Chapter 659: Only those of the same kind can recognize their own kind at a glance

He couldn't figure out what Emperor Jian Shi wanted to do.

If he wanted to arrest Prince Cheng's family, he let Prince Cheng submit a memorial to defend himself and scolded the Brocade Uniform Guard for making trouble out of nothing.

If he didn't want to arrest him, this matter had spread throughout the city, and even the old ladies cooling off and sewing shoe soles on the street had heard of it, excitedly gossiping with others.

If he wanted to arrest him, it was said that at the morning court, he personally said he absolutely believed in Prince Cheng's innocence. When the Northwest was plagued by rebels, at the time it was most severe, Prince Cheng not only didn't respond but also sent troops and food to help the imperial court fight the rebels.

If he didn't want to arrest him, it was said that strings of Brocade Uniform Guards were running to the Northwest. Even in the courtyard of the Marquis's Mansion, there were several more spies from the Brocade Uniform Guard.

Chen Guanlou simply invited Seeing Qi Wuxiu to drink; the two grown men didn't sleep in the middle of the night, shirtless in the courtyard, bragging.

When they were bragging until the dead of night, Chen Guanlou suddenly said, "The Brocade Uniform Guard went to the Northwest to make arrests? Why didn't you go?"

One sentence woke up the half-drunk Seeing Qi Wuxiu, "Brother, where did you hear that rumor? The Brocade Uniform Guard hasn't made any moves, hasn't made any arrests; it's all nonsense outside."

"Really? Your level isn't high enough; I reckon this big event is also being kept secret internally. Tell me, who has been missing from the Brocade Uniform Guard lately? Is the missing person very awesome, and is their work very reliable?"

Seeing Qi Wuxiu shook his head repeatedly, refusing to admit it no matter what, "Brother, you, you're guessing blindly."

"You're older than me; you call me brother."

"Those who are accomplished are teachers! Or I'll call you senior."

"Get lost!" Chen Guanlou asked solemnly again, "Really no moves?"

Seeing Qi Wuxiu leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said very seriously: "Really no moves!"

Chen Guanlou didn't believe it!

With such a big commotion in the market, could it be that they were all smoke bombs? Strictly speaking, if it weren't for people with ulterior motives deliberately leaking the news, the common people in the market would have no way of knowing about these major military and national affairs. If it were to spread, it would spread among the official class.

To the extent that even the aunties on the street knew about it—if there were no tricks involved, who would believe it!

"Could it be a feint? The target isn't Prince Cheng, but the Marquis of Pingjiang?"

"Brother, these words cannot be said casually. The Marquis of Pingjiang is a pillar of the state; the military affairs of the Northwest all rely on him. How could the imperial court cut off its own arm?"

"Maybe someone feels they are awesome and no longer needs an arm, only needing a few running dogs to handle everything."

Chen Guanlou gave a chuckle.

Seeing Qi Wuxiu seemed to hear some unspeakable danger in the laughter and subconsciously trembled, "Brother, this is the capital, under the feet of the Son of Heaven; you cannot mess around."

Chen Guanlou glanced at the other party lightly, "I'm not killing anyone; what are you afraid of?"

Seeing Qi Wuxiu felt awkward for a moment but still pursued, "Definitely not killing anyone, right."

"Do I look like a serial killer to you?"

Seeing Qi Wuxiu shook his head repeatedly, picked up his wine cup, and apologized.

After drinking, Chen Guanlou no longer worried about the Northwest. He asked curiously, "That Master Qi from the Jixia Academy, is he related to your Qi family?"

"No relation, just happened to have the same surname Qi."

"That Ninth-Rank martial artist of the Qi family, hasn't appeared for so long; do you know his whereabouts?"

"I really don't know. I don't have any dealings with that side. I reckon he's not in the capital."

"Your family has a long history; tell me, whose family still has a Ninth-Rank martial artist?"

"Brother, don't tell me you want to have a martial arts competition again?"

"Not a competition, just chatting casually." Chen Guanlou was very sincere.

Seeing Qi Wuxiu shook his head, indicating he didn't know. He was just a small shrimp in the family; although he worked in the Brocade Uniform Guard, he wouldn't deliberately inquire about which family had a Ninth-Rank martial artist.

Furthermore, even if a family raised a Ninth-Rank martial artist, or had an ancestor with particularly profound cultivation, they usually wouldn't be active in the capital. They generally stayed in their ancestral home, existing as a symbolic military force for deterrence.

Many families would hide this aspect, fearing that the palace would keep an eye on them and endanger themselves.

The palace alone had several Grandmasters.

Anyway, the Grandmasters who could be counted on the surface were all working for the palace. This was the propaganda rhetoric for the outside world, and also to highlight the power of imperial authority, warning all the petty people in the world to tuck their tails and behave, not to dream of challenging imperial authority. Imperial authority is supreme and cannot be provoked by mortals like you. Honestly being a beast of burden and paying taxes is your good fortune.

Chen Guanlou knew he couldn't get anything useful out of Seeing Qi Wuxiu and gave up decisively. A friend has professional ethics; he wouldn't make things difficult for the other party.

Early in the morning, he ran to the Yuquan Palace to chat with Pure Yang Zhenren.

"There must be other Grandmasters in the world. It's impossible for all Grandmasters to be collected by the palace. Zhenren, you have traveled all over the world and often come into contact with wealthy families. In your view, about how many Grandmasters are there in the world?"

Pure Yang Zhenren was very puzzled, "Why is Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen worried about the number of Grandmasters?"

"I just want to analyze from a probability perspective how difficult it is to step into the Grandmaster realm. Grandmasters live for hundreds of years; there must be quite a few old things still alive in the world, right."

"You are obsessed. On the martial path, everyone has their own fate. For example, this poor Daoist also aspired to walk the martial path from a young age and gave up worldly family and worldly happiness for it. However, my talent is limited, and relying on the accumulation of a large amount of medicinal pills, I am only barely a Seventh-Rank martial artist. To go further is truly extremely difficult. You have already far surpassed ninety-nine percent of martial artists; just follow the steps, and sooner or later you will be able to step into the Grandmaster ranks. When you reach the Grandmaster realm, you will sooner or later discover the traces of the few Grandmasters in the world. Only those of the same kind can recognize their own kind at a glance!"

Pure Yang Zhenren said a particularly philosophical sentence at the end.

It's like a Second-Rank martial artist definitely can't recognize a Ninth-Rank martial artist. But a Ninth-Rank martial artist can see at a glance whether the person in front of them is a Ninth-Rank, and whether they are stronger or weaker than themselves.

"Zhenren really can't reveal even a little bit of news? You must have met those Grandmasters who are hiding, right."

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, your curiosity is too strong, and you are overstepping your rank. As a Ninth-Rank martial artist, how can you inquire about the whereabouts of Grandmasters? Aren't you afraid that a Grandmaster will come to your door and take your life?"

Pure Yang Zhenren gave a shallow smile, his tone flat, yet everything revealed between the lines was a threat. Not a threat from himself, but a threat from a Grandmaster.

Chen Guanlou was such a smart person; he understood as soon as he heard it. Pure Yang Zhenren had naturally met hidden Grandmasters, but he wouldn't spit out a single word. For the sake of his life, it was best not to talk about this topic.

The implication was that Grandmasters were elusive; unless one was of the same level, it was absolutely impossible to discover their whereabouts.

From his words, Chen Guanlou also heard that Ninth-Rank martial artists and Grandmasters were two different species. There was a gap between them!

Ninth-Rank is still just a martial artist.

Grandmasters seem to have already detached from the category of martial artists and entered another realm.

Could it be the difference between mortals and cultivators?!

Could it be that stepping into the Grandmaster realm is equivalent to stepping into the cultivation world?!

With this guess and brain-filling, he became excited himself, wishing he could immediately hide in the deep mountains and forests to go into seclusion, closing for three to five years to break through in one go.

However, thinking was thinking; reason reminded him that this wouldn't work. Cultivation needs to be gradual. If you haven't reached that threshold, forcing a breakthrough in seclusion is deadly!

One needs to wait until the time is ripe before it is the time to go into seclusion and break through. ===== CHAPTER 660 =====