Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an attained some enlightenment while observing the waterfall, but he ultimately didn’t draw his locust wood sword to emulate the sword strike that Mr. Qi had unleashed toward the pink-robed great demon in the old temple.

“What in the world is going on?” Chen Ping’an murmured to himself. “Why do I feel like my movements will definitely be wrong if I launch a sword strike? Perhaps fist techniques are completely different from sword techniques? Maybe one of them can be mastered through hard work, while the other can only be mastered through talent?”

Right now, Chen Ping’an was still unaware of the fact that this wasn’t because of his lack of comprehension skills, and it most definitely wasn’t because of his lack of talent in swordsmanship. Rather, everyone whom he had come across was far too powerful and profound for him, a third tier martial artist, to comprehend. This was in terms of both their cultivation base and their mystical sword techniques.

However, Chen Ping’an’s eyesight and observation skills were very good. Thus, he was able to catch many fine details that ordinary martial artists were unable to notice. As a result, he felt a formless pressure weighing on himself, especially since he had a habit of seeking perfection whenever he did something.

Every time he wanted to launch a sword strike, he would inevitably compare himself to those profound cultivators and end up feeling like his sword weighed thousands of pounds.

Chen Ping’an had come across all kinds of powerful cultivators on his journey. There was Wind Snow Temple’s Wei Jin, a terrestrial sword immortal who had shattered the female ghost’s barrier with a single slash, with his sword arriving before his person.

Afterward, the Mohist cultivator Xu Ruo had drawn his blade — a mountain range that he had obtained from visualization and meditation — a small amount and used it to block Wei Jin’s strike. Then there was also Qi Jingchun, who had casually and relaxedly launched a sword strike to shatter the Chaos Origin Golden Light Formation, a technique from White Emperor City’s demonic orthodoxy.

This was completely different from his experience of learning the Mountain Shaking Fist from Ning Yao in Clay Vase Alley. Back then, Chen Ping’an could somewhat imitate Ning Yao’s movements after watching her perform walking meditation a few times. In fact, he could even imitate some of the true intent of this fist technique.

However, Cui Chan’s grandpa had already offered a conclusion regarding this. After reading the Mountain Shaking Guide, he said that the Mountain Shaking Fist was, in fact, an extremely simple and crude fist technique. It was barely worth a mention, and a fist technique that anyone could imitate.

This was indeed the case, just like how Blusher Prefecture’s Zhao Shuxia could also temper his physique after watching Chen Ping’an for a while and imitating the walking meditation.

However, the most valuable part of the Mountain Shaking Fist was its attitude and will. Thus, getting started with the Mountain Shaking Fist was easy, but trying to fully comprehend and master the fist technique was difficult.

Just how difficult?

One only needed to look at the tenet of the Mountain Shaking Fist — Those who practice the Mountain Shaking Fist in the future, remember this even if you’re facing the founders of the three teachings. Your fist technique is allowed to be weak, and your fist technique is also allowed to lose in battles. However, the fist intent that you possess definitely can’t take a single step in retreat!

When Cui Chan’s grandpa had come across Lu Chen after returning to the peak stage of the 10th tier, had he chosen to throw a punch at his opponent? No, he hadn’t. Regardless of what his considerations were, the end result was that he hadn’t thrown a punch at Lu Chen. From this, one could see just how difficult it was to fully achieve the essence of the Mountain Shaking Fist. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was as difficult as ascending the heavens.

The descending water crashed into the pool and sent splashes of water flying everywhere, as if millions of pearls were exploding in unison and giving rise to a veiled mist.

“A’Liang, practicing the sword is so difficult.”

Chen Ping’an scratched his head in a dazed manner before drinking a sip of wine. He felt a little helpless. He looked around while standing on the railing of the waterside pavilion, and his gaze eventually settled on the peak of the waterfall again. Even though he no longer felt the urge to launch a sword strike, he recalled the words of Cui Chan’s grandpa, the old man had helped him temper his third tier physique. When describing the Rain Evaporation Technique, the barefoot old man had frankly recounted his feat of forcing the rain to retreat into the sky the first time he had unleashed this technique.

Gazing at the giant waterfall that was thundering down right now, Chen Ping’an was curious about whether the old man in the bamboo building could throw a punch and cause the waterfall to retreat or even flow backward.

The young boy’s urge to launch an unfamiliar sword strike immediately became an urge to throw an extremely familiar punch. Chen Ping’an immediately became confident again, and this was a sense of confidence that stemmed from his experience of doing his walking meditation hundreds of thousands of times. This confidence stemmed from his refusal to retreat even when facing powerful opponents.

Chen Ping’an looked at the spectacular waterfall, and a wild thought suddenly occurred to him. If he unleashed his full power to throw a punch, could he potentially blast a hole into the curtain of water?

After blasting a hole into the curtain of water by luck, might there be a wisp of his fist aura that continued forward and slammed into the tough stone cliff behind it? Could someone like Xu Yuanxia, a martial artist from the cultivation world who had already been at the Qi Refining Tier for many years, smash a small crater into the stone cliff?

Chen Ping’an was tempted to try.

However, he quickly hopped down the railing and sat on the long bench in the waterside pavilion. He started to drink wine, and he looked much like a tourist who had come to the villa to enjoy the scenery.

Chen Ping’an looked toward the mountain path, and it wasn’t long before a group of people in bright-colored clothes slowly walked over. Some people were talking and laughing loudly, with an aura of might in their voices, while some people were talking gently in a calm and refined manner. There were also graceful women whose smiles were as beautiful as blooming flowers.

Of the three people walking in front, the person in the middle was a handsome young master whose complexion was as fair as jade. There was a jade pendant hanging from one side of his waist and an uncommon short sword hanging on the other side. He appeared dignified and extraordinary.

To his left was a middle-aged man with a saber. and this person walked with an aura as mighty and domineering as dragons and tigers. Right now, he was looking around with a complacent expression. To his right was a young scholar wearing a square kerchief on his head and holding a folding fan.

Several women and young girls were behind the three of them, all of them possessing extraordinary dispositions and appearances.

There was a girl among them who looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, and she was no shorter than the men around her. Her expression was ice-cold and aloof, and a long saber decorated with gold was hanging by her waist. The saber was in an exquisite scabbard, but her manner of wearing the scabbard was very strange and uncommon. It was attached to her waist in the reverse direction, just like the middle-aged man’s.

She glanced at the locust wood sword case on Chen Ping’an’s back before glancing at the vermillion wine gourd by his waist. She couldn’t determine his background or cultivation base from these, so she quickly lost interest in the young boy.

Further back, there was an entourage of guards and followers. Most of them were strong young men with imposing auras and intense gazes. Among them, a person with an ox horn bow slung on his back was the most eye-catching.

An indescribable aura of the cultivation world swept toward the waterside pavilion.

The mountain path to Sword Water Villa’s waterfall led to a dead end, and the final destination of the path was none other than the waterside pavilion. The path was narrow, and there was almost no space left as the group of people walked along it. Thus, Chen Ping’an had no option but to remain in the waterside pavilion for the moment. He would find an opportunity to leave after these people entered the pavilion.

The three men in front walked up the steps first, followed by the group of women and young girls behind them. Meanwhile, the guards and followers spread out to keep watch and guard over the different areas of the waterside pavilion. Most of them just took a cursory glance at the young boy with the sword case on his back, then proceeded to ignore him.

The young master in the middle had the aura of a descendant from a powerful clan, and his gaze paused slightly when he swept his eyes over Chen Ping’an. It was as if he were waiting for Chen Ping’an to speak first. However, Chen Ping’an appeared slightly plain and demure when their gazes locked together.

The young master smiled faintly and nodded in greeting. In reality, however, he was feeling a little puzzled at this moment. Many powerful cultivators from all over the cultivation world had come to Sword Water Villa, yet there was actually someone who didn’t recognize him?

Only after seeing this did Chen Ping’an return the gesture and nod in greeting.

Just as Chen Ping’an was about to take this opportunity to leave the waterside pavilion, a young woman sitting beside the young master looked at Chen Ping’an and said in a gentle voice, “Young Master, if you’ve come here to enjoy the scenery, then you don’t need to leave if you still want to enjoy the view for a bit longer.”

Chen Ping’an faltered upon hearing this. This was because the young woman had spoken using the official dialect of Water Combing Nation, a dialect that he didn’t understand at all.

The young woman realized this, and she immediately repeated her words using the official dialect of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

Chen Ping’an finally understood what she was saying.

The middle-aged man turned to Chen Ping’an and said, “Young lad, you can be at ease and stay here. There’s no need to feel reserved, and you can drink and enjoy the scenery as you please. If we consider who arrived here first, it’s actually our group that is disturbing your peace and leisure. Of course, you can feel free to leave afterward if you find us too noisy.”

After hearing this, most people would feel forced to remain seated in the same spot for a while longer. However, Chen Ping’an cupped his fists and replied, “I’ve already been here for half a day and enjoyed the scenery of the waterfall. I’m going to take my leave now.”

The middle-aged man with the saber by his waist laughed heartily as he surprisingly stood up and returned the gesture. “No worries at all. Please suit yourself.”

One of the youngest girls widened her eyes in disbelief. She felt like this unfamiliar young boy truly had terrible observation skills. Moreover, he also appeared very arrogant. Was he truly unaware of who that young master in the waterside pavilion was? Did he not know that this person was Song Fengshan, the young villa master of Sword Water Villa? He was a top-notch young sword immortal in the cultivation world of Water Combing Nation! In fact, it was rumored that a princess admired him so much that she had almost run away from home to elope with him!

Even if the young boy didn’t recognize the young villa master, did he not recognize the powerful person who dared to wear his saber in reverse as well? The middle-aged man who had cupped his fists at Chen Ping’an appeared especially friendly and approachable and completely unlike a powerful figure from the cultivation world. In reality, however, he was the current villa master of Unruly Saber Villa, a mountain villa that was equally as renowned and powerful as Sword Water Villa.

He was a renowned first-rate saber superior grandmaster in Water Combing Nation, and he had once traveled across the cultivation world of more than a dozen nations. His might and power were known far and wide, and even Sword Saint Song Yushao had personally praised his saber skills as brilliant and only a hair away from reaching a divine martial level.

The young girl was secretly amused, and contemplated whether this impoverished-looking young boy was a young hatchling who had only just entered the cultivation world. Or perhaps he was an audacious thief who had snuck into Sword Water Villa, so he didn’t dare to remain here for too long? Haha, things would be very interesting if that were truly the case.

Chen Ping’an exited the waterside pavilion and walked down the steps. However, an aloof voice suddenly traveled over from behind him. “Please wait for a moment.”

Chen Ping’an turned around and saw that it was the girl wearing her saber in reverse who had spoken. She walked to the top of the steps and looked down at him, asking, “Who’s your master? Are you from a sword sect in Colorful Garment Nation or Ancient Elm Nation?”

Even though the young girl appeared slightly overbearing, Chen Ping’an still shook his head and tried his best to maintain a sense of politeness as he replied, “I come from a place even further north, and I visited Sword Water Villa with my friends because we heard that the young villa master is going to be nominated as the alliance leader of the martial arts world in Water Combing Nation. We want to find an opportunity to congratulate him.”

The handsome young master smiled faintly.

Meanwhile, the young scholar lightly rocked his folding fan and teased, “The deity is present, yet the mortal is unaware.”

The middle-aged man looked at the young girl and huffed, “You little martial arts addict, don’t be disrespectful toward other guests! What did I say to you before? You can’t try to compete and spar with everyone after leaving Unruly Saber Villa.”

The young girl placed her palm on the hilt of her saber, causing the tip of the saber to tilt slightly upward and precisely point at Chen Ping’an standing at the bottom of the steps. She completely ignored the middle-aged man’s words as she kept her gaze fixed on Chen Ping’an and asked, “Are you at the second tier or third tier of martial arts? How many years have you practiced the sword for?”

Chen Ping’an furrowed his brow and cupped his fists. He then turned around to leave, not planning to interact with this young girl from a powerful clan in Water Combing Nation anymore.

Chen Ping’an was easygoing and polite, but this didn’t mean that he didn’t have his own principles and bottom line. When it came to strangers, Chen Ping’an wouldn’t provoke them, but he wouldn’t fear them either.

Cai Jinjian, Fu Nanhua, the mountain-moving ape, the white python that he had killed in Go Table Mountain, the officials and guards on the ship traveling across Embroidered Flower River, the young Cui Chan who had refused to come up from the bottom of the old well in Yellow Court Nation, and the female ghost whose soul he had obliterated with his fists while holding her neck in the old temple not long ago — all of these individuals had experienced the young boy’s wrath after crossing his bottom line.

The young girl had a cold smile on her face as she softly scorned, “Trash like you still have the face to walk around the cultivation world with swords on their back? You still dare to enter Sword Water Villa? Maybe the person who taught you swordsmanship only taught you how to be a coward, hey?”

The middle-aged man felt slightly exasperated and helpless. His daughter’s temper had always been like this ever since birth, and it was truly a crappy temper that caused a lot of trouble.

However, regardless of how he grumbled about this, the middle-aged man was still extremely proud of his only child’s martial arts talent. He didn’t conceal his expectations, and directly announced that his daughter wouldn’t marry out. Instead, her husband would have to enter Unruly Saber Villa. This was because his daughter was destined to become the next villa master of Unruly Saber Villa.

The middle-aged man was unwilling to rely on his strength to pick on others, so he stood up and was just about to persuade his daughter to stop provoking that young boy from another nation. After all, martial arts needed to uphold martial virtue as the most important thing. Martial prowess was only secondary.

However, he knew that his daughter was truly unwilling to listen to these old principles. Not only her, but the young prodigies in the current cultivation world were all uninterested in these teachings. Which of them didn’t treat these teachings as passing wind? Their faces would be filled with impatience, and they would snort in contempt behind their elders’ backs.

The most impressive and renowned young prodigy in Water Combing Nation during the past ten years was none other than the young villa master sitting in the waterside pavilion. He was already at the fourth tier of martial arts at such a young age, and he had already earned the title of small sword immortal for himself.

Each time Song Fengshan needed to launch a sword strike — regardless of whether he was challenged by someone else or he was the challenger — he would definitely burn incense, bathe, and change into brand-new clothes that he had never worn before. And he would never let his opponent walk away alive.

However, this sword prodigy who killed with resoluteness would extremely likely become the youngest fifth tier grandmaster in the history of Water Combing Nation.

After advancing to the fifth tier at thirty and defeating the Green Bamboo Sword Immortal, Song Fengshan could legitimately assume the title of sword immortal. At that time, his grandpa, Sword Saint Song Yushao, would still be alive. And now that Colorful Garment Nation’s sword god was dead, who in the surrounding dozen or so nations could still rival Sword Water Villa?

This was a critical reason behind why the cultivation world of Water Combing Nation was willing to yield to this junior.

However, Song Yushao had seldom shown himself for the past several dozen years, and this was a reflection of his disappointment toward the current cultivation world.

It was rumored that this grandpa and grandson didn’t have a very good relationship with each other, and it was said that the old sword saint especially disliked his grandaughter-in-law who was soft on the outside but ruthless on the inside.

After hearing the girl’s taunting remarks, even someone as easygoing as Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but come to a sudden stop. He turned around to look toward the waterside pavilion.

Chen Ping’an didn’t know much about the so-called rules of the cultivation world, and he was even more ignorant when it came to the local traditions and customs in Water Combing Nation. However, the young boy felt like there were some principles that could be applied no matter where one was, and there were some matters that were black and white regardless of the situation.

Fortunately, the middle-aged man had already walked next to his daughter and scolded her with a stern expression, saying, “With such arrogance and such a fiery temper, how can I possibly dare to let you travel around the cultivation world by yourself? We’ll push it back by a year!”

The young girl was enraged, and her ice-cold face became increasingly chilly. However, the person beside her was her father after all, and he was also her master who had taught her martial arts and saber skills. He was both a father and a mentor. Moreover, there were so many outsiders present, so what more could she do, especially since she had heard so many stories about the martial arts world from a young age?

No matter how frustrated she felt, she could only humph coldly and shut her mouth, not taunting the young boy anymore. She turned around and walked back to the long bench in the waterside pavilion. She sat down and turned her head to look at the crashing waterfall in a foul mood.

There was an apologetic expression on the middle-aged man’s face as he said, “Young lad, I, Wang Yiran, apologize to you on behalf of my daughter.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in acknowledgment before turning around to leave. He had a terrible impression of the young girl, especially since she reminded him of Zhu He and Zhu Lu. This was an identical situation. Their fathers were clearly reasonable and amiable people, so how were their daughters so arrogant and self-centered?

How very strange!

Upon thinking of Zhu Lu who had attempted to assassinate him, Chen Ping’an naturally thought of the mastermind behind the assassination attempt as well — Li Baoping’s second brother, Li Baozhen. This was a grudge that couldn’t be avoided.

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but sigh.

He left without saying anything, and this truly pushed the already furious girl over the edge. She was unable to endure this anymore, and she immediately stood up and scolded him with a furious expression. “The mighty villa master of Unruly Saber Villa personally apologized to you, and you, bastard, aren’t even going to say anything in reply? Fatherless scum!”

Chen Ping’an expressionlessly turned around and tightened the rope of his sword case. “If you want to spar, then let’s go ahead and spar.”

Chen Ping’an had remained largely silent for the 350-kilometer trip from the old temple to Sword Water Villa. He wasn’t in a good mood. Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng had also noticed this, so the big-bearded martial artist had even reined in his habit of drinking by a noticeable degree. He didn’t make crude remarks while drinking or eating, either. It was also because of this that the two of them had tacitly turned down the offer to visit the waterfall together with Chen Ping’an even though they wanted to go. They wanted Chen Ping’an to get some fresh air and relax by himself.

The young girl strode to the top of the steps and sneered, “Alright, I’ve been waiting for this!”

However, Chen Ping’an’s next question astonished everyone in the waterside pavilion, making them look at him in a new light. “Does a spoken life and death contract count?”

“Young lad, sparring is okay, and I won’t interfere no matter what the outcome is,” Wang Yiran, the renowned saber grandmaster from Water Combing Nation, said in a stern voice. “However, I don’t wish to see a life-and-death battle. The two of you can spar until a victor is decided. How does that sound?”

The girl was just about to say something, but Wang Yiran immediately glared at her with an intense gaze. The young girl had almost never seen such a strict expression on her father’s face before, so she was immediately scared into silence. She didn’t dare to retort the young boy anymore.

Wang Yiran stared at Chen Ping’an and said, “If you want to make a life-and-death contract before fighting, I definitely won’t agree to the fight. If you only want to spar, however, then I’m willing to let my daughter suffer this hardship even if your attacks are merciless. I hope she can take this opportunity to understand the depth of the martial arts world. She has to learn that some half-assed skills don’t make her invincible, and she should temper down her arrogance!”

In the end, the middle-aged man turned around to glance at his daughter. Uttering these words in front of so many outsiders fully reflected the serious nature of his words.

One could admonish their children in the presence of others, but one could only admonish their wife in private.

This was most likely an old rule from the old cultivation world.

Chen Ping’an took a deep breath and said, “Then we’ll spar!”

Standing beside his daughter, Wang Yiran lowered his voice and said, “Shanhu, remember to control your strength when you spar. It’s never good to completely burn one’s bridges, so don’t make your path in the cultivation world too narrow.”

Wang Yiran was still of the opinion that his daughter was more likely to win. As her father, however, he still had to teach her the important principles first.

The girl looked at the young boy who was standing on the narrow path outside the waterside pavilion. She pursed her lips and replied, “I know, Father.”

She placed her hand on the hilt of her saber and smiled faintly. With a tap of her feet, she then leaped high into the air toward the ignorant young swordsman.

While in the air, the girl drew her famous saber.

At the same instant, a dull thud echoed over from the small path, and the figure that had been in the corners of everyone’s eyes suddenly vanished without a trace. In the next instant, the young boy with the sword case on his back reappeared in front of the young girl who was about to raise her saber.

His fist slammed into her forehead, and he borrowed the reaction force to nimbly jump back to his original position. Rather than resuming his fighting stance, however, he just stood there in a carefree manner.

Meanwhile, the girl looked like a ragdoll as she flew over the roof of the waterside pavilion and eventually crashed into the pool under the waterfall. Nobody knew whether she was alive or dead.

This was a sparring match between two young cultivators.

One party had been loud like thunder, but the expected lightning had never made an appearance.

One party had been extremely direct, and even though no thunder had echoed, the lightning bolt had struck hard.

Chen Ping’an turned around to leave. While doing so, he grabbed his wine gourd and lifted it high up to take a swig of wine. He showed his back to everyone in the waterside pavilion.

As it turned out, even clay Bodhisattvas had a temper.