Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 140 News of the Enemy

"Shuyun, I saw you using chess pieces as hidden weapons yesterday, and you seemed to be quite adept at it, so I made you this set of chess pieces, which can be used as hidden weapons!"

That afternoon, while Chang Ping'an was teaching the new disciples, Zhang Chengdao specifically sought out Ye Shuyun and gave her the complete set of Go pieces that he had taken from the [Zhenlong Chess Game] ornament.

Ye Shuyun was somewhat flattered: "I am ashamed that Master has thought of me!"

"Well, your senior brother and second senior sister both have them, so you can't be left behind."

Considering that this Go set is not a "weapon" and therefore cannot be "equipped" to Ye Shuyun's equipment panel, Zhang Chengdao specifically instructed: "These Go pieces are different from your senior brothers and sisters' swords and hammers. There are a total of 361 pieces, which you need to refine yourself."

"Disciple knows."

Ye Shuyun touched the chess pieces in the wooden box, reluctant to put them down.

Although he rarely makes a move, he is indeed skilled in hidden weapons and finger techniques. I didn't expect my master to have noticed even that!
Ye Shuyun felt a warmth in her heart and asked, "May I ask, Master, this set of chess pieces feels made of a special material. What is it called?"

What is your name?
This stumped Zhang Chengdao!

Go is just Go. At most, if it's made of jade, it's called a jade Go piece, and if it's made of iron, it's called an iron Go piece. What else can it be called?
However, upon closer reflection, it's true that both the eldest disciple Chang Ping'an's Night Talk Sword and the second disciple Murong Ruyan's Thunder Hammer were named by him. If the third disciple didn't have a name, it would seem like a case of favoritism.

"Hmm... this set of chess pieces... is called the Zhenlong Chess."

Zhang Chengdao, who was terrible at naming things, decisively chose to "borrow" whatever he could get, regardless of what "Zhenlong" in "Zhenlong Chess Game" meant, he just wanted to "take it"!
Ye Shuyun was quite satisfied with the name: "Zhenlongqi... truly a good name, thank you Master for gifting me the chess set!"

Just then, Xu Ying rushed over and bowed to Zhang Chengdao, saying, "Sect Leader, the young master of the Sword Casting Manor has come to visit, saying... he has news of the Smiling Maitreya and the Mad Arhat!"

"The Smiling Maitreya and the Mad Arhat?"

Zhang Chengdao felt the names sounded familiar, but couldn't immediately recall who these two people were.

Xu Ying reminded him, "That's Ping An's father's killer. Earlier, the Sword Forging Manor even issued a bounty notice."

Upon hearing the "bounty notice," Zhang Chengdao finally remembered.

A "bounty notice" is a type of reward offered by the public.

Just like in ancient times in another world, private armed fights among the people, although nominally illegal, would be praised and superseded by the banner of "revenge" and the words "righteousness" and "filial piety" once they were raised.

After all, the principle of "concealing the faults of one's relatives" out of filial piety is considered absolutely "politically correct" in both this world and ancient times. Therefore, ignoring the law out of filial piety is naturally also encouraged by society.

"Bounty notices" are unofficial rewards issued by the public based on this worldview. For example, the bounty notice issued by the Sword Forging Manor on behalf of Chang Ping'an was under the guise of "filial piety" and promoted revenge for his father. Coupled with his popularity during the martial arts tournament and Chang Ping'an's reputation as the "eldest disciple of the White Stone Immortal," it was relatively fast for news to emerge within a few months.

"Hmm... Shuyun, go find Ping An. Xu Zhang and I will go check on things first."

After instructing Ye Shuyun to find Chang Ping'an, Zhang Chengdao and Xu Ying went to the Yingbin Hall together.

This is one of the few buildings constructed by the team of craftsmen hired by Ye Shuyun. Its style is similar to that of Taoyuan Palace, which is now known as Lingxiao Palace. Both have green tiles and vermilion pillars, and are built with bluestone as the base. The style is simple and elegant, and it was used specifically for receiving guests.

"Lingxiao Palace" was also a name given by Zhang Chengdao.

Before the novel *Journey to the West* existed, the concept of the "Lingxiao Palace" in Yuan dynasty dramas had not yet been created. Although "Lingxiao" was frequently used as the name of Buddhist pagodas and Taoist temples, it did not become the stereotypical representation of "Heaven" as it does today. Therefore, Zhang Chengdao specifically copied this name—since there was no stereotype, he would create one.

Passing through the Lingxiao Palace and walking to the opposite side of the market, the most conspicuous side hall is the Yingbin Hall.

Upon entering the hall, he saw two disciples from the Sword Forging Manor surrounding Wan Qizhang, who was sitting in a chair drinking tea. The person who was entertaining him was Xu Wen—since he took up the post of "teacher" at the White Stone Immortal Sect, he had lost all his arrogant temperament. Apart from diligently cultivating, he was extremely proactive in all matters within the sect, making him an exceptionally useful asset.

"Greetings, Master White Stone!"

Upon seeing Zhang Chengdao and Xu Ying, Wan Qizhang immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.

As Zhang Chengdao walked to the main seat and sat down, he gestured for him to sit, saying, "No need for formalities. I heard from Steward Xu that there's news about the 'bounty notice'?"

Wan Qizhang didn't keep them in suspense and said frankly, "Thank you for your concern, Immortal Baishi. I just received news yesterday that the newly appointed Grand Preceptor of Zhou seems to be the Smiling Maitreya."

"The Grand Preceptor of the Zhou Kingdom..."

Zhang Chengdao was taken aback.

He did know about Zhou Guo. To be honest, he had been in this world for half a year, so he roughly knew which countries existed.

The largest state in the north was Xiao, and to the south was Chu. Further south were many smaller states such as Da Changhe and Piao.

The Zhou state was located in the central region, between the Xiao and Chu states.

The Zhou state was established by the remnants of the previous two dynasties. During the period of regional separatism in the previous dynasty, the Zhou state relied on the strength of the Jinsha state to barely survive in the western region, hence it was also known as the "Western Zhou State".

After the previous dynasty collapsed, the Central Plains fell into internal strife. It took many years of fighting to establish the Northern Xiao Kingdom and the Southern Chu Kingdom. At that time, the Zhou Kingdom produced a grandmaster, thus establishing itself.

but……

"Isn't Master Li the Grand Preceptor of the Zhou Kingdom?"

Zhang Chengdao was quite certain about the political knowledge he had been cramming on recently, but he had some doubts.

Wan Qizhang replied, "The new national teacher calls himself Monk Mingjing. After Grandmaster Li took Monk Mingjing as his disciple, he resigned from his post and disappeared. Monk Mingjing is now also a Grandmaster and is planning to hold a martial arts tournament, which is why someone recognized him!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ying was extremely surprised: "In just over a decade, the Smiling Maitreya has actually broken through to the Grandmaster realm!?"

When the Smiling Maitreya and the Mad Arhat killed Chang Boqing, they were only at the seventh rank of cultivation!
Breaking through five realms in just over a decade is truly unimaginable!

"Not just a decade or two,"

Wan Qizhang's expression was serious as he revealed all the information he had gathered: "According to reliable sources, three years ago, someone confronted the Smiling Maitreya in the Western Zhou Kingdom. At that time, he was only at the sixth rank of cultivation!"

Xu Ying was even more astonished: "So, in just three years, he broke through from a sixth-grade master to a second-grade grandmaster?!"

(End of this chapter)