This master and disciple pair, teacher and student, the heart-knot of many years was now truly resolved and completely untangled.
The Dean drank a sip of sorghum wine and smiled, "It took teacher many years to figure this out. It's not that easy."
Liu Banbi said softly, "Back then in the Northern Frontier, after killing a great demon, I thought about writing a letter to teacher. But after pondering for a long time, I still didn't know how to put it into words. I felt that Teacher might have already been utterly disappointed in me. I figured you might never forgive me, your student, in this lifetime. Thinking like this, I didn't write the letter. However, I thought that killing more demons on the battlefield would at least give Teacher an explanation. Putting aside everything else, if someone ever mentions that the students of the academy didn't kill a single demon for Great Liang, Teacher could use this as a retort. I understand Teacher's temperament and know that you enjoy arguing with people. Being aware of this matter is also one of Teacher's weaknesses."
The Dean was somewhat at a loss whether to cry or laugh. He never expected this guy to have such thoughts. He said, "Since we became master and disciple, it's fate. After all, you haven't done anything to betray your teacher and desecrate your ancestors. Can I really not acknowledge you as my student?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Banbi remained silent and just drank a cup of sorghum wine in silence.
Suddenly, Liu Banbi asked, "Back then, when Teacher wrote a letter for Little Junior Sister, the contents of that letter made this student sad for a long time."
At that time, when Xie Nandu had just started practicing swordsmanship, Wei Xu initially wrote a letter to Liu Banbi. However, the Dean naturally knew that these two had never gotten along. Fearing that Liu Banbi might ignore it, the Dean also, took the initiative to write a letter to Liu Banbi after Wei Xu. However, the contents of the letter were somewhat blunt, expressing sentiments like, "After you started practicing swordsmanship, it caused a bad trend in the academy. Every disciple is imitating you. I finally found my last disciple, and now I have to practice the sword with her."
Initially, when Liu Banbi read the contents of the letter, he felt a bit disheartened. However, after considering both letters, he understood that his teacher was not good at expressing himself directly. In reality, the intention was to ask him to properly guide his little junior sister.
Despite being concerned about this matter, Liu Banbi's thoughts were not solely because Xie Nandu was his little junior sister. There were other reasons, mainly wanting to use this incident to undo the emotional knot between him and his teacher. Even though he did not receive any further letters from his teacher after that, Liu Banbi believed that by starting with his little junior sister, there was definitely hope.
Otherwise, he would not have thought of bringing Xie Nandu to see their teacher tonight.
The Dean sneered but did not respond.
For a moment, Liu Banbi did not know what else to say. Reflecting on the past, he felt a lot of emotions. Many things seemed as if they had never happened.
"Since you've returned from the Northern Frontier, what about His Majesty? Where has he gone?"
After a moment of silence, the Dean brought up the current crucial matter.
Regarding the Great Liang Emperor, Liu Banbi had countless words to say, especially about how they returned together from the desolate north. As a sword immortal, the memories of that journey still made his blood boil with excitement.
However, after parting ways in Xuanling Commandery, they had no further interactions.
"His Majesty punished many officials in Xuanling Commandery. Even the Ministry of Personnel has received the report for the dismissal of those officials. In other words, even you have arrived in the Divine Capital, but where is His Majesty?"
While the Dean did not leave the academy and remained in the Divine Capital, he was the Dean of the academy after all, and he was well-informed about many things. However, after the Great Liang Emperor left Xuanling Commandery, there was no news about him. No one knew where he had gone. It made sense since a forgetful realm expert, if determined to hide his tracks, could easily do so. The question remained whether the Emperor was hiding due to wanting to accomplish something or due to severe injuries.
Actually, that made a lot of sense too. If a formidable Nepenthe Realm martial artist wanted to conceal his traces, it would not be difficult.
However, did His Majesty wanted to do some other things, or did he conceal his whereabouts because his injuries were too severe?
The Dean a little unsure.
The first wave of assassinations by the foreign cultivators ended in failure, but it did not mean there would not be a second or even a third attempt.
Liu Banbi did not know what his teacher was thinking and looked at him with confusion. However, the Dean rolled his eyes at him and said, "As His Majesty traveled southward, there were several great battles. Even if he were made of iron, wouldn't there be a bit of damage?"
Liu Banbi slapped his forehead, realizing belatedly, "If I had known, I should have stayed around His Majesty to guard him!"
The Dean ignored him, stood up, and walked out of the room. Looking at the incessant snowfall today, he said softly, "Is it really a new year after the passing of the year-end festivities?"
……
……
Chen Chao left the academy, and it was already past midnight, marking the first day of the new year, which was also the so-called first day of the lunar new year.
However, it was the middle of the night, most of the residents of the Divine Capital had already gone to sleep, and the streets were desolately quiet.
Walking past the red lanterns hanging alone in the night, Chen Chao quickly accumulated a layer of snow on himself.
Unconsciously, he found himself back at the Left Guard's office.
He owned a house in the Divine Capital, but it was currently empty. Returning there did not seem appealing, so he might as well return to the Left Guard's office.
There were not many guards on duty tonight, and when Chen Chao entered, he was quickly discovered. After the guards discovered that it was Chen Chao, they did not say anything. After a brief salute, they stepped aside.
Entering the main hall, Chen Chao saw Weng Quan lying on the table, fast asleep. Seeing this, Chen Chao did not wake him up, but turned around and went into the backyard.
After returning to the Divine Capital, there were too many things to deal with, and there were still many insights from the Sublime Bright Sect that he had not had the chance to digest. Tonight, various factions had a brief respite, making it a perfect opportunity.
Finding a secluded room, Chen Chao sat down, silently practicing the technique he learned atop the coffin. Qi flowed through his meridians, and soon, a white mist quickly surrounded his mouth and nose too. Chen Chao was well aware that this mist was undoubtedly related to the white mist from the Rongshan Sect. The technique inscribed on the coffin might also originate from some secret art of the Rongshan Sect.
The Rongshan Sect was not recorded in the current records of major cultivation sects and the historical annals of the Great Liang Dynasty. Like other remnants that occasionally appeared in the world, the ruins of the Rongshan Sect were commonly considered by cultivators of the current era to be evidence of a golden age of cultivation that existed before known history. In that ancient cultivation era, a Nepenthe Realm might have been a powerhouse, but it certainly was not the ultimate peak.
There must be something else above the Nepenthe Realm.
Chen Chao cycled through the secret technique learned from the coffin, and suddenly found that some scriptures unknown to him before were appearing in his mind.
"Is this the second half?!"
Chen Chao quickly realized that he had always felt some obstruction when practicing this secret technique before, and many details were unclear. One of the crucial reasons for entering the Rongshan Sect this time, apart from wanting to find the other half of the broken saber, was to explore whether this mysterious technique had anything else to it.
However, the final result left him disappointed.
He did not find the so-called second half.
Although he witnessed the revival of the girl in the end, he still did not obtain what he was looking for.
Now, when Chen Chao operated this secret technique again, he realized that the secret technique had long been imprinted in his mind by that girl using some secret art.
Trading an immortal medicine for his life, plus a secret technique like this, Chen Chao could not tell whether he had gained or lost. However, looking at it for now, he could say that he obtained what he wanted.
"At the beginning, that immortal medicine seemed to imply that the martial artists of their era didn't just temper their bodies, they could also research magic spells. If..."
Chen Chao's mind trembled. Presently, when martial artists reached the Nepenthe Realm, it was enough to compete with the cultivators of the world. If they could also practice magic spells, the path of martial artists would likely become the most terrifying cultivation method for humans. After all, tempering the body to the extreme, coupled with the ability to use magic spells, just thinking about it felt terrifying.
Chen Chao's thoughts drifted far, but soon he snapped back to reality.
Outside, the cold wind howled, and heavy snowflakes danced in the air.
However, Chen Chao suddenly gripped the hilt of his saber.
There was a hint of killing intent that was faintly discernible.
