Unsheathed

Pei Qian had been cultivating in seclusion for the past few days.

She had been doing the same thing both day and night.

She was sitting in front of a study table on the first floor of the bamboo building, with her head buried in sheets of paper as she earnestly transcribed texts.

She couldn’t be too quick and hasty.

She could only write slowly and carefully, making sure every single character was legible and proper.

Both Chen Ruchu, the little girl in pink who was now a young steward of the mountain, and Zhou Mili, the little water monster who was committed to becoming the right guardian of Downtrodden Mountain’s bamboo building, accompanied Pei Qian as she transcribed texts in the bamboo building. They brought her tea and water, also massaging her shoulders and back from time to time.

At noon one day, Pei Qian finally laid her calligraphy brush down in a careful manner, standing up and pretending to take a deep breath as she announced, “The grand job is complete!”

“You’ve really finished transcribing everything?” Chen Ruchu asked.

Pei Qian shot a sideways glance at her and replied, “Not only have I repaid the debt, but I’ve even learned from Big Sister Baoping and transcribed an additional ten days’ worth of text.”

She then crossed her arms and chuckled coldly, “Starting from the training sessions tomorrow, Senior Cui will understand that a completely focused Pei Qian is completely different from a Pei Qian that he can casually lecture and criticize.”

Chen Ruchu wanted to say something, but she couldn’t help but hesitate.

Forget about it. Everything will be over in a single punch anyway.

With this in mind, she decided against raining on Pei Qian’s parade.

Zhou Mili hurriedly raised her hands and clapped as quickly as she could.

Pei Qian lay down on the study table that was filled with a mountain of transcriptions, playing with some of her treasures for a while before putting them away and walking out from behind the table, saying that she was going to take Chen Ruchu and Zhou Mili out to relax their minds.

Chen Ruchu took some more roasted seeds, while Zhou Mili held the hiking pole.

Pei Qian swaggered to the old cook’s residence, looking for a young woman — her master’s future wife — whom her master had tricked over from the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

She was surprisingly not at home.

Thus, Pei Qian went to look for the old cook instead.

However, a dog suddenly dashed out when she was halfway there, and Pei Qian immediately lunged over and pushed the dog’s head into the ground with her palm, grabbing its mouth with her other hand and deftly twisting it around, forcing the dog to turn its head.

Pei Qian squatted down and asked, “Are you trying to rebel? Why haven’t you appeared for so long? Explain yourself! I can spare your life if you give me a good explanation!”

The dog could only whimper in response.

Pei Qian twisted her hand, causing the dog’s head to instantly turn in another direction. She then nodded and praised, “What courage. You’re able to remain silent even in front of a peerless mighty figure who can kill people as if they’re measly ants. I can spare your life based on this fact alone.”

The dog hurriedly wagged its tail.

However, Pei Qian didn’t let go of the dog, saying, “You can escape death, but you can’t escape harsh punishment.”

Pei Qian raised a hand, and Zhou Mili immediately handed her the hiking pole. After all, Pei Qian had previously stated that dog batons were needed to beat dogs, and the hiking pole would be even more effective when poking hornets’ nests. However, Pei Qian immediately snapped, “The roasted seeds.”

Chen Ruchu hurriedly placed a handful of roasted seeds in Pei Qian’s hands. Pei Qian started to snack on the roasted seeds as she continued to twist the dog’s mouth, saying, “Come on, give me a cold chuckle like those mighty figures.”

The dog pursed its mouth.

“Let’s try another one. Give me a wicked smile like those bad people in the cultivation novels,” Pei Qian ordered.

The dog changed the look in its eyes and pursed its mouth again.

Pei Qian frowned upon seeing this, and the dog immediately started to struggle, knowing that things were going to take a turn for the worse.

Pei Qian grabbed the dog and stood up, spinning one full rotation before throwing the dog more than twenty meters into the distance.

She continued to snack on roasted seeds, and she saw a man and a young woman standing nearby.

Pei Qian cocked her head, and after looking at them for a long time, a dazzling smile suddenly spread across her face as she bowed in respect.

Chen Ruchu bowed and greeted the man, calling him Mr. Zhou.

Zhou Mili followed her lead.

“This is our second meeting, right?”

Jiang Shangzhen looked at the tanned little girl whom he had already found fairly interesting back then, saying with a wide smile, “You’ve now become Chen Ping’an’s opening disciple? Very well. I feel like Chen Ping’an’s judgment is very good, seeing that he was willing to bring you out of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land.”

Pei Qian nodded earnestly in response.

This person was quite good at sucking up to people.

However, this person was truly very fortunate to become acquainted with her master. He needed to thank his ancestors and offer more incense.

Thus, Pei Qian smiled and asked, “Senior, have you visited the mountain god temple at the mountain peak yet?”

“Yes, I have,” Jiang Shangzhen replied with a chuckle.

“Then what about the Dragon Province’s city god pavilion?” Pei Qian asked.

The small incense person of the provincial city god could be regarded as half a lackey of hers now, since it was this incense person who had led Pei Qian to that large hornet nest back then. Afterward, Pei Qian had even rewarded the incense person with a single copper coin. In fact, the two of them had become acquainted far before the arrival of the provincial city god, and Big Sister Baoping had still been present at the time. However, this small incense person hadn’t appeared much lately.

Even so, Pei Qian still wanted to gain some additional incense offerings for the city god pavilion.

Jiang Shangzhen shook his head and replied, “I genuinely haven’t visited the provincial city god pavilion yet.”

After saying goodbye to Jiang Shangzhen, Pei Qian brought Chen Ruchu and Zhou Mili to the top of the steps, where the three of them sat down.

Cen Yuanji, the young girl whom Zhu Lian had brought to Downtrodden Mountain, was currently practicing fist techniques and walking from the waist of the mountain to the peak of the mountain.

According to the words of Chen Ruchu, the well-informed young steward in pink, Cen Yuanji needed to walk up and down these steps three times a day, with each trip involving a round trip from the foot of the mountain to the peak, and then back down again.

The three young girls sat side by side, snacking on roasted seeds as they chatted quietly among themselves.

Jiang Shangzhen returned to his courtyard, shaking his head and saying with a smile, “I finally know why the bright moon was stolen from the shoulder of that pure Confucian in the Southern Whirl Continent. I surmise that the old temple master will also grab the large sun of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, extracting its essence and placing it in the other eye of that young girl.”

Ya’er was stunned by what she heard.

Jiang Shangzhen glanced at her and asked, “Are you feeling very wronged and distressed? You’re cultivating so earnestly, yet it seems like all of your cultivation pales in comparison to a single fated opportunity of someone else?”

Ya’er didn’t dare to say anything.

Jiang Shangzhen smiled with squinted eyes and retrieved a pseudo-celestial tool, the future premier treasure of the True Realm Sect, continuing, “Are you able to hold this treasure if I sincerely give it to you? Will you not die? You will die, and you won’t even know the reason behind your death. Will the culprit be Liu Laocheng, or will it be Liu Zhimao? Or perhaps those guest elders who came from the Jade Tablet Sect? Some casual scheme from them will cause you to easily take the bait and walk into a death trap.”

Ya’er quietly waited for Jiang Shangzhen, the sect leader of the True Realm Sect, to put away the pseudo-celestial tool.

However, Jiang Shangzhen tightly gripped the jewel and slapped it into the young woman’s glabella, saying with a faint smile, “Here, a present for you, lest you mistakenly think that you can cultivate in peace and ride on a powerful person’s coattail. This world is rife with predators and dangers, so how can you still be as clueless as you were in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land? This won’t do.”

Ya’er felt as if she were in a cauldron of boiling oil, with her soul being brutally scorched by the heat. She clutched her head and writhed in agony on the ground.

Jiang Shangzhen had already waved his hand and created an isolated small world.

“I’m going to use you to test the dispositions of Liu Laocheng and Liu Zhimao. They’re vagrant cultivators, after all, so I can understand their wild ambitions and their love for freedom. If they can resist the temptation, then it’s only right that one of them advances to the Immortal Tier and one of them breaks through the barrier of the Nascent Tier, ascending to greater heights alongside me and enjoying the scenery together. If they can’t resist the temptation, however, even if it’s just a thought and only a minor action, then my heart will feel very pained. The True Realm Sect will lose two powerful members for no good reason.”

Jiang Shangzhen sat down and crossed his legs, pouring himself a cup of tea as he continued, “Almost no cultivators in the world have realized that only one’s disposition can act as a Dao guardian that will accompany them for life.”

————

In an impoverished alley in the capital of the Southern Garden Nation…

A young boy in azure was sitting in the same chair as several years ago and thinking about some matters.

When bidding farewell and leaving a few years ago, Mr. Lu had said that they could reunite in the outside world if the opportunity arose in the future. However, reuniting in this world would be impossible.

Mr. Lu had already been the undisputed number two in the world at that time, with his strength almost identical to that of Yu Zhenyi, the old immortal of the Lake Mountain Faction who had flown around on his sword and had the appearance of a young child.

Not only that, but Dragon General Tang Tieyi had also led the army of the Northern Jin Nation on an expedition to the north, conquering the plains and accumulating outstanding military merit. Afterward, Tang Tieyi and the army of the Northern Jin Nation had chosen to ease their advance, allowing the plains to descend into severe internal conflict, where sons killed their fathers and brothers killed brothers.

Moreover, Tang Tieyi had ventured north with nothing but his saber, Refiner, several times, killing countless powerful figures of the plains.

After visiting the Southern Garden Nation, Arm Sage Cheng Yuanshan abandoned all of his wealth and properties in the plains for some unknown reason, choosing to join the Lake Mountain Faction instead.

Meanwhile, the Pine Song Nation started to aggressively search for people with cultivation aptitude under the rule of the new emperor, a puppet installed and backed by the Lake Mountain Faction.

Meanwhile, both Lu Fang’s Bird’s Eye View Peak and Zhou Shi’s Spring Tide Palace remained closed off the entire time.

The young boy in azure silently observed these great trends of the world. However, he still spent more of his time reading and cultivating.

Mr. Zhong Qiu and Mr. Lu had each accompanied Cao Qinglang to the Five Mountains of the Southern Garden Nation one time.

These were distant journeys, and they were also a form of cultivation.

Cao Qinglang had been in possession of the Five Mountains True Appearance Picture Scroll at the time. Imperial Preceptor Zhong Qiu had attempted to destroy this immortal item in the past, worried that Yu Zhenyi would snatch it away. However, he had failed to destroy the picture scroll no matter what, and Mr. Lu had somehow managed to convince him to give the immortal item to Cao Qinglang afterward, asking the young boy to look after it. Cao Qinglang was able to guess some of the reasons. In reality, Mr. Lu was targeting Yu Zhenyi both for his sake and for the sake of this extremely mystical immortal item.

The knowledge that these two teachers had imparted to Cao Qinglang was also slightly different.

The knowledge imparted by Mr. Zhong Qiu was gradual and progressive, filled with a rich background of etiquette. After all, Zhong Qiu was reputed as a scholarly imperial preceptor and a martial arts grandmaster.

On the other hand, the knowledge imparted by Lu Tai was varied and profound. At the same time, his sudden appearance and rapid rise in this world were also unrivaled in history. Without exception, all of his disciples had risen to become mighty figures who dominated a region.

There was a knock on the door.

Cao Qinglang walked over to answer.

It was an old Confucian scholar with graying sideburns.

He was none other than the imperial preceptor of the Southern Garden Nation.

Zhong Qiu and Cao Qinglang, his half-disciple, both sat down.

Zhong Qiu smiled and said, “Qinglang, you had many questions when you were young, asking about the origin of the stars, the cycle of the sun and moon, the source of the wind and rain, and many more. As your teacher, I’m unable to answer some of these questions, so you can seek the answers yourself in the future.”

Cao Qinglang nodded lightly.

Zhong Qiu fell silent for a moment before remarking with emotion, “But I hope you can speak up for this world in the future, preventing it from transforming into a Go board where everyone is reduced to nothing but a disposable piece.”

“I will,” Cao Qinglang replied. “This is somewhat related to the level of my abilities in the future, but it isn’t all that important. Moreover, I have trust in him.”

“Then I feel at ease,” Zhong Qiu said with a smile.

He felt at ease with this young boy in azure whom he had watched study and grow up year by year, and he also felt at ease with that young man who had dressed in white and carried a sword.

Zhong Qiu suddenly felt slightly hesitant.

“Mr. Zhong, are you hesitating about whether to stay in the Southern Garden Nation or whether to leave and go to that world?” Cao Qinglang asked.

Zhong Qiu nodded and replied, “I’m not curious about how big the outside world is, but I feel a slight yearning for the sagely knowledge of the outside world.”

A dazzling smile spread across Cao Qinglang’s face as he said, “Rest assured, Mr. Zhong, he said before that the books outside aren’t very expensive.”

“Just how old were you at that time? Yet, you seem to remember everything he said to you back then,” Zhong Qiu teased.

“How can I possibly forget? I won’t ever forget,” Cao Qinglang murmured.

The two of them fell silent.

Zhong Qiu glanced up at the sky and said, “It’s about to rain.”

“The path is still present, so an umbrella will suffice,” Cao Qinglang replied with a faint smile.

————

Mr. Fisherman — Wu Shuowen — had left Blusher Prefecture with his two disciples, Zhao Luan and her older brother Zhao Shuxia, and started to journey around the world.

After all, the commotion at Misty Mountain had been far too big, so it wasn’t that Wu Shuowen didn’t have faith in Chen Ping’an, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Because of this, they had embarked on a distant journey and left Colorful Garment Nation.

They had first traveled to the Water Combing Nation and visited Sword Saint Song Yushao.

Wu Shuowen and Song Yushao had gotten along quite well, but it couldn’t be said that they were like old friends.

This couldn’t be helped. After all, it wasn’t the case that a friend’s friend would definitely become a very good friend.

Some things were down to fate.

However, Song Yushao liked the two youths very much, and Song Yushao’s daughter-in-law, who was now managing the clan affairs, sincerely liked Luanluan, the young girl who was clearly a cultivation talent. In fact, even blind people could tell that she was a cultivation talent.

The old man and the two youths started to return north.

This was because the further south they traveled, the more dangerous things would become.

Wu Shuowen didn’t dare to risk the lives of the two children.

On this day, the three of them camped out in the open atop a mountain peak, and Zhao Luan was cultivating while Zhao Shuxia was practicing walking meditation.

Wu Shuowen was extremely satisfied as he watched on.

Luanluan’s cultivation aptitude was naturally better, but Wu Shuowen never showed any favoritism between the two children.

In reality, Wu Shuowen was also in possession of a secret scripture, the Proper Sword Scripture, which Chen Ping’an had personally made a copy of character by character. There was also the Great Replica Qu Huang that he was temporarily carrying on his back. However, Wu Shuowen hadn’t revealed anything to Zhao Shuxia yet.

According to his agreement with Chen Ping’an, Wu Shuowen should only hand these two items to Zhao Shuxia whenever he achieved initial mastery in fist techniques.

After practicing fist techniques, Zhao Shuxia stood still and gazed into the distance.

At Blusher Prefecture, he had met Mr. Chen again after a long time, but he had only thrown approximately one-hundred-and-sixty-three thousand punches at the time.

When bidding farewell, Mr. Chen had told him to practice up to five hundred thousand punches.

Zhao Shuxia knew that his aptitude was bad, so he put his head down and practiced the fist technique in earnest, hoping to make up for his shortcomings with hard work.

At some unknown time, Zhao Luan walked up to him and asked in a gentle voice, “Big Brother, do you want to become Mr. Chen’s disciple?”

Zhao Shuxia scratched his head and replied in embarrassment, “I don’t dare to think about it.”

How could he, Zhao Shuxia, dare to dream about becoming the disciple of a sword immortal like Mr. Chen?

“But Big Brother, I have a nagging feeling that Mr. Chen has very high hopes for you,” Zhao Luan whispered in secret.

Zhao Shuxia thought for a moment before replying, “We can ignore these things for the moment. I definitely need to throw five hundred thousand punches! And then we can discuss these things again in the future.”

Zhao Luan nodded in response.

Zhao Shuxia suddenly heaved a sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Zhao Luan asked in puzzlement.

“Say, what if I’m fortunate enough to become Mr. Chen’s disciple in the future? How should I refer to you at that time? Master’s Missus? Things will become quite messy at that time, no?” Zhao Shuxia asked quietly.

Zhao Luan flushed bright red, with her cheeks appearing like brilliant cherry blossoms blooming beautifully in the spring wind.

She kicked Zhao Shuxia in the calf and exclaimed, “Zhao Shuxia! What nonsense are you spewing?!”

Zhao Shuxia grimaced with an innocent expression.

“I didn’t hear anything at all!” Wu Shuowen said loudly.

The young girl blushed even more, and she ran into the distance to calm down by herself.

Zhao Shuxia turned around and exchanged a smile with Wu Shuowen, with everything between them communicated wordlessly.

Even though their ages were very different, they were ultimately both men, after all.

However, things became different when Zhao Shuxia started to practice fist techniques again.

There were times when Wu Shuowen would become slightly adrift as he watched the young boy practicing fist techniques in a monotone manner, feeling like Zhao Shuxia’s aptitude was actually very good?

In the past, Zhao Shuxia indeed hadn’t been a martial arts talent, and right now, his fist intent was still shallow, and he still couldn’t be regarded as a martial arts prodigy.

However, as long as Zhao Shuxia persevered and continued along this path, there would eventually come a day when the young boy could at least have a chance to turn things around.

Who in the world had the most similar fist intent to Chen Ping’an?

It was none other than the young and unknown Zhao Shuxia.

————

At the border of the Azure Phoenix Nation…

The Dao Heart of Immortal Colored Glaze was almost about to collapse.

Great Esteemed Immortal Cui, who was dressed in white and appeared like a young boy, was instructing a frail little child to carry him around on his back.

The little child swayed back and forth as he walked along a rugged mountain path.

Cui Dongshan waved his snow-white sleeve around and continued to shout giddy up, making it seem like he was riding a horse.

————

On the second floor of the bamboo building…

Pei Qian had just dodged a punch with much difficulty when the next punch struck her in the forehead, pushing her into the wall and nailing her in place.

Cui Cheng, the barefoot old man, was expressionless as he said, “You’re at the third tier, and I’m facing off against you as the weakest type of fourth tier cultivator, yet how many times have you essentially died already? Are you a useless piece of trash?! If your master was a piece of trash with decent aptitude, then you’re a piece of trash who doesn’t have the right to be Chen Ping’an’s disciple!”

Pei Qian, who was seemingly hanging on the wall, was bleeding from all orifices on her face. She summoned all her energy to open her eyes and spit a mouthful of blood at the old man.

Cui Cheng didn’t dodge, and he simply exerted more force through his fist. If this bamboo building were an ordinary building, then Pei Qian’s head would have sunk completely into the wall already.

“You’re not willing to yield?” the old man chuckled coldly. “But do you have the ability to open your mouth to speak? Trash disciple taught by a trash master! If I were Chen Ping’an, I would have told you to grab your belongings and piss off a long time ago, lest you bring even more embarrassment in the future!”

His fist smashed into Pei Qian’s bloody face, causing her tanned appearance to no longer be visible.

A skinny arm shakily reached up, lightly tapping Cui Cheng on the shoulder. This couldn’t even be considered a punch.

Was this light brush supposed to tickle him?

Cui Cheng seemingly flared up in rage, with his fist transforming into a palm as he grabbed Pei Qian’s head and casually flung her sideways, sending her crashing into a wall before thudding heavily to the ground.

Pei Qian had already lost consciousness.

Cui Cheng walked over to her side and squatted down, extending a finger and making a tapping motion in the air.

He stood up a moment later, turning to the corridor outside the bamboo building and instructing, “Drag her out.”

The bamboo door swung open, and Chen Ruchu deftly picked up Pei Qian and placed the tanned young girl on her back, after which she gently but quickly ran to the first floor of the bamboo building.

The old man clasped his hands behind his back and strode out of the room, walking to the railings lining the corridor.

He laughed soundlessly, appearing as satisfied and delighted as could be.

That punch…

Pei Qian deserved to be the strongest at her tier.