Unsheathed

Cui Chan was sitting on the ground in a daze, and when he heard Li Baoping’s exclamation, he shot a sideways glance at the little girl. “This scroll won’t get a single scratch even if the sky collapses,” he huffed.

“Do you know what it means for the sky to collapse? An unnamed person from the Middle Earth Divine Continent once pierced the heavenly river with his sword, drawing limitless water from the Yellow River Small World. Looking at it from afar, it was as if a huge hole had been torn in the sky, causing water to gush down with vigor.

“This was how two of the 10 wonders of the world were created — ‘Yellow River’s water comes from the heavens’, and White Emperor City that exists within the iridescent clouds [1]. The city lord of White Emperor City is quite a remarkable person, and he’s one of the few people who dare to openly identify as a member of the demonic orthodoxy. He’s incredibly free-spirited, and I was fortunate enough to play Go with him in the iridescent clouds outside White Emperor City once.

“This was dubbed ’10 games in the iridescent clouds’, and I felt extremely honored even though I lost more games than I won. After all, the banner that read ‘respectfully allow the world to go first’[2] had already been flying above the city wall of White Emperor City for over 600 years. The number of people who have the right to play Go with the city lord of White Emperor City can be counted on a single hand…”

Li Baoping didn’t like listening to this nonsense, and she snapped, “Why are you babbling on so much and trying to show off? I said the scroll is cracked, so the scroll is cracked! If I’m correct and you’re wrong, then let me stamp your forehead with the seal again? Do you dare to accept this bet?!”

A

Cui Chan’s interest was immediately piqued. The dejected expression vanished from his face, and he eagerly stood up before dusting off his bottom and asking with a smile, “Then what if I win?”

“If Junior Uncle still insists on killing you after coming out from the scroll, then I’ll help collect and bury your body afterward!” Li Baoping replied generously. “Tell me, where do you want to be buried? How about the immortal tomb in my hometown? I always go there, so I’m quite familiar with the environment of that place. That will save me heaps of trouble…”

Cui Chan grimaced as he put up a hand and said, “No, no, no, hold it right there. If I win, then you need to convince Chen Ping’an not to kill me. Not only that, but he even needs to accept me as a disciple.”

Cui Chan’s forehead had been brutally struck by Qi Jingchun’s seal, “Tranquil Mind Begets Enlightenment”, the instant that he had dashed out from the old well just then. This had comprehensively dispersed the last inking of “righteous aura” from his young body, causing him to drop from the fifth tier to the level of an ordinary mortal. Sure enough, Qi Jingchun had been correct. While visiting the Yuan Clan’s ancestral residence in the small town, Qi Jingchun had told Cui Chan that he would naturally have ways to make him suffer if he didn’t repent and change his ways.

However, the tide of the times was with the Great Li Empire, and their imminent expedition down south was like an arrow that was drawn back and had to be fired. Moreover, the cultivation path that Cui Chan walked was one where turning back was not an option. He couldn’t take a single backward step. Thus, even though he already knew that Qi Jingchun had prepared some plans at the time, he still had no option but to do what he had to do. At most, he would simply be more cautious with his actions and words.

Regardless of all this, both the young Cui Chan and Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan in the capital were people who honored their bets. This was the case irrespective of how scheming, bloodthirsty, and sinister they were. This was a quality that Cui Chan had never lost, from the time that he had become the Scholarly Sage’s disciple, to the time that he fell to become the imperial preceptor of a barbaric nation in the tiny Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

Li Baoping shook her head and replied, “I won’t agree to such a wager even if I’m certain of my victory.”

Cui Chan blinked and challenged, “How will you become a young scholar and female teacher in Mountain Cliff Academy in the future if you refuse to even entertain such an offer?”

Li Baoping had an expression of scorn as she looked at her… former “uncle master”? When the little girl said something, it was as if she would beat to death a road-blocking beast in her mind. However, she would never “collect and bury” the corpse, and she would instead run to a faraway place with a hop and a bound, searching for her next opponent. Back in the small town, even Qi Jingchun had been helpless against this.

The little girl raised her arm and waved the jade-white seal in her hand. “Are you scared?”

Cui Chan chuckled and replied, “Heh, I’m not going to argue with a little bumpkin girl from the mountains.”

Li Baoping slowly put her arm down and lightly blew a breath over the characters on the seal. It looked like she was preparing to use the seal again.

Cui Chan gulped and persuaded, “Li Baoping, don’t be like this, okay? We can sit down and talk things over. We’re fellow Confucian disciples, after all, and noble people should use reason instead of violence. In any case, aren’t you afraid of your junior uncle not liking you anymore after seeing you act in such an arrogant and pompous manner, without a shred of a noble woman’s grace and elegance?”

“Junior Uncle not liking me anymore? I’m Junior Uncle’s favorite person in the world!” Li Baoping announced with a happy smile.

Cui Chan sighed and said, “But your junior uncle will eventually have a girl who he likes the most.”

“Then I’ll be his second favorite! This is still something to be very happy about,” Li Baoping replied without hesitation.

Cui Chan looked at the little girl as if he were looking at a ghost or a god. “Seriously?”

Li Baoping suddenly put on an expression that was identical to Cui Chan’s as she looked at someplace behind him. Cui Chan turned around, thinking that some kind of accident had happened behind him. Right now, his body was unable to withstand any kind of mishap. In the next instant, however, he immediately realized that something was wrong. There was nothing behind him, and there was definitely no accident to be seen.

Traveling as swiftly as a bolt of lightning, a seal forcefully smacked into Cui Chan’s forehead, sending him tumbling backward.

Cui Chan was filled with grief and indignation as he fell to the ground. This was the third time already!

Lying on his back and staring at the sky, Cui Chan roared in anger, “Li Baoping, if you dare to sneak up to me and smack me with that seal again, then you’ll fall from your junior uncle’s second favorite person to third favorite person. And your standing will continue to fall like this each time you dare to attack me. You can weigh up the consequences yourself! I was once a Confucian Sage, after all, so my words should still hold a bit of weight no matter what. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you!”

His tone was stern, but this was naturally nothing more than an empty threat. Confucian Sages were indeed capable of transforming their words into decrees. However, there were stringent requirements pertaining to their lineage and fortune as well as their aura of righteousness.

Apart from his pocket treasure and “golden branch and jade leaves”, it could be said that Cui Chan was completely empty-handed at this moment. Even worse than this, pocket treasures were similar to extremely tiny small worlds, in the sense that Qi refiners needed to be at a certain cultivation base to access them even if they were connected to them through their minds. For the pocket treasure that Cui Chan possessed, one needed to be at or above the fifth tier to access it. If someone wanted to forcefully access it, then they would at least need to be at the 10th tier. For example, a Militarian swordsman. If one were an 11th tier cultivator, then forcefully accessing this pocket treasure would be extremely easy.

This was a very simple concept. A pocket treasure could be viewed as a house, and a house would naturally have a lock. Meanwhile, the owner being at the fifth tier could be viewed as the owner having the key to the house in their possession. However, they still needed to use this key to open the door.

If a thief wanted to break in, this naturally wasn’t impossible. However, it would be extremely difficult.

Right now, Cui Chan’s body was as weak as could be. The same could be said about his soul. In fact, he was weaker than even ordinary frail scholars. Thus, he needed to get proper treatment in the future if he wanted to recover his strength to the level of ordinary people. As for cultivation, this was truly up to the will of the heavens. He would need to come across a huge fated opportunity or strike a huge fortune. However, taking into account his ceaseless misfortunes on this journey, Cui Chan felt like he would be extremely satisfied as long as he could stay alive and become Chen Ping’an’s student.

Initially a 12th tier Confucian Sage, he had first fallen to the 10th tier before falling to the fifth tier. And now, he had fallen to the level of an ordinary mortal where there was no lower level for him to fall.

Cui Chan felt like his life was truly full of ups and downs and downs and downs and downs.

You still dare to threaten me? Li Baoping exclaimed in her mind.

This person doesn’t learn from his previous beatings. In fact, he’s even inferior to Li Huai!

Li Baoping angrily sprinted over before squatting down and furiously stamping the seal on the young Cui Chan’s head.

Her actions were swift and vigorous.

Her actions caught her victim completely off guard.

Even as resilient as Cui Chan was, he still couldn’t help but feel that his life was empty and devoid of meaning at this moment.

After all, his opponent was only a little girl, not the Scholarly Sage or Qi Jingchun.

————

Inside the scroll, Chen Ping’an lost his consciousness after unleashing the sword strike and landing back on the ground. The tall woman caught him in her arms, and she carefully fixed his position such that they were both sitting on the ground. Her arms were lightly wrapped around the skinny young boy, and because her tied hair was draped in front of her, it covered Chen Ping’an’s face. She reached over to sweep her hair behind her back. She then lowered her head to gaze at Chen Ping’an’s tanned face.

However, she suddenly looked up with a slightly astonished expression.

A colossal golden figure had appeared in the scroll that was the forbidden land of a sage. He stood atop Tassel Mountain, and it looked like he was having a conversation with the old scholar. The tall woman had seen and experienced all kinds of things before, yet even she felt that this uninvited guest couldn’t be underestimated. Perhaps unwilling to reveal the contents of their conversation, the old scholar created a barrier to stop their voices from traveling out.

The tall woman didn’t think much about this. She lowered her head to look at the sleeping young boy again, saying with a faint smile, “If you become a Qi refiner in the future, and if your skin becomes a little fairer, then you’ll actually be an elegant young boy as well. Perhaps you won’t be considered handsome, but you’ll definitely be considered proper and smart.”

Atop the towering mountain…

After landing on the mountain peak, the golden figure that had initially measured 3000 meters in height shrunk to become a burly man who measured only three meters in height. He was dressed in a suit of golden armor that appeared both mighty and dignified. There were countless talismanic characters engraved on this suit of armor, and some ancient symbols that had already been lost with time radiated with a rustic and desolate aura. It was difficult to say how many thousands of years or tens of thousands of years these symbols had been passed down for.

Some had existed for many thousands of years, yet they still radiated with a divine glow as if they had only been engraved yesterday. With these symbols engraved in the armor, it was as if they were towering mountains that had a myriad of golden rivers flowing between them.

The old scholar was in the wrong, so he could only shrink back slightly and purposely avert his gaze.

The burly man was wearing a helmet that covered his face, and he said in a deep voice, “It has already been 6000 entire years since I became the formal god of Tassel Mountain. However, this is the first time that anyone has dared to raise their sword and challenge my mountain. Old scholar, care to explain this?!”

“Explain what?” the old scholar asked with a baffled expression.

The burly man was well aware of the old scholar’s personality, so he couldn’t be bothered wasting his time to speak to him anymore. He turned around to look in Chen Ping’an’s direction, and he asked with a frown, “Her aura is extremely ancient and fundamental. Which mighty being is she? Was she the one who personally attacked Tassel Mountain?”

“I suggest that you don’t provoke her. This old girl has a fairly bad temper,” the old scholar warned in a quiet voice.

“And I have a good temper?” the burly man retorted in a calm voice.

The old scholar rolled his eyes and said, “Yes, yes, yes, none of you have a good temper, and only I have the best temper. Happy now? All of you like to be unreasonable toward those who are willing to speak reason. How bloody infuriating!”

The burly man suddenly thought of something, and the tense atmosphere that was enveloping the mountain peak immediately vanished into thin air.

The old scholar sighed and said, “I won’t explain the process of what happened, and you simply need to know that it’s related to Little Qi. Can you show some mercy just this once?”

The burly man remained silent.

“Then I’ll take your silence as a yes,” the old scholar chuckled. “Sigh, everything about you is good, but you’re just a bit too easily embarrassed and like to put on airs. Just what kind of relationship do we have? Back then, the two of us snuck over to sneak a glance at that mountain goddess’ true appearance. However, who would have thought that she was bathing and changing at that time? If it weren’t for me being chivalrous and facing her wrathful anger by myself, and if it weren’t for me talking to her about the teachings of the sages for three days and three nights and eventually convincing her with reason, would she have put her grudge aside and spared your old face from utter embarrassment…?”

“Shut up!” the burly man snapped in a sullen voice.

The old scholar knew that he had succeeded, so he didn’t try to push his luck any further. It could be said that the formal god of Tassel Mountain was someone who strictly upheld his rules. Thus, being able to get this blockhead to bend his rules was already a very impressive feat. At least, the old scholar felt very impressed by himself.

He became slightly smug, and he pointed at the distance and said, “Oh, that’s right, do you see over there? That young boy is the final disciple that Little Qi took for me. What do you think about him? Fairly impressive, right? Haha, at least I like him. His personality is extremely similar to me when I was young. He likes to speak reason with others, and he’ll only get physical if he’s genuinely unable to convince others through reason. When he does get physical, his demeanor is also similar to Little Qi’s when he was young. Tsk, tsk, do you have any wine on you?”

The burly man’s examining gaze quickly swept over Chen Ping’an. “Either Qi Jingchun went crazy, or you’ve gone blind.”

The old scholar didn’t get angry, and he instead chuckled and said, “This is a matter pertaining to scholars, so what do meatheads like you understand?”

The burly man in golden armor could most likely be considered the highest-ranking and most powerful formal god of the Five Mountains in this Majestic World. However, being powerful didn’t imply that he could do as he pleased. This was because powerful and transcendent gods like him — especially those who were unaffected by the amount of incense and offerings they received — would often be subject to more rules and restrictions in this Majestic World.

Before having his divine statue moved into the Confucian temples, the old scholar had once been responsible for overseeing the Five Mountains, among which Tassel Mountain was a member. Being given this responsibility could either be viewed as being sidelined to a position with little benefits, or it could sometimes also be viewed as achieving a great feat.

For example, one of the three most renowned battles of the old scholar related to him using his kindred character to crush one of the Five Mountains of the Middle Earth Divine Continent more than halfway into the earth.

The godly body of the mountain’s formal god had been shattered on the spot. However, this was a formal god with extremely powerful backers. Indeed, the second disciple of the Dao Ancestor had been so infuriated that he had almost torn apart the sky to charge into the Majestic World from the heavens beyond heavens.

Not yet very old at that time, the old scholar had chosen to soar into the sky by himself instead of retreating to one of the three Confucian schools. After arriving at the border between the Majestic World and the heavens beyond heavens, he had faced off against the furious second disciple of the Dao Ancestor. The old scholar had then tilted his head and pointed at his neck, challenging his opponent to hack him there.

The old scholar had been extremely relaxed and carefree during his trip to the sky.

Could this be regarded as having a good temper?

Could a teacher with a good temper produce students like Qi Jingchun, Cui Chan, and the person with the surname Zuo? One was capable of founding his own sect, one had betrayed his own master, and one had deviated from the Confucian teachings and turned his back on Dao.

“For the sake of Qi Jingchun who was facing certain death, you were willing to go back on your vow and leave the Forest of Virtue, even going as far as to abandon the foundation of your Great Dao. What are you after?” the burly man in golden armor suddenly asked.

A virtuous person violating the rules and a noble person going against reason would both lead to miserable fates. Within the Confucian orthodoxy, there would naturally be Sages and masters to punish these people according to the rules.

However, the most miserable fate would be reserved for sages acting contrary to their wills and convictions.

It could be said that the Scholarly Sage had put his life on the line for Qi Jingchun, someone who was destined for an inevitable death.

Almost no one could understand his actions.

The outcome had already been decided, so what was the point of acting according to his emotions?

Thus, the mountain god in golden armor couldn’t fathom this even though he had witnessed all kinds of incredible things before.

1. The former references Li Bai’s poem ‘Invitation to Wine’, while the latter references Li Bai’s poem ‘Setting Off Early from White Emperor City’. ☜

2. This is a statement of confidence from someone extremely skilled. Similar to letting your opponent always take white in chess. ☜