Unsheathed

Li Er and Cui Dongshan made their way onto the mountain summit, where Mao Xiaodong was standing outside the pavilion with a grim expression.

There were far fewer ninth tier martial artists than 10th tier cultivators on Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and that was why Song Changjing held such a significant status in the Great Li Empire.

Ninth tier martial artists had refined their bodies to essentially the limits of what was humanly possible, making them supposedly impervious to all attacks. Mao Xiaodong knew that ninth tier martial artists weren’t actually as almighty as the rumors suggested. After all, there were still cultivators of the Upper Five Tiers who possessed the power to move mountains and part seas.

However, the performance that an eighth tier Song Changjing had displayed during his battles against top-tier cultivators showed that martial artists really were worthy of the high praise that they received. After all, cultivators of the Upper Five Tiers were like profound deities that resided in the heavens, and they were extremely rarely seen.

Cui Dongshan smiled as he introduced, “This here is Mao Xiaodong. He was once Qi Jingchun’s junior brother, and he’s currently only a deputy mountain master of Mountain Cliff Academy, but he’s the one who actually calls the shots here.”

Li Er hadn’t even bothered to take a glance at Mao Xiaodong prior to this, but he immediately greeted Mao Xiaodong with a smile. “It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Mr. Mao. I am Li Huai’s father.”

Both Mao Xiaodong and Cui Dongshan were quite taken aback to see this. Given Li Er’s short temper, they had thought that he would’ve at least harbored some resentment toward Mountain Cliff Academy.

After all, the academy hadn’t done anything during this entire debacle, and it appeared that they had taken a fair and neutral stance, but in reality, that was a rather inhospitable display. Not only were Li Baoping and the others feeling extremely indignant, even the students who had left the Great Li Empire together with Mao Xiaodong were unable to understand why Mao Xiaodong hadn’t stood up for them to demand an explanation from Great Sui Nation’s imperial court.

This was just like back in Jewel Small World, where Qi Jingchun had fallen into a deadend, and there was no way that he would’ve been able to leave the small world alive. Even though the emperor of the Great Li Empire hadn’t actively contributed to Qi Jingchun’s downfall, nor had he tried to protest against the powers that were determined to have Qi Jingchun killed, and that had thoroughly disappointed many of the scholars who had emerged from the old Mountain Cliff Academy.

A smile appeared on Li Er’s face as he said, “Back in the town, Mr. Qi was drinking with me one time, and he mentioned Mr. Mao. A scholar who’s earned the approval of Mr. Qi must be a true scholar in my eyes, so as the head of the academy, I’m sure that you had your reasons for not interfering in this matter. I haven’t ever gone to school, but I’m not so foolish to not understand at least this much.”

It appeared that outside of home, Li Er wasn’t all that socially awkward, it was just that there weren’t many people that he felt like talking to, and it was clear that Mao Xiaodong was only being granted this honor thanks to Qi Jingchun’s appraisal of him.

Mao Xiaodong heaved a resigned sigh in response. “I’m too ashamed to accept your kind praise.”

After exchanging some small talk with Mao Xiaodong, Li Er began to inspect his surroundings, and his sharp gaze surged over the city like a wave. As the wave continued to flow over the landscape, several splashes occasionally popped up, resembling resolute rocks in a turbulent river, but those splashes then quickly subsided in alarm, avoiding a direct confrontation with Li Er’s gaze.

One of those splashes had come from none other than Cai Jingshen, the 10th tier Qi refiner situated closest to Eastern Splendor Mountain.

It didn’t take long before Li Er tracked down the vast and majestic building that he was looking for. It had red walls and green roof tiles, the classic imperial combination, and it was filled with abundant Dragon Qi.

“Do you want to find someone to reason with?” Mao Xiaodong asked.

Li Er was just about to leave the mountain, but after hearing Mao Xiaodong’s question, he stayed for a while longer as he nodded in response. “I’m going straight to the emperor of Great Sui Nation. If he’s willing to listen to reason, then I’ll get him to summon a representative from the Chu Clan of Phoebe Creek, Pillar General Han’s clan, the clan of the Huaiyuan Feudal Lord, and all of the other parties at fault to come and see me.

“I won’t pick on them, I’ll just get each clan to send out their most capable fighter, and I’m happy to take them on one after another, or fight them all at once, whatever they prefer.”

Li Er’s expression and the tone of his voice remained as calm and placid as ever as he spoke.

Meanwhile, Cui Dongshan was internally rubbing his hands together with glee. As a bystander, he was eager to see just how much of a scene Li Er could cause.

Mao Xiaodong was feeling quite exasperated, and he was just about to try and dissuade Li Er from his plan when the latter turned to him with a smile, revealing a set of pristine white teeth as he continued, “If the emperor of Great Sui Nation refuses to listen to reason, then that makes things even simpler for me.

“I’m willing to be more lenient to those who are reasonable, but those who are on the opposite end of the spectrum must also be dealt with accordingly. If I don’t raze the imperial palace of Great Sui Nation to the ground today, I’ll take after the imperial family’s surname!”

Cui Dongshan was relishing this opportunity to fan the flames, and he immediately began to goad Li Er even further while under the guise of providing helpful advice. “The protective formation of Great Sui Nation’s capital city is quite formidable against enemies outside of the city, but its effects are quite mediocre on those inside the city.

“It’s nowhere near as powerful as the well-rounded White Jade Capital of the Great Li Empire, but you have to remember that this is the center of Great Sui Nation, and the imperial palace is the center of the center. Even though you’re a pure martial artist at the pinnacle of the ninth tier, if you fall into an encirclement, you may not be able to escape without at least sustaining severe injuries.”

Li Er turned to Cui Dongshan with a cold look in his eyes as he sneered, “That’s something for me to worry about, I don’t need you blowing all of this nonsense into my ear. My wife can nag me all she wants, but who the hell do you think you are? I don’t give a shit about your plans, but that doesn’t mean that you can treat me like an idiot!”

Cui Dongshan smiled as he replied, “Looks like my kind intentions have been completely misconstrued. In that case, do whatever you please, I won’t say another word.”

Li Er also smiled as he said, “Having said that, I do have to trouble you to tell Li Huai that I’ve gone out to buy some things for them, so I won’t be returning to the academy until a bit later.”

There was a concerned look on Mao Xiaodong’s face as he said, “Please do proceed with caution. Truth be told, I have my own selfish intentions in this matter. I’m hoping to use this opportunity to provide all of the children of the academy with a truly peaceful learning environment.

“I don’t want Mountain Cliff Academy to get caught up in the conflict between Great Sui Nation and the Great Li Empire. With that objective in mind, I was planning to make a trip to the imperial palace soon to settle things once and for all with the emperor of Great Sui Nation…”

Li Er raised a hand to cut him off as he interjected, “Your plans are none of my business, Mr. Mao. I am going to the imperial palace to settle a family matter. However, you can rest assured that I definitely won’t attract any trouble for the academy.”

A wry smile appeared on Mao Xiaodong’s face as he sighed, “If I’m going to be brutally honest, the more of a scene you cause at the imperial palace, the more the academy will benefit. However, venturing into the imperial palace on your own is an extremely perilous endeavor, and I’d advise you not to take such a direct and aggressive course of action unless it’s absolutely necessary.

“If possible, I would like you to wait for me to visit the emperor of Great Sui Nation. I’ll explain the situation to him and advise him to exert some pressure upon the clans involved. If you’re still not satisfied with the outcome after that, then you can do whatever you please. What do you think?”

Li Er shook his head in response. “I appreciate the kind offer, Mr. Mao, but as I just said, this is a family matter, and as the head of the family…”

Li Er’s voice abruptly cut off here, and he hurriedly amended, “As the man of the family and as Li Huai’s father, if it’s something that I can resolve with my fists, then I’ll take care of it on my own, and I don’t want to overthink it.”

Mao Xiaodong had no choice but to turn to Cui Dongshan, hoping that with his slick tongue, he would be able to somehow dissuade Li Er from his plan. Unfortunately, Cui Dongshan seemed to have suddenly developed a keen interest in the surrounding scenery.

In the end, Mao Xiaodong could only heave a resigned sigh, then changed the subject and asked something that he had always been genuinely curious about. “How was Qi Jingchun living back when he was teaching in the town?”

Li Er faltered slightly upon hearing this, clearly taken aback by the question, and after a moment of contemplation, he replied, “He lived a decent life in the town. I visited Mr. Qi’s home once, and we didn’t speak about much, but I have a great deal of admiration for Mr. Qi.

“Even my wife, who… has a bit of a sharp tongue, was full of praise for Mr. Qi, joking to me that if she were 20 years younger, then she would’ve definitely divorced me to marry Mr. Qi instead. After that, she began to lament the fact that our daughter was too young to be married.”

This was a rather embarrassing story, but Li Er was telling it with a happy smile on his face, and then concluded, “I think Li Huai is immensely fortunate to have had a teacher like Mr. Qi.”

It was clear that Li Er admired Qi Jingchun from the bottom of his heart.

One time, his wife had been scratched up so badly that her entire face had been bloodied, and the perpetrator had been outside Jewel Small World, with an ancestor who was a cultivator. In a fit of fury, Li Er had left Jewel Small World without the knowledge of his family and made a trip outside. He started from the foot of the mountain, storming all the way up to the clan’s ancestral hall, destroying everything in his wake before eventually demolishing the ancestral hall as well.

The entire time, he didn’t utter even a single word, and he didn’t even declare his name before departing. The brutal one-man demolition job had left half of the entire Eastern Treasured Vial Continent in a state of shock and awe.

Upon Li Er’s return to the town, he received a visit from Qi Jingchun.

In order to leave Jewel Small World, one had to first secure approval from Qi Jingchun. Li Er had always held a great deal of respect for Qi Jingchun as Li Huai’s teacher, so he had followed the rules and requested approval before leaving Jewel Small World, and he was caught completely off guard by Qi Jingchun’s visit following his return.

He was very concerned that Qi Jingchun would develop a negative impression of Li Huai due to his actions. At the time, there had only been some low-quality loose wine at home, and Li Er had been too embarrassed to even bring it out for Qi Jingchun to drink.

However, Qi Jingchun had stated a desire to drink wine, so the two of them sat down onto the couple of stools in the yard with a bowl of wine each. The so-called table was actually just a third stool, upon which was placed a dish of homemade pickled vegetables and another dish of salted peanuts.

After speaking briefly to Li Er about how Li Huai was doing in his studies, Qi Jingchun smiled as he remarked, “The strong and courageous dare to draw their blade to challenge those more powerful than themselves. Your actions remind me very much of a close friend of mine.”

Li Er wasn’t very good with words, and he replied in a dull manner, “I have no blade.”

Qi Jingchun took a sip of wine, then rephrased. “You’re right, I should’ve said that you raised your fist to challenge someone more powerful than yourself.”

Li Er had truly been feeling extremely anxious at the time, not just because Qi Jingchun was the Sage overseeing Jewel Small World, nor was it because he was Li Huai’s teacher. Instead, it was because his own master had once appraised Qi Jingchun as someone who “possessed the potential to establish a teaching of his own”.

Li Er’s anxiety didn’t stem from fear. Instead, it arose from earnest admiration. The further one progressed as a martial artist or cultivator, the more they would come to discover just how remarkable certain people in high-up places were. Even though Li Er didn’t fear anyone, he held nothing but respect and admiration for those lofty and unfathomable figures.

Li Er didn’t dare to placate Qi Jingchun, so he could only speak candidly. “I suppose that would be somewhat applicable to my actions. I can’t interfere with a fight between children, but I can certainly go after their ancestors and teach them a lesson.”

Qi Jingchun tapped his bowl against Li Er’s with a smile as he asked, “How do you feel about the clan that you went after?”

Li Er shook his head as he replied, “They’ve got quite a big reputation, so I thought they wouldn’t be complete pushovers, but it turns out I was wrong.”

A sheepish smile then appeared on Li Er’s face as he apologized, “Sorry for treating you to such terrible wine, Mr. Qi.”

However, Qi Jingchun downed his bowl of low-quality wine in one go, then cast his gaze toward the distant night sky with a reminiscent look in his eyes as he replied, “The wine is just fine. I often drank wine like this back when I was young, and my temper was far worse than yours back then.”

Li Er could tell that Qi Jingchun still wanted to have more wine, but as an act of courtesy, he left half a flagon of wine behind for Li Er, then rose to his feet as he said, “I wouldn’t dare to guarantee that I can teach Li Huai to become an accomplished scholar, but I’ll definitely teach him to be a good person with a heart that’s no less kind than yours. You have my word on that, Li Er.”

Li Er also rose to his feet as he said, “That’s more than enough, Mr. Qi.”

In the end, Li Er accompanied Qi Jingchun to the entrance of his courtyard, and the latter made his way down the alley on his own, cutting a rather lonesome figure.

The last time Li Er saw Qi Jingchun was when he was hiding in the side room of the Yang Family’s medicine shop. It was raining on the street that day, and Qi Jingchun had been walking side by side with Chen Ping’an under an umbrella.

The umbrella wasn’t that large to begin with, and he had tilted it so that Chen Ping’an was shielded from the rain. The two of them were chatting with one another, and Chen Ping’an was looking up at him with a smile on his face, while Qi Jingchun wore a smile of his own as he looked down at Chen Ping’an.

Li Er had never seen Qi Jingchun look so… not lonely.

At this moment, standing on the summit of Eastern Splendor Mountain, Li Er took a glance at Cui Dongshan and Mao Xiaodong, then smiled as he said, “In my eyes, not a single scholar under the heavens can compare with Mr. Qi.”

The thought of Qi Jingchun reminded Li Er of Chen Ping’an, and in the end, he thought of his own son, Li Huai.

There were a myriad of emotions churning in his heart, and he wanted to say something to express those emotions, but he couldn’t quite articulate what he wanted to say, so instead, he was going to express himself with his fists rather than his words! For some reason, he felt like he owed Qi Jingchun half a flagon of wine, and he was going to drink in Qi Jingchun’s memory after a good fight.

All of a sudden, Li Er exploded up into the sky from Eastern Splendor Mountain, hurtling rapidly through the air in a massive arc and crossing half of the entire capital city before landing in the imperial palace of Great Sui Nation.

————

Inside the plain yet elegant resting quarters of Great Sui Nation’s imperial palace, the emperor summoned the head minister of the Ministry of Rites once again, and he asked with furrowed brows, “Has there still been no response from the academy?”

The head minister shook his head as he replied, “All Elder Mao said is that he’ll come to the palace to provide you an explanation on the matter at some point, but he didn’t tell me when he would do so.”

A deflated look appeared on the emperor’s face as he sighed, “It’s our Great Sui Nation that should be providing their academy with an explanation, but if Elder Mao doesn’t come to see me, I can’t exactly rush the academy into coming to me to seek justice.”

The head minister took a moment to meticulously consider his words, then said in a careful manner, “If the conflict between Li Huai and his dorm mates had stemmed from an argument between children, then that would be understandable. Our Great Sui Nation would indeed be at fault initially, and as for everything that came after, the blame could be roughly evenly divided between the two parties.

“However, the actions of that boy by the name of Yu Lu at the end went too far. Not only did he act with excessive malice and aggression, he’s also proven himself to be an extremely sly and scheming character.

“According to that swordsman, Yu Lu progressively revealed his power in stages, initially pretending to be a fourth tier martial artist, then a fifth tier martial artist, and throughout the rest of the battle, he maintained the level of a sixth tier martial artist, only revealing his power as a seventh tier martial artist at the very end to severely wound the swordsman in a single blow.”

The emperor of Great Sui Nation nodded in response. The chief eunuchs standing outside had actually already explained this to him. He speculated that Yu Lu was originally at the pinnacle of the sixth tier, but during that battle in the scripture library, he had used that Sea Observation Tier swordsman as a whetstone to hone himself, making a breakthrough at the very conclusion of the battle, displaying outstanding aptitude and mental qualities in the process.

The sequence of events that had unfolded in the eyes of the emperor of Great Sui Nation was completely different from what had been perceived by the uneasy head minister.

All of a sudden, the elderly eunuch outside abruptly arrived by the emperor’s side. All the head minister saw was a blur flash past his eyes before the chief eunuch appeared in front of the emperor, completely disregarding the etiquette that should’ve been upheld by a servant in the presence of the emperor.

The emperor wasn’t alarmed or enraged by this in the slightest. Instead, he was only feeling rather curious.

Immediately thereafter, a burst of violent tremors ran through the entire imperial palace, following which a thunderous voice rang out.

“Where is the emperor of Great Sui Nation?”

The emperor rose to his feet with a smile as he chuckled, “He certainly has no lack of courage. Just how powerful is he?”

“He’s a ninth tier martial artist, and there’s a chance that no ordinary ninth tier martial artist, so he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with,” the elderly chief eunuch replied in a grim voice.

The emperor nodded in response. “It’s just like how there are disparities in skill between ninth rank go players. They appear to all be on the same level, but in reality, the gap can be quite large.”

The emperor made his way out of his resting quarters under the protection of the chief eunuch, and he continued, “There was supposed to be a 10th rank, but apparently, that despotic tyrant in White Emperor City of the Middle Earth Divine Continent proclaimed himself to be a 10th rank go player, and he put up a flag on the city wall that read ‘unmatched in go under the heavens’.”

“As a result, no empire dared to award the 10th rank to any of the go players in their territory. In my opinion, our Great Sui Nation has the best go players in the entire Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, but just like everyone else, our Great Sui Nation also doesn’t dare to break this tradition. I really want to go to White Emperor City to take a look for myself.”

“Let the guards in the palace test out his power first, and you can decide whether to meet him after that,” the chief eunuch advised.

The emperor and the chief eunuch had only just made their way out of the corridor when they were approached by an elderly cultivator, who delivered a report on the situation outside.

On the plaza outside the Hall of Martial Valor, the deputy general of the imperial guard, who was a seventh tier martial artist, had already been knocked out by a single punch, and everyone else was too afraid to even approach him to carry him away.

After walking for about 100 meters, they were delivered another report by a physically imposing general clad in a suit of golden armor.

A 10th tier cultivator who was stationed near the palace all year round had immediately entered the palace at the first sign of disturbance, but he had only just summoned an immortal treasure before it was sent flying straight out of the imperial palace by Li Er with just a single punch.

With another punch, Li Er sent the cultivator crashing straight into the city wall, and unlike the deputy general from before, the cultivator wasn’t knocked out on the spot, but he was also no longer fit for battle.

The emperor nodded in response to the report, then asked, “The formation in the palace has already been activated, right?”

The armor-clad general nodded as he replied, “It’s already been activated and is ready to be used at any time. All of the grandmaster martial artists and cultivators in the capital city are all currently on their way to the imperial palace.”

“Has the intruder attacked anyone unprovoked?” the emperor asked.

The general shook his head in response. “No. All he said is that he’s here to see you, and unless we actively attack him, all he does is stand still on the spot.”

“A mistake shouldn’t be repeated three times,” the emperor murmured to himself.

The chief eunuch smiled as he said, “Now’s not the time to be following these pedantic rules, Your Majesty. Let me go and face him, and if I lose as well, you can always meet him then.”

“You’re both martial artists, so make sure you don’t lose too badly,” the emperor jibed.

The chief eunuch was an extremely respected figure in the imperial palace, having already served three emperors of Great Sui Nation, and he smiled as he replied, “I won’t draw upon the Dragon Qi of the capital city unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

The chief eunuch then sprang up into the air, flying over a palace in the blink of an eye like a dragonfly bouncing over the surface of a lake. He resembled a graceful and elegant immortal who was flying with the wind.

Upon reaching the eighth tier, the Wing Formation Tier, martial artists gained the ability to fly, and thus, this tier was also known as the Far Roaming Tier.

In general, a martial artist at the pinnacle of the ninth tier was already considered to be an End Tier Superior Grandmaster, indicating that they already reached the conclusion of the path of martial arts.

End Tier martial artists possessed physical bodies comparable with the Buddhist Arhat Vajra Body, and with the exception of 10th tier cultivators, any cultivator of the Middle Five Tiers would be as good as dead if they allowed an End Tier martial artist to get within 100 feet of them, unless they had an extremely powerful protective treasure at their disposal.

The chief eunuch drifted down onto the plaza outside the Hall of Martial Valor, keeping a distance of over 200 feet between himself and Li Er.

Prior to his arrival, a layer of golden light had appeared over the ground, the rooftops, and all of the walls in the entire imperial palace. It was like a flowing golden wave that covered the entire palace in a thin layer of golden water, within which faint images of flood dragons could be seen, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws in a formidable sight to behold.

This formation in Great Sui Nation’s imperial palace was called the Dragon Wall.

Given the extensive period of peace that Great Sui Nation had enjoyed, it had already been over a century since the Dragon Wall was last used.

Following the activation of the formation, the entire imperial palace was giving off a golden glow. Having endured countless brutal battles throughout his lifetime, the chief eunuch’s heart was filled with a myriad of emotions at the sight of the Dragon Wall.

“I didn’t think we would meet again.”

The chief eunuch clasped one hand behind his back, while his other hand was clenched into a fist in front of his abdomen, and he declared, “We’ll exchange three punches each. If you win, you’ll get to meet His Majesty.”

Back in Jewel Small World, it was none other than Li Er who was holding the Dragon King Basket that contained the golden carp that he was trying to sell to Chen Ping’an, only for the chief eunuch and Prince Gao Xuan to intercept these two enormous opportunities.

At the time, Li Er had concealed his own power extremely well, and the chief eunuch was affected by the restrictions in Jewel Small World, so he was completely oblivious to the fact that Li Er was a Superior Grandmaster martial artist.

Li Er remained completely expressionless, and he skipped all the pleasantries as he said in a rather inauthentic Eastern Treasured Vial Continent official dialect, “I’ll let you have two punches at me first.”

The chief eunuch raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. “Alright, I’ll gladly accept your kind offer!”

Li Er didn’t say anything further as he sank his Qi into his Dantian, and even though he hadn’t made a single move, the plaza outside the Hall of Martial Valor began to groan and rumble as if it were about to shatter, giving Li Er the appearance of an immovable mountain.

All of the golden light radiating from the ground within a radius of 100 feet around him instantly faded.

The chief eunuch took a deep breath, then took a small step forward, and with each successive step, his stride length grew longer and longer. In the end, his final step covered a distance of 20 feet, and he charged toward Li Er with unstoppable force while throwing a punch directly at his chest.

A resounding boom rang out across the entire imperial palace.

A golden flood dragon that was roaming over the ground on the plaza outside the Hall of Martial Valor was struck by the tremendous shockwaves from the clash, and it instantly darted back in retreat before curling up into a ball in a distant corner, not daring to make even a single move.

Li Er was forced back three or four steps by the blow, and he said in a calm voice, “You get one more punch.”

The chief eunuch offered no response as his red python robes flapped audibly around him. He took a step forward as he let loose a loud roar, then threw another punch, this time at Li Er’s forehead.

His fist struck Li Er’s forehead in complete silence, but countless soldiers of the imperial guard, court ladies, and eunuchs in the imperial palace were all dealt an extremely heavy blow.

The soldiers of the imperial guard were all capable cultivators or martial artists, but even they felt their eardrums shudder violently as their Qi and blood churned within their bodies. As for the court ladies and eunuchs who were affected, many of them were instantly sent flying back before tumbling down onto the ground with blood seeping out of their ears.

Li Er was sent flying by this all-out blow from the chief eunuch, and his entire body was embedded into the city wall behind him, but he quickly extricated himself out of the wall with his hands. He then gently descended onto the ground, and his expression remained unchanged as he made his way toward the elderly eunuch. “You still have one more punch left, and you can attack at any time, but I’m going to be retaliating from here.”

Earlier, it had only taken Li Er a single punch each to defeat the deputy general of the imperial guard and that 10th tier cultivator, and even now, in the face of this chief eunuch, he was still only going to deliver a single punch.

He was a simple and honest man, and he didn’t want to beat down anyone excessively.

The elderly chief eunuch took a deep breath as he said, “Please enlighten me!”

Li Er began to charge forward before throwing a simple straight punch straight into the chief eunuch’s chest.

In the next instant, the chief eunuch had completely vanished from the plaza outside the Hall of Martial Valor. However, a huge hole had appeared in the wall far behind him. Li Er waited for a moment, but no one emerged from the hole in the wall, and he declared, “Listen up, emperor of Great Sui Nation: if you’re going to keep hiding, then you’d better send out someone who can put up a fight. If you can’t find anyone, then you can get all of them to come at me at once!”