Martial Cultivator

By now, most of the customers in the shop had already left. The shopkeeper finally turned to look at the young man sitting at the table, smiling to himself, and took the initiative to strike up a conversation. "Where did Sir come from?"

Chen Chao snapped back to his senses, thought for a moment, and said, "The Divine Capital."

Hearing these two words, the shopkeeper's eyes immediately lit up, and he exclaimed with a smile, "I heard that's the biggest city under heaven, where His Majesty the Emperor lives."

"But if you were to eat a basket of buns in a place like that, it would definitely cost several times more than at my little shop here, right?"

The shopkeeper took a few puffs from his dry tobacco pipe, smiling cheerfully as he said, "That place might be bustling and grand, but if you ask me, its food might not taste as good as what I make here."

Hearing the shopkeeper's first comment, Chen Chao was reminded of something he had once read in a book: in the hearts of the common people, the emperor was merely someone who plowed the fields with a golden hoe. He had been about to sink into thought when he heard the second half of the shopkeeper's words and decided not to bother thinking so much. Instead, he smiled and said, "I've truly never eaten shrimp-filled buns anywhere else."

At this, the shopkeeper perked up and knocked the ashes from his pipe onto the stool. After blowing out a breath of smoke, he then said with pride, "I'm not bragging, but these river shrimp buns - within dozens of miles, no one else makes them as good as I do. There were people who envied my craft before, tried to make them themselves, but none of them could match the taste of mine."

Chen Chao asked curiously, "Is that so? Then is there some secret technique behind these buns?"

Hearing this, the shopkeeper was just about to answer, but soon raised an eyebrow and laughed, scolding, "Are you trying to learn my craft and go open a bun shop in the Divine Capital to make a fortune?"

Hearing this, Chen Chao decided not to explain any further.

The shopkeeper said, "The key lies in the river shrimp, and also in the grinding work. The river shrimp must come from that little creek outside the county - the red-tailed river shrimp. Once these river shrimp mature, their tails turn slightly red, and that's when their meat is at its most tender. Afterward, as the red tail color deepens, the meat won't be as good anymore. So first and foremost, it depends on one's eye, whether you can tell if the shrimp is at its most tender. You must know, river shrimp are peculiar; even if there's just one shrimp in the whole bowl of filling that isn't at its tender peak, the entire batch of filling won't be considered good."

"As for the second point, the grinding work, that requires spending two hours every day continuously mincing the shrimp meat into a fine paste. Only then can you bring out the best flavor."

After rattling off this long explanation, the shopkeeper took a puff from his dry tobacco pipe to catch his breath.

As Chen Chao listened, he gradually realized something was off and smiled wryly. "Brother, you really have a glib tongue. Isn't the most crucial part of your craft the ability to pick the right river shrimp? Even if you tell me all this now, I'm afraid I still wouldn't be able to open a bun shop."

The shopkeeper burst out laughing and gave no further explanation.

One's livelihood skills were not something that could simply be handed over to others with a few words. Even accepting an apprentice would take years of observing the apprentice's character, and only when there were no more worries would the core secrets be passed down.

In this world, having a unique skill was better than anything else. At least, it meant you would never go hungry.

After exchanging a few more casual words with the shopkeeper, Chen Chao did not linger any longer. He bid farewell and rose to leave the shop.

The shopkeeper watched Chen Chao’s departing back and clicked his tongue, muttering, "Not bad-looking at all. Good thing my daughter didn't see him, or she would've kicked up a fuss again."

After leaving the shop, Chen Chao leisurely followed the little river that ran through the county town, heading out of the city.

After he exited the town, Chen Chao continued south. A few days later, he was already not far from his destination, the Myriad Heaven Palace.

Among the two lineages of Daoism, the Infatuation Daoist Temple and the Myriad Heaven Palace were the respective leaders of the Longevity Dao and the Great Peace Dao. Although in recent years, the Infatuation Daoist Temple had consistently suppressed Myriad Heaven Palace, in the end, the Myriad Heaven Palace remained the head of the Great Peace Dao. Its standing within Daoism was by no means low. Unlike Infatuation Daoist Temple, which had long been at odds with the Great Liang, the Myriad Heaven Palace maintained fairly good relations with the Great Liang. During the previous Myriad Willow Convention, a grand daoist from Myriad Heaven Palace had personally led a delegation. At that time, Chen Chao had even saved Zhu Xia, the Saintess of the Myriad Heaven Palace.

Moreover, that great daoist sage from the Myriad Heaven Palace had a good relationship with the dean of the academy, so afterward, the ties between the Myriad Heaven Palace and the Great Liang improved further. However, for various reasons, this relationship was never made public.

This time, Chen Chao's purpose in going to the Myriad Heaven Palace was to formally establish an alliance with them.

Unlike the relationships with Sword Qi Mountain or the Sword Sect, what Chen Chao wanted was for the Myriad Heaven Palace to announce this alliance openly to the world.

In doing so, he was not only thinking of the Great Liang but also paving the way for Yun Jianyue. The Myriad Heaven Palace was meant to serve as the starting point, if Infatuation Daoist Temple eventually followed the same path, then all of Daoism would be persuaded. Once Daoism was persuaded, it would not be difficult to sway the entire foreign lands.

After the foreign lands have been persuaded, he would be able to pursue many things.

Everything was proceeding according to plan. But in truth, Chen Chao was not very confident that he could persuade the Myriad Heaven Palace. Even though he had a good relationship with Zhu Xia, the friendship between Great Liang and the Myriad Heaven Palace over these past few years might not be enough to compel them to publicly declare their stance.

It was just a try.

Chen Chao was very sincere.

Before setting out for Myriad Heaven Palace, he had already written down many of his ideas and submitted them to His Highness the Crown Prince. The latter had given his response a few days ago, nodding in approval.

This made Chen Chao view this younger brother with newfound respect. It seemed that this youth was gradually maturing.

Chen Chao also felt somewhat gratified. If this younger brother truly regarded him as an elder brother, then he did not mind helping him build an era of peace, allowing him to reign as the Emperor of Great Liang in peace and stability.

Chen Chao had always been such a person. If someone treated him well, he would always remember it and make sure to repay them.

But if anyone tried to harm him, their fate would be no different from those two elder brothers who had already died under his saber.

Lost in these thoughts, Chen Chao had already traveled far from the city without realizing it. It was not until he heard some noisy voices up ahead that he finally snapped back to his senses.

Not far ahead, there were two people: a middle-aged man accompanied by a young man dressed in white.

The middle-aged man's aura was restrained, but as he walked, traces of qi still leaked out. It was sufficient to tell that he was likely a Nepenthe cultivator.

Looking closer at the middle-aged man's tall and sturdy figure, though the loose long robe he wore concealed much, it was still evident that he was heavily built.

He was a pure martial artist.

Realizing this, Chen Chao furrowed his brows slightly. A pure martial artist who had stepped into the Nepenthe Realm was quite rare.

As for the young man, he bore some resemblance to the middle-aged man. Judging by their looks, he was likely a descendant or junior of his. His qi was decent, but he seemed to be only at the peak of the Bitter Sea Realm, and had just touched the threshold of the Great Beyond Realm.

While Chen Chao was observing the two of them, the young man in white also noticed him. After scrutinizing Chen Chao's attire, the young man furrowed his brows almost imperceptibly, but quickly relaxed his expression without saying anything more.

He merely whispered a few words to the middle-aged man beside him.

The middle-aged man turned to glance at Chen Chao. Unable to discern Chen Chao's true background, he looked longer at the saber hanging at Chen Chao's waist. In the end, the middle-aged man revealed a kind smile. Chen Chao gave a slight nod in response.

After turning back, the middle-aged man reminded softly, “Lian'er, unless absolutely necessary, do not get into conflict with him.”

The young man frowned and asked, “Father, what do you mean by that? Is that person's cultivation realm profound or his background extraordinary?”

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, “No, it's because that man is the same as us - a martial artist. If we encounter him again and he happens to be in trouble, and it's not too troublesome, you may lend him a hand. In fact, not only him, any other martial artist we meet in this world who happens to be in difficulty, we can help if possible. Martial artists under the heavens are from the same family.”

The young man nodded and said with vicissitudes of emotion, “With Father's temperament, it's actually not very suited for Windspirit Mountain.”

Words like these he dared not say while on the mountain. Only now, when they were down the mountain and without outsiders nearby, could he speak them aloud.

The middle-aged man gave a bitter smile but did not respond.

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