Martial Cultivator

The honey dates from the shop at South Street were really good. Of course, what was even better was that since that day, Chen Chao had never spent money again. It seemed that from today onwards, he could eat in many places in the Divine Capital without spending money as well.

However, it was still best to eat this thing freshly made. Otherwise, it would not taste as good as it did back then.

Chen Chao continued eating the honey dates, completely ignoring those voices by the lakeside.

He just looked at the morning light by the lakeside, appearing somewhat out of sorts.

Someone looked at Chen Chao and said angrily, "Ruffian, how dare you?!"

Upon hearing these words, Chen Chao finally snapped back to reality. He turned to that young cultivator, but he merely took one look and quickly retracted his gaze.

He had already had many quarrels during this period. By now, he really did not want to get into another fight anymore.

Moreover, after that last fight, he was really tired. Even after resting for so many days, he had not fully recovered.

He directly looked at the young cultivator and said, "That's how the rules are. It doesn't say you can't kill, so I killed them."

Those who knew the cause and effect of the matter already knew, and it would be meaningless to explain it to those who did not know.

No one would believe it anyway.

"You're seeking personal revenge, venting your personal grievances! Someone like you is unworthy of being the martial exam's champion!"

A young cultivator condemned. "You don't deserve to be the champion!"

Chen Chao looked at him and shook his head as he said. "I haven't heard of such a rule. Where does it say that killing someone disqualifies you from being the champion?"

It was stated very clearly for the martial exam reform this time: the rules were that there were no rules.

The only things considered were the number of demons killed and the level of cultivation, nothing else mattered.

"You didn't stop there. You lured the mountain spirit over and caused the deaths and injuries of many fellow daoists."

The cultivators opened their mouths and condemned him one after another, their voices very fierce.

Someone opened their mouth and said, "Let me say a word in fairness, the purpose of the Myriad Willow Convention's reform is to provide young cultivators with training so that when the demon race moves southward, cultivators of our generation can do something for the human race. Since it's to train us, one shouldn't kill based on personal grudges. If that happens, the Myriad Willow Convention will lose its meaning. This is the first reformed Myriad Willow Convention, if such a person becomes the champion, what will be the point of the Myriad Willow Convention?"

When he said this, the cultivators present nodded in agreement. After saying so much, this statement had some fairness and at least made some sense.

"There are some things that you all know, but pretend not to. When a group of you besieged me, was it also for training? If you enjoy this kind of training, I can help you train right now."

Chen Chao stared at the young cultivator who spoke and calmly said, "I know that you still have a lot of crap to say, but I have no interest in arguing with you. The matter is as simple as it seems. In the end, the whole lot of you are just causing trouble out of jealousy and unwillingness. You can't stand to see me become the champion, but what can you do? You have no ability, what nonsense can you say by rambling endlessly?

Chen Chao fixed his gaze on the lakeside and continued, "I know that you guys still want to say something. What about Song Changxi? He's one cultivation realm higher than me, but didn't he still lose?"

He looked at everyone with a cold smile, his eyes full of disdain.

"Are you all just a bunch of gossipy women? If I were you, what else can I say? Since you feel ashamed, you should have committed suicide by smashing your head against a block of tofu long ago. I wonder who taught you guys to shoot your mouth off and sow discord?"

Chen Chao was already a bit annoyed because he did not manage to stab Song Changxi to death with a single blow. At this moment, hearing these things by the lakeside, it only added to his frustration.

Originally, he did not plan on wasting time talking to these people. But at this moment, he had no choice but to say a few words. However, Chen Chao was adept at using words to kill.

Earlier, there was that daoist nun and academy students like Huang Zhi. Which of them had not been wounded by his words before?

Sure enough, upon hearing these words, the cultivators by the lakeside widened their eyes. The sounds of cursing lingered incessantly. But beyond the scolding voices, what they felt more was anger. Chen Chao's few words were like swords piercing their hearts.

No matter how they struggled, it was difficult for them to refute. After all, Song Changxi had already proven with facts that what Chen Chao said was true.

Having said that, Chen Chao could not be bothered to talk anymore with this person. Instead, he looked towards Wei Xu who was not far away and called out, "Mr. Wei."

Wei Xu understood and looked towards the pavilion.

There was no reaction there.

They could not say much about this in the first place. What went on behind the scenes was known to both Wei Xu and the others, so it could only be those few young people speaking up earlier. They could not do anything.

"According to the rules of the martial exam, we already have a result for the champion of this martial exam.."

Wei Xu emphasized the word 'rules.'

This was what he had been saying all along, but it had been constantly trampled upon. However, in certain situations, this word still held some significance.

At least for now, it was the case.

The prominent figures remain silent.

Wei Xu finally said the last few words.

Great Liang Dynasty's Chen Chao.

He was the champion of the martial exam.

It was something that had not happened to the Great Liang Dynasty for more than 200 years, something that had never occurred in the entire 200 over years of Great Liang Dynasty's history.

But the lakeside was very quiet. No one was cheering.

The foreign cultivators would not cheer for this. The officials and cultivators of the Great Liang Dynasty would not make any noise at this moment either. But their faces were filled with excitement, and those expressions were genuine.

But the lakeside was still very quiet.

A moment later, the sound of a bell rang out.

During the literary exam, a bell would ring at the beginning and end of each match, announcing the start or end. It was actually very normal for the sound of a bell to ring when the Myriad Willow Convention ended.

But the people all furrowed their brows.

Because this bell sound did not come from nearby,

It sounded rather far away.

Somewhere very far.

It was not the lakeside.

It was somewhere in the Divine Capital.

After an unknown amount of time, someone said in disbelief, "It's from the imperial city!"

Hearing this, everyone was still very silent.

Chen Chao lifted his head and looked towards the direction of the imperial city. His expression became extremely complex, and the emotions in his eyes grew even more complicated.

What did the bell signify?

What did the bell from the imperial city signify?

Was it the beginning or the end?

It was likely the latter.

What ended?

……

……

When the sound of a bell rang in the imperial city, whether was it the guards, eunuchs, or palace maids, they all knelt down at this moment.

Their heads touched the ground, not daring to make a sound. But some people's bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.

If one listened carefully, they could hear the faint sobbing.

Someone was crying.

Serving in the imperial city, how could they not know the biggest event happening in the imperial city at the moment?

Also, how could they not know what the sound of the bell meant?

The imperial city fell into silence, but a sense of mourning permeated it.

It filled the entire imperial city.

Li Heng was walking quietly in the imperial city, his pace incredibly slow.

There was no emotion on the face of this young eunuch and he walked past one place after another expressionlessly. However, soon enough, two rows of tears streamed down his eyes.

Many years of acquaintance, and now, it was the final journey. He naturally felt sorrow.

"Farewell, Princess Consort."

Li Heng spoke softly, his voice filled with deep reluctance.

Suddenly, Li Heng stopped in his tracks and slowly sat down on the spot. Then, he fished out a small seashell from his bosom and blew into it earnestly.

Along with the tolling of the bell, the sound of the conch also came out.

The two sounds intertwined and drifted through the imperial city.

It was a very special sound.

It resembled crying, yet it sounded more like a call.

Upon hearing this sound, a palace maid finally could not hold herself back. Even if she knew it was inappropriate, she began crying softly too.

In the wake of this palace maid crying, the other palace attendants around also could not hold back and started crying too.

For a moment, the imperial city was filled with the soft sobbing of palace maids and eunuchs.

The silence in the imperial city was broken.

The sorrow became even more palpable.

The previously clear skies began drizzling at this moment too.

Raindrops fell.

It was like heaven was crying too.