Unsheathed

Cui Chan had truly appeared at a terrible time.

All of the guests present were very sensitive to minute details, and after taking a quick glance at the displeased look on the great river god’s face, they immediately understood that Cui Chan had turned up without an invitation. Thus, as they turned back to look at him, they were all watching him as if he were already as good as dead.

Due to the limited territory of Yellow Court Nation’s northern region, mountain and river gods were quite rare, so no one dared to defy the Great Water Palace. However, not only had this young boy turned up uninvited to the palace, he had swaggered out into the open and blatantly revealed himself to the great river god, leading all of the guests in the hall to wonder if he had a death wish.

The rather effeminate man whose original form was a water snake slowly raised a wine cup with his fingers arranged in the orchid fingers pose while watching the uninvited guest with smoldering desire in his eyes.

Handsome and beautiful children had always been his favorite, but this handsome young boy most likely wasn’t going to be able to survive for much longer, and he couldn’t help but be saddened by this imminent loss.

The boy had just displayed blatant disrespect to the great river god, so he certainly wouldn’t dare to abduct the boy and take him back to his abode to enjoy. All he could hope for was to take the boy’s body after he was killed to serve as a late-night snack.

The man had a very high-pitched voice, and he smiled as he said, “The wine in this cup is golden jade elixir, which is a wine that’s unique to our Cold Food River’s Great Water Palace.

“For a cultivator, drinking just a single cup of this wine will reap them the same benefits as cultivating in a blessed land for 10 days, and if a mortal were to consume this wine, all of their ailments would be quickly dispelled. There’s still half a cup left, would you like to have a taste?”

Cui Chan strode over the doorstep, but didn’t continue any further from there. Instead, he remained on the spot and inspected his surroundings, paying no heed to the notorious and menacing water snake spirit.

The water snake spirit was so enraged by the boy’s insolence that he couldn’t help but smile, and he flicked out his extremely long tongue to lick his lips as he chuckled, “If you’re going to throw my kindness back in my face, then you can repent in death!”

With a flick of his wrist, the remaining golden wine in his cup splashed through the air. The wine abruptly drew to a halt, suspended in mid-air, before splitting up into individual droplets, of which there were several dozen. The droplets of wine then hurtled directly toward Cui Chan even faster than speeding arrows, whistling through the air with incredible force.

In the eyes of everyone present in the hall, if the boy couldn’t evade the droplets of wine, then his body would be sure to be punched full of holes.

Just this masterful display of water manipulation was a stunning sight for many of the younger cultivators present, and everyone was of the opinion that the insolent boy’s fate was sealed.

The white-haired old man was no exception. A hint of surprise had appeared in his eyes when he first caught sight of the boy, but he then quickly shook his head with a forlorn expression. In his eyes, the boy was like an ignorant calf that didn’t know to fear tigers.

This was the distinguished Great Water Temple, and it was not a place where he could come and go as he pleased. It was a pity that such a handsome and refined young boy had to die here, but no one could save

Everyone in the northern region of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent knew that when it came to securing talent from the imperial examination, the first thing that the emperor of Yellow Court Nation looked at was whether an examinee’s handwriting was pretty or not, and only after that did he appraise the contents of their writing.

If both were of a satisfactory standard, then the examinee would move on to the most important phase of the selection process, where the emperor examined everyone to see who was the most handsome of the bunch.

The old man had already spotted the group of traveling scholars that Cui Chan belonged to on the streets of the city. He was somewhat proficient in the art of anthroposcopy, and after examining Cui Chan, he determined that the only thing remarkable about the boy was his outstanding physical appearance. However, overall, he paled into insignificance when compared with the cold and aloof azure-robed boy in the group, who was truly a brilliant cultivation talent.

The old man shifted his gaze away from the boy, whose tragic fate was already sealed, and he turned to a familiar young cultivator seated across from him with a dark expression.

The young cultivator sensed his senior’s gaze, and he recoiled ever so slightly, but he then quickly recalled that he had found a truly powerful backer, so he no longer had to fear the old man. Thus, he sat up straight and put on a composed facade, even going as far as to raise his cup to the old man with a calm smile, a gesture that the old man stoically ignored.

The old man was sufficiently refined to be able to rein in his temper, but the two young men beside him were furious to see this, and they were glowering intently at the insolent traitor seated across from them.

The Spirit Charm Sect cultivator who was seated on his own across the table was none other than the perpetrator behind the recent incident. After he had massacred the entire village, he was confronted by the itinerant cultivator, who was passing through the area. Among the inner sect disciples of the Spirit Charm Sect, his aptitude was quite mediocre, and his combat prowess wasn’t his forte, so he was no match for the itinerant cultivator, who was very proficient in battle and pursuit.

Thus, he had fled into the city as quickly as he could, and after that, he decided to stay at the Autumn Reed Inn, clearly with the intention of relying on the inn and Mistress Liu for his own protection.

After tracking down the Spirit Charm Sect cultivator, the heroic itinerant cultivator stormed into the Autumn Reed Inn, even at the risk of being regarded as an enemy by the inn, and he engaged the Spirit Charm Sect cultivator in another battle.

During the process, not only was the inn’s prized shadow wall destroyed, the Spirit Charm Sect cultivator had intentionally led him to a busy street nearby, where he had then unleashed a bunch of treasures and mystical abilities in a haphazard fashion, injuring over 20 innocent civilians.

That gave the wealthy clans of the city an excuse to exert pressure on the authorities, and it was deemed that the itinerant cultivator was at fault in the incident, and that he was to be executed. As for what the true circumstances behind the incident were, he would already be dead, so even if there were some rumors going around, nothing could be substantiated.

Those itinerant cultivators who didn’t wish to have their names recorded by the authorities had always been viewed in an unfavorable light by their respective nations. The authorities didn’t necessarily dare to target them, but all official bodies prayed that such itinerant cultivators would stay away and refrain from wreaking havoc in the territories under their jurisdiction.

If a conflict were to arise between an itinerant cultivator and a local power, as long as the former wasn’t an extremely powerful cultivator, the local sects and authorities would definitely choose to side with the latter.

The young cultivator who had betrayed his sect could see that the senior that he had previously feared and revered had no intention of acknowledging his toast, so he merely smiled and threw his head back, downing most of the wine in his cup in one go before wiping his lips with his sleeve.

He then lowered his head as he smiled and said, “Even if I cultivate and toil away for a century in the Spirit Charm Sect, I would still have no chance of reaching the Middle Five Tiers. Now that I’ve caught the fancy of the great river god, there’s finally some hope in my pursuit of the Great Dao! That’s why from the instant I met that strategist, I had made up my mind to establish my own forces.

“This is an opportunity that countless people would die for, so why should I care about the reputation of my former sect? Is that something that can feed me?! Even if it is, so what? I’ve never been given favorable or even fair treatment, all I ever get is the cold leftovers that you and the others leave behind!”

The young cultivator burped loudly, and he began to chuckle to himself, but no one could see the sorrow and resignation concealed deep within his eyes.

He slowly picked up a piece of delicate fish between his chopsticks, then took a glance at the Great Water Palace’s chief strategist out of the corner of his eye as he murmured to himself, “If I don’t look out for myself, who will? I’ve been presented with such a life-changing opportunity, so why shouldn’t I grab it with both hands?

“Besides, I’m just a lowly cultivator of the Lower Five Tiers, what right do I have to turn down the bequeathment of the great river god? I would’ve been struck down on the spot had I dared to do so!”

The white-haired old man seated across from the young cultivator was the outer sect grand elder of the Spirit Charm Sect. Strictly speaking, he was only responsible for overseeing the outer sect, but in reality, he took care of many of the affairs of the inner sect as well.

He had come to attend this Cold Food River worship ceremony primarily with the goal of broadening his direct disciples’ horizons and showing them what the world outside of their sect was like. Of course, if they could take advantage of this opportunity to establish ties with some other powers, then that would naturally be an added bonus.

The two young men who were accompanying the old man at this banquet were both young prodigies of the Spirit Charm Sect. One of them had a 20-foot-long giant red snake resting behind him in a coiled fashion, while the other one had a massive black tiger laying on the ground beside him.

The sight of the two giant creatures resting next to one another was quite a formidable one to behold.

However, right as everyone in the hall thought that Cui Chan was sure to suffer a gruesome death, an astonishing turn of events unfolded.

Cui Chan remained standing completely still on the spot, watching as the droplets of wine rapidly hurtled toward him.

However, as soon as the droplets of wine made contact with his robes, they instantly vanished like a flurry of snowflakes swirling into a massive burning cauldron.

The great river god nodded as he murmured to himself, “So he has some type of water repulsion ability. No wonder he dared to crash my banquet.”

He leaned forward slightly as he turned to his strategist with a smile and asked, “Is there something special about his robe, or is it something else that’s allowing him to repel water?”

The strategist withdrew his gaze from Cui Chan as he turned to the great river god and replied, “I don’t think it has anything to do with his robe. If you ask me, I think he’s carrying a Daoist water repulsion talisman, and it’ll be very difficult for normal water-based mystical abilities to break through that talisman’s natural restriction.”

The great river god couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Surely this little boy doesn’t think that he can do whatever he pleases in my Great Water Palace just because he’s carrying a talisman!”

“I presume he has some other tricks up his sleeve,” the strategist replied with a smile.

“That would certainly spice up this boring banquet,” the great river god mused as an intrigued expression replaced the bored look on his face.

He then turned to the water snake spirit with an amused smile as he chuckled, “You’ve made quite a fool out of yourself, haven’t you? I’ll allow you to fight in the hall, but you can’t use your iron maces. Otherwise, we’ll have to see you smash someone’s head open again, and it’ll be satisfying for you, but I don’t think it would be conducive to the appetites of our guests.”

“Thank you for granting me this opportunity, my lord,” the water snake spirit replied as he rose to his feet with a smile.

Cui Chan took a few steps back so that he could take a seat on the doorstep, and after doing so, he waved a hand at the water snake spirit, who had just emerged from behind his table, and he said, “Hold on a second, I still have something to say, so let me finish.”

The literary master and the state attendant exchanged a bewildered glance, while the great river god burst into raucous laughter before downing a cup of wine.

Among the guests, there were two people seated up the table from the Spirit Charm Sect traitor. Both of them were around 30 years of age, and they were giving off sharp and forbidding auras.

Even after witnessing Cui Chan’s water repulsion ability, neither of them paid any heed to him.

One of them had a longsword strapped to his back even as he was drinking wine, while the other one had his sword resting on his table, no more than several feet away from his sword-wielding right hand.

It was clear that these two were both swordsmen, and even though it wasn’t apparent whether the two of them had managed to fully nurture their bonded flying swords, swordsmen were widely accepted to possess the most destructive power out of all cultivators, and they possessed the greatest potential to take down opponents of a loftier cultivation base than theirs.

Hence, even a cultivator of the Middle Five Tiers wouldn’t dare to look down on a swordsman of the Lower Five Tiers.

With each tier of progression made by a swordsman, the increase in the power of their flying sword would far exceed the increase in power that a normal cultivator could expect to experience.

In particular, all bonded flying swords of swordsmen of the Lower Five Tiers were extremely brittle and fragile, but if that swordsman could reach the Middle Five Tiers, then a drastic transformation would be observed.

Every single swordsman who had already reached the Middle Five Tiers or had the potential to do so were esteemed guests everywhere they went, particularly if they were of a young age. Among cultivating sects, there was a popular saying: “In the Middle Five Tiers, a 100-year-old swordsman can compare with a 60-year-old cultivator”.

What this saying entailed was that a cultivator who could reach the Middle Five Tiers at 60 years of age was considered to be a brilliant prodigy, but for a sword cultivator, even if they could only reach the Middle Five Tiers at 100 years of age, they were still considered to be just as prodigious.

Out of the two swordsmen visiting the Great Water Palace, one of them was an itinerant cultivator. It was said that he had received the inheritance of a powerful traveling swordsman, who had bestowed upon him an exceptional weapon that could slice through metal like a hot knife through butter.

As for the other swordsman, he was the final disciple of the master of the Lurking Dragon Temple. The Lurking Dragon Temple belonged to the alchemy branch of Daoism, and they focused primarily on gathering natural treasures to be refined into pills, which were then consumed to aid their cultivation.

The premier treasure of the temple was an ancient inkstone by the name of the Old Flood Dragon Inkstone, and it was one of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s 10 most renowned inkstones. There was a tiny flood dragon coiled on the edge of the inkstone, snoring quietly in its slumber.

It was said that during ancient times in Shu Nation, flood dragons ran rampant and wreaked havoc wherever they went, so there were legends of immortals slaying evil flood dragons all across the land.

Apparently, this tiny flood dragon dwelling in the ancient inkstone was one that had escaped that ancient purge.

As a disciple of the Lurking Dragon Temple master, the young swordsman with his sword resting on the table had come here to represent the temple and speak with the great river go, discussing the possibility of upgrading the Lurking Dragon Temple from a temple to a palace.

It was quite difficult for a Daoist cultivation sect to obtain the character for “temple” as the suffix of its name. As was the case for appointing true lords, there was only a set number that could be assigned, so it wasn’t the case that an emperor could just appoint as many true lords as he wanted.

Hence, not just any Daoist priest could be selected by the emperor to receive this great honor. Instead, the Daoist sects of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent would send people to assess whether someone truly had what was required to be appointed as a true lord.

Meanwhile, Cui Chan cleared his throat as he sat on the doorstep, then declared in a loud voice, “I came today to teach you all a lesson to be proper and decent humans. Of course, for the ghosts and gods here, I’ll also teach you how to be proper and decent spirits and deities. Jeez, this is a bit more tiring than I expected it to be.”

Cui Chan had only just commenced his declaration when a disinterested look appeared on his face, and he no longer had the conviction to continue. As a result, the rest of his declaration was made in a rather feeble and unconvincing manner.

“A human must uphold justice and stand like a pillar between heaven and earth. A god is worshipped by the masses, so they must reciprocate the masses by granting them blessings and protection.

“Even if their Divine Dao has already collapsed, as long as they continue to be worshipped and revered, they will never truly die. A ghost is renounced by heaven and earth, but they must strive to persevere through the astral winds and the thunderclaps to attain immortality.”

This was supposed to have been a rousing declaration, but when spoken in such a disinterested tone, it became completely meaningless and devoid of flair.

Cui Chan heaved a faint sigh, then pursed his lips as he murmured to himself, “Brother A’Liang, you can pull off something like this, but it just doesn’t sound right when I say it.”

Cui Chan heaved yet another sigh before rising to his feet, then continued, “Alright, I’ve played around for long enough. I suppose it’s time to get down to business.”

He then turned to spot in the hall where there was not a single person as he scolded, “What gives someone as weak and pitiful as yourself the courage to play the hero? Do you really think that you’re the second coming of A’Liang?

“Because of your actions, your souls and senses have been completely scattered. If you hadn’t encountered someone like me, who’s proficient in the art of soul manipulation, you would’ve been reduced to a vengeful spirit forced to roam the land aimlessly until your inevitable demise, and you would’ve had to pray with all your might just to be able to see the arrival of a new day. Was it really worth it?”

After Cui Chan rose to his feet, he pointed at all of the people before him as he declared, “To be frank, all of you are nothing more than mere ants in my eyes.”

His declaration was met with complete silence.

“You don’t believe me?” Cui Chan asked.

Moments later, the wine cup in the great river god’s hand abruptly shattered.

Out of everyone in the entire Great Water Palace, the great river god was the only one who was able to see what appeared to have been a deity statue that was several dozen feet tall standing behind Cui Chan. An aura of righteousness permeated throughout heaven and earth, and the deity statue was standing upon its altar, looking down on the ants around it.

The great river god’s lips began to quiver uncontrollably.

Is he an 11th tier cultivator? Perhaps a 12th tier cultivator?