Chapter 71: Each with Their Own Schemes (Sixth Update)

“My Lord, this Chen Tian’s identity has not yet been confirmed. Isn’t it a bit rash to plant him into the Town Martial Hall like this?”

After Liu Feiyan and Chen Yuan left, Uncle Zhong couldn’t help but speak up.

Liu Suifeng coughed and said indifferently, “According to what you said, your plan to go to Hugu Forest was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and no one followed you on the way. Encountering the Poison Wolf Bandits was pure coincidence, and being saved by Chen Tian was also a coincidence.”

“Based solely on the fact that he saved Feiyan, no arrangement is rash.”

“Old Zhong, you should know what Feiyan means to me.”

Uncle Zhong’s eyes dimmed, and he immediately knelt down. “I deserve to die! I failed to protect the Young Miss!”

Liu Suifeng extended a strand of invisible True Qi and helped Uncle Zhong up.

“It’s not your fault. Feiyan acts recklessly. Next time, do not follow her in everything. Use force when necessary.”

Liu Suifeng suddenly sighed again. “I arranged for this Chen Tian to enter the Town Martial Hall not just to repay the kindness of saving Feiyan, but because among the younger generation, we don’t have many people left.”

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“According to what you said, this Chen Tian can slay a Wheel Sea Realm with Foundation Establishment. His strength is stunning. Where else among our subordinates can we find such an outstanding young man?”

Beside him, Li Fan’s Face turned red.

He was one of the more outstanding young men under Liu Suifeng’s lineage.

He had just reached the Late Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm in his early thirties, but compared to Chen Yuan, he was undoubtedly far behind.

“Don’t overthink it. Martial Dao talent cannot be forced. You have done well enough.”

Liu Suifeng comforted Li Fan and then dismissed them to rest.

He himself stood there, slightly looking up at the sky, pondering something unknown.

Chen Yuan stayed in the Town Martial Hall for a night. Early the next morning, he was led by Liu Feiyan to follow Liu Suifeng to the Council Hall for a meeting.

Inside the solemn and magnificent Council Hall, on a black coiled dragon chair at the head, sat a majestic middle-aged man wearing a dark gold brocade robe, with a tall and robust build and a thick beard.

This middle-aged man’s arms were long enough to reach his knees, his finger joints were unusually large, and his Aura was restrained and deep, like a vast ocean or a deep abyss.

He was the former Alliance Leader of the Tianwu Alliance and the current Grand Governor of the Town Martial Hall, the ‘Chaotic Martial Heavenly King’ Chao Hongtu.

As early as the Tianwu Alliance period, Chao Hongtu had already reached the Heaven Profound level of the Nine Realms of Martial Dao. He himself wielded the offensive Divine Artifact, the ‘God King Array Breaker’.

However, this Divine Artifact had special attributes; even as its Weapon Master, Chao Hongtu could not create a Divine Artifact Avatar. In this regard, the Town Martial Hall was at a bit of a disadvantage compared to other factions that possessed Divine Magical Weapons.

On a chair beside Chao Hongtu sat a woman in a white palace dress. She was Chao Hongtu’s wife, the ‘Goddess in the Clouds’ Yun Zhaolan.

Yun Zhaolan was exquisitely beautiful with grand features. Although there were some traces of time on her Face, they only showed mature charm rather than age.

However, her temperament was somewhat cold, giving off a sense of distance, truly like a celestial goddess who did not consume the food of mortals.

Chen Yuan took a look at her with interest.

The relationship between Chao Hongtu and his wife seemed a bit subtle.

The black coiled dragon chair was very wide and could clearly seat two people, yet they insisted on sitting separately.

Moreover, Yun Zhaolan’s body subconsciously leaned to the other side, clearly not wanting to be too close to Chao Hongtu.

They didn’t even make eye contact once.

Below Chao Hongtu was Liu Suifeng’s position. Chen Yuan, Liu Feiyan, and Uncle Zhong all stood behind him.

There was another chair opposite Liu Suifeng, but it was empty.

That place once belonged to the ‘Army-Breaking Divine General’ Xie Wenyuan.

After Xie Wenyuan’s death, no one could replace him, so it remained vacant.

Further back were the four Hall Masters of the four Town Martial Halls, all of whom were Grandmasters who had reached the seventh realm of Martial Dao, the Yuan Dan Realm.

These four were: Azure Dragon Hall Master ‘Heavenly Blade Peak-Cleaver’ Cui Wenzhong, White Tiger Hall Master ‘Seven Blood-Slaying Swords’ Feng Wushang, Vermilion Bird Hall Master ‘Red Cloud Fairy’ Ling Baiyan, and Black Tortoise Hall Master ‘Mountain-Suppressing Strongman’ Wei Yuanlong.

The core strength of the Town Martial Hall, besides these four halls, also included three guards.

The remaining three guards were the Tianwu Guards directly under Chao Hongtu’s jurisdiction, the Army-Breaking Guards which originally belonged to Xie Wenyuan and were now under Yun Zhaolan’s jurisdiction, and the Shadow Guards under Liu Suifeng’s jurisdiction, responsible for intelligence and assassination.

Because these three guards were directly under the jurisdiction of the three leaders, they did not participate in the council most of the time.

Chen Yuan lowered his head, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the masters of the four Town Martial Halls. He mused to himself that it was hard to find a faction more internally complex than the Town Martial Hall in this world.

These four were the mainstays of the Town Martial Hall, but in reality, each had their own schemes, and not one was truly loyal to the Town Martial Hall.

Azure Dragon Hall Master Cui Wenzhong had long since colluded with the Shangguan Clan of Wushuang City in Qingzhou, one of the eight great families; he was already secretly their man.

Vermilion Bird Hall Master Ling Baiyan was secretly in love with a Disciple of the Wangtian Pavilion, one of the nine traditional martial sects in Qingzhou, and she frequently sent the Vermilion Bird Hall’s resources to the Wangtian Pavilion.

Black Tortoise Hall Master Wei Yuanlong was even more ruthless; he had long since defected to the Imperial Court and became a spy planted by the court within the Town Martial Hall.

Although the Town Martial Hall had been recruited by the state, they were always on guard against the court, and the court had never truly trusted the Town Martial Hall.

The fact that one of the four Hall Masters was a court spy showed how serious the internal problems of the Town Martial Hall had become.

In the entire four Town Martial Halls, the only one who had not colluded with external forces was White Tiger Hall Master Feng Wushang.

However, it wasn’t that Feng Wushang didn’t want to collude, but rather that external forces looked down on him.

Feng Wushang had been seriously injured in his early years. Although not as severe as Liu Suifeng, he was unable to return to his Peak.

Furthermore, he was insatiably greedy, focused only on amassing wealth in the territory under the White Tiger Hall’s jurisdiction so he could live comfortably in his old age.

With such a personality, external forces looking to stir up trouble looked down on him, fearing he would ruin their plans.

However, although the internal state of the Town Martial Hall was chaotic, the messier it was, the better it suited Chen Yuan to fish in troubled waters. This was also why he chose to come to the Town Martial Hall.

Once everyone had arrived, Chao Hongtu first looked at Liu Suifeng. “I heard Feiyan was attacked by bandits. Is she alright?”

Liu Suifeng coughed and said, “Thank you for your concern, Grand Governor. She was a bit startled, but she is fine.”

Chao Hongtu frowned. “Suifeng, we are brothers. How many times have I told you? Just call me Big Brother. Why call me Grand Governor?”

“Etiquette must be maintained.”

Liu Suifeng shook his head. “Before, you were the Alliance Leader; now, you are the Grand Governor of the Town Martial Hall. In private, anything goes, but now we cannot break the rules.”

Chao Hongtu shook his head helplessly, acting as if he could do nothing about Liu Suifeng.

“By the way, Grand Governor, my daughter was saved this time thanks to the intervention of this young friend, Chen Tian.”

“Young friend Chen killed the Poison Wolf Bandit leader Si Kong Tu with Foundation Establishment against Wheel Sea. He is a rare young talent.”

“Therefore, I would like to have young friend Chen join our Town Martial Hall to add some fresh blood to our younger generation.”

Liu Suifeng pushed Chen Yuan forward.

Chen Yuan immediately saluted. “Chen Tian greets the Grand Governor and the Hall Masters.”

Chao Hongtu and the others all looked at Chen Yuan, their gazes carrying a bit of scrutiny and a bit of wonder.

Slaying a Wheel Sea with Foundation Establishment was not actually that strange; some talents from great sects and families could also do it.

However, it was not easy for a Martial Artist from a Loose Cultivator background to reach this level.

Chao Hongtu nodded and said, “Not bad, a promising talent.”

After saying that, Chao Hongtu looked at the four Hall Masters below and pondered for a moment. “Feng Wushang, your White Tiger Hall has the fewest people. This Chen Tian will be given to your White Tiger Hall.”

Feng Wushang nodded. “Thank you, Grand Governor.”

For Feng Wushang, having an extra Foundation Establishment Martial Artist as a subordinate didn’t matter much.

Chen Yuan also immediately cupped his hands to his future direct superior. “This subordinate greets the Hall Master.”

After speaking, Chen Yuan walked behind Feng Wushang on his own.

Seeing Chen Yuan so sensible, Feng Wushang also nodded with satisfaction.

After this matter, Chao Hongtu discussed some miscellaneous matters like clearing out bandits with everyone. With a few words, the meeting ended quickly, and everyone was used to it.

Over the years, Chao Hongtu had always lived in seclusion, spending most of his time in closed-door Cultivation to strive for the Peak of the Ninth Realm.

He usually just gave a few instructions for matters below and let the four Hall Masters handle them themselves.

And Liu Suifeng was also sickly, rarely offering any opinions, and sometimes he wouldn’t even come to the meetings.

This also led to some lax discipline within the Town Martial Hall, with the four Hall Masters each having their own schemes.

After the meeting ended, Chen Yuan followed Feng Wushang directly out of Tianning Prefecture.

Feng Wushang was the oldest among the four Hall Masters, already in his seventies this year.

However, his cultivation was profound, and he looked only in his early fifties with a head of black hair. His Face was thin and slightly sharp, and due to his Cultivation Technique, he gave off an extremely cold feeling.

On the way, Feng Wushang said to Chen Yuan, “My White Tiger Hall governs eight prefectures and forty-two cities in western Ning Province. Every prefecture has an Inspector, and every city has a Garrison Commander.”

“Below the Garrison Commander is the Commandant, and others are ordinary White Tiger Guards, promoted from third class to first class according to age and merit.”

“You were recommended to the Town Martial Hall by Lord Liu Suifeng, so your starting point will not be low.”

“Of these positions, have you thought about which one you want?”

Chen Yuan said respectfully, “Since I have entered the White Tiger Hall, I am your man, Hall Master.”

“Whichever position you give me, I will take it.”

“Even if you have me start as a bottom-level White Tiger Guard, that would also be for my training.”

Feng Wushang looked at Chen Yuan with approval and laughed loudly. “As expected of someone trained in the Jianghu; you are different from those ignorant young boys.”

“Rest assured, you have both strength and background. Since you have entered my White Tiger Hall, I will not treat you poorly.”

Feng Wushang’s words were a test for Chen Yuan.

If Chen Yuan had been arrogant and didn’t know his place just because he was recommended by Liu Suifeng, Feng Wushang would have first arranged a high-ranking but powerless empty position for him and then slowly dealt with him.

Seeing how sensible Chen Yuan was, knowing when to advance and retreat, Feng Wushang didn’t mind giving Liu Suifeng some Face and giving Chen Yuan a good position.