Unsheathed

A group of women and young girls was washing clothes beside the stream, with orchid saplings budding by the water and pine trees and cypress trees lush in the mountains.

Aunt Liu and her daughter, Li Liu, both placed some clothes on the bluestone slabs beside the stream.

There were roughly four to five hundred families in the small town at the foot of Lion Peak, which translated to a fairly large population for such a small area. The small town was seemingly connected to Lion Peak, but there was actually a thin line separating the two, one that appeared like the gulf between heaven and earth. However, people had already grown accustomed to this after hundreds of thousands of years, and in any case, there was still some distance from the small town to the mountain path leading up Lion Peak.

No matter how mischievous or playful the children were, they would at most run to the entrance of the mountain before stopping. If any child dared to disturb the peaceful cultivation of the immortals in the mountains, they would be dragged home by their elders and placed on a bench, having their backsides smacked until they wailed in pain.

What kind of person could become widely recognized in the small town? Either they worked in the county office, earned a huge sum of money outside and returned home to construct large residences, had descendants who were talented scholarly students, were beautiful widows who liked to gossip, or opened shops and did business like Aunt Liu.

When it came to mortal towns and villages, those who had sharp tongues would also be harshly judged by others. This being the case, everyone in the small town gradually became familiar with the shopkeeper of the fabric shop, the woman with the surname Liu. In the past, the women in the small town often liked to joke about Mrs. Liu, expressing strong doubt at her claim that her son was a student at an esteemed Confucian academy. In fact, they even questioned whether Mrs. Liu truly had a son at all.

Mrs. Liu’s daughter was indeed beautiful, but what did this matter? A married daughter was like spilt water that couldn’t be recovered. Moreover, Mrs. Liu should already be burning incense and thanking her ancestors that her beautiful daughter was apparently able to become a maidservant for an old immortal at Lion Peak, so how could the other women possibly live if Mrs. Liu had a successful and scholarly son as well? All of the immense fortunes were being enjoyed by Mrs. Liu alone, so how could the other women possibly feel happy?

A very kind-looking young man had arrived at the fabric shop recently, helping the shop draw water from the well several times. He was polite and respectful, and he looked much like a scholarly student. He was also quite strong, and he would even help some elderly women draw water. In addition, he was good at remembering names and faces, and he would warmly greet people by their names following a previous encounter and conversation.

The young man had brought many presents when arriving in the small town, and it was rumored that he was a distant relative of that blockheaded man with the surname Li. The women in the small town felt like their appearances weren’t similar at all, so they speculated that the young man was most likely lovers with Mrs. Liu’s daughter, Li Liu. Some women from relatively well-off families especially ran over to the fabric shop to take a look, and not only did they fail to uncover any wrongdoings by the young man, but they even ended up spending quite large sums of money to buy many sheets of fabric. This resulted in their husbands grumbling about them being spendthrift and wasting money.

So be it if that young man were glib of tongue and solely focused on making dirty money for the fabric shop. If that were the case, then the women in the small town could easily band together to target Mrs. Liu and criticize her for finding such a money-hungry son-in-law, who was lacking in etiquette and morals. In fact, they could even criticize Mrs. Liu and her fabric shop to her face.

After hearing the complaints of their husbands, however, the women walked over to stroke their haul of fabric, thinking that it indeed wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t unreasonably expensive either. These women were accustomed to purchasing daily necessities, so did they not understand what was a fair price for the fabric? When that young man helped them pick cotton sheets and silk sheets, he definitely hadn’t been encouraging them to purchase the more expensive products on purpose. If they truly took a liking to an expensive product that wasn’t worth the money, the young man would even step in to stop them from wasting their money.

The young man had a sharp eye, and he would suggest different fabrics to them according to their body shape, hairstyle, and hair decorations. The women with daughters also approved his suggestions, feeling like the chosen fabric could genuinely make them appear a few years younger. In addition, the fabric shop also provided fair prices, and after comparing the same products between several stores, the women found that Mrs. Liu’s fabric store was even giving them a discount.

And thus, the women felt like Mrs. Liu hadn’t found herself an extremely impressive and unreachably lofty son-in-law. After all, his clothes didn’t stand out, and he didn’t have the demeanor of wealthy people or scholars, either, when he spoke with other people. Moreover, he would always look people in the eyes when he spoke with them, not trying to avert his gaze. Indeed, people in mortal towns and villages cared most about furtive eyes that contained many schemes and ill intentions.

In other words, Mrs. Liu’s son-in-law wouldn’t be so impressive that he caused all of the neighbors and nearby residents to feel jealous and sour. However, they had to admit that this young man was indeed a decent person who was capable and reliable.

Mrs. Liu’s son-in-law wasn’t overly impressive, but he wasn’t a mediocre person either. This caused the thoughts and feelings of the women to change slightly.

Li Liu listened to her relaxed mother chatting casually with the other women washing their clothes, and she thought about some matters as she beat the clothes to straighten and soften them. She started with the small matters pertaining to the fabric shop and the small town, and she moved up to major matters that went beyond just the Majestic World.

Her birth in the Jewel Small World for this lifetime was meticulously planned and carried out by the Yang Family’s medicine shop, and she understood that this lifetime would be quite different from her previous ones. Otherwise, her birthplace wouldn’t have been so close to the Yang Family’s medicine shop. And in reality, this was indeed the case.

When she had followed her father, Li Er, to the medicine shop back then, her father had gone to the front to work as a shop attendant, while she had gone to the back and heard strong remarks from Old Man Yang for the first time. Old Man Yang had said that if she continued to cultivate following her old methods, changing her body and identity all the time, and ascending the mountain briskly, she could only walk in circles at the top of the mountain. Even if she lived another ten lifetimes and experienced another one thousand years, she would still be a half-assed individual who couldn’t even act like a human. She would remain stuck at the barrier of the Immortal Tier.

Taking a step back, so what if she managed to advance to the Ascension Tier during this lifetime? How powerful could her fist become? And taking another step back, would the many sages of the Confucian schools and academies truly allow Li Liu to freely unleash her power? She would at most be able to do so once before she died again. This cycle of life and death was pointless, and each time she died, it was simply the case that she might earn some merit due to her good deeds or receive a strike at the scholarly temple due to breaking some rules.

Li Liu hadn’t appeared much in the public eye during her time in the Jewel Small World, and the only impression she had left on her neighbors in the western region of the small town was that she was beautiful and looked like her mother, although her personality took after her father. She was diligent and quick, but she didn’t speak very much. Apart from these few things, there was nothing else worth mentioning about Li Liu. She didn’t have any close friends at the same age, nor was there anything the elders could criticize her for.

Li Liu had indeed gone to the private school often to pick Li Huai up, but she had never spoken with Mr. Qi.

When Mr. Qi was teaching, he would also take a glance when he saw the young girl standing outside the classroom, but he would at most smile and nod lightly in acknowledgment.

It was as if he had simply treated her with etiquette, or perhaps he had viewed her as a normal human?

Li Liu was accustomed to seeing all kinds of strange and bizarre things in the world, and coupled with her identity and background, she had already developed a habit of paying little attention to the mortal world. She hadn’t thought much about Mr. Qi in the beginning, simply regarding this mountain master of a Confucian academy as an ordinary Confucian sage who was overseeing a small world.

Li Liu had once asked the Yang Family’s medicine shop whether this teacher, who expounded the principles in the scriptures to little children in a small town all year round, was aware of her identity, to which Old Man Yang hadn’t offered a response.

The only time Mr. Qi had spoken to her was when he had visited her family home to drink with her father, Li Er.

When she had brought a few plates of snacks to the table to go with the wine, Mr. Qi had smiled at her and said, “Li Liu, we’re all born between heaven and earth, so the difference between us isn’t actually very big. Like embarking on a long journey to seek knowledge, with seemingly no chance to return home, what ultimately decides who we are isn’t our slowly aging and decaying body, but rather how we think. In fact, it doesn’t even relate to what we think or how far we want to travel, and it simply relates to the notion of ‘how.’ Human life is short, and there will eventually come a day when one’s strength can’t carry them forward anymore. Coming to a stop and looking back at that time, the path leading to the final destination is trodden by footsteps reflecting the notion of ‘how’ and displaying the results of ‘what.’”

After saying this, Mr. Qi had gently raised the large white bowl of low-quality family-made wine and continued, “We need to pay respects to your kind, as this is the reason for our existence and the existence of this world. It’s also the reason why I, Qi Jingchun, am able to drink wine here.”

Mr. Qi had then downed the wine in a single gulp.

Li Liu hadn’t said anything, simply drinking a bowl of wine as well.

Back then, Aunt Liu had been snoring thunderously like always, while the little boy called Li Huai had been softly blabbering in his dreams. Perhaps he had still been worried, even in his dreams, that he had spent all his time playing today and hadn’t finished his homework, so he needed to find an excuse to escape punishment at the hands of his extremely strict teacher.

Li Liu held the bamboo basket of clothes as she returned to the fabric shop with her mother, and there were men whistling and humming tunes as they walked along the streets and alleys.

Aunt Liu was complaining about Li Huai being heartless, having not written a letter home in such a long time. Had he forgotten about his mother after playing around outside for too long? However, she was also worried about Li Huai living elsewhere by himself. Was he eating enough? Was he warm enough? Was he being bullied by other people? People outside didn’t simply stop at throwing insults, so what would Li Huai do if he were picked on and didn’t have anyone to help him?

Li Liu tried to console and reassure her mother, but Aunt Liu turned around and scolded her for being the most heartless. Li Huai was unable to act dutifully to his parents only because he was far away from home, but what about her? She was enjoying a good life in the mountains and leaving her parents to toil away like slaves at the foot of the mountain.

Li Liu felt slightly helpless. Sure enough, Chen Ping’an was better at dealing with these kinds of matters, able to make others feel at ease with two or three reassuring sentences.

————

Atop the mirror in the immortal abode at Lion Peak.

Li Er was in no hurry to have Chen Ping’an throw punches today, and he instead started to talk about fist principles in a rare change from the norm.

Li Er cut straight to the chase, saying, “At the end of the day, martial artists like us spar and practice techniques for the sake of nurturing our strength to defeat and kill enemies. Even children in the mortal towns presumably wish that their punches could shatter walls and kill opponents, and this desire is simply driven by human nature.

“Thus, I’ve never believed the notion that humans are innately good or whatnot, and it’s simply the case that the Confucian Sect has taught people well and encouraged them to believe this, making them feel like it’s a positive thing to be a good person even if they don’t understand what good means, to say nothing of actually doing good deeds. Because of this, sinister people doing bad deeds, such as martial artists taking advantage of their strength to pick on other people, are most likely aware that they’re doing bad deeds as well. This is the positive impact brought about by scholars.”

Li Er cracked a grin at Chen Ping’an before continuing, “I might not read books, being a crude martial artist who labors in the fields all day long, but I still know two or three principles. However, martial artists are often people who don’t speak much. Indeed, cats that purr often are usually poor at catching mice. Take, for example, my junior brother, Zheng Dafeng. He does poorly in this regard, gossiping like a woman all the time. This can’t be helped. People can’t help themselves but think more and speak more when they’re smart. Don’t judge Zheng Dafeng by his improper appearance because he’s actually quite a knowledgeable person. However, it’s a pity that his knowledge is too miscellaneous and not pure enough, causing his fists to become muddied and unable to become quicker.

“It’s rare for me to teach fist techniques, so I’m voicing a few extra thoughts to you today. This is the one and only time.”

Li Er looked at the nearby Chen Ping’an, using the tip of his toes to lightly draw on the ground. “You and I are standing at two different locations, and even if you’re at the sixth tier while facing me, who’s at the tenth tier, you still need to strive to stand at an indomitable position. This is not to say that you can’t lose to me. Rather, if your heart wavers and falls into disarray before your body even moves when you’re facing a powerful foe, then you will have lost before the battle has even begun. That will be seeking death.”

It looked like Li Er hadn’t moved at all.

However, Chen Ping’an immediately slid a dozen or so meters to the side.

The flowing water around the colossal mirror became still for a brief moment. In fact, there were even signs of the water flowing in reverse.

This was caused by Li Er’s fist intent.

“Striving for victory and fighting to stay alive isn’t the same as becoming a reckless brute who’s ignorant and fails to understand different situations. If one’s fist intent grows as one retreats, then one wouldn’t have given a single inch to one’s opponent.”

Li Er nodded and continued, “If mortal humans have many interactions with blades and weapons during their daily life, then they naturally won’t fear clubs or staff. In a similar way, pure martial artists also seek out those at similar levels to spar and temper their Great Dao. Alternatively, they enter battlefields of swords and spears, facing tens or hundreds of enemies by themselves. Apart from their own bodies, they can also make use of various weapons, using these to train their eyes and ears as they search for their martial courage. They strive to reach a state where they dare to unleash their punches at all opponents, regardless of who the opponent is.”

Li Er smiled and concluded, “One needs to endure hardships and pain before learning true martial arts. This involves more than just having a martial artist temper one’s physique and bones, and it also involves teaching one to remain fearless when one faces a more powerful foe. However, if one masters a myriad of deadly techniques and becomes obsessed with them, then one will eventually be weighed down by these skills one day.”

“Powerful martial artists shouldn’t use their fists rashly,” Chen Ping’an concurred with a nod, then quickly added, “Not always.”

Only after hearing this did Li Er retract his hand. Otherwise, Chen Ping’an’s initial remark would have earned him a solid punch, one that was at least at the Thriving Qi Tier of the tenth tier.

Practicing fist techniques and martial arts was gruelling work, so it made little sense to hold back all the time regardless of the situation.

Li Er stood still and breathed calmly, extending his left arm and using his right hand to lightly smack his left wrist, forearm, joints, and muscles.

“Our tendons and bones are like the dragon veins and mountain roots, with our muscles and flesh being analogous to the undulating mountain ranges,” he said slowly. “Tempering our tendons and bones and training our physique is for the sake of improving each small region, raising these countless small regions to a pinnacle state. We let this accumulate without breaking through, and when we unleash a punch, the city gates have to open even if they refuse, and the mountains must shatter even if they resist!”

Li Er retracted his right hand and suddenly shook his left hand.

Astral winds surged forth, causing Chen Ping’an’s azure robes to flutter loudly in the air.

The flowing water around the colossal mirror further started to flow in reverse.

Chen Ping’an fully accepted Li Er’s guidance, especially since it followed a similar principle to Qi refiners striving to unlock as many residences as possible for the sake of accumulating spiritual energy.

When it came to seemingly even battles at the same tier, one could therefore draw on more spiritual energy to defeat one’s opponents, using their overwhelming strength to achieve victory.

Li Er slowly assumed a fist stance.

In the end, his fist stance became a fixed position as he said, “Feet, hands, eyes, stances, power, Qi, intent, and combining both the internal and the external — this is the so-called bodily small world of Qi refiners. When it comes to martial artists like us, a breath of pure True Qi is like an army of heavy cavalry that marches forward to defeat foes and expand territory. On the other hand, Qi refiners seek to safeguard their territory using magnificent cities and soldiers in formations. Of course, these descriptions are all from Zheng Dafeng. I’m not able to make such fanciful comparisons.”

Li Er lightly stomped his foot and continued, “The legs lacking power will be like walking around a maze and failing to find the exit. When first embarking on the path of martial arts, making a single misstep will be the same as scribbling over one’s future — there’s no need to dream about reaching a state of divine aura and flawlessness.”

Li Er casually extended a finger, pointing at his own eyes and saying, “When it comes to achieving mastery in martial arts, a person needs to train their eyes to a state of extreme clarity. They need to anticipate their opponent’s movements with their mind and observe their opponent’s fists with their eyes.”

Chen Ping’an’s chest was instantly hammered by two fists at this moment, causing him to fly backward. He somersaulted through the air and landed on his hands and feet, his fingers claw-like as they dragged along the mirror and surprisingly sent sparks flying. Chen Ping’an finally arrested his backward momentum, not falling into the water.

Li Er stood at Chen Ping’an’s initial spot and said, “My fists were neither forceful nor quick, yet you still failed to block them. Why is this? It’s because your eyes and your mind haven’t been trained enough. When facing powerful enemies and walking the tightrope of life and death, many instinctive actions can either save one’s life or push one into further peril.

“When I moved just then, you subconsciously looked at my finger and my eyes. This is human instinct, and even though you were already careful enough, you were still a touch too slow. However, this is the difference between life and death for martial artists. Fighting with enemies isn’t the same as journeying through mountains and waters, and there isn’t any time for you to carefully think about your next move. Taking things one step further, the mind reacting faster than the body is also a huge pitfall for martial artists.”

Li Er paused for a moment before asking, “Chen Ping’an, do you feel like you’re relatively careful when you observe people? You’re relatively careful at each and every moment?”

Chen Ping’an used his palm to wipe the blood from the corners of his mouth as he nodded in response.

“This is the blemish tainting your fist intent,” Li Er revealed. “You always feel like this one skill is enough, yet the complete opposite is true. This is far from enough. Perhaps you’re still not aware right now, but when it comes to fights between eighth tier and ninth tier martial artists in the world, it’s often the case that they die as a result of their greatest strengths. Why is this? It’s because they’re extremely cautious about their weaknesses, yet it’s very easy to become unknowingly conceited about their strengths.”

Li Er assumed another fist stance, starting to perform the beginning of a fist technique at the same time.

This was surprisingly a stance and technique that Chen Ping’an was incredibly familiar with: Examining the Dragon and the Deity Drumming Technique.

“The martial arts books talk about having three heads and six arms as being a mystical ability, and this isn’t some joke being spread in the mortal world,” Li Er said. “There are hundreds upon thousands of fist arts in the world, each with its own stances and techniques. The stances are the fundamentals, the meditations are the building blocks, and the techniques are the outward display. Combining these three will give rise to different fist arts and thus result in countless fist guides in the world. You’ve traveled to many places, so you should be aware that people like to refer to ordinary members of the martial world as martial technique experts. This is the reason.”

Li Er relaxed his fist stance and casually channeled the Deity Drumming Technique to unleash a punch. However, the Deity Drumming Technique appeared soft and gentle when channeled by Li Er, yet it was still filled with abundant intent. As Chen Ping’an observed, he was surprised that it was completely different from his aura when he channeled the technique.

Li Er channeled the Deity Drumming Technique to throw another punch, once again changing the fist intent completely, with his fist as quick as lightning. He suddenly halted his punch and chuckled. “When martial artists face enemies, there are varying fist principles and a myriad of techniques, giving rise to countless possibilities of victory and defeat as long as the difference between their cultivation bases isn’t too great. Once a martial artist becomes a martial technique expert, however, their flashy moves will be nothing more than just that. Fists being afraid of youth? Using a flurry of chaotic punches to beat an experienced martial artist to death? An experienced martial artist won’t be fazed at all, and with a single strike, the martial technique expert who’s huffed and shouted for half a day will be killed with ease.”

Chen Ping’an suddenly cocked his head.

Li Er was already standing in front of him, with his tenth tier punch shooting past Chen Ping’an’s cheek.

He smiled and said, “You understood my teaching, and you were able to act upon this understanding straight away. Very good.”

The fist was still “slow” but relatively powerful, and if Chen Ping’an had failed to dodge it, then today’s sparring session would have ended straight away. At that time, Li Er would have rowed the small boat back to the dock, taking with him the bloodied Chen Ping’an.

Li Er retracted his fist. Even though Chen Ping’an had dodged the punch that would have smashed into his forehead, the astral winds whipped up by the punch still cut a bloody gash into his cheek, with blood continuing to flow down his face.

“You’re good at stealing fist stances and techniques, so after sparring with you for so long, why don’t you try to emulate my fist stance and fist intent?” Li Er suggested.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response before throwing a punch like Li Er.

Li Er stood nearby and followed Chen Ping’an as he advanced, pointing out the flaws with his fist stance. He also used his foot to lightly kick Chen Ping’an’s calf and his fingers to lightly tap Chen Ping’an’s wrists, elbows, and shoulders, eventually saying, “Don’t turn the fist stance into something rigid. There are huge differences between each person’s physique, and just our height alone is already different.

“Even though you’re deliberately transforming the fist stance into your own, making some changes here and there, you’re still a long way off. Brute strength isn’t valuable, and fist intent is the most important. It’s important in the sense of being alive, and fists that are alive will essentially be a second life for pure martial artists like us. It’s even more important than the external yang souls and the wandering yin souls of Qi refiners.”

Chen Ping’an closed his eyes, pausing for a moment before performing the fist stance again.

“The direction is wrong,” he concluded.

Li Er nodded and said, “Practicing fist techniques isn’t the same as cultivating Dao, and regardless of one’s cultivation base, it’s inevitable that one will face decaying tendons and bones, waning Qi and blood, and weakening spirit and soul if one doesn’t pay attention to the fine details. Martial technique experts outside the mountains harm their bodies when they practice fist techniques, and this is especially the case for those practicing external martial arts. They’re just exchanging their vitality for strength.

“Failing to master the essence of fist techniques is the same as seeking death. With this in mind, pure martial artists can only rely on fist intent to nurture their vitality. However, this is a matter that can’t be explained clearly.”

Li Er sat down cross-legged after saying this, extending a hand and gesturing for Chen Ping’an to also sit down.