Chapter 827

The matter at the Tianwu Drill Ground ended rather anticlimactically, wrapping up very quickly.

Gu Ling, who had originally paved the way broadly, prepared to hold a grand banquet to announce to the world that Great Qian had produced another peerless Grandmaster.

Just like a modern nation announcing a successful nuclear test, both are acts of displaying one's powerful martial might.

Unfortunately, Tang Luo had absolutely no interest in this; right now he was quite interested in the "Four Great Classical Novels."

He had no mind to stay here and play along with Gu Ling's act.

A martial artist stronger than a Grandmaster refused to cooperate, and Gu Ling had no good solution either.

He could only smile broadly and indicate it could be postponed; as long as "Xuan Zun" was willing, the grand banquet could be restarted at any time.

Xuan Zun is the current title of Jia Rong (Tang Luo).

Even Grandmaster Mei Qingsheng addresses him as "Zun Shang"; Gu Ling naturally could not slight him.

But he is, after all, the sovereign of a nation, and addressing him as "Zun Shang" alongside the other Grandmasters would be improper; the Grandmasters address each other based on martial seniority.

The accomplished is the teacher; they do not mind.

As the monarch, Gu Ling cannot be so casual, so he had to compromise, dropping the "Shang" from "Zun Shang" and taking "Zun."

It carries the meaning of nobility, and befits a Grandmaster.

The other character "Xuan" is related to Jia Rong's identity.

Jia Rong is a scion of the Jia clan; his ancestor was the Duke of Ningguo, but the title was not hereditary without reduction — if descendants were unworthy, the inherited rank would decline.

Once it declined to a certain degree, it would decline no further.

The Jia clan is such a case; to inherit the Duke's position, one must have sufficient merit.

And the position of Grandmaster is that sufficient merit.

So now, after Jia Daishan, the Jia clan has finally produced another Duke — not inheriting the Duke of Ningguo title, but establishing a new "Duke of Xuan" — because Jia Rong styles himself Xuan Zang.

Xuan Zang sounds like a monk's Dharma name, leaving people baffled.

People suspect it might be "Xuan Zang" — Zang as in burial.

But since his strength surpasses even a Grandmaster, naturally whatever he says goes.

He is both the Duke of Xuan and a martial powerhouse above Grandmasters, so he is addressed as "Xuan Zun."

It counts as a relatively appropriate form of address.

A martial powerhouse suddenly popped up, giving Gu Ling a massive headache; never mind other things, just the matter of address required careful consideration.

He could neither diminish his imperial majesty nor ignore the other party's strength and status.

Truly a dilemma.

And there are many more dilemmas to come, but Gu Ling actually need not overtax his mind.

As the Son of Heaven, he can still sit calmly on the fishing terrace, observe the reactions of his ministers on all sides, and finally step in as an arbiter or a peacemaker.

In short, as long as Jia Rong harbors no disloyal intentions, the Jia clan producing a Grandmaster is definitely beneficial to him and to Great Qian.

As for whether Jia Rong has any disloyal intentions.

Gu Ling feels he does not, or rather, it would be very hard for him to have any.

First, powerful martial artists rarely obsess over fame, profit, and power; they pursue the pinnacle of the martial Dao.

Second, Jia Rong is not alone in the world.

To Gu Ling, a martial powerhouse born into a noble clan poses far less danger than those solitary, wandering recluses.

If the person who defeated Mei Qingsheng in one move this time were not Jia Rong, but Great Qian's own Wandering Cloud Daoist.

Then Gu Ling would have to sleep alongside Mei Qingsheng for the rest of his life.

Jia Rong has Grandmother Jia above and no offspring below. Why rebel and make himself universally abandoned and estranged from kin?

Whether a person has an extreme desire for power, Gu Ling can more or less discern a thing or two.

This Jia Rong is simply someone arrogant to the extreme, who regards imperial authority as nothing.

If he had even a shred of ambition, he would not have appeared openly today and displayed his strength.

Put in his shoes, Gu Ling would certainly stockpile grain, build high walls, and delay proclaiming kingship.

Rather than clamorously showing off his formidable strength.

Placing the weapon in the open is a warning, and also implies not wanting to kill.

As long as his throne is not threatened, the rest Gu Ling can fully watch with detached calm.

After seeing off the Jia clan's two Grandmasters, Gu Ling's originally tightly knit brows gradually relaxed; so be it, the days ahead are still long.

Suddenly, he remembered Jia Yuanchun was in the palace, and immediately drafted an edict, conferring on her the title of Noble Consort.

In the carriage, Grandmother Jia looked at Tang Luo: "I originally thought you were just an ordinary Grandmaster."

"I originally thought so too," Tang Luo said, "Turns out whatever the strength, you have to fight to know."

"..."

Grandmother Jia was momentarily speechless, "What do you plan to do next?"

"Naturally, rectify the family discipline." Tang Luo waved a hand, righteous and stern, "My Jia clan establishes the family through martial prowess; we are a martial merit aristocratic house. Look at them now — each and every one unable to truss a chicken, shoulders cannot carry, hands cannot lift. I can glance at them and kill them with a look; it's unacceptable."

"They should practice martial arts, but the family-inherited martial arts are truly difficult and even painful to cultivate." Grandmother Jia said.

"No need to practice the family arts; just practice the Great Strength Monkey King Fist I gave you — its power the Ancestor also saw." Tang Luo said.

"Is this fist painful to cultivate?" Grandmother Jia asked.

Tang Luo said: "Simple to pick up, not high difficulty, but cultivating martial arts — where is there one that isn't hard?"

Grandmother Jia looked worried: "I fear Baoyu cannot endure this hardship."

"Speaking of which, Ancestor, with the Jia clan's martial Dao in such decline, what exactly were you thinking?" Tang Luo stared at Grandmother Jia and asked.

Grandmother Jia's expression was slightly unnatural; after all, being stared at by a Grandmaster, even if this Grandmaster was her great-grandson, was the same: "Nothing much, just thought being a wealthy idle person was also good."

"Hmph hmph." Tang Luo gave a cold laugh.

Wealthy idle nobles — while the Dowager was alive they could get away with it; now that she's gone, how many more years can they keep it up?

"However many more years we can get is however many." The Dowager said, a touch displeased.

She still couldn't control her emotions very well.

In all of Great Qian, there weren't many people who could, like Tang Luo, infuriate her half to death for no reason at all.

The Jia clan's martial decline — on one hand it was truly because the descendants were disappointing; on the other hand, the Dowager herself was a factor.

Setting aside the Ningguo Mansion branch for now, but after all the clan had already split into two mansions, and the legitimate male line had withered.

Rongguo Mansion — its population was actually still fairly thriving, yet by the time it reached Jia Baoyu, he alone had entered a rank; why?

It was actually the Dowager's deliberate doing.

She truly doted on and indulged this grandson who resembled his grandfather, unable to bear letting him suffer even a bit of hardship.

That included the hardship of martial cultivation.

If Jia Baoyu wouldn't cultivate, others could — but the Dowager worried that if others cultivated and achieved something, they would turn around and suppress Jia Baoyu.

A single noble title was enough to make many eyes red with envy; fratricide — the Dowager had seen plenty of it.

So better to just have everyone practice casually, just for show.

If someone actually made a name for themselves, and later an imperial edict came sending them to the border — what then? As a martial-merit aristocratic house, they couldn't refuse.

The Dowager wasn't ruthless enough to make descendants other than Jia Baoyu cultivate and then send them to die on the border battlefield to prolong the Jia clan's wealth and honor.

Better for this old woman to prop things up a few more years herself.

Without fighting anyone, just holding on she could last another twenty or thirty years.

Even if the last ten years were spent bedridden, as long as this Grandmaster didn't close her eyes, the Jia clan could remain wealthy and honored.

By that time Jia Baoyu would be established no matter what.

Jia Rong's sudden rise had completely shattered the Dowager's original plan.

Now the Dowager was in a real bind.

Jia Rong was definitely going to revitalize the Jia clan.

"Wealthy idle people my ass! All of you — go cultivate!"

Then what becomes of the Jia Baoyu she dotes on?

The other side certainly won't look at her "Uncle Baoyu" with any special regard.

Silent all the way, they had already returned to the Jia Mansion; the Dowager suddenly said, "Baoyu can't go running around causing trouble with you. I'll personally bring him."

"Whatever." Tang Luo said.

One less Jia Baoyu — the Jia clan is still the Jia clan; it doesn't lack him.

Hearing this, the Dowager's heart instantly eased; she abruptly realized her back was already soaked in cold sweat, only then realizing how great a pressure this great-grandson before her exerted.

In the main hall of Rongguo Mansion, Rongxi Hall, at this moment a whole crowd of Rongguo Mansion people had gathered together.

From Jia She to Jia Lan, and the ladies and young misses — all were present.

Everyone was waiting for the Dowager and Jia Rong to return.

With the old servants and maids crying "The Ancestress (Old Lady), Young Master Little Rong have returned," Tang Luo and the Dowager stepped into Rongxi Hall.

Only it was Tang Luo in front, the Dowager behind — status already clear.

He sat directly on the principal seat and spoke: "I won't waste words. Starting today, our Jia clan returns to the martial path — everyone must cultivate. The martial arts have already been distributed; those who got fewer copies, copy them out yourselves. Also the servants and retainers likewise — the arts they'll cultivate, I'll have Ningguo Mansion send over."

"Rong'er, what are you doing?" Jia She shouted.

He was the Dowager's eldest son, the one to inherit Rongguo Mansion's title.

Pity this man was disliked by the Dowager; now Rongguo Mansion was run by the second branch's Jia Zheng — if not for the fact that his son Jia Lian's wife Wang Xifeng was the Dowager's disciple and managed household affairs.

Jia She in Rongguo Mansion couldn't even keep a shred of face.

This man was much like Jia Zhen — both shameless lechers, trash.

By comparison, the second son Jia Zheng, though a useless pedantic scholar, incapable of achievement but also incapable of ruin, was much like his son Jia Baoyu.

Both had no ill intent, but also no responsibility or ability — good-for-nothings.

Jia Zhen and Jia She were the true degenerate descendants who corrupted the clan's customs and contributed plenty to the Jia clan's road to decline.

Jia Lian fell between the two — more useful than Jia Baoyu, but had done plenty of rotten things too.

"Did you all hear what I said? Tomorrow at dawn, mao hour, assemble at the Jia clan martial hall's drill ground." Tang Luo completely ignored Jia She. "I've already had people clear it out. Latecomers — clan law awaits."

"Insolence! How dare you speak to an elder——"

Jia She slammed the table and rose — and the man flew out, crashing into a corner.

The one who struck wasn't Tang Luo, but the Dowager — after all he was her son; dislike aside, she worried Tang Luo would slap Jia She to death with one palm.

"Striking an elder — if word gets out it harms your reputation and the Jia clan's reputation, even if you are a Grandmaster." The Dowager said to Tang Luo.

But the problem was, among the Jia clan members present, only Jia Lan was of the same generation as him.

Jia Rong's seniority was truly not high.

"Hmm, fair point." Tang Luo nodded. "That's why I specially invited a Martial Dao Grandmaster to supervise everyone's cultivation."

"A Martial Dao Grandmaster?" The Dowager froze.

"Right, the very Grandmaster who created the 'Great Strength Monkey King Fist'." Tang Luo said.

"Isn't that fist art from the remnant chapters of the Six Desires Apportioning Demon Scripture?" The Dowager asked.

"No conflict. Someone created the 'Great Strength Monkey King Fist', and someone else put it into the Six Desires Apportioning Demon Scripture." Tang Luo said. "Last night after my demonic art reached completion, that Grandmaster sought me out; we fought three hundred rounds, and from not knowing each other came acquaintance — now we're life-and-death friends."

The Dowager's mouth opened and closed; she didn't speak — she could no longer tell which of Tang Luo's words were true and which were true.

Rather, true or false no longer mattered.

"That Grandmaster's surname is Sun. Tomorrow at mao hour he'll be waiting at the drill ground. You'll call him Master Sun." Tang Luo said. "Everyone cultivate properly, no slacking — Master Sun is an extremely violent man! If he wants to beat you, even I can't stop him."

"..."

"……"

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, then turned to Grandmother Jia — what could the matriarch do!

Grandmother Jia pretended not to see; what could she do? She was utterly despairing too.