Unsheathed

Li Baozhen’s mind whirred as he looked at the young man who definitely shouldn’t have appeared on this road.

Was it Liu Qingfeng, the person sitting behind him, who was trying to harm him? Did he yearn to dominate the Azure Phoenix Nation behind the scenes by himself? However, it didn’t make sense for the imperial preceptor to allow Liu Qingfeng to grow unchecked. Rather, it made much more sense to have him and Liu Qingfeng keep each other in check.

In that case, perhaps this was just a curious coincidence? Perhaps this was an unexpected chance encounter?

Li Baozhen heaved a soft sigh. If his luck were indeed this terrible, then it would be much better if this were a plot designed by someone to harm him. After all, one could rely on their brains to battle on the Go board. If his fortune was truly bad, however, then perhaps he needed to offer incense and pray to Buddha?

Li Baozhen stood behind the carriage driver and asked in a quiet voice, “How is it?”

The old carriage driver’s voice was solemn as he replied, “Of the subordinates standing behind him, it’s extremely likely that the hunchbacked old man is a Far Roaming Tier martial artist. His cultivation base is most likely no lower than mine.”

Li Baozhen slapped his forehead and lamented, “The intelligence reports have screwed me over.”

According to the latest intelligence reports, three of Chen Ping’an’s four grandmaster-level subordinates had left his side during their stay in the capital’s Hundred Flower Garden. Only two subordinates had remained with him, one by the name of Zhu Lian. The intelligence report had marked his strength as unknown, saying that it was possible that he was a Vajra Body Tier martial artist. The other subordinate acted strangely, and his performance had also been very ordinary during the conflict in the Lion Garden. Thus, it was very likely that he was weaker than Zhu Lian.

As for Chen Ping’an, he was at least a fifth tier pure martial artist judging by the punches that he had thrown atop the walls of the Lion Garden. He was also able to draw talismans, and he was wearing an immortal Dao robe that they found difficult to determine the grade of. The gourd hanging by his waist was a Sword Nurturing Gourd named Jiang Hu, and it was temporarily unknown whether he was using it to nurture any flying swords.

This information was pieced together from numerous scattered intelligence reports, yet it still failed to properly describe Chen Ping’an’s true abilities.

However, this wasn’t important. As long as Chen Ping’an remained in the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation, Li Baozhen had determined that it wouldn’t affect him at all even if Chen Ping’an suddenly transformed into a terrestrial immortal overnight.

Li Baozhen was borrowing the unstoppable trend of the Great Li Empire to aid him on the Go board and toy with Chen Ping’an who was a mere piece stuck on the Go board.

Following the subtle movements of the different pieces, the spies from the Great Li Empire’s Green Ripple Pavilion were like a continually shifting spiderweb that stretched over the southeastern region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

Before Li Baozhen left the Great Li Empire, Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan had given him three choices. The first was to travel to the Great Sui Nation and keep an eye on the Imperial Gao Clan as well as the Yellow Court Nation and the other historical vassal states of the Great Sui Nation.

The second option was to travel to the Luminous Vermilion Empire, the biggest obstacle standing in the way of the Great Li Empire’s southward expedition. There were countless sword cultivators in this empire, and the actions of Lake View Academy to the south were also of utmost importance.

The final option was to travel to the Azure Phoenix Nation. Compared to the first two options, however, it was very clear that the Azure Phoenix Nation was nothing more than a secluded little town compared to the Great Sui Nation and the Luminous Vermilion Empire. Yet, following the southward migration of wealthy clans from the central region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, the Green Ripple Pavilion had started to increase its investment in this area during the past two years.

Of course, this was merely the surface appearance of things that Li Baozhen saw after becoming an official. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have failed to obtain files about the old carriage driver sitting in front of him. Li Baozhen wasn’t stupid. There was the Azure Phoenix Nation’s Tang Chong in the imperial court, and there was the Great Marsh Gang’s Zhu Fengxian in the cultivation world. Not long ago, Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan had personally traveled here and even made a rare exception to meet up with the Lion Garden’s Liu Qingfeng…

What did all of this prove? It proved that Li Baozhen had sound judgment by choosing the Azure Phoenix Nation as his “origin of a dynasty” in the imperial court of the Great Li Empire. At the very least, he was temporarily free from the whirlpool of chaos that was engulfing the Imperial Song Clan of the Great Li Empire, a whirlpool that could easily pulverize people into smithereens. In other words, he had definitely gambled correctly by taking the third option.

Li Baozhen felt slightly angry at this moment. If they waited for a few more days, then a powerful figure responsible for keeping him safe would enter the Azure Phoenix Nation. At that time, he would no longer need to be afraid of anything. Chief Military Governor Wei Liang? The Imperial Tang Clan’s Chief Guest Elder Zhou Lingzhi? These people would barely be worth a mention.

Yet, how had the little bumpkin managed to pick such a perfect time and location?

Li Baozhen turned around and bent down, pulling back the curtains and asking with a faint smile, “Mr. Liu, do you have any backup plans?”

Liu Qingfeng shook his head and replied with a smile, “Just like you, I need to wait for a few days before a martial secretary from the Great Li Empire will arrive here to act as my personal bodyguard.”

“Mr. Liu, can you bear to watch your ally die before he’s achieved final success?” Li Baozhen asked with a pained expression.

Liu Qingfeng pondered for a moment before replying, “We need to trust Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan’s flawless planning and foresight.”

Li Baozhen sighed and put the curtains down. By the looks of it, interaction with the little bumpkin was inevitable tonight.

It wasn’t the case that Li Baozhen didn’t trust the Go skills of Embroidered Tiger Cui Chan. Rather, he was afraid that the imperial preceptor didn’t necessarily regard him, someone with wavering loyalty, as an important piece. In fact, Li Baozhen firmly believed that if Cui Chan were forced to make a choice between him and Liu Qingfeng, he would choose to sacrifice him and keep Liu Qingfeng without a shred of hesitation. Cui Chan would casually pick him up and toss him back into the Go stone container. At the very least, this would be the situation right now.

Indeed, how had the mountain of shattered porcelain in his hometown been created? Was it not created by the pitiful people who had been viewed as unimportant? People who had been abandoned and sacrificed and eventually pulverized in the battles for the Great Dao?

Li Baozhen had enjoyed climbing to the top of the mountain of porcelain by himself since a very long time ago. He felt like it was quite amazing to stand atop the pile of “white bones.”

Chen Ping’an told Shi Rou to stand back and look after Pei Qian. Meanwhile, he continued to walk forward with Zhu Lian.

Cui Dongshan had suddenly sent a secret letter to him, saying that Li Baozhen would appear at the Lion Garden. The content of the letter was simple and concise, and Cui Dongshan had concluded with the words, “You can kill him.”

Chen Ping’an hadn’t hesitated or doubted the veracity of the letter at all, and he had immediately left the capital and made a beeline for the Lion Garden.

Regarding some matters that didn’t pertain to the foundation of the Great Dao, Chen Ping’an would choose to trust Cui Dongshan. For example, he had listened to Cui Dongshan’s suggestion and allowed Shi Rou to possess Du Mao’s immortal body. And now, he had chosen to trust Cui Dongshan again.

Chen Ping’an slowed down when he was around fifty paces away from the carriage. He could clearly see the young master who was standing behind the carriage driver already.

It was this person who had taken advantage of Zhu Lu’s admiration and adoration of him, also baiting the father and daughter with a chance to break free from their lowly status and have Zhu Lu become a noble lady in the future. Because of his manipulation, Zhu Lu had smiled and walked up to Chen Ping’an in that corridor back then, with her hands clasped behind her back and her heart brimming with killing intent.

Compared to Chen Ping’an’s life-and-death battle with Sun Scorch Mountain’s Mountain-Moving Ape in the small town, his final interaction with Zhu Lu had allowed him to further understand the subtleties and sinister nature of the human heart for the first time after leaving the Jewel Small World.

“Chen Ping’an, this appears to be our first encounter, right?”

Li Baozhen stood behind the carriage driver and waved with a faint smile, continuing, “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Li Baozhen, Li Xisheng’s younger brother and Li Baoping’s older brother.”

Chen Ping’an stood still and asked, “Will you feel any regret if you die here tonight?”

“I’ll be kicking myself with regret,” Li Baozhen replied with a nod.

“Regretting the fact that you weren’t careful enough?” Chen Ping’an asked with a chuckle.

As if resigned to his fate, Li Baozhen replied in an honest matter, “Of course. When I left the Dragon Spring Prefecture’s Fortune Street and the Great Li Empire, I felt like the world was a vast place for me to unleash my potential. However, I was far too unwise. Chen Ping’an, with the incident from before and our encounter now, you’ve twice taught me a valuable lesson regarding how to conduct myself and how to properly handle matters. The same mistake shouldn’t be made three times, so let’s go our separate ways from now on. What do you say?”

Zhu Lian raised his hands and rubbed them together in eagerness, saying with a faint smile, “Even though that old geezer driving the carriage is a Far Roaming Tier martial artist, this old servant is entirely capable of handling him alone. Young Master, both he and I are at the same cultivation level, so please don’t blame me if I accidentally go too far and don’t stop myself in time in a while.”

There was a fervent expression in the old carriage driver’s eyes as he stared intently at the hunchbacked old man. The cultivation world in the Azure Phoenix Nation, the Fortune Mountain Nation, the Lofty Sky Nation, and the smaller surrounding nations was shallow, and he was also held back by his responsibilities and unable to freely travel around by himself. As a result, he was completely wasting his skills as a pure martial artist at the eighth tier.

He was finally presented with a rare opportunity to show his wares tonight, so how could he possibly let this opportunity slip? However, there was still the scheming Li Baozhen behind him as well as Mr. Liu who was sitting inside the carriage. His hands were inevitably tied, so he asked, “Just dealing with this subordinate alone will already be quite challenging. Master Li, do you have any brilliant plans that you can share with me? Are you able to keep yourself alive while also allowing me to fight to my heart’s content?”

Li Baozhen smiled bitterly and replied, “How could I have envisioned this happening? My brilliant plans are only used for harming other people and not to save myself.”

The carriage driver stood up and sneered, “So you’re at a complete loss? After scheming and plotting for all this time and weaving a dizzying web for everyone, this is the pathetic result that you achieved?”

Li Baozhen smiled and replied, “Then if I could please ask you to put in some extra effort tonight. That way, I’ll have an opportunity to mend the situation before it’s too late.”

As a powerful martial artist in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, it was only natural that the old carriage driver carried heavy responsibilities on his shoulders. Thus, he wouldn’t abandon Li Baozhen and kick him while he was down simply because he detested the young man.

The carriage shuddered slightly, and Li Baozhen only felt a gentle breeze brush past him as the old carriage driver shot forward and lunged at Chen Ping’an.

The thicket of reeds beside the road immediately leaned toward Chen Ping’an and Zhu Lian.

With his back hunched over as always, Zhu Lian took several steps forward and extended an arm, with his movements as quick as lightning.

Zhu Lian caught the furious punch of the old carriage driver that was surging with fist aura and causing his sleeves to billow.

He then slid back and came to a perfect stop right beside Chen Ping’an. Meanwhile, the old carriage driver also borrowed his backward momentum to gracefully leap back and land on the ground.

The shockwave of their collision caused the thicket of reeds to fall to both sides with a whoosh. The reeds rustled against each other, and this was a particularly loud and piercing sound in the deathly silent night.

Li Baozhen saw the dissipating fist aura drift toward the unmoving Chen Ping’an, yet the fist aura was like a light drizzle pitter-pattering against an oil-paper umbrella, completely unable to land on the person standing underneath.

Li Baozhen’s eyelids quivered when he saw this. As expected of someone who was at least at the fifth tier of martial arts.

By the looks of it, this little bastard from Clay Vase Alley had obtained quite a few fated opportunities after leaving the Jewel Small World.

Upon thinking of this, Li Baozhen felt a slight sense of regret. Perhaps he should have chosen the path of cultivation in the beginning?

Chen Ping’an was yet to reach eighteen, but he had already advanced to the peak stage of the fifth tier. Even in the Great Li Empire where there was no shortage of talented martial artists, he could still be regarded as an outstanding prodigy, right?

Perhaps this bastard bumpkin had obtained the vast amount of martial fortune resulting from the collapse of the Jewel Small World all by himself? But this didn’t make sense! There was Song Changjing, Li Er, and also Zheng Dafeng, so after the three of them split up the martial fortune, there should have only been some tiny scraps left behind for him.

Zhu Lian shook his wrist and chuckled, “Senior Brother, your punch feels a little weak. What’s wrong? Are you being polite with me? Are you afraid of being bored if you kill me with a single punch? Oh, please don’t worry, and please don’t hold back either. Punch me to your heart’s content, and punch me as hard as you can. My skin is very thick, meaning that I’m able to cop a good beating. Senior Brother, if you insist on holding back, then I’ll have to step up to show you how it’s done!”

Right after Zhu Lian finished speaking…

He dashed forward like a wild ape, with his speed insanely quick as if he were using an immortal land-shortening talisman. He arrived in front of the old carriage driver in a flash and returned the favor from before, also throwing a straight punch.

Li Baozhen’s eyesight was very ordinary, so he only managed to see Zhu Lian’s first punch. Afterward, the battle between Zhu Lian and the old carriage became a dizzying blur as the two martial artists exchanged blows in a small area.

It wasn’t long before Li Baozhen’s ears started to feel extremely uncomfortable, and only after gulping did he feel slightly better.

The old carriage driver gave a soft shout and half-punched half-shoved Zhu Lian toward the thicket of reeds. Meanwhile, he took a single step back and forcefully stomped on the ground. At the same time, he lightly raised his other foot and stabilized his body.

If it weren’t for the fact that the old carriage driver needed to protect Li Baozhen behind him, then he could have naturally thrown his punches in a more forceful and carefree manner.

Zhu Lian stretched his body in midair and landed on a thin reed with a single foot. After swaying left and right for a brief moment, he smiled faintly and said, “Senior Brother, you’ve already been stuck at the eighth tier for so many years. Your path of cultivation seems quite bumpy. You’re crawling instead of walking along the path to the summit of cultivation, am I right?”

“You’re speaking a bit too soon, no?” the old carriage driver sneered.

Zhu Lian lightly and nimbly walked across the tips of the reeds, also continuing to relax his bones and tendons as he did so. There was a series of popping sounds as he chuckled and said, “No, it’s not too soon at all. I’m afraid that we two brothers will truly fight to the death, resulting in you being unable to leave a dying message in a moment.

“I’ve heard that eighth tier martial artists are quite rare in this world, so I’ll inevitably feel a sense of sadness if a fellow martial artist at the eighth tier suddenly dies here tonight. Thus, I’m seizing this opportunity to chat with you before my young master starts to complain about you being an eyesore.”

The old carriage driver remained silent.