Unsheathed

As the end of the lunar year drew near, the weather became increasingly cold, and the narrow dirt road in Clay Vase Alley also became extremely hard.

Chen Ping’an took a deep breath and looked toward the tall figure in front of him. “Brother Li,” he called softly.

Li Xisheng didn’t turn around. He smiled faintly and said, “Don’t worry, I can deal with him. Even if I’m weaker than him, the small town still has its own rules that will prevent him from taking things too far.”

The young swordsman who referred to himself as Cao Jun chuckled and said, “Are you talking about the imperial court of the Great Li Empire, or are you talking about Militarian Sage Ruan Qiong? If it’s the former, then I encourage you to abandon your wishful thinking. If the imperial family truly has a backbone, then they won’t be cowering like they are now. If it’s the latter, then haha, allow me to keep an air of mystery first. You guys can wait and see.”

Cao Jun looked at the handsome and jade-like scholar in green. Compared to his seemingly young appearance, this scholar was genuinely a very young person. This caused him to feel slightly unhappy. He tightened his grip on his short sword and asked, “You genuinely want to fight? Sometimes it’s better to accept a small loss. Perhaps you might look back later and discover that the small loss was actually a blessing in disguise.”

Li Xisheng smiled faintly and replied, “Since you claim that your reasons are all in your scabbard, I’m willing to hear it out.”

“I heard that Jewel Small World prohibited all usage of mystical abilities before. Now that the small world has shattered and fallen to the earth, you’ve already advanced to the Middle Five Tiers in just one short year. Quite an impressive feat.”

There was a look of approval on Cao Jun’s face. However, he quickly shook his head and clicked his tongue in wonder, remarking, “Ah, such a pity.”

Li Xisheng extended a hand and said, “Please go ahead.”

Cao Jun couldn’t help but chuckle, “Naive and ignorant. Since this isn’t a life-and-death battle, I’ll suppress my cultivation so you don’t lose too comprehensively in the first fight of your life.”

Li Xisheng smiled and remained silent.

“When you climb out from the bottom of the well in the future, you’ll realize that someone like me can be regarded as…”

With a tap of his foot, Cao Jun leaned forward and charged toward Li Xisheng. The smiling swordsman laughed loudly, and his aura instantly changed. The final few words of his remark reverberated around the narrow and cramped Clay Vase Alley: “Kindhearted and forgiving!”

A dazzling white light exploded forward, bringing with it a ferocious sword qi that instantly flooded through the entire alley. Combined with Cao Jun’s insane speed, it looked as if his blurry and barely perceptible figure were a part of the explosive sword qi. Looking at it from afar, one could be forgiven for thinking that floodwater was rushing through the small alley and violently crashing toward Li Xisheng and the others after a torrential downpour.

A sheet of white enveloped the narrow alleyway. However, amid the torrential sword qi, one could vaguely see a radiance that was even more snow-white. It was as if a white fish were quietly swimming through the “river”.

The flow of sword qi halted.

Li Xisheng appeared relaxed and unhurried, and he turned to his side before raising a hand and extending it toward the short sword that looked like a white fish.

He then lightly but accurately grabbed Cao Jun’s wrist.

Cao Jun smiled faintly and released his grip, causing the short sword that was only a meter from Li Xisheng’s chest to shoot forward.

Li Xisheng had a calm expression as he raised his left hand and put his index finger and middle finger together.

In this critical moment that could decide victory or defeat, he precisely pinched the short sword between his fingers.

The white fish rolled its body.

The short sword followed suit and twisted its blade.

Li Xisheng had no option but to retreat. Cao Jun seized this opportunity to press forward, and his sword-wielding hand had already clenched into a fist and swung toward Li Xisheng’s neck.

At the same instant that Li Xisheng raised his elbow to block Cao Jun’s fist, the white fish shot forward to attack him. Li Xisheng shook his other wrist, causing his large sleeve to ripple.

The white fish swam right into Li Xisheng’s sleeve.

Cao Jun sneered and thrust his foot into Li Xisheng’s abdomen, causing the young scholar in green to stumble back several meters.

However, he didn’t seize this opportunity to attack, and he instead stood still with one hand behind his back and one hand in front. He appeared extremely confident and carefree.

Li Xisheng stabilized himself, but his face had already become slightly pale. Even though Cao Jun was a swordsman, his kick had been extremely powerful and no weaker than the kick of a pure martial artist at the peak stage of the fifth tier. This was the terrifying nature of swordsmen and militarian cultivators. They practiced both Qi refinement and physique refinement. Thus, Li Xisheng didn’t feel very good after being struck by this kick. The Qi circulation inside him had definitely been affected to some degree.

Meanwhile, muffled clangs continued to travel out from the large sleeve that Li Xisheng had used to trap Cao Jun’s small sword. After a while, there was the soft sound of fabric tearing, after which wisps of snow-white sword light seeped out from the tears in Li Xisheng’s sleeve.

Using his hand on the side of the peculiar sleeve, Li Xisheng either bent or straightened his fingers rapidly to form a Daoist hand seal. At the same time, he quietly recited the word “suppress” in his mind.

His sleeve which was already taut and chaotic instantly became calm again.

The sound of the flying sword striking his sleeve became nothing more than a faint ring.

Cao Jun wasn’t surprised, and he said with a smile, “Seven.”

Li Xisheng’s sleeve instantly ripped apart, all the way to his elbow. A burst of brilliant sword light appeared near his wrist.

This looked much like a beautiful sight of someone holding the full moon in their hand. In reality, however, this was a burst of sword light that possessed immense power and killing intent.

Li Xisheng’s fingers rapidly moved around as he formed another hand seal. Meanwhile, the ridges on his palm that was now hidden from view gently moved around like flowing water as they changed their paths.

A foggy bluish-purple glow instantly appeared around his elbow.

The white fish that was ferociously circulating Li Xisheng’s arm led the sword qi into battle against the bluish-purple glow emanating from the young scholar’s elbow. Their collisions released the crisp sound of metal striking stone, and the frequency at which this was released would cause one’s ears to ache.

In fact, dust and scraps of clay continued to fall from the tall wall on one side of the alley and from the short wall of the old residence on the other side of the alley.

Cao Jun opened his extremely squinted eyes a little, and he jeered, “Oh, how interesting. It’s said that the Daoist Sect has tens of thousands of seals, and I’ve already witnessed no fewer than 200 of them. However, I truly haven’t seen any that are as simple and convenient as what you’ve just used. Your sixth tier cultivation base is far too stable and powerful, is it not? It’s always been the case that sixth tier swordsmen can pick on seventh tier Qi refiners. However, when has it ever been the case that a sixth tier Qi refiner like you can face a seventh tier swordsman head-on? If word of this gets out, won’t I, Cao Jun, become a laughingstock among the sword cultivators of the world?”

After experiencing and overcoming his initial inexperience, Li Xisheng appeared like he could already calmly face the situation now. In fact, he could even chuckle and reply, “Perhaps the reasons in your scabbard… aren’t profound enough?”

Cao Jun nodded in sincere agreement. There was a wide smile on his face as he announced, “Eight!”

The flying sword that was as agile as a white fish flew toward its owner, Cao Jun. After arriving in front of him, it hovered to a stop and instantly lost its luster. It was as if the short sword were nothing more than an ordinary short sword. Not a single wisp of sword qi radiated from it, and it no longer appeared as dazzling and eye-catching as it had just then.

With a shake of its body, the sword intent that had appeared strange and cold just then suddenly became radiant and righteous.

The flying sword instantly vanished from sight.

An extremely small gash appeared on the wall beside them. However, only a tiny amount of crushed clay drifted down.

Li Xisheng raised his right hand and attempted to catch the short sword that was flying over on an arc with two fingers again.

However, the young scholar suddenly turned his head.

In the next moment, the flying sword bore a hole into the tall wall behind Li Xisheng’s left shoulder.

The flying sword vanished again.

However, a bead of blood appeared on Li Xisheng’s left cheek before expanding to reveal a gash that was an inch in size.

Sure enough, the saying was true. When fighting against swordsmen, there would only be a thin line between life and death.

So this is the eighth tier. It is indeed very impressive, Li Xisheng thought to himself.

Sword cultivators were publicly recognized as the most powerful of the hundred branches of Qi refiners specifically because of their flying swords. They were ferocious enough to end a battle by targeting a single point, and at most, they would only leave a single gash.

Regardless of how towering and majestic a mountain was, it wouldn’t be too difficult to drive a nail or carve a groove into the mountain face.

Militarian cultivators were also unique among Qi refiners, in the sense that they cultivated both the soul and the body. Even so, their style of fighting was still inferior to swordsmen when it came to resoluteness and ruthlessness.

Others might possess tens of thousands of treasures, or they might possess profound mystical abilities. However, swordsmen only pursued the goal of ending a battle in a single strike and slicing through all techniques with a single slash.

Cao Jun remained standing in an arrogant manner with a hand placed behind his back. He patted the scabbard of his other sword and said, “A cultivation prodigy like you definitely carries the hopes and expectations of your entire clan. That being the case, don’t you have a few defensive treasures? I find it hard to believe that you don’t have any. Let me say this first. Regardless of what your intention is, someone will genuinely die if you continue to conceal your true power and refuse to show it to others. I’m afraid that I might get too excited and end up unable to hold back. At that time, you’ll definitely die in vain.”

Li Xisheng wasn’t angered by his opponent’s taunts, and his voice remained as warm and calm as always as he said, “Chen Ping’an, I might have to get you three to move back a bit. It will be best if you can move ten or even fifteen meters back.”

Cao Jun slapped his forehead and complained with an aggrieved expression, “Your opponent is standing right in front of you, yet you’re still relaxed and carefree enough to speak nonsense with others? I’m very angry.”

There was hidden killing intent behind the young swordsman’s smile and words.

At the same time that Cao Jun slapped his forehead, his flying sword had already flown behind Li Xisheng’s back borrowing the loud sound of the slap. It was genuinely silent and elusive.

Clang!

A crisp and ethereal sound reverberated throughout Clay Vase Alley.

Cao Jun faltered for a moment before laughing loudly and remarking, “Really? This works as well? Then I genuinely won’t hold back anymore?”

A lush green bamboo leaf materialized behind Li Xisheng’s back and blocked the flying sword’s deadly strike.

Clang, clang, clang, clang…

Inside the small alley, crisp clangs continued to ring out around Li Xisheng.

Apart from numerous bamboo leaves, he also had peach leaves, willow leaves, locust leaves, and many other leaves…

He had all kinds of lush green leaves.

Cao Jun squinted at the intense battlefield around his opponent.

Li Xisheng remained firm, and there were leaves hovering high and low all around him. Meanwhile, the short sword named White Fish flew among them and continued to do battle with the formation. However, it was unable to make any progress.

Even though green leaves continued to fall to the ground, Cao Jun still couldn’t help but feel a little bit helpless. This was because by his rough estimation, the young scholar most likely had at least a hundred of these leaves.

Thus, Cao Jun was in a fairly bad mood right now.

Does your family sell leaves or something? Even if they do, does anyone buy them?

However, Cao Jun was unwilling to retreat just like this, and he refused to believe that a measly sixth tier Qi refiner could hold on until the end. Manipulating so many leaves at once definitely couldn’t be easy, and the amount of concentration and effort this took was definitely quite significant.

Cao Jun silently told himself that even though it would be an unfair victory, he could still somewhat treat this as a slow and inefficient way to sharpen his blade. He wanted to see just how long this scholar could last for.

The short but ferocious flying sword started to wantonly dash around and slash at everything in its path.

Inside the small alley, leaves continued to fall to the ground, changing from lush green to yellow as they did so.

“If we continue to fight like this, we can fight until next year,” Li Xisheng suddenly warned. “Say, once you finish expounding the reasons of this sword, why don’t you expound the reasons of your other sword as well? If you can, you might as well unleash your bonded flying sword as well. No matter what, we should at least determine a victor first, right? After all, my friend is still waiting for me.”

Cao Jun’s eyes suddenly widened, and he finally wiped the smile from his face. “Will you die if you don’t boast?”

Li Xisheng sighed and didn’t say anything else.

He simply shook his unbroken sleeve and let out a large pile of incredible trinkets.

There were a small number of remaining spring leaves, but in addition to this, there were also beads of fingernail-sized summer thunder, wisps of finger-length autumn wind, and flakes of down feather-sized winter snow.

His opponent had a sword that could shatter 10,000 techniques.

So, what could he do?

Could he gather 10,001 techniques?

And thus, the young scholar called Li Xisheng who had only just reached the Middle Five Tiers revealed that he already possessed spring leaves, summer thunder, autumn wind, and winter snow. In fact, he still possessed more things in addition to this. Many more things.