Martial Cultivator

Yun Jianyue looked at Chen Chao, the emotion in his eyes unmistakable - he simply did not believe him.

Chen Chao was in no hurry to expose the truth and instead changed the subject with a smile. "After being tricked by Yu Xiyi that one time, do you feel it was an immense humiliation?"

Among the three outstanding youths of the current era, there was little difference in talent, but when it came to brains, even ten Yu Xiyis combined would not necessarily be a match for either Chen Chao or Yun Jianyue.

Yun Jianyue narrowed his eyes and smiled. "If you insist on looking at it that way, then Great Sword Immortal Yu will probably regard this as the greatest achievement of his life."

Chen Chao smiled and did not speak.

"Actually, I should have realized it sooner. In your previous condition, no matter what, you would never have risked your life. The reason you acted that way was to use the opportunity to eliminate every hidden threat that might have affected the great war in the north beforehand. So that must have been part of your plan as well."

Yun Jianyue glanced at Chen Chao. Sometimes, when he put himself in Chen Chao's shoes, he could clearly feel just how many matters this young Lord Warden Commander had to deal with. He was like Great Liang's chief steward; no matter how big or small the matter, it all seemed to require his attention.

Chen Chao smiled bitterly. "I threw myself out as bait and had Yu Xiyi play the fisherman for once, but damn it, I never imagined that fool would almost let the bait get eaten for real."

Yun Jianyue smiled faintly and said, "I heard that in Dragon Horn Commandery, countless common people stood before you and shouted, 'Protect Lord Warden Commander!' Although I didn't witness that scene myself, it must have been so stirring that it left people speechless."

Chen Chao did not answer. Instead, he looked toward the mountain gate in the distance and asked, "I heard that when Daoist Wuyang was still alive, two emperors once stood on this mountain path looking at this daoist temple, but in the end neither of them managed to enter?"

The Infatuation Daoist Temple had stood for hundreds upon thousands of years. It had weathered countless storms, and many things had changed, but one thing had remained the same - uninvited guests never seemed able to enter the temple.

Yun Jianyue understood what Chen Chao was implying and smiled. "You're my guest."

Chen Chao asked in return, "How many people in the temple consider me a guest?"

Yun Jianyue fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter."

Chen Chao said, "You know why I've come, don't you?"

Yun Jianyue nodded. "Everything you've been doing has been to ensure that you can resist the demon race in the north without having unrest break out behind you. You've already straightened out everything within Great Liang, but when it comes to the foreign lands, you still have to rely on the Infatuation Daoist Temple."

"It's just that I don't quite understand how you intend to ease the relationship."

If it were only between Yun Jianyue and Chen Chao, none of this would have been necessary. The two of them walked the same path, and many things had long since been understood without words.

But behind them stood the Great Liang Dynasty and the Infatuation Daoist Temple respectively, and that made all the difference.

Walking slowly together, the two arrived at the entrance to the daoist temple.

Looking at the gate of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, which was neither imposing nor even as grand as some ordinary daoist temples, Chen Chao could not help sighing. "In the past, I thought that once I'd achieved something in cultivation, I'd come here one day and kick your Infatuation Daoist Temple to pieces. But in my imagination, the foremost sect of the foreign lands, the leader of the Longevity Dao, the Infatuation Daoist Temple, whose Temple Master has always been regarded as the foremost person in the world, ought to have been magnificent and imposing no matter what. How can it be so plain?"

Those words were sincere. Judging from everything the Infatuation Daoist Temple had done, if its new Temple Master had not been Yun Jianyue, Chen Chao truly would have fought his way here and turned this daoist temple, with the deepest foundations and the longest history, into history itself.

Yun Jianyue said indifferently, "An imposing sect does not necessarily consist entirely of people with restless hearts, nor does this plain daoist temple necessarily contain only enlightened daoists devoted wholeheartedly to cultivation."

Chen Chao was taken aback. Then he gave a thumbs-up and praised with a click of his tongue, "Truly remarkable. For the temple master of the Infatuation Daoist Temple to say something like that within his own sect, you're worthy of the title 'Daoist.'"

Yun Jianyue made a gesture of invitation. Chen Chao smiled faintly and looked at the threshold before him. In the more than two hundred years of the Great Liang Dynasty, there was probably not a single court official who had ever stepped into this daoist temple.

But just as Chen Chao raised his foot to step into the ancient Infatuation Daoist Temple, a somewhat stiff voice suddenly rang out.

“Wait a moment!”

When that voice rang out, Chen Chao's foot was still suspended in midair. Given his realm and cultivation, upon hearing those words, he had more than enough time to withdraw that foot.

But instead, he still brought that foot down.

Then, as if that were not satisfying enough, he stepped over the threshold with his other foot as well.

So when Chen Chao looked up, all he saw was a face as dark as still water, and a pair of eyes unable to conceal their anger, now fixed squarely on him.

Chen Chao reached up and rubbed his chin with a smile. "Fellow Daoist, why are you staring at this official? Don't tell me you think this official is truly that handsome?"

At this moment, quite a few young disciples of the Infatuation Daoist Temple were also watching the commotion from not far away. The atmosphere had originally been extremely tense, but after hearing the young martial artist speak like that, smiles appeared on the faces of quite a few of the younger disciples.

In the foreign lands, that young martial artist had long since been portrayed as a devil incarnate. But looking at him now, he did not seem all that frightening after all.

What kind of devil incarnate looked this refined?

Didn't all the records describe devil incarnates as having ferocious faces?

A young daoist nun spoke softly. "His eyes are very beautiful, like a sky full of stars."

Another young daoist nun beside her chuckled softly. "Senior Sister Yan, don't tell me you've fallen for someone?"

The young daoist nun shook her head without speaking.

The other daoist nun shook her head to herself. "I still think Senior Brother Yun is more handsome. He truly looks like an immortal banished from the heavens."

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, the middle-aged daoist looked at Chen Chao and said expressionlessly, "Lord Warden Commander, did you not hear the two words this penniless daoist spoke just now?"

Chen Chao nodded and answered quite honestly, "This official heard them."

Had he made up some excuse and claimed he had not heard them, the middle-aged daoist might have felt a little better, but instead he answered like this. Wasn't he making it perfectly clear that he had not taken him seriously at all?

Elsewhere, that would have been one thing, but this was the Infatuation Daoist Temple. To behave in such a manner here, what was it if not provocation?

The middle-aged daoist said coldly, "Does Lord Warden Commander think there is no one in my Infatuation Daoist Temple?"

Chen Chao merely waved a hand and said, "I heard you, but I don't quite understand what Fellow Daoist meant. What exactly did you mean by 'wait a moment'?"

"This official presented a calling card and waited at the foot of the mountain. Then Temple Master Yun personally led this official into the temple. Throughout all of this, it seems this official has shown no disrespect whatsoever toward the Infatuation Daoist Temple."

"As for why this official ignored your 'wait a moment,' the reason is very simple."

Chen Chao smiled as he looked at him. "Because Daoist Yun hasn't died yet."