Unsheathed

The final sparring session between Li Er and Chen Ping’an was very different from their usual sessions.

Li Er told Chen Ping’an to go all out and resort to any means necessary to stay in the fight for as long as possible.

Chen Ping’an was rather confused. He was but a mere sixth tier martial artist, while Li Er was a tenth tier martial artist. Even if he were to go all out, what difference would it make?

Li Er smiled as he explained, “For this sparring session, I’ll make it so that my attacks serve only the purpose of foiling your attacks. Just treat this like you’re in a battle of life and death. You are facing an opponent of a far superior cultivation base to yourself, and as a result of this cultivation base disparity, your opponent is fighting you with disdain and merely toying with you.

“Furthermore, he’s unaware of the true nature of your powers, and he’s under the false impression that you’re only a pure martial artist with a decent foundation. His plan is to completely exhaust your True Qi, then take his time torturing you to death.”

This only made Chen Ping’an even more confused. Essentially, what Li Er was implying was that he didn’t have to restrict himself to his fist techniques in this sparring match. Instead, he could use his sword, his talismans, as well as any other shady and underhanded tricks he had up his sleeve.

Li Er didn’t offer any further explanation, only a warning: “Don’t try to half-ass this. If I feel like you’re not taking this seriously, I’ll make it so that my final punch leaves you bedridden and coughing up blood for half a year on Lion Peak!”

With that, Li Er turned and set off for the dock, leaving Chen Ping’an at the entrance of the thatched cottage.

Li Er stood on one end of the small boat, holding the bamboo pole that served as an oar, and only after waiting for several minutes did Chen Ping’an also begin making his way toward the dock.

Li Er took a glance at him and was unable to suppress a smile.

Chen Ping’an had taken off his shoes and rolled up his pant legs, but he hadn’t done the same with his sleeves.

He had also not forgotten to carry Sword Immortal on his back.

“Get on the boat, Li Er instructed.”

All of a sudden, Li Er’s bamboo pole came swinging down upon Chen Ping’an’s head. However, he was already prepared, having clasped an Inch Movement Talisman between his fingers up his sleeve, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from the spot. He stepped on the stone cave walls and sprang back and forth several times in rapid succession, opening up a large distance between himself and Li Er.

From there, he landed on the surface of the water in a crouched position before sliding back, leaving a trail of ripples in his wake, only to draw to an abrupt halt as an Earth Pinch Talisman and a Vast Flowing River Talisman exploded in unison, the former in the cave wall and the latter in the water. At the same time, a pair of daggers appeared in his hands, the very same pair that he had taken from that Deer Cutter Mountain assassin.

The front tip of the bamboo pole appeared to have struck the ground, but it hadn’t actually made contact. Not only had Li Er’s aura not blown a trench into the earth, but it also didn’t even raise the slightest puff of dust. This was a fine demonstration of the perfect control that an End Tier martial arts master had over their fist intent.

In front of the small boat, the surface of the water rose up violently, while loose rocks sprayed in all directions, and Chen Ping’an sprang forth at an incredible speed, making a beeline for Li Er with his daggers raised.

Li Er raised his bamboo pole and turned to Chen Ping’an as he smiled and remarked, “You’re certainly putting on a fine little show.”

He casually plunged the bamboo pole toward Chen Ping’an, and the boat beneath his feet slowly drifted forward. Chen Ping’an turned to evade the bamboo pole, and with another Inch Movement Talisman held in his left hand, he instantly vanished from the spot once again.

Li Er loosened his grip around the bamboo pole, then tightened it again and thrust the pole behind himself without even bothering to turn around. The bamboo pole rammed straight into Chen Ping’an’s chest right as he appeared behind Li Er, catapulting him into the water.

Thankfully, he had managed to dodge slightly to the side at the last second, so the blow to his chest was only able to tear through his robe and his flesh to reveal the bone underneath. Otherwise, the pole would’ve pierced straight through his chest and emerged out of his back.

The small boat beneath Li Er’s feet continued to drift forward on its own. As a tenth tier pure martial artist, Li Er’s aura was more than sufficient for propelling the boat. In fact, if he were to truly unleash his aura in full force, then he could easily stir up this entire water channel into a turbulent frenzy.

At the bottom of the water channel, Chen Ping’an had detonated dozens of water talismans at once to achieve a similar effect.

Li Er tightened his grip slightly around the bamboo pole, and the boat continued onward in a slow and steady fashion, completely unaffected by the raging turbulence around it.

Li Er stomped a foot down onto the boat, and a thunderous rumble rang out deep within the water channel. A hint of surprise appeared on his face, and he moved from one end of the boat to another, paying no further heed to Chen Ping’an. He took a glance at a wall in the distance, and the boat beneath his feet shot forth like a speeding arrow as he swung his bamboo pole down with tremendous might.

A yin soul had concealed itself within the wall long ago using a Stele Carrying Talisman, and many red herrings had been dangled out to distract Li Er from it, but he had still been able to spot it right away.

The yin soul was forced to evade the almighty blow, and as soon as it moved, it immediately revealed its true form as a white-robed young man with a folding fan hanging from his waist. Even though it was a little panicked in its escape, there was still a smile on its face, and it possessed an insubstantial and ethereal body like that of a deity.

As soon as it emerged from the rock wall, Chen Ping’an’s yin soul made a hand seal with one hand, and a streak of radiant white sword light shot out of its glabella. It was First, the flying sword that he was yet to completely refine into a bonded item. Even so, its power had been greatly enhanced after being sharpened using the Dragon Slaying Platform for so long.

Once again, Li Er’s bamboo pole didn’t make contact with the rock wall. With a casual swat, he sent First crashing into the rock wall like a cannonball. It was nothing more than an ordinary bamboo pole filled with Li Er’s fist intent, yet it was able to remain completely unscathed.

“Again?” Li Er chuckled, right as another flying sword shot forth toward him from behind.

He wasn’t concerned in the slightest. His fist intent had formed an impenetrable suit of armor around him, one that he had full confidence in.

However, a surprised look suddenly appeared on his face as it occurred to him that the second flying sword was only a replica sword from Hatred Sword Mountain.

He had arrived at this realization as the flying sword had been easily deflected away by his fist intent.

The third flying sword was the fastest one of all, and it was hurtling directly toward the back of Li Er’s head.

At the same time, First had circled around and was approaching him once again.

“Well, that’s a little annoying,” Li Er remarked with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

All of a sudden, he released his bamboo pole before vanishing from the spot, only to return an instant later with three flying swords caught in his grasp, while flurries of bright sparks erupted out of the palm of his hand.

He had returned to the boat so quickly that the bamboo pole was still suspended in mid-air, not even getting a chance to fall before it was caught again.

In one hand, Li Er held the three flying swords, and at the same time, he pressed the palm of the other forcefully against one end of the bamboo pole, causing the small boat beneath his feet to sway slightly.

The bamboo pole was sent hurtling through the air, piercing straight through Chen Ping’an’s abdomen to nail him to the bottom of the water channel.

Li Er’s attack was swift and vicious, and Chen Ping’an’s reaction was just as brutal.

He thrust a palm against the bottom of the water channel, launching himself upward to forcibly remove the bamboo pole from his body, following which he vanished using an Inch Movement Talisman.

Li Er merely smiled and didn’t press his advantage. He was supposed to be playing the role of someone who was toying with Chen Ping’an, so he couldn’t just swoop in and end the battle.

One of the fine qualities of Chen Ping’an was his ability to be unaffected by pain, ensuring that he would remain calm and steady even after sustaining severe injuries.

There were some supposed martial arts prodigies whose combat prowess became more enhanced with the severity of their injuries. However, this did come at a price, and the injuries that they sustained often caught up to them, either during or after the battle. Essentially, they were sacrificing their bodies for greater combat prowess.

In a battle between two warriors of similar cultivation base, such prodigies would be much more likely to survive to the end. Courage in the face of adversity alone wasn’t enough to make one an exceptional martial artist, but if one didn’t possess such a quality, then they shouldn’t be pursuing martial arts in the first place.

However, in a battle against someone of a slightly superior cultivation base, this quality would become a double-edged sword. The ideal outcome would be for one to successfully take down their more formidable foe at the cost of their own life.

Battles between martial artists appeared quite monotonous and predictable, with everyone employing the same few tactics repeatedly to exchange blows with one another, but in reality, it was a complex game in itself, and there was certainly more to it than met the eye.

In particular, once a martial artist reached the tenth tier, their eyes would be opened to a whole new world.

Song Changjing possessed extremely lofty ambitions, and he was so devoted to martial arts that he was willing to cast aside any claim that he may have had on the throne in exchange for purity. His devotion to the martial arts went far beyond that of the average master, and his ultimate pursuit was to have the immortals on the mountain summit come down to kneel and kowtow before him.

His ambition granted him power, and Li Er was self-admittedly inferior to Song Changjing in this regard.

Once a pure martial artist reached the summit, regardless of what fist techniques they had mastered or the nature of their fist intent, there were really only two paths that they could pursue. The first path was like creating a blessed land, placing strong emphasis on the width and breadth of one’s fist intent, and it was more suited to those who were prideful and ambitious.

The second path was more like an immortal creating a small world, and it was easier for those pursuing this path to return to simplicity. If there existed no path underfoot, then one would continue to aim to ascend higher. It wasn’t that Li Er didn’t want to pursue the former path.

The problem was that it simply went against his personality, and his fist intent was already sufficiently pure, so, as opposed to trying to artificially make himself more ambitious and prideful, it was a better option for him to go straight to the Simplification Tier.

While chatting with Chen Ping’an over some wine, Li Er had heard the former mention a man on Downtrodden Mountain by the name of Zhu Lian. His nickname was the Martial Arts Maniac, and he was like a deranged demon in battle, but outside of that, his personality was as mild and aloof as that of an immortal.

Chen Ping’an was usually not one to make concrete statements as he often considered things from many different angles, but he had mentioned with great confidence that Zhu Lian was the type of martial artist least susceptible to straying down demonic paths.

Li Er felt like this Zhu Lian had to have been an exceptional prodigy, and this was a particularly glowing assessment, coming from a tenth tier martial artist.

If the opportunity arose in the future, he would like to meet Zhu Lian.

Li Er casually tossed the three flying swords aside, then retrieved his bamboo pole and continued slowly driving his boat down the water channel.

He had lashed out a little too forcefully earlier, and as a result, he was feeling a little guilty. Hence, over the course of the rest of the battle, he made sure to hold back a little, regardless of what attacks and tricks Chen Ping’an threw at him. With one particular punch, he embedded Chen Ping’an into the rock face, and he could’ve impaled the latter with his bamboo pole again, but refrained from doing so.

Not only that, but he continued onward on his boat, leaving Chen Ping’an behind. He knew that Chen Ping’an was still definitely able to continue, and he was allowing Chen Ping’an to take in a fresh breath of pure True Qi.

Li Er had always felt like there wasn’t really anything overly complicated about martial arts. It was just a case of diligently refining one’s body, and it all boiled down to how much suffering one could endure.

It was a similar concept to farming, except a farmer’s harvest depended on the will of the heavens, while how far one could go down the path of martial arts depended entirely on oneself.

Li Er turned to check on Chen Ping’an, and he was greeted by a rather bizarre sight.

Chen Ping’an had put on Golden Sweet Wine, then the Hundred Eye Taotie Dao Robe over it. Even then, he still wasn’t satisfied, and he also put on the Snowflake Dao Robe that he had obtained from Meticulous Skin City and the colorful Dao Robe from the Rainbow Sparrow Residence. Thankfully, one could manipulate the sizes of Dao robes as they pleased after completing a process of basic refinement.

Otherwise, he would’ve looked extremely bloated wearing four Dao robes outside of his original robe. Even so, this was still a rather uncomfortable sight for Li Er, particularly seeing as the outermost Dao robe was such an effeminate piece of clothing.

However, he had to admit that this was a good option.

Given Chen Ping’an’s current cultivation base as a martial artist, putting on these Dao robes from the very beginning would’ve only hindered the flow of his fist intent, and that slight difference could’ve led to his demise.

However, now that he had sustained these severe injuries, it was a different story.

At the very least, these Dao robes would allow him to withstand an additional punch or two.

Li Er’s boat drew to a halt by the water mirror, and he stepped onto its surface with his bamboo pole in his hand.

From there, he peered into the cave that served as the entrance to the water channel.

There was something happening inside.

In the distance, Chen Ping’an was standing on the surface of the water with a sword on his back. He wasn’t using any immortal water techniques, nor were his feet moving, but he was still somehow slowly moving forward.

Li Er focused his gaze on what was beneath Chen Ping’an’s feet.

In the next instant, Chen Ping’an abruptly rose up into the air, and it was revealed that he was standing atop a massive green flood dragon.

The creature was quite a marvel to behold. Its foundation was formed by Snow Soil Talismans, while its skeleton consisted of over a hundred Vast Flowing River Talismans that were closely interconnected to one another, and even the two premium item refinement mantras that Spiritual Master Fire Dragon had urged Chen Ping’an to study closely had been incorporated.

Neither the mantra to refine the three mountains nor the mantra on the immortal rain praying tablet in the Great Immortal should have been regarded solely as a means for item refinement. With the incorporation of the two mantras, the spine of the flood dragon resembled two lengths of intertwining ropes, forming an incredibly tight and resilient structure, one representing the mountain refinement technique, while the other embodied the water refinement technique.

The flood dragon was further brought to life by the true intent of the Examining the Dragon fist stance, and the combination of all of these things culminated in the visage of an extremely fearsome flood dragon.

Chen Ping’an had always been very thoughtful and meticulous in his consideration of things, and that had given rise to this formidable creature.

Chen Ping’an was habitually holding his sword in his right hand, but he was actually left-handed.

The flood dragon was crashing toward Li Er, stirring up enormous waves with its powerful body.

Li Er gently rested the tip of his bamboo pole against the ground as he scoffed. “All of this looks very impressive, but it’s not going to help you much here.”

He then gently sprang up into the air and swung his bamboo pole down with tremendous might. Even though the flood dragon was still several hundred feet away from the water mirror, its body was sliced in two, and the only thing that continued to carry it forward was its momentum.

Li Er then swung his bamboo pole horizontally through the air right as Chen Ping’an appeared on his left, and the latter instantly ducked down as if he intended to descend to the ground, only to abruptly swivel around in mid-air to evade the sweeping bamboo pole.

From there, Chen Ping’an swept a sleeve through the air, and three flying swords flew out of three of his acupoints. Immediately thereafter, he stomped a foot down onto the ground, plunging the dagger in his right hand directly toward Li Er’s heart, while the second dagger slid discreetly out of his left sleeve.

Li Er didn’t even bother to look at the three flying swords as he kicked Chen Ping’an in the chest, sending him sliding back over a hundred feet. He bent his knees slightly to absorb the impact while digging his heels into the ground, and only then was he able to ensure that he maintained his grip on the daggers in his hands.

After drawing to a halt, Chen Ping’an was able to shake off the residual fist aura from Li Er that was lingering in his chest, thanks to the four Dao robes that he was wearing.

“I already told you that all this fancy nonsense is only going to get you killed,” Li Er said as he casually tossed his bamboo pole aside, and it pierced over a foot into the surface of the water mirror.

The flood dragon had only just reformed on the surface of the mirror, only to be completely dispelled into water once again by the bamboo pole. The talismans that formed its body were already riddled with cracks, and on this occasion, they completely disintegrated.

Chen Ping’an began to move.

Li Er immediately followed, altering his trajectory slightly to ensure that he remained directly in front of Chen Ping’an. With a knee strike, he was able to send the latter flying up into the air. Meanwhile, Li Er strode forward, seemingly quite slowly, arriving beside Chen Ping’an before throwing a punch.

Once again, Chen Ping’an was sent flying as his True Qi stagnated and his Dao robes struggled audibly, and he tumbled onto the surface of the lake several hundred feet away, where he skipped over the surface of the water like a stone for several dozen more feet.

Li Er set off in rapid pursuit, with every single step that he took pulverizing the spiritual energy in the air and the water around him. He was charging directly toward Chen Ping’an, and he abruptly lunged forward, barreling his shoulder straight into Chen Ping’an’s chest right as the latter whipped out an Inch Movement Talisman.

Chen Ping’an felt as if he had been struck in the chest by a hammer, and his yin soul emerged from his body, adopting a natural yet strange fist technique that appeared slow and meticulous, but was actually a dizzying blur. The fist technique helped Chen Ping’an ward off the majority of Li Er’s fist aura, and once Chen Ping’an steadied himself, his yin soul returned to his body, all in a natural and free-flowing sequence.

As opposed to pressing his advantage, Li Er gave a pleased nod. This was what he wanted to see.

If one were to practice martial arts and pursue cultivation without ensuring a balance between the two, then their cultivation would only hinder their pursuit of martial arts. The two would constantly be in opposition against each other, ultimately resulting in detrimental outcomes.

Li Er’s intention with this sparring session was to help Chen Ping’an find that delicate balance. While he was a martial artist, he couldn’t allow himself to be carried away by his fist intent.

Similarly, even though he was a Qi refiner, he couldn’t allow that to affect the purity of his fist intent. For a martial artist, their fists alone would suffice, but that wasn’t to say that they didn’t care about anything else. A true master should be able to rely on their fists while also having a vast and diverse arsenal to fall back on.

Each person was the god of the small world that was their own body, and they were capable of governing everything in that small world.

Seeing as Chen Ping’an had already taken the first step in the right direction, Li Er was able to lash out more freely.

His punches weren’t all that heavy, but they came thick and fast, not giving Chen Ping’an any time to think.

If you want to use my fists to hone your Great Dao, then you’d better pull some tricks out of your sleeve that no other martial artists under the heavens possess! If you possess such tricks, then last as long as you can. If you don’t, then prepare for a lengthy period of recuperation once I’m done with you!

Over at the dock, Li Liu was walking over the water channel, inspecting the trail of battle left behind as she went. As for what was happening at the water mirror, she didn’t even need to look to know exactly what was unfolding.

Li Liu was not unfamiliar with pure martial artists. She had once perished at the hands of a tenth tier martial artist, but she had also previously slain tenth tier martial artists. As a result, she had gained quite an in-depth understanding of how martial artists trained and progressed.

Perhaps among all of the martial artists in the history of the Majestic World, what Chen Ping’an was accomplishing here wasn’t all that impressive, but it was extremely rare to see a martial artist capable of weathering such a ferocious storm at just the sixth tier.

Among all of the ninth and tenth tier martial artists of the world, those like Gu You, who took on no direct disciples, were ultimately among the minority.

There were many martial arts masters who wanted to imitate Li Er in pounding their disciples with their fists like a blacksmith forging a piece of metal, but not everyone could withstand this brutal style of training like Chen Ping’an. Some were physically unable to last, while others crumbled mentally, and of course, it was more often the case that one wasn’t up to scratch in either department.

Perhaps they had capable seniors and masters willing to help them, but they simply couldn’t be helped in the same way as Chen Ping’an. Some of them may have appeared to have made breakthroughs, but in reality, that was only because their mentors had failed to properly moderate the power and frequency of their blows.

Such a breakthrough was one that was fraught with hidden flaws, ones that would all be fully revealed once the disciple reached the eighth and ninth tiers.

Li Liu soon reached the entrance of the cave, but she didn’t continue onward. Instead, she turned to stroll back in the same direction that she had come from.

Upon returning to the dock, she stood at the edge of the mountain and water restriction of the immortal abode, where she cast her gaze toward the scenery in the distance outside of the Lion Peak.

She had a vague sense that something was amiss, and she raised her head to look up at the sky.

The seventy-two accompanying sages of the Confucian scholarly temples had always led the most pitiful and helpless existences.

They were immortal, but they were bound by self-imposed rules, forced to serve as passive observers of the world without being able to intervene as they pleased.

In one of her past lifetimes, Li Liu had ended up on the northwestern continent. There, she had been a sect leader at the pinnacle of the Immortal Tier, and high up in the heavens above the Flowing Dawn Continent, she had chatted briefly with a Confucian sage.

High up in the heavens, these sages observed the world below, but just like mortals looking out at the landscape from a mountain summit, even their vision had its limits, and things that were too far away couldn’t be seen clearly.

However, if they were to make use of certain ancient observation abilities, then they would be able to clearly see even the finest of details, down to the tiny inscriptions on a jade pendant carried by a certain man, or a single white hair amid a sea of exuberant black strands on a woman’s head.

However, one could only observe the world using such techniques for so long before they became weary of such an endeavor.

Furthermore, their primary duty was not to observe the world. Instead, it was to oversee all of the Ascension Tier and other Upper Five Tiers cultivators under the heavens, ensuring that these almighty figures couldn’t just bring harm upon the world unopposed.

For the Upper Five Tiers cultivators who normally resided in blessed lands and small worlds, they resembled particularly bright lanterns as soon as they left those small worlds. Thus, they immediately became the center of attention for the sages presiding above the heavens.

If they were to do anything against the rules, then the sages would intervene to stop them, but if they followed the rules in everything that they did, then there would be no need for the sages to make an appearance.

During their conversation, the Confucian sage had smiled and told her that the pastime that he enjoyed the most was traveling to a certain county in a certain nation once every ten years. There, he would visit a certain plaque in a village to observe and see what minute changes had taken place on the plaque.

Li Liu had no response to this at the time.

No one knew the loneliness of the sages.

Around an hour later, Li Liu returned to her senses from her train of thought, then turned with a smile to see a rather pitiful-looking Chen Ping’an returning by boat.

Li Er was also sitting on the boat, and he said, “You have to hold onto that breath of True Qi and preserve the martial fortune until you get to Lion Peak. Otherwise, you won’t be able to achieve what you set out to accomplish.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

“Do you really not regret taking this path?” Li Er asked. “Li Liu may know some obscure technique that can help you retain the martial fortune for a bit longer.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head as he replied, “This is the path that I must follow. The Mountain Shaking Fist was created by Senior Gu You of the Northern Complete Reed Continent, and during my travels, Senior Gu taught me three more fist techniques. Even when he passed away, he still wanted to bestow his martial fortune upon me, so I have no regrets.”

Li Er didn’t say anything further.

As the boat reached the dock, Li Liu smiled and said, “Congratulations on making a breakthrough in both your martial arts and your cultivation, Mr. Chen.”

Chen Ping’an flashed her a grin, but that slight movement instantly foiled the efforts that he had taken to suppress his True Qi and spiritual energy up to this point, causing his condition to immediately worsen.

He made his way through the mountain and water restriction at the entrance of the immortal abode, then raised his head and looked up with his hands clenched into loose fists.

A golden cloud had suddenly taken shape above Lion Peak when it had been bright and clear not long ago. Shortly thereafter, a light shower began to rain down from the heavens in an extremely sparse and slow fashion.

“First, Fifteenth,” Chen Ping’an called out.

The two flying swords instantly appeared before him, hovering slightly above him like a pair of steps.

Chen Ping’an began ascending while using the pair of flying swords as footholds, as if he were scaling a staircase leading up to the heavens.

All of a sudden, he drew to an abrupt halt several hundred feet away from the golden cloud of martial fortune. All of the fist intent in his body began to flow in a turbulent fashion, and he threw a punch up into the sky using the Rain Evaporation Technique.

The martial fortune cloud was instantly scattered, and the drizzling rain fell all over the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

The exhausted Chen Ping’an took a deep breath, then wiped the sweat from his forehead as he bent down to catch his breath.

His vision was a little blurry, but he still turned his gaze to the south as he smiled and revealed, “Senior Gu, I didn’t dare to tell you this last time, but someone in a bamboo building back in my hometown once said that our Mountain Shaking Fist is very mediocre, and that the only thing that’s decent about it is the fundamental fist intent.

“The fist technique that I just used was taught to me by him. Rest assured, Senior Gu, I have always felt like his assessment of our Mountain Shaking Fist was unfair. I’ll be sure to bring up this matter with him the next time I return home. Now that I’m at the Vajra Body Tier, surely I’ll be able to withstand a couple more punches and get a few more words in.”