Unsheathed

His declaration was met with dead silence. All of the enemy troops surrounding Chen Ping’an were momentarily rooted to the spot before erupting into a flurry of action. They weren’t just gathered around Chen Ping’an to watch his heroics. Instead, all of them had prepared their spears and raised their bows, aiming them directly at what they perceived to be a young sword immortal.

In the face of such immense pressure, Chen Ping’an did something quite unusual. He placed his locust wood sword back into his sword case with his left hand while removing his wine gourd from his waist with his left, then raised his left hand up high as if he were saying to the army of Water Combing Nation: “Please wait a moment while I have a drink.”

This instantly created a huge stir in the surrounding troops, and even the experienced and capable commanders in the army couldn’t help but exchange a few bewildered glances. Could it really be that this young boy was a sword immortal capable of opposing an entire army on his own? This entire time, he had been nothing but the embodiment of grace and nonchalance, strolling through the enemy ranks without a care in the world.

All of the soldiers felt utterly humiliated, and they didn’t know how to proceed. They couldn’t just throw more people at him, knowing full well that anyone who stood in his path would most likely be killed. While it was true that a hundred taels of silver in reparations was a huge sum, these soldiers were the closest of comrades, and they were practically brothers. No one wanted to see their brothers turn into piles of cold and lifeless silver.

First and Fifteenth had already done their part to further contribute to the air of invincibility that Chen Ping’an was exuding, and they had now moved on to assist Song Yushao.

The Green Bamboo Sword Immortal’s sword strike swept directly toward Song Yushao’s sword qi like a turbulent wave, but it was opposed by First, which managed to chip away at the attack bit by bit until it vanished. Meanwhile, the ax-wielding Militarian cultivator of Water Combing Nation had his hands full dealing with Fifteenth, which was whizzing around him at an extraordinary speed.

The burly old man had no intention of sacrificing himself to bring down Song Yushao, and he hurriedly went on the defensive, constantly moving around his axes around like a pair of shields to defend himself against Fifteenth. A string of loud clangs were ringing out incessantly around him, while trails of sparks were flying from his axes as he frantically kept Fifteenth at bay.

Song Yushao took advantage of this opportunity to draw in a new breath, and his sword intent swelled drastically as his black robes flapped and swayed despite the absence of wind. Thanks to Chen Ping’an’s help, he had managed to avert a severe crisis and was raring to go again.

While raising his hand as a smokescreen to distract the surrounding troops, Chen Ping’an instructed internally, “First, Fifteenth, keep harassing your opponents. You can use some tricks to intimidate them if you like!”

First was more than happy to heed Chen Ping’an’s call, sticking to the Green Bamboo Sword Immortal like glue while attacking him relentlessly. Fifteenth also continued its rapid-fire assault, and much to the burly old man’s dismay and indignation, his prized axes were quickly riddled with pits and indentations from Fifteenth’s relentless strikes.

The Green Bamboo Sword Immortal possessed superior cultivation base and a keener eye than all of his peers, and as he was warding off First’s attacks, a furious look appeared on his face as he yelled, “You fools! He’s not actually drinking wine, he’s just using that to disguise the moments where he’s drawing breaths!”

Opportunities to strike down a swordsman as formidable as Song Yushao were very difficult to create, and one such opportunity had just been foiled by Chen Ping’an’s meddling influence.

At this point, Chen Ping’an had already returned his Sword Nurturing Gourd to his waist, and he leaped over the formation of footsoldiers while giving the Green Bamboo Sword Immortal a cheeky grin.

Song Yushao chortled with mirth.

The brocade-robed old man certainly wasn’t expecting his trump card to be struck down so easily, and he could only give a wry smile as he pulled out three more azure talismans. Unfortunately, none of them had golden runes inscribed upon them. Instead, one was written in silver runes, while the other two were inscribed in red.

He tossed the three talismans forward, producing three more talismanic warriors, one silver and two copper. The three talismanic warriors landed on the ground beside one another with a resounding thump, positioning themselves in front of Chu Hao.

By the time Song Yushao and Chen Ping’an arrived before Chu Hao, the roles had completely switched, and the two of them had turned from prey into hunters.

If it hadn’t been for Chen Ping’an, Song Yushao would’ve already perished in this battle, but thanks to his impact, Song Yushao had actually managed to gain a slight upper hand!

Thus far, Chu Hao’s military career had spanned over more than half his life. During this time, he had fought in over thirty battles without suffering a single defeat, and he possessed sufficient prudence to see that the tide of the battle was turning against him.

At this point, the confident smile on his face had faded, and he covertly injected his True Qi into the silver-ingot-like treasure in his hand. The treasure was an armor pellet, and it was the most valuable piece in his wife’s dowry.

The armor pellet instantly spread over the suit of armor that Chu Hao was already wearing like a layer of mercury, transforming the suit of black armor into one that was bright white in color and decorated with cloud patterns. This suit of armor was called the Divine Dewbearing Armor, and was colloquially referred to as Dew Armor by cultivators.

Even though this was only a Militarian armor pellet of the lowest caliber, not a single other general from any of the other dozen or so nearby nations possessed such a treasure. Of course, this wasn’t because they were too poor to afford one. Instead, it was simply because there was no supply to meet the demand.

Otherwise, countless generals would be more than willing to pay 1,500 snowflake coins for an armor pellet, and even if that price were doubled, there would still be many generals clamoring to sell everything that they owned in order to buy one. 3,000 snowflake coins equated to 300,000 taels of silver, and that was certainly a steep price for anything but a treasure that could save their lives.

The Militarian cultivators had a monopoly on armor pellets, while Qi refiners outside of swordsmen were lacking in their bodily refinement compared with Militarian cultivators, so they were even more eager to get their hands on armor pellets. As a result, barely any armor pellets slipped through the cracks to fall into the hands of pure martial artists.

Song Yushao recommenced his forward charge, and now that he didn’t have to watch his own back, he was advancing more freely than ever.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an covered a distance of over seven meters with just a single stride as he instructed, “Come back!”

First reluctantly ceased its harassment of the Green Bamboo Sword Immortal as it slowly flew back to Chen Ping’an, and it was clearly not very happy.

In contrast, Fifteenth returned to Chen Ping’an in an instant, whizzing around him to protect him from all of the oncoming spears and arrows.

Standing on the back of his horse, the Green Bamboo Sword Immortal heaved a faint sigh as he took a longing glance at the bamboo scabbard strapped to Song Yushao’s waist. After that, he leaned back, then launched himself off the back of his horse, then turned around in mid-air as he continued to dart away into the distance, using the heads of the soldiers behind him as stepping stones.

In the blink of an eye, he had already completely separated himself from Chu Hao’s army, and he returned the length of green bamboo in his hand back to his belt as he slowly made his way toward the city.

As he did so, he turned back to take a glance at the battlefield as he mused to himself in a forlorn voice, “Looks like I won’t be able to get my hands on that bamboo scabbard anytime soon. If Song Yushao manages to survive this ordeal, he’ll surely be able to live for two or three more decades.”

With the Green Bamboo Sword Immortal fleeing from the battle, a sense of panic immediately began to set in among the army. There was a perplexed look on Chu Hao’s face as he cast his gaze toward the troops that had been recruited from the border armies of Water Combing Nation.

These soldiers, in particular, were in a complete state of disarray. Theoretically speaking, things shouldn’t have been so chaotic. While it was true that these soldiers were far inferior in combat prowess compared with the troops from Chu Hao’s personal army, they had endured many battles on the borders, so they shouldn’t have been so incompetent.

That was when Chu Hao spotted one of the generals of the border armies. He wasn’t doing anything to try and control his disorganized troops. Instead, he was merely straddled atop his steed with his arms crossed as if he were nothing more than a passive observer. Chu Hao was furious to see this, and he gritted his teeth tightly as he fought back the urge to rush over to that general and hack him to pieces with his sword!

All of a sudden, Chu Hao’s expression changed drastically as he rose up from the saddle of his horse to look around. In doing so, he discovered that the resolute and unyielding wall of foot soldiers had become an obstacle standing in the path of his 3,000 elite cavalry, preventing them from being able to circle back around to protect him.

Without the Green Bamboo Sword Immortal to worry about, all Song Yushao had to contend with were the ax-wielding old man and the talismanic warriors summoned by the brocade-robed old man. He was able to hold off these opponents with relative ease, even having the spare capacity to observe Chu Hao while locked in battle.

Chen Ping’an was gradually coming to realize that something wasn’t quite right. The fast and powerful attacks of the foot soldiers were gradually slowing down, and the number of spears and arrows flying his way was slowly decreasing. In the end, all that the footsoldiers did was passively observe, as if they had nothing to do with this battle.

Furthermore, Chen Ping’an could see a number of commanders and generals constantly moving around their troops, seemingly issuing certain instructions to them.

With a single slash of his sword, Song Yushao was able to slice a copper-armored puppet into two, and it instantly reverted back to its talisman form before disintegrating into ashes. With another slash of his sword, Song Yushao raised a trail of sparks over the burly old man’s huge axes.

The scraps of metal scraped off the pair of axes flew in all directions as scorching-hot sparks, clattering audibly against the suits of armor worn by the nearby soldiers. It was clear that Song Yushao’s opponents were no match for him, and it was only a matter of time before they were defeated.

After forcing back the ax-wielding Militarian cultivator, Song Yushao pointed the tip of his sword straight at Chu Hao as he declared, “I’ve come all this way to invite General Chu Hao alone to come and visit our villa. There’s no need for bloodshed from anyone else, but if you insist on standing in my way, then I regret to inform you that my Immovable may not be so forgiving.”

All of a sudden, a resounding boom rang out not far away from Chu Hao’s direction.

As it turned out, while everyone was distracted by Song Yushao, Chen Ping’an had already made it to no more than fifty meters away from Chu Hao, while the dozen or so formidable martial artists in his path were slowly forced back further and further.

After assigning First and Fifteenth with the task of watching his back, he used an inch movement talisman to pass straight through the miniature battlefield where Song Yushao and the two Qi refiners were locked in battle, appearing no more than ten meters away from Chu Hao! From there, he lunged forward, stomping heavily down onto the ground and slamming his right fist into the head of Chu Hao’s horse.

The horse’s head instantly shattered, as did its two front legs. For all of Chu Hao’s talent as a general on the battlefield, he was actually only a third tier martial artist, and as he tipped forward, he was struck by Chen Ping’an’s left fist.

All of the spiritual energy within his suit of Dew Armor instantly converged toward the spot that had just been struck by Chen Ping’an’s fist, but he was still seen flying back through the air, falling about fifteen meters away and raising a large cloud of dust.

Chen Ping’an continued to charge forward, and one of Chu Hao’s personal guards immediately rushed forward on horseback. He put on an excellent display of horsemanship as he tugged on the reins at just the right time for his steed to rear up on its hind legs and stomp down upon Chen Ping’an’s head with its front hooves.

Chen Ping’an abruptly accelerated, then ducked down to evade the horse’s flailing hooves. He then instantly straightened up again, ramming his shoulder straight into the horse’s belly. As a result, the horse was launched off its hooves and sent flying backward!

Immediately, Chen Ping’an launched himself forward off both feet, much like he had done when jumping over the creek back in the small town. Chu Hao had only just struggled to his feet when he was struck by another punch, this time to his head.

His suit of Dew Armor glowed radiantly, but he still fell back and toppled to the ground in an unconscious state.

Just a moment ago, Chu Hao had been envisioning his imminent instatement as one of the continent’s top ten generals, yet now, he was being lifted up by Chen Ping’an by the scruff of his neck like a little bunny. Chen Ping’an hefted the unconscious general up to the height of his own shoulder, then shook him around a little with a wide smile as he yelled at Song Yushao, “I’ve caught him, Senior Song!”

At this point, the battle was already decided, and the two imperial Qi refiners exchanged a resigned glance with one another.

Instead of continuing to press his advantage, Song Yushao returned his sword to its scabbard, then cupped his fist in an apologetic salute toward the pair of Qi refiners as he said, “My apologies. Please pass on a message to His Majesty for me, tell him that I’m willing to accept any punishment he decides to hand down upon myself and my Sword Water Villa.”

After that, he charged forward, and his sword qi fell like rain, severing the legs of all of the horses of Chu Hao’s personal guards to prevent them from getting to Chen Ping’an.

Upon landing beside Chen Ping’an, he said, “Go! We’ll be safe as soon as we return to the villa. This army is already completely disheartened and won’t pose any threat to us in the near future!”

All of the footsoldiers in the army were looking on in complete silence.

Only now did the cavalry from Chu Hao’s personal army finally realize what had happened, and they began to circle around under the leadership of a commander. The foot soldiers didn’t dare to directly oppose the cavalry, and they slowly split apart down the middle, doing their best to open up a path wide enough for the cavalry to pass through.

“I still have one more inch movement talisman left,” Chen Ping’an revealed to Song Yushao in a quiet voice.

Song Yushao smiled as he said, “You go ahead, I’ll watch your back this time. Don’t directly charge at the footsoldiers, just retreat to the left-hand side, and we’ll return to the villa through the mountains so the cavalry can’t pursue us. Otherwise, they’ll be a pain to deal with.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response, then took a deep breath as he tightened his grip around the scruff of Chu Hao’s neck before using his final inch movement talisman.

Only now did everyone come to realize how he had managed to abruptly disappear on several previous occasions in the battle.

This time, he was not completely invisible, especially as Chu Hao was still trailing along behind him. The unconscious general was being blown by the wind, flying in a horizontal position as Chen Ping’an dragged him, much like a streamer floating in the air behind a dancing woman.

After the inch movement talisman wore off, Chen Ping’an was revealed again, and he began running through the air as he had done before.

However, for some reason, as he took his first step, he stumbled a little, and only after that did he begin running through the air in a smooth fashion.

Song Yushao followed Chen Ping’an, and the two of them fled the battlefield. It didn’t take long before the two of them were reduced to tiny black spots on the distant horizon. In the end, they were able to escape into the forest in the distance.

At this point, their safety was all but ensured, and a concerned look appeared on Song Yushao’s face as he recalled Chen Ping’an’s initial stumble.

“Have you suffered internal injuries?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head with a smile as he explained, “I’m fine, it’s just that one of my flying swords is acting up.”

The first time he had “flown” through the air over Chu Hao’s army, he had used First and Fifteenth as alternating stepping stones. However, as he attempted the same thing a second time, First was no longer willing to cooperate, and it intentionally sidestepped Chen Ping’an’s foot, causing him to stumble. After that, it returned to the Sword Nurturing Gourd, but thankfully, Fifteenth was fast enough to keep up with Chen Ping’an’s pace on its own.

“I’ve heard that in the north, there are master martial artists who have successfully reached the Martial God Tier, and not only are they able to stand in mid-air as they please, they can even fly just like Qi refiners can,” Song Yushao mused with a hint of longing in his eyes.

Chen Ping’an had heard similar stories from Zhu He, and nodded in confirmation as he replied, “That’s something that only eighth tier martial artists are capable of. That tier is called the Wing Formation Tier, and it’s also known as the Far Roaming Tier due to the flight ability that one gains at that tier.”

A perplexed look appeared on Song Yushao’s face as he asked, “Aren’t all tiers above the sixth tier collectively known as the Martial God Tier?”

Chen Ping’an was also rather perplexed to hear this, and shook his head as he replied, “That’s not what I’ve heard. While it’s true that spirit refinement commences once one progresses beyond the sixth tier, they’re still nowhere near the level where they can be referred to as martial gods. Only those at the seventh tier, the Vajra Body Tier, have the right to be referred to as Lesser Grandmasters.

“After that comes the eighth tier, the Wing Formation Tier; then the ninth tier, the Mountain Summit Tier; and finally, the 10th tier. We have a 10th tier martial artist in our Great Li Empire, and his name is Song Changjing. He’s the uncle of my former neighbor on Clay Vase Alley, and I had the chance to meet him once. He was really strong, and I could tell that he was a master martial artist just by looking at him.”

Song Yushao was completely flabbergasted, and felt as if he were listening to a fictional story.

Upon seeing the look on Song Yushao’s face, Chen Ping’an decided to refrain from articulating what he was about to say next, which was that the barefoot old man who had taught him his fist technique was also a 10th tier martial artist, and that he was the first 10th tier martial artist to emerge on Eastern Treasured Vial Continent in several centuries.

Song Yushao quickly took this information in stride as he chuckled, “It appears I’m the epitome of a hillbilly who’s seen nothing. No matter. It’s fantastic news that there’s still so much to be conquered above the sixth tier for martial artists! Otherwise, if it’s only the cultivators who get to experience the scenery at the top, then we martial artists would be put to shame!”

Chen Ping’an nodded vigorously in response, and was thinking to himself that if Song Yushao were to pay a visit to the small town, he would surely get along very well with Cui Chan’s grandfather.

There were some people who didn’t see a vast disparity in cultivation base as a reason to not share a drink with someone else at the same table.

In the eyes of Chen Ping’an, Song Yushao was an extraordinary man, so he was confident that the old sword saint would be respected no matter where he went.

After Chu Hao’s True Qi ran out, his Dew Armor reverted back to its silver ingot form before falling onto the ground, and Chen Ping’an flicked it up with his foot and put it away.

At this point, Chu Hao had already regained consciousness, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes, and Chen Ping’an gave him a swift chop to the back of the neck to knock him out again, while Song Yushao looked on with an amused smile.

In his eyes, Chu Hao was truly blessed with immense fortune to have been captured by a mighty young sword immortal from the Great Li Empire.

“What happens next?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Song Yushao contemplated the question for a moment, then replied, “No matter how desperate those 3,000 cavalry are to save their master, they wouldn’t be so foolish as to directly storm Sword Water Villa. It’s clear that Fengshan somehow managed to plant some of his people in Chu Hao’s army, and the troops are in a state of complete chaos, so none of them will be able to stage a rescue for Chu Hao. I presume they’ll return to the city to wait and observe.”

His expression then darkened slightly as he continued, “However, with the demise of Colorful Garment Nation’s sword god and the unrest taking place in the Blusher Prefecture, as well as what’s currently happening with our Sword Water Villa, I feel like the academy is about to intervene soon.”

“The academy? As in Lake View Academy, one of the 72 academies of Confucianism?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“That’s right,” Song Yushao replied with a forlorn sigh. “Over the past 1,000 years, cultivators and mortals have been able to coexist in relative peace and harmony, and that’s all thanks to the academy’s supervision. However, on this occasion, our Sword Water Villa could be standing in opposition against the academy, and that’s something that I never thought would happen.

“If those esteemed figures from the academy get involved, our villa will most likely become just as disillusioned as the army we just faced, and the villa’s reputation could be swept to the ground.”

Chen Ping’an had some recollection of Lake View Academy. As far as he was aware, this was an academy that ranked alongside Mr. Qi’s Mountain Cliff Academy, and it was also related to that incident with the female ghost in the red wedding dress.

On the way back to Yellow Court Nation from Great Sui Nation, Cui Chan had been feeling quite bored, so he had mentioned some of the bewildering background information behind the incident, and as it turned out, it had something to do with a scholar at Lake View Academy.

Finally, there was the noble scholar of Lake View Academy, Cui Minghuang, who had once entered Jewel Small World as a representative of Confucianism on Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

However, as for why someone like Song Yushao, who dared to oppose an entire army on his own, seemed to be so apprehensive toward the academy… that was a question that Chen Ping’an didn’t have an answer to.

A self-deprecating look appeared on Song Yushao’s face as he sighed, “It’s not like we’ll just roll over and surrender against the academy, but at the same time, we don’t have the courage to stand against them. What a predicament!”

Chen Ping’an was feeling rather perplexed.

Song Yushao seemed to have gleaned Chen Ping’an’s thoughts, and he clasped his hands behind his back as he strolled slowly through the forest. As he did so, he peered at the rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves, which resembled nuggets of gold that had spilled down onto the ground.

After a brief silence, a resigned look appeared on his face as he said, “Are you not aware that the words of scholars are considered to be gospel? I once saw a virtuous scholar from Lake View Academy in person. He was so young, yet the sword god of Colorful Garment Nation went out of his way to welcome the young scholar so that he could learn from the young man.

“The young virtuous scholar sat in a formal and dignified manner, while the sword god of the Colorful Garment Nation was made to resemble a small child in a classroom sitting across from him, and even though the scholar made no display of his combat prowess, he was giving off an indescribable aura of invincibility.”

A wry smile appeared on Song Yushao’s face as he continued, “Even if there were a thousand of me, it would still make no difference in the face of a single reprimanding line from a scholar of the academy.”

“Then what if the scholars of the academy are wrong? What if even virtuous scholars and noble scholars make mistakes? Who’s going to hold them accountable?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“The sages above them will be responsible for that,” Song Yushao replied with a smile.

A contemplative look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face, and he continued to drag Chu Hao along by the scruff of his neck, while Chu Hao’s trailing feet rustled audibly over the ground.