Unsheathed

Over at Sword Immortal Sun Juyuan’s residence, Zhu Mei and Jiang Guancheng were standing with their heads bowed outside a pavilion, and Yan Lü and the others didn’t dare to smile as they stood nearby.

Inside the pavilion was Lin Junbi, a young man currently studying a Go manual by himself. He always carried his beloved Go boards and Go stone containers with him, with all of these items being top-notch immortal treasures. It was said that these treasures had initially belonged to White Emperor City, and they had only made their way to Lin Junbi’s hands afterward.

Two of the Go containers were decorated with the phrases “Always watched over by the deities” and “Always protected by the heavens,” and the many Go stones on the Go board appeared like dazzling sword light from two swords, each exuding sword qi of a different color. There was a standoff on the Go board, and sword qi clashed above it.

Every time Lin Junbi picked up a Go stone and placed it on the Go board, his very act of avoiding the crisscrossing sword qi was dizzying and profound.

In reality, Lin Junbi hadn’t scolded the two people just then, simply listening to their explanation and asking them a few questions about the details. However, Zhu Mei and Jiang Guancheng were quite nervous and scared.

It was difficult to imagine that Lin Junbi was actually a vagrant cultivator, especially since his achievements over the past few years were far too incredible, so much so that people could very easily forget his humble beginnings from the mortal streets and alleys.

Lin Junbi glanced at the Go board before looking at the Go manual resting beside his hand. He then turned to his companions and said with a smile, “There’s no need to feel so tense. The situation is unchanged, so you can all go back and cultivate.”

Three of them would face the three trials in three days’ time.

Lin Junbi then called one of them back and proposed, “Senior Brother Bian Jing, how about a game of Go?”

The young man who had visited the wine shop with Yan Lü and the others nodded in response before walking into the pavilion and sitting down.

Over at the wine shop, he had seemingly reacted the slowest following Chen Ping’an’s attack on Jiang Guancheng.

However, things were completely different now, and the young sword cultivator called Bian Jing appeared relaxed and lazy as he pulled a Go contained over and rested his cheek in his hand. He helped Lin Junbi clean up the Go board, not avoiding the criss-crossing sword qi like Lin Junbi, but instead choosing to forcefully shatter them as he picked up the Go stones and returned them to their containers.

Lin Junbi was just about to say something, but Bian Jing spoke up first, grumbling, “You’ve already mentioned this two times. Is my memory that bad? I just need to fake a loss to that Situ Weiran, right? Otherwise, the Sword Qi Great Wall will lose face, and that will cause us endless trouble in the future, inevitably affecting the peaceful cultivation of Yan Lü and Zhu Mei.”

“Everything is fine as long as you understand,” Lin Junbi replied with a smile.

“There’s no doubt that you’ll win the first battle, but are you confident about Yan Lü winning the second battle?” Bian Jing asked.

“There’s a chance, but not a very big one,” Lin Junbi replied. “Everything would have gone smoothly if you, Senior Brother, were still at the Dragon Gate Tier, and I surmise that the sword cultivators at the Sword Qi Great Wall wouldn’t have felt confident enough to cause us trouble after losing the two trials.”

“So it’s my fault for being fortunate and advancing too quickly?” Bian Jing asked teasingly.

This Golden Core Tier sword cultivator, Bian Jing, was the only sword cultivator among them who didn’t belong to the Shaoyuan Empire. He looked to be in his twenties, but he was actually in his thirties. Even so, reaching the peak stage of the Golden Core Tier in his thirties was already an extraordinary feat.

Lin Junbi’s master was the imperial preceptor of the sixth-largest empire in the Majestic World, and Bian Jing was an unofficial disciple of his.

Lin Junbi didn’t know much about the true background of this little-known sword cultivator who was supposedly at the “Sea Observation Tier,” and his master wasn’t willing to reveal too much either. Only Sword Immortal Ku Xia had noticed some clues during their trip to Stalactite Mountain, and even the elderly Nascent Tier cultivator was in the dark regarding Bian Jing’s true cultivation base. As for Yan Lü and the others, they were even more oblivious to the fact that a flood dragon was swimming beside them, happy to watch them for jokes and entertainment.

If Lin Junbi’s greatest interest was to find someone to play Go with and to witness Great Sword Immortal Zuo You’s sword techniques during his training at the Sword Qi Great Wall, then his half-senior brother, Bian Jing, was definitely gunning for Sword Immortal Wei Jing, the most talented swordsman in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

In any case, Senior Brother Bian Jing appeared to be quite fortunate at Stalactite Mountain’s Plum Blossom Garden, getting along very well with a woman who was responsible for overseeing the courtyard.

Over in their hometown, the Shaoyuan Empire, Bian Jing was still like a fish in water, even though he was only a so-called Sea Observation Tier cultivator, and at most only enjoyed the status of being the imperial preceptor’s unofficial disciple. He enjoyed many fated opportunities, and even Lin Junbi would sometimes suspect whether Bian Jing was a fabled otherworldly immortal who had been born with great intelligence.

“I’ve heard that Chen Ping’an owns a celestial tool, but he didn’t summon this celestial tool even during his intense battle with Pang Yuanji. How would you fare against Chen Ping’an?” Lin Junbi asked.

Bian Jing placed a Go stone on the board before using two fingers to casually drag the incredibly precious white stone around, seemingly squabbling with the stone.

“Our focus should be cultivation, so it’s fairly pointless to fight with other people for the sake of so-called victory or defeat,” he replied in a casual voice.

Lin Junbi smiled faintly and grabbed a handful of Go stones, saying, “Let’s decide who goes first?”

Bian Jing was in no hurry to start the Go game, and he looked up and asked, “You already know about that?”

Lin Junbi nodded and replied, “You were clearly wounded when you returned, but you were smiling more than normal and speaking louder than normal. I was able to make a guess because of that.”

Bian Jing sighed in grief and lamented, “But my opponent was Cao Ci. Losing to him isn’t embarrassing, is it?”

Lin Junbi nodded and concurred, “Losing to Cao Ci isn’t embarrassing. In my opinion, however, voluntarily running over to ask for a beating isn’t exactly smart.”

Bian Jing fell silent.

“How many punches?” Lin Junbi asked in curiosity.

Bian Jing tilted his chin and pointed at his two fingers resting on the white Go stone.

“A single punch?” Lin Junbi asked in puzzlement.

Bian Jing chuckled in anger and exclaimed, “Two punches! His first punch defeated my flying sword, and his second punch left me confused and sorry. Truth be told, I could have withstood a few more punches if I were shameless enough.”

Lin Junbi smiled and didn’t say anything else.

“Do you not have any additional plans given that it’s not a certainty for Yan Lü to achieve victory?” Bian Jing asked.

“I initially had a plan, and I would have directly broken through on the spot if the Sword Qi Great Wall sent Guo Zhujiu to conduct the second trial,” Lin Junbi replied. “Afterward, I would have broken through again if they sent Gao Yehou or Situ Weiran to conduct the third trial.

“However, I changed my mind after settling down here. There’s no need for me to do this, and acting this way would only benefit others. For example, there would definitely be a fourth trial if Chen Ping’an is present. I’m not you, after all, and I would definitely lose to Chen Ping’an, who also fought four battles. That would only boost Chen Ping’an’s reputation.”

“You care that much about Chen Ping’an? Did Zhu Mei and the others suffer at the wine shop because of your intentional plans?” Bian Jing asked in amusement.

“Chen Ping’an should be happy that I’m paying any heed to him,” Lin Junbi replied with a faint smile.

————

Chen Ping’an, the young man who was oblivious to Lin Junbi’s care for him, was starting to refine his fourth bonded item inside a secret room at the Ning Residence.

A water seal in his water palace, the five-colored soil in his mountain shrine, a deity statue in his wood residence, and now a bonded item of the metal element. Following this, the final bonded item would need to be of the fire element, something that he had yet to find.

Chen Ping’an had refined the water seal atop the sea of clouds at Old Dragon City, the southernmost point of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

He had refined the five-colored soil near the area where the Plenty River flowed into the sea in the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

He had refined the wooden deity statue, which he had obtained from a mountaintop Daoist temple in the ruins of an immortal abode, on an island in the Dragon Palace Small World.

And now, he was about to refine a bonded item of the metal element, a golden page with golden characters. To be more precise, this page was an entire Buddhist scripture.

Chen Ping’an had asked Senior Brother Zuo You about his plan before, and the latter had simply replied, “A noble person isn’t a tool, so what’s wrong with refining this item?”[1]

The cauldron he used was still the Five-colored Golden Box Cauldron that he had obtained from Lu Yong, the elderly Nascent Tier cultivator from the Parasol Leaf Continent. It was extremely high-grade, but because of his relationship with Jiang Shangzhen, the cauldron had been half sold and half gifted to him, costing only fifty grain rain coins.

Lu Yong had once stated that the metal element had everlasting and imperishable property, so this pill refinement cauldron was actually most suitable for refining metals, one of the Five Elements.

A large number of natural treasures had been suitably prepared in the secret room.

Nalan Yexing was sitting cross-legged outside the secret room, responsible for looking after Chen Ping’an’s safety.

Grandma Bai was chatting with Ning Yao in the pavilion at Dragon Slaying Cliff.

The old woman smiled and said in reassurance, “You don’t need to worry. Fortune favors the good, and the Ning Residence’s son-in-law is an upright person, so he’ll definitely receive the blessings of the heavens. In any case, he’s incredibly knowledgeable, and he’s traveled far and wide and performed many benevolent deeds in the world, even though he’s a Confucian disciple. Young Mistress, you don’t need to worry about his refinement of the bonded item.”

Even so, Ning Yao couldn’t help but feel slightly anxious, but she still smiled and replied, “Grandma Bai, don’t say these things in front of Chen Ping’an — it will make him feel uncomfortable.”

“You mean referring to him as the Ning Residence’s son-in-law?” Grandma Bai asked on purpose. “Chen Ping’an only appears uncomfortable on the surface, but he’s actually feeling as delighted as can be.”[2]

Ning Yao felt slightly more relaxed after this lighthearted change in topic, and she smiled and said, “If his refinement is successful, then I’ll accompany him to watch the three trials in two days’ time.”

“You were never interested in these matters in the past,” Grandma Bai commented.

“I’m still not interested in these matters, and I’ll only be accompanying him to help him relax,” Ning Yao replied.

After falling silent for a moment, she added, “You might not have noticed, but Chen Ping’an will face the most difficulty when refining his bonded item of the metal element.”

“Difficult on the mind, or physically difficult to overcome the challenge?” the old woman asked.

“Both,” Ning Yao replied.

Grandma Bai suddenly grew worried, even more so than her young mistress.

Ning Yao smiled and said, “It’s okay, Grandma Bai, there won’t be any problems. Chen Ping’an is always able to overcome challenges by himself — it’s always been like this. In fact, he’ll only feel worried if he knows that we’re feeling anxious. Otherwise…”

Ning Yao looked at the training ground beyond the pavilion and continued, “There’s no hardship that he can’t defeat and push through.”

“That’s good then,” Grandma Bai replied with a nod.

Ning Yao retrieved a seal from her sleeve and handed it to Grandma Bai, saying in a soft voice, “I stole this from his collection.”

Grandma Bai didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, and she looked at the inscription on the seal before falling into a daze. She carefully placed the seal inside her sleeve, unable to contain her smile as she remarked, “Chen Ping’an’s inscriptions are truly beautiful.”

The seal-script inscriptions were especially comforting: Her black hair frosted with snow, yet she remains as beautiful as always.

Ning Yao shook her head and said, “He said himself that his handwriting is extremely proper and dull. Apart from his regular script being okay, he’s only a novice in semi-cursive, cursive, and seal scripts. Masters of calligraphy will only see his handwriting as a joke. However, it’s more than enough to inscribe characters on these seals made from ordinary materials.”

Meanwhile, Nalan Yexing felt slightly puzzled as he stood outside the secret room. Two hours had already passed, so why was Chen Ping’an yet to light the cauldron?

Inside the secret room, Chen Ping’an sat with his eyes closed the entire time, completely lost in thought.

————

Fatty Yan felt extremely uneasy as he sat inside the extravagant residence of the Yan Clan, which might as well have been plastered with the characters, “This clan is rich,” all over the walls. He had excitedly returned home after obtaining that seal, yet he had surprisingly started to feel troubled after arriving, not daring to take it out at all. Thus, the matter was indefinitely delayed.

Today, he hesitantly paced back and forth in the corridor outside his father’s study.

There was no door on the study room, allowing his father, the clan leader of the Yan Clan, to more easily enter and exit. In reality, there was no need to do this, but Yan Zhuo’s father had made this decision himself. He had removed the door to the study room, saying that it should be accepted that his arms were gone. Why would he open and close the door using sword qi? For fun?

Yan Ming had noticed his son pacing around the corridor from the very beginning, what with his son being so fat and causing the entire earth to shudder as he walked. Yan Ming was still at the Nascent Tier regardless of how much his cultivation base had fallen, so how could he not have noticed this?

He frowned and said, “Hurry up and scram if you’re not going to come in.”

Yan Zhuo still felt extreme respect and fear toward his father, and this couldn’t be helped, considering how he had been disciplined and beaten as a child. Afterward, his father had most likely given up on him, not even bothering to hit or scold his only son. Only after he had to carry Yan Zhuo home from the city wall that time did his attitude toward Yan Zhuo become slightly better, occasionally asking about his progress in cultivation.

Afterward, Yan Zhuo’s mother, whose greatest ability had been to spoil him, had seemingly been told by her husband to make a change. And thus, she surprisingly became stricter with Yan Zhuo, regardless of whether it pertained to cultivation, business, or making friends.

Yan Zhuo was just about to heed his father’s advice and piss off, but after taking a few steps, he gritted his teeth and turned around, making his way inside the study room.

Yan Ming looked like a solemn, dignified middle-aged man, with his sleeves empty as he remained seated in his chair. Stacks of books rested on the table in front of him, and there was a small spirit responsible for flipping the pages.

Yan Ming furrowed his brow and asked, “Is something the matter?”

Yan Zhuo timidly retrieved the seal and gently placed it on the table, saying, “This is a gift for you, Dad. I’ll take my leave if there are no other matters.”

Yan Ming faltered for a moment, looking at the seal made from ordinary material and asking, “Are you running out of money? Is that why you’re giving me this?”

Yan Zhuo flushed bright red, and he didn’t even dare to explain himself as he looked down and quickly walked away, leaving the study. He felt a great sense of relief after leaving the corridor.

Inside the study, the obedient and clever little spirit skipped over to the seal and squatted down, pushing the seal over and revealing its inscriptions to its master.

Yan Ming looked at it for a long time before suddenly asking, “Say, have I been too strict on Zhuo’er?”

The little spirit nodded vigorously.

Yan Ming chuckled, turning around and looking outside the window at the tall city in the distance.

I dare not ascend the city wall with my sword, lest I frighten away the three moons. How can your dad possibly be so powerful?

The little spirit blinked its eyes. It had diligently served its master for a great number of years, yet it had never seen its master smile so widely before.

Above the city wall, Noble Scholar Wang Zhai had just given a newly printed copy of the Seal Manual of the Hundred Sword Immortals to Ye Laolian, the Confucian sage overseeing the Sword Qi Great Wall.

The book was extremely crude, completely unable to compare with ordinary books printed in the Majestic World, to say nothing of the exquisite books collected by the scholarly clans.

The sage flicked through the seal manual, giving a knowing smile whenever he saw something that resonated with him.

“No scenic spots or natural landscapes present, but the tallest city in the world.”

“Where children play, when sword immortals drink.”

After reaching a certain page, the Confucian sage stopped flipping and nodded lightly.

Wang Zhai looked over and saw the phrase: “Frost descends; thus, only three hundred persimmons can be harvested.”

He also smiled, remarking, “Speaking at this moment, perhaps no one else in the Sword Qi Great Wall can appreciate this amusing phrase.”

Confucian Sage Ye Laolian smiled and said, “Then perhaps there’s a possibility that someone with both time and money will purchase books to scour through them and look for the origin of these inscriptions.”

————

Just like the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Luminous Vermilion Empire, there were also many sword cultivators in the Middle Earth Divine Continent’s Shaoyuan Empire.

Thus, there was a sea of people spectating the three trials today.

The location for the three trials was Ink Stick Street, a street filled with renowned families and wealthy clans.

It wasn’t held on Taixiang Street, where the clans of Chen Sanqiu and Dong Huafu were located, because they didn’t dare to. Even if they dared to conduct the trials on Taixiang Street, it was very likely that no one would dare to head over to spectate.

Fatty Yan stood on his tippy-toes and looked around, asking in puzzlement, “Why hasn’t Brother Chen come yet?”

Dong Huafu was chomping down on a large pancake, and this young master of the Dong Clan always bought things on Chen Sanqiu and Yan Zhuo’s dime.

Fan Dache glanced at the entrance of a clan residence nearby, and Chen Sanqiu patted his shoulder to comfort him. Fan Dache smiled and said, “It’s okay.”

Standing on the two ends of the street were a group of local sword cultivators led by Qi Shou and Gao Yehou, as well as a group of outsider sword cultivators, including Yan Lü and Jiang Guancheng. The young Lin Junbi was like a bright moon nestled among a sea of stars, while Bian Jing still remained the most unremarkable person in the group.

Gao Youqing, Gao Yehou’s little sister, was responsible for conducting the first trial, so Gao Yehou was naturally present this time, having not attended last time to spectate Chen Ping’an’s trials. Pang Yuanji was standing beside Gao Yehou, and he was currently giving pointers to the relatively short Gao Youqing. It wasn’t that Gao Yehou didn’t want to take responsibility for this, but his little sister had never liked listening to his rambling.

Lin Junbi slowly walked forward, while Gao Youqing confidently strode over. The two of them approached each other, with neither showing any intention of summoning their flying sword.

A group of earth immortal sword cultivators was squatting on the steps in front of a residence as they smiled and teased, “Little Gao, your opponent is truly handsome and more than worthy enough of you. Once you defeat him, you can sling him across your shoulder and find a quiet place to do whatever you want!”

Gao Youqing paid no heed to them, completely focused and in the zone as she looked intently at the approaching young man.

Lin Junbi surprisingly had the leisure to look around and size up the extravagant residences on both sides of Ink Stick Street.

The two Sea Observation Tier sword cultivators ended their battle with a single exchange.

Gao Youqing was the first to unleash her flying sword, which sliced through the air and disappeared in an instant, not seeking to be loud or flashy.

Lin Junbi released his flying sword later, yet it arrived at its destination first, not only parrying Gao Youqing’s bonded flying sword with ease, but also instantly arriving inches away from Gao Youqing’s glabella.

Gao Youqing’s face became deathly pale.

The flying sword hovering in front of her glabella vanished as quickly as it had arrived, with Lin Junbi also turning around and returning to the other end of the street.

Yan Lü took a deep breath and stepped forward, brushing past Lin Junbi as he advanced.

Lin Junbi smiled faintly at him and said, “You can try to extend this battle a bit more.”

Yan Lü nodded firmly in response.

There was a large number of spectating sword cultivators standing on the two sides of the street, but none of them booed or cursed the outsiders following the conclusion of the first trial. Deciding victory and defeat in an instant was a reflection of the young man’s strength.

However, that young man was far too punchable, so much so that he was almost catching up to the second shopkeeper. And with this thought in mind, they willed the second shopkeeper into existence.

Chen Ping’an walked over with Ning Yao, coincidentally appearing from the end of the street where Lin Junbi and the others were standing.

Lin Junbi looked at the young man in azure who was slightly pale and seemingly sick, smiling before quickly shifting his gaze to the young woman standing beside him. She was apparently even more powerful and impressive, with countless people singing her praises.

In fact, Lin Junbi had heard many praises for her while staying at Stalactite Mountain’s Plum Blossom Garden. However, was there anything impressive about advancing to the Sea Observation Tier before ten years old?

She was in her twenties, but she was only at the peak stage of the Golden Core Tier and yet to advance to the Nascent Tier, no? As such, she wasn’t anywhere near shockingly impressive or peerless, was she?

Lin Junbi shook his head and took a few extra glances at her, not even thinking that she was especially beautiful. She was far inferior to his expectations of the Sword Qi Great Wall’s Ning Yao.

Chen Ping’an placed his hands inside his opposite sleeves and slowly walked forward, glancing back at Lin Junbi and saying with a smile, “Watch your eyes.”

The sound of whistling instantly filled the street — those at the Sword Qi Great Wall never held back when it came to poking fun at their own. This was especially the case since the second shopkeeper wasn’t a young girl like Gao Youqing, instead being a shameless person who was even more unconscionable in business than in fights.

“Are you talking about yourself?” Lin Junbi retorted with a faint smile.

Chen Ping’an didn’t look at Lin Junbi after issuing his warning, and he instead looked at Bian Jing, who was hiding in the crowd.

Bian Jing’s expression remained calm, but he couldn’t help but grumble in his mind. Had he given away some clues at the wine shop before? Surely not, right?

Ning Yao tugged Chen Ping’an’s sleeve, following which he stopped and asked in a gentle voice, “What’s the matter?”

Ning Yao continued to look at him.

Chen Ping’an smiled and nodded in response.

And thus, Ning Yao turned to Lin Junbi and said, “He told you to watch your eyes, so just keep quiet and watch your eyes.”

Lin Junbi pursed his lips.

And then Ning Yao said something else, causing the entire street to instantly fall silent.

Chen Sanqiu and Yan Zhuo exchanged a glance, detecting the feeling of pity in each other’s eyes. They struggled to contain their laughter.

Not only that, but many sword immortals who were responsible for guarding the city wall directly rushed over on their swords, not even going to the trouble of using their immortal observation techniques.

This was because Ning Yao had said, “If you dare to break through on the spot and unleash a Dragon Gate Tier sword strike, then I’ll suppress my cultivation base to the Sea Observation Tier and face you. If you dare to break through again and unleash a Golden Core Tier sword strike, then I’ll suppress my cultivation base to the Dragon Gate Tier and face you. Do you want to admit defeat now?”

1. The saying “noble people aren’t tools” (君子不器) is from the Analects of Confucius. It means that noble people shouldn’t act like tools that mindlessly complete a single task without considering the deeper implications. ☜

2. Grandma Bai often refers to Chen Ping’an as the Ning Residence’s son-in-law, but this has often been abbreviated to just Chen Ping’an for simplicity and flow. ☜