Without standing on ceremony, when that Warden opened his mouth to ask if he was a spy, that was the most dangerous situation out of all that Chen Chao had experienced in his lifetime. The current danger was even more terrifying than encountering those demons deep in the mountains outside of Tianqing County. It was even more of a headache than when accidentally falling into the encirclement of demons when hunting demons.
The Warden in front of him was one of Great Liang Dynasty's handful of Nepenthe martial artists; a truly powerful figure. No matter how arrogant and domineering the foreign cultivators were, they would probably have to show some restraint in front of him too.
If the probing right at the start when he entered was just to see how much capability Chen Chao had, the questioning at this moment genuinely had some killing intent aroused.
The study was normal, but once killing intent arose, the entire study was no longer ordinary.
Chen Chao said before that the Great Liang Dynasty would not kill him just like that, because they had to consider what the world thought. But at this moment, he suddenly felt that these notions were very idiotic; idiotic to the extreme.
In the end, he was too idiotic.
The Warden in front of him could kill him at any time. As for how to explain after killing him, it was actually very simple, it only needed the word spy. It was obvious who the common people of Great Liang Dynasty would choose to believe, Chen Chao or this Warden.
At that time, he kept having a voice in his heart that kept tempting him to say a different answer. It was as if so long as he gave the answer that was different, he would be completely free of his present predicament. But after struggling for a long time, Chen Chao still said no.
Just as he said the word, heaven and earth suddenly fell silent.
Killing intent dissipated and the pressure disappeared too. The Warden became that heroic man who looked ordinary again, but was actually not ordinary.
This place was the study room and not hell.
The Warden quietly looked at Chen Chao who was in front of him. It was unknown what he was thinking about.
Chen Chao was gasping heavily for air, like a fish that returned to water anew; greedily enjoying everything now that did not come easy. He knew what his experience meant. It was not an easy thing to be able to survive a Nepenthe martial artist's killing intent.
Hence, he was somewhat rejoicing.
The Warden felt his emotions and said with a slight smile, "The feeling of surviving a calamity feels pretty good, right?"
Chen Chao was silent for a while, as if recollecting the aftertaste of the feeling. The disparity of cultivation realm gave him a deep sense of powerlessness. He had never felt this sense of powerlessness so tangibly before.
Chen Chao asked seriously, "Did Your Excellency really want to kill me earlier?"
"If your answer wasn't satisfactory, that would naturally be the case." The Warden looked at Chen Chao profoundly. He did not make up any lie to deceive the youth in front of him and said calmly, "If you're a spy and you die, so be it. Can you still hold resentment against me?"
Chen Chao thought to himself: even if I'm a ghost, I'll haunt you too. But at this moment, he could only choose to accept such a thing.
"But presently, even though I don't know your identity yet, since you say that you're not a double agent, this Warden is naturally willing to believe you too."
The Warden looked at Chen Chao and said very seriously, "I've rarely been deceived by people in my life. Those who dare to lie to me are all big shots of the world. They can naturally retreat unscathed after deceiving me too. But, you're not one of them. Therefore, if someday, I find out that you were lying to me today, then I'll definitely kill you with my own hands."
As one of Great Liang Dynasty's small number of Nepenthe martial artists, the people that could make him say this definitely would not exceed the number of fingers on one hand.
Very clearly, Chen Chao was the most insignificant out of them.
Chen Chao smiled bitterly and said, "This lowly official can only say that I hope that day never comes."
The Warden's expression eased up.
After saying this, the Warden became casual again and said, "Since everything is ironed out, let's talk business."
"You should know why so many people in the Divine Capital want you."
The Warden looked at Chen Chao with a smile on his face.
Chen Chao felt some chilliness for no reason. Although this statement was right, he kept feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
Chen Chao pondered for a moment and said, "The Myriad Willow Convention will be held in the Divine Capital this year. That's a grand event that belongs to young cultivators. This lowly official killed those qi refiners in Tianqing County and entered the sights of big shots. To these big shots in the Divine Capital, if this lowly official could walk out of the Court of Judicial Review, I'd naturally become a desired commodity."
Chen Chao said these words in great detail and also said them very seriously.
This was his present value.
The Myriad Willow Convention happened once a decade. The Great Liang Dynasty would be disgraced every decade. But now, it was hosted in the Divine Capital. The Great Liang Dynasty did not want to lose face anymore, so they were bringing out all of their trump cards.
This was the face of a dynasty.
Many people in the Divine Capital had begun preparing for this year's Myriad Willow Convention since ten years ago. There would naturally be some pretty decent youngsters too. There would also be some in the Warden Office.
But clearly, those decent youngsters were unable to compete with Chen Chao.
Great Liang Dynasty's cultivators could not compare to the foreign cultivators. There were many defeats within the same cultivation realm. Other than the word foundation, there were also many other reasons.
Chen Chao could become a Divine Trove martial artist at this young and he could kill four qi refiners consecutively in that mine. He had long already proven his extraordinary abilities.
At least in the Great Liang Dynasty's younger generation, he had long already earned a place.
In the Great Liang Dynasty, there might be people in the same age group who had a higher cultivation realm than Chen Chao. But, there were likely only one or two people in the northern frontier army who could completely defeat this young man in actual combat.
The Warden said, "There were originally two spots for my Warden Office. But now, having you alone is enough."
The Myriad Willow Convention would be held in the Divine Capital. Different from previous years, the Great Liang Dynasty would have ten spots. In these ten spots, the academy would naturally occupy half, while the Divine Capital's various major families, the Warden Office, as well as the Heavenly Imperial Institution, would compete for the remaining spots.
Originally, other than the academy, the most outstanding youngsters in the Great Liang Dynasty should be in the northern frontier army. They warred with demons all year round and were not what ordinary cultivators could compete with.
It was just that although the Myriad Willow Convention was important, it was absolutely not as important as the northern frontier's border defense.
It was already sufficient to illustrate the Warden Office's pivotal status in the Great Liang Dynasty for them to be able to get two spots.
"You have to at least enter the top ten... no, top five."
The Great Liang Dynasty only entered the top ten once in these 200 plus years.
The Warden looked at Chen Chao and said very seriously, "You have this ability and you should also shoulder this responsibility."
Chen Chao said, "I killed four qi refiners in Tianqing County. I believe that they will definitely be very happy to openly kill me in the Divine Capital if the rules allow it."
The Warden began laughing, "How can I possibly let you die? The Myriad Willow Convention is a grand event where young people interact in the first place, it's not allowed to kill people... Of course, there were exceptions too. However, there was only one incident and it won't happen to you too."
The Warden's brows furrowed slightly when he mentioned this matter.
"Then being defeated by them is a very shameful thing too. With what happened previously, they will definitely be very happy to see me lose. Furthermore, it won't be just one person. I feel that it will be very difficult for me."
Chen Chao stated these things very seriously. These were all facts.
He killed the southern qi refiners. But in the end, he survived in the Divine Capital and made the three sects, including the Three Streams Manor, unable to take any action. This was a victory for Chen Chao, but it was a great humiliation to those few sects. The southern qi refiner lineage had always been of linear descent. In fact, all of the foreign cultivators would be bound by a common hatred for the enemy. Hence, as long as Chen Chao appeared at the Myriad Willow Convention, he would definitely become the target of countless people.
The Warden said calmly, "So what? Even if these things didn't happen, how much easier do you think it will be for you?"
Chen Chao frowned and was not in a hurry to speak.
The Warden said rather irritatedly, "What are you thinking about?"
The reason why the Warden was annoyed was that he had already expressed his thoughts. If the boy in front of him was not a fool, he should have taken the initiative to say something.
But unfortunately, he did not react.
Hearing the Warden's question, Chen Chao rubbed his head and said, "Although I haven't asked about the specifics regarding the Myriad Willow Convention nor have I asked about how it's competed, this lowly official feels that there's something that seems to be more important than these things."
The Warden said unhappily, "What is it?"
Chen Chao looked into the Warden's eyes very seriously and said, "Before this lowly official came, I ran into many people at the bank of South Lake. One of them was a vice-chairman of the Heavenly Imperial Institution."
Before coming to the Warden Office, there were naturally many people who wanted to chat with Chen Chao. But it was clear that everyone only had one goal.
The Warden vaguely felt that what Chen Chao would be saying next would be somewhat unpleasant.
At least, he would not be willing to hear it.
"He told this lowly official that at present, this lowly official is no longer an official of the warden faction. In other words, this lowly official should currently be a free man."
After learning about this, Chen Chao thought about it seriously and felt that it was the means of His Majesty, the Emperor, who was in the imperial city.
Of course, it resolved some problems for him like this too.
If he was not Tianqing County's warden, he would have no reason to go back anymore. He would naturally be able to remain in the Divine Capital too.
He knew about this before coming here. But after entering this study room, he still repeatedly addressed himself as lowly official. It was naturally to maintain the relationship with the Warden. But, this did not mean that a connection really still existed between them.
"What do you want to say?" The Warden looked at Chen Chao expressionlessly.
Chen Chao smiled slightly and said, "That means that it seems like this lowly official doesn't have an obligation to represent the Warden Office and participate in the Myriad Willow Convention."
Although he encountered many things after entering this study room and even almost died here, Chen Chao still firmly remembered one thing. That was why he would enter this study room.
It was the Warden who had a request for him.
He was currently a hot commodity. If he walked out of the Warden Office, it would be nothing more than walking into another government office.
It would be for the Great Liang Dynasty no matter on whose behalf it was.
The world was so big, how could there possibly be a place where he could not settle down?
The study room was very quiet. The Warden slowly walked over here. He could see that this heroic man was very unhappy at this moment.
Chen Chao inexplicably felt somewhat pleased.
Perhaps this was the pleasure of revenge?
Just as when he saw that middle-aged daoist nun vomit blood in the Ministry of Penalty's main hall.
The Warden was silent for a long time before asking, "What do you want?"
Chen Chao said very sincerely, "It naturally depends on what Your Excellency can take out."
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