Martial Cultivator

Daoist Yun hadn't died yet.

Who was Daoist Yun?

Who else could Daoist Yun be?

The young disciples of the Infatuation Daoist Temple all turned to look at Yun Jianyue, who had remained silent until now. Earlier, they had not realized it, but only now did they belatedly understand a simple truth: the Infatuation Daoist Temple had always been ruled by its Temple Master. Since Senior Brother Yun, as Temple Master, had personally welcomed the young Lord Warden Commander into the temple, that represented his attitude. Yet this martial uncle had actually dared to speak on his own before Senior Brother Yun had expressed any opinion. Wasn't that the same as not taking Senior Brother Yun seriously?

As long as Senior Brother Yun was still alive, no one else had the right to make decisions for the Infatuation Daoist Temple.

After understanding this, the young disciples looked at the young martial artist with much more complicated expressions. His fearsome reputation had spread throughout the foreign lands, and everyone knew of him, but many had also heard that the young martial artist possessed an exceptionally sharp tongue.

It seemed that no one had ever managed to gain the upper hand against him in an exchange of words.

A legend was still only a legend. Nothing was as interesting as witnessing it with their own eyes.

The middle-aged daoist was likewise left speechless by those words. He had wanted to say, How do you know the Temple Master doesn't think the same way? But then he remembered that it was the young martial artist whom the Temple Master had personally escorted into the temple, and the words died in his throat.

The Infatuation Daoist Temple had stood for countless years, with a profound foundation. No one knew how many great daoist sages it had produced. Those great daoist sages each had numerous disciples, and generation after generation, the entire Infatuation Daoist Temple had become like the roots of an ancient tree, intertwined in countless ways. Every lineage possessed different strength and different influence.

As a result, it was difficult for the Infatuation Daoist Temple to reach a consensus on any particular matter.

When Daoist Wuyang had presided over the Infatuation Daoist Temple in previous years, all other voices within the temple had been suppressed because Daoist Wuyang had been powerful enough and possessed unrivaled prestige. Having dominated the world for so many years, whenever people mentioned the strongest person under heaven, Daoist Wuyang was the one who came to mind.

Compared to Daoist Wuyang, Yun Jianyue possessed even greater talent, reaching the realm of a great daoist sage at such a young age. As such, Yun Jianyue enjoyed tremendous prestige among the younger generation of disciples.

But now, powerful figures had emerged one after another throughout the world. Leaving aside Chen Chao, this martial artist who was already faintly regarded as the strongest person under heaven, the Sword Sect Master, who had spent all these years practicing the sword within the Sword Sect, had also appeared frequently over the past few years. More importantly, he had broken through to become a Fuyun cultivator, clearly placing him well above Yun Jianyue.

Because of this, although Yun Jianyue had taken the position of temple master, he could not command the Infatuation Daoist Temple as absolutely as Daoist Wuyang had in the past.

Yun Jianyue looked at the middle-aged daoist who had spoken earlier. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Martial Uncle Ying, please withdraw."

Although he had used the word "please," in reality it was not a request that could be refused.

The middle-aged daoist glanced at Yun Jianyue, bowed slightly, and said softly, "Temple Master, please pardon me."

After saying those words, the daoist turned and left, without remaining there for even a moment longer.

Yun Jianyue showed no particular expression, but Chen Chao could not help laughing.

Yun Jianyue asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Chen Chao said, "I was just reminded of something that happened a long time ago."

Back then, when he was the Commander of the Left Guard, after returning from the Sublime Bright Sect, his official seal had been in the hands of the Deputy Commander, who had refused to hand it over, saying that he asked for Chen Chao's forgiveness.

But Chen Chao had simply replied that he would not forgive him.

Although what had happened then was different from what had happened now, the greatest difference lay in Chen Chao and Yun Jianyue not being the same kind of people.

For Chen Chao, if someone under his authority refused to submit, he would simply beat them until they did. Clearly, Yun Jianyue did not follow that path.

Yun Jianyue did not pursue the matter further. He merely looked at him and asked, "You said you came to the temple to help me. How exactly are you going to help me?"

Chen Chao smiled. "No rush. This is my first time coming to the Infatuation Daoist Temple, and you're just going to have me stand around here? I heard the Infatuation Daoist Temple keeps the Dao Ancestor's handwritten notes. Aren't you going to bring them out for me to have a look?"

Yun Jianyue said helplessly, "If you were to read those, I'm afraid there'd be no way you'd ever be allowed to leave the temple."

Chen Chao smiled slightly.

Even though Yun Jianyue said that, he still led Chen Chao deeper into the Infatuation Daoist Temple. Naturally, along the way, they encountered countless young disciples of the temple, all watching and sizing up the young Lord Warden Commander.

Stroking his chin, Chen Chao chuckled to himself. "Looks like, in their eyes, I really am much better-looking than you."

Yun Jianyue could not be bothered to argue with Chen Chao over something like this. After all, the answer was obvious, so there was nothing worth discussing.

The two arrived at the Scripture Library. Standing before the building, Chen Chao sized up the library that clearly housed countless daoist scriptures without saying a word.

Everyone under heaven knew that the most complete collection of daoist scriptures was housed in the Infatuation Daoist Temple's Scripture Library. Not to mention that it also contained the handwritten notes of the so-called Dao Ancestor.

Yun Jianyue became somewhat nervous. "You're not actually thinking of getting your hands on the Dao Ancestor's handwritten notes, are you?"

If it were anyone else, he naturally would not have worried. But the Chen Chao before him was clearly someone both capable of, and likely to do exactly that.

Chen Chao did not answer Yun Jianyue's question. Instead, he smiled and asked, "This so-called Dao Ancestor of your Daoism, is he the one who established Daoism a thousand years ago, or..."

Chen Chao did not dare continue by mentioning the true founder of Daoism from countless eras ago.

Both could be called the Dao Ancestor, but the difference between them was enormous.

If it was merely the Dao Ancestor who established Daoism a thousand years ago, then it could not really be said that he founded Daoism at all. Perhaps he had simply been a daoist cultivator who survived the destruction of the previous era. Possessing considerable talent, he preserved some daoist scriptures and rekindled the lineage, thus becoming the Dao Ancestor recognized today.

Or perhaps he had merely been an ordinary man who happened to obtain those daoist scriptures by chance, entered cultivation, and then passed those teachings down through the generations.

No matter what the truth was, he was certainly not the true founder of Daoism.

But he was nevertheless one of the truly outstanding figures of this era.

Chen Chao was genuinely curious about those handwritten notes of the Dao Ancestor. Zhu Xia had once mentioned them to him before, saying that they were indeed rather mysterious.

Yun Jianyue glanced at Chen Chao without speaking, merely shaking his head.

Chen Chao teased, "Fine, if I can't read the Dao Ancestor's handwritten notes, then so be it. But last time at the Northern Frontier, you said you'd bring me some dual cultivation manuals next time. I took that seriously. Since I'm here now, aren't you going to find a few for me to take away later?"

Yun Jianyue nodded seriously. "I've already picked them out. You can take them with you when you leave."

Chen Chao had only spoken casually, but he had not expected Yun Jianyue to have actually prepared something. Lowering his voice, Chen Chao asked, "You're not joking with me?"

Yun Jianyue smiled. "You were the one who joked with me first."

Chen Chao froze for a moment before smiling bitterly. "A'Yue, since when did you become so devious? I told you long ago to keep your distance from that fellow Yu Xiyi!"

Yun Jianyue said indifferently, "I'm afraid Great Sword Immortal Yu isn't scheming enough for that."

Chen Chao threw an arm around Yun Jianyue's neck and said with a grin, "What's this? Has Sage Yun made up his mind to slander an innocent young man like me?"

Yun Jianyue freed himself, straightened his robes, and then asked, "Stop changing the subject. What exactly did you come here for?"

Chen Chao clicked his tongue. "You still haven't figured it out by now?"

Yun Jianyue fell silent for a moment as he looked at Chen Chao, not answering immediately.

But there was already a trace of disbelief in his eyes.

Seeing Yun Jianyue's expression, Chen Chao naturally knew that he had already understood the purpose of his visit.

Chen Chao said, "Quite a few of the young disciples in the Infatuation Daoist Temple want to go to the Northern Frontier, but they're missing a reason."

Yun Jianyue nodded. "It's not just the younger generation. But even those who have achieved success in cultivation will still stop because of so-called face."

Chen Chao said, "That's why I'm here to give you that face."

Yun Jianyue shook his head. "You may think your own face isn't that important, but the people of Great Liang will think it is."

He had already guessed what Chen Chao intended to do, but it still felt inappropriate.

Chen Chao smiled. "Right now, what's most important isn't my face, nor what the people of Great Liang think. It's that this war must be won."

Yun Jianyue looked at him without speaking.

Chen Chao did not mind. "It's fine. Once I chop the Demon Emperor's head from his body, no one will care about any of this anymore."

Yun Jianyue asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Chen Chao smiled. "Originally, I was thinking I could lose to you once, let word spread outside that Sage Yun of the Infatuation Daoist Temple thoroughly defeated Great Liang's Lord Warden Commander, allowing your temple to hold its head high again and wash away its past humiliation."

"I've never felt any humiliation. As for what the Infatuation Daoist Temple did before, it only brought those bitter consequences upon itself. Besides, there's too great a gap between our cultivation realms. That wouldn't be appropriate."

Yun Jianyue looked at Chen Chao. "Think of something else."

Chen Chao sighed. "Then it looks like I'll have to part with something valuable."