Unsheathed

There was a badge crafted out of osmanthus wood hanging from Chen Ping’an’s waist. On the front of the badge was engraved a rather strange phrase, which read: “grown under the moonlight, blooming under the sun,” while the other side of the badge read: “osmanthus guest of the Fan Clan.”

It was rather strange that “osmanthus guest” was being used here as opposed to “esteemed guest.”[1] Furthermore, the wooden badge, which had been personally given to Chen Ping’an by Fan Er, also carried an inscription that read “friend of Fan Er” in small text. It was clear that Fan Er had made this inscription.

It didn’t take long before someone arrived to greet Chen Ping’an. It was a middle-aged woman who carried herself in a very elegant fashion, and there was nothing lascivious or seductive about her.

Even though she wasn’t particularly beautiful, she had an exceptional, refined disposition, and Chen Ping’an could tell that she was a Qi refiner of the Middle Five Tiers.

She introduced herself as one of the administrators on Osmanthus Island, and told Chen Ping’an that he could refer to her as Aunt Gui, Gui as in “osmanthus.”[2] Chen Ping’an was happy to oblige, and he told Aunt Gui that he was going to be in her care on this journey to Stalactite Mountain.

Aunt Gui pointed at the wooden badge hanging from Chen Ping’an’s waist as she explained, “That’s an osmanthus guest badge that only our clan leader can hand out, and with that badge, all purchases you make on Osmanthus Island will be 30% off.”

A hint of amusement then appeared in her eyes as she continued with an affectionate smile, “Fan Er also told me to take extra good care of you, so you can have a 40% discount instead.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response, but internally, he had already decided that he wasn’t going to be buying anything else on this intercontinental journey unless it was something that really caught his eye.

After all, Fan Er regarded him as a friend, and he had to reciprocate those feelings, rather than take excessive advantage of Fan Er’s friendship to abuse the 40% discount he had been given. When it came to business dealings between friends, it was very difficult to gauge what was acceptable and what wasn’t, and that was not Chen Ping’an’s forte.

Aunt Gui led Chen Ping’an to a large manor called the Osmanthus Palace, and on the way there, she introduced to Chen Ping’an the things that he could expect to find on Osmanthus Island, particularly mentioning that he had to taste the osmanthus cakes and osmanthus wines on offer on the ship.

Those two things were readily available in the manor that had been assigned to Chen Ping’an, and all he had to do was ask for them from the maidservant in the manor.

Chen Ping’an didn’t refuse this offer, patting his Sword Nurturing Gourd with a smile as he said, “I’ll definitely be having some wine.”

Aunt Gui took a glance at the wine gourd strapped to Chen Ping’an’s waist as she smiled and nodded in response.

There were over 1,000 osmanthus trees on Osmanthus Island, and the ancestor tree on the mountain summit was even older than Old Dragon City, having been personally planted by an Agrarian immortal from Middle Earth Divine Continent.

Osmanthus Island had been able to travel between continents for over 1,000 years without being destroyed, and on top of that, it had been slowly growing this entire time thanks to the spread of the roots of the osmanthus trees on the island and the special method with which the Fan Clan had been adding soil to the island. This could all be attributed to that ancestor osmanthus tree.

On top of that, the reason the osmanthus wine of the Fan Clan was so cherished and expensive was that the osmanthus flowers used to brew the wine all came from osmanthus trees that were at least 1,000 years old.

Occasionally, some of the wealthy merchants on Eastern Treasured Vial Continent on good terms with the Fan Clan were able to purchase some of this wine, and it was often saved for their personal collections or to be used as presents.

After passing through the gate of the Osmanthus Palace, Aunt Gui led Chen Ping’an through a series of corridors and passageways. The courtyard wasn’t particularly lavish or opulent, but it was very elegant and well constructed.

Finally, Aunt Gui led Chen Ping’an to a courtyard named Guimai, where she explained, “The veins in the leaves of osmanthus trees resemble the Gui, a Confucian ceremonial artifact, and that’s where the name of osmanthus was derived from.[3] The courtyard isn’t very large, but it’s where the spiritual energy on the Osmanthus Island is most abundant.”

Chen Ping’an felt like this was a bit of a waste. After all, he wasn’t a Qi refiner, so it didn’t really matter whether he stayed somewhere with sparse or abundant spiritual energy.

Instead, it would be much better for someone who could actually benefit from the spiritual energy to stay here. With that in mind, he said, “Aunt Gui, I’m a pure martial artist, so it would be too much of a waste for me to stay here. How about I move to a different courtyard?”

Aunt Gui smiled as she replied, “It’s not a matter of money, so don’t feel guilty about staying here. Given how close you’ve become with our young master, I wouldn’t be surprised even if this becomes your private courtyard and isn’t made available to anyone else traveling on Osmanthus Island.”

The notion that this was a gesture of friendship from Fan Er immediately erased the doubt in Chen Ping’an’s mind, and he made his way into the Guimai courtyard without any further hesitation.

There was a beautiful young woman waiting in the courtyard for him, and she seemed to have a slightly cold disposition. Even though she was only standing still, she presented a stunning sight to behold.

As soon as she spotted Chen Ping’an and Aunt Gui, a smile immediately appeared on her face as she said, “Greetings, Young Master Chen, my name is Jin Su, Jin as in ‘gold,’ Su as in ‘millet.’ [4] In ancient times, this was an alternative name for osmanthus flowers. I’ll be looking after you during this journey.”

The smile instantly broke through her slightly cold disposition, and it was as stunning a sight as a garden of flowers blooming at once.

Chen Ping’an reflexively cupped his fist in a formale salute as he replied, “I’ll be in your care, Jin Su.”

A hint of disappointment then flashed through his eyes as he quickly removed the wine gourd from his waist and took a sip.

Aunt Gui was very observant when it came to the emotions of others, and she caught the flash of disappointment in Chen Ping’an’s eyes, but she didn’t think much of it. After all, who didn’t have a few things on their mind?

Shortly thereafter, Aunt Gui took her leave. At the entrance of the courtyard, she spotted a familiar figure who she was rather surprised to see, but his arrival actually made a lot of sense. It was none other than the old coach driver of the Fan Clan, and she smiled as she asked, “Does Young Master Fan have some additional instructions for me?”

The old coach driver was quite polite and respectful to Aunt Gui, and he shook his head with a smile as he replied, “Master Fan has instructed me to stay in the Guimai courtyard with Young Master Chen over the course of this journey to Stalactite Mountain.”

A hint of surprise appeared in Aunt Gui’s eyes, and she asked, “Do you need Jin Su to stay elsewhere?”

The old coach driver nodded in response. “That would be best. Get her to pick out a courtyard nearby, and all she has to do is bring us some food each day. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Aunt Gui was rather perplexed by this arrangement, but didn’t say anything further as she turned around and called out to Jin Su, and the two of them departed together.

As they were leaving the courtyard, the old coach driver said, “Master Fan has also instructed us to allocate some of the shade of the ancestor osmanthus tree on the mountain summit to the Guimai courtyard so that it won’t be spied on by others.”

Aunt Gui nodded in response. As for Jin Su, who had managed to pick over 100 osmanthus flowers from Osmanthus Island, she couldn’t help but take an extra glance at the old coach driver and Chen Ping’an.

Following the departure of the two women, a cool and refreshing breeze swept through the courtyard. At the same time, the shade of a tree descended over the entire courtyard, but only for a moment before it faded, and the courtyard was once again filled with bright sunlight.

The old coach driver made his way over to Chen Ping’an, then declared in a candid fashion, “My name is Ma Zhi, and I’m one of the guest elders of the Fan Clan. I am a Golden Core Tier swordsman, and my aptitude and combat prowess are both rather mediocre.

“In fact, I would be no match for even someone like Guest Elder Chu Yang of the Fu Clan, who is also at the Golden Core Tier. I was instructed by our clan leader to accompany you on this journey. He was requested by Mr. Zheng of the Dust Medicinal Shop to send me here to instruct you in swordsmanship.”

Chen Ping’an immediately realized that this had to be one of the ways in which Zheng Dafeng was repaying him, and he cupped his fist in a salute once again, but before he could say anything, Ma Zhi raised a hand to stop him.

“There’s no need to begin right away. I’ll be living in this courtyard in the neighboring room. You can take a good rest today and explore Osmanthus Island to your heart’s content. Otherwise, once we begin our training tomorrow, you may not have the spare time to do so.”

With that, Ma Zhi made his way into a side room in the courtyard, then closed the door with a smile as he murmured to himself, “If Mr. Zheng wasn’t joking, then that boy is going to have a very hard time ahead. Is he really going to be able to withstand this training? I may be very mediocre among other swordsmen of the same cultivation base, but I’m still a Golden Core Tier swordsman!”

A black flying sword flew out of his acupoint as he was speaking to himself, and immediately began circling around him, giving off tremendous sword Qi.

The entire room was instantly filled with cold sword Qi, and the summer heat was completely eradicated in the blink of an eye.

Chen Ping’an was staying in the main room directly facing the entrance of the courtyard, and only after closing the door did he carefully open the cloth pouch that Zheng Dafeng had left at his door.

There was a book that was still carrying the scent of fresh ink, and the title of the book was Proper Sword Scripture. There was a very good chance that Zheng Dafeng had contacted a trustworthy bookstore using the Fan Clan’s connections to personally print this book.

Just the title of the book alone was a display of exceptional calligraphy, and Chen Ping’an was struggling to connect such fine calligraphy to the uncouth and lackadaisical Zheng Dafeng.

Aside from the Proper Sword Scripture, there was also an unremarkable-looking cotton money pouch. After weighing the pouch on the palm of his hand for a moment, Chen Ping’an discovered that there didn’t seem to be many coins inside.

He thought that it perhaps contained lesser heat coins or grain rain coins, but as soon as he opened the pouch to take a look inside, he immediately closed it again with a stunned expression. The pouch contained gold essence copper coins! He was well aware of just how precious gold essence copper coins were as just a few pouches of these coins had allowed him to purchase several mountains!

Chen Ping’an didn’t even count the number of gold essence copper coins in the pouch, nor did he examine them to see whether they were Offering Coins, Greeting Spring Coins, Good Fortune Coins, or some combination of the three. Instead, he immediately stowed the pouch away in Fifteenth.

Outside of those things, all that remained was a jade tablet and a letter.

The jade tablet was just a simple rectangular jade tablet, completely unadorned, but the material was exceptional, and it has the same fine and smooth texture as the finest silk. It was clearly a brilliant old artifact, but as for exactly what it was and how old it was, Chen Ping’an was unable to tell.

Chen Ping’an opened the letter, and sure enough, the handwriting on the letter was identical to that of the title of the Proper Sword Scripture, so it was clearly a handwritten letter from Zheng Dafeng. The letter laid out several things in concise terms.

Firstly, the sword scripture wasn’t particularly advanced, but it was already the pinnacle for pure martial artists, and the sword techniques inside were all very simple, so they were perfect for someone as stubborn and single-minded as Chen Ping’an to practice. Furthemore, those fifteen gold essence copper coins served as repayment for the five copper coins.

As for the jade tablet, that was a minimization treasure. Aside from that, there was no other information on it, and no mention was made of where it had come from.

Even so, this was enough to tell Chen Ping’an just how precious an item it was.

Back when Cui Chan had accompanied Chen Ping’an on his journey to Great Sui Nation, he had also been carrying a minimization treasure.

At the end of the letter, Zheng Dafeng stated that getting Ma Zhi to instruct Chen Ping’an in swordsmanship was a bonus reward that he had included. He had done this so that the latter would be better equipped to deal with the suppressive effect that the Sword Qi Great Wall had on pure martial artists.

Hence, not only would Ma Zhi be instructing him in swordsmanship, he would also teach Chen Ping’an how to fight against a swordsman of the Middle Five Tiers.

On this subject, Zheng Dafeng diverted from the brief and concise style that he had adopted throughout the letter thus far, laying out certain principles for Chen Ping’an, things like “only those who endured the most bitter of hardships could become the greatest of men”.

However, even as Chen Ping’an was reading through this part of the letter, he could imagine the sly grin on Zheng Dafeng’s face as he was writing it. Chen Ping’an knew that after Zheng Dafeng had heard about the suffering he had endured to get to the third tier, he would be intent to continue Chen Ping’an’s suffering into the fourth tier.

He could already imagine Zheng Dafeng smirking to himself back at the Dust Medicinal Shop. The thought of Chen Ping’an being tormented by Ma Zhi on Osmanthus Island had to be an extremely pleasant one.

Otherwise, the old swordsman wouldn’t have told Chen Ping’an that he would only have one day to explore Osmanthus Island.

Zheng Dafeng had dug a hole for him, and he had no choice but to jump into it.

Minimization treasures could also be stored in pocket treasures, so Chen Ping’an stowed the sword scripture and the jade tablet away.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of He Xiaoliang of Divine Edict Sect, who had a vast collection of pocket treasures and minimization treasures. He used to have a very positive impression of He Xiaoliang, but he now thought of her with far less fondness.

With that in mind, he heaved a faint sigh before leaving the courtyard to explore Osmanthus Island.

At this point, the ship still hadn’t yet set sail, and from the mountain summit, he could see many passengers boarding the ship.

Chen Ping’an cast his gaze into the distance, and all he could see in three directions was the vast sea. It was a breathtaking sight, and also one that reminded him of just how tiny and insignificant he was.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping’an recalled something that Cui Chan’s grandfather had told him, which was that he was the most powerful third tier martial artist under the heavens, not just Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

During his prior conversation with Zheng Dafeng, the latter had also mentioned this topic and declared that Li Er had once been the most powerful ninth tier martial artist under the heavens. However, now that he had reached the 10th tier, Chen Ping’an presumed that he had temporarily lost his title of the strongest under the heavens.

Chen Ping’an had heard from Cui Chan that Majestic World was an enormous place, with four lakes, five seas, and nine continents, including Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, Complete Reed Continent, Southern Whirl Continent, Pure White Continent, and Golden Armor Continent.

All of them were like stars around the moon, the glowing gem that was Middle Earth Divine Continent, and there were several major empires on Middle Earth Divine Continent. Only by conquering half of the entire Eastern Treasured Vial Continent would the Great Li Empire’s territory be able to compare with theirs.

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but wonder to himself if the legendary 11th tier truly existed for martial artists.

He had once raised this question to Cui Chan, but the latter had merely brushed it off without giving an answer.

————

On Golden Armor Continent, there was an ancient battlefield with extremely sparse spiritual energy.

Giant deity statues had once stood at hundreds of meters tall on this battlefield, but they had since collapsed without exception. The land now resembled a toppled and ravaged mountain range.

This place was a natural forbidden area for all Qi refiners on the continent.

There were frequent gusts of astral wind that swept through the area without any warning, and for Qi refiners of the Middle Five Tiers, those astral winds were often lethal.

1. This is a play on words, with osmanthus guest (桂客) being a homonym of esteemed guest (贵客) in Chinese. ☜

2. Osmanthus flower (桂花) is pronounced as Gui Hua in Chinese, with “gui” meaning osmanthus and “hua” meaning flower. ☜

3. The Gui ceremonial artifact (圭) and the character for osmanthus (桂) are quite similar. Essentially, osmanthus is just Gui with a 木 radical (木 + 圭 = 桂). 木 is wood, so the presence of the 木 radical in a character generally means that it’s somehow related to plants. In this case, osmanthus is essentially a plant equivalent of the Gui artifact. ☜

4. That is the literal translation of the two characters of her name, 金粟. ☜