"If Your Excellency takes one step further and becomes a powerful high-level Great Beyond Realm existence, you'd undoubtedly be one of the strongest in the Great Liang Dynasty, wouldn't you?"

Chen Chao flattered him without any change in expression. Either way, he needed Song Lian's help, so flattering him now did not feel abrupt.

Song Lian put away that blood ginseng carefully. Then, when he heard Chen Chao's words, he smiled coldly and said, "I really don't know if you're overestimating me, or underestimating the entire Great Liang Dynasty."

"Do you think that there are very few Nepenthe cultivators in the whole Great Liang Dynasty?"

Song Lian looked at the young man in front of him and thought it was time to educate him a little.

Chen Chao said as a matter of course, "Isn't that true?"

Song Lian shook his head and said, "Although the Nepenthe cultivators of our Great Liang Dynasty cannot compare with the foreign land cultivators, the numbers are definitely not low. However, among Nepenthe Realm cultivators, there is a clear distinction in superiority too. Lord Warden is a Nepenthe Realm cultivator, but a Nepenthe Realm martial artist like him can easily thrash ordinary Nepenthe cultivators. Even if three or five people join forces, he won't take them seriously too."

Chen Chao was not a stupid person either, hearing that, he asked, "So what Your Excellency means is that even if one day you successfully break through and become a Nepenthe martial artist, you'd still be considered an ant in the eyes of existences like Lord Warden they all?" "In other words, someone who can be killed with a kick or one punch? A guy that they wouldn't even spare a glance for?"

Song Lian's expression looked a little ugly. Although he did imply that earlier, he did not expect this young man in front of him to speak so directly and so ruthlessly.

If he really became a Nepenthe martial artist, even if he still could not stand up to Lord Warden, he could still be considered a powerhouse in a region. How could he be a mere bug that could be crushed with a random kick or a punch?

Chen Chao thought carefully and asked probingly, "So you mean there's also the concept of low-level and high-level in the Nepenthe Realm?"

Song Lian shook his head and said, "There isn't. Whether it's the foreign lands or the demon race, there isn't much description about the Nepenthe Realm, but there's naturally a difference in combat power. Such as His Majesty the Emperor, Lord Warden, as well as that Great General in the North, they are the most powerful existences among Nepenthe martial artists. As for whether or not there are other Nepenthe cultivators, there certainly are. But they're definitely not as strong."

"In the foreign land sects, having a Nepenthe cultivator would allow them to squeeze into the ranks of first-rate sects. In places like the Infatuation Daoist Temple and the Deercry Monastery, the Temple Master and Head Abbot are naturally among the top cultivators in the world. But apart from these two, are there no old daoists or great monks who are also in the Nepenthe Realm?"

Song Lian looked at Chen Chao and smiled, "The road ahead is long, young man. You have to proceed with an open mind. I heard you said grand rhetoric at the imperial banquet last night. It's not good to be so arrogant. If you don't restrain yourself, you may not live long."

Song Lian finally found the feeling of being an elder and was currently enjoying educating Chen Chao. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that the young man in front of him was a little distracted. He immediately became annoyed and asked, "What are you thinking about now, boy?"

Chen Chao came back to his senses and said, "I was just thinking, how many powerhouses do we have hidden in the shadows?"

Song Lian was surprised that the young man in front of him was actually thinking about such things. His anger dissipated and he said, "Don't worry too much, if you cultivate properly, the day will come when you'll eventually see the scenery over there. It's already rare enough for someone your age to reach the Divine Trove Realm."

Chen Chao nodded and did not say any more nonsense. Instead, he said, "After healing my injuries, I want to temper my muscles and bones another time. Can I trouble Your Excellency to keep an eye on what's happening outside for me?"

Song Lian frowned and said, "Didn't you just get injured? Why are you in such a hurry? There's no need to rush. If something goes wrong, that will be bad."

Chen Chao shook his head and did not say anything about it. He was not prepared to change anything that he set his mind on.

Song Lian said no more.

Chen Chao walked into the room, where many things were already prepared.

As a martial artist, Song Lian naturally knew what a martial artist's residence needed too.

Standing in front of a large wooden barrel, Chen Chao took off his shirt, revealing those densely packed scars, and walked into the barrel. There was currently only warm water inside and nothing else.

After sitting down in the barrel, Chen Chao began to revolve his qi, forcing the residual qi within him outside of his body. In last night's battle, in order to win and not reveal too many of his trump cards, Chen Chao racked his brains and also enacted too many risky moves. When he forcibly used his body to bash through the thorny qi earlier, it was destined that he would suffer many hidden injuries.

Last night, he forcibly suppressed it, but it was not necessary to keep it suppressed all the time. That would definitely be detrimental to his cultivation.

Chen Chao slowly closed his eyes and began to revolve his internal qi, allowing the qi within his body to flow in the direction he desired. Soon, the pores on his skin expanded significantly and a lot of black, tainted blood oozed out of them. Along with the subtle flow of qi, the water in the entire wooden tub began bubbling. In just a moment, it was dyed a different color too.

Chen Chao frowned slightly. Although this process was painful, it was still normal for the tempering of the physique. He did not care too much about it.

A moment later, he opened his eyes.

He replaced the tub of water with clean water.

Then, he took out the medicine pouch he carried with him, and poured the medicinal solution into the wooden tub. After waiting for it to be fully dissolved, he sat back into the tub and continued tempering his muscles and bones.

The reason why Chen Chao had a physique that martial artists in the same realm found hard to compete with, was not only because he took the tempering of his muscles and bones extremely seriously, but also because he could endure the pain of the tempering process every time. He would hardly waste any of the medicinal power of the medical liquid. This endurance naturally let him possess an extremely powerful and tough body.

Same as usual, he closed his eyes and began absorbing the medicinal power of the medicinal liquid. His expression gradually became extremely pained and the sweat beads on his forehead became dense.

One by one, the drops slid down his cheeks and merged into the medicinal liquid.

It was unclear how long it had passed, but he became tense all over. Every muscle in his body was exerting force. The blue veins on his arms were clearly visible to anyone.

He gritted his teeth, enduring unknown amounts of pain.

A single joss stick of time passed.

Two hours passed.

The color of the medicinal liquid in the wooden tub gradually became clear. Chen Chao finally could not endure the pain any longer and opened his eyes. However, instead of immediately getting up, he silently began to cultivate a technique, and the pain suddenly dissipated a lot. A white mist slowly rose from his body and soon enveloped the entire wooden tub.

Chen Chao looked at this scene and appeared a little dazed.

He could not help but remember the incident from a few years ago: that unknown place covered in white mist, that ice coffin, and that girl lying inside the ice coffin.

That terrifying fireball in that girl's eyes.

Chen Chao lifted his head and looked at the ceiling rather tiredly.

He spat out a turbid breath.

As the sun set in the west, a sunset glow appeared on the horizon. The South Lake became particularly beautiful under its illumination, as if it had merged into a beautiful scenery between heaven and earth.

Wei Xu stood by the lake, looking at this scene. This scholar who had always been mild-mannered smiled, and the smile in his eyes was very genuine, even more real than the beautiful scenery before his eyes.

Right when this scholar was enjoying the scenery here, a voice sounded out by the lake, "Senior Brother Wei, you still have the leisure to enjoy the scenery at this moment? Do you know how great was the influence of that incident that day?"

A man slowly walked over, it was precisely Su Yi, the national champion of Great Liang.

Wei Xu turned his head to look at his junior brother and smiled, "What does this matter have to do with you, Junior Brother?"

Su Yi raised his eyebrows and said, "Of course it has nothing to do with me, but Senior Brother's approach is too direct, and cutting off your own path of retreat. As your junior brother, I naturally want to help Senior Brother find a way out."

Among the 72 disciples of the Dean, not all of their relationship was harmonious. For example, these two people never had a good relationship. Su Yi had never liked Wei Xu since he entered the school. Although Wei Xu did not necessarily dislike Su Yi, Su Yi had always been hostile towards him, so he naturally would not have much contact with him either.

"I've already entered the academy and I'm Teacher's disciple. I already have a path of retreat, the academy behind me is my retreat. As for anything else, there's nothing much to say."

Wei Xu looked at the lake and was very calm.

Su Yi frowned, "But Junior Sister is surnamed Xie after all, I find it hard to believe that you really think this way. Senior Brother, your approach is too simplistic and obvious, which makes me think you're being a little deliberate like this."

Wei Xu smiled and said, "Do you know about the story of the North Creek Hermit?"

Hearing this, Wei Xu's expression became a little ugly. He naturally knew about the story of the North Creek Hermit. It was a story about that great Confucian scholar and a certain eminent monk from the Deercry Monastery who debated with the North Creek Hermit on Dao. The eminent monk said that the North Creek Hermit sought fame and fortune, that was the only reason he debated with him. The North Creek Hermit just smiled and said, "If Great Master didn't have such thoughts, then how could you think that I have such thoughts?"

At this moment, Wei Xu was using this story to imply that Su Yi was narrow-minded and was judging others based on his own character.

Su Yi said coldly, "I'm just worried about Little Junior Sister. Our teacher has only taken in one female disciple all these years. We only have this junior sister and she's also our only junior sister."

Wei Xu nodded and said, "What Junior Brother said is true, but since Little Junior Sister is Junior Brother's junior sister, isn't she my, Wei Xu's, Junior Sister too?"

Su Yi said indifferently, "Even if that's the case, I still don't trust you. Don't Senior Brother know what your surname is?!"

What was Wei Xu's surname?

It was naturally something that the entire Divine Capital knew. The prominent figures of the Divine Capital knew the background of this disciple of the dean very well.

Wei Xu came from the Divine Capital's Wei Family. Furthermore, he was also a legitimate son of the Wei Family.

In recent years, the Wei Family only had one opponent in the imperial court.

That was the Xie Family.

Xie Nandu came from the Xie Family.

Wei Xu thought about it before saying, "I have already told Little Junior Sister about this matter. Although I come from the Wei Family, Little Junior Sister is also my little junior sister, so there will be no conflict."

Su Yi frowned and said, "One day, Senior Brother will have to make a choice."

Wei Xu looked towards the distance where a young girl was currently slowly walking over along the edge of the lake, walking very slowly.

Wei Xu looked at Xie Nandu and said softly, "How can Junior Brother be sure that I will definitely choose that side?"

Su Yi replied calmly, "I don't know which side Senior Brother will choose either."