Unsheathed

Back on the Dragon Scaling Platform, City Lord Fu Qi had departed to see what was happening above the sea of clouds, and he was still yet to return. The Golden Core Tier guest elder cultivating in the thatch hut had then emerged from his hut to arrive by Fu Nanhua’s side, and only then did Fu Nanhua realize that something wasn’t quite right.

He could see that the guest elder was intently scrutinizing a man slowly approaching from afar. The man had a sword slung across his back and was walking along in a casual manner, looking like an outsider who had come here for sightseeing. Fu Nanhua was unable to glean the man’s cultivation base, and he asked in a low voice, “Is his cultivation base really high?”

The guest elder had been assigned with the task of overseeing the Dragon Scaling Platform on his own, so he was naturally a very formidable cultivator. He possessed two treasures that enhanced both his offensive and defensive capabilities, making him one of the most powerful figures in the entirety of Old Dragon City, but at this moment, there was a solemn look on his face as he replied, “I presume so.”

Fu Nanhua was stunned to hear this. It was a very brief response, but it was one that was very much worth mulling over. The fact that the guest elder was forced to make presumptions indicated that even as a Golden Core Tier cultivator, he was unable to glean the man’s true cultivation base, which meant that the latter definitely had a superior cultivation base.

What was most alarming about him was the sword on his back. Even if he was only at the Nascent Tier, if he was a swordsman, then he would still pose a major threat to the entire city.

“Is he an enemy?” Fu Nanhua asked.

“I don’t think so,” the guest elder replied.

The man continued to casually walk over from afar, completely disregarding the fact that this was a restricted area stipulated by the Fu Clan. He passed straight through the invisible restrictions in the area, then made his way over to Fu Nanhua and the guest elder before smiling as he gave a self-introduction. “My name is Xu Ruo. I come from the Great Li Empire, and I’m currently staying at your clan’s manor.”

An enlightened look instantly appeared on Fu Nanhua’s face. Back when the ship from the Great Li Empire had descended upon the Fu City, only a select few members of the Fu Clan had been granted the honor of welcoming the esteemed guests of the Great Li Empire, and Fu Nanhua hadn’t been among that select group.

He knew that his father must have his reasons for not including him in that group, so he pretended to be oblivious to all of this. However, he was well aware of who Xu Ruo was. He wasn’t Xu Ruo of the Great Li Empire, he was Xu Ruo of Mohism, and after hearing this self-introduction, Fu Nanhua hurriedly suppressed his excitement as he cupped his fist in a salute, “Fu Nanhua pays his respects to Senior Xu Ruo!”

Xuo Ruo returned his salute with a smile, following which Fu Nanhua turned to the guest elder with a reassuring smile.

To his surprise, there was a stunned look on the guest elder’s face, and he seemed to be even more reverent toward Xu Ruo than Fu Nanhua was, extending a deep bow as he said, “I am Chu Yang, a member of Middle Earth Divine Continent’s Cuiwei Chu Clan. Please allow me to express the utmost gratitude to you on behalf of my clan, Senior Xu!”

Xu Ruo was rather amused. While it was true that he had saved the Chu Clan from the harassment of an immortal sect, he had only done so on a spur of the moment decision as he just so happened to be passing through the area. He waved a dismissive hand as he said, “There’s no need to thank me, I was only acting in accordance with the teachings of Mohism.”

The guest elder remained in a deep bow as he insisted in a trembling voice, “Even so, you have still done our Chu Clan a great kindness. If you hadn’t stepped in, then I would’ve been without a home to return to on Middle Earth Divine Continent! Given your immense powers and generosity, this is naturally not something significant in your eyes, but I’ll never forget what you’ve done for our Chu Clan for as long as I live!”

“Alright, I appreciate the thought, but you can’t just keep bowing to me forever,” Xu Ruo sighed in an exasperated manner. In terms of physical appearances, it looked as if the guest elder was old enough to be Xu Ruo’s father.

He finally stood up straight again as he smiled and said, “I never thought that I would get to meet you on Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, Senior Xu. I’ll admit that I was growing quite discontent toward the Fu Clan after cultivating in this thatch hut for the past few decades, but it seems like it was all worth it!”

Fu Nanhua didn’t know how to react to this.

As expected of the most powerful Golden Core Tier cultivator in Old Dragon City, his temper was still just as foul as ever!

At the same time, a myriad of emotions welled up in Fu Nanhua’s heart. Back when Chu Yang first arrived in Old Dragon City, he had been extremely domineering, making an enemy out of a major clan in Old Dragon City over what was really nothing more than a trivial matter. A fierce battle had ensued with Chu Yang managing to hold his own against the entire clan, and in the end, Fu Qi had to step in to mediate the conflict.

First, he personally fought Chu Yang in a battle, then offered him an enormous amount of wealth. To sweeten the deal even further, he even allowed Chu Yang to cultivate on the revered Dragon Scaling Platform, and only then did Chu Yang reluctantly agree to serve as a guest elder for the Fu Clan.

Despite Fu Qi’s sincerity, Chu Yang had made it clear that he wouldn’t be offering the Fu Clan any assistance unless the livelihood of the entire clan was under threat. Furthermore, if anyone from the Fu Clan dared to extort him or try and force him to do anything against his will, then he would leave immediately. Ultimately, the Fu Clan was forced to agree to these terms.

However, at this moment, Chu Yang was regarding Xu Ruo with the same level of awe and veneration as Fu Nanhua felt toward Chu Yang.

With that in mind, a wild thought suddenly occurred to Fu Nanhua. Did Xu Ruo also have someone that he revered from the bottom of his heart? If he were to meet that person, would he also look up to them in admiration and willingly refer to himself as a junior in their presence?

Despite his best efforts, Fu Nanhua couldn’t imagine such a scene.

Xu Ruo didn’t bother to exchange any small talk with the guest elder as he made his way directly toward the Dragon Scaling Platform.

Chu Yang displayed no intention of informing Xu Ruo that the platform was a restricted area, and Fu Nanhua wanted to speak up, but ultimately decided against it.

Following the sudden descent of the sea of clouds above Old Dragon City, Fu Qi quickly returned to the Dragon Slaying Platform and appeared beside Fu Nanhua. Looking up at Xu Ruo, who was making his way up to the platform, Fu Qi wasn’t displeased in the slightest. Instead, returned straight to the city with Fu Nanhua. As for the Golden Core Tier guest elder, he gave Fu Qi a slight nod, then also returned to his seaside thatch hut to continue his cultivation.

Fu Qi was very content to leave Xu Ruo with Zhi Gui not just because he knew that he couldn’t stand in Xu Ruo’s way even if he wanted to, but also because of Xu Ruo’s identity as a Mohist.

Traveling Mohist heroes had always had an immaculate reputation across the land.

By the time Xu Ruo was most of the way up the staircase, Zhi Gui had already begun coming down from the Dragon Scaling Platform. She was dressed in clean and refreshing maidservant garbs, and there was no longer any blood flowing out of her eyes.

The two of them soon arrived on the same step on the staircase, following which Xu Ruo stopped in his tracks, then began to accompany Zhi Gui down the staircase as he quietly cautioned, “In the eyes of certain Confucian sages, your ascent onto the platform can be seen as a provocation against the rules.”

For some reason, in the presence of Xu Ruo, Zhi Gui wasn’t bothering to hide her true personality at all, and there was a cold look on her face as she replied, “I was able to crawl out of that well and leave Jewel Small World alive, so that means that the sages have already accepted my survival. In that case, is it really important whether I’ve scaled that platform or not?”

Before Xu Ruo had a chance to say anything, Zhi Gui had already answered her own question. “I don’t think that’s important at all.”

Xu Ruo offered no response to this.

Zhi Gui smiled as she continued, “Out of all of the Hundred Schools of Thought, Mohism was the only one…”

All of a sudden, Xu Ruo drew his sword a couple of inches out of its scabbard, and the entirety of the Dragon Scaling Platform was instantly completely enveloped within an enormous invisible river, one that was so powerful and turbulent that it had forced back a wave that had been crashing toward the shore with immense power. The Golden Core Tier guest elder’s eyes instantly sprang open as he sat in his thatch hut, but he then quickly closed them again.

“Your swordsmanship is indeed quite exceptional, and I can see that you have even further potential for improvement, but your aura really can’t match up against the founder of Mohism,” Zhi Gui chuckled.

Xu Ruo’s brows furrowed slightly as he said in a stern voice, “That’s enough! You run the risk of going too far if you don’t restrain yourself. Don’t forget that this is Majestic World.”

“How could I forget?” Zhi Gui replied as her eyes narrowed slightly. “This is an ancient battlefield filled with so many bodies that if they were to be all piled up, the resulting mountain would be even taller than Tassel Mountain of Middle Earth Divine Continent, and there’s more blood flowing over this battlefield than this vast river that you’ve summoned.”

Xu Ruo stopped in his tracks, and a rare hint of frustration appeared on his face as he snapped, “Did Mr. Qi of Mountain Cliff Academy not teach you a lesson?!”

Zhi Gui continued onward without pause as she replied, “He did. He loves lecturing others, but I’m not fond of listening to his lessons.”

Xu Ruo followed along behind Zhi Gui in silence, and in the instant that she set foot onto the final step of the staircase, the vast river of sword intent instantly vanished, reflecting Xu Ruo’s exceptional control over his sword intent.

Back when he was facing off against Wei Jin of Wind Snow Temple, who had only just reached the Unpolished Jade Tier back then, he had also only pushed his sword slightly out of his scabbard, unleashing a tall mountain of sword intent to ward off Wei Jin’s attack. On that occasion, it appeared that they had been evenly matched, but it was clear that Xu Ruo hadn’t used anywhere near his full power at the time.

It had been far too many years since Xu Ruo had completely drawn his sword.

Back in Red Candle Town in the Great Li Empire, Xu Ruo had encountered A’Liang, and as they were drinking together, Xu Ruo wanted to show A’Liang his swordsmanship so that the latter could offer him some guidance. However, A’Liang had merely smiled and told him to continue accumulating the energy, essence, and spirit in his scabbard instead of squandering it.

As soon as he heard this, Xu Ruo realized just how massive the disparity between the two of them was.

If he weren’t bound by his status as a follower of Mohism, he would’ve definitely traveled to the Sword Qi Great Wall as well.

The sword immortals standing atop that great wall were completely different from the sword immortals of Majestic World’s nine continents.

It was a place that Xu Ruo had always longed to visit, and it suddenly occurred to him that perhaps he could take advantage of this opportunity to pay Stalactite Mountain a visit.

However, he then took a glance at Zhi Gui before heaving an internal sigh and banishing the idea out of his mind. On the outside, she appeared to be a frail little girl, but she was very troublesome to deal with.

She was certainly not just some little girl.

Xu Ruo stopped in his tracks once again, seemingly no longer intending to escort her back to the Fu Clan.

Zhi Gui turned to her with a perplexed expression, but Xu Ruo remained standing on the spot.

She didn’t know why he had suddenly decided against following her, but it didn’t matter to her anyway, and she quickly turned back around and continued onward.

Following her departure, Xu Ruo also turned back and returned to the Dragon Scaling Platform, then made his way up to its highest point. This was the place where the final True Dragon had descended upon this world. After that, it had fled all the way to the north, carving out that dragon channel. Ultimately, it had fallen to its demise in the Great Li Empire before it was able to enter the sea and make its way to Complete Reed Continent.

Xu Ruo didn’t know how far Zhi Gui was going to be able to go on this occasion.

————

On this day, the Fan Clan’s Osmanthus Island ship was scheduled to set sail at dusk.

Fan Er had personally come to bid farewell to Chen Ping’an, and the two of them began traveling out of Old Dragon City on horseback early in the morning.

Zheng Dafeng had left a cloth pouch at the door of Chen Ping’an’s room the night before, then skipped breakfast so that he could sleep through the morning. He was determined to let no one interrupt his sleep, and he paid no heed to Fan Er’s door-knocking and Chen Ping’an’s parting visit.

Out of the six intercontinental ships of Old Dragon City, including Osmanthus Island, none of them were at the end of the street owned by the Sun Clan outside the city. Instead, they were docked on a large island located around 20 kilometers south of Old Dragon City, and one had to take another ship just to reach the island.

While waiting for the ship to the island, the two boys sat in a carriage prepared by the Fan Clan, and Fan Er sneakily pulled out a money pouch before handing to Chen Ping’an as he said in a quiet voice, “My parents are really strict with my finances, so I don’t have much money. This is all I have. I’m not being stingy or lying to you, I swear!

“These golden ingots were all given to me as lucky money for new years, and my parents only turned a blind eye to them as they had been given to me in secret by some close seniors, and they weren’t immortal currencies like snowflake coins or lesser heat coins. Also, I’ve snuck out two flagons of osmanthus wine for you to drink during the journey.

“The coach driver, Grandpa Ma, hid them for me in his pocket treasure, and he’ll give them to you once you reach Osmanthus Island. Of course, given how close you are with me and Mr. Zheng, you’ll be able to drink as much wine as you like on Osmanthus Island, but this is a private gift from me, so it’s not the same thing.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head as he said, “I’ll accept the wine, but you can keep the money.”

Fan Er was a little saddened to hear this. “Why? Surely you’re not the type of person who would be offended because the amount I’m offering you is too little! Isn’t it always the thought that counts between friends like us? I’ve been saving up lucky money for five or six years, and honestly, I was pretty sad to part with all this money.”

Chen Ping’an gently bumped Fan Er on the shoulder, then lowered his voice as he asked, “Is there any flower wine to be drunk in Old Dragon City? Once we’re a little older…”

Fan Er’s eyes immediately lit up, and a knowing look appeared on his face as he assured, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to save up some more gold ingots before your next visit!”

A serious look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he said, “A very good friend of mine told me that flower wine is the best-tasting wine under the heavens, and that it would be a massive waste not to taste it at least once in one’s lifetime. But when the time comes, we’ll only be drinking wine, understood?”

“For sure!” Fan Er replied as he mirrored Chen Ping’an’s serious expression.

As it turned out, beyond the large island blocking the view of Old Dragon City was another island, one that was riddled with fragrant osmanthus trees, as well as elegant and intricate pagodas and pavilions.

The two islands were connected by a wide road that spanned over the sea, and all of the other carriages were forced to draw to a halt on one end of the road, but this carriage was able to travel straight to Osmanthus Island. In doing so, it attracted much attention from the surrounding bystanders, but after they identified the old coach driver, none of them dared to raise any complaints.

The carriage slowly drew to a halt, and Chen Ping’an and Fan Er disembarked, following which the latter said with a sullen expression, “I won’t accompany you onto the ship, Chen Ping’an. I’ve stolen quite a few flagons of my father’s osmanthus wine of late. I’ve exhausted the stash that he’s been painstakingly keeping secret from my sister’s mother, so I’m definitely going to be sent to the ancestral hall as punishment tonight…”

“Don’t eat any clay!” Chen Ping’an hurriedly said. “I was joking when I told you that you could eat clay in the place of food!”

Fan Er was astonished, following which he became even more depressed as he wailed, “I dug up so much clay last night to stash under my bed! Was that a waste of time?”

Chen Ping’an burst into laughter upon hearing this, then accepted the two flagons of wine from the benevolent-looking old coach driver. He began walking backward toward Osmanthus Island while still facing Fan Er as he waved him farewell.

Fan Er also began waving at him as he yelled, “I think you have a really good name, Chen Ping’an. Just like my name, you can really tell that your parents put a lot of thought into your name!”

Chen Ping’an’s expression immediately darkened slightly as he turned around and began rushing toward Osmanthus Island.

“That’s what you get for lying to me about eating clay!” Fan Er mused to himself in a triumphant voice, then turned around to face the old coach driver as he smiled and said, “Take me straight to the ancestral hall, Grandpa Ma!”

In this moment, Fan Er was feeling very proud of himself. It seemed that from stealing and drinking his father’s wine, he had grown a lot more courageous!

The old coach driver was suppressing his amusement as he replied, “Your father says that you don’t have to go to the ancestral hall this time.”

Fan Er clasped his fingers together behind the back of his head upon hearing this, and he didn’t know whether he should be glad or annoyed.

The old coach driver took a glance at Fan Er, then turned his gaze to Chen Ping’an, who had already stepped onto Osmanthus Island, and suddenly felt like the weather was particularly good on this day.

Chen Ping’an began to make his way up the mountain, and he felt like with each step that he took, he was a step closer to Ning Yao.

Encouraged by that thought, he began to scale the mountain faster and faster, all the way until he reached the summit of Osmanthus Island. From there, he inspected his surroundings before suddenly taking a deep breath and holding it.

He suddenly recalled something that Cui Chan’s grandfather had told him.

“When this breath is exhaled, it should force heaven and earth to change colors! It should force immortals to kneel and kowtow! It should force all of the martial artists in the world to feel as if you are the paramount heavens!”

He then thought of something that Song Yushao had once said to him.

“Chen Ping’an, if a girl ever tells you that you’re a good person, that means you have no chance with her anymore!”

Chen Ping’an was instantly feeling a little deflated, and was left scratching his own head.

In the end, he recalled something that he himself had said: “My father’s surname is Chen, and my mother’s surname is also Chen, so… my name is Chen Ping’an!”

He then squatted down and began chugging down wine in a frustrated manner as he murmured to himself, “You’re a real idiot, Chen Ping’an!”