NOVPUB"Who exactly are you?" the muscular man holding a spear jumped down from the rooftop, appearing between Chen Xi and the Taoist priest, and asked in a deep voice.
"Just like you, I’m here to protect him, only I arrived a bit later," the Taoist priest said calmly, "Marquis Chen, we have confirmed your Spiritual Talent. Therefore, even though we, the people beyond the world’s affairs, value cultivation to immortality and the quest for the Tao above all else, ensuring your survival is essential to us."
"Hmph, if I remember correctly, there are quite a few of you who don’t follow orders!" the spear-wielding strongman stared at the other party and said with a slight bow.
Since Tong Yuan received the news about Chen Xi’s Spiritual Talent and confirmed it several times, he had thrown out his biggest card, his junior disciple Hann Qiong, and this was because he hadn’t recovered yet, otherwise, it would have certainly been him who came.
Although Hann Qiong’s Martial Arts were not as strong as Tong Yuan’s, he was also not far behind. As one of the earliest top masters to break through to Inner Qi Manifestation, even without relying on secret techniques or Ultimate Knowledge, it wouldn’t have been easy for Lyu Bu to kill Hann Qiong in a straight fight. Moreover, Hann Qiong had a plethora of secret techniques, which is why he was able to follow Chen Xi all the way without being detected by him.
The same was true for that Taoist priest. However, he was even more brazen. Upon seeing Chen Xi boarding a ship at the coast of Donglai, Nanhua, initially planning to return to the mountain to recite scriptures, extinguished his original thought. He saw the hope for Ascend in Chen Xi. If he couldn’t Ascend through regular channels, surely accumulating great merit and Ascend amidst the aura would work.
In fact, at first, Nanhua always felt that he had done something wrong, that his actions had led to Ferocious Beasts running amok, warriors becoming too strong, and the world falling into great chaos, but after meeting Chen Xi, Nanhua realized he had always been wrong!
The moment Nanhua saw Chen Xi, he had an epiphany. With calamity comes fortune; the rise of several Ferocious Beasts also saw the birth of a young man who could create decades of peace and prosperity. As long as he ensured the youth’s safe growth, the Great Han Dynasty would enjoy a smooth and bountiful close to a hundred years, relieving tens of millions of civilians from concerns about food and clothing—this would undoubtedly be an immeasurable merit! When the time came, as long as he took a small share for himself, wouldn’t that mean he Ascended?
Afterwards, Nanhua didn’t say anything and just followed Chen Xi, not meddling in any battles but only protecting Chen Xi. His task was to make any attacks that could threaten Chen Xi accidentally deviate, which was why during the entire naval battle on the Yangtze River, Chen Xi didn’t even see a single arrow.
"Marquis Chen, you don’t need to worry about who we are. You just need to know that we are here to protect you. And you can rest assured, we bear no malice towards you. I may not like this guy much, but with his strength, he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage against any military general under Liu Xuande," Nanhua also spoke up after seeing the hesitation in Chen Xi’s eyes.
"Have you been following me since half a year ago?" Chen Xi asked with furrowed brows.
"Marquis Chen’s senses are really sharp. I almost got caught several times," the spear-wielding strongman said with a smile.
Chen Xi couldn’t help but frown. With that sentence, he knew that this person must be a top master. His senses were extremely keen, just like that time with Zuo Ci. Although Zuo Ci was careless, Chen Xi’s perceptiveness could not be denied.
"No wonder I always felt like someone was following me, making me suspect even shadows," Chen Xi said, unable to be angry anymore. Such a master, who had followed him for half a year, if they really wanted to kill him, he would have died long ago. In fact, if they did want to kill him, he wouldn’t even have time to react. But this also indeed showed that the other party bore him no ill will.
For top Strategists like Fa Zheng, who had accumulated an immense amount of spiritual power, if they directly confronted Valiant Generals like Guan and Zhang at full force, stuffing all their Spiritual Will into the opponent’s brain, it would definitely lead to Fa Zheng’s death, and the opponent would either die or have their consciousness collapse and fall into madness. However, on the other hand, which Inner Qi Separation master would kneel before someone like Li Ru completely unresisting as Hua Xiong did, when a distant slash of the blade could resolve everything?
"However, Marquis Chen, we only protect you, and we normally won’t show up," said Nanhua as he looked at Chen Xi. "We protect you on a voluntary basis, without needing anything in return, but our protection extends only to you."
"Mm," Chen Xi nodded. "I’ve got that now."
"Old Taoist, since you’re here to protect him too, let me ask you something. Can Yu Ji be killed? He’s a dangerous character, and we free Martial Artists have already reached a consensus to take him down first. We don’t want to clash with you on a grand scale, so I’m asking you in advance!" Seeing that Chen Xi was no longer on his guard, Hann Qiong asked with a glint of coldness in his eyes.
"Yu Ji? If that guy were to strike at someone else, well and good, but if he dares to come over here, we’ll kill without hesitation!" A flash of coldness swept across Nanhua’s eyes. If Yu Ji really intended to attempt to disrupt the major trends by coming here to kill Chen Xi, Nanhua would show no mercy. Not to mention they had only met in passing before, even if they were acquaintances, it would be the same—kill without hesitation!
"That’s good to hear!" Once he finished, Hann Qiong leapt backward and vanished into thin air, after which a voice traveled from the sky, "Marquis Chen, rest easy. Should I leave, I will certainly notify you, and someone will definitely come to take over my duties."
Chen Xi was somewhat dumbfounded as the other party disappeared right in front of him. How was this achieved, he wondered, turning to look at the Taoist beside him.
"Marquis Chen, my appearance is merely to give you confirmation and also to prevent any potential mistaken harm in the future. He and I have never met," Nanhua said, looking in a certain direction. He had to admit that with age came craftiness. The breath and heartbeat of Han Qiong, who was squatting in that corner, had practically vanished, making him like a stone, while Zhuge Liang had activated his Spiritual Talent the moment Hann Qiong disappeared but could not detect his whereabouts.
"Am I really that important?" asked Chen Xi curiously.
"Extremely important. If things continue to develop like this, you will save countless people, a task of immeasurable virtue," Nanhua replied, bowing deeply with utmost solemnity before silently disappearing, leaving the four looking at each other in dismay.
"Cough, cough, cough." Chen Xi coughed several times, drawing the attention of the other three back to him, his expression somewhat uneasy, "I didn’t even know myself that people were actually protecting me in the shadows."
"It’s only natural. You don’t understand how important your Spiritual Talent is to the people of the world," said the old man sitting on the platform with calmness, "you are too important to the common folk."
"You make me sound like a mascot," Chen Xi said with a wry smile, "Let’s change the subject. I don’t want to dwell on how important I am." With that, he bowed and found a stone bench to sit on, no longer minding the formalities.
"Marquis Chen, please make yourself comfortable. Zijia, come here," the elder smiled at Chen Xi and then called out towards the inner room, and soon a child of about eleven or twelve years old came out, kneeling beside the old man.
"Is this your grandson?" Chen Xi asked curiously.
"The son of Lu Zigan, Lu Zijia," the old man shook his head, pointed at the child, and introduced him by name. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
