Unsheathed

The only thing that he was concerned about was that in the absence of Li Er, their master would have no one to praise, and in his absence, their master would have no one to scold. All he would be able to do would be to smoke his pipe on his own all day, and that seemed like a very lonesome existence.

He had already reached the pinnacle of the eighth tier long ago, yet all he did all day was look after a small medicine shop while flirting with his female employees.

His master rarely ever spoke to him, but the one time that he did speak to him in a calm and earnest fashion, it was to tell him that he would never be able to reach the ninth tier in this lifetime.

With that in mind, the man closed his book and began using it as a fan.

All of a sudden, he picked up his stool before rushing back to the medicine shop in the alley as if he were fleeing from something in a panic.

As it turned out, the same woman from before had returned once again, this time having changed into a bright and vibrant dress, and she had resumed her schtick of walking back and forth along the street while swaying her hips from side to side.

After rushing back to the shop, the man collapsed into his chair in an exhausted and fearful manner, but all of a sudden, his eyes lit up as he sprang to his feet before laying a hand down onto the chair. Clearly, one of his employees had just sat on it, as evidenced by the residual warmth on the chair. With that in mind, he immediately leaned down and took a whiff of the faint fragrance that lingered on the chair with a blissful look on his face.

A resentful look appeared on the face of one of the shop’s employees, and she reluctantly pulled out a few copper coins and thrust them into the hands of another employee, then gave the shopkeeper a cold glare.

An enlightened look instantly appeared on the man’s face. Clearly, the two women had just made a bet to see if his wise and handsome self would be able to detect the residual warmth on the chair. What a pair of cheeky little vixens they were!

Right at this moment, a handsome young boy entered the shop. It was clear from his attire that he came from an affluent family. The female employees were unable to tell exactly how affluent his family was, but just as men enjoyed seeing beautiful women, handsome men were also a sight for sore eyes for women, so the handsome boy was naturally a welcome sight.

Looking at the bright and excited eyes of his employees, the man immediately sat back down onto his chair in a deflated manner, then asked, “What do you want?”

In the presence of the unkempt and disheveled man, the young boy was clearly a little uneasy and restrained, and he pulled over a small stool, then sat down beside the man as he said, “Mr. Zheng, my father has sent me here to ask you when you’re going to officially start teaching me fist techniques.”

“A breakthrough from the third tier to the fourth tier isn’t something that can be forced. You must be patient,” Zheng Dafeng replied in a placating tone.

A sullen look appeared on the young boy’s face, but he didn’t dare to force the issue any further.

This entire time, Zheng Dafeng had only taught the young boy the bare basics. In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that he had barely taught the young boy anything at all, and any fifth or sixth tier martial artist could easily impart more knowledge during this time.

With that in mind, he was feeling a little guilty, and he lowered his voice as he continued with a serious expression, “We pure martial artists aren’t like Qi refiners. Those Qi refiners like to progress as quickly as possible, and those with exceptional aptitude can even make progress at a rate of a tier a day! However, we can’t do that.

“No matter how outstanding your aptitude is, you must continue to take things one step at a time. There are even times when you know that you can make a breakthrough, but you must fight against it so that you can slowly expel and smooth out all of the impurities and flaws in your body and soul.

“The medicine that I asked your father to brew for you and that hot spring that he’s constructing are all a part of your cultivation. Right now, those are the things that you should be focusing on, instead of trying to strive to reach the Qi Refining Tier as quickly as possible.”

Zheng Dafeng then smiled as he concluded, “Don’t try to fool me, kid. You weren’t sent here by your father, you came here of your own accord because you ran out of patience, didn’t you?”

An embarrassed look instantly appeared on the young boy’s face.

Progressing from the third tier to the fourth tier was a herculean task for a martial artist, and that was why it was likened to a clay deity crossing the river. It was entirely a matter of aptitude, and even a seventh tier martial artist wouldn’t be able to offer any guidance in this process.

An eighth tier martial artist would perhaps be able to point out a shortcut, but generally speaking, eighth tier Qi refiners were very easy to find, but there were barely any eighth martial artists even across the entirety of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent! Furthermore, almost all of them were desperately sought after by all of the major empires, and barely any slipped through the cracks to end up in Old Dragon City.

On top of that, even for the rare few martial artists of this caliber that did end up in Old Dragon City, both the Fu Clan and the Sun Clan were richer than the young boy’s Fan Clan, so they were far too low down the pecking order to be able to expect to secure the services of such a master martial artist.

Zheng Dafeng gave the young boy a pat on the shoulder as he said, “Be patient, kid. Once you’ve truly reached the bottleneck of the third tier, I’ll be sure to give you the final push that you need. The money that your Fan Clan has given me definitely won’t go to waste. With my help, even if you want to fail, you can’t!”

The young boy had arrived at the shop full of trepidation and frustration, but he felt a lot more optimistic and assured when he left.

This entire time, there had been a Golden Core Tier patriarch looking after him from the shadows.

The young boy was an extremely important figure in the Fan Clan. From the day that he was born, ownership of one of the Fan Clan’s Osmanthus Island ships had already been assigned to him, and despite his young age, he already had control over an enormous sum of wealth.

As soon as the young boy left, the women immediately turned to the shopkeeper and began asking about who the young boy was and his background.

In response to these questions, Zheng Dafeng made a grabbing motion with one hand as his gaze roamed over the women’s chests, and he said in a sly manner, “You all know the rules. If you want your questions answered, then you have to show some sincerity. I have answers to any question you may have, including his name, where he lives, whether he likes his women petite or more voluptuous…”

None of the women took the bait.

Zheng Dafeng could only heave a forlorn sigh as he said, “What a pity for all of you. He’s a prime bachelor candidate, tsk, tsk, tsk…”

The women had departed to discuss the young boy among themselves, paying no further heed to their perverted shopkeeper.

Zheng Dafeng laid back in his chair in a comfortable manner as he murmured to himself, “It seems like my luck with women is just as terrible as Chen Ping’an’s was back in the day. We may be brothers in that regard!”

Zheng Dafeng had served as the gatekeeper of Jewel Small World, granting entry to outsiders in exchange for pouches of gold essence copper coins, and not long ago, he had received a letter from his master, instructing him to dispel those four True Qi Eight Tael Talismans for Chen Ping’an.

However, an instruction had also been tacked onto the end of the letter, stating that if Chen Ping’an could make a breakthrough on his own, then Zheng Dafeng was required to ensure that everything went smoothly for him in Old Dragon City.

Zheng Dafeng turned to the small alley outside the shop as he murmured to himself, “Even for a martial arts prodigy like that kid from the Fan Clan, he would only be able to carry one or two True Qi Eight Tael Talismans at most. Otherwise, it would be too much for his body to bear. Since when did Chen Ping’an become so strong that he could handle four of them at once? If I recall correctly, it’s only been a short time since he started practicing fist techniques!”

A self-deprecating look then appeared on his face as he continued, “I should’ve never doubted your judgment, Master. My senior brother really does have a sharper eye for talent than I do. Back in the small town, I thought Chen Ping’an was a lost cause!”

All of a sudden, a young woman stormed over to Zheng Dafeng’s side, then demanded, “Where’s my book, Shopkeeper Zheng? Give it back!”

Zheng Dafeng cleared his throat in a slightly awkward manner, then pulled the book out of his pocket before setting it down onto the counter.

“Keep going!” the young woman yelled with her face flushed with embarrassment and indignation.

Zheng Dafeng could only sheepishly pull out a female undergarment from his pocket as well. The undergarment was scrunched up into a ball in his hand, and he gently set it down beside the book as he explained, “You set your cloth pouch down in such a public place, and a corner of the book was poking out of it. I was a little curious, so I decided to borrow the book.

“After I pulled out the book, I noticed that your undergarments were a little dirty, so I thought I’d wash them for you out of the kindness of my heart…”

The embarrassed young woman hurriedly stuffed her undergarments away, then picked up the book before slapping Zheng Dafeng across the face with it as she yelled, “You’re a sick pervert! A scoundrel!”

Zheng Dafeng caught the book with a serious expression as he protested, “You can call me a scoundrel all you like, I know that my intentions were good and pure. Even if you insult me, I can forgive you for your good looks. However, I really did wash your undergarments for you as a gesture of goodwill, and that’s something that you can’t deny!”

A chorus of raucous laughter rang out within the shop, interspersed with the woman’s enraged insults and the disdainful chattering of the shop employees.

All the while, Zheng Dafeng merely sat back in his chair with a smile on his face and his hands tucked behind his head.

————

Near the wooden bridge close to the village in the Sun Clan’s ancestral paradise.

The four cultivators had already done away with the screen that they had been observing Chen Ping’an through. After all, there wasn’t much fun in watching a bunch of children bickering back and forth with one another.

As for whether Chen Ping’an was a swordsman concealing his identity, or a pure martial artist of the Qi Refining Tier, the four of them were unable to come to a consensus. However, these four were all vastly experienced and knowledgeable cultivators.

Old Dragon City was one of the most complex and diverse places on the entire Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and many powerful figures from the three continents to the east would often pass through this place. Whenever they did this, most of them were willing to gracer the Fu Clan and the other five major clans with their presence.

After all, it couldn’t hurt to make friends with such wealthy and powerful clans. Hence, the four cultivators had seen a vast array of formidable figures passing through the city, so they weren’t all that bedazzled by Chen Ping’an.

However, at the same time, all of them were firmly of the opinion that regardless of whether Chen Ping’an was a Qi refiner or a pure martial artist, he was most definitely an extraordinary prodigy. Perhaps the next time he visited this place, he would already be a middle-aged man at the Golden Core Tier, and they would be treating him as an equal.

Alternatively, perhaps he would already be a seventh tier martial artist that could physically oppose the Heavenly Dao, thereby allowing him to take flight. Once that happened, he wouldn’t just be a friend of Sun Jiashu’s. Instead, he would be an esteemed guest that all four of them would need to greet in person.

Beside the river, the children were still trying to goad Chen Ping’an into showing off his swordsmanship, encouraging him to display proof that he was actually a swordsman as he proclaimed, rather than a fraud who pretended to be a heroic figure by carrying a sword case and wine gourd with him everywhere he went.

Chen Ping’an was still a child himself, so he was happy to entertain these children, joking around with them instead of chasing them away.

Through their conversation he came to discover that these children were very pure and innocent, and they had never even witnessed the true Old Dragon City, let alone any actual swordsmen.

At the same time, they struck Chen Ping’an as very honest and down-to-earth children. For example, even though one of the bamboo-sword-wielding children was berating him with a string of insults, Chen Ping’an could see a hint of hope deep within his eyes.

Despite all the skepticism that he had displayed toward Chen Ping’an, deep down, he truly hoped that Chen Ping’an was a powerful swordsman who could defeat evil forces and achieve miraculous feats with his sword, just like the figures depicted in the books that he had read.

As for the other child, he wanted nothing more than to be able to become the disciple of a powerful swordsman. To that end, he was even willing to kowtow and offer incense to Chen Ping’an. However, before that, he had to verify that Chen Ping’an really was the swordsman that he proclaimed himself to be.

All of the other children were also gawking at Chen Ping’an, waiting for him to show off his skills so they could boast to their parents when they went home to eat.

“In that case, I suppose I can show all of you a thing or two,” Chen Ping’an said with a thoughtful expression.

All of the children immediately nodded eagerly in response, while one of the bamboo-sword-wielding boys complained, “If you’re going to show us something, then stop talking and just do it! I can tell just from how much you’re stalling that you’re a fraud! You’re just afraid that you’ll expose yourself, right?”

Chen Ping’an burst into laughter, and he reached down to grab his Sword Nurturing Gourd, but ultimately decided against drinking any wine in the presence of his children.

He then turned to the other bank of the river, which was around fifteen meters away.

“Don’t blink!” Chen Ping’an warned.

The children immediately opened their eyes up wide, eagerly waiting to see what he was going to do next.

Chen Ping’an jumped up and down a few times while shaking out his legs.

Progressing from the third tier to the fourth tier was likened to a clay deity crossing the river, but in the heat of the moment, Chen Ping’an had completely forgotten about this saying.

He slowly raised an arm as he warned once again, “I’m only going to do this once, so make sure you don’t miss it!”

All of the children gave a collective nod.

With that, Chen Ping’an reached around his own shoulder to grab onto the locust wood sword in his sword case.

He then instantly drew the sword before hurling it toward the other opposite bank of the river, and it tumbled around in mid-air once before straightening itself out with its tip aimed straight at the other side of the river, but it wasn’t flying very quickly.

“Here I go!” Chen Ping’an declared as he sprang up into the air, landing atop the wooden sword with both feet.

Initially, his flight was a little wobbly, but after gaining stable footing atop the wooden sword, he was able to fly across the river as if he were really standing atop a flying sword.

He really is a swordsman! He’s not a fraud!

All of the children were staring at Chen Ping’an with awe and admiration in their eyes.

After crossing the river, Chen Ping’an jumped down onto the opposite bank, then caught the locust wood sword before it had a chance to plunge into the ground.

Standing in the field of golden rapeseed blossoms, wisps of invisible True Qi were slowly disintegrating around his wrists and ankles.

Chen Ping’an was astonished by this turn of events, no less so than the flabbergasted children on the other side of the river. After returning to his senses, he turned around to face the children, then pointed a thumb at himself as he declared, “My name is Chen Ping’an, and I’m a swordsman.”

After that, he hurled his locust wood sword in the direction of the Sun Clan’s ancestral residence, this time with far more force than before, so the sword was sent racing through the air at a far greater speed. Chen Ping’an sprang up into the air to land on the sword once again, and this time, there was no wobbling or unsteadiness.

Finally, he was beginning to resemble a true young sword immortal.

Once again, he crossed the river atop his sword, and his arms were crossed as he raised his head with his eyes closed, basking in a certain profound feeling that was lingering in the air.

A gentle breeze was caressing his cheeks, and before he knew it, the clay Bodhisattva had already crossed the river, elevating him to the fourth tier.