【With the power of his fortune, you killed an immortal from the Upper Realm and obtained three strands of invincibility!】
A prompt appeared in Chen Xia's mind. He was startled, then entered a meditative state to examine it.
【Invincibility: When crossing realms to kill enemies, killing someone one realm lower grants a strand of invincibility. It strengthens oneself and transcends those of the same realm. With three thousand strands of invincibility, one becomes an invincible person, able to embark on the path of an emperor and ascend to the heavens.】
Chen Xia nodded, roughly understanding. But with only three strands currently, he was still far from the three thousand needed to embark on the emperor's path, so he didn't dwell on it.
【With the power of his fortune, by defeating the immortal you obtained his cultivation method, The Profound Primordial Scripture, Volume 1.】
Another prompt appeared in his mind. Chen Xia's consciousness quieted as he opened The Profound Primordial Scripture, Volume 1.
【The universe is profound and primordial. Cultivating for tens of thousands of years leads to immortality. The three thousand Great Daos are all encompassed in one chapter.】
【To cultivate the Profound Primordial Qi is the way to practice this scripture.】
Chen Xia skimmed through it. This was a cultivation method. Volume 1 supported cultivation up to the Yuan Ying stage, the same as the Great Turtle Breathing Art, though the concrete effects were different.
The cultivation method in Volume 1 of The Profound Primordial Scripture was to generate a strand of Profound Primordial Qi within the body. Then, using that qi, one would inscribe scriptures within the body. The more inscriptions, the higher the cultivation level and stronger the abilities, eventually resulting in a Great Dao physique.
But that wasn't covered until later volumes. Volume 1 just had a simple overview.
Chen Xia still didn't care much. He just considered it a reward from killing monsters. He lazily stretched and beckoned the remaining hundreds of thousands of Barbarian Iron Cavalries, casually saying,
"Scram."
The Barbarian Iron Cavalries didn't dare hesitate or retort. They hurriedly retreated, galloping back to the grasslands without stopping.
"Cultivators, don't leave yet," Chen Xia called out. He was rather concerned they would inform the so-called Upper Realm immortals.
The cultivators' bodies shook, and they immediately knelt and kowtowed, saying,
"Immortal one, please spare us. We will quietly live in seclusion overseas and never cause trouble again."
Chen Xia nodded. "I would also like to spare you, but your actions make me unable to feel at ease."
"Rest assured, Immortal one. We absolutely won't contact the Upper Realm. And for immortals to descend requires physiques as strong as Ironwood Prison's. There are not so many in the mortal realm with such outstanding talent, so please don't worry!"
Chen Xia nodded. He crossed his arms and said, "As you know, I'm a good person, and rather lazy. Under normal circumstances, I won't take action if I don't have to..."
"Yes, you are a wonderful person!" The cultivators hurriedly echoed in agreement.
"Mm," Chen Xia nodded in approval, then flatly replied, "But I'm not a complete idiot. Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't want to live in anxiety."
"I will kill you all in the quickest way possible to avoid excessive suffering."
"So..."
Chen Xia rolled up his sleeves. Faced with the cultivators' horrified expressions, he reached out in invitation and said,
"Please go meet your death."
Today, all fifty-six overseas cultivators died outside the border city.
The entire process took less than ten breaths.
Chen Xia stood outside the city, his face full of invincibility.
After the immortal routed the Barbarian Iron Cavalries, not only did the Great Song dynasty defend the border city, they reclaimed the hundred li of land lost earlier without losing a single soldier.
The Barbarian Iron Cavalries retreated to the grasslands and no longer dared invade Great Song territory.
All this was because of the Great Song's immortal, now known as the national teacher.
Legends of the national teacher's feats were currently circulating amongst the populace, telling of how the national teacher easily stomped his foot and killed nearly ten thousand Barbarian Iron Cavalries, and how he slaughtered the Barbarians' immortal in front of both armies, invincible in the current age.
There were Jianghu people who directly called Chen Xia 'half-invincible'. They simply called him fully invincible.
But there were also dissenting voices saying that since the immortal within Great Song's Immortal Sect hadn't appeared, the two immortals hadn't truly fought each other, so Chen Xia couldn't be called truly invincible.
There was still debate around his strength, but his fame was undisputedly number one in the world, surpassing even Great Song's emperor.
The common people no longer spoke of the emperor, only the immortal. Although they didn't dare publicly discuss who was superior, they would disdainfully say in private,
"The emperor? Hmph, the emperor can't be considered the greatest. If he tried to arrogantly order the national teacher immortal to kneel before him, would he dare? Would he dare to make the national teacher kneel?"
"It'd be more likely for him to kneel to the national teacher!"
But such talk was only in private. They didn't dare voice it openly, afraid of being beheaded if discovered.
But the facts were indeed so.
Within the immortal world, there were no top experts under heaven, only the two immortals.
Just one immortal.
Chen Xia.
Because Chen Xia alone was enough to crush the entire Jianghu.
The title of 'Top Ten Under Heaven' seemed far too laughable before Chen Xia.
【With the power of his fortune, you obtained the worship of Great Song's citizens, Dragon qi 50/100】
Chen Xia had been sleeping in the carriage, but this prompt woke him up.
What the heck, the number increased by 45 directly?!
Upon closer look, he realized he'd obtained the worship of Great Song's citizens. He couldn't help but nod, feeling he was truly mighty.
The soldiers escorting his carriage heard the noise within and quickly asked,
"Esteemed National Teacher, are you uncomfortable? We'll adjust things right away."
Chen Xia shifted to a more comfortable position and replied, "Nothing much. How long until we reach the capital?"
The soldier quickly answered, "At this pace, around three more days until His Majesty the Emperor can meet you."
Note how he said the emperor meeting Chen Xia, not the reverse. This showed Chen Xia was superior.
"Mm," Chen Xia nodded, then lazily said, "Notify me when we arrive. I'm resting now."
"Of course," the soldier quickly agreed.
Chen Xia laid back again, pondering his path forward.
The so-called Upper Realm immortal had declared that as long as Chen Xia dared enter the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, he would hunt Chen Xia for tens of thousands of years until killing him completely.
So for now, he couldn't go to the so-called Myriad Heavens and Worlds.
Not that he could anyway.
This was good news.
He only needed to remain in this mortal world to be safe. Then he could slowly increase his power each year through the Great Turtle Breathing Art's cultivation.
After a few thousand or tens of thousands of years, when he emerged again, it might not be so clear who would be hunting whom.
Additionally, Chen Xia wanted to cultivate The Profound Primordial Scripture Volume 1. Having a wide repertoire of skills didn't hurt. Moreover, this method seemed much more normal than the Great Turtle Breathing Art.
He lazily stretched again, silently circulating the cultivation method while also waiting to grow stronger.
Cultivation was truly a boring and tasteless process for Chen Xia.
For him, growing stronger was such a dull course of events.
Before Chen Xia even reached the capital, portraits of him had already begun circulating.
Ordinary commoners need not be mentioned. At most, they would look at a portrait of the National Immortal Master to expand their horizons.
But officials could not think this way. Orders from above demanded that within the capital, they must memorize the National Master's portrait, including every detail of his facial features. There would even be tests, and those who failed would lose their official positions.
Moreover, the Emperor had personally decreed that all current officials, regardless of rank or circumstance, must perform obeisance when seeing the National Master, or else be immediately dismissed from office!
This meant that even if you saw Chen Xia while using the latrine, you had to kneel and bow with your butt exposed.
Though such occasions were unlikely to arise.
The capital had been exceptionally busy these past few days, not only memorizing Chen Xia's portrait, but also decorating the city. Everywhere with heavy human traffic was adorned with "Welcoming the Esteemed National Master" banners.
The Emperor even ordered for statues of the National Master to be erected at various prosperous locations in the capital.
Moreover, at the Imperial City gates where the ministers climbed the stairs to court, enormous statues of Chen Xia must also be erected.
One minister had raised doubts, "Your Majesty, if the Crown Prince succeeds the throne in the future, wouldn't this damage his image?"
"Damage which Crown Prince's image? The National Master has rendered life-saving grace to our Great Song. As long as the National Master does not look down upon it, I am willing to erect his statues across the nation wherever there are people, all shall have a sculpture of the National Master!"
The Emperor waved his hand, scolding this minister.
The minister quickly lowered his head, realizing he had misspoken and not daring to say more.
The Emperor looked at this minister and heavily sighed, cursing, "You blockhead, I will have to carefully consider whether you are suited for such a lofty position!"
The minister kept his head lowered, humbly nodding. "Your Majesty's criticism is apt, I am thick-headed."
The Emperor inhaled deeply, still resenting this minister's wooden head. With immortals to rely on, they should be eagerly fawning, yet these ministers' brains could not keep up.
Now that they had an immortal master's thigh to hug, they should be shamelessly clinging to it.
Even if it meant shamelessly begging for favor, they had to do it well.
Otherwise, who would be Emperor, and who would rule the realm, if not the immortal with a few words?
If you could indulge the immortal master, showing you understood propriety, wouldn't he then allow your Great Song to keep controlling the realm?
Otherwise, if the immortal master glanced sideways with displeasure, directly slapping you to death and establishing a more obedient dynasty would settle things.
"You may leave," the Emperor impatiently waved his hand to dismiss the minister.
The minister hastily withdrew.
The Emperor paced within the great hall, constantly exhaling, feeling somewhat nervous.
According to the schedule, the immortal master would arrive in the capital in two days. How should he act to satisfy the immortal master?
The Emperor racked his brains, extremely vexed.
In the carriage, Chen Xia was sprawled lazily in the comfortable position he'd finally found.
From outside came a clear female voice. "National Teacher, may I enter?" It was the Great Song Crown Princess requesting permission.
"Mm." Chen Xia lazily responded.
The carriage door opened and the Crown Princess entered in splendid, elegant robes. She respectfully knelt to the side, smiling as she asked, "I hope the journey has been satisfactory for the National Teacher?"
"Not bad." Chen Xia indifferently nodded, "I don't really know where we're going anyway."
He hadn't had any illusions about this so-called capital city. He was going to the capital simply because he wanted to ride in a carriage.
The woman's smile froze, not knowing how to respond.
“What's your name?” Chen Xia suddenly asked.
“Song Qian,” the woman quickly responded.
“Okay,” Chen Xia nodded, idly looking out the window.
“What do you think of the Great Song Dynasty?” Song Qian suddenly asked, tightly gripping the clothes over her knees, feeling nervous.
“What do I think...” Chen Xia looked out the window and calmly responded,
“I don't really have any thoughts. It's the same as any other dynasty - one emperor, a few hundred ministers, and billions of commoners.
As long as there is no famine or war, this is pretty good, isn't it?”
“But time, it's always moving forward. Perhaps you all will become a page in the history books. No one can say for sure.”
Song Qian couldn't help but argue, “But you're the National Teacher of the Great Song.”
“I could also be the National Teacher of the Great Tang, Great Chen, or Great Xia,” Chen Xia calmly replied. At the same time, he raised his head that was looking out the window and gazed at Song Qian, smiling,
“And I'll never appear in the history books. Never.”