Chapter 122: Entering the Imperial Palace

"Foster father." Chen Mo walked into the military tent, bowed, and paid his respects.

Sun Shouren had arrived at the Capital City with over a thousand soldiers; he could enter the city, but these thousand soldiers could not, for the time being.

They could only set up camp outside the city to settle down first, waiting for the Emperor's decree to see how these soldiers should be stationed.

Sun Shouren looked at the Chen Mo before him, his expression very complex; bewilderment, surprise, doubt, and confusion were all present.

As early as two or three days ago, while he was still on the road, he had received a letter from his good friend Lu Chuan.

The letter mentioned many things, primarily about his foster son Chen Mo, whose cultivation had already reached the Postnatal Realm; furthermore, his combat power far surpassed that of Martial Artists at the same level.

Most importantly, he had also performed a great service by saving the life of the First Prince.

To be honest, if he did not know his old friend well enough, Sun Shouren would have even thought that this letter was sent by his old friend because he had gone mad.

He recognized every single character in the letter, but when they were connected into a paragraph, he could not understand it.

He could not figure out at all how Chen Mo possessed Postnatal strength.

This was the most important question; saving the First Prince could be called a coincidence, but when exactly did he cultivate to the Postnatal Realm?

This question truly caused Sun Shouren too much confusion, and as a result, he had even sped up his journey over the past few days, all to reach the Capital City as quickly as possible so he could ask Chen Mo in person.

Yet until this moment, he did not know how to bring it up.

"Replying to foster father, the child had people purchase vegetables and wine from within the city and hired many carriages; I estimate that these items can be delivered to the brothers before evening today."

Mo Hu spoke first; since they had arrived a few days early, it was naturally impossible for them to do nothing.

They were stationed near the Capital City, and although the Imperial Court would provide provisions and pay, the matter of procurement had to be handled by them personally.

"Very well, you go and arrange it first." Sun Shouren nodded lightly toward Mo Hu.

"The child understands." He cupped his hands in a salute and slowly retreated.

He was not yet clear about Chen Mo's true strength; for one, Chen Mo had not specifically told him, and for another, given his official rank and status, no one in the Capital would specifically inform him of such matters.

The incident of Chen Mo saving the First Prince that day was indeed circulating, but as of now, only a small portion of people knew about it.

The vast majority of people were not clear about these matters.

It would not be until the Great Morning Assembly in a few days that this matter would be announced to the world.

Chen Mo's name, status, and strength would all become common knowledge.

Mo Hu left, and Sun Shouren waved his hand to dismiss the other Personal Soldiers in the tent, letting them stand guard outside, then immediately looked at Chen Mo with a gaze of extreme doubt and confusion.

Ever since he received his friend's letter that day, Sun Shouren had been unable to eat or sleep for the past few days, having read those letters back and forth countless times.

He could not figure out, even if he racked his brains, why Chen Mo would be in the Postnatal Realm.

How long had he been cultivating? Even if his aptitude and comprehension were supreme, and he was a heaven-sent genius rarely seen in a hundred years, it shouldn't be this heaven-defying.

Two years, having never been exposed to Martial Dao cultivation, to reach the Postnatal Realm directly.

This span was a bit too large; Sun Shouren could not accept it.

Although he did not practice from a young age, he had been practicing Internal Martial Arts and tempering his tendons and bones since he was fifteen or sixteen, which was nearly thirty years to this day.

Midway, he switched to Internal Martial Arts; his talent could be considered decent, and his cultivation path had been smooth, which was how he finally reached the perfection of the Tongmai Realm, only one step away from the Postnatal Realm.

Although he could not compare to people like Lu Chuan and Zhou Dong, who came from prominent aristocratic families, had good talent, and could be exposed to cultivation from a young age.

But looking at the world, being able to fight his way to this day, his aptitude was definitely not bad.

Only he himself knew the hardships and difficulties of this journey.

But what about Chen Mo?

Cultivating for two years and already far surpassing his own thirty years of effort—Sun Shouren could not accept it.

Never mind that Chen Mo's background was not good; even if he were the direct descendant of a top-tier aristocratic family, it would be impossible to cultivate to the Postnatal Realm in just two years.

This was too fast, so fast that it was simply impossible.

Ever since he learned this news, Sun Shouren had been tossing and turning every day, pondering it.

Sometimes, when lying in bed and about to fall into a deep sleep, he would suddenly think of this question, wanting to know exactly how Chen Mo cultivated to reach the Postnatal Realm so quickly.

If this were talent, then this talent was too outrageous.

Sun Shouren could not figure it out; he truly could not figure it out!

"Do you truly already have Postnatal cultivation now?" Sun Shouren's expression was extremely complex as he spoke slowly.

Chen Mo nodded lightly, and with a casual wave, a wall of Qi with a slightly bluish-purple hue spread out from his body, quickly covering the entire tent.

"Ah!" Sun Shouren looked at everything before him, only feeling that his brain was not functioning smoothly.

Of course, he knew that the external release of Inner Qi was a sign unique to Postnatal Martial Artists.

Furthermore, the fact that Chen Mo's Inner Qi could be released so far showed that his cultivation was definitely not just the early stage of the Postnatal Realm.

At the very least, he had completely pushed open the Heaven and Earth Gate, reaching the Postnatal Mid Stage.

He found it hard to accept this point, but at least he had sufficient psychological expectation, because he had known this news two days ago.

However, the amount of Inner Qi Chen Mo could mobilize and the range it covered were, in his view, somewhat terrifying.

One must know that although his tent was temporarily erected, it was still over ten zhang in circumference; to completely cover it, the amount of Inner Qi required was massive.

If one were to say that this point could still be achieved by some, after all, Postnatal Martial Artists could replenish Inner Qi at an extremely fast speed.

As long as the replenishment speed was fast enough, they could indeed potentially mobilize an amount of Inner Qi far exceeding their own.

But not only that, Sun Shouren could also feel how formidable the power of this surging Inner Qi was.

Sun Shouren was not without opportunities to come into contact with Postnatal Martial Artists; in fact, he had even seen the scene of a Martial Artist at the Houtian Consummation Realm attacking.

Yet as far as he knew, no Postnatal Martial Artist possessed Inner Qi as refined to the extreme as Chen Mo's, almost reaching a physical state.

That Chen Mo could cultivate to the Postnatal Realm had already exceeded his expectations and left him unable to accept it for a moment.

But at least there had been foreshadowing for this matter, and now, everything appearing before his eyes left him not knowing how to react.

"This... this..." Sun Shouren opened his mouth several times, but could not say anything coherent.

The shock Chen Mo had brought him over these few days was truly something he found a bit hard to accept.

However, while the scene before him was indeed shocking, Sun Shouren had, after all, spent years fighting on the battlefield, so he did not remain stunned for long; once he regained his composure, he pressed, "Have you really only been practicing for two years?"

"This matter is complicated to explain; in Qingzhou, I did come into contact with some cultivation, but I didn't achieve anything of note.

It wasn't until I fled from famine all the way to Ding Prefecture and took you as my foster father that my path of cultivation finally became smooth.

I only broke through to the Postnatal Realm not long ago, but because I practice both Inner and Outer Dual Cultivation, my combat power is slightly stronger."

Chen Mo weighed his tone and spoke slowly.

Sun Shouren rubbed his face hard to confirm that everything before him was real, and only then did he nod gently.

He understood that even if Chen Mo had come into contact with the Martial Dao before, it was at most just some amateur farm-style techniques.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for him not to know the distinction between internal and external Martial Artists, let alone be unclear about Inner Qi.

These were basic common sense for cultivation; if he had truly understood cultivation, he could not have been ignorant of them.

Most crucially, Chen Mo was barely literate.

That was enough to prove that his family background was definitely poor; otherwise, how could he not even recognize characters?

Therefore, the fact that he could cultivate to the Postnatal Realm was truly achieved in just these two years.

Once Sun Shouren figured this out, he sat quietly on his chair, not wanting to say another word.

He knew there were geniuses in this world, but this genius was a bit too genius.

He had been cultivating for thirty years and hadn't reached this step, yet Chen Mo had far surpassed him in two years.

This blow was indeed a bit too much for him.

But soon, he stood up again, smiling as he patted Chen Mo on the shoulder, feeling more satisfied the more he looked at him.

"Not bad, I knew I hadn't misjudged you; you truly have talent."

Sun Shouren laughed very happily, even somewhat unrestrainedly.

Chen Mo had great talent, but he was his foster son, so the better his talent, the better it was for him.

Although he himself had not yet reached the Postnatal Realm, it was fine that Chen Mo had.

In this way, he could be considered capable of mobilizing a Postnatal Realm powerhouse.

The more Sun Shouren thought about it, the better he felt, and the smile on his face could not be controlled.

Although he did not know exactly how Chen Mo had cultivated to reach the Postnatal Realm within two years.

He knew one thing: his foster son was a Postnatal powerhouse, and a very strong one at that.

That was enough.

Compared to this, other matters were not that important right now.

Everyone has secrets, and Sun Shouren had no intention of getting to the bottom of them; he only knew one thing.

That was that Chen Mo was still willing to acknowledge him as his foster father, which made his previous painstaking cultivation of him worthwhile.

"The fact that you entered the Postnatal Realm after only two years of practice—I will know it, but you must never tell anyone else.

If anyone asks me, I will say you have been practicing since childhood, but because your family conditions were poor, you took me as your foster father.

Reaching the Postnatal Realm in two years is too shocking; attracting a little attention is a good thing, but attracting too much is not."

Sun Shouren's expression was cautious; he was not a young man, and he understood the principle that too much is as bad as too little.

Chen Mo was now twenty-two; if one counted him starting cultivation at five, seventeen years to reach the Postnatal Realm was absolutely a heaven-sent talent, but it was at least acceptable.

If it only took two years, it would be unacceptable.

At that time, it would inevitably attract a great deal of attention, which was not a good thing.

"This child understands; I will follow Foster Father's arrangements in everything."

Chen Mo bowed and saluted; this had been his own thought all along.

"Now that you have saved the First Prince, this is a great merit. When the time comes, His Majesty will surely reward you heavily; perhaps your official rank will soon surpass mine!" Sun Shouren sighed softly.

Failing to break through to the Postnatal Realm was a major flaw for him; even if he could improve further, it would be difficult to obtain real power because he could not suppress his subordinates.

Chen Mo was different; with strength and merit, it was only a matter of time before his official rank surpassed his own, and it was foreseeable that it would not take long.

"Even so, you are still my foster father," Chen Mo smiled.

He said these words sincerely, because his foster father had truly been very good to him.

"Haha," Sun Shouren laughed heartily, appearing quite happy.

"Foster Father, someone from the palace has arrived." Chen Mo waved his hand to withdraw the surrounding Inner Qi, and the sounds from the outside world finally reached them.

"Foster Father, someone from the palace has come to seek you," Mo Hu's voice continued to sound from outside the tent.

Chen Mo had previously used Inner Qi to cover the tent, so the sounds inside and outside were naturally completely isolated.

However, with the help of Inner Qi, Chen Mo could perceive the sounds outside, while Sun Shouren could not.

Hearing the sound, Sun Shouren hurried out of the tent, where a Palace Attendant dressed in a water-silk blue cloth robe was waiting outside.

"By His Majesty's oral decree, the Xingyuan Prefecture Garrison Commander Sun Shouren and his foster son, the Xingyuan Prefecture Salt Transport Commission General Manager Chen Mo, are to enter the palace immediately to have an audience with His Majesty."

Seeing Sun Shouren walk out, the Palace Attendant immediately read the decree.

"This subject obeys," Sun Shouren and Chen Mo said in unison.

"It seems His Majesty values you quite highly; he cannot wait for the morning court session and wants to see you personally," Sun Shouren lowered his voice and said to Chen Mo.

As a Prefecture Garrison Commander leading troops into Jing, he would inevitably be summoned by the Son of Heaven, but under normal circumstances, it should wait until the next morning; it would never be a sudden request to see him now.

And he had only just settled down when His Majesty sent an oral decree, suddenly wanting to see him and Chen Mo.

There was no need to think; he knew he was mostly just a foil, and His Majesty primarily wanted to see Chen Mo.

The two followed the Palace Attendant and, before long, arrived inside the Palace City.

The Palace City was built with luxury and grandeur, with palace after palace arranged in an orderly fashion throughout the entire Palace City.

The meticulously fired glazed tiles reflected various colors of glow under the setting sun.

Every palace was designed and built by master craftsmen, and the material of every beam and pillar was quite special, resembling fine mutton-fat jade yet being extremely sturdy.

The beams and pillars were carved with dragons and phoenixes, exquisite and detailed reliefs that must have consumed an untold amount of manpower.

Even the white marble flagstones underfoot must have been specially polished and frequently replaced.

The Yulin Guard on duty in the palace patrolled back and forth, guarding this place so tightly that not even a gust of Wind could get through.

Led by the Palace Attendant who had read the imperial decree, Chen Mo moved through the Palace City without obstruction, finally arriving before a side hall.

"My two lords, His Majesty is currently handling state affairs inside the hall, so we must wait a moment," the Palace Attendant said with a smile.

"No need to wait, come in," a deep and powerful voice rang out from within the side hall.

In fact, according to the rules, Chen Mo and the others should have waited for an announcement before entering the hall for an audience.

But as the Son of Heaven, his words were the greatest rule of all.

Sun Shouren looked Chen Mo up and down, adjusted his own attire, and only then stepped into the hall.

Chen Mo followed closely behind him, step by step.

(End of this chapter)