Chapter 171 - 169: Chao Hongtu’s Rare Generosity
After returning to Ning Province, Chen Yuan first went to see Liu Suifeng to report on what had happened at the Cauldron Opening Convention.
Liu Suifeng still looked as sickly as ever, but a smile immediately appeared on his face when he saw Chen Yuan return.
"Lady Yun and I both guessed that with your strength, you were bound to make a stunning debut at the Cauldron Opening Convention.
But we never expected you to make a name for yourself even before it began, nor for the convention itself to have so many unexpected turns.
Our Zhenwu Hall has been suffering from a talent gap in recent years. For you to break into the top thirty of the Hidden Dragon Rankings... well, this time, Zhenwu Hall can finally hold its head high."
Chen Yuan asked in surprise, "Military Advisor Liu, you’ve already received the news?"
"Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower is a professional intelligence organization, after all. Their information certainly travels faster than you do.
But reports are just reports. You were a participant, so you can tell me what happened in detail."
Chen Yuan nodded and recounted the events of the Cauldron Opening Convention to Liu Suifeng in detail.
Of course, he made sure to omit any mention of his other identity.
After listening, Liu Suifeng shook his head and began to offer his analysis.
"I’ve heard of the grudge between Ming Gongqiao and Medicine King Valley. The man is a peerless genius in both the Alchemy Dao and the Poison Dao, but his personality is too extreme. He’ll never achieve true greatness.
In truth, Medicine King Valley isn’t entirely blameless in this matter. Ultimately, it comes down to Zong Siyuan being too mediocre to keep Ming Gongqiao in check.
A Sect needs a public face and a hidden interior. The face is responsible for receiving guests and handling affairs, while the interior is responsible for killing.
Zong Siyuan could have been Medicine King Valley’s face, and Ming Gongqiao could have been its interior.
The entire Medicine King Valley didn’t need to become the Poison King Valley; it would have been enough for Ming Gongqiao alone to master the Poison Dao.
That way, Medicine King Valley would have a Divine Soldier and a Grandmaster of the Poison Dao. Their deterrent force would have increased immensely.
But instead, it led to internal strife, a mutually destructive outcome."
Chen Yuan nodded. "But the problem is that Ming Gongqiao would never be content serving under another, and Zong Siyuan was even less capable of controlling him."
"And as for Zhao Wuji, the so-called White-clothed Marquis of the ’Dual Pupils’—he’s even more of a joke. You were right not to get too involved with him."
A sarcastic smile touched the corners of Liu Suifeng’s lips. "Zhao Wuji has a considerable reputation in the Jianghu, but he’s outwardly generous and inwardly jealous. He possesses neither the domineering air of a king nor the bold spirit of the Jianghu. He’ll never accomplish anything great.
That sordid affair between him and the Great Xia Royal Family is simply a case of ’the winner is crowned king, the loser is branded a bandit.’ Yet he foolishly tries to use the power of the Jianghu to turn the tables. It’s like a single leaf blocking his sight—he can’t see his own limitations.
Mark my words, if he ever has a showdown with the Great Xia Royal Family, he will die a miserable death.
And if he tries to liberally use the Great Xia Royal Family’s power to stir up trouble in the Jianghu, he’s destined to incur the wrath of its many Major Sects.
He seems to be playing both sides successfully now, but in the end, he’ll find himself trapped, with nowhere to go and hated by everyone."
Chen Yuan glanced at Liu Suifeng, slightly surprised.
’His predictions were spot on. Later, Zhao Wuji would cause a great deal of trouble, and his end would be almost exactly as Military Advisor Liu had foreseen.’
"As for the Great Brightness Sect, I don’t know much. After all, Zhenwu Hall’s foundations are shallow, and we don’t have many records about them.
Regarding the Great Brightness Sect, there are only four words Zhenwu Hall needs to remember: keep a respectful distance.
Zhenwu Hall wasn’t among those who kicked the Great Brightness Sect when they were down, so we have no reason to feel guilty or treat them with hostility."
Chen Yuan nodded.
’Generally speaking, the Seven Alliances of the World held no grudges against the Great Brightness Sect. After all, the Great Brightness Sect had been destroyed long before the Seven Alliances of the World were even formed.’
"Alright, go rest for a day. Tomorrow, you can go see the Grand Commandant and Lady Yun."
Chen Yuan nodded, then said, "Right, Military Advisor Liu. I acquired two items in Ping Province, and I’m not quite sure what they are. Could you please take a look for me?"
As he spoke, Chen Yuan took out the two items he had obtained from the Myriad Phenomena Ninefold Tower.
Liu Suifeng carefully examined the golden silkworm and the block of iron, letting out a soft sound of surprise.
"Your luck is quite good. Both of these are rare Secret Treasures.
That Golden Silkworm is a rare Miaojiang Gu Insect, the Golden Wind Jade Dew Silkworm. It contains an incredibly potent Life Force.
Even if your heart were shattered, you could use this silkworm to temporarily replace it, and it would provide you with an immense amount of Life Force.
Of course, that’s assuming the damage is only to your physical body below the head. If your head is shattered and your Primordial Spirit extinguished, then not even the gods could save you.
Moreover, among all the Miaojiang Gu Insects, the Golden Wind Jade Dew Silkworm is one of the rare few with a remarkably gentle nature, making it compatible with almost any other Poisonous Insect.
If you use it as an auxiliary for Refining Gu, the success rate will increase dramatically.
As for this block of iron, it is a Secret Treasure forged by the ancient Artifact Refining grand sect, the Divine Strategy Hundred Refinement Pavilion: the Thousand Blades Battle Box.
It contains over a thousand miniature blades, each one imbued with the Power of Sharpness.
Infuse your True Qi into the red dot on top to activate it. A thousand sharp blades will fly out with such ferocious power that even a Grandmaster of the Primordial Pill Realm might not be able to block them."
"Thank you for the explanation, Military Advisor Liu."
Chen Yuan cupped his hands and put the two items away.
These two Secret Treasures, one for offense and one for defense, were invaluable treasures even for a Martial Artist at the Primordial Pill Realm.
After resting for a day, Chen Yuan went to see Yun Zhaolan and Chao Hongtu.
Chen Yuan had expected to meet with Yun Zhaolan and Chao Hongtu together, but he was surprised to find he would be seeing them separately.
Yun Zhaolan was as magnanimous as ever. Though a woman, her actions were grand and generous.
"Zhenwu Hall’s foundations are not deep. Among the younger generation, almost no one has made a name for themselves in the Jianghu. You are the first, and in doing so, you have brought great honor to our Zhenwu Hall.
Normally, I would give you a promotion, but you’re already an Inspector. The only position above that is Hall Master, so there’s no room for you to advance further.
Therefore, I can only compensate you with cultivation resources."
With a wave of her hand, Yun Zhaolan had someone bring out a full ten bottles of Top Grade Elixirs and present them to Chen Yuan.
"Thank you, Lady Yun."
Chen Yuan accepted the elixirs, but inwardly, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
’Previously, during his missions for Zhenwu Hall, Chen Yuan had wiped out several families and sects, managing to gather some cultivation resources. But most of it was unrefined Spiritual Medicine, with very few Elixirs. And now, just after he had obtained a Strongest Divine Pill and received a bottle of Top Grade Elixirs as compensation from Medicine King Valley... not to mention all the elixirs he’d gotten from Shangguan Yun’s Qiankun Bag after killing him... He truly wasn’t short on elixirs right now. To think that his reward for returning to Zhenwu Hall would be... even more elixirs.
But it couldn’t be helped. Zhenwu Hall’s foundations were too shallow; they couldn’t offer anything better. It was nothing like the Great Brightness Sect. As the saying goes, a centipede dies but never falls. Even after being nearly annihilated, they still had plenty of good things. The Array Plate and the aura-concealing Secret Treasure that Bei Tianya had casually produced were both worth a fortune in the Jianghu.’
After bidding farewell to Yun Zhaolan, Chen Yuan went to Chao Hongtu’s hall.
"This subordinate greets the Grand Commandant."
Chao Hongtu was all smiles. "No need for such formalities. You’re a hero of our Zhenwu Hall now. After so many years, our Hall has finally produced an outstanding talent who has made a name for himself in the Jianghu.
We old-timers are past our prime. The future of Zhenwu Hall must be shouldered by you young people."
Chen Yuan quickly replied, "Grand Commandant, you are in the prime of your life! How can you speak of being old? Zhenwu Hall is able to suppress Ning Province, keep the Jianghu in check, and resist the Court only because we have you, our sky-supporting white jade pillar, our sea-spanning purple-gold beam."
For some reason, Chen Yuan suddenly felt that Chao Hongtu’s attitude toward him seemed to have changed.
’Before, Chao Hongtu had been rather indifferent toward Chen Yuan—or rather, he seemed indifferent to the affairs of Zhenwu Hall in general. To him, Chen Yuan had just been a young newcomer. Even with some talent, he couldn’t affect the grand scheme of things. His presence or absence made no difference. But this time, Chen Yuan could clearly feel that Chao Hongtu had become much warmer toward him, as if his own importance had suddenly increased. Did something happen within Zhenwu Hall, or was the prestige of the Hidden Dragon Rankings simply that great?’
"Oh? You really think so?"
Chao Hongtu looked at Chen Yuan with a faint, unreadable smile and asked in a seemingly joking tone, "But you were brought into Zhenwu Hall by Military Advisor Liu, and Lady Yun also holds you in high regard. In your heart, am I truly more important than those two?"
Chen Yuan replied in a low, serious voice, "It is not a question of the Grand Commandant’s importance in this subordinate’s heart, but that the Grand Commandant himself is inherently that important.
It’s true that Military Advisor Liu gave me my chance, but he is, after all, only a Military Advisor. He cannot carry the great banner of Zhenwu Hall.
It’s also true that Lady Yun thinks highly of me, but without the Grand Commandant, where would there be a Governor’s Wife?
Zhenwu Hall exists because of you, Grand Commandant. Since I joined Zhenwu Hall, you could say I am Hall Master Feng Wushang’s man, or you could say I am Military Advisor Liu’s man.
But in the end, I can only be *your* man, Grand Commandant."
Chao Hongtu burst out laughing at his words, pointing a finger at Chen Yuan. "I never realized before. Your tongue is no less formidable than your strength.
But you shouldn’t put it that way. It is only through everyone’s concerted effort that Zhenwu Hall is what it is today. Otherwise, I alone could never have built such a foundation."
Chao Hongtu took a Token from his robes and handed it to Chen Yuan.
"Lady Yun has likely already rewarded you with cultivation resources, so I won’t give you more of the same.
This is my personal Token. In a critical moment, it grants you the authority to command any Inspector, regardless of their Hall. Only the Hall Masters themselves are exempt.
You could say that with this, your practical authority within the White Tiger Hall is second only to Feng Wushang."
Chen Yuan accepted the Token and hurriedly cupped his hands. "Thank you, Grand Commandant!"
’Chao Hongtu was being generous for once. While it wasn’t a tangible resource, this Token was extremely useful to Chen Yuan. With this Token, although he was still an Inspector in name, he was practically no different from a Vice Hall Master of the White Tiger Hall.
Before, in the White Tiger Hall, Chen Yuan had to give gifts to Feng Wushang just to secure his own position. But now, with this Token, he finally had the standing to rival Feng Wushang within the White Tiger Hall.’