As Chen Chao walked a few steps, passing by the long spear, he turned to look at Xu Ming and smiled. "His Majesty only said three words in the end."

Xu Ming looked at Chen Chao.

Chen Chao smiled and said, "Still not enough."