Unsheathed

Most likely because she felt like Li Baoping was a relatively easygoing person, Pei Qian’s footsteps gradually became quicker and more nimble.

After Pei Qian arrived at Li Baoping’s dorm and saw the mountains of transcriptions on the three empty beds, however, she almost fell to her knees and kowtowed to Li Baoping.

No wonder Li Baoping had replied with a simple nod after Pei Qian summoned her courage to show off slightly just then, saying that she completed transcriptions every single day. Pei Qian initially thought that she had clawed back some ground, causing her to feel a little smug and allowing her to stand a little straighter.

Li Baoping poured a cup of tea for Pei Qian and told her to sit wherever she wanted.

Meanwhile, she climbed onto her bed and retrieved her small bamboo bookcase, moving it to the table. She then took out the saber, Auspicious Talisman, as well as the small silver gourd that A’Liang had given her.

“Here, a gift for you,” Li Baoping said.

Pei Qian glanced at the saber and the small gourd. She was relatively good at appraising items now, so she looked up at Li Baoping and asked a redundant question, saying, “These are very, very expensive, right?”

Li Baoping didn’t purposely hide anything from Pei Qian, replying, “I heard A’Liang mention that the quality of the saber, Auspicious Talisman, is only so-so. It’s a pseudo-celestial tool or whatnot. This small gourd that I swindled from Wind Snow Temple’s Sword Immortal Wei Jin is better, and it’s one of the seven Sword Nurturing Gourds that the Dao Ancestor personally raised when he was cultivating in a thatched cottage in the past. Sword immortals will become more powerful if they nurture their flying swords with these gourds. Pei Qian, haven’t you started to practice sword techniques already? Here, you can use this gourd.”

Pei Qian’s tongue was already tied in a knot, and she said in a muffled voice, “But I’ve only just started to practice sword techniques. My skills are very mediocre, and I’m not a sword cultivator who possesses bonded flying swords or anything. I’m also quite slow, so I might not be able to nurture anything in my lifetime…”

“Do you like Auspicious Talisman and the small gourd?” Li Baoping asked bluntly.

Pei Qian timidly nodded in response.

Li Baoping scratched her head and sighed in her mind.

How had Junior Uncle found such a slow and silly disciple?

Pei Qian felt increasingly uneasy, and she glanced at the mountains of transcriptions on the bed as well as the saber and the silver Sword Nurturing Gourd on the table.

A brilliant thought suddenly occurred to her, and she said in a soft voice, “Big Sister Baoping, I don’t dare to accept such valuable gifts. Master will scold me if I do.”

Li Baoping blinked and replied, “Then just tell your master that I’m lending these things to you. It doesn’t matter if you borrow it for one year, ten years, one hundred years, or one thousand years. It’s still borrowing at the end of the day, and it’s not like I’ll ask for them back either. That way, you can feel at ease and use them while you travel through the cultivation world. Isn’t that right?”

Pei Qian hung her head and replied, “Yeh, you’re right.”

Little Baoping shifted to a different spot, sitting down on the chair beside Pei Qian as she consoled, “Don’t feel like you’re stupid. You’re still young, after all, and I heard Junior Uncle say that you’re one year younger than me.”

Pei Qian felt like this made a lot of sense, so she immediately raised her head and started to smile. She then rested her arms and chin on the table and asked in a careful voice, “Big Sister Baoping, can I touch them?”

Li Baoping suddenly stood up, giving Pei Qian a huge fright. After signaling with her eyes for Pei Qian to feel at ease, she gestured for the tanned young girl to watch carefully.

However, what Pei Qian saw was Li Baoping rapidly unsheathing the sword and grabbing the hilt with both hands before taking a deep breath and slashing down at the silver gourd.

Pei Qian was completely stunned.

Li Baoping’s strike was relatively domineering, yet the smooth surface of the silver gourd caused it to slip and shoot toward Pei Qian, who instinctively slapped it away.

The silver gourd smacked into Li Baoping’s face with a loud thwack.

There was a thud as the silver gourd fell to the floor.

Li Baoping was momentarily dazed, and blood started to trickle from her nose.

Pei Qian felt like she was dead meat.

Li Baoping was still holding Auspicious Talisman right now, so it was very likely that her next strike would be at her neck, right?

However, Li Baoping unexpectedly raised a hand and casually wiped it across her nose. She then adeptly sheathed the saber and used the tip of her foot to flick the Sword Nurturing Gourd into her hand. After doing this, she returned both the saber and the silver gourd to the table.

After sitting down, Li Baoping smiled happily and said, “Pei Qian, your block and slap were beautifully done just then! You looked much like a cultivator from the cultivation world! Not bad, not bad, as expected of Junior Uncle’s disciple.”

There was a woeful look on Pei Qian’s face as she pointed at Li Baoping’s nose and said in a daze, “Big Sister Baoping, your nose is still bleeding.”

Li Baoping wiped her nose again, and looking down at her palm, it appeared like she was indeed suffering a nosebleed. She calmly stood up and ran over to her bed, pulling out a piece of calligraphy paper from the large scroll and ripping off two strips. After rolling them into balls, she tilted her head backward and stuffed the balls into her nose, after which she casually sat back down next to Pei Qian.

Pei Qian’s face was as white as a sheet, and this greatly confused Li Baoping. What was going on? Why did it seem like the silver gourd had smacked Pei Qian’s face instead of her face? In any case, it wouldn’t hurt even if it had smacked Pei Qian’s face.

Li Baoping rubbed her chin and carefully looked the tanned young girl up and down. She felt like Junior Uncle’s disciple had a relatively strange way of thinking, so much so that even she, Li Baoping, couldn’t understand her. As expected of Junior Uncle’s opening disciple. Sure enough, there was something special about her!

Pei Qian suppressed the pain in her heart as she hesitantly retrieved her beloved small gourd from her sleeve and placed it on the table. Gently pushing it toward Li Baoping, she said, “Big Sister Baoping, this is a gift for you. You can also treat it as an apology from me.”

Li Baoping was slightly angry at Pei Qian for being overly polite and treating her as an outsider, so she shot a glare at her and instructed, “Take it back!”

Pei Qian quickly and obediently placed the small gourd back inside her sleeve.

————

After leaving Mao Xiaodong’s study, the lingering rays of evening sunshine were about to vanish for good as Chen Ping’an went to look for Li Huai who was theoretically in class right now.

Chen Ping’an stood outside the window of the classroom and immediately saw the little boy sitting there with his book held high up. Hiding behind the book, Li Huai was nodding off with his head bobbing up and down.

There were two children the same age as Li Huai sitting beside him, and one was filled with vigor and energy and clearly unable to sit still. His eyes were wandering around, and he had noticed Chen Ping’an standing outside the classroom a long time ago. The two of them stared at each other.

The other child was sitting upright and listening to the teacher with full concentration.

Liu Guan noticed the young man in white smiling and looking in his direction the entire time, and he knew that this person definitely wasn’t a teacher of the academy given how young he was. Thus, he silently punched his palm in an act of provocation.

However, the teacher immediately bellowed, “Liu Guan!”

Liu Guan obediently stood up.

Li Huai was enjoying a beautiful dream, yet he was scared out of his wits and woken with a start at this moment, causing him to put down his book and look around with a dazed expression.

The teacher immediately roared, “And you as well, Li Huai! Transcribe Exhortation to Learning five times tonight![1] Also, you’re not allowed to ask Ma Lian to help you!”

After class, the teacher walked out of the classroom with a stern expression.

He nodded in acknowledgement to Chen Ping’an whom he had noticed a long time ago.

Chen Ping’an bowed in response.

Li Huai widened his eyes after walking out of the boisterous classroom, and he was barely able to believe what he was seeing. “Chen Ping’an?!” he exclaimed.

Chen Ping’an smiled faintly and waved at the little boy.

Li Huai grinned widely before suddenly shouting, “Chen Ping’an, have a taste of Grandmaster Li’s Invincible Fist Technique!”

After shouting this, Li Huai clumsily performed the six-step walking meditation and charged at Chen Ping’an. However, Chen Ping’an reached over and placed a hand on his head, holding him at bay.

Li Liu flailed around for a long while before finally calming down. The rims of his eyes were red as he asked, “Chen Ping’an, why did you come here so late? My big sister left a long time ago. If you had come earlier, you would have been able to meet her. With my help matching the two of you together, you could have then made eyes at each other and eventually become a lovey-dovey couple. You could have done some romantic things in the academy under the moonlight and willow branches, and I would have been able to call you brother-in-law now.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

Li Huai grabbed Chen Ping’an’s arm before turning to Liu Guan and Ma Lian and saying with a smile, “He’s Chen Ping’an, the Chen Ping’an who gave me the bamboo bookcase and made me a pair of straw sandals! What did I tell you? That he would definitely come to the academy to visit me. What do you say? Do you believe me now?”

Liu Guan rolled his eyes in response.

So this was the Chen Ping’an that Li Huai talked about so much that he had calluses in his ears?

Ma Lian hurriedly bowed in greeting.

Li Huai laughed in an unrestrained manner, yet he stopped abruptly and asked, “Have you seen Li Baoping yet?”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “Yes, I saw her at the entrance of the academy.”

Li Huai nodded earnestly and said, “Let’s go and look for Li Baoping together in a moment. She still needs to thank me for inviting you to the academy. She wanted to beat me up at the mountain peak back then, but… Heh, how can a little girl run faster than me? What an absolute joke. I’ve mastered the divine techniques now, and I’m able to run like the wind and fly across eaves and walls…”

Chen Ping’an coughed quietly.

Li Huai suddenly noticed Liu Guan’s gloating expression and Ma Lian squirming around, so he slowly turned around, only to see Li Baoping standing behind him with a tanned young girl. Li Huai immediately felt a sense of connection with the tanned young girl, especially since she looked a little like Chen Ping’an had back during their first encounter in the small town.

Li Baoping crossed her arms and said with a cold chuckle, “Li Huai, I’ll give you a headstart of one hundred paces and it’s your choice whether you hide in a tree, on a roof, or in the toilet.”

Li Huai huffed and replied, “Li Baoping, seeing that Chen Ping’an genuinely came to the academy, how about we settle things and call this a draw?”

“A draw?” Li Baoping asked with a smile.

Li Huai thought for a moment before relenting and saying, “Fine, then we’ll call this a close loss for me?”

Seeing that her junior uncle was indeed present, Li Baoping decided to let things slide this time.

It didn’t look like Li Baoping was going to beat him up, so Li Huai immediately regained his haughty spirit and dragged Chen Ping’an by the arm, asking in happiness, “Where are you staying right now? Do you want to visit my dorm first?”

Pei Qian’s eyes lit up. By the looks of it, this Li Huai was a like minded person!

In the end, they walked to Chen Ping’an’s guest room together.

In reality, Ma Lian really wanted to tag along with Li Huai. However, Liu Guan forcefully dragged him away to eat dinner together.

Zhu Lian was yet to return from his exploration.

Shi Rou stayed in her guest room the entire time and didn’t meet anyone else.

This was a Confucian academy, after all.

Even if one were a legitimate earth immortal yin entity, would one dare to act flagrantly in such an area?

Shi Rou felt like she was desecrating the academy with each inhale and exhale, and this made her feel an incredible sense of guilt, respect, and fear.

This was the Majestic World.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an, Li Baoping, Pei Qian, and Li Huai were sitting around a table together.

They were enjoying a meal prepared for the guest rooms by the academy.

Li Huai was sitting opposite Chen Ping’an and talking the loudest. With Chen Ping’an present and overlooking the situation, he naturally didn’t need to be afraid of Li Baoping.

“Chen Ping’an, do you want to look for Lin Shouyi together afterward?” Li Huai asked. “It’s extremely difficult to catch him now, and he’s absolutely living it up at the moment. He always ventures outside the academy to travel around and enjoy himself. I’m so envious of him.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “It’s evening right now, and this is a period of time that Qi refiners treat with relative importance. It’s best that we don’t disturb him at this time, and I can look for him later at night. There’s no need for you to lead the way either, and I can look for Lin Shouyi by myself.”

When it came to cultivating the Great Dao, each sliver of opportunity needed to be seized.

Some cultivation practices were universal.

For example, there were four periods of the day when one couldn’t slack off. Heaven and earth were clear at midnight, so this period of time was best for internal observation and producing Qi, using one’s bridge of immortality to link one’s internal small world to the large world outside.

The period of time before sunrise was best for nurturing and channeling Qi, bringing benefits to both one’s acupoints and meridians. Noon was the best time for using yang energy to refine Qi into liquid, while evening was the best time to transform this liquid and absorb it drop by drop into the critical “residences” that were located inside one’s bonded acupoints, allowing one to accumulate a strong foundation of the Great Dao.

In addition to the four periods of the day, there were also practices regarding the time periods of the month and of the year.

When it came to building the foundation of the Great Dao, this was simply a case of working hard to repair and support one’s innate foundation. This was a slow process akin to using water to polish a mirror, and as the mirror gradually became smoother and clearer, one would eventually reach the rumored state of flawlessness.

Most importantly, one would gain the ability to notice extremely subtle changes after one set foot on the path of cultivation and started to ascend the mountain of the Great Dao. One would clearly understand one’s losses if one slacked off for a single day. Thus, it was unacceptable for cultivators to slack off.

After understanding the mystical nature of these principles, many derivative rules and regulations would no longer appear confusing as if they were shrouded in clouds and mists. Everything would open up and become clear.

For example, why weren’t mortal rulers allowed to advance to the Middle Five Tiers? Why did cultivators gradually distance themselves from the mortal world and become unwilling to interact with it? Why did they cultivate in blessed lands that were brimming with spiritual energy and view returning to the mortal world as a form of tempering the mind? Not only that, but returning to the mortal world was also a reluctant act that would provide no tangible benefits to their cultivation base.

Moreover, why were cultivators surprisingly prohibited from leaving the mountains freely after advancing to the Ascension Tier? Why weren’t they allowed to freely swallow up the spiritual energy and fortune of other lands?

Cui Dongshan had once smiled and said that when it came to Qi refiners who were seeking immortality, the higher one’s cultivation base, the likelier it was for one to ignore the rules and flout social mores. If these cultivators were allowed to roam free, then the mortal world outside the mountains would start to sway precariously like a chair with a loose joint.

As the overseers of the Majestic World, the Confucian sages had quite an exhausting job repairing this loose joint and keeping things stable.

In terms of “house discipline” alone, the stinky Daoist priests in the Heavenly World employed the simplest solution. If a powerful cultivator became too impudent and dared to offend the Daoist orthodoxy, then an immortal in the five cities and twelve pagodas of the White Jade Capital would receive an order from one of the pagoda masters, after which they would dash out and smack the offending cultivator to death in a single blow.

Of course, there were also some powerful cultivators who managed to flee with their lives. These cultivators would then travel to the Heaven Ascending Platform and beat the heavenly drum to express their grievances and search for justice. Looking through the history books, only the Dao Ancestor’s first disciple would frequently grant an audience to these cultivators and listen to their grievances, helping them resolve the situation and at the very least reducing their punishment by a small amount.

In fact, there were even cases where the branch master wearing a hibiscus hat would directly exonerate the cultivators and severely punish the immortals from the White Jade Capital instead.

If the person judging the cultivators were Lu Chen, the Dao Ancestor’s youngest disciple, then everything would depend on Branch Master Lu Chen’s mood. If he were in a good mood, then everything would be smooth sailing and the cultivators might even receive a fated opportunity. If he were in a bad mood, however, then the cultivators might even receive additional punishment.

If it were the Dao Ancestor’s second disciple overseeing the White Jade Capital…

…Then it would be impossible for anyone to beat the heavenly drums and express their grievances.

This was because the Daoist second disciple would definitely lash out and kill them, most likely dragging their remnant souls into his palm which was also the purest thunder pool in the Heavenly World.

The sky was boundless and the earth was vast.

No matter how much a mortal human liked to travel around, they might still be unable to explore the entirety of a single nation in their lifetime. Even after becoming a cultivator, one wouldn’t dare to say that they could travel around the entirety of a continent. Similarly, those who were fortunate enough to become Upper Five Tier immortals wouldn’t dare to say that they could travel around the entirety of all of the worlds.

1. Exhortation to Learning was written by Xunzi and talks about the importance of studying, one’s attitude when studying, the contents and methods of studying, and so on. Xunzi was a Chinese philosopher of Confucianism during the late Warring States period. After his predecessors, Confucius and Mencius, Xunzi is often ranked as the third great Confucian philosopher of antiquity. ☜