Asking Heaven

Four guards also flanked him.

He wore a brocade robe, his bearing sharp and capable, standing with eyes closed as he practiced his martial arts—diligent indeed.

Hearing the commotion, he opened his eyes and turned to greet Chu Zhiyuan.

The two groups converged, the guards dispersing as the pair walked side by side.

"Fourth Brother, the Supervisory Department has already received their orders. Just go ahead and find Leng Nanfeng, Division Master Leng."

"Thank you, Third Brother."

"No need to stand on ceremony with me. You don't need me to accompany you, do you?"

"Third Brother, you're busy. I'll go myself this afternoon."

"If there's anything you want to know, just tell Division Master Leng. He'll do his best to oblige—he's already received Imperial Grandfather's oral decree."

"Good."

The two parted on the bustling street, each escorted by their guards back to their respective mansions.

After returning to his manor, Chu Zhiyuan saw Chu Yi looking utterly defeated, like a frostbitten eggplant, completely wilted.

Smiling, he pulled a small purple box from his sleeve and handed it to Chu Yi.

Chu Yi took it curiously and opened it, finding a black-and-white seed inside. Her spirits immediately perked up.

Chu Zhiyuan noticed that Bai Ningshuang had changed her usual plain adornments, adding some bright jewelry that made her already beautiful appearance radiant and noble, like a celestial consort.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head inwardly.

Though he had shown enough potential, it had only been a short time, and the true value of that potential had yet to manifest.

So he hadn't fundamentally changed their views or given them enough confidence.

During the midday meal, Bai Ningshuang grumbled a few times, complaining that he hadn't come back to the manor to sleep last night, warning him not to fool around outside or indulge in debauchery.

He said he'd been out training, but he was at a hot-blooded age, and might easily be seduced by some vixen.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded along with an occasional "mm-hmm," letting it go in one ear and out the other.

After a short rest, he went to the Supervisory Department.

The Supervisory Department was little known in the martial world, and the common people of Great Jing knew almost nothing about it—most had never even heard of it. But to Imperial Court officials, its name thundered like a clap of thunder, filling them with dread and caution.

The Supervisory Department's duty was to oversee the realm.

What the people knew was that the censors, who impeached officials based on hearsay, restrained the Imperial Court. What they didn't know was that the true terror for court officials was the Supervisory Department.

The Supervisory Department's eyes and ears were everywhere, impossible to guard against.

It not only monitored all officials of the realm, but also the Town Martial Division. Its most important duty lay beyond the Imperial Court—in Great Meng, Great Zhen, and the various small states—its informants ubiquitous.

The Supervisory Department was located west of the Heavenly Treasure Department, not far from the Ministry of Rites.

When he arrived at the Supervisory Department, a cold-faced guard at the door blocked him. He gave his name to be announced, and soon a middle-aged man with a horse-like face emerged.

His long, narrow face was pitted and uneven, his small eyes flickering with a bright light. A smile spread across his face, warm and enthusiastic: "Young Master, this humble one is Ma Tianhe. I failed to welcome you from afar—please, come in quickly."

"Lord Ma, much obliged." Chu Zhiyuan clasped his hands and smiled.

"To serve the Young Master is this humble one's utmost honor."

"And Division Master Leng...?"

"Unfortunately, the Division Master happened to be away on official business. Before leaving, he specifically instructed this humble one to render whatever service I could. The Division Master has given his word—you may peruse freely, Young Master."

"I see. Then I'll trouble you, Lord Ma." Chu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile.

Division Master Leng Nanfeng might simply not want to see him, or he might genuinely have been busy. It was best to let sleeping dogs lie—he could only take it at face value and not press the matter.

Guo Chi remained outside the yamen, while Zou Fang followed him like a shadow.

Ma Tianhe knew the customs of princes and heirs—eunuchs were always at their side, almost never apart—so he pretended not to notice, leading Chu Zhiyuan through the gate, past the screen wall, across two open courtyards, and finally into a room in the third courtyard.

Inside the room were row after row of bookshelves, laden with files and records.

Ma Tianhe pointed to one shelf and smiled: "Young Master, these are all the files on Wentian Cliff."

He took nine boxes of files from a nearby shelf and placed them on the desk beneath the window: "And these are all the files on Cheng Tianfeng."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile: "So many on Wentian Cliff?"

"These are only records from the past hundred years," Ma Tianhe said with a laugh.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned.

If he were Great Zhen, he would never allow such a powerful sect to exist. He would have long since found a way to dismantle Wentian Cliff.

But for now, he didn't know much about Wentian Cliff. He would have to read through it first.

"I'll take a look first." Chu Zhiyuan didn't rush to examine the intelligence on Cheng Tianfeng; he started with Wentian Cliff: "Do you have structural information on Wentian Cliff?"

"Yes." Ma Tianhe walked over to that shelf, quickly pulled out a scroll, and handed it to Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan flipped through it rapidly.

His reading speed was extremely fast—he could take in ten lines at a glance, imprinting them directly into his mind while simultaneously analyzing what he saw.

After finishing those, he requested the successive records of Wentian Cliff's leaders, followed by other materials.

Ma Tianhe knew every scroll on those shelves like the back of his hand; whatever Chu Zhiyuan sought, he could retrieve at once.

This was an immense help to Chu Zhiyuan.

Though he could have read through them one by one and organized everything in his mind afterward, it would have been far less efficient.

By dusk, as twilight surged, he had finally finished reviewing all the scrolls.

Ma Tianhe had remained respectful and diligent throughout.

Chu Zhiyuan could see he was an ambitious man—one who, with sufficient backing, had a bright future ahead.

"Ma Tianhe, has anyone else come to consult these recently?"

"...To the best of my knowledge, no. You are the first, Your Highness. These are all classified as Absolute secrets; outsiders have no right to view them."

"Are they sent to the generals on the northwestern border?"

"These are Third Grade Absolute secret scrolls. A copy is delivered to General Zhenbei's Manor, but only the General himself may read them—they cannot be leaked."

"So no one else in General Zhenbei's Manor can see them?"

"Correct."

Chu Zhiyuan fell into thought.

From these scrolls, the Wentian Cliff he saw was indeed astonishing.

Wentian Cliff's legacy spanned over a thousand years, yet it housed only a dozen or so members, who lived year-round on the cliff without descending the mountain.

But Wentian Cliff's influence was immense.

Every Cliff Leader served as the Imperial Preceptor of Great Zhen, and each generation of Great Zhen's imperial clan had several disciples studying under Wentian Cliff.

He found it remarkable.

The strongest force in Great Jing was the Four Great Sects, whose disciples entered the Town Martial Division and the Supervisory Department, while Grandmasters served the Imperial Court as retainers.

Yet all Four Great Sects combined likely wielded less influence than Wentian Cliff did in Great Zhen.

This influence was a direct impact on the Emperor and the imperial clan—even a direct effect on the Emperor's authority.

The Emperor of Great Jing would never permit such a sect to exist.

Yet every emperor of the Great Zhen Dynasty had been a wise and capable ruler, and they allowed Wentian Cliff to maintain such a transcendent status. Either Wentian Cliff's power was beyond imagination, or there was another reason.

This Cheng Tianfeng was the Imperial Preceptor's final disciple, always cultivating in seclusion on Wentian Cliff, rarely descending. The Supervisory Department assessed him to be at the Eighth Layer realm.

Beyond that, what Martial Skill Cheng Tianfeng practiced, or his fighting style, the Supervisory Department had been unable to determine.

This time, Cheng Tianfeng had personally set out, both to challenge the Heir Apparent of Great Jing and to seek the Heir Apparent's Consort.

Clearly, he was the candidate for the marriage alliance.

Chu Zhiyuan rose, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced, his expression grave.

This Cheng Tianfeng would not be easy to deal with. If he wasn't careful, he might truly lose to him.

All these scrolls recorded Wentian Cliff's deeds—how its disciples punished evil and aided the Imperial Court.

They also detailed the achievements of Wentian Cliff's various disciples and their actions, including the imperial clan disciples they had taken in.

As for Wentian Cliff's legacy and martial arts, there was no useful information.

With such a long heritage, to remain so mysterious was truly strange.

He turned to Ma Tianhe: "Is there not a single useful piece of information about Wentian Cliff's martial arts?"

Ma Tianhe gave a bitter smile: "Wentian Cliff's disciples do not walk the mortal world until they reach the Grandmaster realm. Moreover, Wentian Cliff's prestige in Great Zhen is so high that whenever someone encounters a Wentian Cliff disciple, they often surrender without a fight."

"...Are there any other scrolls on Wentian Cliff?"

"The older scrolls are sealed in the Tongtian Pavilion."

"Division Master Leng has the authority to access them, doesn't he?"

"Yes."

"Then ask Division Master Leng to have someone retrieve all the scrolls concerning Wentian Cliff's martial arts. I'll come to read them tomorrow."

"...Yes."

--

The next morning, after reporting for duty, Chu Zhiyuan arrived at the Supervisory Department. Ma Tianhe came out to greet him warmly again.

"Ma Tianhe, is Division Master Leng still busy with other matters today?"

"...Yes. These past few days, Division Master Leng has been occupied with important affairs and has been away."

"Very well." Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

This was to avoid suspicion, and also to avoid having to humble himself—understandable.

He entered that room, flipped through the thirty-some scrolls that had been selected, and shook his head.

At last, he found some vague records of Wentian Cliff's martial arts.