Martial Cultivator

With the Crown Prince’s approval, someone quickly led Daoist Zhenye toward the Historical Pavilion.

Premier watched Daoist Zhenye's departing figure with some concern. Lowering his voice, he asked, “Prince Ning, what exactly is this man trying to do?”

Before Prince Ning could answer, he was overcome by a fit of coughing, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

It was only after several minutes that Prince Ning finally took a deep breath, looked at Premier, and said in a low voice, “Premier, you've read many books over the years. You must know that if one wishes to overthrow a dynasty, aside from immediate destruction, the other way is through gradual, imperceptible change...”

The stories recorded in the historical annals were the past of a dynasty. If future generations wished to understand that history, they could only read the records. These accounts might serve to inspire people. But if those stories were erased, the consequences would be...

The Premier was not a fool. He had merely been too exhausted today, which had momentarily dulled his thinking. Now, hearing Prince Ning's words, he quickly grasped the implication. However, he immediately said, “This old subject is friends with the Grand Historian and know his temperament. I fear...”

Prince Ning's gaze was complicated as he looked at the Premier and said seriously, “This prince wishes to stir up some trouble. Will you help this prince, Premier?”

The Premier looked at the Prince Ning before him, a trace of doubt in his eyes.

……

A palace attendant had already led Daoist Zhenye to the entrance of the Historical Pavilion. Then, he said rather fearfully, “This is the Historical Pavilion, Daoist Master. The historical records of Great Liang and the previous dynasties are all stored here. Normally, outsiders are not allowed entry. Only the Grand Historian has the authority to enter. He is inside at this moment."

Daoist Zhenye said nothing and simply stepped inside.

As he entered the Historical Pavilion, rows of bookshelves filled his view, densely packed with historical records from various eras. There were so many that their number was impossible to estimate.

Daoist Zhenye walked through the pavilion. After a long time, he finally arrived by a window.

The Grand Historian was bent over his desk, writing down the events of the day. What had happened today was a disgrace in the reign of the Great Liang Emperor, but as a historian, he could only record it truthfully.

Yet, even though he strove to write without emotion, halfway through, he found himself unable to continue, anger welling up inside him.

Just as he set down his brush, he saw that at some point in time, that Daoist Zhenye had appeared beside him.

“Who are you? Get out at once!”

The Grand Historian frowned, his tone merciless as he glared at the unfamiliar daoist before him. “This isn't a place that you can enter!”

Daoist Zhenye remained aloof and indifferent. He simply looked at the Grand Historian and said calmly, “Retrieve the records on the Wei Family from that night. I want to see them.”

The Grand Historian quickly guessed the identity of the man before him. His face remained impassive as he coldly replied, “You are not allowed to read them.”

Daoist Zhenye asked, “Why not?”

“This is the historical record of Great Liang. It's not something you can read just because you wish to. Even His Majesty himself cannot peruse it at will!”

The Grand Historian stared at the daoist, unafraid despite knowing he was a powerful figure from the foreign lands.

Daoist Zhenye chuckled. “He's already dead and naturally can no longer read it. But I'm still alive, why can't I read them?”

The Grand Historian's brows furrowed. Just as he was about to speak, he was suddenly hurled backward uncontrollably, crashing into several bookshelves before collapsing to the ground, unable to stand.

He forcibly swallowed back a mouthful of blood, refusing to let it stain the historical records.

At that moment, with a single thought from Daoist Zhenye, all the records in the Historical Pavilion flew from their shelves, unfurling in midair. The entire hall was filled with the crackling and rustling of countless pages flipping open.

Countless historical records hovered in midair before the two. Daoist Zhenye glanced over them and quickly selected several volumes.

One was the record of that fateful night concerning the Wei Family.

Another detailed the Great Liang Emperor's consecutive battles against the Infatuation Daoist Temple's Temple Master and the Sword Sect's Sect Master.

The last was the volume that the Grand Historian had just revised, the record of the night the Great Liang Emperor seized control of the Divine Capital.

With another thought from Daoist Zhenye, the rest of the records tumbled to the ground, leaving only these three still suspended in midair.

He looked at the Grand Historian, who remained unable to get up, and said calmly, “Since you're the Grand Historian, if you can write history, you can also revise it. Change these three records.”

The Grand Historian lay on the ground, one hand pressing against the floor for support. He looked up at Daoist Zhenye, his gaze unwavering. “I cannot.”

Daoist Zhenye looked at him and asked, “You cannot?”

The Grand Historian remained silent.

Daoist Zhenye said nothing more. With a mere thought, the Grand Historian's left arm shattered with a resounding crack. Blood and fragments of bone scattered across the floor.

The Grand Historian gritted his teeth, suppressing his cries of pain, but his eyes were filled with sorrow.

As Grand Historian, he had spent his entire life handling historical records. To see them desecrated like this, no one could understand the anguish he felt.

Daoist Zhenye said coolly, “It's just a matter of amending a few things, you can't even do that?”

“The House of Historians records the truth, not a single word may be changed!”

The Grand Historian let out a bitter laugh. Back then, even when the Great Liang Emperor had stood before him, he had never altered the records, let alone now.

Daoist Zhenye looked at the Grand Historian before him, his expression devoid of emotion. He said calmly, “It seems that the Great Liang will need a new Grand Historian from now on.”

The Grand Historian chuckled and looked at Daoist Zhenye. “You won't be able to alter the historical records.”

Daoist Zhenye replied, “This penniless daoist doesn't believe that everyone is as unafraid of death as you.”

……

……

The Grand Historian was dead.

This historian of the Great Liang Dynasty had died within the Historical Pavilion.

Palace attendants arrived swiftly, only to withdraw just as quickly.

The Crown Prince rushed to the entrance of the Historical Pavilion but found himself unable to enter.

The front door of the Historical Pavilion remained tightly shut, and inside was only that Daoist Zhenye.

A court attendant spoke cautiously, “The daoist inside says he will only see the next Grand Historian.”

The Crown Prince, who had long suppressed his anger, could no longer contain it and bellowed, “One Grand Historian wasn't enough for him? How many more does he intend to kill?!”

All the prior concessions had been for the bigger picture, for the sake of the current Great Liang. But at this moment, he realized that Daoist Zhenye had no intention of stopping.

The Premier looked at the Crown Prince and, after a pause, simply said, “Your Highness, please calm your anger.”

“Calm my anger? How am I supposed to calm down?! Do you know what he's trying to do, he wants to alter our Great Liang Dynasty's history!"

"Is he going to portray Imperial Father as a monstrous tyrant guilty of every heinous crime? Is he going to paint Great Liang as a heretic dynasty that gained the throne illegitimately?"

"Premier, do you know what kind of reputation I will be left with in the annals of history if he succeeds? A hundred years from now, will I have the face to meet my father and our ancestors?!”

The Crown Prince's eyes were red. Though still a young man, he fully understood the gravity of the situation.

He had already made countless concessions, yet Daoist Zhenye was trying to push him into the abyss!

The Premier looked at the Crown Prince and asked, “Then what does Your Highness intend to do? Lose all decorum with the foreign lands right away?"

“Your Highness, the two sons of the Grand Historian have arrived at the palace gates. They insist on entering the palace.”

A eunuch's voice suddenly sounded out.

The Crown Prince turned toward the eunuch, his gaze unfocused.

……

……

The historians of Great Liang were never appointed by the imperial court's decree; the position was passed from father to son.

The Grand Historian’s eldest son bowed to the Crown Prince and calmly said, “Your Highness, my father has passed. From this moment on, this subject is the Grand Historian. Since he is seeking this subject, this subject shall go see him.”

The Crown Prince found himself at a loss for words.

Thus, the young man stepped inside.

Inside the Historical Pavilion, the young and inexperienced eldest son saw the Grand Historian's lifeless body. He first knelt down, carefully tidied his father's robes, and then respectfully kowtowed several times.

Only after that did he rise, look at the three books still floating in midair, and ask, “How do you wish to alter them?”

Daoist Zhenye smiled. “This penniless daoist thought everyone did not fear death.”

The Grand Historian's eldest son said nothing, merely looking at him in silence.

Daoist Zhenye said, “Start with this volume. Write that the Great Liang Emperor staged a treasonous rebellion, seized the throne through mass slaughter, and ruled without the people's support, leaving the realm in silent resentment.”

The Grand Historian's eldest son remained silent. He took up the book, lifted his brush, and began writing. Before long, he set the brush down and stood up.

Daoist Zhenye glanced at it, only to find that instead of rewriting history, the young man had recorded the events of this very day. He asked, “You're not afraid of death either?”

The Grand Historian's eldest son replied indifferently, “I'm only afraid that you don't die.”

Daoist Zhenye listened to these words and soon smiled.

……

……

Not long after, the Grand Historian's younger son entered. He was only a teenage boy; even younger than the Crown Prince.

Watching the child's back view, the Crown Prince turned and shouted at a nearby eunuch, “Where is Li Heng?!”

The eunuch hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

Ever since the Great Liang Emperor left the Divine Capital, they had rarely seen that Eunuch Li in the palace anymore.

The Premier spoke softly, “Your Highness...”

“Summon Commander Song Lian of the Right Guard!”

The Crown Prince seized the eunuch by the collar and roared, “Tell him to come at once, and bring both the Left and Right Guards with him!”

……

……

Daoist Zhenye looked at the teenage boy before him and was also somewhat visibly moved.

The boy looked back at him, his expression utterly calm.

“My father and my brother both died by your hand. Now, I'm the Grand Historian. But no matter what you want to change, I won't change a single word.”

The teenage boy was incomparably calm.

Daoist Zhenye asked, “You are not afraid of death either?”

The teenage boy looked at him and said, “Of course I'm scared. But aren't there many things in this world far more terrifying than death?”

Daoist Zhenye sighed. “If I hadn't met you here, I might have considered passing on my mantle to you.”

The boy replied, “Then I would have definitely killed you when the time came.”

Daoist Zhenye said nothing, merely reaching out to place a hand on the boy's head.

But before his hand could fully extend, a voice sounded out from beyond the door.

"Enough."

A weary voice sounded out, so weary that even just hearing it made the exhaustion palpable.

Daoist Zhenye hesitated for a moment, still intending to reach forward.

Just then, footsteps sounded. A young man in black robes walked inside, a saber hanging at his side.

His face was emotionless. Only when his gaze landed on the corpse did a hint of anger flash across his eyes.

The black-robed young man looked at Daoist Zhenye and said, “I said, enough.”

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